Movies

Paramount has announced a sequel to the hit horror film “Smile,” as well as a platform shift for the upcoming “Mean Girls” musical movie. “Mean Girls,” which is based on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical adapted from the iconic 2004 movie (which made $130 million at the box office) was planned to debut on Paramount+, but

In what marks a departure in her filmmaking, Carla Simon, director of Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” is preparing a flamenco musical for her fourth feature. Like “Alcarrás,” the project is set to be produced by María Zamora at her Valencia-based production-distribution house Elástica Films. “Romería,” the third part of Simón’s trilogy begun by 2017’s

Kenneth Branagh’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation “A Haunting in Venice” has been rattling North American theaters for a week now, signaling the start to spooky season with a packed ensemble cast featuring the likes of Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh and “Yellowstone” star Kelly Reilly. Branagh’s players (and the director himself) weren’t

Ken Burns has made a statement after a photo surfaced of the documentary filmmaker with Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire David Koch. While Koch has funded one of Burns’ documentaries, Burns maintains that he and the Supreme Court Justice have no connections or relationship. “Around ten years ago, Ken was stopped and asked

“Barbie” cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto says he shot “so many scenes” for the Greta Gerwig blockbuster “that didn’t end up in the movie” — including a scene inspired by Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” “There were many moments that ended up on the cutting room floor,” he tells Variety. “There are many things that I imagine will start

If you can’t take it with you when you go, then where does it end up? Daniel Brown thought a lot about this before making his upcoming film “Your Lucky Day,” which tells the ironic story of a man who wins the lottery but dies shortly after finding out his numbers hit. First created as

The song most important to Craig Gillespie’s storytelling in “Dumb Money” is Cardi B’s 2020 hit, “WAP.” Set in 2021, the film follows a group of common-man stock traders who take on the titans of Wall Street. Music supervisor Susan Jacobs says, “We had a very particular time period where it was really important to

Yellow Veil Pictures, the U.S.-based arthouse genre distribution company, has acquired North American rights to Belgian director Claude Schmitz’s deadpan detective thriller “The Other Laurens.” The feature debut world premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and will have its North American Premiere at Fantastic Fest which kicks off Sept. 23 in Austin, Texas. Yellow Veil Pictures

In one of the first deals to emerge from the San Sebastian Film Festival, powerhouse indie studio, Filmax, which celebrates its 70th anniversary at San Sebastian Festival, has snapped up international rights to LGBTQ+ dramedy “Norbert(a)” from Imposible Films, the producers of hits “Truman,” “The People Upstairs” and “Stories not to be Told.”   Directed by

A first clip has been unveiled for Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s return to feature film direction, “Dear Jassi.” Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, returned to the big screen and to his roots with the film which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the 2023 TIFF Platform Award

David S. Goyer is the co-architect of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. The director recruited Goyer to help him flesh out the story and co-write 2005’s “Batman Begins,” before Nolan and his brother Jonathan penned the scripts for 2008’s “The Dark Knight” and 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises” based on stories cracked by Goyer. What

The “Expendables” crew is undertaking their fourth box office mission, as the aptly named “Expend4bles” opens this weekend. The R-rated movie, starring Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone and more kickass action heroes, made $750,000 in Thursday previews at the box office. The Lionsgate film is expected to open with around $15 million, which would mark the

“Death Is a Problem for the Living,” now also in Italy. The Finnish black comedy, directed by Teemu Nikki of “Euthanizer” fame, will premiere at the Rome Film Festival in October. “I am so proud of everything we have made together, especially ‘Euthanizer’ and [Venice Horizons Extra winner] ‘The Blind Man Who Did Not Want

Miia Tervo’s “The Missile,” an absurdist dramatic comedy based on the real-life story of a Soviet missile landing in Finnish Lapland in 1984, took home the top prize Thursday at the Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy. “The Missile” was one of

Ashley Brucks has been tapped to lead Screen Gems, the Sony Pictures division behind the “Resident Evil” and “Insidious” franchises. A deal hasn’t been finalized and several other candidates were up for the post, but insiders say the job is Brucks’ and expect a formal announcement to come soon. She joins the company from Paramount,

