Movies

Coming into a new year usually brings clarity. But when it comes to the Oscar race — to quote novelist William Goldman — nobody knows anything. Academy Award nominations will be announced Jan. 17 and voting is currently underway. Judging by the Golden Globe Awards Sunday, a number of winners have brought their possible Oscar

Director Kelsey Mann, producer Mark Nielsen, writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein and composer Andrea Datzman sat down with Clayton Davis, Variety’s Senior Awards Editor, at the Variety FYC Screening presented by Disney & Pixar, to chat about their work on “Inside Out 2.” The billion-dollar animated hit “Inside Out 2” introduces an older Riley,

James Woods has lost his Pacific Palisades home in the Southern California fires that continue to devastate parts of Los Angeles. Speaking on CNN, the 77-year-old “Vampires” and “Once Upon a Time in America” actor broke down in tears discussing the harrowing situation in his neighborhood. “One day you’re swimming in the pool and the

A nonprofit backed by Hollywood power players is stepping up to help firefighters, first responders and communities affected by the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles and surrounding areas. The Entertainment Industry Foundation, which counts Sherry Lansing as a director and CAA’s Chris Silbermann as board chair, has activated a program that will funnel public donations to

The Critics Choice Awards, originally set for Sunday, Jan. 12 in Santa Monica, has been postponed to Jan. 26 amid devastating fires raging across the Los Angeles area. “This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has revealed its nominees for the upcoming 2025 awards, and it’s a high-stakes Oscar season, proven by the notable snubs and surprises. The five filmmakers contending for the prestigious DGA Award for Directorial Achievement in Feature Film are the following: Jacques Audiard for “Emilia Pérez” Sean Baker for “Anora”

 Members of the Academy Documentary Branch sifted through 169 eligible nonfiction features to determine this year’s shortlist. The 15 selected films are beautifully crafted docs about interesting and important subjects. Ten docs that made the list premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, while the five remaining debuted at other top-tier festivals, including Berlin, Venice

The National Board of Review Awards gala, held Tuesday night at Manhattan’s Cipriani 42nd St., gathered the talents behind some of the most talked-about films of 2024. Ryan Reynolds stepped out to present the best film award to “Wicked” at the star-studded gala, marking his first public outing since his wife, Blake Lively, filed a

Variety hosted a panel for six short films, moderated by Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay, as part of the Variety Streaming Room series. Among the films featured on the panel were “Au Revoir Mon Monde” from co-directors Florian Maurice and Astrid Novais, “Bottle George” from director Daisuke Tsutsumi, “Edge of Space” from director Jean de Meuron,

In a year full of bold cinematic achievements, many of the stories attracting awards attention are driven by their filmmakers’ consuming passion not just to direct but write them as well. Their identification of projects demanding to be brought to life in a very specific aesthetic key — from page to screen — imbues the

A slew of Los Angeles area premieres have been canceled amid devastating fires in southern California. Amazon MGM Studios and Universal Studios scrapped their planned Tuesday night premieres of “Unstoppable” and “Wolf Man.” Meanwhile, Paramount and Max canceled their Wednesday “Better Man” and “The Pitt” premieres. “Due to the dangerous conditions affecting Los Angeles we

Paris-based Indie Sales has closed a raft of deals for “Last Swim,” Sasha Nathwani’s debut which won the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, including in the U.S. and the U.K. Vertigo, whose track record include “Sound of Metal” and “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” has picked up the film and will set a

Gold House has unveiled its fifth annual Gold List with “Wicked” and “Moana 2” among the films being honored. The list spotlights the most exceptional achievements in film by Asian Pacific creatives over the past year. It also serves as a guide for awards voters and celebrates a monumental year for Asian Pacific representation in

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has boarded the short film “Anuja” as executive producer. The film, which won the live-action short award at the 2024 HollyShorts Film Festival, has been shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards in the live-action short film category. Directed by Adam J. Graves and produced by Suchitra Mattai, “Anuja” centers on the 9-year-old

With Oscar voting starting today, double Oscar-winner Jane Campion is championing young Italian director Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio,” Italy’s contender in the international film category. The intimate period drama, set at the end of World War II in an Alpine village where the arrival of a soldier causes disruption in the dynamics between three sisters, has

