Movies

Paul Mescal (“Aftersun,” ‘Normal People’) will lead modern espionage thriller “A Spy By Nature,” to be directed by Oscar and BAFTA winner Kevin Macdonald (“The Mauritian”). HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA is co-representing domestic rights. The film is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s

Kazakh filmmaker Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s thriller “Assault,” which previously played Rotterdam, will open the 33rd Singapore International Film Festival. Singaporean film “#LookAtMe,” which was denied certification by local authorities, remains part of the lineup, but will not screen at the festival. “#LookAtMe will not be screened at the 33rd Singapore International Film Festival as it has

The Marrakech Film Festival will honor a quartet of renowned film personalities at its 2022 edition. Honorees who will receive the festival’s Étoile d’or (Golden Star) include Scottish actor Tilda Swinton (“The Eternal Daughter”), U.S. filmmaker James Gray (“Armageddon Time”), Moroccan film pioneer and director Farida Benlyazid (“The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni”) and Bollywood

Garrett Hedlund (“Mudbound”) and Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”) are set to star in Nadine Crocker’s thriller “Desperation Road.” Signature Entertainment are repping international sales on the project at AFM. Based on the novel by Michael Farris Smith (“Blackwood”), the film tells the story of ex-con Russell Gaines (Hedlund) who attempts to rebuild his life with help

Theatrical box office returns in the Middle East are recovering faster than most other regions in the world largely thanks to Saudi Arabia’s box office growth and proliferation of screens. That is the main takeaway of a presentation by research firm Omdia at Dubai’s Meta Cinema Forum, which is the Middle East and North Africa

Disney and Marvel Studios finally unveiled Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday evening. First reactions are emerging online now and they are overwhelmingly positive. It appears there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater during the film’s 160-minute runtime. Anticipation for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has

Harvey Weinstein’s genitalia and a social media photo of Al Pacino became key sticking points in the cross-examination of a Jane Doe in Weinstein’s rape trial. After three days on the stand, the first woman to testify in Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial completed her testimony, which included a full day of grueling questions from the

“Black Panther Wakanda Forever” made its long-awaited world premiere Wednesday night in Hollywood, with director Ryan Coogler and the film’s star-studded cast paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. The Marvel sequel takes place following the death of Boseman’s King T’Challa, with the people of Wakanda — especially Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Princess Shuri (Letitia

Shikano Yohei’s “Her Beautiful Sword” was on Thursday named as winner of the MPA Grand Prize at the 2022 edition of the MPA / DHU / TIFFCOM Pitching Contest. A special recognition prize was awarded to Taniguchi Mio with “Nagahama.” The event is part of the TIFFCOM market that accompanies the ongoing Tokyo International Film

Keke Palmer delivered all the laughs on Tuesday night as the host of the annual Time 100 Next gala, which honored 100 rising stars who are shaping the future of their fields. “This is like a high school reunion but only the successful people showed up,” Palmer quipped during her opening monologue. On the red

Henry Cavill confirmed in an Oct. 24 social media post that he is returning as Superman in a new Warner Bros-DC movie following his cameo at the end of “Black Adam.” The actor wrote to his fans, “I wanted to make it official: I am back as Superman…Thank you for your support and thank you

Top executives from Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, MNTN, Google, GroupM and Fox will join the Variety Streaming Room for a panel titled, “TV Ads 2.0: How the Connected Age Gives Advertising a Second Life” on Nov. 9 at 9:30 a.m. PT. The virtual conversation, moderated by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief, Cynthia Littleton, will cover the current and

Zoe Saldaña is no stranger to blockbuster movie sets as the star of mega-franchises such as “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Star Trek” and “Avatar,” but that wasn’t always the case. The actor was a newcomer to the tentpole world when she got cast opposite Johnny Depp in the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, starring

“Black Adam” is expected to retain its box office crown over the weekend — not that there’s much competition standing in its way. With only one new nationwide release, Lionsgate’s supernatural thriller “Prey for the Devil,” the Dwayne Johnson comic book adventure “Black Adam” has plenty of space to repeat the No. 1 spot. After

The exponential growth in content production has had ripple effects across the media and entertainment eco-system. The management of soundstages and related services is one of them. Hudson Pacific, a real estate investment trust, has been investing significantly in studio lots in Hollywood, Atlanta, Toronto and other production hubs. Jeff Stotland, a Disney strategy executive

