Movies

France’s Annecy Festival, Europe and one of the world’s largest and most important annual events for all things animated, has announced the lineups for its first group of competition sections for this summer’s 60th anniversary hybrid edition. Instantly recognizable U.S. titles from this year’s TV competition lineup include the “Last Splash” episode of Matt Groening’s

Stephen Graham (“The Irishman”), Andrea Riseborough (“Luxor”) and Sindhu Vee (“Feel Good”) have joined the cast of Netflix and Sony Pictures’ musical adaptation of the beloved children’s story “Matilda,” directed by Matthew Warchus (“Pride”). Graham and Riseborough will play Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, while Vee will portray Mrs. Phelps. They join the previously announced cast

Indian cinema superstar Rajinikanth, 70, will be the 2021 recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, India’s highest film honor. The award is given for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema and is named after Phalke, director of “Raja Harischandra” (1913), India’s first full-length feature, who is considered the father of Indian cinema. It carries a cash

Celebrated action filmmaker John Woo will produce a live action adaptation of Stan Lee’s “Monkey Master,” from a superhero story created by Lee and collaborator Sharad Devarajan. Based on an unreleased comic book series and story created by Marvel maven Lee and Graphic India co-founder and CEO Devarajan, the film will follow New York City

To seriously consider “Roe v. Wade” — that is, writer-directors Cathy Allyn and Nick Loeb’s atrocious anti-abortion propaganda piece and not the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in favor of abortion rights — it is helpful to remember a 2017 quote by journalist Chuck Todd. “Alternative facts are not facts. They’re falsehoods,” Todd succinctly said

Evelyn Sakash, an Emmy-winning production designer, was found dead at her New York City home on Tuesday. She was 66. According to the Associated Press, Sakash was “known to be a hoarder” and was found under a pile of garbage. The cause of death is currently unknown, but will be determined by the New York

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until you’ve seen the film! Director Adam Wingard’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” the latest entry in the long-running Godzilla franchise, takes the reptilian kaiju king in some bold new directions, and offers many spectacular sights that have never been seen before in a Godzilla movie. But it also pays sly homage

Kelvin Harrison Jr., the breakout star of festival hits “Luce” and “Waves,” has landed the leading role in Searchlight Pictures’ “Chevalier de Saint-Georges.” Harrison Jr. will play the title character, known historically as the Black Mozart, an illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. The artist rose to improbable heights in

Uri Singer has obtained the rights to “Hocus Pocus” by legendary author Kurt Vonnegut. He is developing the 1990 novel as either a film or a limited series. Singer is currently producing a film adaptation of another literary giant, Don DeLillo’s “White Noise,” which Noah Baumbach is directing for Netflix with Adam Driver and Greta

Netflix is plunking down an astounding $450 million for the rights to “Knives Out 2” and “Knives Out 3,” the next two follow-ups to the 2019 murder mystery, sources tell Variety. The films will reunite director Rian Johnson and star Daniel Craig, who teamed up so memorably on the first detective story. The first “Knives

Sony has delayed the release of “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.” The apocalyptic horror film is now scheduled for Nov. 24. “Resident Evil” was previously set for Sept. 3, which is the same day that Disney is currently expected to open the Marvel adventure “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” It stands

The Composers Diversity Collective, which represents composers of diverse backgrounds working in visual media, this week releases an album showcasing the music of a dozen of its members. It’s a co-production with the Helix Collective, a chamber-music ensemble that has been active in live-to-picture film-music presentations in Los Angeles. Called “Shoutout,” it’s “an opportunity for

French President Emmanuel Macron announced during a televised address on Wednesday that some cultural venues could reopen in mid-May if pandemic conditions improve. France is currently coping with the pandemic’s third wave and saw the number of cases skyrocket to nearly 40,000 per day. The number of patients in intensive care units surpassed the peak

Randall Park is stepping behind the camera for the first time, set to take on directing duties for the upcoming film “Shortcomings.” Based on Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel, the comedic drama follows a trio of young Bay Area urbanites — Ben Tanaka, Miko Hayashi and Alice Kim — as they navigate a range of interpersonal

I know this is an obvious understatement, but what a wacky, messy awards season this has been! Of course it’s a logistical nightmare to try to produce a great and safe awards show during these pandemic-restricted times. I really do feel for all of those attempting to do just that. We’ll see how this Sunday’s