BOND’S BOUNTY The London Critics’ Circle will present Daniel Craig with its Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film at the org’s 45th annual ceremony, set for Feb. 2 at London’s May Fair Hotel. “This is such an immense honor and I’m incredibly grateful to the London Film Critics’ Circle,” Craig said. Critics’ Circle Film

The global box office wrapped up 2024 with a bang, hitting an impressive $30 billion for the year, fueled by a sparkling $3 billion in December alone, according to U.K.-based film industry research firm Gower Street Analytics. December proved to be a blockbuster month, with the combined international (excluding China) and North American markets raking

The European Film Awards is set to make its debut in Southwestern Europe in January 2027, when its 39th edition will be hosted in Athens. The award show, which were first presented in Berlin in 1988 to promote and support the European film industry, previously took place in London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Malta,

“F1,” the new Formula 1 racing movie starring starring Brad Pitt, is the latest high-profile production to have shot in Abu Dhabi where cameras rolled during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last December. The hotly anticipated Apple Original film which, besides Pitt, stars Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles, Kim Bodnia

Due to the devastating fires raging in the Los Angeles area, the Screen Actors Guild has canceled the 31st annual live SAG Awards nominations announcement at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Instead, the nominations will be unveiled on Jan. 8 at 7:30 PT via a press release. “In an abundance of

Indian cinema heavyweight Yash marked his 39th birthday with the release of a first-look video from his upcoming feature “Toxic – A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups,” his first project since the blockbuster “K.G.F” franchise. The footage presents Yash in a white suit and fedora, cigar in hand, as he moves through an upscale nightclub setting.

“Police Academy” star Steve Guttenberg is doing his part to help evacuees escape the 1200-acre inferno ravaging the Pacific Palisades. While moving abandoned cars on Palisades Drive, Guttenberg approached a KTLA reporter to share an announcement about clearing the roadway for first responders and escaping citizens. “Here on Palisades Drive, if anybody has a car,

If you think Nicole Kidman is playing the title role in “Babygirl,” the Oscar-winning actress wants a word with you. It’s just a few days before Christmas and I am talking to Kidman over Zoom for the first “Just for Variety” episode of 2025. Written and directed by Halina Reijn, the erotic thriller stars Kidman

DC Studios co-chief James Gunn stirred up buzz among comic book movie fans when he recently said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that he’s “contemplated” bringing Robert Pattinson‘s Batman into the new DC Universe. Pattinson debuted as the Dark Knight in 2022’s “The Batman.” Gunn’s DC Universe kicked off last month with the animated

After Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, Hollywood has officially entered the “playoff” stage of Oscar season. With over two dozen films vying for nominations across all Academy Award categories, the next week is make-or-break for awards campaigns. AMPAS members will begin voting on the nominations on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. PT. Studios are pulling

Amazon MGM Studios and Universal Studios have canceled their planned Tuesday night premieres of “Unstoppable” and “Wolf Man,” amid fires in the Pacific Palisades and severe winds. “Unstoppable,” the biographical wrestling drama about Anthony Robles starring Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival but was set to have a red

If the first few days of January are any indication, 2025 is going to be a rock ‘em, sock ‘em year across the media and entertainment landscape. In advance of Variety’s Entertainment Summit on Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — our annual gathering where we assess the year that just

Are Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson still feuding? It was one of the biggest questions to emerge out of the 2025 Golden Globes, but Diesel is here to end rampant speculation. The actor posted a friendly throwback photo with Johnson to his Instagram account along with the caption: “All love…always.” Diesel has his arm around

“She’s the jewel, and I had to create the jewelry box.” The “jewel” for “Maria” production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas was Angelina Jolie who embodies the famed opera soprano Maria Callas in “Maria,” now streaming on Netflix. That was the directive the film’s Dyas received from director Pablo Larrain when approaching their latest film together.

“The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” triumphed, “Shōgun” and “Hacks” had big nights, and Nikki Glaser reminded viewers what it’s like to have a host who’s actually funny in the most memorable Golden Globes ceremony since the awards show nearly atomized a few years ago. It was a broadcast notably light on politics (Glaser did have