In the  first 14 years of Elvis’ recording career with RCA, nearly all his records were credited to “Elvis Presley With the Jordanaires,” because that’s the way Elvis wanted it. Many of those early hits were built around the imaginative vocal ideas of the group’s arranger, Neal Matthews, and all four members of the vocal

Matthew Perry’s upcoming memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” includes more than a handful of revelations, including Perry having to exit a movie after his heart stopped for five minutes, but perhaps the most shocking is a pair of seemingly out-of-nowhere digs Perry throws at fellow actor Keanu Reeves. At two points in

Top communications agency Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis set several promotions on Wednesday, bolstering executive leadership in offices across the country. Amelia Makin and Andrew Stein have been promoted to executive vice president roles, while Gabrielle Lee was elevated to senior vice president, diversity equity inclusion and accessibility and multicultural communications. Hollywood fixture Brooke Blumberg was named senior vice president

Though the 95th Academy Awards are still five months away, it’s never too early to look at some of the circuit contenders. Here’s some of the films that could score a minimum of two nominations in the major categories — picture, director, screenplay, international film and the acting races. ARMAGEDDON TIME(Focus Features)James Gray’s autobiographical coming-of-age

The flagship “Fast and Furious” franchise as we know it is set to end with the upcoming two-part finale, which begins with the Louis Leterrier-directed “Fast X.” However, most fans aren’t expecting the franchise to end anytime soon. There’s already been one spinoff movie, 2019’s “Hobbs & Shaw,” and there will surely be more considering

Raw, raging realism clashes with melodramatic contrivance in Moussa Sène Absa’s “Xalé,” and that’s before a theatrical chorus of women seizes the screen to comment on the unfolding tragedy. The latest film from the veteran Senegalese director blends narrative styles and traditions with abandon, running the gamut from local folklore to Western-style soap opera, in

It’s official: Rihanna is making her long-awaited return to music with “Lift Me Up,” the lead single on Marvel’s blockbuster sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The song, a tribute to the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman, was written by Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and director Ryan Coogler. It will be released on Friday, Oct.

Hugh Jackman revealed in a new cover story for Variety that he auditioned for the role of Sandra Bullock’s love interest, FBI agent Eric Matthews, in the comedy “Miss Congeniality.” The actor did not want to star in the film but his agent made him. Jackman said landing the role would have allowed his agent

Budapest-based animation studio Cinemon Entertainment has unveiled a teaser (below) for its upcoming animation feature “Four Souls of Coyote,” which is supported by Hungary’s National Film Institute, and is sold internationally by NFI World Sales. The film is created and directed by Áron Gauder, whose prior work includes “The District!,” awarded Annecy’s Cristal Prize for

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds shocked comic book movie fans at the end of September when they jointly announced Jackman’s Wolverine would be returning to the big screen in “Deadpool 3.” Jackman hung up his claws in 2017 with “Logan,” which was touted as his Wolverine swan song and ended with the character’s death. Just

Act I This is a story about grief in New York. Hugh Jackman’s father died while he was making “The Son.” But instead of taking time off, Jackman kept playing Peter, a workaholic struggling to take care of his family: a new baby, a partner and a teenage son, Nicholas, suffering from a frightening depression.

“In Her Hands,” a Netflix documentary produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, has unveiled its first official trailer. The film — which won the audience award at the 18th Camden International Film Festival last month — is filmed over a two-year period, and tells the story of Zarifa Ghafari, who at 26 became one of

FESTIVAL Saeed Roustayi’s Cannes winner “Leila’s Brothers” and Amil Shivji’s Toronto selection and Tanzanian Oscar submission “Tug of War” will open and close the inaugural Qisah International Film Festival in London. The festival seeks to provide a platform for films from across the Muslim world enabling filmmakers, both Muslim and non-Muslim, who are producing films

Post-production has been completed and a sneak peek trailer has been released for Groucho Arts’ London-set crime thriller “Tales of Babylon.” The film stars Clive Russell (“Game of Thrones”), Billie Gadsdon (“Cruella”), Aaron Cobham (“The Spanish Princess”), Paul Cassidy (“Outlander”), Maria Crittell (“Doctors”) and Ray Calleja (“Mr. Selfridge”). It is directed by Pelayo De Lario,

Hushed audiences witnessed footage of the first Russian shells hitting cities in Ukraine on the opening night of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival on Tuesday as frontline filmmaking was honored. Oksana Moiseniuk’s “8th Day of the War” screened at the Czech city’s venerable DKO cultural hall after audiences heard from the Ukrainian director via