Quiver Distribution has landed North American rights to “Grace and Grit,” starring Mena Suvari and Stuart Townsend. It will release the film in theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand June 4. The film is based on the 1991 book by philosopher Ken Wilber that tells the true story of his wife Treya’s five-year

In “Every Breath You Take,” Casey Affleck plays a psychiatrist — or more to the point, he plays a movie psychiatrist, the sort of character who’s been around since Ingrid Bergman peered through wire-rimmed spectacles, offering repressed pensées about repression in Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” (1945). The movie psychiatrist may, at times, bear a passing resemblance to

When this year’s Oscars best picture envelope is opened, viewers might not be on the edge of their seat to see if “Nomadland,” “Mank” or “Promising Young Woman” — or another contender — is named. Instead, they might be scratching their heads. Although the pandemic has left households paying for more streaming services than ever,

This year’s Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival will include 10 feature and 41 short films. Among the feature titles are “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “Caught,” “Crystal Diaries,” “Chosen Fam,” “Forgotten Roads,” “Kapana,” “Ma Belle, My Beauty,” “Nowhere,” “See You Then,” “Summertime” and “Unapologetic.” The shorts include “Mariam,” about a young Arab American amateur drag queen,

In observance of Women’s History Month and Transgender Day of Visibility, we write this letter as feminist leaders in advocacy, business, entertainment, media, politics, and social justice who stand as, with, and for transgender and nonbinary people. Trans women and girls have been an integral part of the fight for gender liberation. We uphold that

Finland’s Aurora Studios has launched a private equity fund aimed at film and TV content, kicking off with “Bubble,” a movie directed by Aleksi Salmenperä (“Giant”). “Bubble” will star Minna Haapkylä, Tommi Korpela, Anna-Maija Tuokko and Stella Leppikorpi. Haapkylä is also producing the movie at Rabbit Films. The 5.5 million euros ($6.4 million) private equity

In what feels like a no-brainer collaboration, 21 Savage is set to executive-produce the music for the upcoming “Spiral: From the Book of Saw,” the next movie in the rebooted “Saw” franchise. The news comes on the heels of a new trailer for the Chris Rock-produced film, featuring snippets of the rapper’s new single, “Spiral,”

A24 has released the official trailer for “Zola,” which will release theatrically on June 30. Based on the infamous Twitter thread posted by A’Ziah Wells King, the film follows a Detroit waitress named Zola (Taylour Paige) who strikes up a new friendship with a customer, Stefani (Riley Keough), who convinces her to join a weekend of

Shout! Studios has secured all distribution rights in North America from Protagonist Pictures to “The Show,” the mystery fantasy feature film written by Alan Moore, the creator of iconic comic-books such as “Watchmen,” “V for Vendetta,” “From Hell” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” “The Show,” directed by Mitch Jenkins, will be launched across all

Italian producer Domenico Procacci, whose Fandango shingle is developing Elena Ferrante’s “The Lying Life of Adults” for Netflix, has several new films in the pipeline, including chiller “Pantafa” toplining Kasia Smutniak (“Devils”) as a strong-willed mother trying to protect her haunted young daughter. “Pantafa,” which takes its cue from an ancient Italian legend involving an

Following on an initial sale to MUBI for U.S., U.K, Italy, Turkey and India, Brussels-based sales agency Be For Films has clinched its first tranche of sales to international distributors on Berlinale Encounters title “Azor,” the first feature from Swiss talent to track Andreas Fontana. In new sales, Pamela Leu at Be For Films, part

Historian, broadcaster and filmmaker David Olusoga and BAFTA-nominated director George Amponsah are among a wealth of talent curating a celebration of Black British cinema, the subject of the 2021 Sheffield Doc/Fest retrospective. The program – titled “Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema” – aims to

The release of “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” has been delayed one week from Sept. 17 to Sept. 24. The sequel, which stars Tom Hardy, was most recently pushed to September from June 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The one-week delay of “Venom 2” means that the movie will no longer premiere on the

Legendary Entertainment announced it will release an exclusive “Godzilla vs. Kong” NFT collection on the same day the film hits theaters and HBO Max. It marks the first official NFT art release in collaboration with a major studio. Created by Australian digital concept artist BossLogic (Kode Abdo) and Terra Virtua Ltd., the digital collectibles will

G. Gordon Liddy, the colorful chief operative in the Watergate scandal who went to prison for his crimes and later cut a wide swatch across pop culture as a talk show host and actor, has died. He was 90. His son, Thomas P. Liddy, confirmed his death to the Washington Post, but did not provide