Jamie Lee Curtis will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September. The ceremony will take place on Sept. 8 in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema before an out-of-competition screening of David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills,” the latest instalment of the iconic Halloween franchise
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Set to unfold during the busy summer holiday, the Cannes Film Festival will roll out a lineup of screenings, including world premieres and concerts on the beach aimed at holiday-makers and red carpet-jaded festival attendees. Called Le cinema de la plage, the open-air screenings will run every evening at 9:30 p.m. on the beach across
“If you’re poor and have no money, and can’t get yourself a lawyer who really gives a shit about your case, you’re going to die,” a defense attorney ruefully notes at one point in “The Phantom,” a fascinating and ultimately infuriating documentary. This isn’t an entirely fitting description of what befell Carlos DeLuna, a young
Chadi Zeneddine, one of the core team that created the Doha Film Institute’s talent incubator Qumra, has taken charge as manager of the Cairo International Film Festival’s (CIFF) co-production market Cairo Film Connection (CFC). Zeneddine’s predecessor Meriame Deghedi is now head of Cairo Industry Days. The CFC is open for submissions through Aug. 5, 2021.
Reservoir Docs has acquired the documentary “The Right to Be Forgotten,” by Romanian director Adina Sădeanu, which is being pitched this week during the Co-Production Forum of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Variety has learned. The company has secured worldwide sales rights apart from Romania, Moldova and Benelux. Through a mix of investigation and observation, “The
The American Film Market (AFM) will return in November as an in-person event, organizers have confirmed. “I want to let you know that plans are well underway for an in-person AFM this year, taking place November 2-7. California has fully reopened and we are optimistic that the travel restrictions still in place will be lifted
Marvel Studios has returned to Wakanda. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — the highly anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning, billion-dollar blockbuster “Black Panther” — started production on Tuesday at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige tells Variety. Director Ryan Coogler is returning to direct from his screenplay, and Feige says that everyone from
After roiling a Polish village as an impostor priest in Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi,” star Bartosz Bielenia tries to rattle the entire nation in “Prime Time.” His character here is another malcontent, this one armed and ready to take over a TV studio on New Year’s Eve with a special message for the world. But he’s
Actor Robert Sacchi, known for his close resemblance to Humphrey Bogart, died June 23 at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 89. Sacchi played the title role in the 1980 feature “The Man With Bogart’s Face.” He also appeared in many films, TV shows and commercials playing Bogart or
The 74th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards are set to take place on March 12, the guild announced Tuesday. The DGA National Board also reinstated its requirement of an exclusive theatrical run, which was temporarily suspended due to pandemic-related theater closures, for the DGA Theatrical Feature Film Award. The rule, which was first
“Mosquito Coast” producer Veritas Entertainment Group is shopping TV adaptations of two high-profile novels — Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons” and John Irving’s “The Hotel New Hampshire” — among other projects in the works from the boutique outfit that specializes in adaptations of books and other existing IP. “13 Reasons Why” writer Thomas Higgins
“Queenpins,” a comedy starring Kristen Bell as a coupon queen turned criminal, is slated to release on the big screen in fall. The STX film, inspired by the true story of the largest coupon counterfeit scam in U.S. history, will debut on Sept. 10. “Queenpins” will also feature Bell’s “Veronica Mars” and “The Good Place”
If the pandemic year has proven anything about the global film community, it’s been the industry’s ability to adapt on the fly—even in the face of an unprecedented crisis for an industry that considers travel and face-to-face networking as essential to its basic function as post-production and P&A. But as industry professionals around the globe
Alison Greenspan, a film and TV producer known for her work on the ABC drama “For Life” and 2011 feature “Monte Carlo,” died June 27 after a long battle with cancer. She was 48. Greenspan’s death was confirmed by her husband, Jason Michaels, who said she was surrounded by her family at the time of
It’s been more than a decade since audiences caught a final glimpse of Tony Soprano munching on onion rings with his family while listening to “Don’t Stop Believing” before the screen abruptly cut to black. The legendary mob boss from “The Sopranos” is back in “The Many Saints of Newark,” a prequel to the HBO
