Movies

Emerging star from Hong Kong, Isabella Wei, headlines Silent D Pictures’ comedy-drama “High Wire.” The film follows the story of Go-wing, a British-Chinese takeaway girl who discovers her inner strength and artistic bravery when a circus comes to her small English town. As Go-wing navigates the challenges of her dual cultural identity, she finds herself

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, chairman of Arclight Films, have launched Simmons/Hamilton Prods. to develop, finance and produce feature films. The standalone banner will produce 25 movies over an initial five-year period, with a focus on action, thriller and genre titles with global franchise potential. The company is backed by a multi-billion dollar

Prolific German director Jo Baier has officially signed on to write and direct the thriller “Life Through a Dead Man’s Eyes,” about an aging Nazi war criminal on the run from prosecution. The film, produced by Berlin-based Films In Motion in co-production with Banijay’s NL Film in Amsterdam, tells the haunting story of a former

Distributor Verve Pictures has revealed the first trailer for “Inland,” headlined by Oscar-winning thespian Mark Rylance. The film marks the debut of Fridtjof Ryder and alongside Ryland the cast includes Rory Alexander (“Pistol”), Kathryn Hunter (“Andor”), Eleanor Holliday, Alexander Lincoln (“The Fence”), Nell Williams (“The Good Liar”) and Shaun Dingwall (“Top Boy”). Described as a

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The lush forests, deep oceans and floating mountains of Pandora are finally heading to your living room. James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” has officially set a streaming release date. The sci-fi

Johnny Depp’s once white-hot career has flamed out in the wake of his many scandals, but the controversial actor has every reason to expect a movie star welcome when he hits Cannes on Tuesday for the premiere of “Jeanne du Barry.” The costume drama is Depp’s first leading role in three years, a period of

The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards are set to take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 25. The 39th annual awards will recognize achievements in American independent film and television and celebrate the power of independent visual storytelling. The February date, on a Sunday, puts the awards two weeks ahead of the March 10 Oscars, rather

Throughout her all-too-brief life, Anna Nicole Smith played a variety of roles on screen and off, identifying as someone different to everyone in her orbit. Even her name was part of a manufactured persona, carved from the same marble as Marilyn Monroe — an aspirational idol of hers. The buxom blonde bombshell represented the dynamic

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival will debut the SAVFF LGBTQ+ Short Film Competition during this year’s festival which runs from Oct. 21 to 28. The competition will broaden available resources for rising queer filmmakers through mentorship and exposure. Each filmmaker will have access to networking and educational opportunities throughout the duration of the competition.  SCAD

Magnolia Pictures and MK2 Films have acquired rights to Raoul Peck’s documentary about renowned photographer Ernest Cole. The untitled documentary chronicles the life and work of Cole, the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa, whose early work revealed to the world the shocking, brutal realities of Black life under apartheid. Magnolia will release the

Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise have been “Mission: Impossible” co-stars and friends since meeting during the production of J.J. Abrams’ third installment, which opened in theaters in 2006, but that doesn’t mean the two discuss Cruise’s ties to Scientology. During an interview on BBC’s “Desert Island Discs” radio show, Pegg said he does not ask

Cynthia Erivo will star in a film adaptation of the theater sensation “Prime Facie,” Variety can report exclusively. Participant and Bunya Productions announced Monday that Oscar nominee Erivo will take on the role originated on the West End (and, currently, on Broadway) by actor Jodie Comer. Erivo will also executive produce the project through her

Christopher Nolan revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he cast real scientists as extras in “Oppenheimer,” a historical drama about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. The cast is full of stars such as Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Florence Pugh, but

Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux asked journalists Monday if they really believed Cannes was celebrating rapists, as recently suggested by “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” actor Adele Haenel in an open letter published last week in Telerama. Haenel, who quit acting in films after Roman Polanski won best director at the Cesar Awards

Heretic has acquired world sales rights to “Sweet Dreams,” the sophomore feature from award-winning Bosnian Dutch director Ena Sendijarević (“Take Me Somewhere Nice”). Set on a remote Indonesian island during the waning days of the colonial era, the film centers on Dutch sugar plantation owner Jan and his wife, Agathe, who sit atop the local

