Movies

Tom Hanks is not informing fans to get their teeth cleaned. The Oscar-winning actor shared a computer-generated image of himself on Instagram Saturday, warning his followers about a promotional video for a dental plan circulating online. “BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing

“This is the only person to run a studio who knows how to make a movie,” director Allan Arkush exclaimed, hailing his former boss Roger Corman in front of a sold-out crowd at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica Saturday evening. Now 97 years old, the unbelievably prolific Pope of Pop Cinema was the guest

The changing global strategies of streamers and their impact on the independent film sector were front and center for international industry reps at the Zurich Summit on Saturday. Sasha Bühler, Netflix’s director of film for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Patrick Wachsberger, Black Bear president John Friedberg, John Lesher, Neon CEO Tom Quinn, Focus Features’ Kiska

In “The Ringleader: The Case of Bling Ring,” director Erin Lee Carr revisits the infamous group of Calabasas, Calif. teenagers responsible for burglarizing the homes of celebrities including Orlando Bloom and Paris Hilton. But instead of merely rehashing the splashy story, Carr focuses on Rachel Lee, the alleged ringleader of the Bling Ring, who has

Richard Gere‘s breakout role in 1980’s “American Gigolo” might have made him a household name, but that didn’t mean the actor wanted to be labeled a “sex symbol,” according to veteran British talk show host Michael Aspel. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Aspel recalled Gere’s appearance on his talk show “Aspel and Company” in 1989.

Paramount’s animated sequel “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” topped the box office in its debut, earning a solid $23 million from 3,989 North American locations over the weekend. Those ticket sales were more than enough to rule over the three other new nationwide releases, which could be categorized as the good (Lionsgate’s gruesome “Saw X“),

It’s a month of big originals and spooky delights on streaming this October. Netflix is offering up two of its big fall titles: The electrifying finance thriller “Fair Play,” which the streamer bought for a whopping $20 million out of the Sundance Film Festival, and the Chris Evans-Emily Blunt two hander “Pain Hustlers,” which world

In a genre not traditionally given to brevity, James Marsh‘s literary biopic “Dance First” at least has that on its side: In 100 minutes, it races through the key events and alliances in the life of Irish author and dramatist Samuel Beckett, even finding time for some metaphysical musings alongside the cradle-to-grave checklist. But Beckett’s

Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill giving unemployment benefits to striking workers, which was backed by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. “Now is not the time to increase costs or incur this sizable debt,” he wrote in his veto message Saturday. Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D-Burbank), who had sponsored the bill, was

“Long-awaited” isn’t quite the term for Victor Erice’s “Close Your Eyes,” a film that dedicated admirers of the Spanish master may have hoped for, but didn’t dare expect. Instead, Erice’s first feature in 31 years — and only his fourth overall — arrives as something between a desert oasis and a mirage: a shimmery, nourishing

Ethan Hawke opened up at Zurich Film Festival about working with daughter and “Stranger Things” star Maya Hawke on “Wildcat.” “It’s extremely easy to direct your own daughter, because the love is there,” he told the audience. “When I was making the documentary ‘The Last Movie Stars’ [about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward], I got

“Foe” is a grandly muddled dystopian sci-fi movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as a Midwestern farm couple in 2065 (they appear to be the only Midwestern farm couple left). When you hear the film’s premise, which makes it sound like a cross between “Interstellar” and “Blade Runner,” you may think it’s going to

Using hidden camera footage, the doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un. Doc jurors included directors Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County USA”) Richard Rowley (“ Kingdom of Silence”)

After the success of horror film “Deleter,” actor Nadine Lustre and filmmaker Mikhail Red have teamed again on genre film “Nokturno.” “Nokturno” revolves around a curse brought on by Filipino folklore characters known as Kumakatok, who are tall, thin and have long, pale fingers. They wear veils that obscure their faces and come knocking in

Francis Ford Coppola is joining the Roman Empire TikTok trend by asking himself the viral question: “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” “How often do I think of Ancient Rome? Quite a lot, as the Roman Republic served as the example for my country America and its institutions, and was the inspiration

