Movies

Jean Dujardin, best known for his roles in light-hearted films such as the Oscar-winning “The Artist,” plays the fierce boss of a highly-secretive police brigade that tracked down the assailants of the 2015 Paris attacks in Cedric Jimenez’s “November.” Written by Olivier Demangel (“Atlantics”), the fast-paced and tense thriller world premiered at the Cannes Film

“Lendarys,” a big-budget family adventure animation film that is currently in production, scored a handful of pre-sales during the Cannes Market. Rights sales are handled by Hong Kong-, Paris and Los Angeles-based All Rights Entertainment. With a production budget of $30 million, the film is the directorial debut of Philippe Duchene and Jean-Baptiste Cuvelier. Duchene’s previous

When it was revealed earlier this month that “Sex Education” star Ncuti Gatwa would be taking on the role of the new Doctor Who, the whole world was taken by surprise – including Gatwa’s “Barbie” castmates. Simu Liu, who is co-starring alongside Gatwa and Margot Robbie in the upcoming doll movie, revealed Gatwa kept his

India’s Kamal Haasan is a true multi-hyphenate. Beginning as a child actor in 1960, he is one of the country’s most consummate actors with films like “Pathinaru Vayathinile” (1977) “Moondram Pirai” (1982) “Nayakan” (1987), “Thevar Magan” (1992) and “Vishwaroopam” (2013) behind him. He also produces via his Raajkamal Films International (RKFI), writes, directs, and runs

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “King’s Land,” a period epic movie reuniting “A Royal Affair” helmer Nikolaj Arcel with Mads Mikkelsen. Sold by TrustNordisk, the film is produced by Danish production powerhouse Zentropa. Arcel penned the script with Anders Thomas Jensen who most recently collaborated with Mikkelsen on the action-thriller film “Riders of

Indian activist filmmaker Pa. Ranjith has revealed an extensive production slate featuring top stars and socially relevant themes. Ranjith was at the Cannes Film Market, where he revealed “Vettuvam”, a linked film and TV series, a co-production between his and Aditi Anand’s Neelam Studios and Golden Ratio Films, the film production arm of Vistas Media

Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding Telfaz11 Studios is teaming up with France’s Easy Riders Films to develop and produce a slate of four features directed by emerging Saudi talents with international ambitions. The first title expected to go into production is “Night Courier,” a comedy about a young man named Fahad who winds up in possession

Artist and Hong Kong-based experimental filmmaker Scud is to retire from filmmaking leave the city after completing his two final features. These have been licensed for North American distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures. A license deal for rights to “Apostles” and “Bodyshop” was struck by Breaking Glass Pictures and Artwalker, the production company through which

“Plan 75,” Hayakawa Chie’s Japanese dystopian drama which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has been sold in a raft of territories by Urban Sales. The movie is set in Japan, in a near future where a government program called Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be voluntarily euthanized in order to remedy the

Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the well-received Cannes competition film “Broker” says his diverse and lonely characters constitute a family of choice. “This film tells the story of a family which came together by choice. Each character had been rejected. They set off on a car journey, as if by accident. Each has committed offences. They

It was Paul Gauguin, France’s most celebrated Polynesian tourist, who once wrote of “learning to know the silence of a Tahitian night.” It’s a void, he wrote, in which other senses and sensory awarenesses are heightened, amplifying his sense of loneliness and separation from others: “The inhabitants of the district and I mutually watched each

It was after 1 a.m. in Antibes when Christina Aguilera performed at the 28th annual amfAR gala at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday morning. Inside a tent at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Rock, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, a lux crowd of European highrollers crowded the stage as Michelle Rodriguez took the mic to introduce the

A central image in Mark Jenkin’s weathered, rough-hewn, rocky folk horror “Enys Men” is of a weathered, rough-hewn rock. A menhir that looks like it’s been orphaned from Stonehenge stands perched on a blustery hillside on the eponymous isle (pronounced Ennis Main, the Cornish for “Stone Island”). And just as many such ancient monoliths remain

Following news that Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault in the U.K., the producers of one of his new films being shopped at Cannes have issued a statement in support of the disgraced actor. “While it’s unfortunate that increased negative press is timed with Kevin returning to work, it’s also

Rotem Shamir, whose credits include hit series “Fauda” and “Hostages” will make his Indian film debut as director of “Garud.” Inspired by real events, “Garud” will present a fictionalized depiction of the rescue mission in Afghanistan, based on the story of a police officer and his team of special forces. The film will be produced

