Movies

There’s a certain kind of true-life logistical rescue drama — Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13” is the granddaddy of them — that makes you realize how larded with theatrical devices most movies really are. “Last Breath” is an undersea suspense thriller based on a saturation-diving accident that took place off the coast of Scotland in 2012.

California lawmakers plan to make the state’s film and TV incentive more lucrative for individual productions, while doubling the overall size of the program. At a press conference on Wednesday, lawmakers announced two companion bills — AB 1138 and SB 630 — to make the state’s program more competitive with other states. Several speakers noted

Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil is getting his first standalone project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the upcoming “Daredevil: Born Again,” but it was 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” that first brought the beloved character into the franchise. Cox popped up as lawyer Matt Murdock in a surprise cameo. He shot his scenes in Atlanta under

Prime Video is spotlighting its female-led films and TV shows at the upcoming SXSW festival. The immersive, inviting experience will feature a bit of an escape for guests through the worlds of “Culpa Mia” remake “My Fault: London,” romantic comedy “Picture This” (March 6), Nicole Kidman’s “Holland” (March 27), Viola Davis’ action-thriller “G20” (April 10),

Remakes from foreign-language originals often face difficulties in translating material from one cultural context to another, but seldom has that been so awkward as in “Uppercut,” Torsten Reuther’s Americanized retooling of his 2021 German debut “Leberhaken” (aka “Liver Punch”). What was already a problematically stagey wade into normally action-oriented terrain — the underdog sports drama

Kate Hudson is an icon of the romantic-comedy genre, but her movies weren’t exactly embraced by film critics. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is a classic but has a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, for instance. Then there’s “Fools Gold,” “Bride Wars” and “Something Borrowed,” all of which have Rotten Tomatoes scores of

The teaser has been debuted for “The Captive,” the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the novel “Don Quixote.” The historical epic is directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who won an Oscar for “The Sea Inside” and was BAFTA nominated for “The Others.” It will be released by Disney in Spain, while Film

The 97th Academy Awards will feature a Quincy Jones tribute with Queen Latifah performing. The news was announced by executive producer Raj Kapoor during a press conference with the creative team. “One of the most exciting things that we’ve worked on this year is a musical performance that will tribute Quincy Jones,” he said, adding

Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony Pictures have ended their competition in Nevada and joined forces behind a new studio project in the Las Vegas suburbs. Last year, the companies were backing rival projects, both of which would have required state tax incentives to get off the ground. But in recent weeks, Warner Bros. dropped its

Tributes from around Hollywood have poured in for “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actor Michelle Trachtenberg, who died at age 39 on Wednesday morning. She was found dead in her New York City apartment, according to police, with the cause of death not yet revealed. Comedian and former Nickelodeon child star Kenan Thompson

Let’s get this out the way: Nobody titles their film “Eel” if they don’t want critics to reach for the adjective “slippery,” and Chu Chun-Teng‘s woozily gorgeous first feature invites it from the off. Its story, slender but charged, is in a constant state of retreat, repeatedly darting into psychological and existential alleys just out

Patrick Wilson is getting ready to return to musical theater. Not only is he a producer of the new “Lost Boys,” but he’s actively pursuing landing a starring role on the stage. “I definitely want to figure that out in the next two years,” Wilson says on the latest episode of the “Just for Variety”

Office Oscar pools are merciless — you might need a perfectly guessed ballot to defeat your co-workers. You could chuck five bucks into that pot, or you could put up a dollar on a few underdogs using the online sportsbook DraftKings. Even just one correct guess could put you in the black — that is,

Michelle Trachtenberg starred in “Harriet the Spy” at just 10 years old, and went on to appear in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Gossip Girl,” “Ice Princess” and “Eurotrip.” Trachtenberg started acting at just 3 years old before joining Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.” She joined “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as Dawn Summers in

Tatum O’Neal walked into Smashbox Studios using a cane, a vestige of the stroke she had in 2020 after an overdose. As she was getting a manicure, she struggled to remember the names of important people in her life. But now that she’s actually before the cameras, posing with her Oscar in hand, she’s come

At their best, the Oscars are all about spectacle — giving viewers a chance to witness a constellation of decked-out stars making Hollywood history in real time. But in 2025, ratings continue to lag, and so the show itself must evolve. Rethinking this year’s broadcast are executive producer Raj Kapoor and showrunner Katy Mullan, two

