During his acceptance speech at Friday’s ICG Publicist’s Guild awards luncheon, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola made an impassioned plea for the Russian invasion of Ukraine to end. “I confess I met Putin, and I met Zelenskyy who is really a show business guy, his whole government, all of them are actors,” Coppola said during
Movies
“I Am Greta” director Nathan Grossman will be taking two new projects in development to the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), one of which he’s revealed exclusively to Variety. The documentary feature, with the working title “Amazonia,” follows a series of expeditions into the Amazon led by Sydney Possuelo, considered the leading authority on
Publicists for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Ted Lasso” won the top awards at the 59th annual ICG Publicists Awards luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Friday. Director Francis Ford Coppola, who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was also honored with a lifetime achievement award in honor of the 50th
Among the filmmakers taking center stage at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival’s financing and co-production platform, CPH:FORUM, is China’s Jialing Zhang with her new project “The Total Trust” (a working title). Her previous doc, “One Child Nation” (pictured), which she produced and co-directed with Nanfu Wang, picked up the Grand Jury Prize in Sundance
Will COVID spoil the Oscars? That’s the big question as Hollywood prepares to celebrate itself on Sunday. Organizers are taking precautions to prevent the 2022 Academy Awards from being a super-spreader, as other awards shows and film festivals have proven to be in the pandemic era. Attendees will have to show two negative PCR tests
It’s a big weekend for composer Pinar Toprak. On Friday, her latest score, for Sandra Bullock’s lighthearted jungle romp “The Lost City,” will be heard by moviegoers; and on Sunday she will be onstage at the Dolby conducting the Oscar orchestra for Billie Eilish’s performance of “No Time to Die.” Details about Sunday are otherwise
In Olivia Rodrigo’s Disney Plus film “Driving Home 2 U,” the pop star takes a road trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Malibu, Calif., stopping at old-timey diners, abandoned-looking gas stations and desert prairies along the way. At the premiere for the film on Thursday night in Westwood, Rodrigo’s star-studded friends, members of the
One thing Oscar lovers can all agree on is that it’s rare for there to be an Academy Award winner that everyone agrees on (“Moonlight” and “Parasite” are the rare exceptions, for example). Oscars history is chock full of winners that ignited shock, controversy and backlash. There’s the enduring outrage about best picture upsets like
Renée Zellweger revealed in a recent Harper’s Bazaar cover story that a producer once offered her alcohol on set before she was supposed to perform a nude scene. The two-time Oscar winner did not name the project, and she stressed she was not a victim in the situation. Instead, Zellweger was detailing the battles she
The rom-com may be showing signs of life. After being written off as a theatrical proposition, Paramount’s “The Lost City” appears to be scoring with audiences. The film, which puts a fresh coat of varnish on “Romancing the Stone” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” earned $2.5 million in Thursday previews. The movie isn’t just
Hollywood is out and about Los Angeles in the days and nights leading up to the Oscars. Here, Variety reporters go inside the hottest parties and events. W’s Best Performances Issue Party Gigi’s, Los Angeles, March 24 Happy Birthday, Quentin Tarantino! W’s editor in chief Sara Moonves surprised the director with a birthday cake at
FUNDING The Busan International Film Festival‘s popular Asian Cinema Fund programs are resuming after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for the post-production fund and script development fund are open from March 23 to Apr. 20, while the Asian network of documentary fund is open for applications from Apr. 25–May 20. For
Chances are, you landed on this review because you’re trying to game your Oscar pool, looking for a clue as to what will win the always-underseen shorts categories — in a year when they were unceremoniously booted from the telecast, no less. Well, if it’s predictions you’re looking for, there’s little contest among this year’s
Whether or not “The Power of the Dog” wins the big prize at the Academy Awards on Sunday, David Strong, chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission for the past eight months, is guaranteed to be an in-demand visitor to Los Angeles over the next week. With the Jane Campion-directed film handily showcasing New
The so-called “elevated” horror genre has lately been overrun with stories in which supernatural creepings function as a metaphor for psychological trauma and dysfunction. At first through-the-fingers glance, “You Are Not My Mother” appears to be following suit, centering as it does on an isolated teenage girl haunted by the unpredictable rhythms of her mother’s
