Eric Brevig and Greg Butler have been hired as visual effect supervisors at VFX and animation studio DNEG, the studio announced Thursday. Both Brevig and Butler come to the studio as winners of the Academy Award winners for best visual effects. Brevig won for “Total Recall” in 1991, while Butler won and Oscar and a
Movies
“You have to put it in the script. If you put in the script – it will happen.” This is Geena Davis’ sage advice to filmmakers when crafting stories aiming to incorporate inclusive storylines and characters. “Nobody is going to second guess if it says the scene takes place at, say, ‘a police station which
New York-based distributor Greenwich Entertainment and Rialto Distribution have teamed up to picked up U.S. rights to Caroline Vignal’s “My Donkey, My Lover & I,” a heartwarming French romantic comedy headlined by “Call My Agent” breakout star Laure Calamy. The company was co-created by Ed Arentz, co-founder and former managing director of Music Box Films,
The 89er Theatre in Kingfisher, Oklahoma has come under fire after posting a warning about a brief gay kiss featured in Pixar’s “Lightyear.” A sign was posted on the window of the theater during the movie’s opening weekend warning moviegoers about the gay kiss and claiming the theater would “do all we can to fast-forward”
Steven Banks has joined Variety as creative director. The publishing veteran will steer the brand’s design and aesthetic across all editorial platforms, reporting to Variety incoming co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton. Banks is leading a department that is seeing record levels of activity for Variety’s weekly print magazine, as well as dozens of
Boots stormed into the living room, dust falling though the floorboards onto the Tzigel family. Jews were being exterminated, and my family was hiding in the basement of a sympathetic neighbor. They couldn’t stay long. Romania in 1926 was getting a glimpse of what was to become one of the darkest chapters in human history.
Layoffs have hit Netflix again, with the streamer letting go of roughly 300 staffers on Thursday, Variety has learned exclusively. The cuts are across multiple business functions in the company, with the bulk of the jobs lost in the U.S. These new layoffs, which Variety first reported would be coming earlier this week, hit just
Five years ago, Zawe Ashton was considering leaving acting. Then she landed the female lead in “Velvet Buzzsaw.” Her Broadway debut in “Betrayal” followed, as did a part on “The Handmaid’s Tale” and a top-secret role in the “Captain Marvel” sequel “The Marvels.” She can next be seen in Regency-era rom-com “Mr. Malcolm’s List,” based
John Williams has hinted that “Indiana Jones 5” might be his last film. The legendary musician and Oscar-winning composer behind the scores for “Jaws” (1976), “Star Wars” (1977), “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and more teased the news in an interview with Associated Press, “At the moment I’m working on ‘Indiana Jones 5,’ which Harrison Ford
Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “There There,” Andrew Bujalski’s ensemble comedy starring Jason Schwartzman and Lili Taylor. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca. The deal re-teams Bujalski with Magnolia which previously distributed the director’s “Support the Girls” and “Results.” “We’re jazzed to be distributing another terrific film from Andrew Bujalski,” said
Sun Valley, colloquially known as “summer camp for billionaires,” kicks off right after the July 4 holiday. But the moguls who flock to the Allen & Co. retreat may not be as relaxed as usual when they touch down in Idaho: From darkening economic clouds to choppy leadership transitions at some of the most storied
Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh has been named International Distributor of the Year at CineEurope, the exhibition conference which is taking place this week in Barcelona. Andrew Sunshine, president of CineEurope organizer Film Expo Group, said Marsh “defines what an executive is and is well respected throughout our industry.” “Anna is a natural leader who has
Boutique German sales agent Patra Spanou Film has acquired international sales rights to “Men of Deeds,” the fourth feature by Romanian director Paul Negoescu (“Two Lottery Tickets”), which will be presented in a closed screening for industry guests on June 24 at the Transilvania Film Festival. The film tells the story of llie (Iulian Postelnicu),
After two years of hybrid and online-only editions, the Neuchatel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival will fête its 21st year with a return to a fully on-site event, hosting four world premieres, and more than twice as many international premieres. Running July 1-9, the Swiss event will world premiere the absurdist “Jaws”-in-France riff “The Year of
Long-awaited animated feature “Lamya’s Poem” has unveiled its first trailer. Alex Kronemer’s Rumi-inspired film about a Syrian refugee girl named Lamya was one of the hot competition titles at the 2021 Annecy Film Festival, and went on to play at festivals in Vancouver, Zurich and Prague. The film is an inspiring and timely tale about
