Movies

Monte Hellman, the maverick director of such films as “Two-Lane Blacktop,” “The Shooting” and “Road to Nowhere,” died April 20 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., following a fall in his home on April 19. He was 91. Hellman was a cult director who was widely admired within the industry, earning such fans

Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled film has been set for a holiday 2021 rollout from United Artists Releasing. The movie, Anderson’s latest directorial effort after 2017’s “Phantom Thread,” will open in limited release on Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving weekend) and expand nationwide on Christmas Day. The film’s ensemble cast includes Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Alana Haim and

Netflix’s subscriber growth cooled in the first quarter of 2021 after record pandemic-fueled gains last year: The streamer added about 2 million fewer customers than it previously expected. For Q1, the company reported a gain of 3.98 million in net global streaming subscribers. That was below its previous guidance of 6 million. Meanwhile, Netflix predicted

“The Vanishing,” “Yoga Village,” “Science Fiction” and “Transfariana” took top Visions du Réel industry awards at an online ceremony webcast from Switzerland on Tuesday night. Seventeen awards went in all to a total 16 recipients with major winners addressing some of the most relevant issues of the current times — gender abuse and plurality, lockdown,

The evolution of film is unstoppable, including the development of utilizing motion capture performances, even if Hollywood hasn’t fully accepted it yet. In celebration of actor, director and producer Andy Serkis’ birthday, who brought the movement to new heights with exceptional performances in several tentpole franchises including “The Lord of the Rings” and “Planet of

Indie film stalwarts Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula are retiring as co-chairmen of Searchlight Pictures. The longtime executives and producers behind the unit, formerly Fox Searchlight, will be replaced by executives David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield. Utley and Gilula each served more than two decades at the label, offering consistency and prestige cinema through ownership

Comic book Alex Ross, a longtime collaborator of Marvel and DC Comics, has announced plans to unveil his first painting series as a non-fungible token. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have become a wildly popular digital trend, one that allows for the sale of digital content that doesn’t have a tangible form. NFT technology allows collectors

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc. has announced, via its board, that effective immediately, Phil Berk is no longer a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The move comes just hours after NBC, in a statement, suggested that the network’s telecast of the Golden Globes was in jeopardy if the HFPA didn’t take swift action

Emilia Clarke is in final negotiations to join Marvel Studios’ “Secret Invasion,” the hot original series quickly coming together at Disney Plus. The “Game of Thrones” headliner’s role is naturally under wraps, and marks her first foray into the Marvel universe. She joins previously-reported cast Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Olivia Colman.

Tribeca Film Festival announced the lineup for its 2021 edition, which will run June 9 through 20. In response to the pandemic, the 12-day event will host in-person screenings and panels, most of which will occur outdoors and at drive-in venues. For the first time, Tribeca Film Festival is taking place not just in lower

Once seen as rather elitist and niche, the documentary feature market is expanding as audience demand for real life stories continues to grow. Documentaries have become a huge genre in their own right, says Lia Devlin, head of distribution at Altitude Films, whose slate includes “Tina,” “Zappa,” “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet,” and

Swiss doc fest Visions du Réel’s second virtual edition frames multiple titles – “The Bubble, “My Old Man” and “The Home” portraying an ever growing and aging demographic and the conditions in which its members live the final stage of their lives. The debut feature documentary of Chase Musslewhite and Jesse Zinn, the later also VdR

Reflecting the big issues examined in this year’s film lineup, the Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival’s (CPH:DOX) industry section likewise grapples with such major topics as climate change, biodiversity and the tectonic shifts being felt far and wide in the global political and economic order. The industry sidebar comprises the Forum financing and co-production event; the

The Locarno Film Festival’s Industry Academy workshop is extending its global reach to Africa. The prominent Swiss festival’s formative initiative dedicated to training young professionals working in sales, traditional or online distribution, theatrical exhibition and programming for festivals – which is an intergral part of Locarno’s Locarno Pro industry side – has forged a new

Tel Aviv-based Cinephil, the sales agent for the Oscar nominated “Collective” and “The Act of Killing” among others, has clinched world rights to “Songs of Earth” from seasoned Norwegian helmer and producer Margreth Olin of Speranza Film. The documentary project marks the third collaboration between Cinephil’s managing director Philippa Kowarsky and Olin after the DOC

