Movies

Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he had to turn down a fighter pilot’s role in Tom Cruise hit “Top Gun: Maverick,” directed by Joseph Kosinski. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hamilton, who is a friend of Cruise, says that he saw “Top Gun” as a child and fixated on being a

Zurich native Caterina Mona will bring her directorial debut “Semret” to the 75th Locarno Film Festival where it screens at the city’s Piazza Grande, an outdoor venue traditionally reserved for more popular plays. The film, which is being sold by German sales outfit Pluto Film, follows the difficult path to healing for the titular character

In Andrew Legge’s feature debut ‘LOLA’ you don’t have to time-travel in order to see the future. Two sisters create a machine that can intercept broadcasts from the forthcoming decades: It’s 1941 and they can already listen to Bowie. But World War II soon puts their invention to a much more sinister use. Following its

“Before Now & Then,” a period drama film about Indonesian women battling the traumas of war and patriarchal society, has been picked up for North American distribution by Film Movement. The film is directed by Kamila Andini. The film had its premiere earlier this year at the Berlin festival, where it was rewarded with a

Zazie Beetz is being eyed to return to the upcoming “Joker” sequel “Folie à Deux,” Variety has confirmed. Beetz appeared in the original 2019 “Joker” as Sophie Dumond, a single mother and the neighbor of Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck. How Beetz could reprise her role is an open question: Although the film depicted Arthur entering

Anne Heche is in a coma following a car crash in Los Angeles on Aug. 5. The actor’s representative said in a statement: “At this time Anne is in extreme critical condition. She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention. She is in a coma and has not

Neve Campbell shocked the “Scream” fandom when she announced June 6 that she would not be returning for the upcoming sixth “Scream” movie, making it the first installment in the long-running horror franchise not to star Campbell. The actor said at the time that the offer to star in “Scream 6” did not properly “equate”

Cinema Guild has acquired the North American distribution rights for Hong Sangsoo’s upcoming film “Walk Up.” The film will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will also play in competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Cinema Guild will open the film in theaters in 2023 following its release

Ezra Miller, the embattled star of Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” movie, has been charged with felony burglary in Stamford, Vt., according to a Vermont State Police report. According to the police report, Vermont State Police were notified of a burglary complaint from a residence in Stamford at 5:55 p.m. on May 1. Police found that

Jane Lynch, Antonio Banderas, Lea Salonga, Gabrielle Union, George Takei and more have posted tributes to “Grease” star and singer Olivia Newton-John, who died on Monday at 73 years old. In addition to John Travolta, who shared a heartfelt post about his “Grease” co-star on Instagram, other actors, directors and members of Hollywood took to

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Melissa Leo and Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of “Clean-Up Crew,” an action-comedy from Yale Entertainment. Directed by Jon Keeyes, “Clean-Up Crew” focuses on a crime scene clean-up team that discovers a cash-filled briefcase at a crime sight. The discovery pits them into battle with a crime boss, hitman and corrupt

John Travolta took to social media to pay tribute to Olivia Newton-John, his “Grease” co-star who died Monday at 73 years old. “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better,” Travolta wrote in a post. “Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road

Olivia Newton-John, the top female pop vocalist of the 1970s who starred in movies including “Grease” and “Xanadu,” died Monday. She was 73. Her husband, John Easterling, posted the news on her official Facebook page, writing: “Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and

Variety Film Chatter Chart debuted on Twitter on Monday, with “Bullet Train,” “Prey” and “Don’t Worry Darling” topping this week’s list of the most tweeted about movies. Variety Film Chatter Chart, powered by Twitter, tracks the week’s top five trending titles in the world of cinema and the most buzzed about movies based on Twitter

“Jane the Virgin” actor Justin Baldoni is hoping to bring the exploits of Pac-Man to a movie theater near you. Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios is backing a live-action film based on the popular arcade game, along with Bandai Namco Entertainment, the Japanese video game publisher that created Pac-Man, as well as Ace Combat, Galaga and

Spy tales and romantic stories make for strange if complementary bedfellows. Both, after all, depend on a building of trust between individuals. A spy is only as good as how well they can quickly and efficiently connect with strangers, often creating a makeshift intimacy that’ll be nurtured in due time. The terms may be different

