Movies

Oscar Isaac is one of the hottest actors working in Hollywood, showcased by his distinct and invigorating performances in films such as “The Card Counter” from Paul Schrader, “Dune” from Denis Villeneuve and “Scenes from a Marriage,” the limited series that just completed its run on HBO. Knowing firsthand about the hustle of making it

Neil Ferron’s horror script for “Fishmonger” took the Slamdance 2021 screenplay grand prize. “Fishmonger” is described as a supernatural dark comedy in which the titular vendor has to survive a sex pact with an ancient sea creature to save his mother’s soul from hell. Other winners in the feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and shorts

Endeavor announced the launch of Nxt/Latinx, the latest series in Endeavor Impact’s virtual education and development programs created to expand industry access. Nxt/Latinx is slated to begin on Nov. 8 and will be free to all. The program is designed to provide Latinx and Hispanic individuals and allies with the opportunity to participate in educational

Neon and QC Entertainment announced they have partnered to make an as-yet untitled horror film from first-time feature director Bishal Dutta. The story is based partially on Indian legend, partially on a personal family story from Dutta’s grandfather and partially on the filmmaker’s experience being born in India and moving to and being raised in

A young couple ponders life’s biggest questions of vows, adulthood, love and … “would you ever consider an open thing?” Check out the exclusive trailer debut for the charming romantic comedy “Mark, Mary & Some Other People” above. Hayley Law and Ben Rosenfield play the titular characters who reconnect after college. The duo begins dating

When you see a documentary about a beautiful and breathtaking animal, and the film is built around that species facing a crisis of survival, the problem tends to be one of dwindling population. The bald eagle was once that creature (it’s now doing much better). More recently, there has been concern over the vastly diminished

Disney’s upcoming animated film “Encanto” will be featured in a special virtual presentation on Friday, Oct. 22, during the VIEW Conference 2021. The panel, which is free to registrants like the rest of the conference, will begin at noon PT. On hand to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s vibrant visuals will be

Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to rising Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel’s critically acclaimed feature debut “Playground” (“Un Monde”) which opened at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won the Fipresci award. Paris-based Indie Sales represents the film in international markets. Tackling the timely issue of school bullying, “Playground” went on to play at the San

“The Beta Test,” the critically-acclaimed indie about the intersection of toxicity in Hollywood and digital culture, has unveiled an anxiety-ridden first trailer. The IFC Films title, which played the Berlin International Film Festival this year and sits at 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, stars Jim Cummings (“The Wolf of Snow Hollow,” “Thunder Road”), who wrote

Variety film music writer Jon Burlingame has been named among the winners of the 2021 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards, awarded by a jury of experts for outstanding coverage of music in the forms of print, broadcast, liner notes or new media. Burlingame won the ASCAP Foundation Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award

Redbox, whose core business remains renting DVDs from kiosks across the U.S., is upsizing its ambitions in the original movie biz as well as expanding its free, ad-supported streaming platforms in a deal with Lionsgate. Under a multiyear distribution pact, Lionsgate will handle distribution of Redbox Entertainment titles across home entertainment windows and lead licensing

Ben Affleck shines as a loving uncle in the first trailer for George Clooney’s “The Tender Bar.” The Amazon Studios film is an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist J.R. Moehringer’s coming-of-age story of the same name. The 2005 memoir centers on Moehringer (played by Daniel Ranieri as a child and Tye Sheridan as a young

WarnerMedia has logged single-digit growth in representation of women and people of color on both sides of the camera and in its workforce over the past year, according to the studio’s newly released Equity and Inclusion report for 2020-21. On the production side, WarnerMedia has seen overall stronger growth in representation for women and people

A non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the exhibition of restored and classic cinema, the Foundation has overseen the restoration of over 900 films to date. In her keynote address at the Lumière Festival’s Classic Film Market, Bodde explained how it came about. “It was 1990 and Martin Scorsese and a group of his fellow

Screen Media has acquired all North American rights to “La Soga Salvation” following its premiere at 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section. The crime thriller is directed by and stars Manny Perez, who previously appeared in “Pride & Glory” and “Homeland.” “La Soga Salvation” also stars Chris

The Lumière festival, a week-long celebration of heritage movies created by late filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, is having a packed 13th edition in Lyon, the birthplace of the Lumiere brothers. With a vast lineup including screenings of classic films, restored prints, discoveries and masterclasses, the festival had already sold nearly 90,000 tickets for film screenings and