The mild initial curiosity stirred by Zoom-shot movies died quickly, because so few of them were watchable, and because filmmakers quickly found workarounds to create more fluid entertainments while still observing COVID precautionary measures. Thus “Zero Contact” arrives as a novelty that’s already more than worn out its welcome, aiming for dubious additional distinction as

The future of Star Wars is coming to audiences at light speed. Thursday’s Star Wars Celebration kick-off marked the convention’s first in-person event since 2019, after the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crowd at the event held at the Anaheim Convention Center was packed to the brim with fans adorned

Ray Liotta, who died Thursday at 67, was a great actor who was second to none when it came to playing hoodlums, scoundrels, rotters, psychopaths, and cool jerks. To put it that way sounds reductive, of course, since that was far from the only thing he could do. Just think of his beloved performance in

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is nearing its conclusion, and soon the jury will be selecting awards for this year’s impressive, albeit quieter, slate of films. After last year’s “Titane” from Julia Ducournau made history as the first female-directed film to fully win the Palme d’Or (Jane Campion’s “The Piano” tied with “Farewell My Concubine”

SPOILER ALERT: The penultimate paragraph of this review contains spoilers. Few of us are fortunate enough to have a friendship as intimate and effortless as the one shared by 13-year-old Belgian boys Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele) in “Close.” That connection, and the responsibility that comes with it, is at the heart

Lionsgate came in below Wall Street expectations for the first three months of the year, but its TV production division again had stellar results and its Starz streaming business kept on growing. The company previously announced that it would look at spinning off or selling Starz, the premium cable network and streamer it acquired in

Intense and commanding, but passionate and endearing, Ray Liotta was one of the great character actors for the last four decades. After the news broke of his death, a walk through his most memorable performances is not only warranted, but necessary, to remind us of what we lost in the Hollywood community. My cinematic introduction

There is no shortage of television shows set in a galaxy far, far away. During Disney and Lucasfilm’s presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, Calif., most of the time was devoted to introducing new series like “Skeleton Crew,” starring Jude Law, and “Andor,” featuring Diego Luna in a prequel to “Rogue One,” as well

European Film Promotion has been playing host at the Cannes Film Festival to 20 up-and-coming European producers, selected for its Producers on the Move program. Variety invited the producers to share details of their upcoming projects. Maarten Schmidt, BelgiumProject: “Under the Surface”Director: Guido VerelstAnne, born premature, has Asperger’s and wants nothing more than to be

“The Once and Future,” a hybrid project directed by Yeo Siew Hua winner of Locarno’s top prize in 2018 with “A Land Imagined,” will open at the upcoming Singapore Festival of Arts (SIFA). Edson Sidonie’s Buenos Aires-based Bikini Films and Roger García’s General Film Services in the U:S: have teamed for this multi-platform  project which will be

Ray Liotta had several films and a television series in the works before his sudden death on Thursday at age 67. At least two projects, Universal’s wild drug-filled thriller “Cocaine Bear” and the Apple TV Plus limited series “Black Bird,” had already completed production and should be released according to schedule, sources say. Liotta died

Iberseries & Platino Industria, a key international Ibero-American film-TV event which kicked off last year in Madrid, has announced new collaborations with Ventana Sur and the San Sebastian Film Festival for its second edition, slated for September 27-30. The announcement was staged at the Marché stand of Argentine film-TV agency INCAA, a co-organizer of Ventana

Italy’s Valerio Ferrara was named the winner of the 25th edition La Cinef for his warm take on a hapless barber who believes in conspiracy theories in “A Conspiracy Man” (“Il Barbiere Complottista”). Laughing stock of his family, nobody takes him seriously. Until he is arrested by the police. “Personally, I have a special affection for

French filmmaker Léa Mysius follows her nose in “The Five Devils,” focusing on the sense of smell. That’s her protagonist’s special gift, one that scares her mother (“Blue Is the Warmest Color” actor Adèle Exarchopoulos) but allows her to venture beyond the constraints of time and space. Shown in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight – with Wild

“I don’t think you ever have to be fearful when you’re writing a film,” says Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani ahead of the premiere of her second feature “The Blue Caftan” in Un Certain Regard. Following the relationship between husband and wife Halim and Mina who have kept Halim’s homosexuality a secret for many years, the film