Movies

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

Jessica Chastain’s nod as Tammy Faye Bakker in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” marks her Oscar third nomination — yet she says this awards season is a bit of a refreshing experience. That’s because the award is no longer overshadowed by some of the ugly campaign tactics employed by the likes of Harvey Weinstein —

Who knows why a sight as pitiful as 14-year-old Balli (Áskell Einar Pálmason), the unwashed, neglected child of an abusive stepfather and a largely absent mother, inspires a protective instinct in some kids, and a vicious one in others? Who knows why, at times, a protector can himself become a bully? Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s beautiful

Sally Kellerman, who was Oscar nominated for her supporting role as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s “MASH” feature film, died Thursday in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 84. Her publicist Alan Eichler confirmed her death. Among her other roles were a cameo in Altman’s “The Player,” a professor in Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to

Rarely have two leads seemed to be starring in different movies more than Andy Garcia and Emory Cohen in “Big Gold Brick.” Then again, it’s difficult to know exactly what type of movie writer-director Brian Petsos’ feature wants to be, so haphazardly does it search in vain for a consistent tone, a measure of lucidity

Some movies endure as a treasured soundtrack to which the film itself becomes a mere footnote. That seems likely to prove the case with “Creation Stories,” a biopic of Creation Records’ founder Alan McGee that duly draws sonic fuel from the stellar array of Britpop bands he was involved with. But as directed by Nick

Technicolor announced plans to spin off Technicolor Creative Studios, housing its visual effects and animation businesses including MPC Film (formerly known as the Moving Picture Co.), through a share distribution to company shareholders. Paris-based Technicolor will remain listed on Euronext Paris. Following the spinoff of Technicolor Creative Studios, the parent company will retain up to

Mark Wahlberg revealed on KFC Radio this week (via Esquire) that he tried and failed to pitch to Warner Bros. a sequel to Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winner “The Departed.” Wahlberg earned an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to his role in “The Departed,” which grossed $291 million worldwide and won four Academy Awards (including best

Darren Mann, a heat-seeking actor from the indie world, has been cast opposite Morgan Freeman in the upcoming film “The Minute You Wake Up Dead.” From director Michael Mailer, Mann joins Freeman, Cole Hauser (“Yellowstone”) and Jamie Alexander (“Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Loki”) in the project, billed as a neo-noir thriller. It follows a stockbroker

Invisible Narratives has hired Apple Music veteran Julie Pilat as president of music. Founded by CEO Adam Goodman, Invisible Narratives is a shopping and entertainment company “at the intersection of the creator economy, the crypto economy and the entertainment business.” In her new role, Pilat will develop new partnerships across the music industry, empower musicians

Scrapbook-style book series “The Popularity Papers” is getting the TV treatment. Amy Ignatow’s award-winning middle-grade novels will be adapted for the screen by Corus Media-backed Aircraft Pictures, the Oscar-nominated producers behind “The Breadwinner,” and Emmy-nominated production company WexWorks Media. The original book series, for which the first installment was selected as a top-10 title of

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) announced the recipients of their special achievement honors — “Attica” filmmakers Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry; producer and Hidden Empire Film Group co-founder Roxanne Avent-Taylor; Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard; John Gibson, the Motion Picture Association’s VP of external and multicultural affairs; and Sony Motion Picture

Not since Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 silent “The Ring” has there been a boxing film quite so quiet as “Small, Slow But Steady,” a gentle but hard-edged study of a flyweight female pugilist in suburban Tokyo. More concerned with the wear and tear of everyday life than pummeling sound and fury, director Shô Miyake’s measured, unsentimental

The Berlin Film Festival has called for peace over the situation in Ukraine, which is currently in a state of military conflict after Russian forces struck on Thursday morning. “We — festival workers, artists, filmmakers — think fondly of our friends in Ukraine and we are by their side in a call for peace,” the

“Black excellence” is one of those phrases that might be difficult to explain, but you know it when you see it. It almost instantly pops into my mind — often in hashtag form — when I see images of classic Black icons or beautiful Black bodies dressed to the nines and stunningly captured in photographs;

