Movies

Last week, the French government reappointed Dominique Boutonnat for a second three-year term as president of the National Film Board (CNC), the country’s most powerful film institution, in a controversial decision that illustrates the country’s halfhearted embrace of the #MeToo movement. Boutonnat, a former producer and financier with close ties with newly reelected French president

Belgian-Congolese TV personality Kody Kim has signed with CAA for representation. Kim is best known for hosting a flagship program on Belgian broadcaster La Deux from 2015 to 2017. The presenter, who was born in Belgium to Congolese parents, stood out for his impersonations of famous French stars such as Gérard Depardieu and Jean Paul

The question of what it means to be a Hong Konger is examined in Chan Tze-woo’s innovative and affecting hybrid documentary “Blue Island.” Artfully editing footage of the 2019-2020 protests with dramatic recreations of events that have shaped the British colony turned Chinese special administrative region since 1967, “Blue Island” balances its unavoidably sobering picture

Pinocchio is coming to life. A new trailer for director Guillermo del Toro’s animated film version of the classic tale has been released by Netflix. “From my many wanderings on this earth, I had so much to say about imperfect fathers and imperfect sons,” Ewan McGregor’s Sebastian J. Cricket narrates at the start of the

Sony Pictures International Productions is venturing into local-language movies in Italy with the comedy “Un Natale in Famiglia” (“A Family Christmas”), which is currently shooting in Rome. Alessandro Usai and Iginio Straffi of Colorado Film, which is owned by Straffi’s Rainbow Group, serve as producers on the film, which is the first of a three-picture

Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Shony Panjikaran and Lada Guruden Singh to take over the reins of its film distribution and production business in India. Singh has been appointed to GM and head of Sony Pictures International Productions, India. He will oversee SPIP India’s local film development and production slate as well as its expansion

France has rejigged its Oscar submission committee, changing the group that decides which French film to submit for an international feature film Oscar. As part of the overhaul, permanent members such as Cannes Film Festival’s general delegate Thierry Fremaux, Cesar Académie president Veronique Cayla and Unifrance boss Serge Toubiana will no longer be part of

Adding to its growing roster of overseas drama titles, Germany’s ZDF Studios has snagged international distribution rights to “Clean Sweep,” a six-part Irish thriller which is set to premiere on Sundance Now and Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. “Clean Sweep” stars Charlene McKenna, Captain Swing in “Peaky Blinders,” in a crime drama told from the point-of-view

India’s Yoodlee Films is expanding its Malayalam-language slate with “Kaapa,” starring Prithviraj Sukumaran (“Driving License”), one of the top stars of the industry. Directed by veteran Shaji Kailas (“August 15”), the film, billed as an action thriller, also stars Asif Ali (“Kuttavum Shikshayum”), Aparna Balamurali, who recently won India’s national film award for best actress

B.J. Novak of “The Office” fame is taking viewers to Texas in a true-crime comedy with his directorial debut film “Vengeance.” Novak, who wrote, directed and starred in the upcoming film, still remembers the nerves on the first day on set. “Day one, I was so scared,” Novak told Variety at the Los Angeles premiere

When director Jordan Peele was in discussions about his box office hit “Nope,” he knew one thing: He wanted the film to be a vast spectacle. His first step was calling on cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema to work with him on what he calls “my most ambitious film to date. I knew Hoyte was the

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you have seen “Nope,” in theaters now.  A November 2014 social media post from Jordan Peele has resurfaced following the release of his third directorial effort, “Nope,” due to the filmmaker revealing he had a disturbing dream about a chimp attack. “Dreamt that a baby chimp attacked some people then

“Indiana Jones 5” star Boyd Holbrook admits he’s feeling “a little bit” nervous about fan reaction to director James Mangold’s upcoming installment of the legendary action-adventure movie franchise. “It’s kind of like a childhood dream,” Holbrook told Variety at Monday’s red carpet premiere of “Vengeance” at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. “And you could feel

Paramount snagged the rights to “Stray,” an action movie from “John Wick” mastermind Derek Kolstad. Kolstad is writing the screenplay for the film, which is set to star “Masters of the Universe” actor Kyle Allen. A director has not been attached. Though plot details have not been announced, it will be in the vein of

