Movies

Inspiring or irritating, empowering or exploitative, maternal or manipulative — with many shades of gray in between — female mentorship is a common dynamic in many of 2024’s most affecting stories. In films as diverse as “All We Imagine as Light,” “Babygirl,” “Emilia Pérez,” “The Girl With the Needle,” “Inside Out 2” “The Last Showgirl,”

John C. Reilly will soon appear on the big screen as Buffalo Bill in “Heads or Tails?” a surreal Western by Italian directorial duo Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis (“The Tale of King Crab“). The film is inspired by a true event that took place during Buffalo Bill’s stay in Italy. Along with

The 2025 Spanish Academy Goya Award nominations were unveiled today, where the big surprise was Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” being left out of the competition’s best picture category. Although the film won’t compete for the ceremony’s top honor, its director and both his lead actors, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, all received individual

Films Boutique has picked up international rights to Amel Guellaty’s “Where the Wind Comes From” (formerly known as “Tunis-Djerba”), ahead of its world premiere in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition. The International Film Festival Rotterdam will host the European premiere of the coproduction between Tunisia, France and Qatar, which is Guellaty’s first feature. In the film,

The Czech Republic, the location for Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” starring Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe and Lily-Rose Depp, has given a major boost to its production incentives. An amendment to the country’s Audiovisual Act has upped the incentive for live-action projects from 20% to 25%. Added to that an incentive of 35% for digital production and

Despite the case being dismissed in July, Alec Baldwin says the story surrounding the fatal “Rust” shooting has only begun. On the Dec. 16 episode of David Duchovny’s “Fail Better” podcast, Baldwin said “there is more to come” regarding what occurred during the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting on the set of the indie western “Rust,”

A filmmaker burns his clapperboard for warmth. A schoolteacher scavenges to feed his students. A stand-up comedian arrives at a gig to find the venue bombed. In “From Ground Zero,” Palestine’s entry for the Oscars’ international feature film category, 22 directors present cinematic diaries from Gaza, shot in between (and sometimes, during) IDF bombing raids

Drag is not — or at least need not be — political, let alone radical in its politics. But when such artistry is targeted by politicians and policies that aim to make it disappear from public view altogether (whether in the name of country or church or children or any combination thereof), drag artists are

Tunisia has made relatively few submissions for the international feature Oscar, yet thanks to female helmer Kaouther Ben Hania, the country recently earned a nomination with “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020) and a place on the shortlist with “Four Daughters” (2023). This year’s submission, “Take My Breath,” comes from another female director, Nada Mezni

There is a bitter irony at the heart of Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s dynamic third feature “Hobal,” which follows a family that has long sought safety in the desert, led by Liyam (Ibrahim Al-Hasawi), a patriarch carrying on a Bedouin tradition by living at a remove from civilization. While the nomadic clan has picked up and moved

There’s an unexpected implication when Antonella Sudasassi Furniss exposes the parameters of her film set at the start of “Memories of a Burning Body,” following lead Sol Carabello into one room to have her makeup done and a gaffer in another arranging the lights for a scene. It isn’t to accept the artifice of the

The making of “Nickel Boys” — a film that follows two young Black boys, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), as they navigate a brutal reform school — presented a unique set of circumstances for cinematographer Jomo Fray. While Fray always wants his camerawork to feel vulnerable, director RaMell Ross‘ vision of shooting the

Ariana Grande fans were beside themselves when a rumor started circulating online last weekend that the Grammy-winning pop princess was planning on touring in 2025. However, her label quickly dashed their hopes by releasing a statement on social media that said, “There are no plans for a tour next year, but Ariana remains deeply appreciative

In Bangladesh, the sport of boli khela — or the wrestler game — is a meticulous, methodical affair, a tone Iqbal H. Chowdhury re-creates for his debut feature, “The Wrestler.” Straddling a line between observational and oblique, the film seems designed to fascinate and frustrate in equal measure, gesturing toward masculine boundaries in a rural,

Some of the biggest headlines to emerge while James Gunn was shooting “Superman” came from set photo leaks that revealed the new Man of Steel costume would include the superhero’s iconic red trunks. Zack Snyder famously got rid of this part of Superman’s costume during Henry Cavill’s tenure with the character. But now the red

