Movies

“Doctor Sleep” director Mike Flanagan confirmed on Twitter that a planned sequel to his 2019 “The Shining” prequel is officially dead. The filmmaker cited the dismal box office performance of “Doctor Sleep” as the main reason why Warner Bros. isn’t moving forward with a second “The Shining” prequel film, this one focused on the character

In Amazon Prime Video’s “The Idea of You,” Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway stars as a divorced mother who sparks a passionate love affair with a pop star she meets after taking her daughter to a music festival. And now, the object of her on-screen desire has been cast. Nicholas Galitzine will play Hayes Campbell

James Cameron revealed in a recent interview with The New York Times that he shut down 20th Century Fox executives when they tried to battle him over a key sequence in “Avatar.” Cameron rejected the studio’s notes to make the film shorter and to trim the movie’s flying sequences by telling executives that he directed

RLJE Films is partnering with Shudder on “Kids vs. Aliens,” which it will fully finance and premiere at Fantastic Fest later this month. Both companies are business units of AMC Networks. Shudder is a streaming service that focuses on horror, thriller and supernatural films. RLJE Films will release the alien invasion film in theaters, on

Beginning today, Cartoon Forum, the annual European pitching and co-production event for animated TV projects, is a mirror of the times we live in, according to its general director, Annick Maes.  “This year’s Cartoon Forum will incorporate the transformations we are going through in one form or another,” she told Variety. “There are a lot of projects about the ecology,

A24 has landed the rights to “Instinct,” an erotic psychological thriller from “Bodies Bodies Bodies” director Halina Reijn. A24 is planning a one-night-only event to release the film on the company’s screening room on Thursday, Sept. 22. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. ET. “Instinct” had its world premiere at the

Eight animated TV series projects involving Spanish companies will be presented to buyers and producers attending 2022 Cartoon Forum’s pitching sessions, the event’s main attraction.  Among well-known production companies presenting their latest cartoon shows figure In Efecto Atlantis, the Spanish-French studio behind Disney’s series “Tara Duncan;”Sygnatia, the producer of multi-award winning animated film “Buñuel in

Egyptian-American director Dina Amer’s politically sensitive drama “You Resemble Me,” the story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen who in 2015 was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber, is getting a Middle East release via Front Row Filmed Entertainment. Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, is a

South Indian star Varun Tej is to head the cast of a patriotic air force action thriller backed by Sony Pictures International Productions. The untitled picture will begin filming from November. Tej, known locally as ‘Mega Prince,’ has his roots in the Telugu-language regional film industry and achieved fame with the Krish-directed “Kanche” in 2015.

Signalling Mexican giant exhibitor-distributor Cinépolis’ gradual return to producing since the pandemic, the company has partnered once more with producer Javier González-Rubio of Invicta Films, here on film critic Hugo Lara’s second feature, “Serendipia” (“Serendipity”). “We are excited to be embarking on this new journey with Invicta Films and strengthening our partnership. ‘Serendipia’ is a

French kids entertainment company Millimages has announced it is renewing with Netflix for Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of its hit series “Molang”, already picked up by co-producers TF1 and Canal+.  “Molang” will be rolling out in all territories except Scandinavia and China from Nov. 1, said Millimages general manager Marina Narishkin, adding that the

Armando Espitia, who broke out as the hapless young factory worker in Amat Escalante’s Cannes winner “Heli,” is attached to star in “Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building,” a feature project being brought to San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum by Mexico’s Bruno Santamaría Raso.  Also on board is actor – and writer-producer

Paris-based premium kids content producer Cottonwood Media has announced its sister distribution company, Federation Kids & Family, has nabbed world rights for its upcoming TV series “Welcome to Lolyland.”  The project is one of 80 being pitched this week at Cartoon Forum, the leading European event for animated TV series in development aimed at industry

Vying for the top Gold Shell at the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, Basque native Mikel Gurrea’s debut feature “Suro” stems from Gurrea’s experience working in the cork forests north of Catalonia. He had just finished his studies and was at a loss when his then girlfriend’s parents suggested he work in the forests where they

Set to be unveiled at this week’s San Sebastian Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, “Bajo el Mismo Sol” has secured a first co-production deal ahead of the festival.  Argentina’ Pucará Cine has boarded the project, reteaming with lead producer Wooden Boat Productions in the Dominican Republican on director Ulises Porra’s third feature. Both production companies co-produced Porra’s

