Rita Moreno is not only an EGOT winner, but now the Hollywood legend is having a building with her name on it in Hollywood. The “West Side Story” star was on hand on June 23 at the naming ceremony of the Hollywood Arts Collective’s Rita Moreno Arts Building in Los Angeles. Set to open in
Movies
French actress Isabelle Adjani, who was Oscar nominated for “Camille Claudel” and “The Story of Adele H.,” has been under formal investigation for alleged fraud relating to hundreds of thousands of dollars of business expenses since October 2020, a judicial source confirmed to Variety on Monday. The investigation stems from a police complaint filed by
Director Karolina Bielawska is moving into production with her debut feature, a biopic inspired by the life of iconic Polish singer Violetta Villas. The working title is “Violetta and the Woodpecker,” Film New Europe reports. Bielawska has spent five years developing the project. She is best known for 2015’s “Call Me Marianna,” which won best
Emma Roberts has been cast in “Madame Web,” the latest movie set in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters. The actor is joining a star-studded ensemble, which includes Dakota Johnson as the title hero and “Euphoria” breakout Sydney Sweeney in an undisclosed role. As previously announced, Celeste O’Connor (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”), Isabela Merced (“Dora and the Lost City
Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, the section running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, has appointed Julien Rejl as artistic director. He will succeed to Paolo Moretti, who had his third and last edition this year. Rejl was named by the SRF (Société des réalisateurs de films), the governing body of Directors’ Fortnight. When announcing the news of
Pulsar Content has boarded sales on “Stranizza d’Amuri” (“Fireworks”), the true story about the hate crime that gave birth to Arcigay, Italy’s first and largest LGBTQ rights group. Produced by Ibla Film (“The Staggering Girl”), the movie marks the feature debut of veteran Italian actor Giuseppe Fiorello (“Terraferma”). A tale of first love, “Fireworks” tells
Need proof the box office is really, truly rebounding from COVID? Look no further than domestic charts, where not one, not two, but four movies — a mix of new releases in Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic “Elvis” and Blumhouse’s creepy thriller “The Black Phone,” as well as leftovers with “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World
Coming of age drama “Purple Beatz” will get worldwide distribution via Trinity Creative Partnership and 101 Films. Described as a “music-driven, romantic drama, set in the underground drum ‘n’ bass music scene of ‘90s London,” “Purple Beatz” is written and directed by Lola Atkins and features a diverse, female-led cast and crew. The feature stars
A Taiwanese filmmaker has made his short film inspired by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests available online for free after it failed to get approval from the city’s censorship authorities. Wu Zi-en, director of “Islander,” has uploaded the full 25-minute film noir to online platform Vimeo last week, after it became the third film in a
The Thai government last week approved in principle a move to dispense with taxes laid on foreign acting talent. The move is intended to further increase the attractiveness of the country for film and TV productions. Thailand currently offers foreign films shooting in the country a cash rebate of 15-20% of the expenses incurred in
Amid a host of lawsuits by foreign productions looking to recoup money from Romania’s beleaguered cash rebate system, industry insiders say the situation has reached a crisis point, with one leading U.K. financier and executive producer warning that the government runs the risk of “obliterating foreign direct investment” into Romania if a resolution isn’t reached
The trailer has debuted for “America,” a drama directed by Ofir Raul Graizer (“The Cakemaker”), which will world premiere at Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival in the Crystal Globe Competition. Beta Cinema is handling world sales. The film centers on Eli, an Israeli swimming coach living in the U.S. A phone call notifies him that
Alec Baldwin has announced an interview with director Woody Allen, who has faced backlash after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, alleged that he sexually abused her as a child. That backlash was recently renewed with the 2021 release of HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow,” in which she and mother Mia Farrow further detailed the allegations
A group of prominent entertainment industry women gathered Saturday for a video conference call to discuss next steps in the reignited fight for reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The gathering, which included some men, was organized in part by Katie McGrath, a partner in Bad
“Full House” star Jodie Sweetin was shoved by a Los Angeles Police Department officer Saturday while attending a rally protesting the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has effectively ended federal protections of abortion rights. A video of the incident began to make the rounds online after it occurred. The footage depicts
Lightdox has picked up Luke McManus’ musical ode to contemporary Dublin, “North Circular,” which will have its international premiere at Sheffield DocFest. In this melodic black and white postcard, the audience travels along Dublin’s North Circular Road and meets some of the area’s enigmatic inhabitants. Personal testimonies touching on subjects from colonialism, mental health and
Film commissions all over the world have seen a run on their services as production has boomed across the globe. And AFCI Week, the big confab hosted by the Assn. of Film Commissioners Intl. that runs June 27-29, couldn’t have come back as an in-person event at a better time. After two years without an
Vicky Eguia, a public relations executive at Amazon who helped create Oscar-winning campaigns for “Manchester By the Sea” and “The Salesman,” died Saturday at the age of 48. The cause was cancer, her family said on social media. Eguia most recently served as director of PR, diversity, equity and inclusion and community relations at Amazon.
