The crowd leapt to its feet as Michael J. Fox took the stage at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday for the premiere of a new documentary about his life, career and work as a public advocate for Parkinson’s research. He was joined by Davis Guggenheim, the director of “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,”
Movies
In a coming-of-age story, two unlikely teenagers encourage each other to pursue their separate passions. That’s a pretty standard description of a lot of movies and shows, but this one is offering a twist on the genre, one that’s revealed by its unusual title — “Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “Violent Night” the Christmas action movie starring David Harbour, is now streaming on Peacock. Directed by Tommy Wirkola, and a screenplay by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, the film follows Harbour’s dissolute Santa Clause
Fans of the “I Love You, My Child, But You’re Really Creeping Mommy Out Right Now” subgenre have a treat in store with Daina Reid’s “Run Rabbit Run,” which hails, like a couple of other notable, similarly-themed horrors, from Australia. Indeed, the top-hatted shadow of Jennifer Kent’s “The Babadook” and the matrilineal mayhem of Natalia
Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland,” a tale of sexual revolution which marked the first Pakistani film to be selected in Cannes and shortlisted by the Oscars, is set to travel around the world following its U.S. premiere at Sundance. The film is currently playing in theaters in France, where it’s being distributed by Condor and has already
As movie titles go, “Earth Mama” has a nice ring to it, though “Birth Mother” probably would have been a better fit for former Olympian turned filmmaker Savanah Leaf’s feature debut. Building on questions asked in her award-winning 2020 short “The Heart Still Hums” — an artful inquiry into the social challenges that made possible
Ben Platt has nothing but raves for Paul Mescal. The two actors are joining forces for Richard Linklater’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” an adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical that’s being filmed over the course of two decades. Variety reported earlier in January that Mescal had replaced Blake Jenner in the lead role
The death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in 2021 has special significance for Hollywood’s small community of film armorers. Like a lot of entertainment industry jobs, armorers occupy a highly specialized niche. It’s not the kind of thing you can go to school for, and there are no state certifications or license
Magnolia Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to “Little Richard: I Am Everything” from CNN Films following its premiere on Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival. The film from director Lisa Cortés examines the seismic impact that Richard Penniman, known professionally as Little Richard, had on the origins of rock and roll, as well as his personal struggles with
Audible signed an exclusive, multiproject development deal with Plan B Entertainment, the production company led by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, for a slate of audio originals. Under the worldwide deal — which represents Plan B’s entry into audio entertainment — the production company will create a slate of Audible originals. It’s the
“Commitment to Life,” a new documentary about the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles, will have its world premiere next month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Until then, Variety has the exclusive first look at the doc. In the clip above, Elizabeth Taylor is featured speaking at the first
“Becoming Elizabeth” star Romola Garai is set to tackle the sensitive subject of postpartum psychosis in a new short film, “Wild Animal.” The project, written and directed by award-winner Beth Park (“Fishwife”), will explore the “disorientating loss of identity in new motherhood” with Garai playing the lead character, called Mallory. The project has already won
The British Film Institute (BFI) has hired Ama Ampadu as a senior production and development executive for the BFI Film Fund. Ampadu has worked as an independent producer across U.K. and international projects for over 12 years and produced Yared Zeleke’s “Lamb” (2015), the first Ethiopian film selected at Cannes. Reporting to Natascha Wharton, the
“The Pod Generation” is one of those sci-fi films set in a future that looks just teasingly enough like our own world to heighten the differences. Somewhere near the end of the 21st century, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) wake up each morning in a sprawling high-rise apartment where the window shades glide
Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales, one of the leading sales agents for documentaries, has acquired the feature-length documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” ahead of its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. The film portrays the Estonian smoke sauna tradition, known as “savvusanna kombõ.” As well as telling the history of the smoke saunas as a place to give
In resiliently fighting for their human rights and dignity, Iranian women were deservedly named TIME magazine’s Heroes of the Year in 2022. Their fierce uprising erupted last fall, after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police for not fully complying with the government’s antiquated dress code, and died three days later in police
One of the paradoxes of the great early rock ‘n’ rollers is that they possessed a cathartic sexuality and bombs-away rockabilly-on-pep-pills energy that was unlike anything we’d ever seen, yet their revolution shook the world so profoundly that within a few years it was hard to imagine what the world was like before them. If
The words “Quentin Tarantino” and “video store” will forever be linked in the popular imagination. But imagine that Quentin didn’t just work at a video store. Imagine that he owned, operated, designed, and organized every shelf of the video store of his dreams. That place might have looked a lot like Kim’s Video. If you
Most of the time, most people’s lives are pretty boring. Passing the day at the office, then coming home to do laundry and microwave dinner. Movies tend to cut these bits out, to focus on the escapist stuff, but every once in a while one comes along, searching for poetry in the mundane. From its
Dakota Johnson kicked off the 2023 Sundance Film Festival with gasps and giggles. Johnson appeared at the inaugural “A Taste of Sundance” dinner on Thursday night to present her friend and collaborator Luca Guadagnino with the international icon award. While onstage, she applauded the director’s 2017 Oscar-winning indie “Call Me By Your Name,” which premiered at
After last year’s cancelled in-person fest, the Sundance Film Festival has returned to (pretty much) normal for the first time since the pandemic arrived in 2020. Although the bulk of the films are available to watch online in the days following their premieres, the usual blend of cinema buffs, industry professionals and press took over
Idealistic teachers propel some of the most shamelessly schmaltzy tearjerkers of cinema, but whether we like it or not, we all respond to them at some sincere, emotional level. Christopher Zalla’s resolute crowdpleaser “Radical” is a heart-tugger in the mold of such old-school “inspiring teacher changes everything” tales as “To Sir With Love,” “Dead Poets
Several defense lawyers argued Thursday that prosecutors will have a hard time proving manslaughter charges in the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Mary Carmack-Altwies, the prosecutor overseeing the case, said Thursday that she will file involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armorer. To prove that charge under
Jennifer Coolidge would love to play Tanya McQuoid again. As fans of “The White Lotus” know, Tanya was killed off in Season 2 of Mike White’s award-winning series. However, Coolidge says she needs others to get White on board to bring her back in some way. “For me, I think it looks like I’m a
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The men’s clothing brand Tie Bar has teamed up with Prime Video to design an exclusive capsule collection inspired by “Shotgun Wedding,” the star-studded rom-com action film that arrives on Prime Video Jan. 27.
The actors union SAG-AFTRA has issued a strongly worded statement rebuking the decision to charge Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter in the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, calling the move “wrong and uninformed.” “The death of Halyna Hutchins is a tragedy, and all the more so because of its preventable nature,” says the statement,
Pencils down. Nomination voting for the 95th Academy Awards ended on January 17, and now we await the nominations announcement on Tuesday morning, January 24. On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, it’s a mega Roundtable edition, as we dissect final predictions for key categories. That includes predictions for best picture, best
Billie Eilish’s U.K. fans have been left disappointed after her concert film “Billie Eilish: Live at the O2” was handed a 15 age rating by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) when it was initially thought the film would be rated 12A. According to the BBFC, the stringent rating means those younger than 15
A new documentary about the explosive sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Veteran feature director Doug Liman is directing, marking his documentary debut. “It’s a film that focuses on the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and the investigation that ensued,” said Sundance director of programing Kim
Monica Albuquerque, who joined Warner Bros. Discovery Latin (WBDLA) in 2021 as head of talent and telenovela development, has been upped to head of scripted content at the company. She takes over the responsibilities of Marcelo Tamburri who leaves the company in March after nearly two decades. In her new role, she will be responsible