Louis C.K. and the cast of his new film “Fourth of July” gathered for a panel discussion on Thursday night at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan. Directed, written and edited by C.K., the indie drama stars co-writer Joe List, who quipped about C.K.’s fall from grace after the moderator praised C.K. for being able to
Movies
Joe Turkel, the prolific character actor well known for his roles in “The Shining” and “Blade Runner,” died at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. on Monday, a representative has confirmed to Variety. He was 94. A prolific performer with over 100 credits in various films and TV shows, Turkel is best known for
Bill Kramer has begun his new position as chief executive officer of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Variety has confirmed. In addition, Christine Simmons is out as the chief operating officer of the Academy, effective Friday. Simmons, who first joined the Academy in 2018, was the first COO for the organization since
Rank Film Distributor Producers 1 “The Fabelmans” Universal Pictures Tony Kushner, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg A semi-autobiography based on Spielberg’s own childhood growing up in post-war Arizona, from age seven to eighteen. 2 “Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)” Netflix Alejandro González Iñárritu Plot unknown. The film explores the political and
Multiverses, flying jets and a film that speaks to the horrors of our political reality make up only some of the movies from the first half of 2022. As we approach the midway point, the return to movie theaters has become a hopeful development for the biggest blockbusters. At the same time, studios are already
Practically everybody in “The Princess” has a name, except the princess. Played by “The Kissing Booth” cutie Joey King as an anything-but-passive heroine, the movie’s anonymous eponymous protagonist isn’t a proper character so much as a one-dimensional empowerment symbol: “The Princess” represents the antithesis of every fairy-tale damsel who sat around waiting to be whisked
Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival will close its 26th edition with a screening of July Jung’s “Next Sohee,” an interesting take on exploitation starring the Wachowski siblings’ regular collaborator, South Korean actress Bae Doona. The film, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week, won’t be the only title to discover on the closing night, however, with a
Pinewood Group, which runs Pinewood and Shepperton Studios — home to recent blockbusters including “No Time to Die,” “Black Widow” and “Cruella” — has posted a £102.9 million ($125 million) turnover for the financial year ending March 31, 2022. That’s a £6 million increase on the previous year despite the fact that for much of
Shooting has begun in Roccabianca in the province of Parma, Italy, on Marco Bellocchio’s new film, “La Conversione” (The Conversion), inspired by the story of Edgardo Mortara, the Jewish child who in 1858 was removed from his family to be raised as a Catholic in the custody of Pope Pius IX. Bellocchio is pictured, above,
You’d be forgiven for not being inclined to laugh at anything pregnancy-related at the moment. Kudos to “Doula” for trying, though, as director Cheryl Nichols’ lighthearted pregnancy comedy arrives at a time when the “laughter is the best medicine” theory is being stress-tested like never before for women across the country. To call its brand
Film and TV productions shot in Los Angeles will now require crew members to wear mask indoors. The announcement was made on Thursday by Barbara Ferrer, the public health officer of Los Angeles County. During a media briefing, Ferrer said the change was made due to increasing hospitalizations in L.A. county due to COVID-19. “With
The owners of the Cinerama Dome have obtained a liquor license, moving one step closer to reopening the theater and the adjoining 14-screen multiplex in Hollywood. The Decurion Corp., the family business that has owned the Dome since it was built in 1963, has kept quiet about its plans ever since shuttering the 17 locations
“Fourth of July” is a movie directed by Louis C.K., and in its light-spirited and unimportant way it comes at the audience as a kind of moral curveball. Starting less than a year after Nov. 2017, when five women came forward to describe inappropriate conduct by Louis C.K., including instances in which he masturbated in
In the spring of 2020, as the COVID crisis was rapidly becoming a global pandemic, Ezra Miller began wearing out their welcome in Iceland. The actor — best known for playing the DC superhero the Flash in several films for Warner Bros. — was set to start filming the studio’s latest entry in the “Harry
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is set to reunite Kate Winslet with her “Titanic” director James Cameron, and now fans can finally see what the Oscar-winning actor looks like as a Na’vi warrior. Empire magazine debuted the first images of Winslet as Ronal, whom the actor describes as a “deeply loyal and a fearless leader.”