PBS is teaming with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and Arte France for feature-length documentary “Generation 9/11,” which marks the 20th anniversary of the twin tower attacks by following the children born to fathers who perished in the disaster. Produced by London-based outfit Arrow Pictures, the 120-minute doc introduces the youth born in the wake of

For moviegoers accustomed to stoner-dude protagonists, “The Marijuana Conspiracy” offers a nice change. The Canadian drama, set in 1972, is full of Mary Janes. Okay, really just one Mary and one Jane. But they’re joined by other young women who answer a call to participate in a research project. For 98 days, Mary, Janice, Jane,

Anthony Powell, the three-time Oscar-winning costume designer known for helping shape the looks of Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones and Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil, has died. He was 85. The Costume Designers Guild confirmed Powell’s death on Monday night on Facebook, writing: “Legendary English costume designer Anthony Powell passed away last weekend. He will

For the first time, there are two Asian Americans in Oscar’s director race: Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”). That’s notable, but it’s even more extraordinary considering only four Asians were ever nominated as director before this. The four predecessors were spread over the decades: Hiroshi Teshigahara (“Woman in the Dunes,” 1965); Akira

In the wake of Kevin Graham-Caso’s suicide last October, his friends pored over his old emails, looking for answers. Klodiana Alia found one from 2009, when Graham-Caso was working as an assistant to producer Scott Rudin. At the time, Graham-Caso was looking for another job, and Rudin had gotten wind of it. “He flipped out,”

A new directing team has joined the Spider-Verse. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers (a current Oscar nominee), and Justin K. Thompson have been tapped by Sony Pictures Animation to direct the sequel to the Oscar-winning animated feature “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Although Dos Santos’ directing role had been previously reported, the trio have been working

With the debut of the teaser trailer for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” on Monday, Marvel Studios has finally pulled back the curtain on the first major superhero movie backed by an American studio to star a predominantly Asian cast. Starring Simu Liu (“Kim’s Convenience”), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (“Just Cause”)

Television dominated the roster of nominees for the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which returns this May after a year-long hiatus due, at least in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. But with the kind of crowd-pleasing, popcorn-ready films that the MTV awards show normally celebrates mostly delayed due to the pandemic, TV has taken

The Academy is not asking Oscar attendees to wear face masks while cameras are rolling during the live ceremony on April 25. The news was announced on Monday morning during a Zoom meeting with Academy reps and nominees, and studio and personal publicists. Because the ceremony — being held at Union Station in downtown Los

“Mortal Kombat” star Lewis Tan has landed the leading role in an anticipated adaptation of the David Ignatius novel “Quantum Spy.” Tan will serve as star and co-executive producer on the pilot from Boies/Schiller Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Flame Ventures and “24” alum Tony Krantz. The project was first in development at NBC, though Boies/Schiller has

Movie theaters in New York City will soon be able to welcome a slightly larger number of customers into their venues. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has given local cinemas permission to operate at 33% capacity, starting on April 26. At the same time, museums and zoos will be able to increase to 50% capacity.

Mattel, the popular toy company, intends to turn yet another children’s game into a big-screen extravaganza. The company’s film division has announced plans to develop Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em, the tabletop game featuring battling robots, as a live-action movie starring Vin Diesel. “To take the classic Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game, with Mattel as my

London-based film sales and financing house Embankment Films has closed a major international deal for “Joyride,” starring Olivia Colman, who is Oscar nominated for Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” another of Embankment’s titles. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought “Joyride” for the world, excluding North America and U.K. The deal comes as Embankment – led by

The first trailer for Marvel’s upcoming movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has been revealed on star Simu Liu’s birthday. On Monday morning, Liu gifted Marvel fans the first look at the “Shang-Chi” poster and his superhero costume. “Whoever said that you could only RECEIVE presents on your birthday? Today, I’m giving

Lord and Lady Grantham request the pleasure of moviegoers’ company at their Yorkshire country estate this Christmas. Rejoice, “Downton Abbey” fans, because Focus Features will shoot a sequel to the hit movie, itself a spinoff of the long-running television series. The original principal cast will all once again return for the second film, which began