Movies

The British Film Institute (BFI) has appointed Denitsa Yordanova as head of the recently launched U.K. Global Screen Fund, reporting into Neil Peplow, BFI director of industry and international affairs. The fund is set up as an export booster, designed to help the U.K. screen sector compete effectively in the international marketplace. Financed by the

Picture Tree Intl. has acquired the rights to “Chasing the Line,” which follows the fortunes of downhill skiing legend Franz Klammer during the 1976 Winter Olympics. Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teaser trailer. After shooting wrapped in April, the film is now in postproduction. It is scheduled for an Austrian release

“Creepshow” and “Twelve Forever” producer Cartel Pictures is launching a global distribution outfit, with operations based out of Los Angeles and London. Former Endeavor Content executive Gary Marenzi is building out Cartel Studios International, working alongside former CBS and Viacom executives Giovanni Pedde and Stephen Tague. The new venture will focus on the international distribution

Contents Panda, the sales arm of Next Entertainment World, has added comedy horror film “Oh My Ghost” to its burgeoning Cannes Market lineup. Only the company will not physically be in Cannes, and will concentrate on the pre-Cannes online version of the market instead. South Korea’s film production sector is bouncing back to life after

Hong Kong- and Paris-based All Rights Entertainment has added “The Thing Behind the Door” to its pre-Cannes and Cannes Market slate of films. The picture is a female-led French horror which is currently shooting and is to be delivered by the fourth quarter of this year. All Rights pitches the film as a “Lovecraftian creature

In 2018, Bill Murray joined famous cellist, Jan Vogler, on stage at the historic Acropolis in Athens, Greece, for a night of timeless poetry and music. Captured on film by director Andrew Muscato, the magical performance will soon become a feature film, premiering in July at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Spanning from Bach to

Playing René Belloq in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is something English actor Paul Freeman has always taken pride in. “The fact that it just keeps giving is wonderful,” he says. Portraying the rival archaeologist in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated film has made him a staple in the Indiana Jones canon, but it isn’t just Belloq

Popcorn lovers, rejoice! AMC Theatres, the nation’s largest cinema chain, is offering its customers “all you can eat” popcorn with the purchase of any size tub starting June 22. The promotion, one of several deals that AMC is running through the first-ever Cinema Week, will extend through June 30. It will be available at all

Running June 22-27, the AFI Docs festival will bring a smorgasbord of nonfiction offerings to the greater Washington, D.C., area, screening 77 features in both the nation’s capital and nearby Silver Spring, Md. As with almost every festival making a provisional return to in-person events this summer, AFI Docs is approaching its 19th edition as

Nicolas Cage is lined up to play a buffalo hunter in an adaptation of John Williams’ novel “Butcher’s Crossing,” directed by “Red Army” helmer Gabe Polsky. The film, which is being shopped to buyers at this week’s Cannes virtual market by sales agent and financier Altitude, is set in the 1870s and finds the “Mandy”

After watching “When Harry Met Sally” in theaters back in 1989, Gina Prince-Bythewood said she became inspired to create a similar love story with a Black cast. “I loved ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ and I wanted to make a Black ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ” the filmmaker said. “That was really the first impetus because

Paramount Plus is betting the house on “Jerry and Marge Go Large,” the true story of a lotto-scamming couple to be played by Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening. Director David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Marley and Me”) will direct the tale of a retired Michigan couple who helps revitalize their community by deftly gaming

Barcelona-based producer distributor Filmax has snagged the Spanish and international rights to Carlota González-Adrio’s debut thriller “The House Among the Cactuses.” Currently in post-production, the film is based on Paul Pen’s U.S. novel “Desert Flowers” and sees the action transposed from Mexico’s Baja California Desert to an isolated valley on the island of Gran Canaria.