   The current president of Johnny & Associates, possibly Japan’s most fearsome talent agency, has formally apologized for sexual abuses allegedly committed by her uncle and agency founder, Johnny Kitagawa, against young male talents.   Kitagawa died in 2019, age 87. But an expose aired by the BBC in March this year and personal testimony by

David Mamet’s JFK assassination thriller is taking shape, with Courtney Love, Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, Al Pacino and John Travolta joining the cast. The newly titled “Assassination” (the pic was previously called “2 Days/1963”) will be presented to buyers at the film market in Cannes this week, with Arclight Films handling international sales. Here’s the

Belgium’s Panique! (“Adoration,”), and Chile’s Pájaro have joined Oscar-nominated Vivemant Lundi! (“Flee,” “Mémorable,”) and Spanish collective Terremoto AIE to round out the co-production force behind the animated feature, “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake.”  Filmax will handle distribution in Spain. KMBO will handle its domestic release in France. The Gallic distributor is on a roll with

Ten years after winning the Camera d’Or in Cannes for “Ilo Ilo,” director Anthony Chen is back with “The Breaking Ice.” The film, which premieres in Un Certain Regard on May 21, is set in Yanji, a border city in north China, and follows a budding relationship between three 20-somethings as they spend a few

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3” enjoyed a second weekend on top of the mainland China box office, as all top five placed films remained unchanged and audiences await “Fast & Furious 10.” “Guardians Vol 3” earned $19.0 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was a decent week-on-week

As high-profile international productions continue to flock to Italy, its film commissions have joined forces, leaving producers’ old divide-and-conquer playbook in the dust. “We believe that the success of one member is the success of all members,” says Cristina Priarone, president of the Italian Film Commissions Assn. The organization was created — alongside the Italy

Simon Pegg has opened up about his personal struggles, revealing that he concealed his alcoholism while working on the set of “Mission: Impossible III” in the 2000’s. The actor discussed the matter on a recent episode of the BBC’s “Desert Island Discs,” via the Guardian. “You become very sneaky when you have something like that

Maren Morris made history Saturday night in New York City when she became the first country music artist to receive GLAAD’s excellence in media award.  During the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards, the Grammy-winning performer was presented with the honor by Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Alyssa Edwards. “I felt a little badass taking on Tucker

Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ was victorious again at the domestic box office, adding $60.5 million in its second weekend of release. Ticket sales dropped by 49% from its debut, marking an impressive hold… at least for a superhero movie. Across more than 30 Marvel entries, only “Black Panther” (45%) and “Thor” (47%)

Italian producer Luciano Sovena, who was instrumental to bringing early works by several of Italy’s now-prominent auteurs such as Alice Rohrwacher, Luciano Frammartino, and Saverio Costanzo, to the big screen, has died. He was 73. News of Sovena’s sudden death was announced on Sunday by the Rome and Lazio Film Commission Foundation, of which he

The sixth edition of the Quirino Awards, an annual event dedicated to the promotion of animation in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, saw a triumph for Portuguese cinema, with animations from the country taking home four of the nine awards.  The Quirino Awards also proved a veritable showcase of Portugal’s rich animation history– apt as

“Padatik,” a birth centenary homage to Indian auteur Mrinal Sen, is in post-production and is aiming to launch at a major film festival this fall. Sen is probably India’s most revered filmmaker after Satyajit Ray. Sen was born on May 14, 1923 in Faridpur, British India, now in Bangladesh and died in 2018, leaving behind

This year’s GLAAD Media Awards in New York city honored shows and movies like “Fire Island,” “Anything’s Possible,” “Heartstopper” and “We’re Here.” The awards were handed out Saturday night at the New York Hilton Midtown and the ceremony was hosted by “What We Do in the Shadows” star Harvey Guillén. Maren Morris received the excellence

Jack Harlow makes his acting debut in the new remake of “White Men Can’t Jump.” “It was grueling. It was a hot summer,” the 25-year-old musician told Variety at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday night. He stars in the movie as Jeremy, a basketball hustler. While shooting the film, Harlow was also

The book club can’t topple comic books, as Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” will easily hold off the opening of “Book Club: The Next Chapter” to retain the top spot at the box office. “The Next Chapter” earned $2.14 million on its opening day, projecting a debut of $7 million from 3,508 locations