Movies

Representation for Black and nonbinary actors has increased significantly in TV and film since the start of the pandemic, according to a study of how casting for scripted live-action content has changed over the past two years. The research conducted by Variety sibling Variety Business Intelligence found that Black talent logged the highest rate of

The troubled marriage between STX Entertainment and Eros is dissolving. The Najafi Companies announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to acquire the studio behind “Bad Moms” and “Hustlers” from Eros STX Global Corporation. The transaction is expected to close by the end of January 2022. As part of the deal, an affiliate of

Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. and Canadian  distribution rights to Aly Muritiba’s “Private Desert” (“Deserto Particular”) Brazil’s International Feature Oscar submission and a love story hailed for its large sensibility as well as political point. The deal was negotiated with the film’s world sale agent, Rome-based Intramovies. Kino Lorber will bring ‘Private Desert’ to U.S.

ViacomCBS and South Korea’s CJ ENM announced a global content deal encompassing coproductions for original TV shows and films as well as content licensing and distribution across the companies’ streaming services. Also under the pact, the companies will launch Paramount Plus in South Korea in 2022 as an exclusive bundle with CJ ENM’s TVING streaming

A federal judge has dismissed Rose McGowan’s racketeering lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers, after McGowan fired her attorneys and missed a court-ordered briefing deadline. McGowan was one of the first people to go public with allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein in late 2016 and 2017, triggering an avalanche of similar allegations that

Traveling photographer Pedro is a drawn, taciturn type, who prefers to let his camera do the talking. Whether he’s shooting a coy bride or a gang of white huntsmen posing with their Indigenous human kill, his mien is impassive, his brow furrowed, seeking composed perfection in the most rattling of images. “White on White” likewise

There are three white fortresses that neatly demarcate the divides so evocatively drawn in Igor Drljača’s “The White Fortress,” recently named Bosnia and Herzegovina’s submission for the 94th Oscars. There’s the grim, encircling tower block in which scrappy low-level hustler Faruk (Pavle Čemerkić) lives with his grandmother. There’s the modernist dream home perched on a

With the cast of up-front and behind-the-scenes personalities being honored or presenting at Variety‘s Hitmakers, presented by Peacock & Girls5eva. it was hard to pick out highlights. But if we could get Jack Harlow talking about the last award he won before being named Variety’s Hitmaker of Tomorrow (spoiler: he was in the second grade!),

The Walt Disney Company has found its replacement for longtime chief communications officer Zenia Mucha, sources tell Variety. Geoff Morrell, currently the executive vice president of communications and advocacy at oil and gas company BP, has landed the job.  After nearly 20 years in the role at Disney, Mucha announced this summer she would be

Hong Kong’s Oscar submission is an entertaining feel-good biography of So Wa-wai, the national sporting hero who won 12 medals in five Paralympic Games from 1996 to 2012. Focused on the powerful bond between the disabled runner and his fiercely dedicated mother, “Hero” injects just enough gritty drama about the champion’s financial and emotional battles

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated “West Side Story” adaptation, premiering Dec. 10, has already received rave reviews from critics

Friends of Jacqueline Avant, the wife of music mogul Clarence Avant, are reeling from her shocking death at the age of 81 after a shooting and home invasion. As they process the tragedy, they are also shining a light on her charitable work and personal kindnesses. “Grace is one of those things you can’t predict.

CAA has signed Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, the up-and-coming director of “The Gravedigger’s Wife,” Somalia’s first ever official submission for the Oscars international feature film race. “The Gravedigger’s Wife,” Ahmed’s feature debut,” world premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week and went on to win the Amplify Voices Award at Toronto. The film also played BFI London, Chicago

Steven Spielberg’s coming-of-age drama “The Fabelmans,” a movie loosely based on the filmmaker’s childhood, will debut in theaters around next Thanksgiving. The film, from Universal Pictures and Amblin, has been scheduled to open on Nov. 23, 2022. Though the release calendar could change before then, “The Fabelmans” is currently slated to premiere on the same

Sean Baker likes to turn his camera on the people and places Hollywood usually ignores. In films like “Tangerine,” the story of a transgender sex worker that was shot with an iPhone, and “The Florida Project,” a look at an unemployed single mother and her young daughter who live in a rundown motel in the

