Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Jonathan Majors is getting ready to star as Dennis Rodman in “48 Hours in Vegas,” Lionsgate’s upcoming film about the former Chicago Bulls player’s infamous weekend trip to Sin City in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Majors, who stars in the new
Movies
Nicole Kidman, a queen of the big and small screen and the unofficial spokesperson of AMC Theatres, will be honored with AFI’s Life Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Kidman at a gala tribute on June 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. She is the 49th person and first Australian to
Mickey Kuhn, a former child actor and the last surviving cast member of the 1939 film “Gone With The Wind,” died at the age of 90 on Nov. 20, 2022, at a hospice facility in Naples, Florida, his wife confirmed to Variety. In the classic film, Kuhn played Beau Wilkes, the son of Ashley and
Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Titantic” audition process wasn’t smooth sailing, according to director James Cameron. The Oscar-winning filmmaker participated in a career retrospective video interview for GQ magazine and recalled how DiCaprio originally refused to read for the part of Jack opposite Kate Winslet during a screen test. Cameron told the young actor: “You’re going to read,
Laura Mora’s “The Kings of the World” has no shortage of beautiful shots. The Colombia-set road trip follows a group of four teenagers as they set out to start a life anew away from the violence and poverty they’ve long grown up with. As the film moves away from the bustling streets of Medellin and
Shooting is underway in Matera, Italy, on “Pins and Needles,” a Black biblical comedy directed by Jeymes Samuel and starring Omar Sy (“Lupin”) and LaKeith Stanfield (“Atlanta”). Formerly know as “The Book of Clarence,” ‘Pins and Needles” marks Samuel’s follow-up to his directorial debut, the stylish Black Western “The Harder They Fall,” which also starred
In 2020, National Research Group (NRG) released a comprehensive look at Black representation on-screen. That study, which found that two in three Black Americans don’t see their stories represented in movies and shows, resonated with DJ Kurs, the artistic director of Deaf West Theatre, a Los Angeles-based theater company behind Tony Award-nominated revivals of “Big River”
Is this a hoax? That was the reaction from many Disney employees on the evening of Nov. 20, as the stunning news spread that Bob Iger would return to Disney as CEO, ending the stormy tenure of his successor, Bob Chapek. The news was so unexpected that at first many Mouse House staffers were immediately
The California Film Commission announced on Tuesday that spending by productions supported by the state’s film and TV tax credit grew by $153 million last year. In-state spending grew from $2.13 billion in fiscal year 2021 to $2.28 billion in the fiscal year ending in 2022. The state poured an additional $90 million in tax
The Independent Spirit Awards announced its nominations in film and television on Tuesday morning, where The Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” led the tally with eight nominations. Right behind was Todd Field’s “Tár” with seven and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” with five. Some of the big surprises were a complete shutout of Darren Aronofsky’s “The
Drafthouse Films has unveiled the clip for “NR. 10,” the anticipated next film of Alex van Warmerdam, the bold Dutch director best known for “Borgman.” Van Warmerdam’s 10th feature, the film is a maze-like thriller telling the story of Günter, a theater actor who was raised by foster parents after being found abandoned in the
A host of big-budget studio productions, including Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible 7” and Viola Davis’ historical epic “The Woman King,” has given a boost to South Africa’s locations industry, with Netflix’s live-action series “One Piece” — based on the iconic Japanese manga — boasting the country’s biggest production budget to date. But while both foreign and
Jennifer Aniston made headlines at the start of November when she declared, “There are no more movie stars.” It’s a statement that Quentin Tarantino agrees with, as evidenced by the director’s recent interview on “2 Bears, 1 Cave” podcast (via Mediaite). Tarantino attributed the loss of movie stars to the “Marvel-ization of Hollywood.” “Part of
Swedish director Rojda Sekersöz has signed with CAA for representation. The writer and helmer most recently directed the Netflix coming-of-age series “Young Royals,” which debuted in July 2021 and quickly secured a Season 2 renewal just a couple of months later. The second season premiered earlier this month. Positioned as something of a “Heartstopper” in
Fremantle has acquired a majority stake in Silvio Productions, the Israeli production outfit behind hit documentary series such as “Shadow of Truth” and Showtime’s “Buried” which earned an international Emmy nomination. Silvio Productions, previously known as EGG Films, was founded by the award-winning Israeli filmmakers Yotam Guendelman and Mika Timor. The acquisition of Silvio Productions underscores Fremantle’s
When a freak snow flurry began dusting the set for “All Quiet on the Western Front” on a winter location shoot in the Czech Republic early last year, cinematographer James Friend knew he had to keep rolling. The epic Netflix adaptation of the 1929 war polemic by Erich Maria Remarque, directed by Edward Berger and
Steven Spielberg will be honored by the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival with an homage and the fest’s honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. Spielberg’s latest film, “The Fablemans,” his semi-autobiographical look at growing up as a film-obsessed teenager in Arizona and Northern California, will also screen at the festival which runs Feb. 16-26, 2023.
