Movies

The various elements of writer-director-star Louis Garrel’s low-key comic crime caper don’t sound that original at first glance. The audience-friendly plot involves a troubled thirtysomething, Abel (Garrel), lured by family connections into assisting with a heist in order to protect those he loves. In addition to this conscience-plagued hero, the cast of characters include Abel’s

Indian filmmaker Subhrajit Mitra’s latest venture “Bandit Queen of Bengal” (aka “Devi Chowdhurani”) will start principal photography in the final quarter of the year. The film is based on Mitra’s own research into the the advent and invasion of the British East India Company in India, the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), the

Even among many who’ve grasped the scientific evidence, or experienced escalating weather extremes, climate change remains an abstraction for most — something too large and vague to trigger urgent emotional response. Not so the fictive activists in “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” inspired by Andreas Malm’s nonfiction tome of the same name. Though diverse

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” has set an October release date to terrify audiences in multiplexes… and on Peacock. Universal Pictures has announced a simultaneous release for the Blumhouse-produced adaptation of the popular horror video game series, setting an Oct. 27, 2023 date for both a theatrical bow and a debut on the studio’s streaming service.

Like their unlikely namesake, the Zombies have had several lives since being formed by keyboardist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone in St. Albans in Hertfordshire U.K. in the early 1960s. The first British Invasion act after the Beatles to score a chart-topping U.S. hit, with “She’s Not There,” the guys disbanded shortly before their

With the opening of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in theaters, gaming’s most iconic character is coming to the big screen for the first time in 30 years. And if the movie meets box office expectations, Universal Pictures, Illumination and Nintendo will surely hope to launch a brand new animated movie franchise. Chris Pratt endured

Jack Black confirmed in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight that he’s planning to reunite with his younger “School of Rock” co-stars later this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the comedy’s release. Various cast members have reunited over the years, but it sounds like Black is plotting an epic reunion to celebrate 20

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” in theaters now. While the creators of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” have been tight-lipped about whether the mustachioed plumber’s first animated film adventure will turn into a franchise, a post-credits scene at the end of the Universal and Nintendo pic hints at

Director Mike Newell (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) has set an August shoot at U.K. locations for “China Court.” The film will be directed by Newell from a script by Brian Kinsey, based on the 1961 novel “China Court: The Hours of a Country House” by Rumer Godden. 

Maïwenn’s historical drama, “Jeanne du Barry,” starring Johnny Depp as Louis XV, is slated to world premiere on opening night of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned. The festival confirmed the news following Variety’s report. The movie marks Depp’s acting comeback after a three-year hiatus following his long legal battle

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has entered a significant content deal with Major League Baseball, Variety can report exclusively. The partnership will yield multiple scripted and unscripted projects, the first of which is a documentary feature from noted filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) following baseball’s

In the pleasantly amusing “Praise This,” Chloe Bailey is the self professed nonreligious Sam, a musical artist in the making who finds her niche in Atlanta’s competitive gospel youth choir scene. Director Tina Gordon crafts a musical that’s carried through by a charming cast and highly entertaining ensemble performances. Streaming April 7 on Peacock, “Praise

Neon’s “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is perhaps best described as part heist thriller, part climate change documentary. Helmed by Daniel Goldhaber, the film, in theaters April 6, follows a fictional crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline. Cast members include Ariela Barer, who also produced

Filmmaker, actor, chef and television personality Eddie Huang has signed with M88 for representation. The multi-hyphenate entertainer’s career kicked into high gear when Huang penned the autobiography “Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir,” about growing up the son of Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed ABC comedy series of the same name.