A new study from the advocacy group Collectif 50/50 surveying French films from 2019 has revealed that 62% of local film protagonists are perceived as white, highlighting the underrepresentation of visible minorities in French cinema. The study, titled Cinégalités, was unveiled during a day-long conference hosted by Collectif 50/50 on Dec. 8 with several panels

Some audiences in the Middle East won’t get to experience the epic love story between Maria and Tony. Disney and 20th Century’s “West Side Story,” director Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the classic musical, has been banned in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. In some cases, like Saudi Arabia and

A sequel to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is officially on the way with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to direct and write. He’s also in development on a Marvel series for Disney Plus. Cretton has signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Marvel Studios and Hulu’s Onyx Collective. The new deal will

While working on animated documentary “Flee,” on the forefront of art director Jess Nicholls’ mind were questions of the camera. She had no use for a real one, of course, but that didn’t stop her from thinking very specifically about where she may have placed one or what kinds of lenses she’d hypothetically use to

Alec Baldwin has deleted his Twitter account, just a few days after he conducted his first in-studio interview about the fatal shooting on set of his movie “Rust.” His wife Hilaria Baldwin followed suit and deleted hers as well. The @alecbaldwin Twitter account was first noticed missing late Sunday night. That was the same account

In the dark coming-of-age tale “The Pit,” narrow-minded rural Latvia seems as full of lurid secrets as Peyton Place, as well as being a locale where everyone has their nose in everyone else’s business. Marking the feature debut of writer-director Dace Pūce (who co-wrote with Monta Gagane and Pēteris Rozītis), it’s adapted from three stories

The 10th Panama Int’l Film Festival wrapped Sunday, Dec. 5 with Michel Franco’s Acapulco-set drama “Sundown” closing the event. Winners of the rough-cut sidebar Primera Mirada were announced at closing night, which took place at festival venue, La Manzana de Santa Ana. Costa Rican entries took home the top prizes this year, indicative of the

Mexican director Joaquin del Paso’s coming-of-age drama “The Hole in the Fence,” set in an all-male religious camp in rural Mexico, scored the Cairo Film Festival’s top prize, the Golden Pyramid, on Sunday capping a vibrant 43rd edition of the preeminent Arab event, which was held in person despite the impending threat of the coronavirus

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” crept into the background at the South Korean box office over the weekend, as the top three films remained unchanged. Nationwide aggregate revenue was a lowly $5.06 million as audiences avoided cinemas ahead of new health restrictions. Cinemas, along with bars, restaurants, gyms and museums, are among the high-risk places affected by a

Bollywood film “Vikram Vedha,” starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, has wrapped its first shooting schedule in Abu Dhabi and commenced the second one in Lucknow, India. The film, which also stars Radhika Apte in a pivotal role, is a remake of 2017 Tamil-language hit “Vikram Vedha,” directed by writer-directors Pushkar and Gayatri and

No one in the film world had a Year in Music quite like Edgar Wright. Almost right on the heels of “The Sparks Brothers,” his documentary tribute to a duo celebrating its 50th anniversary of eccentric rock heroism, came “Last Night in Soho,” a bloody supernatural thriller that nearly doubled as a movie musical, thanks

“Spider-Man” star Tom Holland is swapping his web-shooters for dancing shoes. The 25-year-old officially confirmed on Sunday that he’ll portray legendary actor, dancer and singer Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic for Sony. In a recent profile for GQ, Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal teased that she wanted Holland for the part of Astaire in the

Thom Davis, the longtime head of IATSE Local 80, announced on Sunday that he will be stepping down at the end of the year, a local official told Variety. Davis, who has served as business manager since 1998, was a strong supporter of the new IATSE Basic Agreement, which was narrowly approved by the 13

Aleem Khan’s directorial debut “After Love” dominated the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) with six wins. The film, in which a recently widowed woman comes to terms with a shocking secret about her husband’s life won the award for Best British Independent Film, presented by Kate Beckinsale. Khan won three more BIFAs – Best Director,

Eric Lagesse, the CEO/president of Paris-based arthouse distributor and world sales outfit Pyramide Films, received the Industry Tribute Award at Cairo Film Festival on Friday. Variety spoke with him about his relationship with Arab cinema, and the state of the independent film business in France. How do you feel about receiving this tribute? It’s great,