Movies

The Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC) has released a statement condemning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ decision to not broadcast the best original score category live during this year’s Oscar ceremony. The Academy first confirmed its decision to present several Oscar categories outside of the live March 27 telecast on Tuesday,

This year’s documentary Academy Award feature race is historical on many fronts. Four of the five nominated films were directed by people of color; Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” made history by scoring three Oscar nominations: not only the doc feature category but also in the animated feature and international feature categories; Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu

Ukrainian film and TV bodies have begun calls for a boycott of Russian media and the severing of business ties with Russian entities. Russia’s film and TV industry has been steadily growing in recent years, with events such as the Key Buyers Event — an annual content showcase organized by Russian film promotion body Roskino

Critics matter. That’s how I interpret the love the Academy showed for “Drive My Car” this year, nominating the three-hour Japanese drama in four separate categories: best picture, director, adapted screenplay and international film, and in so doing, effectively issuing a referendum to the Spike Lee-led Cannes jury that awarded the Palme d’Or to the

The international-film category was once littered with feel-good stories about the relationship between an older person and a child, such as “Madame Rosa,” “Pelle the Conqueror,” “Burnt by the Sun” and “Kolya” that took home the statuette. Given the Oscars bestowed on the likes of “Cinema Paradiso” and “Life Is Beautiful,” individual nations could be

To twist the words of Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, it’s always darkest before the dawn, especially at the box office. North American theaters are having a quiet weekend led by holdover releases ahead of the big kahuna on the horizon in Warner Bros.’ “The Batman.” With the Dark Knight’s rise still a few

Sean Penn, who is in Ukraine filming a documentary about Russia’s invasion, released a statement on Friday night after appearing at a press briefing in the capital of Kyiv on Thursday, where he listened to government officials talk about the crisis. “Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t

How old is Tyler Perry’s spitfire matron Madea? Her age isn’t specified (I’d say she’s in her mid-70s), but whatever it is she’s that many years young. She has a sneaky-dog irascibility that won’t quit. And Tyler Perry can’t quit her. He had hinted that “A Madea Family Funeral,” in 2019, might be the last

Steven Spielberg is developing an original feature film based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the San Francisco cop first played by Steve McQueen in the iconic 1968 thriller, “Bullitt.” Josh Singer (“The Post,” “Spotlight”) is set to write the screenplay, with regular Spielberg collaborator Kristie Macosko Krieger on board to produce with the director.

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar and Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you’ve watched “A Madea Homecoming,” now streaming on Netflix.  As Tyler Perry prepared to bring his famously “braless and lawless” character Madea to Netflix, the media mogul came up with an idea to spoof some pop culture moments and some of his famous friends as part of the movie’s

Amanda Bynes is aiming to end her conservatorship after nearly nine years. Bynes’s mother, Lynn Organ, was granted temporary conservatorship in 2013 after the actor allegedly set a driveway on fire and was hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold. Organ then gained full conservatorship in 2014. Variety confirms that Bynes filed a petition on Feb.

Rolling off an unpredictable and crowded race, Xavier Giannoli’s period piece “Lost Illusions” and Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” scooped the top prizes at the 47th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, on Friday evening. “Lost Illusions,” which was leading the nominations, won seven awards, including best film and best male newcomer. “Annette,” which

As chairman of the Universal Studio Group, Pearlena Igbokwe is the first Black woman to run a major television studio. But when she got her start, she had no connections in the entertainment industry, little information about how to break into the business and very few mentors to look up too. One of her first,

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” cinematographer Ricardo Diaz knew he would pay homage to the original film while working on the 2022 sequel. Teaming with director David Blue Garcia and Mark Burnham, who plays the iconic movie slasher, Diaz took on recreating Leatherface’s famous dance… in one take. Diaz spoke with Variety about pulling off that feat in “Texas

Two cameras orbit a grand piano on a circular track. Sometimes one will catch sight of the other, passing behind the black-haired singer at the keyboard, flashing between the session violinists or gliding beyond the bearded man crouched low over his synthesizer. Though this visible stagecraft draws attention to the fabrication — stage lights pop;

