Movies

Anthony Mackie will officially suit up in Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Captain America 4” movie, co-written by “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” head writer Malcolm Spellman. Mackie first appeared as Sam Wilson (aka the Falcon) in 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” and reprised the role in five subsequent movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Documentaries about Afghanistan have proliferated as the U.S. war dragged on for nearly 20 years. As U.S. military forces withdraw from the region, here’s a look at these disparate works, which have tackled everything from the Central Asian nation’s long history of conflict to military interrogation techniques, battlefield conditions and the repressive climate for women.

The Directors Guild of America has announced the key dates and timeline for the 2022 Directors Guild of America Awards, with the 74th Annual DGA Awards set for March 12. The date falls two weeks ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 27. Theatrical Feature Film and First-Time Feature Film nominees will be announced on

A Virginia judge allowed Johnny Depp to proceed with his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, after her plea to dismiss the suit after Depp lost his U.K. libel case was denied. Depp is suing Heard, his ex-wife, after she wrote a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is gearing up for his latest project, “Dune,” which hits both theaters and HBO Max on Oct.22, and the director is disappointed that the pandemic has affected the film’s rollout. In a new interview with Total Film, the Academy Award nominee said the pandemic is the “enemy of the cinema,” and spoke

I want to give a huge shout-out to our Herculean six-person team of editors and writers — Brent Lang, Cynthia Littleton, Gene Maddaus, Michael Schneider, Matt Donnelly and Joe Otterson — who collectively pulled off this week’s incredibly comprehensive cover story. The piece, titled “Battle Royal,” chronicles and analyzes what Scarlett Johansson’s legal battle with

1091 Pictures has acquired “Pharma Bro,” a look at the rise and fall of Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical tycoon whose price hiking of drugs made him a textbook example of avarice run amok. The film by Brent Hodge links Shkreli’s story to the 21st century prominence of bro culture. It contains interviews with Wu-Tang Clan’s

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed Chinese fans’ most pressing concerns about the upcoming “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in a recent interview. Feige held an exclusive 14-minute-long interview in English with the well-regarded veteran Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou on the day of the film’s U.S. red carpet premiere (it’s not

Despite surging COVID-19 cases and sluggish box office ticket sales, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron made it clear last week that he is wildly optimistic about the state of moviegoing and the future of the company that he leads, one that many investors were willing to leave for dead just a few months ago. He’s

French movie theaters, which reopened their doors mid-May after a six-month shutdown, have seen admissions fall by 41% over the last week (Aug. 11-18), according to the national exhibitors guild (FNCF). Most exhibitors and distributors are blaming the steep decline in moviegoing on a COVID health pass that came into effect on Aug. 9 and

“The Night House” production designer Kathrin Eder jumped at the opportunity to work on David Bruckner’s new supernatural thriller, since the project represented an opportunity for her to flex her creative muscles. The blueprints of the house would also feature heavily as part of the storyline. In the film, Rebecca Hall Hall plays Beth, a

Opening night premiere honors at Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival this year go to Special Screenings film “Zatopek,” David Ondricek’s stirring drama chronicling the remarkable life of four-time Olympic gold-winning runner Emil Zatopek. The choice is fitting after a marathon year of challenges for local filmmakers, who, like the supremely focused and resourceful Czech athlete,

SERIES Banijay Nordic company Jarowskij has unveiled “A Class Apart,” a new eight-part drama series commissioned by Viaplay, which Banijay Rights will distribute internationally. Based on an original idea from Henrik Schyffert and Gustaf Skördeman, the series unspools within a secret society at on of Sweden’s top boarding schools. After a hazing ritual goes wrong

Gabin Rivoire’s documentary “Laurent Garnier: Off the Record,” which explores the origins and rise of techno music through the eyes of one of its pioneers, has sold to multiple territories. The film screens on Saturday at both the Edinburgh and Karlovy Vary film festivals. The documentary has been acquired in France by Condor Distribution, in

Fortissimo Films has acquired sales rights outside Asia to “Inu-Oh,” a Japanese animation film that will play at both the Venice and Toronto festivals. The film is directed by Yuasa Masaaki with acclaimed Japanese animation studio Science Saru. It will have its world premiere in the Orizzonti competition section at the Venice Film Festival on