SALES U.S. sales agent Outsider Pictures has boarded Abhinandan Banerjee‘s Indian film “The Cloud & the Man” (Manikbabur Megh), while European sales agent The Open Reel is on board Joan Gómez Endara‘s Colombia/Panama project “The Red Tree.” Both films are in the first features competition at the 25th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where they

LeBron James’ consumer and entertainment shop The SpringHill Company has closed a minority stake sale to a consortium of investors, bringing its valuation to $725 million. As Variety reported last month, the investors include RedBird Capital Partners, Fenway Sports Group and Nike. Also included in a Thursday announcement was Epic Games, which will usher the

Tresor, a leading German production banner owned by Keshet International, has signed an exclusive first-look deal with MGM Television’s global division to access its non-scripted formats in Germany. Under the one-year deal, which kicks off this month, Tresor will get an exclusive window on all new non-scripted formats in MGM’s Global Formats catalogue. The two

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions has teamed with Singapore’s Golden Ratio Films and Canada’s Blisspoint Entertainment to shoot “Pep,” a biopic of legendary mid-20th century featherweight boxer Willie Pep. The film is poised to begin production in Hartford, Connecticut, Pep’s home-state, with Robert Kolodny directing from a screenplay by Steve Loff. Pep, born Guglielmo Papaleo,

The short life and brilliant career of Hong Kong singer, actress and social activist Anita Mui is celebrated in the middling biopic “Anita,” starring 31-year-old model Louise Wong in her film debut. This handsomely decorated and lushly filmed portrait nails the look and electric atmosphere in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry during its 1980s and ’90s

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to “True Things,” Harry Wootliff‘s critically acclaimed sophomore film headlined by “The Affair” star Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke. The psychological drama world premiered at this year’s Venice and went on to play at Toronto and London film festivals. It marks Wootliff’s follow-up to her BAFTA-nominated and

Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton) has been nominated for two Oscars. Tony winner Cynthia Erivo (“The Color Purple”) has been nominated for two Oscars. Writer-director John Ridley won one Oscar for “12 Years a Slave” and deserved another for his L.A. Riots documentary “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992.” Any film would be fortunate

New projects from filmmakers Tatiana Huezo (“Prayers for the Stolen”), Mads Brügger (“Cold Case Hammarskjöld”), and Nishtha Jain (“Gulabi Gang”) will mark this year’s IDFA pitch forum, which will return as an in-person event, running concurrent to the larger festival from Nov. 20-26. The doc festival’s industry focused co-financing and co-production market, IDFA Forum will

Streaming giant Netflix has licensed rights to “Earwig and the Witch,” the most recent animated feature from Japan’s Studio Ghibli. The deal excludes the U.S. and Japan. The film was directed by Miyazaki Goro, son of the iconic Miyazaki Hayao who has created other iconic films “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Porco Rosso” through

IATSE and Hollywood’s major employers will keep going on contract negotiations Thursday as the clock ticks down to Monday’s deadline for the union to call a strike. Sources close to the situation confirm that the sides will be back to virtual bargaining sessions on Thursday. On Wednesday, IATSE ratcheted the pressure on the Alliance of

Animation producer David H. DePatie died on Sept. 23 of natural causes at the age of 91. DePatie is known for founding DePatie Freleng Enterprises with partner Friz Freleng, which is best known for the “Pink Panther” cartoon series. DePatie was also the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons cartoon studio,

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos sent a lengthy missive to the entire company following the mounting controversy around a new original special from comic Dave Chappelle. After addressing top leadership in a Friday memo, Sarandos sent an email on Monday to all staff — some of whom have increasingly expressed outrage over jokes about the trans

Letitia Wright has denied reports that she touted an anti-vaccine position while working on the set of Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” calling them “completely untrue.” Wright confronted the allegations in an Instagram post on Tuesday, disputing an article published by the Hollywood Reporter on Oct. 6. The report states that Wright had shared “[anti-vax]

Trans employees and allies at Netflix are planning a walkout on Wednesday, Oct. 20 in protest of Co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ comments regarding Dave Chappelle’s new special “The Closer,” Variety has confirmed. As reported by The Verge, a leader of the streamer’s trans employee resource group wrote the following in a message to members: “Trans Lives Matter.