Greg Kwedar’s “Sing Sing” is a one-of-a-kind film set in the prison of the same name. Rather than look at the broken justice system, the A24 film focuses on a group of inmates and their rehabilitation through the arts. Colman Domingo stars as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a playwright who is incarcerated at Sing Sing

A blue, anthropomorphic speed demon is expected to outpace the future king of Pride Lands at the weekend box office. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is projected to claim a leading $55 million to $60 million from 3,800 North American theaters in its debut, while Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” should be trotting close behind

Nate Moore, a top creative executive at Marvel Studios and producer of “Black Panther,” “Eternals,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and the upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World,” is leaving the studio after 14 years to pursue independent producing. He will remain part of the producing team for the third “Black Panther” movie, which Ryan Coogler

Zoe Saldaña recently spoke to The Independent about how the Oscars and other awards bodies struggle to look past all the digital wizardry that goes into her “Avatar” performances. Saldaña plays Neytiri via motion capture in the James Cameron-directed franchise. While the character is a tall blue alien on screen, all of her body movements

Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Edgar Ramirez (“Emilia Perez”) and Jack Farthing (“Spencer”) will star in “Next Life” from writer-director Drake Doremus (“Like Crazy”), L.A. and London-based production and management company 42, Mutressa and Fetisoff Illusion have announced. “Next Life” tells the love story of Ivy (Emilia Clarke), who finds herself confronted with parallel universes

Ahead of the streaming release of the wrestling movie “Unstoppable,” Jennifer Lopez joined the Variety Screening Series presented by Amazon MGM Studios for a career retrospective chat with Clayton Davis, Variety’s Senior Awards Editor. Lopez shared her experience taking on the role of a mother who raised famous wrestler Anthony Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome,

If the Oscars shortlist is the equivalent of mid-term exams for awards contenders, then Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez” and Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” just received passing grades. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlists in 10 categories for the upcoming 97th Oscars ceremony. “Emilia Pérez” landed six mentions overall, including makeup, sound,

A new trailer for “Queen of the Ring,” from writer-director Ash Avildsen, gives a first look at “Arrow” star Emily Bett Rickards as legendary professional wrestler Mildred Burke. The true-life tale follows Burke as she defies incredible odds to become the first million-dollar female athlete and longest reigning champion at a time when wrestling was

How and why did the kind-hearted, smart and green Elphaba Thropp become such a nasty, powerful, dare we say wicked witch of the classic tale “The Wizard of Oz”? The big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked” uses subtle nuances to hint at Elphaba’s growing powers, but also nod to Black women. “Wicked” follows Elphaba

Okay Goodnight and Orchard Pictures will pair up to produce the documentary, “I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust.” The short is based on Emily Grodin’s memoir of the same name. Marta Kauffman is on board to produce. Robbie Rowe Tollin and Hannah K.S. Canter of Okay Goodnight and Roberta Grossman are also set

Jon M. Chu has photographic evidence. Before he directed “Wicked,” the hit adaptation of the Broadway musical about a pair of witchy BFFs, Chu was an extra on “The Secret World of Alex Mack.” And that Nickelodeon series, part of the TV diet for anyone growing up in the 1990s, marked the directorial debut of

Tom Cruise played a U.S. Navy aviator in the “Top Gun” movies, and now he’s being recognized for his on-screen representation of the military branch. On Tuesday, Cruise was awarded the Navy’s top civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award, for his “outstanding contributions to the Navy and the Marine Corps” through his work in

“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” the third entry in Sony’s animated web-slinging trilogy, has tapped Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson to direct. They have been part of the franchise’s creative team since 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” with Persichetti serving as part of the original film’s directorial trio and executive producing the 2023 sequel, “Spider-Man:

The Casting Society has announced the film nominees for the 40th Artios Awards. “A Complete Unknown,” “Blitz,” “Civil War,” “Dune: Part 2,” “Gladiator 2” and “Queer” are among the nominated films in big budget drama. In big budget comedy, the nominated films are “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Challengers,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Nightbitch,” “Saturday Night” and “Wicked.” The awards honor

Early in “The Lion King,” the adorable yet spoiled African prince Simba goes gallivanting around his father Mufasa’s lands, taunting his future subjects with the song “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” In Broadway terms, it’s a classic “I want” number, telling audiences what’s in the character’s heart at that point in the film,