Popular Indian actor Parineeti Chopra (“Saina”) and actor and musician Harrdy Sandhu (“’83”) star in “Code Name: Tiranga.” An espionage action thriller, “Code Name: Tiranga” is the story of a spy on an unfaltering and fearless mission for her nation in a race against time where sacrifice is her only choice. Chopra plays an Indian

Paris-based La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma, producer of Chema García Ibarra’s 2021 Locarno winner “Sacred Spirit,” has boarded Gabriel Azorin’s “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” marking another financing milestone for his buzzy, poetic and time blending Spanish project.  A Locarno Match Me! hit. “Thebes” has been put through both San Sebastián’s Ikusmira Berriak

San Sebastian’s pix-in-post showcases, which have launched notable movies – Sebastian Lelio’s “Gloria” – and notable directors – Jayro Bustamante, introducing his debut “Ixcanul” – unspools in 2022, with the screenings of six WIP Latam titles taking place over Sept. 19 – 21. WIP Europe, with four titles, runs on Sept. 19 and 20.  In

Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office with a weekend score of just $7.4 million (RMB50.8 million). The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in

It’s been over 25 years since actor and activist James Cromwell played one of his most indelible roles, the kindly farmer Arthur Hoggett in ”Babe,” but he’s been both a friend of animals and a champion of their rights for even longer. During Friday evening’s 23rd annual gala for Mercy for Animals – dedicated to

Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán, an alum of San Sebastian’s post-graduate film school Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), has come full circle with her second feature “La Piel Pulpo” (“Octopus Skin”) as it competes at the San Sebastian Festival’s Horizontes Latinos, a year after it participated in the festival’s Work in Progress strand (WIP Latam). A

There’s a genre I like so much I can never get enough of it — I call it the Biopic About Someone You Wouldn’t Make a Biopic About. The form came into existence, in a certain way, with “Sid and Nancy,” but it was all but patented by the screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who

Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical coming-of-age story “The Fabelmans” took home the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, providing a major boost to its awards season chances. TIFF’s people’s choice award is one of the most reliable predictors of eventual Oscar success. In past years, winners such as “Green Book” and “Nomadland” went on to capture

“The Woman King,” a historical action epic starring Viola Davis, ruled over domestic box office charts in its opening weekend. Bolstered by stellar reviews and positive word-of-mouth, the movie collected $19 million from 3,765 North American cinemas over the weekend, arriving at the higher end of expectations. Independent tracking services projected “The Woman King” would kick

Continuing its energetic push into international markets via its Spanish Screenings initiative, Spain’s film and export authorities look set to back a record presence of execs and movie/TV titles at Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest film-TV market.  Co-organized by Cannes Marché du Film, Cannes Film Festival and Argentina’s INCAA film-TV agency, Ventana Sur

“You have to know how to reject roles so as not to enter into a system in which women are only seen in a certain way,” said French actor Juliette Binoche on Sunday. Binoche spoke up for women whilst answering questions from the press at the San Sebastián Film Festival where she is a recipient

Woody Allen has announced his retirement from filmmaking. While in Europe to work on his 50th film, Woody Allen told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that he intended to retire from making movies and to dedicate more time to writing during his twilight years. What is now set to be his final film is set in

Making its world premiere in the main competition at the San Sebastián Festival on Sept. 19, “Il Boemo,” the story of a forgotten Czech composer who rose to fame in the second half of the 18th century, has taken the award-winning filmmaker Petr Václav more than a decade to complete.  Known as Il Boemo, Josef Mysliveček’s

Filmmaker R. Balki and actor Dulquer Salmaan are teaming for the first time on “Chup,” a thriller where a serial killer brutally murders Bollywood film critics and carves star ratings on their foreheads. The cast also includes Bollywood veterans Sunny Deol (“Gadar: Ek Prem Katha”) and Pooja Bhatt (Netflix’s “Bombay Begums”), Shreya Dhanwanthary (Amazon Prime

In a flat, Ángeles keeps solemn company with her despair. Neurodivergent and seeking refuge, she eventually escapes into a Western-themed video game, embarking on an emotional adventure between reality and the virtual world that entices her. “Ripli” marks the debut feature effort for Madrid-based director Elena Tara, whose delicate first short “Ella Muerta De Frio.