Movies

The ongoing production boom in the U.K. will get a welcome boost with the launch of new facility Home of Production (HOP) Studios. Plans have been submitted for a 1.3million sq ft studio space at Bedfordshire, 46 miles Northwest of London. A public consultation on the plans will take place in April and June this

Memento International has boarded “Falcon Lake,” the feature debut of Quebec-born artist and actor Charlotte Le Bon, which will world premiere at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Penned by Le Bon, François Choquet and Karim Boucherka, “Falcon Lake” is adapted from Bastien Vivès’s graphic novel “A Sister.” The story follows Bastien, a 13-year old boy who moves

Suresh Triveni, the Indian filmmaker who directed 2017 film “Tumhari Sulu” and 2022 Amazon original “Jalsa,” both starring Vidya Balan, has launched creative studio and production house Opening Image. The venture will be backed by Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment (“Jalsa,” “Sherni”). Triveni says the focus at Opening Image is on content development spanning films and

Searchlight Pictures has suspended production on “Being Mortal,” which was set to be the directorial feature debut of actor and comedian Aziz Ansari. Ansari was also set to star in the film, alongside Bill Murray and Seth Rogen. Variety has confirmed that the studio has sent out a letter to the “Being Mortal” cast and crew,

Sony Pictures has updated its upcoming theatrical release calendar, dating its Marvel Comics adaptation “Madame Web,” officially revealing a new entry in Denzel Washington’s “The Equalizer” series and delaying the release of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” to 2023. Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the sequel to 2018’s acclaimed “Spider-Man: Into

Movies can earn better reviews and millions more at the box office, if their cultural depictions are authentic and free from stereotypes, a new report from the University of California, Los Angeles and Creative Artists Agency found. The joint study, helmed by UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers and the Full Story Initiative at CAA,

Johnny Depp acknowledged on Wednesday that Disney was already wary of working with him before ex-wife Amber Heard wrote an op-ed alluding to her abuse claims in December 2018, as his cross-examination got underway in a Virginia courtroom. Depp has accused Heard of ruining his career by publishing the piece. He is suing her for

Neon will partner with National Geographic to release Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” documentary, following a successful Sundance debut earlier this year. Neon is planning a theatrical release for this summer, with a streaming release on Disney+ set for later this year. Dosa’s documentary follows the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice

What would you do for a habanero-orange compact sport utility vehicle? Blowing as many balloons as possible in one minute seems like an easy enough task, but what about fetching a human earlobe? These are the questions at the heart of “Stanleyville,” or at least they seem to be. In reality, director Maxwell McCabe-Lokos’ debut

Playwright Christopher Adams has been tapped to pen a screenplay based on the novel “Finistère.” While not widely known, the novel is a groundbreaking early tale of a gay man who falls in love with his tennis instructor at a French boarding school in the 1920s. It was written by Fritz Peters, whose entire catalogue

The business of moviegoing may be grappling with unprecedented, pandemic-induced pressures, but no one should underestimate the economic value of a theatrical release. That was the strong perspective offered by Legendary Entertainment CEO Joshua Grode on Wednesday morning during a Q&A held as part of the Variety Power of Law breakfast, presented by City National

It’s beyond distressing how women directors continue to get short shrift at Cannes. How could it be that this year only three movies helmed by females will be contenders in the main competition of the world’s most prestigious film festival? It’s horribly disappointing, but far from shocking, given that last year only four out of

It’s a good bet that Cypress Hill co-founder and multi-dispensary owner B-Real (Louis Freese) might be celebrating the unofficial national hemp holiday 4/20 even without a full plate of projects. But you could say his bong is overflowing. Tonight, Showtime will premiere the group’s feature-length documentary, “Insane in the Brain,” while the seminal rapper will

Over the past two years, the pandemic has transformed the entertainment industry, forcing studios to rethink the way productions are planned. Smaller crews, budget constraints and COVID restrictions propelled virtual production to the forefront of the industry, allowing a crew to go back in time or into the future and travel anywhere on a project

“It Takes Two” is getting the movie treatment, with the project now set up at Amazon for priority development, Variety has learned exclusively. Variety reported in January that the game was being adapted for the screen. As previously reported, dj2 Entertainment will produce the film, with Seven Bucks Productions now boarding the project along with

