Movies

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “Living,” “She Said,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Women Talking are among the film nominees for this year’s USC Libraries Scripter Awards. In addition, television episodes of “The Crown,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “Slow Horses,” “Tokyo Vice” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” were also recognized. A strong bellwether for the Oscars’

Exile Content Studio has pounced on the film rights to “Hunter’s Run” by “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon” creator, George R.R. Martin. The sci-fi tale is the only one among Martin’s body of work that features a Latino lead, making it a natural fit for Exile Content which has produced a slew of

Kino Lorber has acquired U.S rights to “Final Cut,” the latest film of Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”) which world premiered on opening night at the Cannes Film Festival. “Final Cut,” which stars Romain Duris (“L’Auberge Espagnole”) and Oscar-nominated Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”), will be released theatrically in the U.S. by Kino Lorber next

All hail the Na’vi. James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” has generated $1.928 billion globally, overtaking “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.91 billion) as the sixth-highest grossing release in box office history. The sci-fi tentpole’s next major hurdle is crossing $2 billion, a feat achieved by only five films in history: Avatar” ($2.9

Maverick independent producer Edward R. “Ed” Pressman, who shepherded more than 90 movies including “Wall Street,” “Badlands,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “Conan the Barbarian” and “American Psycho,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 79. The fiercely independent producer had an impressive track record for discovering new talent, having worked with an array of notable filmmakers including

Anna Kendrick has been making the press rounds in support of her movie “Alice, Darling” since September, when the film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Oscar nominee stars as a woman forced to process a toxic relationship during a weekend getaway with friends. Kendrick told People magazine in September that her “personal

Film delegations, companies and journalists working for media outlets with direct ties to the Russian and Iranian governments will be persona non grata at the upcoming Berlinale. The Berlinale, which comprises the Berlin Film Festival and the European Film Market (EFM), has issued a statement to Variety that sees the org adopt the same policy

Paris-based sales company Indie Sales has boarded Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Milad Alami ’s sophomore feature “Opponent” ahead of the film’s premiere at the Berlinale. The banner has unveiled the trailer (below) for the movie which will bow in the Panorama section. “Opponent” is headlined by popular Iranian actor Payman Maadi, who previously starred in Asghar Farhadi’s

Sepideh Farsi’s “La Sirène” (“The Siren”) is opening the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand. The program, which comprises 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts, includes new films by Patric Chiha, İlker Çatak, Frauke Finsterwalder, Maite Alberdi, Milad Alami and Apolline Traoré. They feature a galaxy of well-known protagonists and actors

Paul Mescal, Letitia Wright and Gemma Chan are among those set to be honored at the Newport Beach Film Festival’s U.K. honors in London. Eleven actors have been shortlisted for their outstanding work in film and television. The Newport Beach Film Festival, one of the States’ largest luxury lifestyle film festivals, has included a U.K.

Somesuch, the company behind Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-winning live action short “The Long Goodbye,” is launching a feature film division, Variety can exclusively reveal. The new division, which will focus on film development and production, will be headed by BAFTA-winning producer Scott O’Donnell (“Surge,” “Home”). Among the first feature-length productions they are working on is Leo

Pluto Film has boarded Giovanni Bucchieri’s debut feature “100 Seasons,” set to world premiere in Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam’s coveted Tiger Competition later this month. “The film immediately caught us with its honesty, originality, and sensitivity. It offers a colorful mix of passion, tenderness and romance,” Daniela Cölle, CEO and acquisitions head, says. Produced by

Three young stars will round out the A-list cast of Oscar winner Todd Haynes’ new drama “May December.”  Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman anchor the intense portrait of the scandalous romance of an older woman (Moore) and her young employee (Charles Melton). Almost 20 years after the affair made headlines, the couple are preparing to

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. You can now watch “The Fabelmans” from home. After hitting theaters in November, the Steven Spielberg film is now available to purchase digitally on Prime Video, Vudu and Google Play Movie for $19.99. The

Jake Sully is about to be replaced by his own son. In a recent interview on “Soundtracking with Edith Bowman,” James Cameron let it slip that his “Avatar” franchise will feature a different narrator for each of the remaining three sequels. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, was the narrator in “Avatar” and “Avatar: The

Variety is returning to the Sundance Film Festival this year with its annual Interview Studio, presented by Audible. Throughout the festival, videos from the interview studio will be distributed across Variety.com as well as Variety and Audible’s social media channels (Instagram: @audible, @Variety; Twitter: @audible_com, @Variety; TikTok: @audible, @VarietyMagazine), beginning on Friday, Jan. 20.   Running through Monday, Jan.