It’s always been telling that Batman, one of the only superheroes not graced with superpowers, may be the most popular superhero. Masses of comic-book fans identify with his humanity, imagining that they could be him (though he does, of course, have all those toys to make up for his lack of steel muscles, etc.). Natasha
Pioneering British filmmaker Menelik Shabazz, who was a stalwart of contemporary British cinema for over three decades, has died. He was 67. The director, writer and educator was reportedly in Zimbabwe at the time of his death, where he was believed to be working on his latest project. The news was first reported on Tuesday,
FUNDING “The Crown” stars Olivia Colman and Lesley Manville are among a host of British creative industries personalities calling for a levy on gadgets, the proceeds of which would to towards supporting the U.K. creative sector. “As a coalition of creators and performers we support the Smart Fund, a new scheme that could help to
For three small nations tucked away in a far corner of Northeastern Europe, wedged between the sprawling tundra of Scandinavia to the north and the lumbering bear of Russia in the east, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have long realized their strength in numbers: In 1989, amid mass protests calling for independence from the Soviet Union,
Amazon Prime Video has ordered Lisa Azuelos’s “I Love America,” an L.A.-set modern comedy with French star Sophie Marceau as its next French Original movie. Azuelos, a well-established filmmaker who previously directed Marceau in the hit French movie “LOL” (Laughing Out Loud) co-wrote “I Love America” with Gael Fierro. Autopilot is producing the film which
The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading movie event, unveiled the lineups for its Official Selection, Retrospective, and industry programs Tuesday. This includes 27 world premieres, two international premieres and two European premieres spread across its two competition sections and the Special Screenings program, including British drama “Boiling Point,” starring Stephen
Eva Longoria and Sid Ganis Appointed to Academy Museum Board of Trustees The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced that Eva Longoria has been appointed to its board of trustees, while Sid Ganis will become the museum’s first honorary trustee. Since starring in “Desperate Housewives,” Longoria has led the charge for female representation in Hollywood
“It feels good to say, ‘Cinema is back!’” Vin Diesel told Variety on Saturday night. It was reported the following morning that “F9: The Fast Saga” raked in $70 million from 4,179 North American theaters, marking the largest opening at the U.S. box office since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” The previous holder of this
Melvin Gregg, Rotimi and Allen Maldonado are the latest stars to join New Line’s reimagining of the 1990 hit comedy “House Party,” produced by the SpringHill Company for HBO Max. The trio join stars Jorge Lendeborg, Tosin Cole, Karen Obilom and DC Young Fly for the new movie, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
When news leaked last month that disgraced “House of Cards” actor Kevin Spacey had landed his first acting gig in over four years, taking on a supporting role in an Italian indie film, the backlash on social media was instantaneous — and intense. It was enough to prompt veteran actor Vanessa Redgrave, whose husband Franco
Screenwriter and award-winning producer Cynthia Hargrave, who helped launch the careers of Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, has died due to complications from systemic scleroderma. She was 64. With Anderson’s 1993 debut “Bottle Rocket,” Hargrave was the first producer to turn a Sundance Film Festival short into a Hollywood studio feature. Hargrave was a producer
Annapurna Pictures has made several key additions to its film team, including a new executive vice president and head of film in Adam Paulsen. Paulsen and his colleague Jack Parker are joining the indie prestige shop from Valparaiso Pictures. Parker has been hired as a creative executive. Both will report to Annapurna Chief Creative Officer
The two leading characters of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Underground Railroad,” portrayed exquisitely by Joel Edgerton and breakout sensation Thuso Mbedu, are undeniably complex. Their performances are heightened by the work of the supporting players around them, particularly William Jackson Harper and newcomer Chase W. Dillon. Adding layers to Barry Jenkins’ visceral and ingenious series, they
Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Pauletta Washington have joined Iervolino Entertainment’s star-studded anthology project “Tell It Like a Woman.” The trio will take on “Pepcy & Kim,” one of the anthology’s seven segments. Henson has signed on to direct the piece, which is inspired by the true story of Kim
Miramax and Amazon melodrama “Uncle Frank,” and HBO Max’s AIDS-themed series “It’s a Sin” dominated awards at the 60th annual Monte-Carlo TV Festival. Set in the early 1970s in North Carolina, “Uncle Frank” won best film, best creator and best actor for Paul Bettany who stars as a gay man forced to confront the Southern