Movies

To get the chance to make a movie of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” producer James L. Brooks and writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig made the pilgrimage to the beloved author’s home in Key West, Fla. “I spent most of our time with Judy warning her about Hollywood and all

Jonathan Majors’ alleged victim was granted a temporary order of protection on Thursday ahead of the May 9 court date where the actor will face charges of assault and harassment. “Today a judge granted a Full Temporary Order of Protection for the victim, per the People’s request and with the consent of defense counsel. (At

Time to brush up on the 5 D’s of “Dodgeball” — “dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge” — because a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy is officially in the works. Vince Vaughn is returning to star in the sequel, which is in early development at 20th Century Studios. Plot details are being kept under

John Krasinski unveiled the first-ever look at “A Quiet Place: Day One” at CinemaCon, the annual movie theater trade show in Las Vegas. “One of my great joys has been creating and expanding the ‘Quiet Place’ universe, and I couldn’t be more excited for this next installment,” Krasinki told the audience at Caesars Palace. Story

Paramount stirred it up at CinemaCon on Thursday, debuting an emotionally-charged first look at “Marley.” The drama about Bob Marley, the pioneering reggae singer, stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, who won the role after a global casting search, as the music legend. He’s joined by Lashana Lynch, who plays the singer’s wife Rita Marley. Ziggy Marley, the reggae legend’s

Martin Scorsese hit Vegas on Thursday. No, he wasn’t there to revisit the Sin City locale of “Casino,” one of his mob masterpieces. He traveled to the gambling Mecca bearing his latest opus, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a labyrinthine story of murder and greed that, if he plays his cards right, might be one

Ethan Hunt clearly doesn’t want to die old and of natural causes. The IMF agent swings back to action in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” and based on the footage that Paramount brought to CinemaCon on Thursday, his alter-ego Tom Cruise is once again putting it all on the line in service of

Celebrating six decades as the animation industry’s premier international showcase and cementing a growing position as Hollywood’s preferred French getaway, the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival revealed its 2023 program in Paris on Thursday, unveiling a formidable selection of world premieres and industry debuts. If only for the breadth of this year’s official selection, Annecy looks

Five years ago, New York-based filmmaker Jason Goldman was researching a possible documentary about animal sanctuaries and heard about Renee King-Sonnen, who had gone vegan a few years earlier, transformed her husband’s Texas beef cattle ranch into Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, and started advocacy work that received regular national media attention. In a clip (see below)

The Changing Face of Europe, which is presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with Hot Docs, returns to Toronto with the sixth edition of its festival-within-a-festival program—nine features and one mid-length film—exploring themes around identity, belonging and struggle. “Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful

Rihanna has been cast in the voice role of Smurfette in a new live-action hybrid feature from Paramount Animation, “The Smurfs Movie.” The superstar made a surprise in-person appearance at CinemaCon, Las Vegas’ annual convention of movie theater owners, to make the announcement on Thursday. “I tried to get the Papa Smurf role but It

Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson will lead the voice cast of “Transformers One,” an animated prequel about the epic rivalry between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Hemsworth is playing young Optimus Prime, Henry is voicing young Megatron in the origin story about how the brothers-in-arms turned into sworn enemies. Additional cast members

The 24th edition of the Hot Docs Forum, the financing event aimed at securing co-productions and funds for feature length documentaries, includes 19 projects representing 16 countries and featuring 23 filmmakers, 12 of whom are women and 11 of whom are black, indigenous and people of color. An additional Wild Card pitch will be selected

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to Pedro Almodóvar’s short Western “Strange Way of Life,” excluding the territories of the U.K., France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Latin America. Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal star in the short that will premiere in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The short is now in

MUBI has acquired all rights for Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut “How to Have Sex” for major territories. The deal covers North America, U.K., Ireland, Italy, Latin America, Turkey and Benelux ahead of the movie’s world premiere at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. Theatrical releases are planned for key territories, including the U.S.