Both the title and opening voiceover of the Jordanian feature “The Alleys” make us think we’re in Naguib Mahfouz territory, evoking the backstreets of a neighborhood where “average” people lead intersected lives and everyone knows everyone else’s business — a place where, as the narrator tells it, “a story spreads like wildfire.” It’s a great

Back in the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, what we used to call monster movies had simple concepts and catchy, explicit titles that mirrored them. “Dracula.” “The Werewolf.” “King Kong.” “Mothra vs. Godzilla.” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” “The Blob.” When you watch a movie like “Demonic,” you only wish

The 10th installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise is set to speed into theaters in 2023. “Fast and Furious 10” will debut on April 7, 2023, Variety has confirmed. The film, which is the second to last movie in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, will be directed by Justin Lin. It was originally scheduled for release

Anyone who has attended any public events in Canada in recent years will likely be familiar with the practice of land acknowledgement: a solemn formal statement, recited before sports matches, film festival screenings or simple school assemblies, that historically contextualizes the very land on which the crowd is gathered, and admits a debt to the

In a key sequence in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” Emily Blunt’s Lily Houghton and Dwayne Johnson’s skipper Frank have to dive off their boat to solve an underwater puzzle. Not only does Lily get trapped, but she ends up fighting for air as the drama unfolds. Underwater director of photography Ian Seabrook stepped in to film

There are two ways to watch “Cop Secret,” a wild-ride Icelandic satire of Hollywood action films. One is the classic “switch off your brain” strategy, which allows for an easy digestion of the non-stop parody elements in which each line and every situation is lifted wholesale from any number of cop thrillers. The other, with

The music documentary “Under the Volcano” is essentially a travelogue — not so much for its setting, the island of Monserrat in the West Indies, although there are luscious drone shots aplenty, as for the trip it takes back to the pop world of the 1980s. The subject is super-producer George Martin’s short-lived AIR Studio

This is a tale of a few tweets. “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu was practically giddy with excitement as he posed on the red carpet outside the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood ahead of the world premiere of Marvel Studios’ first Asian-led superhero film. Hours before Monday night’s red carpet, Liu tweeted to his followers, asking

Indie film and TV studio A24 has named its first-ever chief financial officer in J.B. Lockhart. The heavyweight finance executive comes from a four-year stint at the National Basketball Association. The hire follows on the heels of Variety‘s July report that the prestige art house behind “Spring Breakers” and “Zola” was exploring numerous consolidation options.

MMA star Cat Zingano has sued Halle Berry, alleging that she passed up a key UFC fight in order to appear in Berry’s film about mixed martial arts — only to be dropped from both UFC and the film. Berry’s film, “Bruised,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and is due out

Pablo Larrain’s biographical drama “Spencer,” starring Kristen Stewart, is coming to theaters in November. The movie, from Neon and Topic Studios, will premiere in competition at the Toronto and Venice film festivals. Originally expected to debut in 2022 to mark the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death, “Spencer” will hit in theaters on Nov. 5, primed

Tara Nicole Whitaker will make her feature directorial debut with “Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk,” an upcoming musically-driven animated film which she will co-direct alongside John D. Eraklis. The film’s cast includes such heavy-weight talents as Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Coolidge, Kenan Thompson, Howie Mandel, Luis Guzmán, Paul Blackthorne, Jamal Trulove, Domenick Lombardozzi, Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson.

Groundbreaking works by John Carpenter, Mira Nair, Melvin Van Peebles, Nina Menkes and Michael Powell will be featured in the Revivals lineup of the 59th New York Film Festival. These films, which range from historical dramas to pulpy crime thrillers, have been digitally remastered and restored. Films being highlighted this year include a 4K restoration

There weren’t many other figures of old Hollywood like Mae West, a bold comic performer who was at least 50 years head of her time in terms of her material and command of her career. She was born August 17, probably in 1893, though accounts differ. Variety covered her vaudeville appearances starting in 1911, describing

Warner Bros. Pictures Group has reorganized its worldwide marketing team, Variety has learned exclusively. The Josh Goldstine-led unit will also take the marketing lead on all films the studio will make for streamer HBO Max. Under the new structure, three integrated global teams will be created across an assigned slate of films, both those made