Movies

For anyone passingly familiar with the turbulent events of 1968 in modern Czech history — or even the various films about them, from Philip Kaufman’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” to more home-grown evocations of the Prague Spring and ensuing Soviet invasion — director Beata Parkanová’s decision to set her second feature “Word” in that

Sophie Vukovic’s narrative feature film project “My Best Friend’s Baby,” her take on non-traditional love and family, won the top Works in Development prize of Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s industry section, Eastern Promises, this week. The project, budgeted at Euros1.65 million ($1.68 million), is produced by Eliza Jones and Markus Walta’s Grand Slam Film, whose

Prominent Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof, winner of the 2020 Berlin Golden Bear for “There Is No Evil,” and fellow filmmaker Mostafa Al-Ahmad have been arrested in Iran for posting a statement on social media in the wake of a violent government crackdown. Iran’s state news agency IRNA on Friday reported that the two directors have

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses some plot developments in Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder,” currently playing in theaters. “Thor: Love and Thunder” finds Chris Hemsworth returning as the title character, joined by Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, his ex-girlfriend who takes on his powers. The duo are tasked with taking on Christian Bale’s Gorr the

Tony Sirico, the actor known for playing mobster Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri on “The Sopranos,” died Friday, Variety confirmed with his manager. He was 79. Virico’s Paulie Walnuts, a bombastic and ferociously funny foot soldier to James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano with one-liners like no one else, was a “Sopranos” scene-stealer from the start. Sirico

Amber Heard’s lawyers on Friday asked for a mistrial in the Johnny Depp defamation case after learning that the wrong juror showed up to court. Heard’s attorneys say they recently discovered that one of the seven jurors had not received a jury summons. Instead, the summons went to a person in the same household with

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — As the sun is about to set on another Sun Valley conference, this year’s four-day Allen & Co. event has been notable for the low profile kept by the most high-wattage attendees, to the frustration of the business, media and tech sectors obsessed with the activity of billionaires and CEOs. Before

Cap has his new commander. Julius Onah, director of “The Cloverfield Paradox” and “Luce,” is set to helm the fourth “Captain America” movie, starring Anthony Mackie and building on the events from the 2021 Disney+ series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” That show’s creator and head writer, Malcolm Spellman, is writing the screenplay with

In the upcoming drama “The Burdened” (“Al Murhaqoon”), about a family of five faced with a difficult decision, director Amr Gamal readies to tackle the subject that continues to ruffle feathers, and not just in his native Yemen: abortion. The film, set to be finished in August and based on a true story, was recently

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses plot developments and the first post-credit scene in Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder,” currently playing in theaters. Since its inception, Marvel Studios has famously used its post-credits scenes as bonus teasers for its upcoming movies. Sometimes, the scenes have pointed to a direct sequel, like when Hank Pym (Michael

Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s industry section Eastern Promises wrapped Tuesday, with Yemeni abortion drama “The Burdened” winning the top prize in the Works in Progress section. This followed a presentation of the projects on Monday, where a diverse lineup was on show. Ten projects, in late stages of production or post-production, vied for the post-production

When Universal opted to stick to a theatrical release for “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the new chapter of Chris Meledandri’s blockbuster animated saga, it went a couple extra miles to orchestrate one of its biggest and most interactive marketing campaign for an animated film to date. The multi-pronged operation, spearheaded by Universal’s head of

U.K. performing artists’ union Equity has elected Lynda Rooke as its new president. She will oversee Equity’s policy-forming council as well as the appeals committee and standing orders committee. Rooke has been elected for a 2-year term, running from 2022-24. She will take over from Maureen Beattie, who served as president for two terms over

With all of the horrors Americans are facing daily — a gun crisis, attacks on women’s rights, a supreme court hell-bent on legislating back to the olden days — it can be a difficult to engage with the artificial terror of scary movies. Fittingly, many of the year’s best titles tapped into this anger and

“Cuckoo,” the Neon horror starring “Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer, has wrapped production in Germany and rounded out its cast with Dan Stevens and Jessica Henwick. Helmed by Tilman Singer (“Luz”) in his sophomore effort, the film was shot on 35mm and is now in post-production. Neon continues to keep a tight lid on plot details

