Naomi Kawase, Japan’s best-known female film director, has been accused of bullying her company staff and assaulting a member of her film crew. In late April, Bunshun Online, the website of a leading weekly tabloid, published an interview with a former male staffer of Kawase’s production company Kumie. He stated that Kawase had punched him
Movies
It’s hunter vs. hunter in the new trailer for “Prey.” From 20th Century Studios, the newest installment in the “Predator” saga features a face-off between the alien super-hunter and the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Throughout the two-minute trailer, viewers get to see the Predator in full apex-hunter mode, murdering bears with ease, showing off
A grenade, a knife, mace, multiple guns and rifles and a tranquilizer all made appearances in a new clip of “The Gray Man,” Netflix’s upcoming action thriller starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans that is based on the 2009 novel. The clip debuted as part of Netflix’s Geeked Week event. In the clip, CIA mercenary
Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who were both attacked on stage during separate events in recent months, are teaming up for a joint comedy special in London later this year. The stand-up show is set for Saturday, Sept. 3, at the 02 Arena in London, with general tickets going on sale June 10 via Live
Fuse Group has added another pillar of its strategy to assemble a diversified collection of visual effects firms with the acquisition of Madrid-based El Ranchito, known for its work on such fantasy blockbusters as “The Mandalorian,” “Game of Thrones” and “Stranger Things.” El Ranchito is the latest acquisition for the parent company of FuseFX, FOLKS
The North American premiere of “Jurassic World: Dominion” has officially concluded in Los Angeles and first reactions to the dino-centric sequel are pouring in online, with entertainment writers calling the follow-up everything from a good hit of nostalgia to downright bad. As with most sequels in the “Jurassic” series, “Dominion” is being met with a
“Funny Pages,” a scruffy, grungy, likably tossed-together sketchbook of a low-budget indie comedy, typifies a paradox that now runs through a great deal of independent cinema. The movie, set in a humdrum New Jersey suburbia, unfolds on the moldy bottom rung of the comic-book ladder. It centers on two friends who are obsessed with drawing
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are currently writing “Deadpool 3” for director Shawn Levy and star Ryan Reynolds. Reese is assuring fans that the script is not going to be “Disney-fied.” The upcoming third installment of the “Deadpool” franchise will be the first made under Disney, which acquired Fox in 2019, after Fox found immense
Slovak director Denis Dobrovoda’s feature debut “The Cathedral” took the best film prize in the International Documentary Competition section of the 62nd Krakow Film Festival, which runs May 29-June 12. The film focuses on Justo Gallego Martínez, who started building a cathedral in Spain’s Mejorada del Campo 60 years ago without any qualifications, architectural plans
In Variety’s new feature, My FYC, Emmy contenders share what inspires them and what TV they’re focusing on — and rooting for. Courteney Cox has done a bit of everything: danced in a famous music video with Bruce Springsteen; produced a game show; starred in one of the most famous sitcoms of all time and survived
Reigning scream queen Neve Campbell isn’t returning to Woodsboro for “Scream 6.” Campbell, who played Sidney Prescott in the long-running slasher series, will not be reprising her role in the upcoming installment because she felt “the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.” “Sadly,
Media stocks were up when the bell rang Monday, showing growth from where they closed the Memorial Day-shortened trading week last Friday. The movement is a bit of a rally in the market, which has been trending toward bear territory for two months, that comes days before the U.S. consumer-price index release. The tech-sector heavy
Women in Animation (WIA) has announced the program for its 6th World Summit, an annual event held in conjunction with the Annecy International Animation Festival. Based on the theme Gender Justice: A Global Call for Inclusion in Animation, the June 13 summit will include panels and conversations with key thought leaders, filmmakers and executives from
HappyNest has closed an equity investment into GoKidGo, an audio company geared towards making content for kids. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The pact gives HappyNest proprietary development rights to adapt short-form and long-form animated series from GoKidGo original characters, including a new original R.L. Stine franchise. HappyNest is a production company
Still working toward bringing back the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has updated its eligibility requirements, now permitting a hybrid approach of in-person, DVD and online screenings of films. This takes effect on June 15. In addition, films do not have to be submitted via the Golden Globes submission website for awards consideration.