Norwegian director Jens Lien (“Beforeigners,” “The Troublesome Man”) is set to direct “The Nation’s Gambit,” a feature film adaptation of up-and-coming author Johan Høst’s bestselling debut novel “En nasjon i sjakk.” The action thriller will be produced by the Norwegian production company Stig og Stein Studio. SF Studios is co-producing and will distribute the film
During an explosive, expletive-filled masterclass at Cairo Film Festival, French director and actor Mathieu Kassovitz covered everything from directing “La Haine” to working with Vin Diesel on “Babylon A.D.” Talking about the making of “Babylon A.D.,” he said: “Go on YouTube and search for ‘Fucking Kassovitz.’ Once we realized the crazy situation we were in,
EURO-UKRAINIAN CO-PRODUCTION SOLIDARITY The Eurimages Co-production Award, presented as part of the annual European Film Awards, will this year be awarded to all the film producers of war-torn Ukraine. Eurimages, a Council of Europe-backed film finance organization described the unusual award “as an expression of strong appreciation for the growing quality of Ukrainian production in
U.S.-based production house Lonestar Films has signed Indian actors Sharib Hashmi (Amazon Prime Video’s “The Family Man”), and Aahana Kumra, (“Lipstick Under My Burkha” and Netflix’s “Call My Agent Bollywood”) for “Cancer” its foray into Bollywood film production. The high concept Hindi-language thriller will be directed by Faisal Hashmi. Founded by Texas-based entrepreneur Pankaj Mamtora,
New Singapore-based production company HiJack Pictures is being launched by distributor and producer Clover Films and J Team Productions, the company controlled by the country’s most commercially successful filmmaker Jack Neo. HiJack will be equally owned by the two parties and sets itself the mission to “produce quality content that appeals to the global audience.”
The annual film event in Laos that was for the past 12 years known as the Luang Prabang Film Festival has given up its name in order to go ahead with next month’s edition. “Organizers have recently acquiesced to a name change in order to continue to produce this year’s event, scheduled for Dec. 8-
John Dartigue, former vice president of publicity at Warner Bros., died Nov. 9 in Los Angeles following a sudden illness. He was 82. Dartigue joined Warner Bros. in 1978 as a project executive in the marketing department. In 1984, he was appointed vice president of publicity and remained with the company until his retirement in
It has been nearly 50 years since Bruce Lee’s death. Theactor and martial arts icon suddenly died on July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong, with officials ruling at the time that the cause was cerebral oedema — brain swelling, amid much speculation. However, a new research paper proposes that Lee’s death was caused by his
It’s not just executives, filmmakers and talent agents doing cartwheels over the news that Robert Iger has returned to The Walt Disney Co. as CEO. A formidable sect of diehard Mickey Mouse fans — known casually on the internet as “Disney Adults” — have been sharing emotional messages of abject joy over the firing of
How expensive is “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Early reports have claimed the production budget alone was in the $250 million range, but director James Cameron isn’t willing to give a hard number just yet. The only answer Cameron would give about the sequel’s budget when asked by GQ magazine was the following: “Very fucking
Marvel Studios’ “Blade,” starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, has found its new director in Yann Demange. The “Lovecraft Country” and “White Boy Rick” director takes the reins of the vampire slayer movie from Bassam Tariq, who exited the production in September. He will direct from a brand new script by Emmy nominee Michael Starrbury, which
Gray Frederickson, who was part of the Oscar-winning production team for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather Part II,” died Nov. 20 of prostate cancer in Oklahoma City, Okla. He was 85. Frederickson had been called as “the Godfather of Oklahoma film” for his efforts to boost filmmaking in his home state. “Gray
Bob Iger stunned the entertainment industry when he reassumed his role as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company on Sunday night. The former Disney chief will earn a $1 million base salary for going back to his old job, according to public filings. But that pact could grow a lot richer if Iger and