Jonny Greenwood’s Oscar-nominated score for “The Power of the Dog” will receive a special live-to-screen performance March 10 with Wordless Music Orchestra at the helm. The performance will take place at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. “Over the last 15 years, Jonny Greenwood’s music for film has become as influential and unmistakable

Kodi Smit-McPhee has maintained a stronghold this awards season for his work as Peter Gordon in Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” winning the most critics prizes, including the Golden Globe for best supporting actor. However, he doesn’t take his acting craft for granted and is still learning with each new outing. “I always treat

David Lynch used his daily weather report on YouTube to send a stern and emotionally charged message to Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lynch has not directed a full-length project since Showtime’s 2017 limited series “Twin Peaks: The Return,” but he’s stayed connected to fans through his David Lynch Theater video project on

For the second year in a row, the race for best actress is wide open, with key precursors to the Academy Awards yet to be determined. The Oscar nominees are Jessica Chastain for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Searchlight Pictures), Olivia Colman for “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix), Penélope Cruz for “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics),

The NAACP Image Awards ceremony celebrates its 53rd year on February 26, commemorating more achievements by people of color than ever before: in addition to its multiple Outstanding Motion Picture, Television, Recording and Literary awards, the organization selected Nikole Hannah-Jones as its second-ever Social Justice Impact Award recipient, and has also added five new categories

On Wednesday evening in New York City, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered its return to the original movie musical with “Cyrano,” director Joe Wright’s musical adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” starring Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett and Kelvin Harrison Jr. At the New York City premiere, held at the SVA Theater, cast and studio executives reflected on the film’s

Helen Mirren is the perfect choice for the SAG Life Achievement Award, that rare performer respected and awarded for their work but also beloved by audiences. Able to effortlessly move between Shakespeare and Hollywood spectacle, Mirren joined the “Fast & Furious” franchise with 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious.” Fans loved that she was perfectly

Greta Bellamacina (“The Sceptered Isle”) and Amber Anderson (“Peaky Blinders”) have been cast as the dual leads in Jaclyn Bethany’s upcoming feature “Tell That to the Winter Sea.” Bellamacina and Bethany co-wrote the script, which has a dance narrative. Los Angeles based choreographer Sadie Wilking, who trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, will

MTV Documentary Films has acquired worldwide rights to Ondi Timoner’s “Last Flight Home,” a moving and deeply personal portrait of family dealing with the last days of their patriarch. The documentary had several bidders and the sale was highly competitive. “Last Flight Home” was a favorite with critics after it premiered at this year’s Sundance

Berlinale Competition title “Return to Dust,” written and directed by China’s Li Ruijun, has been sold to Modern Films for U.K. and Ireland, and BTeam Pictures for Spain. The film was previously picked up by several other European distributors. M-Appeal is handling world sales. Previously reported buyers include Alambique (Portugal), Trigon Film (Switzerland), Ama Films/Stergiakis

Fifteen prominent Indian independent filmmakers have issued an open letter to the Mumbai Film Festival, appealing to festival chair Priyanka Chopra Jonas to lay on physical screenings at the canceled – but partially online – event. The letter is signed by several filmmakers whose films premiered at A-list festivals, including Aditya Vikram Sengupta (“Once Upon

A group of prominent Ukrainian filmmakers has called for the world to wake up to the threat posed to democracy following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Eastern European country on Thursday. An open letter was circulated Friday by filmmakers including: Oleh Sentsov, director of “Rhino”; Valentyn Vasyanovych, director of “Reflection” and “Atlantis”; Maryna

Long ago, in a distant and far away America (you know, the ancient days of 2018 and 2019), independent films could make their mark at the megaplex, and some of them could be documentaries. Remember the glory days of “RGB” (total domestic gross: $14 million), “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” ($22.8 million), “Three Identical Strangers”

The Sonoma International Film Festival celebrates its 25th edition from March 23 to 27 in the Northern California wine country town. More than 120 independent and international films will be screening, including 79 premieres. The festival will open with Sandra Bullock’s “The Lost City” and close with French film “The Butcher’s Daughter.” Jacqueline Bisset will