The Kang Dynasty has its leader. “Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton will continue his tenure within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the director of “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” a rep for Marvel Studios confirmed. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced “The Kang Dynasty” during the company’s wide-ranging presentation at

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera is smiling and looking relaxed after unveiling the festival’s strongest lineup in recent memory, a rich mix of hotly anticipated pics from the U.S. and elsewhere around the world that’s likely to bolster the Lido’s power as an Oscars kingmaker. Venice’s program of high-profile titles is especially impressive in a

Let the Brendan Fraser comeback begin. A24 has released a first look at Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming drama “The Whale,” in which Fraser stars as a man living with obesity who struggles to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter. The film is Aronofsky’s first directorial effort since “mother!” divided critics and moviegoers. The first look at “The

No movie better captures the maverick spirit of Bob Rafelson and the impact he had on the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s than “Five Easy Pieces.” The film follows Jack Nicholson’s Bobby Dupea, a former piano prodigy who has turned his back on his privileged lifestyle to embrace the life of a blue collar

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the embattled organization behind the Golden Globes, has announced over $4.5 million in grant awards for 2022-23. These donations were bestowed upon an array of nonprofit organizations, journalism programs and film restoration projects by the HFPA’s philanthropy program. “The HFPA’s long history of philanthropy sits at the core of our

Sixty years on from their formation, it’s finally the time of the season for British Invasion band The Zombies. The iconic 1960s group will be the focus of a feature documentary entitled “Hung Up on a Dream,” directed by Utopia co-founder, Rooney frontman and “Dreamland” director Robert Schwartzman. Principal photography has begun on the doc,

Most actors have at least one dud at some point in their career, and for Zooey Deschanel it’s M. Night Shyamalan’s widely mocked 2008 horror movie “The Happening.” The “500 Days of Summer” and “Elf” actor starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in the film, which centers on a group of individuals fighting to survive an outbreak

TV industry veteran Jeff Wachtel has raised financing and assembled a small team to launch Future Shack Entertainment, a production banner focused on developing TV for global markets. Wachtel has pacted with former NBCUniversal executive Sam Michaels and Yusik Choi, formerly managing director at Rothschild & Co. and an investment banker at Credit Suisse, to

Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired international sales rights to Mihai Mincan’s drama thriller “To The North” which will world premiere at Venice in the Horizons section. Inspired by true events, the film follows Joel, a religious Filipino sailor, who finds a Romanian stowaway, Dumitru, hidden between some containers during his shift on a

Regé-Jean Page, the breakout star from the first season of “Bridgerton,” could be a great James Bond, according to the Russo Brothers, who directed him in Netflix film “The Gray Man.” In an interview with the U.K.’s Radio Times, the Russos were asked about persistent rumors linking Page to the role of James Bond. Joe

The Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild has announced its awards timeline. The 10th Annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards (MUAHS, IATSE Local 706) returns to The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, 2023. The MUAHS Awards honors outstanding achievements for make-up artists and hair stylists in motion pictures, television, commercials, and live

Ti West is returning to the gory world of “X” with “Pearl,” a prequel to his 2022 slasher from A24. The upcoming horror film, once again directed and written by West, is set to follow Mia Goth’s character Pearl from “X.” Pearl is disturbed and murderous old woman in the original film, and the new

BAFTA has made key changes to its awards eligibility and voting rules for next year’s film awards, handing back more power to its voting members in the performance and director categories. The British Academy faced scrutiny for the 2022 film awards, where only two nominees in each performance category were the result of votes by

Universal’s “Minions: The Rise Of Gru” and Disney’s “Thor: Love And Thunder” were in a neck and neck battle atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with the animated film narrowly besting the Marvel superhero. “Minions: The Rise Of Gru,” which had debuted in pole position in the territory, returned to the top with £3.08

Bron Studios has teamed with Florida’s Falcon’s Beyond production entity to develop location-based entertainment, animated properties and TV series based on both companies’ IP and content assets. Bron Studios will work with Falcon’s Beyond to pursue location-based and immersive experiences tied to movie properties such as “House of Gucci,” “Joker,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Greyhound” and “The

New stills from Luca Guadagnino’s (“Call My By Your Name”) lushly lensed “Bones and All” have been unveiled. The hotly anticipated movie, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell and Michael Stuhlbarg, is slated to world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Taylor Russell (left) as Maren and Timothée Chalamet (right) as Lee in