Movies

“The Velvet Underground” marks Todd Haynes’ first foray into documentary filmmaking, and with the film on the Oscar documentary shortlist, Haynes could find himself making the cut for best documentary feature come Feb. 8. But when Haynes was first developing the project years ago, one of the hurdles he had to overcome was the fact

Moses J. Moseley, an actor who performed on shows such as “The Walking Dead,” “Watchmen” and “Queen of the South,” has died. He was 31 years old. Moseley’s body was discovered by authorities in Stockbridge, Ga. last week. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death. The actor’s death was confirmed by his

How do you make a documentary about your own mother? And how do you tell that story when you grew up in an unstable environment, with a fractured relationship? That’s the challenge that Celeste Bell faced when crafting “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché,” a feature-length record of the tumultuous life of her mother, influential

A moral dilemma faces Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s protagonist in his latest film “A Hero.” Rahim, played by Amir Jadidi is on a two-day leave from debtors’ prison when his girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahir Goldoust) finds a handbag filled with gold coins. Faced with a choice, the two opt to use it to pay off some

The Sundance Film Festival closed its second virtual edition on Sunday, having fielded a few breakout new films and filmmakers, as well as some big sales. With the indie film box office in the doldrums, many of the most aggressive buyers were streaming giants, which have both an insatiable need for content and a desire

Robert Pattinson revealed in a recent interview with Total Film magazine that even his agent was shocked by the news that Pattinson would be taking over the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ comic book tentpole “The Batman.” Pattinson pursued the role despite his career staying away from major Hollywood franchises in the years

Carleton Carpenter, who performed on stage and screen alongside stars such as Debbie Reynolds in “Two Weeks With Love” and Judy Garland in “Summer Stock,” died Monday in Warwick, N.Y., according to his reps. He was 95. Carpenter was a multi-hyphenate artist whose career spanned eight decades. His 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds covering the

Legendary Entertainment has sold a $760 million equity stake to Apollo, the companies announced on Monday The pact gives the investment giant a minority ownership position in the studio behind “Dune” and “Godzilla vs. Kong.” In July, Variety broke the news that Legendary was exploring a possible sale and merger and had abandoned an earlier

The Makeup and Hairstylist Guild will be honoring Jon Favreau with their Distinguished Artisan Award at the 9th Annual MUAHS Awards on Feb. 29. “Jon Favreau’s list of creative, exotic, and memorable characters lives on in his plethora of films, television movies and series. Jon is the ultimate collaborator who has worked alongside many 706

Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Working Class Heroes,” by director Miloš Pušić, which will have its premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand. Variety has also been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer. Starring award-winning Serbian actress Jasna Đuričić, who played the lead

In “Tick, Tick, …Boom!” the song “Therapy” is performed by Jonathan Larson, played by Andrew Garfield and Karessa played by Vanessa Hudgens. The number intercuts mid-argument between Larson and girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), as they fight over Jonathan’s reluctance to understand that he has been shutting Susan out of his life as his musical’s workshop

Thandiwe Newton took a stand against Sean Penn after the actor and filmmaker made headlines for comments about men becoming too feminized in American culture. The “Milk” and “Mystic River” Oscar winner said in an interview with The Independent last week that it’s a “cowardly gene” that leads men to wear skirts. “Dude what are

“Catch the Fair One” is activist filmmaking at its most compelling. Before you run away from the notion, consider this: It doesn’t feel like this tough, relentlessly dark thriller is trying to push some kind of political point, even if so many of its creative choices succeed in doing exactly that. Collaborating with Native boxing

“Hocus Pocus 2” has wrapped filming and will premiere on Disney Plus on Halloween, according to executive producer Adam Shankman. In an Instagram post on Friday, Shankman wrote, “SISTAAAAAHHHHSSS! Aaaaand that’s a WRAP!!! #hocuspocus2. Congratulations to the amazing team…and the WHOOOOLLLEEEE cast and crew!!! Coming to you #halloween #2022 on @disneyplus.” While the film’s release

In another era, traditional movie studios would have exhaustively battled to buy a Sundance Film Festival crowd-pleaser like “Cha Cha Real Smooth” in the hopes of turning critical raves into the next theatrical hit. “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” writer-director Cooper Raiff’s charming story about a budding friendship between an aimless college grad and a young

Rachel Zegler was cast as Snow White in Disney’s live-action remake months before Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” hit theaters and turned the 20-year-old newcomer into a best actress winner at the Golden Globes and National Board of Review Awards. The casting announcement was met with some backlash from toxic fans shocked and upset that