Benicio Del Toro says his latest challenge in a career full of demanding roles is not from appearing on camera, he revealed Friday at the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, where he’s being honored with the President’s Award and a small retrospective. “I’m involved a little bit in the writing,” said the actor of his

Elspeth Tavares, founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Business of Film, an independent film industry trade publication founded in 1980, has died at her home in London following a short illness. She was 73. Educated in London, Tavares began her career in publishing with U.K. national Sunday newspaper The Observer, where she learned the printing

Variety has secured exclusive access to a leaked image from an untitled project headlined by Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, which is currently shooting in the U.K. The film is based on the real life story of mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill who saved the lives of 64 miners who were trapped in a mine at

In Spain there is a tradition called “la hora del vermut” (the vermouth hour) which refers to a little stretch of time before lunch when you sip vermouth to prepare your stomach for the meal to come. Spanish director Jonás Trueba’s “You Have to Come and See It,” one of the late-breaking joys of the

The stupendous success of “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” has cemented the position of popular Indian actor Kartik Aaryan in Bollywood’s A-list. In the horror-comedy film, a standalone sequel to “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” (2007), circumstances make Aaryan’s character pretend to be a psychic and he is tasked with exorcising a malevolent spirit (Tabu) from a deserted mansion. Produced

“Prank kidnapping” is one of those concepts so inherently alarm-triggering, one fully expects the phrase to be followed by “gone wrong” — which indeed is the case in “Take the Night,” a first feature for writer-director-producer-star Seth McTigue. This solid little thriller does a good job balancing character drama and suspense elements, its smooth craftsmanship

Rising-star Philippines director Mikhail Red is poised to begin shooting of “Deleter,” a film that straddles the techno-horror and psychological thriller genres. The story involves an online content moderator who deletes a suicide video made by her co-worker. But the otherwise desensitized woman cannot escape from either her own troubled past or from a mysterious

Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro is launching for the first time a cash rebate incentive of up to 35%. Run by government agency RioFilme, the new program is aimed to benefit international productions that spend at least R$15 million ($3 million) in the picturesque beach city. The incentive makes it among the most attractive offers in

It in no way shortchanges the brilliance of James Caan, who died Wednesday at 82, to point out that he had a special gift for playing insensitive men. He was a gruff, tough, raging, muscular actor, with a ramrod physicality and an imposing look: the wiry curls of brownish-blond hair, the handsome planed face that

Johnny Depp’s return to acting following his defamation trial against Amber Heard is not being backed by Netflix. Bloomberg reported that the Depp-starring French movie “La Favorite” is receiving “financial backing” from Netflix, but a source close to the streaming giant told Variety this reporting is not true. Netflix is not financing the movie but

James Caan had completed filming his role in the Phillip Noyce thriller “Fast Charlie” before his death on Wednesday, Variety has confirmed. The film’s distributor, Screen Media, is eyeing an early 2023 release date for the movie. “Fast Charlie,” based on Victor Gischler’s novel “Gun Monkeys,” stars Pierce Brosnan as Charlie Swift, a hitman who

Michael Mann and Kathy Bates have both shared tributes to “The Godfather” and “Misery” star James Caan, who died on Wednesday at 82 years old. “What a terrible and tragic loss,” Mann wrote in a statement to Variety. “Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a

A veritable army of Disney Channel stars are reuniting for a very un-Disney project. Matthew Scott Montgomery (“So Random!”), Debby Ryan (“Jessie,” “The Suite Life on Deck”), Alyson Stoner (“Camp Rock,” “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,”), Kevin Chamberlin (“Jessie”), Tim Bagley (“Shake It Up!,” “Raven’s Home,”), Shayne Topp (“So Random!”) and Damien Haas

Christian Bale will forever be associated with playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, but not everyone believed in the duo’s interpretation of the character. Starting with “Batman Begins” and most notably in “The Dark Knight,” Bale and Nolan grounded the character in a level of realism the comic book movie genre had

In a collaboration that feels tailor-made to excite Twitter, “Minari” actor Steven Yeun has been cast to star alongside Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon Ho’s next movie. Though the film, set at Warner Bros., does not have a title, the science-fiction story is based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7.” The project reunites Yeun and Bong,