Miami Dade College’s annual Miami Film Festival has announced that Penélope Cruz will be honored with the Precious Gem Award during its upcoming 2022 edition. The organization made the news public with an announcement on Thursday morning. Cruz, currently in the best actress Oscar race for her performance in Pedro Almodóvar’s drama “Parallel Mothers,” will

The Penguin is often depicted in comic books with his trademark top hat, monocle and cigarette, but none of these signatures are sported by Colin Farrell in the upcoming “The Batman.” The film takes place before Oswald Cobblepot’s full transformation into the villainous Penguin. However, Farrell recently told “Jake’s Takes” that he “fought valiantly” for

There are few actors as skilled at capturing the gift and curse of genius than Benedict Cumberbatch. In a career that’s spanned stage, television and film, the actor has established himself as your go-to for cinematic brilliance. But that’s only part of his range and over the past decade, the star of “The Power of

Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SunnyMarch is being sued over the rights to a Roald Dahl script, Variety can reveal. SunnyMarch, whose directors are Cumberbatch and his producing partner Adam Ackland, entered into a co-production agreement with Portobello Productions (“Moffie,” “Ida”) in November 2019 to make a film adaptation of Dahl’s novel “Danny the Champion of the

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will return in person this fall, welcoming local and international guests from Sept. 8 to 18. Also returning in person are TIFF’s networking and celebratory events, including the opening night party, industry conference, filmmaker dinners, industry networking events, press and programmers events and tribute awards gala. The move follows two

Just a couple of hours before Francis Ford Coppola arrived for a 50th anniversary celebration of “The Godfather” on the Paramount lot, the Academy announced that it had nixed the live presentation of Oscars for eight categories at this year’s Academy Awards. The legendary director hadn’t heard the news until he was on the red

Hulu has acquired U.S. rights to “Fireheart,” Anton’s ambitious animated family feature directed by Laurent Zeitoun (“Leap!”) and Theodore Ty (“Kung Fu Panda”) with a voice cast headlined by Olivia Cooke, William Shatner, Laurie Holden and Kenneth Branagh. The deal was negotiated with Hulu by CAA Media Finance and Anton’s Cécile Gaget on behalf of

Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), which runs in-person March 21-April 3, has revealed the lineup for its music program, Sound & Vision. Highlights of the program, which contains 18 films, include a Nick Cave documentary, a look at the rise and fall of Sinéad O’Connor’s music career, the story behind Leonard Cohen’s hit “Hallelujah,”

SF Studios has boarded “Forever,” a football-themed film directed by Anders Hazelius, the award-winning director of “Thunder in My Heart” and the popular TV series “Tunna Blå Linjen.” Tackling friendship, love and football, “Forever” is based on a script by Jessika Jankert (“So Damn Easy Going”) and produced by Stefan Lindén (“Eagles”) and Erik Lundqvist

Ynon Kreiz knew he was sitting on a “treasure trove” of IP when he took the reins of toymaker Mattel as CEO in 2018. Mattel’s big vault of toy and game brands had the kind of built-in audience and multi-generational appeal that make for four-quadrant hits. But first he had to sort out major issues

“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” “The Harder They Fall” and “Red Table Talk” were among the productions that nabbed top prizes on Wednesday for the third night of the NAACP Image Awards’ visual ceremonies. The Image Awards’ non-televised kudos are being handed out during five virtual ceremonies stretched across the week starting Feb. 21,

Troye Sivan remembers that first time he got tested for HIV. “I was in a new relationship and I wanted to have sex,” he recalls on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “We both went and got tested and once we were all clear, it was all good to go.” He also

Christopher Nolan has begun filming his atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy in the eponymous role of Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer. Murphy is leading his first Nolan tentpole after playing supporting roles in five of the director’s movies (three “Dark Knight” films, “Inception” and “Dunkirk”). When it came time to prepping for

Matt Hutchins, the husband of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was killed on the set of “Rust” in October, said in a new interview with “Today” that he was “so angry” that Alec Baldwin did not accept responsibility for her death. Baldwin, the star and producer of the film, was holding the prop gun that

Imax has continued to dig out from a global pandemic that devastated the theatrical movie business, posting its best quarterly results since COVID-19 became a facet of daily life. At the same time, the big screen company made it clear that it is setting its horizons behind the latest new releases, talking up the opportunities