Movies

Jim Caviezel (“The Passion Of The Christ,” “Frequency,” “Deja Vu”) stars in human trafficking drama “Sound of Freedom,” the first trailer for which has been unveiled by Angel Studios. The film is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent that quits his job to rescue children from global sex

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) executive director Tom Mara has announced the company’s acquisition of the Seattle Cinerama Theater from the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen. Mara revealed the news at the opening night celebration of the 49th annual SIFF on May 11. The festival runs through May 21. “We are honored

In a movie career that stretches back 25 years, Jennifer Lopez has on occasion done flaked-out underworld thriller romance (“Out of Sight”), capery action (“Parker”) and revenge (“Enough”). Yet she has never placed herself at the center of such a down-and-dirty, grimly overwrought, execute-now-and-ask-questions-later B-movie as “The Mother.” I’m tempted to call the film “minimalist,”

International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and Women in Animation (WIA) have announced the selection of the five delegates of the second edition of the Stories x Women program. Stories x Women’s works to support and provide opportunities for African, Asia-Pacific Islander and Latin American women animators who want to tell their authentic stories.

It’s one thing to see Tom Cruise seemingly defy the laws of sanity in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, but it’s a whole other experience watching the actor complete his stunts in person. Vanessa Kirby, who reprises her role as the White Widow in “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” says she was on set

“Beneath the Grass,” a drama about the criminal justice system and marijuana incarceration rates, will hit the market at the Cannes Film Festival next week. Mía Maestro, Quincy Isaiah and Jeff Kober will lead the film, which begins production next month in New Jersey. Paradigm is representing worldwide sales for the film. “Beneath the Grass”

Elle Fanning has some experience starring in a major studio franchise thanks to her role as Aurora in Disney’s two “Maleficent” movies, but the 25-year-old star has yet to join franchise behemoths like “Star Wars” and Marvel. During a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Fanning was asked if there is pressure on

The explosive growth of film and television production in New Mexico has broadened perceptions about its eclectic landscape in a short amount of time, but despite increasingly well-documented evidence to the contrary, some misconceptions stubbornly persist. “One of the main comments I hear is ‘I didn’t know New Mexico has trees,’” says Amber Dodson, director

Maiwenn Le Besco, the director of Johnny Depp’s Cannes opening night film “Jeanne du Barry,” has admitted that she spit in the face of an investigative journalist in February. The filmmaker confessed to the act just days ahead of the May 16 world premiere of “Jeanne du Barry.” The actor-director, who goes by Maiwenn, was

Soundstage facilities, an increasingly in-demand component of film production, are at the heart of New Mexico’s growing reputation as a destination for ambitious studios. Amber Dodson, director of the New Mexico Film Office, says that while locations from “the mountains of Montana in ‘Big Sky’ to the streets of Manila in ‘The Cleaning Lady’” make

Ava DuVernay has ended her rich overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, multiple sources confirm to Variety. While news of this decision comes amid the writers strike, the contract talks were unrelated. DuVernay’s deal was set to expire on May 31 and the two parties came to a “mutual decision not to renew.” DuVernay

Besides incentives and locations, people make up a crucial component of New Mexico’s production ambitions. The New Mexico Media Academy (NMMA) is getting ready to supply skilled crew for the increasing number of jobs provided by the film and television industry. Headquartered in the Downtown Albuquerque Rail Yards, the NMMA is a collaborative initiative between

John Travolta and Katherine Heigl will star in Nick Vallelonga’s upcoming rom-com “That’s Amore!” Palisades Park Pictures made the announcement Thursday ahead of the sales launch for the film at Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, Christopher Walken is in talks to join the cast. “Nick Venere (Travolta) is a modern-day “Marty” – he’s never been married

WME will enter an expansive partnership with incubator Gold House, the talent agency announced on Thursday. Gold House is a multi-pronged operation devoted to elevating Asian Pacific excellence, focusing on areas including creative arts, media and capital investment. WME has been named a founding partner of the Gold House Creative Equity Fund, which hopes to

Jennifer Lopez and the team behind “The Mother” are already thinking about a sequel. “I think it would be ‘The Daughter,’” Lopez told me Wednesday night at the premiere of the new Netflix action thriller. In the film, Lopez plays a former assassin who is pulled back into her deadly work when her 12-year-old daughter’s

