Movies

Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival has revealed to Variety the projects that the participants of its 2023 Emerging Producers program are working on. The producers were asked to deliver an elevator pitch for their projects. Every year since 2010, the festival has selected 18 up-and-coming producers of documentary films (17 European and one representing a non-European

Actor Alexandra McVicker has signed with Fusion Entertainment for management. McVicker, who is transgender, hails from Lexington, Kentucky. Prior to her transition, she was known for her breakout role on the HBO show “Vice Principals,” a dark comedy starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as conniving high school vice principals vying to run the school.

Bill Maher is the latest man to claim that “Barbie” is “man-hating.” The television personality and political commentator took to social media to criticize the Warner Bros. comedy blockbuster, which cracked the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office in less than a month. “OK, ‘Barbie’: I was hoping it wouldn’t be preachy, man-hating,

With documentary distribution in a state of disruption, most independent nonfiction filmmakers have been left on their own to find new and creative solutions to ensure that their films reach audiences. Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and

Up to $20 million could be pumped into independent film production in Switzerland thanks to revisions to the country’s Film Act, which will compel streamers such as Prime Video and Netflix to invest in the local film business. A roundtable during the Locarno Film Festival titled “Swiss Film Industry – New Film Act and New

A24 has greenlit a sequel to “Talk to Me,” a supernatural horror film that continues to beat box office expectations. Australian YouTube stars Danny and Michael Philippou, who directed the scary thriller in their feature debut, will return for the follow-up film. Danny Philippou is writing the screenplay with Bill Hinzman. Plot details have not

Cannes favorites including Jonathan Glazer’s searing drama “The Zone of Interest” and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning crime thriller “Anatomy of a Fall” will play at this year’s New York Film Festival. Film at Lincoln Center, which presents the annual fete, on Tuesday announced the 32 films that comprise the main slate of the 61st

“Barbie” will play in theaters across the Middle East after all. Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster was running into censorship issues in certain territories, including in the region’s top market of Saudi Arabia, so it looked increasingly like the film would be banned. But those matters appear to have been resolved, as the movie is set to

Jamie Dornan admitted in a new “Wired” video interview (via Insider) that he was “quite jealous” of Robert Pattinson during the early days of their career. Dornan, Pattinson and fellow stars such as Eddie Redmayne and Andrew Garfield all came up together as aspiring young actors in England. Pattinson’s career skyrocketed way ahead of his

Now that “Barbie” has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, speculation about a potential sequel has intensified tenfold. Greta Gerwig, who directed “Barbie” in addition to co-writing its script with Noah Baumbach, told The New York Times she has no ideas yet for a “Barbie 2.” However, she also told People magazine before

Cineverse has acquired all North American rights to the reboot of the 1987 horror-comedy “Street Trash.” The remake of the cult classic is helmed by “Fried Barry” director Ryan Kruger. Over three decades after the slimy and grimy film’s debut, Kruger is moving this horror story out of Brooklyn and into a whole new continent

“Gran Turismo” is a race-car movie that gives the audience a contact high. That’s what you tend to want from an action drama about souped-up sports cars snaking their way around labyrinthine tracks at 300 kilometers per hour. But there’s an innocence to this one, and a surprise authenticity. It’s like a “Fast and Furious”

Sanfic Industria, the industry component of Chile’s 19th Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic), charges back in full in-person mode this year after three years online. This year’s selection, comprising 11 fiction and 10 documentaries, hails from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, Spain and Brazil.  The primary focus of this space

Oh My Gómez! Films’ Ramiro Pavón, producer of Ana Katz’s Sundance title “El perro que no calla,” and Rocío Romero Quintana, behind 2016 Berlinale Generation 14+ winner “Las Plantas,” will both pitch their latest doc projects at this month’s Sanfic Industria, one of the biggest industry forums in South America. Another project at its Documentary

You can approach old classics just like new films, argued participants during Locarno’s Heritage Monday panel. “I talked to an exhibitor in Paris and they don’t consider repertory cinema to be different from contemporary cinema. They are collapsing both models into one and it’s very interesting,” said K.J. Relth-Miller of the Academy Museum.   Swiss