A predictably spectacular sunset spreads streaks of pink and orange across a northern Spanish late September sky, heralding the end of another packed edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival, where at the closing gala, “The Rye Horn” the second feature from Spanish director Jaione Camborda has just been handed the Golden Shell, the festival’s

A film based on Beyonce‘s smash hit Renaissance World Tour is in advanced talks to distribute directly to AMC Theatres, sources with knowledge of the project told Variety. Mega-agency CAA held preliminary talks with major studios and streamers two weeks ago, another source added, urging the players to be ready to bid on a project

“This was not planned. I think the way you know is I walked in here covered with my child’s seaweed snack all over my sweatshirt.” Greta Lee is infectious and is so damn grateful this breakout moment is happening to her when she’s 40. When she comes in for her sit-down interview with Variety, she’s laidback

Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, the country’s top international film event, has been canceled due political pressure following a storm of controversy prompted by the presence of an explosive documentary in the lineup. The doc, titled “Decree” and directed by Nejla Demirci, is about the plight of a doctor and a teacher who were

There was one key question gripping the box office heading into this weekend: would audiences be PAWing, or would they be Sawing? In a crowded September capper with four new wide releases, Paramount’s “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” looks to come out on top. The animated feature is edging out Lionsgate’s horror entry “Saw X”

Zurich Avenue, headed by producers and former Zurich Film Festival execs Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani, has quickly amassed an impressive slate of projects since launching last year, including Annette Bening starrer “Nyad.” Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film, which chronicles the attempt by 64-year-old swimmer Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to Florida,

Bill Maher returned to the airwaves with HBO’s “Real Time” for the first time since the strike with only mild praise for the Writers Guild of America for settling the five-month strike. Season 21 of “Real Tiime with Bill Maher” became the first of TV’s prominent late-night talk shows to return to the airwaves after

It might officially be fall, but Netflix had a “Strong Black Summer.” At least, that was the name of the streamer’s warm-weather months campaign promoting a string of TV, film and documentary projects fronted by Black talent. Among the hot titles were Gabrielle Union’s rom-com “The Perfect Find,” the John Boyega-starring conspiratorial caper “They Cloned

The show must go on! New York Film Festival opened its 61st edition with “May December” as planned, despite a massive rainstorm that’s left streets and subways flooded across the five boroughs. “Thank you all for braving the weather and making it here tonight,” director Todd Haynes told the mostly full theater. “We didn’t know

Patrick Harrison, the top New York executive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has partnered with Clare Anne Darragh and Lina Catalfamo Plath of Frank PR to start a new strategic awards division. This division will hone in on campaigns and events surrounding gold trophy season. “I am excited to join the

The comedy community is just grateful to be nominated. Top professional funny people have weighed in on this week’s news that the annual Golden Globe awards have introduced two new categories, one of which will honor best performance in stand-up comedy on television. Comedy is a notoriously tough sell when it comes to awards season,

Horror Film School is a new feature in which talent in front of and behind the camera share the ins and outs of creating the biggest onscreen scares. Creative duo Lee Roy Kunz and Cru Ennis wrote and directed the religious indie horror film “Deliver Us,” which was just released in select theaters and VOD.

This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. For all her work on stage and screen, Kristen Bell might best be known as the woman who cried over a sloth. Back in 2012, the actor

Anyone familiar with the often disquieting solo work of directors María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat may be put on high uneasiness-alert by the opening scene of “Puan,” their first co-directed feature. Despite the jaunty pop song playing, an older man going for a morning jog in a scrubby Buenos Aires park, suddenly keels over dead

The Golden Globes have plenty of movies to sift through and consider for its upcoming 81st annual awards ceremony. With “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Maestro” on the drama side, and “The Color Purple” and “Poor Things” in comedy, alongside the buzzy summer double-feature “Barbenheimer,” a star-studded event is surely awaiting viewers. The Globes