Composer Christopher Lennertz was declared a BMI Icon at Broadcast Music Inc.’s 39th annual Film, TV and Visual Media Awards Wednesday night (May 10) in Beverly Hills. Lennertz, a two-time Emmy nominee (“The Boys,” “Supernatural”), veteran film composer (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Bad Moms”) and game-music creator (“Medal of Honor,” “Mass Effect,” “The

The FBI has it out for Sydney Sweeney in the trailer for “Reality,” Tina Satter’s gripping biopic-docudrama about the America intelligence whistleblower Reality Winner. The upcoming HBO film stars Sweeney as Winner, who was imprisoned for releasing classified information about Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The film also stars Marchánt Davis and

Variety has been given access to an exclusive clip from “Anselm,” the 3D documentary from the three-time Academy Award nominated director Wim Wenders. The film will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival as a Special Screening. HanWay Films is handling world sales. It will be released by Les Films du Losange in

Ulrich Thomsen (“”Festen,” “Banshee”), Rasmus Hammerich (“On My Mind”), Ida Marie Nielsen (“Vikings”) and Diêm Camille (“Washington Black”) are set to headline “Ripple,” a graduation film by promising new director Joey Moe and producer Jasmin Jiramani. Jiramani recently delivered the Star Wars fan film “Shrouded Destiny: A Star Wars Long Tale” starring Lars Mikkelsen, who

CAA has signed filmmaker Charlotte Regan for representation. Regan made her feature debut with “Scrapper,” which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, winning the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. The Londoner wrote and directed the film, starring Harris Dickinson and newcomers Lola Campbell and Alin Uzun. “Scrapper” follows Georgie (Campbell), a dreamy 12-year-old

Following on their collaboration on Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Charades has boarded international sales on upcoming Mubi-backed production “Bring Them Down.”  Starring Barry Keoghan, Academy Award nominated for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and Christopher Abbott (“Sanctuary”), a Golden Globe nominee for “Catch 22,” “Bring Them Down” marks the first feature from writer-director Chris Andrews, behind award-winning

Sales banner Best Friend Forever has unveiled the teaser for Ramata Toulaye-Sy’s buzzed-about Senegalese drama “Banel & Adama,” which is the sole feature debut slated for the competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The lushly lensed female emancipation drama, set to bow on May 20, takes place in a remote village of Northern Senegal where

Paris-based distributor ARP Sélection has snapped up the timely Sudanese drama “Goodbye Julia” for French distribution ahead of its Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere next week. The film, which is Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut, marks the first feature from Sudan to bow from the Croisette and takes place just before the 2011 secession

Emma Stone is reviving more than just her Hollywood presence in the first official trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie, “Poor Things.” The upcoming film is a story of “love, discovery and scientific daring” set in the Victorian era, based on an adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name. Stone plays Belle Baxter, a

With over $678 million at the worldwide box office and six Academy Award wins, including best picture, “Forrest Gump” remains one of Tom Hanks’ biggest sensations, even if reception toward the film has turned more divisive in recent years. During a recent New Yorker Live event to promote his new book, “The Making of Another

Drafthouse Films has acquired global distribution rights to Alex Winter’s documentary “The YouTube Effect.” The film, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022, explores the ascension and potential fall of YouTube, the world’s most popular video-sharing website. In the docu, YouTubers, reporters, and experts weigh in on the platform, its

Chile’s preeminent scribe Julio Rojas, whose serial podcast “Case 63” was Spotify’s most popular podcast in Latin America and was adapted into English with Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac starring, is writing his first romcom after the global success of “Case 63.” Titled “Detras de ti” (“I Got Your Back,” working title), the upcoming project

Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut,” starring Emma Roberts (“We’re the Millers”) and Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix”), from Highland Film Group. Written and directed by Jess Varley (“Phobias”) in her solo directorial and writing debut, the film follows astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts) who, upon returning from her first

The trailer for Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir’s Cannes entry “The Mother of All Lies” debuts here (below). The documentary hybrid, about the lies that pervaded El Moudir’s childhood in Casablanca, has its premiere in Un Certain Regard on May 24. World sales are being handled by Autlook Filmsales. The film starts with El Moudir

Viaplay Content Distribution has closed the first raft of deals for its ambitious action drama film “Stockholm Bloodbath” directed by Mikael Håfström. Ahead of Viaplay’s official streaming premiere in 2024, “Stockholm Bloodbath” will be distributed in the Nordics by Scanbox Entertainment. It will roll out in Denmark on Jan. 18th and in Sweden and Norway