Movies

Johnny Depp repeatedly hit Amber Heard in the face during an argument at the couple’s penthouse in March 2015, Heard’s sister told a jury on Wednesday. The sister, Whitney Henriquez, was called to the stand to corroborate Heard’s allegations that Depp repeatedly assaulted her over the course of their four-year relationship. Heard is defending herself

HanWay Films have unveiled a first look image from Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener,” starring Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver. “Master Gardener” tells the story of horticulturist Narvel Roth (played by Edgerton), who tends to a beautiful and historic estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs Haverhill (Weaver). But Mrs Haverhill’s insistence that Roth employ her wayward

Even before a single scene from “Top Gun: Maverick” unspooled at the film’s Cannes premiere on Wednesday night, festival-goers made it clear that they think Tom Cruise is magnifique. The actor received a thunderous ovation after he was presented with a “surprise” Palme d’Or, one that genuinely seemed to take him off guard. He had

Tom Cruise fans – many of whom weren’t born when the original “Top Gun” movie came out in 1986 – were out in force in Cannes on Wednesday evening for a special screening of “Top Gun: Maverick,” Cruise’s hotly anticipated sequel to 1986 hit “Top Gun.” The crowd outside the Palais des Festivals convention center,

The planned “Wonder Twins” live-action movie at HBO Max is no longer going forward, Variety has learned. The news comes just over a month after it was announced that KJ Apa and Isabel May had been cast in the lead roles in the DC film as the titular twins. It also arrives in the wake

Lee Jung-jae, who made history with his work on “Squid Game,” is now making his directorial debut with the spy movie “Hunt,” which is premiering at Cannes. Although he’s the first Asian to win the Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards for lead actor drama in Netflix’s dystopian drama, and likely will continue that

Someone got left on the cutting room floor of Tom Cruise’s career retrospective montage at the Cannes Film Festival. She may have been married to the superstar for more than a decade and appeared in three of his films, but there was nary a shot of Nicole Kidman to be found in the comprehensive series

Channing Tatum is turning his children’s book “The One and Only Sparkella” into a feature film. Tatum will star in the live-action movie, which is set at MGM and does not have a title yet. Per the official logline, the story will “take on the magic of Sparkella that sees a father and his daughter

Encapsulating humanity’s weighty history and paths toward healing, director Véra Belmont (“Red Kiss”) takes a leap from live-action cinema to animated feature with her latest project, “My Father’s Secrets,” a Holocaust story that tackles generational familial trauma and redemption. Based on the graphic novel “Second Generation” by Israeli illustrator Michel Kichka, the film is set

When “Downton Abbey: The New Era” arrives in U.S. theaters this week, it will represent just the latest iteration of a franchise more than a decade in operation. Julian Fellowes, the Emmy-winning writer of the period-drama megahit, and Gareth Neame, executive chairman of Carnival Films, discuss their collaboration on six TV seasons and two films

Tom Cruise showed just why he’s the biggest movie star in the world with his 45-minute masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival. The sold-out crowd at the Grand Palais’ Debussy theater waited in line patiently for an hour under the blazing afternoon sun and could barely contain their impatience as festival director Thierry Fremaux introduced

Rob Reiner is shooting a documentary about Albert Brooks and he’s lined up some major heavyweights to wax poetic about the filmmaker, actor and all-around comic genius. The director tells Variety that he’s already talked to or is planning to interview fellow comedians such as Larry David, Conan O’Brien, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, James L.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair that the company has learned never to recast iconic “Star Wars” characters following the flop that was “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The Ron Howard-directed 2018 movie cast Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of Han Solo, the hot  shot space pilot famously brought to life by Harrison

Australian film “The Laugh of Lakshmi,” by renowned theater director turned filmmaker S. Shakthidharan, will be one of the first films to make use of the newly announced Indian filming incentives. The film, a dance drama, is the story of a mother and a son separated by war. The mother, a celebrated classical dancer, sends

Bérénice Bejo was thrilled to be asked how she came to be involved in Michel Hazanavicius’ “Final Cut.” The French-Argentine actor — who plays a mad make-up artist in the zombie romp that opened Cannes on Tuesday — revealed that it wasn’t easy convincing director Hazanavicius, who is also her husband, to let her have

India’s long awaited location shooting incentive scheme is now a reality. At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India. The Indian federal government will reimburse up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($260,000).

