SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “The Blackening,” now streaming on Starz and available on VOD. Tracy Oliver is best-known as the co-writer of “Girls Trip” and the creator of “Harlem” and “First Wives Club,” but she’s also quite proficient with numbers. And in terms of the success of her latest film, “The Blackening,”
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The National Association of Theatre Owners executive board of directors has elected Bob Bagby as the new NATO chair and Mike Bowers as NATO vice-chair. Additionally, Tim Handren was elected chair of the Cinema Foundation, and Tori A. Baker was re-elected as vice chair. Bagby is the president and CEO of B&B Theatres, the largest family
Rome’s upcoming MIA market dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films and documentaries is set to run Oct. 9-13 in central Rome’s Palazzo Barberini, which besides being Italy’s National Ancient Art gallery, is also the market’s main hub. Now at its ninth edition, this innovative pre-Mipcom event (the MIA acronym stands for the Mercato
“I hope we can communicate and reconcile again,” said Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon on the opening night of the South Korean city’s film festival. With so much of the dialogue in opening drama “Because I Hate Korea” discussing Korean societal rigidities, group loyalties, long working hours and poor pay (which cause the protagonist to emigrate
Marco Chimenz, Co-CEO of Italy’s Cattleya the prominent ITV-owned outfit behind “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero,” will be leaving the company in January to join pan-European powerhouse Federation Studios. At Federation Chimenz will serve as group co-managing director of the expanding production and distribution studio that currently comprises 35 production companies, working closely with founder and CEO
Japan‘s Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday approved a remedial proposal by Toho Cinemas, the country’s largest movie theater operator, not to apply unfair pressure on third-party film distributors. The FTC opened an investigation into film booking practices in March of last year, having received reports that Toho Cinemas, which is also in the same family
Anthony Chen (“The Breaking Ice”) is attached to direct and Shinho Lee to write “Sunset Park” for Barunson C&C, a film and TV production subsidiary of Barunson E&A, the Korean company that produced Oscar-winning hit “Parasite.” “Sunset Park” recounts a surprising journey in the U.S. made by a Korean father with his son’s room mate,
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences
Werner Herzog has traveled to the ends of the earth for his art, rolling cameras in places rarely seen by human eyes — from rapids along the Amazon River for 1972’s “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” to the rim of an active volcano in Antarctica. But what’s inside Herzog’s head is what fascinates fans of
With Disney’s beloved sports comedy “Cool Runnings” celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, director Jon Turteltaub and the cast reunited for an interview with The Independent and revealed their battle against Disney over the film’s Jamaican accents. Loosely based on the debut of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the film
Last month, around 50 Marvel visual effects workers — many of whom create the magic behind the studio’s biggest films and TV shows — voted to unionize. That vote marked the first time any VFX workers have unionized with the crafts union, hoping to gain fair pay, healthcare and a safer and more sustainable working
All awards and nominations lead to the coveted Academy Awards ceremony. As the industry’s leader in awards analysis, predictions and the entertainment business, you can find the key upcoming dates for this year’s awards season. All critical dates are in bold. Check out the key dates below and bookmark the page. Other ceremonies and dates will be added
Patrick Stewart shares blunt thoughts on 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis” in his new memoir, “Making It So” (via Insider). The film, the fourth and final “Star Trek” feature to star “The Next Generation” cast, featured one of Stewart’s least memorable outings as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, at least according to the actor himself. “‘Nemesis,’ which came
It’s time to get excited for David Cronenberg’s upcoming “The Shrouds,” at least according to Diane Kruger. “We just finished filming it. I think it might be his most personal film, because it talks about him and the passing of his wife.” Kruger, starring alongside Vincent Cassel – cast as Karsh, an innovative businessman and
Actors with acclaimed performances in the Oscar or Emmy race can submit themselves for consideration for this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards beginning Wednesday, Oct. 4 in an email sent to publicists by SAG-AFTRA and obtained by Variety. The union makes it clear submitting for awards consideration is not considered “promotion” under the current strike
