Movies

The Academy has announced this year’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winners, including four individuals and one writing team. Each individual and writing team will receive a $35,000 prize and mentorship from an Academy member throughout the recipient’s fellowship year. In addition to the winners being featured at the 2022 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards,

Yorgos Lanthimos, the filmmaker behind dark comedies like “The Favourite” and “The Lobster,” has lined up a starry ensemble for his next movie, titled “And.” Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons and Margaret Qualley will star in “And,” which is set at Searchlight Pictures. Plot details for the film have been kept under wraps. In

Heatseeking actor Arian Moayed has joined the cast of “House of Spoils,” a new psychological thriller starring Oscar nominee Ariana DeBose and “Euphoria” actor Barbie Ferreira. Moayed is a breakout star of the HBO juggernaut “Succession,” in which he stars as private equity investor Stewy Hosseini — best frenemy and casual abuser to Jeremy Strong’s Kendall Roy.

It’s more than just Harry, it’s an ensemble. Amazon Studios is moving forward with an awards push for director Michael Grandage’s romantic drama “My Policeman,” despite mixed reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival, where it received an ensemble tribute. Variety has learned exclusively that Amazon will be submitting the entire cast, which includes music

In the end, an old-fashioned filmmaking trick involving heated cardboard helped costume designers re-create Marilyn Monroe’s famous pleated halter dress from “The Seven Year Itch” for Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde.” “On paper, it looks easy,” says “Blonde” costume designer Jennifer Johnson, who worked on many of Monroe’s looks — including that one — for the movie,

20th Century Studios has revealed the first look and title of the latest addition to the “Planet of the Apes” franchise: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” Starring “The Witcher’s” Freya Allan, Owen Teague and Peter Macon, the next chapter of the “Planet of the Apes” saga will pick up several years after the

Centricus has acquired a majority stake in SK Global Entertainment, the independent film and television production and finance company behind “Crazy Rich Asians.” The pact is in in the low to mid nine figures, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. The deal will provide SK Global with capital to grow its company,

A24 has released the official trailer for its upcoming Claire Denis-helmed romantic thriller “Stars at Noon,” starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn. The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The two-hour film follows a young American journalist (Qualley), who falls for a mysterious Englishman (Alwyn) while stranded in Nicaragua. Though at

Focus Features has shared the trailer for upcoming biographical drama “Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies” from director Michael Showalter. The film stars Jim Parsons as Michael Ausiello, a real-life entertainment journalist who experiences the death of his partner, Kit Cowan (played by Ben Aldridge) over a prolonged 11-month period due to terminal cancer. The film’s

What strange sorcery is this that “Hocus Pocus” — a so-so comedy turned campy cult favorite starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as absolutely fabulous Salem witch sisters — should be getting a sequel nearly three decades after its 1993 release? At the time, Variety speculated that, were it not for the

Amazon’s Prime Video is bringing the story of Canada’s most famous children’s entertainer to the world. The streamer has confirmed the start of production on an untitled “Mr. Dressup” documentary, based on the life and career of Ernie Coombs. The doc will celebrate the origins and history of the children’s show and its legacy of

Leading practitioners of the Asian theatrical business participated in a lively discussion on the future of the sector post-pandemic and the signs are encouraging. Speaking at the APOS conference in Singapore on Thursday, moderated by Variety Asia editor Patrick Frater, Stephen Laslocky, VP at leading research firm Media Partners Asia, provided a handy overview of the

If it’s possible to pull off solemn conversations about the stakes for women around the world and also have a fantastic party that toasts their remarkable achievements, Variety did just that on Wednesday in Beverly Hills. In a sprawling takeover of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, heavy-hitting executives, producers, writers, talent and

Elizabeth Olsen may save the day in Marvel films, but on Wednesday evening she highlighted her own hero: Gail Abarbanel, the founder and director of the Rape Foundation and Stuart House. In her speech at Variety’s Power of Women event presented by Lifetime, Olsen spoke passionately about Abarbanel, also in attendance, and the Los Angeles

Oprah Winfrey delivered an inspiring speech to close out Variety’s Power of Women dinner, presented by Lifetime. Winfrey was honored at the event alongside her “Queen Sugar” partner Ava DuVernay, both of whom turned the OWN series into a launching pad for female directors. Winfrey championed “Queen Sugar” for “defining the OWN network” and for “reflecting

