Movies

After “Peter van Kant,” French director François Ozon goes many shades lighter to revisit gender and power dynamics in “The Crime Is Mine,” a lush ensemble comedy set in 1930s Paris. Loosely inspired by the 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, the film tells the story of Madeleine, a pretty, young and penniless

A24’s drama “The Whale” surpassed $10 million at the domestic box office, a notable milestone for an indie movie in the pandemic era. In pre-COVID times, those ticket sales wouldn’t be particularly impressive. But the arthouse sector has struggled to rebound as adult audiences remain selective as ever about movie choices. Turnout for prestige dramas,

Speaking at a daylong conference, held as part of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, Newen Connect managing director Rodolphe Buet laid out his wider vision for the French film and TV banner, arguing that production outfits (such as his own) needed to play a larger role in direct B2C marketing, rather than leaving such investment

Studio executives, renowned directors, and a crop of rising young talent huddled below crystal chandeliers in Paris’ Palais Royal on Thursday, turning out to fête “Benedetta” star Virginie Efira as she received the Unifrance French Cinema Award – a prize honoring those who carry the banner for Gallic cinema across the globe – from the

A galaxy of stars feature in a 16-strong Telugu-language film slate that will bow on Netflix after their theatrical release. Netflix revealed the titles on Jan. 14, the day celebrated in many parts of India as the Sankranti or Pongal harvest festival, which is also a period when big ticket films release. Several of the

John Williams is retiring after he finishes the score for the forthcoming Indiana Jones movie — right? Well, Steven Spielberg certainly thinks so. Or thought so. He was corrected on that notion at the very end of a 90-minute conversation between the two film giants Thursday night. At the event, sponsored by the American Cinematheque

Though most kudos events are competitive, the annual AFI Awards, honoring 21 film and TV works, proved communal. Sarah Polley chatted with Michelle Williams, Jerry Bruckheimer was deep in conversation with James Cameron, the “Better Call Saul” talent huddled with “Reservation Dogs” and Steven Spielberg enthused about “The Bear” to the show’s team and FX’s

Speaking to Variety by Zoom from Warsaw, Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski – the director of Oscar contender “EO” – sits on his sofa with his dog Bufon, a German Shepherd, by his side. Bufon, or “Buffon” as Skolimowski prefers to spell his name – as a tribute to the Italian soccer player Gianluigi Buffon –

POV has snapped up Sundance-winning doc “A House Made of Splinters,” helmed by Simon Lereng Wilmont and produced by Oscar nominee Monica Hellström (“Flee”). Shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards, the acclaimed doc will have its broadcast premiere on pubcaster PBS as part of POV’s 36th season starting in the summer. A co-production involving Denmark, Finland, Sweden

When Sandy Powell began researching the costumes for “Living,” the story of a public works department functionary grappling with a terminal diagnosis, she had firm ideas of what kinds of archival materials and media would help her recapture the spirit of 1953 London. It’s a very particular period in history — a moment when the United

Mustafa Shakir has always had a “hang up” about slave movies, so when his agent sent him the script for Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation” saying the casting director wanted him to read for Gordon, one of the slaves, it wasn’t a surprise that “the role didn’t resonate.” But Shakir, best-known for his TV work (“Luke Cage,”

The steaming chaos and viciously hurled epithets of such reality shows as “Top Chef” and “Kitchen Nightmares” thankfully have no place in “Kitchen Brigade,” which sees a gifted chef train eager amateurs with quiet hauteur, exacting shallot-slicing demands and, in time, a dose of kindness. The stakes are higher, too, in director Louis-Julien Petit’s amiable

Hindsight may be 20/20, but producer Jason Blum didn’t need the luxury of time to see that “M3GAN,” a horror movie about a diabolical robot-like doll, was destined for success. So much so, that Blum did something he’d never done in his nearly 30-year career: He publicly admitted his desire to make a sequel before

It’s hard not to judge “Missing” according to one’s own aptitude — much less appetite — for watching the world via devices, but that would be unfair to the sleight of hand pulled off by directors Nick Johnson and Will Merrick. Making their directorial debuts, the pair chronicle the labyrinthine story of a teenager’s search

“Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann has paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley, the musician and only child of Elvis Presley, who died on Thursday at the age of 54 after suffering cardiac arrest. “Over the last year, the entire Elvis movie family and I have felt the privilege of Lisa Marie’s kind embrace,” Luhrmann wrote on

