Danny Boyle was all set to direct Daniel Craig in his final James Bond movie before exiting the project due to creative differences with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The Oscar winner would later tell Metro that he’s “not cut out [for franchises],” adding, “I work in partnership with writers and I am
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Over the past nearly 30 years, as the international film business became more complex, two certainties remained: the Cannes Film Market still ranked as the biggest movie emporium in the world, and overseeing it was the energetic Jérôme Paillard. Now, having driven attendance up from 2,000 in 1995 to over 12,500 in 2019 and year-on-year
A nationwide PSA has launched on Tuesday that urges Hollywood to increase the number of people with disabilities both behind and in front of the camera. The campaign, formally known as Disability Is Diversity, comes from the Inevitable Foundation, a nonprofit created 16 months ago by Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska that seeks to fund
SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” currently playing in theaters. Do not read until you’ve seen the movie. As an alum of “Community” and “Rick and Morty,” screenwriter Michael Waldron certainly knows outré, genre-hopping science fiction; with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Waldron found
In the early years of the 21st century, bankers to the film industry set their eyes on East Asia and headed for Hong Kong and Beijing. They could see that mainland China’s decision to open the film business to the private sector had the potential to be a game-changer. Multiplexes were being built, box office
As Cannes celebrates it first big get-together since 2019 with much of the traditional movie industry business model now being questioned, one thing, at least, has never been stronger: The drive by governments worldwide to lure big movie shoots. Powered by an exponential rise in demand, film and TV shoots are already big business. Total
The Intl. Emerging Film Talent Assn. (IEFTA) returns to the Cannes Festival for the 12th year with film programs, panels, awards and cocktail receptions. IEFTA, with the U.N. Refugee Agency and its Telling the Real Story program, will present the fifth edition of Refugee Voices in Film beginning at noon on May 21 and May
Nestled in a former theater whose facade was sculpted by Auguste Renoir, the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and promotion of film heritage belonging to historical French production company and exhibitor Pathé. Named after the company’s co-chairman, Jérôme Seydoux, the institution is a nonprofit organization founded in 2006. Designed by renowned
From his office window, attorney Jon Katz has a direct view of the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia, and for the past several weeks, he has watched fans gathering outside to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp. The trial pitting the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, is the biggest case
As Michelle Yeoh basks in the success of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” she ponders for a moment a world where “Crazy Rich Asians” wasn’t a huge box office success. “What if it didn’t work?” she asks. Jon M. Chu’s 2018 film was one of the first films in 25 years to feature an all-Asian
Sian Heder’s heartwarming family film “CODA” not only scored a historic Oscar for Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, it’s also the first English-language remake of a French film to win the best picture Academy Award. Acquired by Apple Studios at the 2021 Sundance in a record-breaking $25 million deal, “CODA” is based on the 2014 French
Penning a premature obituary is an occupational hazard that goes with the territory of film industry analysis, and there are few topics that attract such hand wringing as the alleged “death of the pre-sale.” While the execs headed to the Cannes Market have seen major disruptions in the past decade from technology and pandemics, industry
Eva Mendes has floated a potential end to her near-decade long hiatus from acting. The actor has not starred in a feature film since a small supporting role in partner Ryan Gosling’s 2014’s directorial effort “Lost River,” although she lent her voice to a role on a 2021 episode of “Bluey” on ABC Kids. Mendes
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, the company’s streaming service for horror, thriller and supernatural content, have acquired the North American rights to “The Reef: Stalked.” The shark survival tale will be released in theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand platforms on July 29, 2022. It will be available
Just as Marvel movie fans were getting the chance to see “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on May 6, they were also getting an update from James Gunn that filming had officially wrapped on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” The end of production marked the finish line for Dave Bautista’s MCU tenure
