Movies

When Ray Nutt took the reins of Fathom Events as CEO in 2017, the first thing he decided to change was the nomenclature used to describe the titles that the company distributes to hundreds of theaters around the U.S. “Alternative content” was the short-hand description used for the projects handled by the Denver-based distributor that

For nearly 100 years, pundits have predicted the outcome of Oscar voting. Sometimes it’s an educated guess, but it’s a guess nevertheless, since a minimal number of PricewaterhouseCoopers execs know the actual tallies and they never talk. So pundits often look to Oscar history to back up their theories, like tribal natives trying to predict

One of Austin’s hometown filmmakers is bringing his next movie to SXSW. Director Robert Rodriguez will screen a work-in-progress cut of his crime thriller “Hypnotic,” starring Ben Affleck, for fans at the SXSW Film Festival in the Texas capital on March 12. In the film, written by Rodriguez and Max Borenstein (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” HBO’s

Slovak director, screenwriter and cinematographer Juraj Jakubisko, who won more than 80 international film awards, has died at the age of 84 in Prague, according to Film New Europe. Jakubisko, who was given the nickname “the Fellini of the East“ due to his visual originality and magical realism, was born on April 20, 1938 in

“Thoughts and Prayers,” an emotional short film that debuted at Hollyshorts Film Festival and made its rounds at numerous festivals, is now available for global audiences to watch for the first time, exclusively on Variety. The movie was helmed by Evan Miller, who directed, produced and co-wrote the script with Hardy Janson. Zachary Levi and

Some partnerships are forged in the heat of battle; John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s was built geeking out over home movies. Daley, fresh from his debut as one of the geeks on the cult TV classic “Freaks and Geeks,” was one of the teen stars of the 2000-01 ABC sitcom “The Geena Davis Show,”

We are in a unique moment in American history. There are currently four criminal investigations into the former president of the United States: two federal, one in Georgia, and one in New York. This novel situation has led to a debate not just in the walls of academe but amongst the citizenry as to whether

Jessica Henwick is still riding high from the BAFTA awards when she sits down with Variety to discuss her pivot to writing and directing. Her short film, “Bus Girl,” didn’t win in the Best Live Action Short category on the night but Henwick appears genuinely thrilled simply to have been nominated for the project, which

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the U.S., Latin America, and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to “The Miracle Club.” Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film stars Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey. The Dublin-shot film centers on four Dublin women who come together on a pilgrimage

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival has called off its opening ceremony on Thursday as the Greek government declared three days of national mourning following a train crash Tuesday night that claimed at least 36 lives. In a statement posted on Facebook Wednesday evening, the festival said it had canceled its official curtain raiser, “as well as

Brendan Fraser revealed on a recent episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” that he had a near-death experience during a stunt gone wrong while filming “The Mummy.” The Oscar nominee said he was “chocked out accidentally” during a scene in which he had to be hanged with a rope. “I was standing on my toes

“Woman. Life. Freedom.” “Zan. Zindagi. Azadi.” These words have been chanted around the world for months in support of Iranian women who are demanding freedom of expression and an end to the country’s oppressive rules for women. This inspiring female-led movement was sparked by the death of Jina “Mahsa” Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman

Last year, 144 documentary features were eligible for an Academy Award, but in reality, less than a third of those docs had a chance of making the 15-film shortlist. That, in part, is because garnering a spot on that competitive list requires not only a beautifully crafted film constructed by a talented director and crew,

A film of Coldplay’s sold-out 10-night concert run at Buenos Aires’ River Plate stadium in 2022 will get a worldwide release in April from Trafalgar Releasing. The concert was part of the band’s “Music Of The Spheres” world tour, which sold more than six million tickets. The film, “Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres: Live

When he began working on his sophomore documentary feature, “Iron Butterflies,” in 2019, Ukrainian filmmaker Roman Liubyi said he was “making the film as a warning, before the Third World War.” The film, which world premiered at Sundance, follows the Russian disinformation campaign surrounding the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014,