LOCARNO — Two movie projects which capture best the brewing revolution in Latin American filmmaking walked off with the biggest plaudits at this year’s Locarno Open Doors prize ceremony on Tuesday. Both underscore the mindset reset among cineasts – their questioning of received wisdom accompanied by the explosion in invention being brought to low-budget filmmaking

Niv Art Movies, producer of Rotterdam winner “Sexy Durga,” and Little Lamb Films, the outfit behind Tallin, Santa Barbara and Edinburgh film “The Cloud and the Man,” have teamed for Locarno title “Whispers of Fire & Water.” An exclusive clip from the film has been provided to Variety. Lubdhak Chatterjee, who has previous shorts and

Indian filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s “Rapture” (“Rimdogittanga”) is the second in a trilogy of films based on his memories of village life that began with his debut feature “Ma’ama” (2018). The Garo-language film, which revolves around a 10-year-old boy who suffers from night blindness and for whom every night is terrifying when his village is gripped

Indian filmmaker and media personality Karan Johar’s “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani” is one of the few local films that has withstood the “Barbenheimer” juggernaut and emerged triumphant. The film had a lot going for it. Johar is a hitmaker whose credits include “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” (1998), “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…” (2001), “Kabhi

Ridley Scott is reflecting on his decision to step down from directing the “Blade Runner” sequel due to a scheduling conflict with 2017’s “Alien: Covenant.” “I shouldn’t have had to make that decision,” Scott said in a recent Empire interview. “But I had to. I should have done ‘Blade Runner 2.’” After being attached to the

As the entertainment industry remains at a practical standstill with both the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on strike, the Directors Guild of America has instituted a free major medical plan for members that fall under certain eligibility requirements. The DGA announced the development

Adam Devine appeared on Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast during his press tour for Netflix’s “The Out-Laws” and shared his theory that Marvel movies and other superhero films killed the traditional Hollywood comedy. The “Workaholics” and “Pitch Perfect” alum noted that because Marvel movies rely so much on humor (see the “Ant-Man” and “Guardians

Filmmaker D. Smith’s debut documentary “Kokomo City” presents a raw depiction of the lives of four Black trans women — Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell and Dominique Silver. Based in Atlanta and New York City, the women get real about sex work and confront the prejudices they experience, as well as the persistent

David Ayer is keeping hope alive for his “Suicide Squad” director’s cut, dubbed the “Ayer Cut” on social media. In a recent post on X, the director informed his fans that new DC Studios boss James Gunn told him that the Ayer Cut “would have its time to be shared.” Ayer provided no further information.

Visual effects (VFX) crews at Marvel Studios have voted to unionize, IATSE announced on Monday. A press release notes that “A supermajority of Marvel’s more than 50-worker crew had signed authorization cards indicating they wished to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).” “For almost half a century, workers in the

Arthur “Artie” R. Schmidt, who won Oscars for editing Robert Zemeckis films “Forrest Gump” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” died Saturday at his home in Santa Barbara. He was 86. Schmidt and Zemeckis were longtime collaborators, having worked on a total of ten films together, including “Forrest Gump” (1994), the “Back to the Future” trilogy

The saga of American movies in the 1970s is now a mythology. In the first half of the decade, the movies that emerged from the New Hollywood were unprecedented in their realism, their immersion in the gritty side pockets of everyday life, their perception of the darkness hidden in the American Dream. Then, of course,

I recently discovered my pioneer producer great-grandfather Sol M. Wurtzel’s obituary in the April 16, 1958 edition of Variety. In 1917, mogul William Fox sent Sol to oversee production at his Hollywood studio. During his lengthy career as a Fox Studio head, Sol produced over 700 films. One short paragraph blew my mind. “In 1933,

Due to popular demand, “Oppenheimer” has extended its 70mm run at Imax theaters nationwide through the end of August. The previous end date, which was already an extension of the film’s original run in Imax 70mm format, was Aug. 17. Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama are already on sale through Aug. 31 at

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” will finally arrive on Disney+ on Sept. 6.  The Disney+ release will come with some special features, including a song breakdown of “Under the Sea,” and Javier