Movies

The Jets and the Sharks, the rival gangs at the center of Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” (in theaters now), battle over turf and bragging rights in a rapidly gentrifying sliver of 1950s Manhattan. Their conflict is fueled in part by racism and tribalism, as well as a mounting sense of economic insecurity.

For the third consecutive year, Women In Film has released its awards-season ballot, recognizing all the women whose work behind the camera made this year’s biggest films possible. As critics and guilds start voting and handing out awards, the WIF #VoteForWomen ballot seeks to shine a light on the women and nonbinary film professionals for

After concluding his sixth Middle-earth film, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Ian McKellen praised Peter Jackson, telling Variety, “He’s invented technology to match his imagination.” Jackson’s first “Lord of the Rings” film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” premiered in December, 2001, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. Jackson oversees five companies

The Academy announced Kelley Kali and Waad al-Kateeb as domestic and international recipients, respectively, of the 2021 Academy Fellowship for Women — with Kali receiving $35,000 and al-Kateeb receiving the equivalent of £20,000. Part of the Academy Gold global talent development and inclusion initiative, the fellowship for women is a one-year program that provides direct

Throughout nearly two decades of web-slinging, rebooting, reversals of fortune, immersions into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and sporadic reappearances by the Spidey-hating J. Jonah Jameson, the “Spider-Man” movie franchise has been wildly inconsistent, yet remarkably indestructible. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the latest episode, likely will stoke even greater enthusiasm for the series with its canny

In many of 2021’s screenplay contenders, motherhood is laid bare in all of its thorny reality. These are movies in which, as Olivia Colman’s protagonist reveals in “The Lost Daughter,” parenting is a “crushing responsibility.” For her character, there is ecstatic relief with every reprieve from parenting one’s children, despite the gnawing guilt. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, in selecting the slim, interior, radical Elena Ferrante novel

Megan Thee Stallion and Netflix have agreed upon an exclusive first-look deal, the streamer announced on Thursday. Under the terms of the agreement, the musician will create and executive produce content, including television series and other projects, for Netflix. “Megan is a multi-talented creative force who has consistently made her mark on culture,” Tracey Pakosta,

Ridley Scott and Bradley Cooper are shooting wide smiles across cyberspace, trying to recall the last time they laid eyes on one another. “I haven’t seen you since Los Angeles — it was like a year and a half ago?” Cooper wonders aloud. “It must have been, because you’ve done both movies since then.” The

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will return as in-person events next year. The LGBTQ media watchdog organization announced on Thursday morning that the 33rd annual event will take place in Los Angeles on April 2 followed by a ceremony in New York on May 6. Nominees will be announced on Jan. 18. The awards honor

The radical revamp of Italy’s Cinecittà Studios, which has been underway since May, is gaining traction with a rise in occupancy of its sound stages and backlot, realistic prospects for profitability, and new state-of-the-art filming facilities on the way, according to managing director Nicola Maccanico. Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec,

The KVIFF Group, a Czech Republic-based media group built around the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, has acquired a majority stake in Aerofilms, a leading arthouse distributor in the Czech Republic. The purchase, which was executed via the group’s distribution arm, KVIFF Distribution, continues its expansion, seen most recently with the launch of the KVIFF

French actor Isabelle Huppert is set to receive the Berlin Film Festival’s Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in February. Her films will also be honored as part of a special Homage section. Huppert will be awarded the prize for lifetime achievement. In conjunction with the awards on Feb. 15 at the Berlinale

New films by leading Japanese auteurs Kawase Naomi, Anno Hideaki and Shinkai Makoto are highlights of the 2022 lineup unveiled on Wednesday by Toho, Japan’s most powerful film studio. Shinkai’s film is a follow-up to his global anime mega-hits “Your Name” and “Weathering With You.” Titled “Suzume no Tojimari” (translation: “Suzume Closes the Doors”), it

Berlin-based Films Boutique (“Lingui, The Sacred Bonds”) has acquired “Talking About The Weather,” Annika Pinske’s contemporary debut film which will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. The movie follows Clara, who has just got away from her native provincial East Germany and is now living a bohemian life

Filmmaker Amanda Lipitz’s documentary “Found,” streaming on Netflix, is a personal tale — her niece Chloe features at the heart of the documentary. “Found” follows three young women, all adopted from China into American families. Through testing, they discover they are blood-related at a time when they are coming of age. Lipitz follows the individual