Albert Serra’s “Pacifiction” has lured major distributors around the world following its critically acclaimed world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Berlin-based Films Boutique (“Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom,” “Charlatan”) is representing the film in international markets. “Pacifiction” stars Cesar-winning French actor Benoit Magimel (“Peaceful”) as a calculating French government official working
The rock biopic never goes away. Its popularity waxes and wanes, and not everyone will agree on what the great ones are. Just look at the love-it-or-thumb-your-nose-at-it phenomenon that was “Bohemian Rhapsody” — or at Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” which seems, thus far, to be a movie that audiences have embraced more than critics have. What
Tim Allen has finally weighed in on “Lightyear,” the Pixar movie inspired by the character he made famous in four “Toy Story” movies. Chris Evans voices the title character in “Lightyear.” The film functions in the “Toy Story” universe as the movie that inspired the toy that Allen voices, which is why Evans stepped into
Andrew Haigh, acclaimed filmmaker behind queer festival darling “Weekend” and A24’s “Lean on Pete,” has assembled four U.K. heavyweights for his next feature film. “Fleabag” breakout star Andrew Scott, “Normal People” heartthrob Paul Mescal, “The Crown” O.G. Elizabeth II Claire Foy, and “Rocketman” actor Jamie Bell are all on deck for “Strangers” — which Haigh
“Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey is being sued for $1.5 million by her former U.K. agency Troika over unpaid commission fees relating to a number of projects including the upcoming film “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Troika, which re-branded as YMU in 2020, claims Headey owes the agency at least $500,000 — equivalent to 7%
William Shatner has offered his stamp of approval on a new documentary about his life from Legion M and Exhibit A Pictures. The pair of production companies announced the documentary Thursday. “For years I’ve had people approaching me to do a documentary about my life, but I turned them all down because it didn’t feel
Emmy nominee Jovan Adepo and Juliana Canfield have signed on to star as abolitionists William and Ellen Craft in the upcoming movie “Everlasting Yea!” Co-written and co-directed by Lynn Nottage and Tony Gerber, the feature follows the “epic and deeply human” love story of the Crafts, as the couple rise to fame in the Abolitionist
If Steven Spielberg had his way, then “Men in Black” would have been a very important stepping stone in the career of…Chris O’Donnell. The superstar filmmaker, who was tasked with producing the sci-fi comedy that opened July 2, 1997, thought that the role of Agent J was tailor-made for the rising actor. Although the idea
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has earned just over $950 million at the worldwide box office, but the film’s co-lead Elizabeth Olsen still has not seen it. The actor revealed on “The Tonight Show” that a cold prevented her from watching the movie at its premiere, and then she refused to watch the
Opening the 26th Fantasia Int’l Film Festival in Montreal on July 14, writer-director KC Carthew’s “Polaris” is her sophomore pic after her multi-award-winning debut feature, “The Sun at Midnight” (2017). A teaser, bowing exclusively in Variety, reveals a dystopian thriller set in a frigid, snow-blanketed wasteland. An expansion of her award-winning short film “Fish out of Water,”
Film and immersive video projects from Taiwan and France will be put in the spotlight at the Venice Gap-Financing Market, a project support event that is part of the Venice Production Bridge and the Venice International Film Festival. The three-day market will present a huge 63 projects from around the world in the final stages
The world premiere of “Matilda the Musical” will open the 66th BFI London Film Festival. The Netflix adaptation stars Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough and Sindhu Vee and introduces Alisha Weir as Matilda. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly adapted the Tony and Olivier award-winning Royal Shakespeare Company theater production for the big screen, with
KOREAN MOVIES UPCOMING CJ ENM Hong Kong has secured the first and exclusive Pay TV, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and over-the-top (OTT) rights in key Southeast Asia markets to a slate of current and upcoming South Korean films. These are to play on the tvN Movies channel in Southeast Asia. Titles include: “The Roundup” (a.k.a. “The Outlaws
The South by Southwest Conference is expanding beyond its longtime Austin, Texas home to Sydney, Australia. SXSW Sydney will host a seven-day celebration of technology, film and music from Oct. 15 to Oct. 22 in 2023. As in Austin, the satellite conference will convene thought leaders, innovators and creatives from across industries for keynote conversations,
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that produces the Golden Globes, will co-sponsor a series of events with the World Bank to promote the growth of educational entertainment programming. Called “Global Forums,” these events will feature panels of HFPA and World Bank spokespeople and entertainment representatives discussing the importance of educational programming including issues