Jacob Elordi is the bad boy of “Euphoria” thanks to his performance as Nate Jacobs, who is a far cry from the more wholesome heartthrob the actor played in Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” series. It was the streamer’s romantic-comedy films that first made Elordi an internet sensation, but the actor told GQ magazine that he

Bertram “Bert” Fields, the larger-than-life entertainment lawyer whose roster of star clients and studios spoke to a penchant for doling out legal threats with a rhetorical flourish, along with a capacity for winning lucrative settlements, has died at his Malibu home, his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93. Fields thrived on the notion that he

Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection” has been tapped as the closing night selection of the 60th New York Film Festival. The film, a deeply personal drama about Bratton’s experiences as a gay man in Marine Corps basic training, will have its U.S. premiere on Oct. 14 at Alice Tully Hall. It marks Bratton’s narrative debut. He

Dustin Hoffman is one of the most versatile actors to ever grace the silver screen. Homegrown in Hollywood, the Los Angeles native has steered a career that has spanned over seven decades and brought forth some of the most vivid character creations in cinema history. To commemorate Dustin Hoffman’s 85th birthday, Variety ranks the 13

Kevin Smith spoke out against Warner Bros.’ axing of “Batgirl” during the latest episode of his “Hollywood Babble-On” YouTube show. The filmmaker called it “an incredible bad look” for the studio to drop the rare comic book tentpole to be headlined by a Latina actor, especially when Warner Bros. is still moving forward on the

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” has been given a mainland China theatrical release date of Aug. 19, 2022. The move is a surprise given the strained current state of political and diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. The film is produced by Universal and Illumination Entertainment. And the information was carried on Monday by

Sales agency Taskovski Films has acquired Susanna della Sala’s “Last Stop Before Chocolate Mountain,” produced by Marco Visalberghi, who won Venice’s Golden Lion for “Sacro Gra.” The film will have its world premiere Tuesday at the Locarno Film Festival as part of the Critics’ Week section. The feature documentary is set in a small Californian

In a deal which transforms a local project into an international production, Taiwan’s Tydal Productions has struck a co-production deal with the Czech Republic’s Lonely Production to make “Malice,” a potentially arresting high-sea thriller to be directed by Lungyin Lim. Set up at Lungyin Lim’s Tydal Productions and Aview Images, both based in Taiwan, “Malice”

Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Jessica Chastain was in Kyiv, Ukraine, over the weekend. She visited children’s hospital Okhmatdyt on Sunday and later met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and head of the presidential administration Andriy Yermak. Chastain, who won the best actress Oscar this year for her performance in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” is the

The government of Zimbabwe has banned “President,” Danish filmmaker Camilla Nielsson’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary about the African nation’s corrupt 2018 presidential election, Variety can exclusively reveal. In a letter dated June 16, the country’s censorship board slapped a ban on the Sundance prize-winning documentary, insisting that it “has the potential to incite violence” as Zimbabwe gears

“Emergency Declaration,” a timely Korean-made action thriller, flew to an opening weekend of $6.5 million. But it was old-fashioned naval actioner “Hansan: Rising Dragon” that stayed afloat at the top of the South Korean box office for a second week. “Hansan,” a sequel to a 2014 record breaker, earned $9.18 million from over 1,600 screens,

Lukas Nathrath’s “One Last Evening,” an often excruciating tragedy-laced dramedy set around a couple’s farewell dinner for friends, won big at Locarno’s First Look on Sunday, scooping the Cinegrell First Look Award. The award consists in €50,000 ($51,000) in post-production services from Cinegrell, a Switzerland and Germany based services house. The biggest prize at this

Jesse Ventura thinks “Prey” star Amber Midthunder “ain’t got time to bleed.” The actor, who starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original 1987 “Predator,” expressed his praise for the franchise’s latest entry, calling the prequel a “wonderful film.” “Great, great film,” Ventura wrote in a Twitter post Saturday evening, highlighting the performance by Midthunder. “Welcome

“Bullet Train,” a hyperviolent action thriller with Brad Pitt providing the propulsion, racked up $32.4 million at the international box office. The Sony Pictures release, which carries a hefty $90 million budget, has earned $62.5 million worldwide over its opening weekend. The studio says that those results indicate the film in on pace to match