Seth Rogen hopes Hollywood will redeem itself with Universal Pictures’ new animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Rogen, who voices Donkey Kong in the adaptation of the popular video game series, tells Variety at the film’s premiere, “When I was 11, I saw the original ‘Mario Bros.’ movie and I was so excited. But it’s

A new clip from Jeremy Renner’s upcoming interview with ABC News reveals the “Hawkeye” actor wrote a goodbye note to his family while in critical condition at the hospital. Renner was hospitalized for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries at the start of January after his Sno-Cat, a large snow plow that weighs at least

At Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch panel, held March 31 at the Sun Valley Film Festival, the first order of business was defining what it means to be a producer, a title — and a role — that encapsulates a number of responsibilities on a film. “The way that I describe it is you’ve got

Donald Glover is eyeing a return to a galaxy far, far away. During a video interview with GQ magazine, the actor confirmed that he is currently talking to Lucasfilm about reprising the role of Lando Calrissian in a future “Star Wars” project. What that project would be is remaining under wraps. As Glover said, “We’re

Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Melanie Lynskey wants to return to “The Last of Us.” Only problem is — as fans of the HBO series know — her ruthless resistance group leader character Kathleen was killed off at the end of the first sea- son. “If they wanted to go back and do

Though his life and accomplishments were largely erased under Napoleon, the extraordinary figure at the center of Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier” really did exist. Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the son of a white plantation owner and his Black slave, Joseph Bologne went on to excel in spheres rarely accessible to people of color

Paris-based XR distributor Diversion Cinema has scooped up a pair of award-winning titles, adding director Singing Chen’s “The Man Who Couldn’t Leave,” and both director Thierry Loa’s “21-22 China” and his follow-up “21-22 USA” to a premium catalog of prestige immersive fare. Produced by The Walkers Films and Outland Film Production, “The Man Who Couldn’t

Running concurrent with the wider festival, NewImages’ mercantile section has become an event unto itself, hosting a global who’s who from the XR scene while helping in no small part to reshape the field. As it stands to welcome nearly 250 participants – roughly half divided between market participants and heavyweight decision makers – this

Norwegian animation “Pesta,” directed by Hanne Berkaak, will head to the Frontières Platform in May. Directed at genre film professionals, the event is organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival with the Cannes’ Marché du Film. The film, set in 1349 during the outbreak of the Black Plague, will see two teenagers, Astrid and Eilev,

Nina Kiri, known for her role as Alma on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has joined the cast of dystopian sci-fi adventure “Absolution.” The title will be brought onto the market at Cannes’ Marché du Film Frontières platform, featuring in its Proof of Concept strand.    The Serbian-Canadian actor is no stranger to genre, having appeared in

The Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine will open with a double bill of He Shuming’s “Ajoomma” and Kai Ko’s “Bad Education.” It will close with Zhang Yimou’s blockbuster period epic “Full River Red.” In between, the festival will showcase a stunning 78-title array of commercial and art-house films from across East Asia. Operating

Swiss auteur Simon Jaquemet’s “Electric Child” joins Ukrainian sci-fi comedy “U Are the Universe,” and “We Are Zombies,” from heavily rated Canadian trio RKSS, as three potential highlights at this year’s Cannes Marché du Film’s Frontières Platform, organized with the Fantasia Film Festival.  Focusing on genre, the Frontières showcase is emerging as one of the Marché

After putting the finishing touches on chapters two and three of motion-capture VR experience “Jailbirds” earlier this year, writer/director Thomas Villepoux will next adapt his tale of freedom and confinement into a feature, Variety has learned. Currently in development, the upcoming “Jailbirds” feature will nearly triple the runtime of a nearly finished short that Villepoux

A Coenesque caper-gone-wrong and an interactive mother-daughter saga told in bite-size form, XR titles “Kidnapped in Vostok” (pictured) and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” are among the 17 projects leading distributor Astrea picked up in a recent bout of acquisitions. Both titles are playing in competition at this year’s NewImages Festival, while other recent Astrea pickups include

Jan Mojto’s Beta Cinema has announced first pre-sales for feature film “The Offing,” which will star and is executive produced by Helena Bonham Carter. Jessica Hobbs, who won an Emmy Award for “The Crown,” directs the U.K.-set English-language project. Distributors Curzon, Cineart and Madman joined forces and acquired all rights for U.K./Ireland, Benelux, and Australia/New

The Sydney Film Festival, which this year will celebrate its 70th edition, has unveiled its first dozen selections. Seven are feature films, five are documentaries. “The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that