Movies

Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has struck a deal with W-FILM in Germany for the distribution rights for Venice Film Festival title “Valeria Is Getting Married,” while HBO Europe has taken the film in 15 Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic. “Valeria Is Getting Married” is an Israeli-Ukrainian co-production and

Tenerife-based Bendita Films has pounced on international rights to “Almamula,” a buzzy debut, mixing folklore, sexuality and fantasy. From helmer Juan Sebastián Torales, the film will have its world premiere as part of the Generation 14plus’ strand at this month’s Berlinale. The film is nominated for the GWFF Best First Feature Award 2023 and has

Netflix has revealed it has cast Gillian Anderson to play former BBC news anchor Emily Maitlis in “Scoop,” a film about Prince Andrew’s disastrous “Newsnight” interview in 2019. The disgraced royal will be played by Rufus Sewell (“Old”) while Billie Piper (“I Hate Suzie”) and Keeley Hawes (“Stonehouse) join as TV producer Sam McAlister, who

The Marvel Cinematic Universe kicks off its next series of entries, dubbed Phase Five, with the upcoming Feb. 17 release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It’s curtains for the film’s Monday evening premiere in Los Angeles, with first reactions to the superhero sequel pouring in on social media. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reprise

In honor of “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” turning 20 years old, stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey took to Instagram Live to discuss the classic romantic comedy and answer fans’ questions. McConaughey joined the stream, which totaled about 40 minutes, from Australia, where he and Hudson remarked they had filmed “Fool’s

Salma Hayek revealed in a new interview with GQ UK that Hollywood blocked her from starring in a comedy for nearly 20 years because she was deemed too sexy for the genre. Although Hayek acted in romantic comedies such as 1997’s “Fools Rush In” (opposite Matthew Perry) and “Breaking Up” (opposite Russell Crowe), she said

Altitude Film Sales will handle international sales of the original horror-comedy “Hell of a Summer,” which is written, directed by and stars Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk. In addition, the filmmakers released a suitably eerie first look at “Hell of a Summer,” which shows Wolfhard and Bryk staring down at something creepy from the barrels of

Sony Pictures is looking to reboot “I Know What You Did Last Summer” with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (“Do Revenge,” “Someone Great,” “Sweet/Vicious”) set to direct. The project is in early development at the studio, with the franchise’s original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in talks to reprise their roles. Leah McKendrick is

Popular Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra has two projects based on real-life stories in the works. “Chamkila” is a biopic on Punjabi singer-songwriter pop star duo Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur, who shot to fame in the 1980s recording and performing songs that were social commentaries or devotionals, and which became massive hits. The duo

Chlöe Bailey, Olivia Colman and Woody Harrelson will lead a big screen adaptation of “Girl From the North Country,” a Broadway musical featuring Bob Dylan songs. Conor McPherson, the playwright behind the stage show, is writing and directing the film. “Girl From the North Country” uses Dylan’s expansive music library — including “Forever Young,” “All Along the

Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad and Anthony Carrigan will star in “The Adults,” a new crime drama from Alex Winter. “The Adults” follows a sister and brother, Megan and Nathan (Wood and Gad), whose lives are completely upended when they discover a dead body, long buried in their parent’s basement. That revelation sends them on

“It Follows” star Maika Monroe has joined Nicolas Cage in the horror-thriller “Longlegs.” Directed and written by Osgood “Oz” Perkin (“I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In The House”), the film is produced by Jason Cloth and Dave Caplan’s C2 Motion Picture Group (“Babylon”). Principal photography is now underway in Vancouver, Canada. In “Longlegs,”

The Israeli government’s efforts to reserve state funding only for films that uphold the regime’s far-right agenda is causing growing alarm among local filmmakers. Since taking office in December, culture minister Miki Zohar has pushed for new requirements that would force artists and filmmakers to guarantee their works will not tarnish Israel’s reputation or that

“The Woman King” and “The Underground Railroad” star Thuso Mbedu has signed with CAA for representation. Mbedu most recently starred in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s critically-acclaimed historical epic, “The Woman King,” opposite Viola Davis. The Sony film tells the story of the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s and its all-female military unit known as the

“Indiana Jones” fans already know that Harrison Ford will be de-aged for parts of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the fifth film in the Lucasfilm-backed adventure franchise. New visual effects technology played a big part in turning back the clock so that Ford could look the same age as he did when he