The “dead time” of the daily commute comes alive in “The Plains,” an absorbing documentary-drama hybrid that places viewers in the car of a middle-aged Melbourne lawyer during his drive home from work during the course of a year. Skilfully creating an engaging and likable protagonist without fully showing his face until the three-hour running

Saoirse Ronan has been tapped as the lead in “The Outrun,” the memoir of alcoholism and nature from writer Amy Liptrot. “The Unforgivable” helmer Nora Fingscheidt is set to direct. In “The Outrun,” four-time Oscar nominee Ronan stars as recently-out-of-rehab Rona who heads for home in Scorland’s wild Orkney Islands after an absence of over

Oscar and double Palme d’Or winning director Bille August (“The Best Intentions”, “Pelle the Conqueror”) is attending the Göteborg Film Festival for a Director’s Talk and the gala screening of his psycho-drama “The Pact”. He will also pitch at the adjoining Nordic Film Market (Feb. 3-6), the work in progress of his upcoming Danish pic

Welcome back, Leatherface. The iconic horror movie killer is back in the official trailer for Netflix’s reboot of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” arriving on the streaming platform on Feb. 18. This new “Texas Chainsaw” is directed by David Blue Garcia and produced by “Evil Dead” and “Don’t Breathe” filmmaker Fede Álvarez, which is keeping anticipation high

“Doctor Who” star Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark are set to star in supernatural horror film “Starve Acre.” From BAFTA-nominated “Apostasy” writer and director Daniel Kokotajlo, “Starve Acre” explores “inherited trauma and loss within a world ruled by supernatural folklore.” The film is based on Andrew Michael Hurley’s novel of the same name. BAFTA and

Benedict Cumberbatch, Laura Dern and Noah Jupe are set to star in “Morning,” an upcoming feature from “Assassin’s Creed” director Justin Kurzel. Dern (“Marriage Story”) and Jupe (“A Quiet Place”) will lead while “Doctor Strange” star Cumberbatch appears in a supporting role. Kurzel’s last feature, “Nitram,” was nominated for a Palme d’Or. Set in the

Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, the Italian directing duo best known internationally for their Locarno premiere “Seven Acts of Mercy,” are developing a colonial-era drama that they’re presenting during the Rotterdam Film Festival’s CineMart co-production market. “Prince Aden” begins in 1935, when a 16-year-old Somali boy passes the test to become a dubat, a soldier

Stockholm-based filmmaker Lovisa Sirén joins Goteborg’s Nordic competition with her feature debut, about semi-estranged sisters on a road-trip through Europe. What inspired the story? And how do you work with your co-writer Peter Modestij? Sirén: I was curious to do a story about women and kids, in the absence of men. How women are with each

“You’re a horse person?” a Belgian stable owner asks Johanna, a young Finnish journalist delving into the discovery of a microchip in a baby’s meat patty at a Helsinki daycare center. Only creator-director Auli Mantila’s own horse affiliations as a qualified farrier may explain in part one of the most singular of entries at this

World War II refugee drama “The Path” (Der Pfad) has debuted its international trailer (above) ahead of its market premiere at the European Film Market in Berlin. Warner will release the film theatrically in Germany, while Global Screen is handling international rights. “The Path,” directed by Tobias Wiemann, is based on Rüdiger Bertram’s novel and

Two of the U.K.’s most venerable screen industry organizations have teamed up to launch a mental health training guide for employers. ScreenSkills and The Film and TV Charity have partnered on a framework to support those responsible for mental health training in the U.K.’s film and TV sectors. “Mental Health Training: Guidance for Employers” is

Nazi-era drama “The Forger,” starring Louis Hofmann of Netflix’s supernatural series “Dark” and the Oscar nominated “Land of Mine,” has debuted its trailer (below) ahead of its world premiere in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival. Beta Cinema will be selling the film at the European Film Market. Based on a

China’s cinema box office trod water in the weekend ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays and an imminent surge of new release titles. These mean that the next few days could add up to the biggest week in Chinese movie history. Over the latest weekend, though, the nationwide aggregate was a paltry $21.4 million,

A’Ziah “Zola” King, who wrote the infamous 2015 Twitter thread that inspired A24’s 2020 film “Zola,” is now speaking out against the production company over being excluded from the film’s awards recognition. On Sunday, King retweeted a post by Film Independent, the organization behind the Independent Spirit film awards, writing, “I think it’s hilarious ‘Zola’