Bogdan George Apetri’s “Miracle” took home the top prize in the Romanian Days competition at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, which saw nine first-time directors among the 12 filmmakers competing in the annual showcase of domestic cinema. It’s the first time such a formidable number of debuts have featured in the competition, offering a snapshot
Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s “Utama,” which won the grand jury prize in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance this year, took home top honors at the closing ceremony of the Transilvania Film Festival on Saturday night. Grisi’s feature debut tells the story of an elderly couple in the Bolivian highlands who refuse to relocate to
Variety won seven first-place awards Saturday night at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 64th SoCal Journalism Awards, including the honors for entertainment journalist and music criticism. The Variety work recognized runs the gamut from a social media post to commentary urging the industry to act on timely issues, such as the hardships that exhibitors faced
The 56th Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival will host the launch of KVIFF Talents, its new year-round program, whose goal is to identify talented filmmakers, and support the creation of projects with international ambition, and a high level of originality. The first flight of 11 creative teams will present their projects in person during a
An intense portrait of personal obsession — à la “Black Swan” — set at the time of 2013’s Maidan Uprising, “Olga” anticipates so much of the current situation in Ukraine. Elie Grappe’s prescient debut begins and ends in a country whose people united against corruption, successfully ousting Russian-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych, though the story takes
Everyone knows Thor has a mighty hammer. But in “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Chris Hemsworth bares it all to show off another asset: his bare butt. “It was 10 years in the making that scene — kind of a dream of mine,” Hemsworth told Variety during Thursday’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” premiere at El Capitan
Producer Yash Raj Films has revealed the keenly anticipated first look for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan.” The look is revealed in a motion poster, a favored Bollywood way of teasing the film and features a gun toting Khan. The poster dropped on June 25, which marks the 30th anniversary of “Deewana” (1992), Khan’s
Few production companies are as synonymous with horror as Blumhouse, whose approach to genre filmmaking relies on modest budgets, wide releases and talented creators who are mostly given free rein. That this formula has proven wildly successful should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the way Hollywood operated before it focused almost exclusively
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After more than a few production delays, the new “Downton Abbey” sequel film has finally made its streaming debut. “Downton Abbey: A New Era” arrived on Peacock today, following its U.K release on April
Marvel Studios is heading back to San Diego Comic-Con. During a virtual press conference on Friday for the company’s upcoming feature film “Thor: Love and Thunder,” studio president Kevin Feige confirmed that the studio will have a presence at the pop culture expo, set to take place in July. The announcement is a major boost
Duncan Henderson, an Oscar-nominated producer and longtime member of the Director Guild of America’s national board, died Tuesday in Valencia, Calif. of pancreatic cancer, DGA representatives confirmed to Variety. He was 72. Henderson worked as a unit production manager, assistant director and producer on several notable films, receiving an Oscar nomination for producing Peter Weir’s
Christian Bale says he hasn’t watched “The Batman”… yet. “I still haven’t seen it. I will see it,” Bale told Variety during Thursday’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” premiere at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. “Listen mate, it’s amazing how few films I see. Every director I work with, I’ve seen a couple of their films