Sally Greene, the woman who appointed Kevin Spacey artistic director of The Old Vic theater in London, has stepped down as a director of the theater’s trust, Variety can confirm. Greene’s husband, property entrepreneur Robert Bourne, has also resigned as a director of The Old Vic Theatre Trust. Her decision to step down as a

Despite a dismal documentary distribution landscape, hundreds of nonfiction filmmakers are heading to Toronto for the 30th edition of Hot Docs Canadian Intl. Documentary Festival determined to sell their independently made docus. This year, Hot Docs’ programming director Shane Smith selected 214 films from 2848 submissions to screen in-person and online beginning April 27. The

Frédéric Corvez’s Paris-based Urban Sales has boarded “Pictures of Ghosts”, the latest film of renowned Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Aquarius”, “Bacurau”). The movie, which marks Mendonça Filho’s fifth feature film, will world premiere at Cannes in the Special Screenings section. “Pictures of Ghosts” will mark the director’s third film to bow at Cannes, following

Paul Sng’s “Tish,” an intimate portrait of British documentary photographer Tish Murtha, will open the 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest on June 14. Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad will be the guest of honor. In his film, Sng – whose work includes “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché” and “Dispossession” – both celebrates the vision and

L.A.-based Janek Ambros, founder of production and film financing company Assembly Line Entertainment, will receive the Auteur Filmmaker Award at Spain’s Roots of Europe (Raíces de Europa) festival, landing him in the company of such noteworthy cinematic auteurs as Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi alongside Spain’s Aitor López de Aberásturi and Juanma Bajo Ulloa, among others.

Lucrecia Martel, whose films include “La Ciénaga,” “The Holy Girl” and “The Headless Woman,” has been celebrated as guest of honor at the 54th edition of international documentary film festival Visions du Réel, where organizers had to switch to a larger venue to accommodate the large, enthusiastic audience attending her masterclass. During the three-hour event

Internationally sourced programming and stories placed alongside local content could be a solution to bring audiences back to Indian cinemas, a high-powered panel debated. The panel was part of Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, that recently concluded in Mumbai. Mayank Shroff, head of film distribution at Cinepolis, the Indian division of Latin American exhibition

Biopics about star athletes or artists tend to have the same broad shape: the rise to achievement and fame, the fall from triumph (often fueled by some combination of addiction and ego), the restoration to a harder-won glory. A great biopic, like “Get on Up” or “I, Tonya,” will tease a profound portrait of the

Ethan Coen’s latest solo project just shifted into high gear, showing its first trailer at CinemaCon 2023. “Drive-Away Dolls,” a road movie about restless best friends and hapless crooks, is the latest from the co-director of modern classics “No Country for Old Men,” “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Fargo.” During the Focus Features section of Universal’s

Break out the Windex! Audiences at CinemaCon were treated to the first-ever trailer for “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” the latest chapter in the romantic comedy series about culture clashes, true love, bundt cakes and the many, many uses for Windex. The third entry picks up years after the original and follows the Portokalos

Negotiations on a new Writers Guild of America contract could go through the weekend, as the sides continue to trade proposals ahead of the Monday deadline. The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and may hold a session on Saturday, according to a source close to the situation. Given the looming

Something magical is happening in Oz, and audiences are finally getting a glimpse of all the green and pink action. Universal brought the first-ever footage of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in the movie version of “Wicked” to CinemaCon, the annual movie theater owners convention in Las Vegas. Erivo and Grande

Kumail Nanjiani and Elizabeth Banks will lead the voice cast of Universal and Illumination’s upcoming “Migration,” an animated adventure about a family of ducks on the go. “I find ducks so irresistible,” Illumination founder Chris Meledandri told the crowd at CinemaCon on Wednesday as he unveiled the compete voice cast for the original cartooned comedy.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to “Carlos,” an expansive documentary about Latin American jazz fusion icon Carlos Santana, directed by Emmy winner Rudy Valdez (“The Sentence,” “We Are: The Brooklyn Saints”). “Rudy Valdez’s ‘Carlos’ showcases the genius behind the musical sensation that has led Carlos Santana’s music to resonate with global audiences across

Diners at Las Vegas’ many buffets may want to skip the split pea soup after a new trailer for “The Exorcist” shook the audience at Caesar’s Palace to its core on Wednesday. The rebooted franchise from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse debuted its first trailer to the annual convention of movie theater owners on Wednesday. The