“Evil Does Not Exist,” the new film by the Oscar-winning auteur Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, has sold to several additional territories. The film will world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, will have its North America premiere as a special presentation at Toronto, and will go on to screen at New York and San Sebastian.
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EXTRAORDINARY HOST Korean actors Lee Je Hoon and Park Eun-bin, star of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” are set as hosts of the opening ceremony at the Busan International Film Festival. The event will take place on the evening of Oct. 4 at the purpose-built Busan Cinema Center. Park performed as the first cross-dressing queen in a
Sisterly love ruled at Chile’s 19th Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic), which wrapped on Aug. 27 where female directors and actors clinched the top prizes. Israeli-Ukrainian drama “Valeria is Getting Married” by Michal Vinik and Kattia Zuñiga’s “Sister & Sister” snagged the preeminent Chilean festival’s best film plaudits, adding to their trove of accolades since their
Chinese crime action film “No More Bets” headed the mainland China box office for the fourth consecutive weekend, cementing its place as one of the biggest films in the world this year. Between Friday and Sunday, it earned $33.5 million (RMB241 million), according to data from specialist consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Global data provider Comscore
The Oscar race got a shake-up this week with Warner Bros. officially moving “Dune: Part Two” to 2024. It’s a game changing move that could benefit the summer’s second-highest blockbuster “Oppenheimer.” The two seemed destined to dance at the upcoming Academy Awards in several artisan races. I should note, I agree with the move by
It’s official: Adam Driver, Caleb Landry Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Jessica Chastain are among the stars set to attend the upcoming Venice Film Festival. Following multiple unsourced reports, the festival has confirmed that Driver is expected on the Lido’s red carpet to promote Micheal Mann’s “Ferrari,” in which he plays the titular character, Italian car
There’s no stopping “Barbenheimer.” On Monday, “Barbie” will overtake “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” as the highest grossing global release in the history of Warner Bros. Over the weekend, it earned $18.2 million from 12,852 screens in 75 international territories, to push its worldwide gross to a smashing $1.34 billion. And it’s
After a hugely popular debut in 2022, National Cinema Day is coming again to the U.K. Over 630 venues have signed up to participate in the event on Sept. 2, offering tickets from £3 ($3.75) across the day. All major U.K. cinema operators and a range of smaller cinema operators and venues are participating. The
How does one make a documentary about David Bowie, a prolific musician who frequently reinvented himself as a performer, sound great? That was the challenge facing the Emmy-nominated sound crew behind Brett Morgen’s “Moonage Daydream.” “He’s a unique artistic genius,” points out re-recording mixer David Giammarco. “How do you do something like we’ve never seen
It’s a nail-biter at the box office. Sony’s “Gran Turismo” is projected to narrowly outrace the competition with $17.3 million at the box office. But “Barbie” is close behind with $17.1 million, so it’s possible that when the final tally is revealed, the summer blockbuster will have reclaimed its crown and “Gran Turismo” will have
Denis Villeneuve still wants to explore the world of Arrakis after “Dune: Part Two.” In a recent interview with Empire, the director shared his hopes for a third installment in the sci-fi epic film series, saying, “If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream.” On his plans for “Dune: Part Three,”
As South Asians increasingly make their mark on the world film and TV stage, an initiative to find emerging talent from the region and propel them globally is being launched. South Asian Rising Stars is an initiative from U.A.E.-based Action Consultancy, a celebrity talent agency managing a large roster of South Asian talent from the
Bell Canada is ending its long-standing sponsorship of the Toronto International Film Festival, Variety has confirmed. The telecommunications company, a lead sponsor since 1995, will not continue its partnership with TIFF after the festival’s 48th edition this year. “Bell has had a terrific partnership with TIFF for the past 28 years,” the company said in
Miles Morales encounters an array of new Spider-People in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” including Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobart “Hobie” Brown (aka Spider-Punk). While Spider-Punk plays an integral part in the sequel, as well as became a fan-favorite due to his carefree attitude and spiky mohawk, writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed in an interview with
Move over “Barbenheimer”: Spain has a new box office phenom: Javier Fesser’s “Championext” (“Campeonex”), his sequel to “Champions,” Spain’s biggest hometurf box office hit of the last seven years which sparked a Woody Harrelson U.S. remake directed by Bobby Farrelly. Produced by Luis Mansó for Películas Pendleton and Alvaro Longoria for Morena Films, “Championext” is
Tuesday Weld’s 80th birthday on August 27 is a valid excuse to remind all cinephiles of the wondrous work of one of American cinema’s most gifted and enigmatic actresses. And a reminder is desperately needed because over the six decades of her original, fearless, often lacerating performances in film and television, Weld’s reluctance to promote
The summer box office wind-down is in action as Columbia Pictures’ “Gran Turismo” looks to outrun a slew of holdovers. The racing feature got off to a head start with an $8.5 million opening day from 3,856 screens, a figure that includes a sizable $5.3 million from preview screenings over recent weeks. In late July,
IATSE Local 80 closed its offices Friday after receiving a threatening letter that purported to be from an out-of-work grip. The letter, which was postmarked on Wednesday, appeared to be related to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, said Dejon Ellis, Jr., the business manager of the union. “He said some very scary things,” Ellis
“You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” is the sophomore feature from “Crush” director Sammi Cohen, but the film is very much focused on a specific junior high experience familiar to Jewish kids and their friends: the Bat Mitzvah, a coming-of-age ceremony (usually accompanied by a big party) to mark the transition into adulthood.