The production company behind the movie “Rust,” where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set, has been given the maximum possible fine for firearms safety failures on set. New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau gave a $136,793 fine to Rust Movie Productions. The bureau heard testimonies that production managers

GLAAD and The Black List have released their third-ever specialty report celebrating LGBTQ inclusive stories. Exclusive to Variety, the list includes work from 12 notable out creators in film, along with eight television pilots. The Black List is an annual ranking of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. Founded by Franklin Leonard, the group has

Alma Har’el, the acclaimed filmmaker behind “Honey Boy,” will direct a feature adaptation of Walter Tevis’ science fiction novel, “Mockingbird,” for Searchlight Pictures. The film is a passion project for the director. “Mockingbird” unfolds in future of a declining human population, which has turned to drugs and electronics for distraction. It’s also a world without

A musical comedy based on the classic film “Some Like It Hot” will premiere on Broadway in the fall of 2022. The show, which was originally scheduled to open in Chicago last year before transferring to the Great White Way, will begin performances on Nov. 1. “Some Like It Hot” officially opens Dec. 11 at

Movie theaters have benefited from a pair of unlikely heroes. Once written off as also-rans in the battle for ticket buyers, Sony and Paramount have been flexing their muscles at the box office lately with a wide range of offerings. The two studios are responsible for seven of the 10 highest-grossing films of 2022 and

Whip Media has hired Disney global integration and digital distribution operation’s strategy executive Artin Nazarian as vice president of global enterprise account management, Variety has learned exclusively. In his newly created role, Nazarian will develop and grow the company’s enterprise platform customer relationships worldwide, including focusing on strategy, product adoption and revenue. Whip brings Nazarian

Netflix has unveiled a first-look image (below) from upcoming animated feature “My Father’s Dragon,” which features Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo and a host of bold-face names. Based on the book of the same name by Ruth Stiles Gannett, “My Father’s Dragon” tells the story of Elmer, a young boy who struggles to cope after moving

“The Batman” star Andy Serkis is set to direct an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel “Animal Farm.” Serkis is directing the feature at animation and VFX studio Cinesite (“Riverdance: The Animated Adventure”) from a screenplay by Nick Stoller (“Storks,” “Captain Underpants”). “The challenging journey to bring this extraordinary story to the screen has

Henry Gilroy (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “The Amazing Spiderman” “How to Train Your Dragon”) has joined animated movie project “Young Captain Nemo” as its producer, showrunner, and screenwriter, as producers Rainshine Entertainment and Malaysia’s Animasia broaden out the venture into a movie series franchise. The project, based on the children’s literature franchise “Young Captain Nemo,”

U.K.-based sales agent Dogwoof has revealed the world sales acquisition of “Lynch/Oz,” Alexandre O. Philippe’s feature documentary about the enduring influence of Victor Fleming’s 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” on David Lynch’s cinema. The film is premiering at the Tribeca Festival in June. This is the third collaboration between Dogwoof and Philippe, Kerry Deignan

Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, will be kicking off with Jesse Eisenberg’s feature debut “When You Finish Saving the World” and showcase four female-directed movies. Selected out of 1100 submitted movies, the full roster includes 11 feature films, seven of which will compete and

Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has closed sales to several major territories for stylish comic-book adaptation “Diabolik,” which is among the leaders in the race for Italy’s top film awards – the David di Donatello Awards – with 11 nominations. Beta Cinema will kick off presales on the film’s sequels in Cannes. “Diabolik” has been

Mercedes Angelica LeAnza, a film and television producer who had been serving as a lead creative producer at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, died on April 10 of bile duct cancer. She was 40. Born on Nov. 12, 1981 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to Sandra Voris LeAnza, LeAnza relocated to California with

April 20, 2022 marks exactly a decade since Ayushmann Khurrana, Bollywood’s most successful thematic risk taking actor, debuted in the film industry. Ten years ago today (April 20, 2012) is when Khurrana debuted with “Vicky Donor,” in which he played a sperm donor. Starting from then, he has made a point of playing diverse characters,

Ben Affleck can’t stop reuniting with his famous partners. The Oscar winner and co-screenwriter of “Good Will Hunting” is re-teaming with his Boston bestie Matt Damon on a new feature film from Amazon Studios, Sykdance Sports and Madalay Pictures. It will center on the sports marketing executive who relentlessly pursued basketball legend Michael Jordan in