The Palm Springs area will live up to its reputation for seediness under the cover of never-ending nights — irony intended — as the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival returns to town for its 22nd annual marathon of vintage crime dramas this weekend. Leonard Maltin and TCM “Noir Alley” host Eddie Muller will be among
Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Front Row Filmed Entertainment has boarded Arab-language comedy “Abdelinho,” directed by Morocco’s Hicham Ayouch and toplined by Ali Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”). The move comes as Front Row, which is a prominent MENA region indie distributor, ramps up its production side following its Arabic adaptation of Italian dramedy “Perfect
“The Maze Runner’s” Kaya Scodelario, “John Wick’s” Lance Reddick and “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” Ben Hardy are set to lead the cast of sci-fi thriller “Apteros.” Independent Entertainment have launched international sales on the pic, which is written and directed by Edward Anderson (“Shuttle”). Producer Laura Rister (“Mr Malcolm’s List”) will handle North American rights with Independent
Independent Entertainment have boarded M. Cahill’s “Porcupine” and will launch international sales at the Cannes Marche. Vertical Entertainment have the North American rights and have set a summer 2022 release for the film, which was written and directed by Cahill. Featuring Jena Malone (Hunger Games franchise) and Robert Hunger-Bühler (“Vacuum”), “Porcupine” is based on a
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the program of its Cinema de la Plage section which launched last year with a mix of restored classics, cult films and premieres. Open to all audiences, the Cinema de la Plage will take place on the beach every evening and will be free of charge. The program, which
Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teaser for Norwegian drama “War Sailor,” which follows two Norwegian sailors whose merchant ship is attacked by German submarines at the outbreak of World War II. Beta Cinema will be selling the film at the Cannes Market. [embedded content] The film centers on Alfred Garnes, a
Daniel Battsek, director, Film4, has been elevated to chair, while deputy director and creative director Ollie Madden will succeed Battsek as director. Film4 is the filmmaking arm of U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, which invests £25 million ($31 million) annually to develop and co-fund British films with British talent. Since its launch, films it has backed
Anurag Kashyap’s “Dobaaraa” has been set as the opening night film of the London Indian Film Festival. Despite its name, the festival will play at venues across the U.K., and will present 24 features and 18 shorts. “Dobaaraa” is a supernatural thriller that LIFF describes as involving a young woman trapped between two lives in
Shivkumar Sharma, Hindustani classical musician and co-composer of several memorable Bollywood film soundtracks for the late Yash Chopra, died on Tuesday in Mumbai. He was 84. Sharma, addressed by the honorific Pandit, had kidney related ailments for the past six months and eventually succumbed to a cardiac arrest. Born in Jammu, Northern India, Sharma became
A new documentary on tennis superstar Boris Becker is nearing completion and is set to be sold at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Alex Gibney, Oscar-winning director of “Taxi to the Dark Side” and John Battsek, producer of the Oscar-winning “One Day in September,” have had exclusive access to Becker since 2019 and have been
Playing a foundational role in the history of film and benefitting from enough picturesque locales to launch a thousand postcards, France has long attracted directors and crews from across the globe. Keeping them on site for more than a few days, however, was once a different story altogether. The 2009 passage of the Tax Rebate
For some time, the French VFX sector suffered an acute case of brain drain, as young professionals would graduate from internationally admired institutions and nearly immediately take their talents abroad. “Years ago, when I spoke with students from [the renowned school] ArtFX, something like 95% of them planned to leave after graduation,” says VFX supervisor
Viewed with 20/20 hindsight, all of history appears inevitable simply because it went to the trouble of happening. More than four decades after it defied skeptics, entertained millions, and hit the No. 2 spot (just behind “The Empire Strikes Back”) on the list of top-grossing 1980 movies, green-lighting “9 to 5” might now appear to
Jack Kehler, a prolific character actor, died Saturday from complications due to leukemia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif. He was 75 years old. Kehler’s death was confirmed by his son, Eddie Kehler. Born May 22, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pa., Kehler set his career off in acting at the age of 24 by
Forget about Happy Meals — let’s talk about happy filmmakers. “Encanto” star Stephanie Beatriz has teamed up with McDonald’s for Spotlight Dorado, a short film contest for Latino talent. “McDonald’s has a long history of fostering community. Not only do they essentially feed the community, but they also are trying to sort of put a