Friends for more than 20 years, “RRR” stars N.T. Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan say they relied on each another for the extensive shoot of S.S. Rajamouli’s Indian-Tollywood epic, which has taken global cinemas by storm. On this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, the two actors celebrate the phenomenon of “RRR” and

Allison Williams doesn’t consider herself a horror buff — in fact, she can only watch “Annabelle” by peeking through her fingers. Yet, after the runaway success of 2017’s “Get Out,” she finds herself with another horror hit on her hands: “M3GAN.”  In the Blumhouse film, which slayed its way to a $30 million opening weekend,

Casting rumors for James Gunn’s new Superman movie are running rampant across social media, but the writer-director and new DC Studios boss says none of it is true considering he’s stilling penning the screenplay. Gunn took to Twitter to debunk one user’s claim that “Euphoria” actor Jacob Elordi was rumored to be the new Superman

“Cheaper by the Dozen” star Leo Abelo Perry has joined the cast of “Fast X” as the son of Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto, Variety can exclusively report. Perry will portray Brian Marcos, the son of Dom (Vin Diesel) and Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky). In 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious,” an infant Brian was kidnapped

Maude Apatow will make her New York stage debut as Audrey in the Off-Broadway revival of “Little Shop of Horrors.” She will appear in the musical from Feb. 7 through April 2, 2023. Apatow joins a cast stacked with theater vets that includes Tony Award winner Matt Doyle (“Company”) as Seymour, Tony Award nominee Bryce

Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has emerged as the highest Hollywood grosser of all time in India, beating the record set in 2019 by stablemate “Avengers: Endgame.” James Cameron’s return to Pandora is still in Indian cinemas and has a running total of INR4.6 billion ($56.6 million), beating the Russo brothers’ Marvel epic that

CMC Pictures is to give a 40-screen (30 venue) launch in Australia and New Zealand to “The Wandering Earth 2,” a sci-fi film that is expected to be one of the largest Chinese movies of the year. It will launch in Australia and New Zealand on Jan. 22, the first full day of the Chinese

The Berlin Film Festival has added eight films to its Berlinale Special program, including “Golda,” starring Helen Mirren as Golda Meir, “Call My Agent!” star Camille Cottin, and Liev Schreiber. Other films include Andrea Di Stefano’s “Last Night of Amore,” about the last night of a Milan policeman, played by Pierfrancesco Favino, documentary “Massimo Troisi:

Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sexual assault. The actor participated via video link at a hearing about his alleged sex offences at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Friday afternoon. The hearing was in relation to a second set of charges against Spacey that were made in November. The new charges

Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, who faced allegations of on-set impropriety and child exploitation last year, will attend the world premiere of a “new” film, titled “Wicked Games Rimini Sparta,” at the Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam later this month. Seidl has strenuously denied the allegations made against him. A festival spokesperson told Variety that the plan

“The Crime Is Mine,” the new star-studded film by revered French director Francois Ozon, has been boarded by a raft of major distributors in key markets. Represented by Playtime, the crowd-pleasing comedy had its world premiere on the opening night of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris and drew laughter throughout the screening, along with a

Louis Theroux knows what it’s like to go viral. In 2022, the veteran British documentary presenter and journalist won himself a new generation of fans when a rap he wrote more than 20 years ago resurfaced on TikTok as a meme. Blowing up online is something he has in common with YouTube sensation KSI, the

Although there is much to admire in “On Sacred Ground,” the first dramatic feature by environmental activist documentarians Josh and Rebecca Tickell, this technically polished indie effort is overall more admirable in its intent than compelling in its narrative. And there’s really no way of getting around the fact that many viewers will be put

Reliance Entertainment will release Steven Spielberg’s awards season contender “The Fabelmans” on Feb. 10 across India. The India release is significant because, even though U.S. movies have grown their market share to around 11% of the box office, the vast majority of it is dominated by Hollywood franchises, superhero films or creature features, which are

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has boarded the Oscar-shortlisted documentary short film “Stranger at the Gate” as executive producer. The film, which charts the surprising change of heart of a PTSD-suffering former U.S. Marine who set out to bomb a mosque but instead converted to Islam, was a prize winner at the 2022 Tribeca