“Pink Floyd at Pompeii — MCMLXXII,” the rock band’s 1972 concert film/documentary, will revisit theaters with a restored version that is coming to Imax and other cinema screens starting April 24, followed shortly by a first-time stand-alone release of the soundtrack as an official live album on May 2. Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Vision

Universal’s “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy” continued its box office dominance in the U.K. and Ireland, bringing in £6.8 million ($8.7 million) in its second weekend, according to Comscore. The highly anticipated fourth installment in the “Bridget Jones” franchise has now reached $34.6 million, maintaining a firm grip on the No. 1 spot. Disney’s

Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are back for “Another Simple Favor.” Lionsgate and Amazon Studios pulled the curtain back on the sequel to the pair’s 2018 black comedy, which saw the pair play friends turned romantic rivals turned murder-suicide conspirators. The sequel sees Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) back in each other’s company, now en

In a strongly worded open letter to BBC leadership, a group of U.K.-based film and television professionals have condemned the broadcaster’s decision to remove the documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone” from its streaming platform iPlayer. High-profile signatories include Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Gary Lineker and Riz Ahmed. The letter, published by Artists

As CPH:DOX gears up for its 2025 edition, organizers have unveiled an audacious program of more than 200 films with a sharp focus on human rights under the theme “Right Here, Right Now.” With 94 world premieres – 68 of them feature-length, the highest number in the festival’s history – CPH:DOX continues to expand its

Nominees for the 97th Academy Awards gathered Tuesday night at the Academy Museum for a dinner and to keep up the annual tradition of taking a class photo of the year’s contenders. Among the stars sitting in the front row are Mikey Madison, Ariana Grande, Zoe Saldaña, Cynthia Erivo and Isabella Rossellini. Seated in the

Channing Tatum‘s axed Gambit movie was a “screwball romantic comedy,” Lizzy Caplan recently revealed to Business Insider. Variety reported in November 2017 that Caplan had boarded Tatum’s long-in-the-works passion project as the female lead, although details were scarce at the time. Tatum tried for years to get a Gambit movie off the ground. The project

The battle between “It Ends With Us” co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni revolves around questions of harassment, consent, celebrity, and the rules of warfare over one’s public image. Little surprise, then, that it’s become chum for online content creators. And as bad as it’s gotten, it could get worse. That’s why, at the outset

Who wants to call the shots on “Star Wars“? No, really, because it’s kind of a thankless job. Of course, the intergalactic franchise is sacrosanct as a cultural institution, so the president of Lucasfilm — home to “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” — has one of the most prestigious posts in Hollywood. But there’s also

Roberto Orci, the writer-producer behind the late 2000s reboots of “Star Trek” and “Transformers” and creator of “Fringe,” died Tuesday in his Los Angeles home from kidney disease, Variety has confirmed. He was 51. With partner Alex Kurtzman, Orci co-wrote projects including 2007’s “Transformers” and 2009’s “Star Trek.” Orci’s other credits include producing work on

Fumi Kitahara, a respected publicity executive who guided award-winning campaigns for studios including DreamWorks, Aardman, Laika, Netflix and Disney, died Monday of complications related to a rare blood cancer. She was 56. Among the features Kitahara helped publicize are the first three “Shrek” films, “Chicken Run,” “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” “How

“Wicked,” “Moana 2” and holiday hits like “Mufasa: The Lion King” lifted quarterly earnings at AMC Entertainment. Revenues at the world’s largest movie chain hit $1.3 billion, up more than 15% from the $1.1 billion that it reported in the year-ago period. Losses at AMC narrowed from $182 million in the prior-year period to $135.6

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be stated at the outset that “My Country Heart,” a musical drama about a young couple competing against each other in a reality TV show, was co-written (with director Ate de Jong) by Steven Gaydos, a 30-year veteran of Variety. As he has indicated here and elsewhere,

Jason Isaacs is currently earning raves for his spiraling performance on HBO’s “The White Lotus” Season 3, but to many fans around the world he’s still just Lucius Malfoy. Isaacs played the iconic “Harry Potter” villain in six movies, starting with 2002’s “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and ending with 2011’s “Deathly Hallows