Channing Tatum has already gone on record saying he hated starring in 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” so it’s not too surprising to hear the actor’s most recent revelation that he tried to avoid acting in the movie almost a dozen times. Participating in a lie detector test for Vanity Fair, Tatum said

Jeremy Renner is out of the hospital and back home where he will continue to recover from a critical snow plow injury. Renner confirmed the news himself in a Jan. 16 tweet in which he told fans that he was “very excited” to watch the season premiere of his Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown” at

The Sundance Film Festival is returning in-person for the first time since 2020 and all the same rules apply: Stay hydrated, dust off your most comfortable snow boots and leave the formal wear at home. An in-person Sundance will surely reinvigorate the festival, but some attendees might be feeling a bit overwhelmed after two years

Mia Goth has been a secret weapon of auteurs ever since her preternatural debut in Lars von Trier’s “Nymphomaniac” at 18. Since then, she has been a scene-stealer in films by Luca Guadagnino (2018’s “Suspiria”), Claire Denis (2018’s “High Life”) and Autumn de Wilde (2020’s “Emma”). Her profile exploded last year after she starred in

Before COVID upended the film festival scene, Sundance premieres were a hotbed of drama as studio chiefs and streaming executives staked out the best seats in the theater and then beat a path for the exits as soon as the credits rolled in the hopes of outmaneuvering each other for the hottest films. After two

With fingers tightly crossed, the Slamdance Film Festival plans a return to in-person screenings Jan. 20 29 in Utah, but its organizers have not forgotten the lessons they learned during two years of pandemic pivots. “Something that’s become abundantly clear to us that’s important for the survival of independent film is accessibility,” festival producer Michael

Director Piers Haggard, best known for his film “Pennies From Heaven” and for establishing directing guild Directors U.K., has died. He was 83. No cause of death was given but in a statement his agents at Casarotto said he “died peacefully” on Jan. 11. “He is deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the

Oscar-nominated director Florian Zeller (“The Father,” “The Son”) and Federica Sainte-Rose have boarded Babak Jalali’s Sundance-bound “Fremont” under their new banner Blue Morning Pictures. The movie will world premiere in the NEXT section at Sundance and is repped by CAA in the U.S., while Memento International is handling international sales. Helmed by Jalali, an Iranian-born, London-based

Matthew Medney, CEO of Heavy Metal magazine, has stepped down, Variety can exclusively confirm. He is set to be replaced by Myth founder Marshall Lees. Jamie Penrose will stay on as chief operating officer. The company, best known for its self-titled 1981 adult animated sci-fi film, which was produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel,

Is a “Ghost” remake starring Channing Tatum on the way? Potentially. As part of a new Vanity Fair cover story, Tatum revealed that his production company, Free Association, has the rights to the 1990 romantic fantasy classic and he’s trying to develop a remake. “We actually have the rights,” Tatum said. “Yeah, we have the

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ reign over the Marvel Cinematic Universe has only just begun. In her new Variety cover story, the award-winning comic force behind “Veep” discussed her immersion into the billion-dollar comic book world – and how far she’s willing to go in bringing the mysterious Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to life. Louis-Dreyfus was briefly introduced in

Netflix has scored 50 Annie Award nominations across series and features, including bids for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” which leads in individual nominations with nine. “Pinocchio,” which has picked up 38 awards so far this season, including the Golden Globe for animated feature, is one of three Netflix projects up for best feature, along with

James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” leads the feature competition at the 21st Annual VES Awards. The film earned a total of 14 VES Awards nominations, setting a new record for record nominations for a feature film. The original “Avatar” was the previous record holder when it received 11 nominations at the 8th Annual

A phone call from 40 years ago still breaks Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ heart. It came in the early ’80s, when her father, Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, rang to deliver a harsh review of his daughter’s inaugural season on “Saturday Night Live.” Louis-Dreyfus wanted the approval of the noted Franco-American entrepreneur. She’d dropped out of Northwestern at 21, after