Lance Bass has become one of the most high profile faces of a controversial viral TikTok trend in which members reenact Amber Heard’s testimony against Johnny Depp. Heard’s testimony finds the “Aquaman” actor recounting the first time Depp allegedly hit her. Bass posted the video on May 16, which is when the Depp-Heard trial resumed

Gravel Road Distribution Group has acquired world sales rights with producer Rani Sitaram to “Greytown Girl,” a romantic drama set in Apartheid-era South Africa from Oscar-nominated director Darrell Roodt (“Yesterday”). The film tells the true story of a small-town South African girl, Meena, who was born with physical limitations and abandoned as a baby. Through

A slight but satisfying choice to open Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, Pietro Marcello’s “Scarlet” isn’t quite a fairy tale, although it certainly feels like one at times. For example, roughly midway through the movie, a woman who might be a witch meets the film’s fanciful young heroine, Juliette (Juliette Jouan), in the

Marco Bellocchio, who is in Cannes with TV series “Esterno Notte” about the kidnapping and assassination of former Italian premier Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists, is set to return behind camera in late June. The veteran Italian auteur and Cannes aficionado will reconstruct the true tale of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy who

Despite widespread calls to boycott Russian cinema in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, the Cannes Film Festival struck an uneasy compromise by banning state delegations and Russians with ties to President Vladimir Putin while allowing individual filmmakers to attend. It’s a decision iconoclastic Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov was quick to support on the eve

“Lost And Found” has closed first sales to Italy (Eagle Pictures), France (KMBO) and Taiwan (Creative Century Entertainment) on thriller “Lost and Found,” starring Álvaro Morte, “Money Heist’s” Professor, and directed by “The Head” helmer Jorge Dorado. The caliber of the distributors – Eagle Pictures is one of Italy’s most muscular mainstream buyers, for instance

Screen Media has acquired North American rights to “Code Name Banshee,” an upcoming action-thriller with Antonio Banderas and Jamie King. The film will receive a day-and-date theatrical and on-demand release in July. Directed by Jon Keeyes and written by Matthew Rogers, the duo behind “The Survivalist,” the film follows Caleb (Banderas), a former government assassin

British-French film company Alief has closed North America and French-speaking territories on “Cop Secret,” effectively now selling the Icelandic buddy cop spoof to over half the world’s major markets.  In North America, “Cop Secret” has scored a platform release with Epic Pictures. Extralucid Films has acquired France, Monaco, Luxembourg and French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland. The

Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has snapped up worldwide sales rights to Jaime Chavarri’s upcoming comedy, “La Manzana de Oro” (“The Golden Apple”). In a separate deal, Spanish pubcaster RTVE has clinched free TV rights.  Produced by Mario Real and Enrique González Khun at the fledgling La Pirueta Films and described as “Dead Poets Society” meets “Four

One of the hottest European projects on sale at Cannes, “The Pot Au Feu,” Tran Anh Hung’s period romance starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel has already been nabbed by major international distributors. Gaumont is handling sales on the movie. The movie, which is currently shooting in a French castle, is set in the world

Odin’s Eye Entertainment has boarded “In Vitro,” an elevated sci-fi thriller starring Ashley Zukerman (“Succession” ) and Talia Zucker (“Lake Mungo”). Pic is co-directed by Tom McKeith and Will Howarth, whose debut feature, “Beast,” was nominated for best first feature at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015. Odin’s Eye will introduce the new film to

Brazil’s economic powerhouse, São Paulo is emerging as a key film-TV player in Brazil’s post-pandemic mix.  In one move, São Paulo State and City authorities are teaming to power up a new cash rebate for shoots, international and national, to more than four times the endowment of its first edition in 2021.  Launched last July

Film financier Amcomri Entertainment and Ireland’s Studio Atlantic have struck a multi-picture production deal. The pact comes ahead of the release of Studio Atlantic’s latest production, “The Gates,” a Victorian period horror starring John Rhys Davies, Richard Brake, Elena Delia and Michael Yare, which is currently being sold in Cannes by Amcomri Entertainment’s sales arm

“Alcarràs,” from Catalonia’s Carla Simón, won Berlin’s top Golden Bear in February. “One Year, One Night,” from Catalan Isaki Lacuesta, also played in main competition. This May “Pacifiction,” from Albert Serra, another Catalan, has scored a competition berth at Cannes. Thanks to these three titles, Catalonia has more directors this year in the key section