Movies

Of all the international film festivals to roll out the red carpet this summer in what feels like a global industry reboot, few can fall back on past experience when it comes to the logistics of an in-person pandemic edition. But amid the wave of cancellations that all but wiped out the calendar year in

For a festival that prides itself on shining a spotlight on the domestic industry, the Transilvania Film Festival can point to a record number of Romanian films unspooling at this year’s 20th-anniversary edition, with 32 feature-length and 13 short films – including 13 world premieres – set to screen in the scenic medieval city of

A young gay police officer who’s worked hard to keep his sexuality hidden must face his inner demons when he’s forced to intervene during an anti-gay protest at a Bucharest movie theater. Trapped in the macho, rigidly hierarchical world of the Romanian police force and confronted by a young protester who threatens to expose him,

AT&T says HBO Max is firing on all cylinders — amid fierce competition in the streaming wars — and the telco raised its expectations for HBO/HBO Max subscriber growth by the end of 2021. For the second quarter of 2021, the company reported a net gain of 2.85 million total domestic HBO Max and HBO

Cannes’ Critics’ Week title “Anais in Love,” Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s romantic comedy starring Anais Demoustier, is set to travel in key territories. The French-language film is represented in international markets by Pamela Leu’s Be For Films. Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s feature debut centers on a spirited young woman who falls in love with the novelist wife of the

The Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week has unveiled its lineup of nine international first works, all of them world premieres, with U.S. director Jake Wachtel’s Cambodia-set Buddhist sci-fier “Karamalink,” set as the out-of-competition opener. Set in a near-future Phnom Penh, “Karmalink” (pictured) is about a 13-year-old boy and his street-smart female friend who team up to

Universal Pictures Int’l Spain has snatched theatrical distribution rights to the Spanish remake of romcom “A Boyfriend for my Wife” (“Un Novio para mi Mujer”), now shooting in Barcelona. The 2008 Argentine original by Juan Taratuto, starring Adrian Suar, lured up to 1.5 million admissions in Argentina and has been remade in a slew of

Early in “Jolt,” a relentlessly busy and cacophonously noisy action film that often comes across as a Kmart version of “Black Widow,” Lindy, the violently inclined protagonist played by genre vet Kate Beckinsale, explains why she’s singularly well-equipped to be a vengeful vigilante. “Some people cry,” she tells a doctor trying, and failing, to curb

Octavia Spencer has joined “Right to Try,” a documentary short about an HIV cure treatment trial, as a producer through her production company Orit Entertainment. Spencer will produce along with her partner Brian Clisham and creative executive Stephanie Kluft. The doc, directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, tells the

Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood on Wednesday to sign a $330 million boost to the state’s film and TV tax credit. The studio lot is more than 100 years old, and provided a backdrop for Newsom to talk about a new $150 million program to encourage more soundstage construction. Newsom

Two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley will lead the voice cast of graphic novel adaptation “Charlotte,” which is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Along with Knightley, the “Charlotte” voice cast includes Jim Broadbent, Sam Claflin, Henry Czerny, Eddie Marsan, Brenda Blethyn and Sophie Okonedo. “Charlotte” is directed by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana,

The omnipresent Dwayne Johnson provides a short intro to “Stuntman,” the kind in which a celebrity host (in this case also one of the film’s producers) jovially warns us that the acts we’re about to see were performed by trained professionals, and under no circumstances should we “try any of this at home.” That would

Michaela Coel has joined the ensemble cast of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the sequel to the hit Marvel film “Black Panther.” Character details are locked up, per usual. Insiders say Coel has joined director Ryan Coogler at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios, where production began last month. Marvel Studios declined to comment on the matter. Coel exploded

Details are trickling out about the sequel to China’s first true sci-fi blockbuster, director Guo Fan’s “The Wandering Earth.” Registration records on the National Film Bureau’s website revealed this week that censors have approved “The Wandering Earth 2” for production. It plans to shoot in Qingdao and Haikou, the capital of the island province of

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Wednesday that provides an extra $330 million for the film and TV industry, and also carries a new incentive to promote diversity on sets. Newsom signed the bill at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. The bill includes a new $150 million tax credit aimed at promoting the construction

