Movies

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

Comedian and social media star Tamera “Tee” Kissen has been cast opposite Jack Harlow in the remake of 1992 Wesley Snipes/Woody Harrelson comedy “White Men Can’t Jump,” Variety can exclusively reveal. The remake has been in the works since 2017 when it first emerged “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris and Doug Hall were working on a

One year after merging with the promotion org TV France International, Unifrance is preparing a series of strategic events in key markets across Europe, the U.S., China and Japan to fast-track the global distribution of local series and movies. The French film and TV advocacy banner will host trade shows bringing together French sales outfits

Halfway through leading documentary market Sunny Side of the Doc, Mathieu Bejot, director of strategy and development, is tired but happy. The market’s aim of resuming in-person meetings after two online editions is working well, and the panels and networking events are operating at capacity. “We thought the priority should really be given to meetings,

MetFilm Sales has boarded Sheffield Doc Fest feature “A Bunch Of Amateurs.” The film is set to have its world premiere at the U.K. festival on Friday (Jun 24). Directed by Kim Hopkins (“Voices of the Sea”), “A Bunch of Amateurs” tells the story of the world’s oldest amateur film club, Bradford Movie Makers, which

Quiver Distribution has acquired “The Wheel,” a relationship drama about a young couple on the brink of divorce. That film is from Steve Pink, the co-writer of “High Fidelity” and the director of “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “About Last Night.” It premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Quiver will distribute the film

Nigeria’s LaVida Studios has secured $50 million production investment and inked a 10-project slate with Dentsu’s The Story Lab U.S. The three-year collaboration with The Story Lab is for 10 films and television properties focused on bringing African stories to the global stage. Focusing on both scripted and unscripted film and TV projects, the alliance

For “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Natalie Portman is returning not only as Jane Foster — the brilliant astrophysicist and ex-girlfriend of Asgardian warrior Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — but as the Mighty Thor, Jane’s superhero persona when she comes into possession of the mystical hammer Mjolnir. Becoming a Marvel Studios hero meant Portman worked with a trainer

It wasn’t just that Natalie Portman packed on so much muscle she could arm-wrestle Captain America. It’s that she’d never been asked to do it before. Throughout her 30-year career, Portman has grown accustomed to exploiting her lean five-foot-three frame, most memorably in her Oscar-winning performance as an obsessive, spindle-thin ballet dancer in 2010’s “Black

Part of Spain’s drive to consolidate as one of the world’s foremost big shoot locales, Shooting Locations Marketplace has confirmed dates for its second edition which will run over Oct. 20-21, taking place once again at the Feria de Valladolid, an hour’s train ride north of Madrid. The Marketplace looks set to repeat its original

While ICE Theaters will certainly keep a visible presence on the CineEurope trade-show floor, co-hosting daily breakfasts, participating in an afternoon panel on June 21, and of course running a stand fully stocked with visuals and promotional materials, sales exec Guillaume Thomine-Desmazures believes his most persuasive asset will be found off-site, in a Barcelona suburb

At CinemaCon this past April, and now at CineEurope in Barcelona, international exhibitors have cast a curious eye toward the immersive brand ICE Theaters. A relatively new player on the premium field, the ICE (Immersive Cinema Experience) format adds six panels on either side of the screen and fills them visual extensions done in-house at

Close to a decade after American Zoetrope announced that the company had acquired the screen rights to Alysia Abbott’s “Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father,” the film adaptation has finally been made with the help of Safe Space Pictures Foundation. The newly-launched funding entity was founded by producer Nicole Shipley (“Trial of the Chicago 7,”

Reports surfaced in 2019 that Quentin Tarantino was going to continue the “Django Unchained” universe on the big screen by adapting his own crossover comic book “Django/Zorro,” which finds the freed slave (played by Jamie Foxx in the film) teaming up with the masked vigilante. Tarantino courted comedian Jerrod Carmichael to write the script, and

Euzhan Palcy, Diane Warren and Peter Weir will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governor Awards ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday. In addition, actor Michael J. Fox will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The four statuettes will be presented at the 13th annual ceremony on Saturday, Nov.

