Movies

The death of “Batgirl” on Tuesday sent immediate shockwaves through Hollywood. The film — with a $75 million budget that grew to $90 million due to COVID-related overages — had finished shooting months ago and was in test screenings as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life,” “Ms. Marvel”) worked through the

The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) has chosen Colm Bairéad’s Irish-Language film “The Quiet Girl” (“An Cailín Ciúin”) as Ireland’s entry for the Oscars’ best international feature film category at the 95th Academy Awards. Set in rural Ireland in 1981, the coming-of-age film follows Cáit (Catherine Clinch) as she is sent from her overcrowded,

Hollywood producer Janet Yang has been named the new president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors. Yang, who is of Chinese descent, is the first Asian person ever to hold the position and the fourth woman behind Fay Kanin (1979-1983), Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013-2017) and Bette

Netflix Studios and SAG-AFTRA have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, Variety has confirmed. The contract will be a successor to the three-year deal that the streamer and union signed in 2019, which was approved upon by SAG-AFTRA’s national board without ratification by union membership. Prior to the contract, Netflix signed agreements with

ARRAY Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY, has acquired the distribution rights for indie drama “Learn to Swim” and has set a release date for Aug. 15 in select theaters and on Netflix. “Learn to Swim” marks the feature directorial debut of Thyrone Tommy, who co-wrote the screenplay with Marni Van Dyk. Alona

Though they both boast impressive filmographies at a young age, neither Maria Bakalova or Amandla Stenberg had appeared in a horror film before. That all changes with the Aug. 5 release of “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” a smart and funny slasher film from A24 in which a group of frienemies find themselves dropping one by one

It’s hard to go two or three months without an internet rumor claiming John Boyega is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One unconfirmed report from May said Boyega had already filmed a secret Marvel role, while another rumor dating back to 2021 claimed Boyega was involved in the “Captain Marvel” sequel “The Marvels.” However, Boyega

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles has renewed the NewNarratives talent development program that it launched last year with Warner Bros. Discovery’s OneFifty content banner. The NewNarratives program identifies emerging global artists by tapping into the community of international content creators that NFMLA has cultivated over the past 15 years. “OneFifty is a long-standing partner of NewFilmmakers LA,”

“Batgirl,” the feature film adaptation of the DC Comics character, has been killed at Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed. It will not premiere on any platform at the studio — neither theatrically nor on HBO Max. The production — starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and directed by “Bad Boys for Life” and “Ms.

For “Bullet Train” star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, working on set of the action-packed Brad Pitt film was a strenuous yet hilarious adventure. That is, until an on-set accident landed him in the hospital. “I was on some crazy mad Keto diet,” Taylor-Johnson told Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of “Bullet Train” on Monday night. “Because I

“Cha Cha Real Smooth” director Cooper Raiff and former Black Bear Pictures development executive Clementine Quittner are teaming up to launch a new production company, Small Ideas, with a goal of developing and producing independent film and television projects. The duo are joining forces to make projects from emerging filmmakers and creators, as well as

Dev Patel successfully broke up a knife fight in Adelaide, Australia on August 1, the Oscar nominee’s representative confirmed in a statement to Variety. Patel lives in Australia. According to the country’s 7News, a man and a woman were fighting in the street and in a convenience store when the man was stabbed in the

Nichelle Nichols, the trailblazing star of “Star Trek” who died on Saturday at age 89, was a model of unruffled professionalism as Lieutenant Uhura, never breaking a sweat as she manned the communications desk of the Starship Enterprise. But for Nicholas Meyer, the director and screenwriter of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn” and

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directing duo known collectively as Daniels, signed an exclusive five-year partnership with Universal Pictures. The agreement, which includes their producing partner Jonathan Wang, comes shortly after their latest film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” cleared a major box office milestone, crossing $100 million in global ticket sales. It’s the

After his thrilling halftime performance at the 2022 Super Bowl, Snoop Dogg is entering the sports world — on the big screen. The acclaimed rapper is set to star in Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s upcoming sports comedy film “The Underdoggs,” and will produce the movie alongside “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris. Set for a theatrical release on

Patton Oswalt is OK with making you squirm. After all, the actor and comic once performed a number called “The Cringe” on an episode of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” a title that could describe his approach to cracking people up.  “Real comedy comes from those moments,” Oswalt says. “I fully ascribe to Tracy Morgan’s maxim that ‘Cool