It’s rare to be able to say that a movie shows a side of New York you’ve never seen before, but “Topside” does just that. A subterranean drama whose first act is set below the city, where a downtrodden community has made a home of long-abandoned subway tunnels, this quietly affecting indie film from first-time
Columbia Pictures’ 2021 horror-thriller “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” has been given official approval to release in cinemas in mainland China. It will launch on Saturday April 2, 2022. Directed by Adam Robitel, it is the sequel to the psychological thriller “Escape Room” that terrified audiences around the world in 2019. In the new installment,
A Chinese visual effects and animation studio filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that it is the victim of two American swindlers who forged documents, impersonated the CEO, and conned investors out of $234 million. Base FX, headquartered in Beijing, states that it was duped into trusting the two men — Remington Chase and Kevin Robl
The 94th Academy Awards is returning to the Dolby Theatre this Sunday, and Swarovski has teamed up with Emmy-award creative director and designer David Korins (“Hamilton”, “Dear Evan Hansen”) to provide 90,000 Swarovski Crystals for the stage design. Perhaps the most dazzling aspect to Korins’ staging is the crystal curtain, which is made from Swarovski
Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will be among the winners at the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) awards on Friday night alongside actor Charlotte Riley and senior vice president of studio operations Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Emily Stillman. The awards, which are in association with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden will be
What is going on over at the Academy? For years, I have questioned whether it made sense for the organization to continue awarding short films, seeing as how they are no longer a routine part of the moviegoing experience (the category dates back to a time when newsreels and short subjects regularly preceded the main
Dog lovers may have been disappointed that this year’s most-nominated film at the Oscars, “The Power of the Dog,” doesn’t have anything to do with actual pups. But that isn’t stopping the online veterinarian service Pawp from getting in on the action. Each time “The Power of the Dog” is verbally mentioned during the telecast
A historic Malaga Festival-Spanish Screenings finally began to wind down Thursday evening. Spain has celebrated national showcases for decades, but it’s never seen anything quite like the last four days. Briefly, five first takeaways from this year’s edition: Spain’s On Fire “Spain’s audiovisual sectors are on fire,” said Luis Cueto, at Spain’s Department of Commerce,
One of the greatest working actors of today, Jessica Chastain eyes her first possible Oscar win on Sunday for best actress for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” from Searchlight Pictures. Also serving as a producer, she would be the second woman to win an acting Oscar for a movie she also produced. The first was
Movies starring Keanu Reeves have reportedly been scrubbed from China streaming platforms such as Tencent Video, Youku and Migu Video following the actor’s public support for Tibet earlier this year. Reeves was announced in January as a performer for the 35th annual Tibet House Benefit Concert alongside Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, Cyndi Lauper and Iggy
Variety has upped Clayton Davis to Senior Awards Editor. In his new role, Davis will continue to handicap the Oscars and Emmys races as a definitive journalist covering awards season, offering weekly predictions of the top contenders, interviews and analysis. He’ll also co-host the weekly podcast series “Variety Awards Circuit” with Michael Schneider. Davis joined
Will Packer, the producer of this year’s Oscars telecast, said the annual celebration of movies is working to create a more streamlined and television-friendly experience. It’s one that will embrace social media, with Packer telling journalists on Thursday that allowing fans to vote on their favorite movie of the year on Twitter will help democratize the
Seth Willenson, the influential marketing executive and producer of films and home video, died March 18 in Los Angeles, a rep confirmed to Variety. According to their statement, Willenson died from heart disease. He was 74. Willenson began his career in 1970, as an early hire at the then-young New Line Cinema. He was responsible
Catalina Sandino Moreno and Harold Torres have been cast in “Silent Night,” an action-thriller starring Joel Kinnaman. Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo (“A Better Tomorrow”) is directing the film, which is currently in production in Mexico City. The story centers on Godlock (Kinnaman), a father on a mission to avenge his young son, who was
Jose Zelada and Richard Claus’ “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon” (Peru, Netherlands), Cesar Cabral’s “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People” (Brazil) and Hugo Covarrubias’ Oscar-nommed “Beast” (Chile) are some of the animated works in the running for the 5th Quirino Awards, the biggest prize event on Spain, Portugal and Latin America’s burgeoning animation scene.