Netflix has a message for Hollywood: We’re not broke. In the wake of a massive stock slide triggered by a subscriber dip during the first quarter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, head of global film Scott Stuber and head of global television Bela Bajaria have launched a charm offensive, stressing to top creators and agents that

Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse, will make a $10 million gift to Vassar College to supplement the college’s financial aid funds, Vassar president Elizabeth Bradley disclosed Tuesday. The donation from Blum, who graduated from the college in 1991 and has served on its Board of Trustees since 2015, is the largest gift ever given to

Saban Films has secured worldwide distribution rights to Jason Momoa’s forthcoming Western “The Last Manhunt.” Featuring a largely Native American ensemble cast, the movie follows the true story of the outlaw Willie Boy.Set in 1909, when a reputed murder sparks a Shakespearean tragedy, Momoa’s Willie accidentally shoots his love interest’s father after a confrontation gone

Ryan Reynolds has launched a new nonprofit to support accessibility to creative careers for people from underrepresented communities. The Creative Ladder, which includes Deloitte as a founding donor with a $500,000 donation, will offer programs and services for students and creative talents to increase career options in marketing, advertising, design and commercial production. The organization

“Old” star Vicky Krieps and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” director Mike Newell are among the stars set to appear at the Galway Film Festival in Ireland next month. Krieps will be on hand to present her new film “Hold Me Tight,” by Mathieu Amalric (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) while Newell will attend

Kevin Costner has big plans for his long-awaited fourth directorial effort “Horizon,” an epic western that’s going into production at the end of August. The “Yellowstone” star told Variety that the project, which is housed with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, is being planned as “four different movies” and that “about every three months,

The House of Atreides has gained an ally. Léa Seydoux has joined “Dune: Part Two” in the critical role of Lady Margot, a vital ally to Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) in his war with the House of Harkonnen. Director Denis Villeneuve is set to start filming the “Dune” sequel later this year, with Chalamet, Zendaya,

Katie Holmes, best known for her star turns and supporting roles in “Batman Begins” and “Wonder Boys,” has, in recent years, spent more time behind the camera. In 2016, Holmes made her feature directorial debut with the mother-daughter drama “All We Had,” and during the pandemic she has directed two features, “Alone Together” and “Rare

Kate Bush is all the rage right now thanks to “Stranger Things 4” featuring “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God),” and the singer’s popularity would’ve extended to the Marvel Cinematic Universe had Taika Waititi gone through with plans to include a Bush-inspired dance scene in the film. Christian Bale, who stars in the

WarnerMedia Discovery Access has announced a new program seeking aspiring music supervisors from historically underrepresented communities. Titled the Warner Bros. Discovery Access Music Supervisor Program (naturally enough), it will provide access to training and experience within the world of TV and film music supervision. Upon completion of the master classes, the group will have an

Although the feature film “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” was released on Disney+ and not in theaters, director Akiva Schaffer knows the importance of seeing a movie with an audience, as proven by the film’s tastemakers screening at the D23 conference and its L.A. world premiere. “At home, it’s so easy to have a look

Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival. In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook

Universal was out in force at CineEurope with a bevy of exclusive clips from its sprawling slate, including “Fast & Furious X,” as well as Jordan Peele’s horror thriller “Nope” and Nicholas Stoller’s “Bros,” one of the first major studio-backed romantic comedies with LGBTQ characters. The jam-packed presentation kicked off with a comedy short film

Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s super-indies, is re-teaming with Hulu Japan to produce Season 2 of thriller “The Head,” the studio’s hit drama series whose Season 1 was broadcast in more than 90 countries. The English-language shoot has got underway in Tenerife, in Spain’s The Canary Islands, helmed by Jorge Dorado, who directed

As “Crash” director Paul Haggis remains in custody in Italy, awaiting a Wednesday preliminary hearing on charges of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury allegedly inflicted on an unidentified young woman, more details about the case are surfacing. In a statement to Variety, Haggis’ Italian lawyer Michele Laforgia said that the director “immediately stated that he