Netflix’s upcoming documentary “Money Shot” tells the story of one of the world’s most-visited websites — Pornhub. Featuring interviews with sex workers, activists and ex-employees of the porn giant, the film, premiering March 15, “offers a deep dive into the successes and scandals of Pornhub,” per Netflix. More specifically, “Money Shot” chronicles how Pornhub fundamentally

For 25 years, I have never been much of a Guy Ritchie fan. I found the in-your-face-and-over-the-top crime dramas that made his reputation — “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch,” “Revolver,” and “RocknRolla” — to be empty-flashy exercises in the too-muchness of genre kinetics, overly infatuated with their post-Tarantino cutthroat cool. It was clear that

In Jan Baumgartner’s first feature, “The DNA of Dignity,” which plays in the Newcomers Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival, the Swiss nurse-turned-filmmaker follows a team of forensic scientists who, in the anonymity of mass graves, are looking for the last usable traces of human DNA in the hope of giving the victims their

Chris Pine is finally ready to talk about one of the biggest debates from 2022: Did Harry Styles spit on him during the world premiere of “Don’t Worry Darling” at the Venice Film Festival? It’s a question that Pine’s representative immediately shot down at the time, saying in a statement: “This is a ridiculous story

Boston-based sales agent 34T has picked up international sales rights to Spanish writer-director Ana Ortiz’s feature debut, psychological thriller “El claro de las luciérnagas” (“Firefly Glades”). Produced by Sergy Moreno at Madrid’s White Leaf Producciones, the film is structured as a Spanish regional co-production, teaming with Magnética Cine’s María Barroso in Andalusia and Joaquín Calderón

Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan will headline Ribhu Dasgupta’s courtroom drama thriller “Section 84.” The film is produced by Reliance Entertainment, Film Hangar and Saraswati Entertainment in association with Jio Studios. This film will mark Bachchan and Dasgupta’s third collaboration after the critical success of Sony Entertainment Television India’s 2014 miniseries “Yudh” and 2016 film

LAST MAN STANDING Martial arts veteran Sammo Hung is to be presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the upcoming Asian Film Awards. The ceremony is back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and shifts back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. Hung is expected to

It was either Nietzsche or Tex Avery — but one of our great philosophers — who asserted that there are two types of people in this world: those who walk through life blithely unbothered by manholes, and those who are destined to fall into them. Now, for curious members of the former class, comes an

From the most commercial movies to the artiest of arthouse fare, all of the year’s best picture Oscar nominees have one thing in common: themes of power struggles and an anti-authoritarian streak. This reporter spoke with the filmmakers behind “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,”

The term “passion project” is thrown around a lot in Hollywood; usually as a reference to a personal story that means a ton to its writer, director or star.  But what kind of pressure does that put on the rest of the cast and crew? This Oscar season, there are a lot of so-called passion

Carl Reed, one of the producers of the Oscar-winning short “Hair Love,” and co-founder of Lion Forge Animation has launched Composition Media, an animation studio headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.for a global audience that highlights minority and underrepresented communities. “I am incredibly excited to finally unveil our animation studio and showcase the incredible work our

Nicolas Cage is making his Dracula debut in Universal Pictures’ upcoming horror comedy “Renfield,” and he’s already chomping at the bit to play the iconic bloodsucker in an expanded capacity. Cage’s Dracula in “Renfield” is a supporting role, as the film’s protagonist is the vampire’s long-suffering servant (played by Nicholas Hoult). The Oscar winner spoke

David F. Sandberg, the director of “Shazam!” and its upcoming sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” told comic book movie fans on Twitter that the new regime at DC Studios does not necessarily signal the end of his Zachary Levi-starring franchise. “Fury of the Gods” was developed and filmed before James Gunn and Peter Safran

After months of speculation, Amazon Studios has made it official with seasoned movie executive Courtenay Valenti. While many expected her to take the top film job at MGM, acquired by Amazon for $8.5 billion last year, Valenti has hammered out a hulked-up role that will give her considerable influence in feature programming. Amazon Studios chief

Even a return trip to Pandora wasn’t enough to lift quarterly earnings at AMC Theatres. Despite the box office success of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” revenues at the world’s largest cinema chain fell 15% in the fourth quarter, topping out at $990.4 million. That was down from $1.17 billion in the prior-year period. Losses