The belief that the dead live on in our memories is often the only comfort anyone can think to offer the bereaved, or those in the process of losing a loved one. But for Takashi (Mirai Moriyama), the introspective adult son at the heart of Kei Chika-ura‘s quietly tectonic heartbreaker, that comfort is unavailable on
Animated feature directors of “Elemental,” “Nimona,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and “Trolls Band Together” will attend the second annual “Sketch to Screen: Top Animated Contenders” panel at SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Hosted by Clayton Davis, senior awards editor for Variety, the panel will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Working on Bradley Cooper‘s “Maestro” meant incredibly long hours for prosthetics master Kazu Hiro and his makeup team. Hiro, an Oscar winner for transforming Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill for “The Darkest Hour,” revealed at the New York Film Festival (via Entertainment Weekly) that he needed to be on set at 1 a.m. during parts
Tucked in the beautiful countryside north of San Francisco, Mill Valley has been home to artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and all sorts of dreamers. Thus it makes sense that the local film festival, celebrating 46 years, has programmed the best of the fest circuit and buzzy premieres — and mixed it up with art and music
Netflix has made two significant appointments to its C-suite, elevating Eunice Kim to chief product officer and Elizabeth Stone to chief technology officer. Kim will oversee all worldwide product efforts for the streamer, and Stone will manage its data and engineering teams. “Elizabeth and Eunice have strong track records at Netflix and more broadly within
Visual effects workers at Walt Disney Pictures have voted unanimously in favor of unionizing with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) in an election held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The 13-0 vote comes just weeks after VFX workers at Marvel Studios voted to unionize with IATSE and comes amid the
“The Alchemist” by Paolo Coelho is set to be adapted for the screen. Legendary Entertainment has acquired the film, TV, and ancillary rights to the acclaimed book, Variety has learned. The company will lead development of a film adaptation along with Sony’s TriStar Pictures and Palmstar, with TriStar set to distribute under their distribution partnership
Idris Elba revealed on the “Changes With Annie Macmanus” podcast that he’s been going to therapy for the last year after developing “unhealthy habits” as a professional actor. Mainly, Elba is such “an absolute workaholic” that there are now instances where he feels more relaxed working than he does with his own family. “I’ve been
Some 25 years ago, Todd Solondz had a hot hand, and he knew it. His film breakthrough, “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” was a Sundance sensation and a surprise hit — surprising, in part, because of its scabrous and brilliantly profane view of life among the petty thugs known as middle-schoolers. So he set out next
Dolphin Entertainment has added talent booking and events firm Special Projects to the roster of PR and marketing services it offers for entertainment, media, fashion and luxury brands. Dolphin, led by founder and CEO Bill O’Dowd, has acquired the bicoastal firm launched in 2016 by industry veterans Nicole Vecchiarelli and Andrea Oliveri, who serve as
“Snow in Midsummer,” a drama film which premiered in the Venice Days section of the recent Venice film festival, narrowly emerged as the front-runner for the Golden Horse Film Awards. Nominations for the November awards were announced on Tuesday, with “Snow” gathering recognition in nine categories, including best film. But it was only narrowly ahead
Disney sci-fi epic “The Creator” and Lionsgate U.K.’s horror franchise entry “Saw X” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office — and the race was almost too close to call. “Saw X” won the three-day total with £1.92 million ($2.31 million), while “The Creator” was just behind with £1.89 million ($2.27 million). However, including
British filmmaker David Yates, known for his extensive work across the “Harry Potter” universe, will be the 2023 recipient of the Raindance Icon Award. Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, Gemma Arterton, Michael Caine, Sally Hawkins, Jude Law, Olivia Colman, Terry Gilliam, Guy Richie and Ken Loach. Yates
Kristy Matheson had big shoes to fill when she took over from Tricia Tuttle as director of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) earlier this year. Over the course of a decade, Tuttle transformed LFF into a highlight of the fall festival calendar, drawing some of the biggest names in entertainment to the English capital
Leonard Bernstein‘s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina were in complete awe the first time they saw Bradley Cooper as the renowned conductor and composer. “It took our breath away, it made us gasp,” Jamie Bernstein told Variety at the North American premiere of “Maestro” at the New York Film Festival. “In some pictures, we could