The original “Top Gun” was based on a 1983 article in California magazine. On Monday, the author’s heirs sued Paramount Pictures, claiming that the studio is profiting wildly from the sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” even though it no longer holds the copyright to the magazine story. The article’s author, Ehud Yonay, died in 2012. His
“Borat” star Maria Bakalova is going from Rudy Giuliani’s hotel room to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Bulgarian actor has been cast in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” starring Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot and Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. It’s unclear who Bakalova will play
Johnny Depp scored a clear and unexpected victory in court last week. His attorney, Ben Chew, implored the Virginia jury to restore his name, his reputation and his career, and the jury responded — finding that Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, had defamed him when accusing him of domestic violence. But while jury verdicts are binary
Music supervisors have proven to be an indispensable part of visual media, soundtracking movies, television series, video games and all manner of content. Yet the thousands-strong community has no representation as a collective beyond the 12-year-old Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS), and are seeking to unionize in an effort to see fair treatment for the
The freshly restored 50th anniversary edition of “The Godfather,” with director Francis Ford Coppola in tow, is set to open Italy’s Taormina Film Festival on June 26. Paramount’s latest restoration of what is arguably one of the greatest films of all time, conducted under Coppola’s watchful eye, will be kicking off the eastern Sicilian fest
It’s possible that the very first casualty of war is not truth, but nuance. Since Maksym Nakonechnyi’s grimly disturbing “Butterfly Vision” was conceived and shot, the protracted Donbas conflict during which it is set has flared into all-out war following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It makes the film’s inclusion in this year’s Un
If the unmarked enemy aircraft, mirrored visors and carefully evasive language of Joseph Kosinksi’s “Top Gun: Maverick” tell us anything, it’s that Hollywood has learned to avoid political specifics in the delivery of grandstanding blockbuster entertainment. So one can be forgiven for coming to “Rebel” with hackles raised and offence-o-meters on red alert, as it
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION The Taipei Film Festival has named prolific writer-director-producer Kevin Chu (aka Chu Yen-ping) as the recipient of its Outstanding Contribution Award. During the 1980s and the 1990s, Chu made many popular memorable commercial films and discovered several promising new actors — Chu wrote the script of “Never Too Late to Repent” and won the best
Christoph Waltz will play Hollywood legend Billy Wilder in a new project from producer Jeremy Thomas. “Billy Wilder & Me” will be adapted by Christopher Hampton from Jonathan Coe’s book, with Stephen Frears directing. Billed as part coming-of-age story and part true-life portrait of Wilder, the film looks to capture “a heroic icon of Hollywood’s
The U.K. Film and TV Charity has launched the 2022 iteration of its landmark mental health Looking Glass Survey, alongside a fundraising campaign. The first Looking Glass Survey in 2019 found that there was a mental health emergency happening behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema, with 9 in 10 respondents to that survey
Ayan Mukerji’s magnum opus ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva,’ is now galloping towards the finishing line after years in the making. The film, from Disney’s Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Prime Focus and Starlight Pictures, stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy. Based on Indian mythology, the film is set in contemporary
China’s most prestigious film festival, the Shanghai International Film Festival has officially been canceled for this year. The festival is normally held in mid-June. The 25th edition of the festival will instead be held next year, in 2023. The decision to cancel this year’s festival outright is an sign of the continuing difficulties under which
The MTV Movie & TV Awards are back, with Vanessa Hudgens hosting the ceremony live on MTV. The awards celebrate the year’s best in film and TV, with honors ranging from Best Show to Best Kiss. Awards will be doled out for both scripted and reality TV, with unscripted nominees including “American Idol,” “The Masked
David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” opened for general audiences this weekend without exactly lighting up the box office, which no one expected it to do. The filmography of Cronenberg has been one that has brought unadulterated respect from cinephiles, while never having the populist appeal to breakout into huge commercial translations or awards attention.
It’s no secret that Morocco is one of the most homophobic places on earth, punishing certain acts with prison sentences of up to three years. The secret, as far as Maryam Touzani’s “The Blue Caftan” is concerned, is that its main character is homosexual. The man, Halim (Salem Bakri), is devoted to both his religion