Malala Yousafzai used Variety’s Power of Women event, presented by Lifetime, to make the case for representation in Hollywood, specifically highlighting the fact that Muslim actors only make up 1% of popular television series leads. “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson presented Yousafzai with her Variety honor, calling her one of “the most influential advocates of

Gerhard Zeiler, president of International at Warner Bros. Discovery, has moved to reassure the Asia-Pacific region that it is an integral part of the group’s post-merger strategy. “Don’t believe that we don’t know how important Asia is for our company, he said Thursday. Zeiler was speaking at the APOS Convention in Singapore on Thursday. He

Hugh Jackman’s surprise return as Wolverine in “Deadpool 3” is one of the biggest film stories of the week, but Marvel stalwart Elizabeth Olsen is only just finding out about it. The Scarlet Witch got the news about about Jackman’s return broken to her ‘On the Carpet,’ powered by DIRECTV at Variety’s Power of Women,

Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s crime thriller “Limbo” is the front-runner in the Golden Horse Film Awards, with 14 nominations. It is narrowly ahead of Taiwan-produced “Coo-Coo 043” and “Incantation,” which both have 13 nominations. All three films compete for the best feature award, best director, supporting actor, art direction, makeup and costume design, original film score,

The Newport Beach Film Festival has announced it’s 2022 Festival Honors, which includes Oscar winners Ron Howard and Eddie Redmayne and actors from Jonathan Majors and Patton Oswalt to Keke Palmer and Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly.) The artists will be honored at a brunch in conjunction with Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch taking

As soon as word got out that “Blonde,” Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe drama starring Ana de Armas, was going to be rated NC-17, the film became an instant source of months-long controversy and fascination. Such is the effect of the NC-17 rating, which prohibits anyone under the age of 17 years old from buying a

A global music sensation. A recently-slapped comedy legend. An indie “It” girl. A retired Batman. And Barbie herself. These performers are the stuff of movie marketers’ dreams, and also what the Walt Disney Company has at its disposal with “Amsterdam.” It’s a film from established auteur David O. Russell, whose reputation for delivering the goods

“There is no meaning to life apart from the movie story,” writes Joyce Carol Oates in the opening pages of “Blonde,” “and there is no movie story apart from the darkened movie theater.” If it was inevitable that Oates’ novel about Marilyn Monroe would be made into a movie, it’s also a little ironic that

Al Pacino will star in the upcoming drama “Billy Knight” opposite Charlie Heaton of “Stranger Things” fame. Diana Silvers, best known for her work in “Ma” and “Space Force,” rounds out the cast of writer and director Alec Griffen Roth’s debut feature film. “Billy Knight” follows grad school students Alex (Heaton) and Emily (Silvers) who

Award-winning German actor Nina Hoss has signed with CAA for representation. Hoss stars opposite Cate Blanchett in Todd Field’s “Tár,” which will open theatrically on Oct. 7 via Focus Features. The film debuted to rave reviews at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, with Variety Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis suggesting that Hoss could land

After years of declarations about the death of the romantic comedy, Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s recent commercial hit “The Lost City” proved there’s still a place on the big screen for meet-cute stories. Now, comedian and actor Billy Eichner is taking a stab at the feel-good genre with “Bros,” an R-rated romantic comedy that

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has divided the Golden Globes categories for supporting actor and supporting actress in a series, miniseries or television movie. These four new categories will replace the previous supporting actor and actress TV categories : Best supporting actor in a television series (musical/comedy or drama) Best supporting actress in a television

A photo shoot for the stills of Marilyn Monroe that would feature throughout Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” coming to Netflix Thursday, was essential to the hair and makeup team in transforming Ana de Armas into the celebrated icon. Jaime Leigh McIntosh, hair department head and makeup department head Tina Roesler Kerwin spent two and a half

Arnold Schwarzenegger left many fans on social media upset and confused after he signed the Auschwitz Museum guestbook with his iconic “The Terminator” catchphrase “I’ll be back.” The official Twitter account for the museum shared Schwarzenegger’s signature. The actor visited Auschwitz after receiving the inaugural Award for Fighting Hatred from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation

Before becoming a Hollywood star — and a Marvel superhero — Anthony Mackie worked alongside his father at his roofing business in and around New Orleans. In what seems to be a full-circle moment, Mackie has now teamed up with roofing manufacturer GAF to help residents of his hometown of New Orleans whose roofs were