There has been an outpouring of love for Kelly Reichardt as of late, with the “Showing Up” helmer awarded a Carrosse d’Or at Cannes – only the fourth woman to be honored this way – and now a Pardo d’Onore Manor at Locarno. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the U.S. director, described

Brad Pitt has nothing but praise for Ana de Armas’ performance as Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s upcoming drama “Blonde.” The Oscar winner produced the movie through his Plan B production banner after starring in Dominik’s directorial efforts “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and “Killing Them Softly.” “She is phenomenal

20th Century Studios is looking to revive “Working Girl” with the help of Selena Gomez. Gomez is in final negotiations to produce a reboot of “Working Girl,” the Mike Nichols-directed comedy starring Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford. Ilana Pena, who created the Disney+ series “Diary of a Future President,” is adapting the screenplay

Rome-based indie distributor Intramovies has snapped up international sales rights to Locarno contender “Nightsiren” (“Svetlonoc”) by Tereza Nvotovà. The Slovakia-Czech Republic production turns on a young woman who returns to her remote mountain home to seek answers about her traumatized childhood. The deeply superstitious villagers turn on her, accusing her of witchcraft and murder. As

A fire broke out at Rome’s historic Cinecittà Studios on Monday afternoon (Aug. 1) and was extinguished by three teams of firefighters. The fire broke out in the area where a set depicting renaissance Florence was housed and which was being decommissioned, destroying parts of it. It also disrupted the shoot for Netflix’s sequel to

Sebastian Lelio’s “Wonder,” starring “Black Widow’s” Florence Pugh, “Winter Boy” with Juliette Binoche and directors Hong Sang-soo and Ulrich Seidl will compete in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, the biggest film event in the Spanish-speaking world. In “Wonder,” the latest from Academy Award winning director Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”),Pugh plays an English nurse

Actor and campaigner Mehwish Hayat (“Ms. Marvel”) and writer-director Lena Khan (“Never Have I Ever”) have been revealed as the first patrons for charity U.K. Muslim Film (UKMF). UKMF works to change perspectives through championing underrepresented talent and voices, both on-screen and behind the camera and also advises the entertainment industry on how to authentically

Brad Pitt took a moment to comment on his recent fashion escapades at the Los Angeles premiere of “Bullet Train” on Monday evening. The actor has been making an impression as he’s continued the global promotional circuit for the action movie, making headlines last week for wearing a linen skirt to the film’s premiere in

A day after the death of “Star Trek” star Nichelle Nichols, fellow Lieutenant Uhura performer Zoe Saldaña penned a tribute to the pioneering actor. From 1966 to 1969, Nichols portrayed the character of Nyota Uhura — the communications officer of the USS Enterprise — in the pioneering science fiction series “Star Trek,” later reprising the

The official Marilyn Monroe Estate has come to the defense of Ana de Armas, who is playing the Hollywood icon in Andrew Dominik and Netflix’s upcoming drama “Blonde.” An official trailer for the film premiered online July 28 and left many viewers outraged over de Armas’ casting because her accent did not entirely match Monroe’s

A Los Angeles judge on Monday ruled to limit the amount of information that could be obtained by Harvey Weinstein’s defense team for his upcoming trial on 11 counts of rape and sexual assault. Judge Lisa B. Lench approved the prosecution’s motion to quash subpoenas from four witnesses for their correspondence, including personal emails and texts

“Jackie Brown” star Pam Grier, “30 Rock” actor Chris Parnell and “Project X” star Oliver Cooper are set to headline “As We Know It,” an independent film that unfolds amid a nuclear zombie apocalypse. Set in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, the comedy-horror-romance movie follows a struggling writer named James Bishop, who is dealing

Dolph Lundgren took to social media to “set the record straight” regarding the recent controversy that’s consuming the “Rocky” franchise. Variety reported July 28 that MGM is developing a “Drago” spinoff movie with screenwriter Robert Lawton, an announcement that was later condemned by “Rocky” franchise creator and actor Sylvester Stallone. Lundgren told “Rocky” fans to

Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell are taking off in the official trailer for “Devotion,” the new drama set to release this Thanksgiving. Based on the nonfiction book by Adam Makos, “Devotion” focuses on the military careers of Jesse Brown (Majors) and Tom Hudner (Powell), two elite Navy fighter pilots who served during the Korean War.