For Variety’s FYC Fest, screenwriters Aaron Sorkin (“Being the Ricardos”), Paolo Sorrentino (“The Hand of God”), Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), Tracey Scott Wilson (“Respect”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) gathered virtually to discuss their own individual movies, as well as the state of the film business. McKay kicked off the conversation by talking about how

Several appellate justices said Wednesday that they worried that Harvey Weinstein had been subjected to “overkill” at his criminal trial in New York last year. Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer, is appealing his conviction on charges of sexual assault and third degree rape, which resulted in a sentence of 23 years in prison. At a

Tiauna Jackson has become the first Black woman elected to the Association of Talent Agents, a national trade organization of Hollywood dealmakers. Jackson, owner of The Jackson Agency and a partner in the newly founded Collective 5 Entertainment, was voted to the board in an election last week. The new board will officially be seated

Sure, there were some happy shock waves when Jon Batiste, the much-admired musical multi-hyphenate, unexpectedly picked up the most nominations by far — 11 — when the final candidates were announced in November for the 64th annual Grammy Awards. Despite this achievement, the instrumentalist, composer and “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” bandleader speaks in selflessly

Maverick artist Nam June Paik will be the subject of a new feature-length documentary that will highlight unseen footage and archival materials. The currently untitled production will be completed in 2022. Oscar nominee and “Minari” star Steven Yeun and hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy have joined the project as executive producers. Paik is often referred

Penélope Cruz first tapped into acting when she was a child playing with her friends. “I would pretend I was someone else. A different character. Sometimes from a movie I have seen, sometimes from my own imagination.” Cruz said on Tuesday night when she was honored in New York City at the Museum of Modern

Emmy-winning comedian and actor Ben Schwartz has joined the ensemble cast of “Renfield.” The anticipated take on the mythology of Dracula — which centers its narrative on the vampire’s famed henchman R.M. Renfield — has already cast Nicholas Hoult in the title role. Nicolas Cage will play Dracula, and Awkwafina is also on board. Chris

“Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron and Steve Buscemi are among the notables who signed on for “The Year Between,” a drama about mental illness that marks the feature writing and directing debut of comedian Alex Heller. The movie, which wrapped production in Chicago late last month, revolves around Heller’s character Clemence, a young woman who drops

After the straight horror content of 2018 narrative feature debut “Dachra,” which was released in the U.S. just six months ago, Abdelhamid Bouchnak aims for a more complex, unclassifiable mix of fantasy and drama in “Golden Butterfly.” Tunisia’s Oscar submission title is a somewhat mixed bag whose occasionally arresting parts work better than the whole.

MSNBC is giving cable news rival CNN increased competition in the exploding documentary arena through ramped up acquisitions by a revived arm devoted to non-fiction programming. MSNBC Films showed the seriousness of its intent in June, when it won an intense bidding war for “Paper & Glue,” by the visual artist and prior Oscar nominee

Having left an indelible imprint on Arrakis with his acclaimed adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve will journey deeper into the science fiction canon. Alcon Entertainment, which previously partnered with Villeneuve on “Prisoners” and “Blade Runner 2049,” has acquired the film rights to Arthur C. Clarke’s classic sci-fi novel “Rendezvous With Rama” for their

It’s always so jarring and upsetting to learn that someone you have greatly admired has died — no matter how old they are. Italian writer-director Lina Wertmüller, who passed away last week at age 93, was one of those industry icons whom I had hoped to one day reconnect with. I had the honor of

It’s a big deal when multi-hyphenate Shawn Carter — better known as Jay-Z — makes an appearance pretty much anywhere — and his presence at a Q&A at Hollywood’s Neuehouse on Tuesday night, moderated by Variety‘s Jazz Tangcay, was a really big deal. Carter, who served as a producer on Netflix’s “The Harder They Fall,”

Matthew Heineman’s “The First Wave” takes audiences to the frontlines as New York became America’s epicenter at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heineman’s camera follows doctors, nurses and patients in a cinema vérité, as he shows the strength of the human spirit. Behind the scenes, he worked with editors Francisco Bello, Gabriel Rhodes and

Since launching in 2015, Keshet Studios, the U.S. division of Keshet International (KI), has proved a model worth copying for international content producers looking to make it big in Hollywood. The company now develops and produces content for all the biggest broadcasters and streamers in several languages for both U.S. and international audiences. Led by