At your next visit to AMC Theatres, getting a prime seat may cost you a little extra. The country’s largest exhibition chain is rolling out Sightline at AMC, a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium. Similar to music concerts, sporting events or Broadway, moviegoers will have the option to pay more

Note: This article is an expansion of Variety Intelligence Platform’s special report “The New Face of Content Piracy,” available exclusively to VIP+ subscribers. Tom Cruise may have ruled the box office in 2022, but Maverick was no match for the superheroes when it came to illicit film viewing last year. Exclusive data provided to Variety

Taipei- and Hong Kong-based sales agency Distribution Workshop heads to Berlin with a rich slate that includes one of the mainland Chinese hits from the recent Lunar New Year season and an anticipated supernatural horror film from Taiwan. The company will present to buyers in person at Berlin’s European Film Market next week. Starring Tony

What will it take to get older crowds back to movie theaters? It’s a question that’s been worrying the industry since the early days of the pandemic. Apparently, the answer is simple: unite four Hollywood icons in a feel-good film with a runtime that doesn’t test the bladder of audiences. Buzzing along at a brisk

When South African director John Barker was seven years old, the Johannesburg native experienced Cape Town’s Minstrel Carnival for the first time. The annual celebration, which is rooted in the traditions of slaves dating back to the early years of colonial rule, is a colorful, raucous pageant unique to the Mother City — an event

The fifth Joburg Film Festival wrapped Sunday night with the caper comedy “The Umbrella Men,” from homegrown director John Barker, a local premiere that cast and crew celebrated by promenading through Nelson Mandela Square with brightly colored parasols. Earlier in the week, the first edition of the JBX Content Market — a two-day industry confab

Oscar winning filmmakers Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”), Oscar nominees Maite Alberdi (“The Mole Agent”) and Jessica Kingdon (“Ascension”), and Emmy nominee Jialing Zhang (“One Child Nation”) are among the lineup of speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, which runs during CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s documentary film festival. The discussion program, which runs under the banner

“Silver Haze,” directed by Sacha Polak, has debuted its trailer (below) ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. Polak’s last film, “Dirty God,” was in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, and was the opening film of Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019. “Silver Haze,” starring Vicky Knight and Esme

Yash Raj Films’ “Pathaan” marks the reunion of two of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who come together as super spies Tiger and Pathaan, respectively. “Pathaan,” which is part of producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe, also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and is directed by Siddharth Anand. Other films in the universe

The militant group Boko Haram has been a dangerous and ubiquitous presence in Nigeria and its neighboring countries for many years. In “Le Spectre de Boko Haram,” Cameroonian filmmaker Cyrielle Raingou focuses on their presence in a small village in northern Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. Her observational and gritty documentary registers the impact

Kevin Costner honored music executive Clive Davis at Davis’ annual pre-Grammys gala at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday evening, thanking Davis for providing guidance to Whitney Houston since their collaboration on 1992’s “The Bodyguard” and shepherding the film’s hit song “I Will Always Love You.” Costner’s speech for Davis touched on the music exec’s long,

20th Century Studios has unveiled the first footage of its remake of “White Men Can’t Jump,” starring Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow. Set to Skee-Lo’s “I Wish,” the 30-second clip features footage of the two playing basketball and arguing the merits of the finest cinematic artists of our time. “I’m like the P. T. Anderson

Viola Davis has achieved the rare and elite EGOT status after winning a Grammy Award for the audiobook of her memoir “Finding Me.” She has become the 18th person to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, joining actors and filmmakers such as Rita Moreno, Alan Menken, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, Mike Nichols,

Spoiler alert: Plot points from “Infinity Pool” are discussed below. One of the most indelible images from Sundance 2023 came at the end of Brandon Cronenberg’s luxury-vacation-gone-wrong film “Infinity Pool.” The protagonist, James (Alexander Skarsgård), is bruised and battered, physically and emotionally, after killing a feral clone of himself with his bare hands. The mysterious

The 43rd annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards was a well-attended affair that crowned the provocative culture-war drama “Tár” as the Film of the Year on Sunday. “Tár” won three major awards, with Todd Field named Director of the Year and Cate Blanchett Actress of the Year. Blanchett is no stranger to this award, having