Heading into his first edition at the helm of the Neuchatel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF), artistic director Pierre-Yves Walder looked to land his white whale, setting his sights on a retrospective idea he’d dreamed up many years before. “In concrete terms, I’ve wanted to do this ever since I first applied to the festival,”
White Pine Pictures executive Andrew Munger has re-launched his outfit Ultramagnetic Productions with a slate of drama and documentary projects. Munger first operated Ultramagnetic Productions from 1997 to 2004, producing non-fiction projects including “Walmart Nation,” “Campaign: The Making of a Candidate,” “Xanadu: In Search of Domestic Perfection” and “Make Some Noise!” for networks such as
London-based documentary specialist Dogwoof has restructured its business affairs and sales teams as it continues to expand into production. Former Western Edge Pictures executive Will Kane will join the company as head of business affairs, working closely with CEO Anna Godas and head of acquisitions and distribution Oli Harbottle to grow Dogwoof’s production and financing
The first tip-off is the title: “Murder at Yellowstone City” is not your standard-issue shoot-’em-up. Rather, director Richard Gray’s well-crafted and handsomely mounted indie is as much a solidly constructed mystery as it is it a conventionally satisfying oater, with much to recommend to fans of either genre who rarely get to sample such a
TIFFCOM, the affiliated market of Tokyo International Film Festival, will remain as an online only event for the third year. It will run for three days, Oct. 25-27, 2022, in parallel with the early part of the film festival. The Tokyo market’s decision to stay as an exclusively virtual event comes at a time when
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider
Steve Fickinger, the Broadway producer who won a Tony for “Dear Evan Hansen,” died suddenly on Friday in Laguna Beach, Calif., representatives confirmed to Variety. He was 62. Born in Winnetka, Ill., Fickinger began his career at Disney as a temp mail room worker, and worked his way up to become director of creative development
Charlize Theron and Sheryl Lee Ralph will receive the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award for their commitment to raising awareness of HIV at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS fundraising gala on Sept. 15 in West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. “The fight against HIV/AIDS has always been close to my heart
When “Frozen” broke through the pop culture zeitgeist upon release in 2013, it was widely celebrated for how it rejected the romantic standards of the Disney animated fairy tale. The heart of “Frozen” was the relationship between sisters Anna and Elsa, not either characters’ connection to a man. There was no prince saving the day
“Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” She will appear opposite Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in the studio’s attempt to recapture that old Panem magic. Schafer will play Tigris Snow, the cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow (Blyth), who, “Hunger Games” fans
An Italian judge has ruled that Paul Haggis is to remain under house arrest in the case that sees the “Crash” director accused by an unidentified woman of repeated sexual assault and aggravated personal injury. Judge Vilma Gilli made her decision several hours after a preliminary hearing Wednesday in which Haggis answered questions in the
Jessica Chastain turned down a fee for her surprise cameo as Donald Trump’s politician sister, Maryanne Trump, in James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” — but she had one condition. The actor told Variety that she agreed to play a small part in the Focus Features movie, but only if her involvement was never formally announced. “Armageddon Time”
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” has started filming in Athens, Greece. The franchise’s writer and star Nia Vardalos made the announcement on her Instagram page, and she also revealed that she is directing this third installment. The film will mark Vardalos’ next feature directorial outing after 2009’s “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” “We are in
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the newly elected Board of Governors for the 2022-2023 year. Elected to the board for the first time are Oscar-winning actor Marlee Matlin, cinematographer Dion Beebe, director Jason Reitman, producer Jason Blum, casting director Richard Hicks and more. In addition, four incumbents were re-elected to the
Bigotry is the real horror in the first teaser for “They/Them,” a new slasher film about conversion therapy starring Kevin Bacon and Theo Germaine. Written and directed by John Logan, “They/Them” stars Bacon as Owen Whistler, the director of a conversion therapy camp dedicated to “curing” LGBTQ+ teenagers of their sexual and gender identities. Over