Children’s literature loves few things as much as a mighty monster who remains, against all outward appearances, defiantly benign — one who sets out to soothe young nightmares after initially stoking them, ultimately proving that fears and anxieties aren’t limited to little folk. Boris, the cheerfully dorky title character in Ruth Stiles Gannett’s 1948 book
Movies
John Fithian, the top lobbyist for the exhibition industry, will retire as the CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners on May 1, 2023. The group said it has already begun a search for Fithian’s successor, but he leaves big shoes to fill, having been a major force at NATO, as it is called,
Netflix has struck deals with European cinema giant Vue International and Cineworld to put “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” in British movie theaters. The film will screen at select Vue and Cineworld cinemas across the U.K. an entire month before the movie hits the streaming service. “Glass Onion” will play on the big screen
Prime Video is debuting the Karla Souza drama “La Caida” (“Dive”) on Nov. 11 after its world premiere at the Morelia Int’l Film Festival. “How to Get Away with Murder” star Souza produces and stars in the topical drama directed by high-flying Argentine helmer-scribe Lucía Puenzo, hot off “La Jauría” and “Señorita 89.” Souza is
“Watchmen” creator Alan Moore’s hatred for superhero movies is well known, as he once called them a “blight” to cinema and “also to culture to a degree,” but he dragged them even more during a recent interview with The Guardian. Moore described adults’ continued love of superhero movies an “infantilization” that can act as “a
Selena Gomez gets candid in the upcoming Apple TV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me.” “Just be who you are, Selena. No one cares about what you’re doing,” Gomez says in the trailer, which was unveiled Monday in honor of World Health Mental Day. “It’s about who I am, being okay with where I
Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has launched the international trailer (below) for “In a Land That No Longer Exists,” which has its international premiere on Oct. 21 in the competition section of the Rome Film Festival. Aelrun Goette’s feature debut, which was released in Germany on Thursday by Tobis, is inspired by the director’s own
BBC Film boss Eva Yates has set out her new editorial team, with the BFI’s Kristin Irving joining as a commissioning executive, and Anu Henriques boarding as a development executive. Meanwhile, Claudia Yusef has been named commissioning executive, expanding her responsibilities across development and production. Irving was a senior production and development executive at the
If Hollywood can justify making sequels to “Rambo” and “Top Gun” more than three decades on, why can’t Kollywood do the same? In tons-of-fun “Vikram,” a secret agent first introduced in 1986 emerges from deep undercover to thwart the biggest drug deal in Indian history. He’s a grandfather now, but that doesn’t stop the title
Patriotic rescue film “Homecoming” largely dominated the Chinese box office over the latest weekend and brought to a close a deeply-depressed National Day holiday period. “Homecoming” earned $21.5 million between Friday and Sunday to lift its ten-day cumulative to $163 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That score accounted for a 71% share
The long awaited “The Legend of Maula Jatt,” starring Pakistani superstars Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan (no relation), is set to release theatrically worldwide on Oct. 13. The Punjabi-language film, which is one of the biggest budgeted in the history of Pakistani cinema, is a reboot of Yunus Malik’s 1979 cult classic “Maula Jatt.” The
20th Century Studios’ fantasy action film “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” has begun production in Sydney, New South Wales, at the iconic Fox Studios Australia, which have been newly renamed Disney Studios Australia. The franchise film is pitched as a new chapter in the “Planet of the Apes” saga, picking up many years
In “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” Elvis Mitchell’s highly pleasurable and eye-opening movie-love documentary about the American Black cinema revolution of the late ’60s and ’70s, Billy Dee Williams, now 85 but still spry, tells a funny story about what it was like to play Louis McKay, the dapper love object and would-be savior
Rithy Panh, director of “Rice People” and “S21 The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine” is an icon of art-house cinema, at once political, unique, and charming. The iconic image may be another of his confections – a palatable work built on uncomfortable facts. On the incomplete evidence of a 50-minute on-stage dialog at the Busan International
Comedy action film “Confidential Assignment 2: International” claimed its fifth successive weekend victory at the South Korean box office as only U.S. horror film “Smile” was able to break into the top five.The CJ Entertainment-distributed “Confidential Assignment 2” managed $1.64 million over the Friday to Sunday period, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service
The past few weeks have gone by in a blur for Singapore-Korean co-produced comedy film “Ajoomma.” In a short span, it had a world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, earned four Golden Horse nominations including best actress, best new director, best original screenplay and best supporting actor. And Singapore has selected the
Director Natesh Hegde and producer Rishab Shetty, whose “Pedro” was in the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival in 2021, are at this year’s Asian Project Market with “Vaghachipani” (“Tiger′s Pond”). “Pedro” won best director for Hegde at Pingyao, best film at the Nantes Three Continents Festival, and had a stellar festival
The annual Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) came to a close Saturday evening, concluding an 11-day event by screening the year’s top honorees at Háskólabíó alongside the award-winning Austrian drama “Vera.” Victors in the New Visions category, which exclusively features debut and sophomore films from filmmakers, are among the works which earned an on-screen reprisal.