The writers and actors strikes continued Friday with no sign of a speedy resolution, after a week of public back-and-forth did not appear to move the sides closer to an agreement. A handful of leaders from the Writers Guild of America met with four top CEOs on Tuesday night, leading to a barrage of statements
The classic Harold Lloyd comedy “Safety Last” is turning 100 years old this year. But with its heavy dollops of action and a superstar’s real-life derring-do, it doesn’t seem a day over 10, even if it does date back to the silent era. The film screens this Sunday as the climax of the Academy Museum’s
It takes place on a sugar plantation, but Ena Sendijarević’s magnificently composed, eerily satirical “Sweet Dreams” has something more like acid flowing through its veins. Acid — or maybe formaldehyde, given the embalmed pallor of the dysfunctional Dutch colonial family whose values are so elegantly dissected within it. In only her second feature, after the
Chilean cinema continues to see traction on Prime Video with “S.O.S. Mamis 2: Mosquita Muerta” bowing Aug. 2 to become the most-watched movie of any nationality on the streamer in Chile. The comedy, available worldwide to 240 territories, builds on the success of the original, “S.O.S. Mamis,” the most seen title on Prime Video in
Altered Innocence has acquired distribution rights for a new 2K restoration of the late French director Paul Vecchiali’s 1972 giallo “The Strangler” (“L’Étrangleur”). The company will release the film in the United States for the first time this fall following screenings at the Austin genre event Fantastic Fest and the New York Film Festival. The
On a football field somewhere in New Orleans, a thunderstorm was brewing, and the cast and crew of the lesbian teen sex comedy “Bottoms” grew worried as they watched each other’s hair point skyward from the electric charge in the air. “Okay, we should get off the field because I feel like lightning may strike,”
First Hand Films has taken international sales rights to German director Julia Fuhr Mann’s documentary “Life Is Not a Competition But I Am Winning,” which will premiere in Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival. Variety is debuting its trailer exclusively. The film is about gender in athletics – including the issue of transgender athletes
Veteran actor Patricia Clarkson thinks it’s time for her “Monica” co-star Trace Lysette to play the love interest of the “hot guys in Hollywood.” “The next big step is to play opposite Brad Pitt,” she tells Variety. “It’s time for her to be the love interest of these stars. It’s where she belongs.” The two
Memento International and Anonymous Content have boarded “Woman Of,” a bold Venice competition entry written and directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert. The film is a pioneering trans drama set in against the landscape of the Polish transformation from communism to capitalism. “Woman Of” stars Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik as Aniela Wesoły, who lived more than
Growing up in Israel, Guy Nattiv knew one narrative about Golda Meir, the country’s prime minister from 1969-1974. “She was the pariah of Israel,” says Nattiv. “Everyone treated her like she’s a monster.” Unlike other historical figures, there were no parks or schools named after Israel’s first (and only) female prime minister. The vitriol stemmed
It’s off to the races for Sony’s video game adaptation “Gran Turismo,” which opens in theaters this weekend. The racing drama, starring Archie Madekwe, David Harbour and Orlando Bloom, made $1.4 million in Thursday previews at the box office. The film is expected to open between $10 million and $12 million this weekend. It carries