SAN SEBASTIAN — In a first big deal to be announced during this year’s San Sebastian Festival, Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s biggest independent and international creation-production-distribution powerhouses, has acquired Cimarrón, the Uruguay, Argentina and Mexico-based production house and services company. Of “highly significant value,” TMS said Friday, the deal looks set to

Italian multi-hyphenate Ilaria Borrelli’s Arabic-language feminist drama “The Goat” – featuring Mira Sorvino and John Savage, alongside a stellar Egyptian cast – is set for back-to-back launches at Egypt’s upcoming El Gouna Film Festival, followed by the closing film slot at the Rome Film Festival. A rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production

Oliver Pearn’s feature directorial debut “On the Line” has been snapped up for U.K. and U.S. distribution by Trinity Creative Partnership and 101 Films. Set in Alderney, U.K. in 1964, the film follows a telephone operator, Agnes, who ends up being the pivotal piece of a drama unfurling which puts professional integrity and relationships to

MAKING MAGIC To mark the 25th anniversary of the “Harry Potter” books being published in the U.S., the Empire State Building is set to be lit up in Hogwarts house colors at sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Viewers outside of New York can watch the building’s Tower Lights shine red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff,

LevelK has boarded the dark comedic drama “The Kidnapping of a President” by Finnish director Samuli Valkama (“No Thank You”), the company announced this week in Helsinki. The film, which is produced by John Lundsten (“Renki”) and Melli Maikkula (“KilJuset”) for Tack Film, is based on the incredible, pulled-from-the-headlines story of the abduction of the

Got trauma? A global alien invasion is all it takes for emotionally scarred Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) to sort through her issues in “No One Will Save You,” an extra-terrestrial creature feature cut from the same cloth as M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs,” where the jump scares are secondary to an earnest (but far less effective) portrait

SAN SEBASTIAN — Paris-based Luxbox has clinched major territory pre-sales on anticipated San Sebastian competition title “Puan,” an original attempt by its writer-directors, María Alche (“A Family Submerged”) and Benjamín Naishtat (“Rojo”) to deliver a state of the nation take on Argentina – and any country in thrall of European ideas – but in a

Prime Video Latin America has snapped up streaming rights to Katina Medina Mora’s latest film “Latido” (“Heartbeat”), starring Oscar-nominated Marina de Tavira (“Roma”). This is the third feature from Medina Mora, whose credits include episodes of Netflix hit “Emily in Paris,” Apple TV+’s “Swagger” and romantic drama, “LuTo,” her debut feature picked up by Netflix.

Spain’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival is tracking to welcome an even larger industry presence than 2022, currently up 10% in attendance on 2022’s already bullish figures, its status as the biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remaining undiminished.  Here are 10 key takes on potential highlights and trends which look likely to shape

Some of Colombia’s most prominent producers have banded together to form PI, a new association of independent producers led by Cristina Gallego, behind Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent” and “Birds of Passage,” who is an official jury member at this year’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival.  “Colombia has become a production destination for major companies due

Much like its protagonist — a ghastly superhero who gains his powers after falling into a vat of chemical waste — “The Toxic Avenger” refuses to die. Made for a paltry $500,000 in 1984, Troma’s cult classic spawned three direct sequels, a rock musical, two video games, a short-lived animated series and now a remake

The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s major studios will meet for a third day of bargaining Friday as Hollywood wrestles with growing hopes of a deal balanced with concerns that key issues in the nearly five-month strike battle remain in contention. “The WGA and [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] met for bargaining

Indian studio Excel Entertainment’s founders Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have revealed a robust upcoming production slate. Up next is “Fukrey 3,” the next instalment of the hit comedy-crime franchise directed by Mrighdeep Lamba, which is due a theatrical release Sept. 28. Action-drama “Agni,” directed by Rahul Dholakia, is in the works and due a

The biceps and bro love will flow freely this December, as a new sports drama starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White has been given the greenlight to conduct publicity from striking union SAG-AFTRA. “The Iron Claw,” about the ill-fated American pro wrestling family the Von Erichs, has received an interim agreement from the actors

John Carney’s musical-comedy “Flora and Son,” which was acquired by Apple Original Films after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, is one of the streamer’s multiple awards contenders this year, most notably for best original song. With 18 original songs in the feature, deciding which one to put up for Academy consideration was a