“Ticket to Paradise,” a romantic comedy that reunites Julia Roberts and George Clooney, is (surprise, surprise) charming audiences at the international box office. The movie has generated $60 million overseas to date, a promising start given the current challenges facing theatrical rom-coms. Of course, it helps when the genre gets a boost from megawatt stars
The second trial of Harvey Weinstein will get underway this week in a Los Angeles courtroom, in a case that figures to be more sprawling and complex than his first trial in New York. The trial is expected to last up to two months, as Weinstein faces testimony from nine sexual assault accusers — up
Alejandro González Iñárritu has bemoaned modern cinema’s prioritization of style over substance. Taking to the stage in London for a wide-ranging discussion about his career, the two-time best director Oscar winner said: “I don’t care about the quality of things. When I see young filmmakers, I’m very connected to the way they express themselves. Nowadays,
The Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) has expressed its support for the strong contingent of filmmakers from the country at the Busan International Film Festival. There are 20 participants from Indonesia across the festival’s various strands. Indonesian content in the festival program includes: Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner and Toronto selection “Autobiography”
Still riding high on the success of “The Roundup,” Korean indie film producer and seller K-Movie Entertainment, is showcasing a slate of 16 movies at the Asian and Contents Film Market, part of the Busan International Film Festival. The company has two titles featuring Don Lee (“The Eternals”) including the previously announced “The Roundup: No
Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin, whose work has been showcased at the Busan International Film Festival from his first feature “Monday Morning Glory” (2005), is back with his latest feature “Stone Turtle.” The film, which won the FIPRESCI Prize at Locarno earlier this year, follows a woman living in the peninsular Malaysian east coast, who
Jamie Lee Curtis professed her love to a room filled with more than 5,000 “Halloween” franchise fans at New York Comic Con on Saturday, telling the crowd: “No matter what I do — whatever the fuck I do forever — Laurie Strode is because of you and I thank you. ” Curtis choked up at
Standing on the roof of The Grove’s parking structure, writer-director Lena Dunham took in the lavish details of Friday’s influencer-packed VIP screening of her new Prime Video film “Catherine Called Birdy,” clearly delighted by the Ren-Faire-meets-rave vibe that Amazon created to capture the film’s blend of 13th Century setting and contemporary tone. “I’m not above
Filmmakers in the Philippines will no longer have to pay back production grants received from Film Philippines, the organization also known as Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), it was revealed at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market on Saturday. “The Film Philippines incentives and grants are the same, and the benefits that you
Vietnamese Writer-director Le Bao and Singapore and Toronto-based producer Lai Weijie, who collaborated successfully on “Taste” (2021), are reuniting for Busan Asian Project Market title “The Sea is Calm Tonight.” “Taste,” Le’s feature debut, had considerable festival play and won awards at Berlin, Singapore, Taipei and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In “The Sea is
In what plays like Singapore’s answer to “About Schmidt,” never-too-late-to-live dramedy “Ajoomma” follows a widowed housewife as she steps out of her comfort zone by making a solo trip to South Korea. This upbeat debut from director He Shuming — whose title is the Korean equivalent of the all-purpose Asian term of respect “Auntie” —
Jennifer Lawrence has revealed that she sensed a loss of control in the wake of the huge success of the first “Hunger Games” film in 2012. Talking to Francine Stock about her career as part of the London Film Festival’s “Screen Talk” series, Lawrence opened up about her feelings on working in the hit franchise.