“In the Heights” star Leslie Grace has officially been cast as Barbara Gordon in “Batgirl,” the upcoming HBO Max superhero film. In securing the title role, Grace beat out several formidable contenders, including “Five Feet Apart” actress Haley Lu Richardson, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” star Isabela Merced and “Set It Up’s” Zoey

Harvey Weinstein made his first court appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday, pleading not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault. Weinstein appeared in a wheelchair, with his hands shackled to the arm rests. He spoke only once during the brief hearing, after Judge Sergio Tapia wished him “good luck.” “Thank you very

Filmmaker and musician Rob Zombie has been sharing plans for his upcoming release, the big-screen adaptation of “The Munsters.” Since announcing the news via his Instagram page on June 7 that he would be writing and helming the film based on the ’60s sitcom about a family of friendly monsters, Zombie has revealed that he

Abby Quinn will star in an upcoming Blumhouse and Epix movie set in Nashville opposite Shiloh Fernandez and Joshua Leonard. They join the previously announced Alexxis Lemire and Katey Sagal in the film, which has the working title of “Tattered Hearts.” The movie centers on a promising up-and-coming country duo who seek out the secluded

Cannes title “Petrov’s Flu” has been picked up for the U.K. and Ireland by Sovereign Distribution. The U.K.-based producer-distributor bought rights for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film from French sales agent Charades. The sci-fi drama, which was written and directed by the Russian helmer, enjoyed its world premiere at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, where it competed

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has announced its inaugural in-person programming schedule, which features two screenings of “The Wizard of Oz” with a live accompaniment by the American Youth Symphony, conducted by composer David Newman, on opening day. During the first three months of the museum’s opening, it will offer a diverse and robust

One of London’s leading universities has launched a £1 million ($1.4 million) research project into racial inequality and diversity in the U.K. film industry. University College London, working closely with the British Film Institute, have launched a three-year research study titled “The Colour of Diversity: A Longitudinal Analysis of BFI Diversity Standards Data and Racial

M. Night Shyamalan has been terrorizing people for years, long before he was an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. With his latest film “Old” hitting theaters on Friday, Shyamalan sat down with Variety to talk about his life and career, revealing that even as a teenager, he was finding creative ways to frighten people. In this case,

The hype over NFTs — non-fungible tokens — isn’t over yet. Autograph, an NFT platform co-founded by NFL pro quarterback Tom Brady, announced deals with Lionsgate, which will create digital-collectible content based on its flagship entertainment properties, and sports-wagering company DraftKings, which will launch a marketplace for Autograph’s NFTs. In addition, Autograph announced exclusive multiyear

Multiple Oscar-winning Chinese-American director Chloé Zhao, whose “Nomadland” launched from the Venice Film Festival last year, is set to return to the Lido as a member of the upcoming fest’s main jury, which will comprise four women and three men. As previously announced, “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, another recent multiple Oscar winner, will preside

Stepping into the director’s chair for the first time is always a challenge, but for veteran TV and movie producer Randall Emmett that challenge was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. What was planned as an 18-day shoot, ultimately took a year thanks to shutdowns in various filming locales. But launching the true crime thriller “Midnight

Kate Beckinsale and Jai Courtney held court on Monday night at the San Vicente Bungalows at the premiere of their new action thriller “Jolt.” But COVID protocols came first. After checking in with a door person outside, guests were asked to take rapid tests in the library of the West Hollywood members-only club and  not

What impact does the Palme d’Or really have on a film’s awards chances? In the 73 years of Cannes, there have only been three winners of the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture – “The Lost Weekend” (1945), “Marty” (1955) and “Parasite” (2019), the latter two were unanimous wins among the jury. With

Imagine Entertainment, the production banner run by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, has been the subject of renewed acquisition talks in recent weeks, multiple sources told Variety. Investors and potential buyers include an undisclosed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East, which has been quietly exploring American media investments of late. Also kicking the tires

Netflix, coming off a pandemic-fueled bumper crop of subscribers in 2020, added just 1.5 million customers worldwide for the second quarter of 2021 — a significant slowdown from its previous torrid pace of growth. The company also officially unveiled its plans to enter the video game market, staring with mobile games, eyeing it as a