Stuttgart-based sales company Sola Media has taken international rights to animated feature “Gus, the Guide Dog,” currently in pre-production and to be directed by Portugal’s Bruno Simões, an animation director and previs artist who has worked on films such as “Skyfall,” “Epic” and “Rio 2.” Family-oriented “Gus” is produced by Roger Torras at Barcelona’s WKND,

Amblin Partners and Netflix have forged a partnership, one that will see the company headed by Steven Spielberg produce multiple new feature films for the streaming service every year. The pact gives Netflix access to one of the most legendary directors in the movie business at a time when competition in the streaming space is

Welcome to the “House Party,” Karen Obilom. The “Doom Patrol” and “Games People Play” star is the latest to join the cast of New Line’s “House Party” reboot, produced by the SpringHill Company for HBO Max. Obilom has signed on to play the female lead in the project, joining Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Tosin Cole and

The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will take place next year on February 27, 2022. That was the date originally reserved for the 94th Academy Awards — but with the Oscars moving to March 27, the SAG Awards will now fill that date. The show will return to a two-hour telecast and be simulcast

Ventana Sur’s Blood Window, one of Latin America’s most important platforms for up-and-coming horror, science fiction and fantasy filmmaking, is headed to Cannes’ Marché du Film with seven works in progress and a new market screening premiere for buyers and film festival programmers. Although Blood Window’s beginnings are steeped in blood and gore, the festival

Continuing its resilient acquisition of higher-profile commercial titles for distribution in the U.S. and Canada, Saban Films has picked up North American rights to “The Hyperions,” an indie superhero movie headed by Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”). Saban Films has set a theatrical release for Feb. 2022. Archstone Entertainment is representing the worldwide rights to

Led by “Persian Lessons” and “BPM (Beats Per Minute)” star Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Manuel Nieto’s “The Employer and Employee” has been snapped up for world sales by Latido Films. The Madrid-based sales agent has also dropped a trailer for the film. The deal was made in the run-up to July’s Cannes Festival where the feature,

George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria and more will co-found a film school for underserved communities beginning in fall 2022. The Roybal School of Film and Television Production will give students robust academic education, practical training and access to renowned storytellers and other industry professionals and experts from Hollywood. The school

Altitude and Film4 have acquired writer/director Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Film Festival competition title “Titane” for U.K. and Ireland. In the horror thriller, following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who disappeared ten years ago. The film stars newcomer Agathe Rousselle, Cannes best actor winner Vincent Lindon (“The Measure of

In a presentation to buyers delivered at the start of the Pre-Cannes Screenings on Monday, director Doug Liman described his new movie “Everest,” set to star Ewan McGregor, Sam Heughan and Mark Strong, as the “ultimate adventure film.” HanWay Films is selling international rights at the virtual market, while UTA Independent Film Group handles U.S.

Altitude Film Sales has taken worldwide sales rights, excluding Australia/New Zealand, for “Wolf Creek 3,” the latest instalment of the Wolf Creek franchise, and will introduce the project to buyers this week at the Virtual Cannes Market. Altitude will also distribute the film in the U.K. In the film, an American family takes a dream

Shailene Woodley will star in “Robots,” which is being described as a “fast-paced comedy” from Anthony Hines, one of the writers of “Borat” and “Bruno.” It marks a change of pace for Woodley, best known for the dystopian “Divergent” films and the dare-you-not-to-devolve-into-a-puddle-of-tears romance “The Fault in Our Stars.” “Robots” is based on a short

The 2022 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards will take place in London on March 22, and will be broadcast in the U.K. on BBC One. The awards are the U.K.’s highest film honors and traditionally act as a bellwether to the Oscars, which take place shortly after. Next year’s Academy

For most of those involved in the film pre-sales business, the virtual Pre-Cannes Screenings, running June 21-25, is the main event, with the in-person Cannes festival and market in July almost a sideshow. The mood of those approaching this month’s bazaar is mostly upbeat, but with a note of sober caution. “I would say that

Cannes Lions, the annual gathering for the advertising and marketing community, will take place online again this year, running June 21-25, but every effort is being made to make it as live an event as possible. The show will be broadcast live every day, although the sessions will also be available on demand. There are

The boom in bigger-budget U.K. movies and series — funded mostly by the global streamers and Hollywood studios — has created shortages in skilled labor at a time when there is also a desire to improve diversity in the workforce. Both issues have been made more challenging due to the pandemic. Research released recently by

The Anthony Hopkins-starring Oscar winner “The Father” debuted in China to a $1.21 million opening weekend, coming in eleventh despite a slow box office weekend, according to data from the Maoyan platform. The first feature from helmer Florian Zeller received six Academy Award nominations and two wins — one for Hopkins as best actor and