Movies

Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson have been cast in “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” an adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved coming-of-age book. Fortson will play Margaret Simon, a sixth-grade girl who is going through puberty and searches the universe for any answers she can find. McAdams is portraying Margaret’s mother, Barbara. The

The gifted and mercurial Lee Daniels, director of “Precious,” is one of the only filmmakers I can think of who would dare to drop a badass-diva moment of Billie Holiday violently slapping her spouse into the middle of an otherwise giddy celebrity-singer-on-tour montage. In Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” Billie, played with glamorous,

To capture the essence of Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton, “Judas and the Black Messiah” director Shaka King couldn’t just read a few history books. He had to put boots on the ground. King traveled to Chicago to speak with the real-life players from the Illinois chapter of the party and to find out what

“The Metamorphosis of Birds,” which premiered in the Encounters sidebar of the Berlin Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI prize from the international critics’ jury, has been sold in multiple major territories, including the U.S., the U.K., China, Italy and Spain. Portuguese director Catarina Vasconcelos’ “beautifully pensive, lyrical debut feature,” in the words of the

Films Boutique has acquired Marc Bauder’s cinematic documentary “Who We Were,” which is set to world premiere in the “Berlinale Special” section of the Berlin Film Festival. “Who We Were” observes the current state of the world and postulates about the future through intense encounters with six intellectuals and scientists, including the astronaut Alexander Gerst,

Leading South Korean film sales firm Finecut has boarded “Toxic,” a fact-based drama-thriller about a mysterious outbreak that killed thousands. The firm, which is also representing Hong Sang-soo’s Berlin competition title “Introduction,” will unveil the new title to buyers at next month’s European Film Market. The film is the dramatization of events between 1994 and

Coronavirus has again cast its long shadow over the annual CineEurope exhibitor convention, and the event is now postponed to October. The pandemic forced the 2020 confab, normally held physically in Barcelona, to move online. There were plans to return to a physical event this year, but the glacial pace of vaccinations in Europe have

Though there haven’t been a lot of movies about it, the tentacles of Italy-based organized crime duly reach above Scorsese territory to the even-more-frequently-Frozen North. If not for the French dialogue, however, you wouldn’t necessarily know “Mafia Inc” were taking place in Quebec, or even Canada, so familiar and insular is the brutal syndicate business

When a dramatic feature film gets made out of an investigative magazine article, there’s usually some conventional heroic hook to it (the fight against corporate malfeasance, a think-different athlete or artist). But not always. “Silk Road,” written and directed by Tiller Russell, is a fervently topical, at times intriguing, but ultimately rather sketchy drama about

To say “Sin” is about Michelangelo is much too reductive. Rather than offering up a definitive portrait of the Italian artist, Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky has crafted instead a poetic meditation around the many contradictions that surround the “David” and “Pietà” sculpture artist: He’s divine. He’s a scoundrel. He’s a genius. He’s crazy. He’s all

Stone Canyon Entertainment has announced the start of production on “Who Are the Marcuses,” a feature documentary about a mysterious couple who donated half a billion dollars to Israel, the largest single gift in the history of the state. Matthew Mishory is directing, with Stone Canyon’s Bradford Schlei and Alvaro Fernandez producing, and executive producers

“Rocks,” “His House” and “The Father” were the leaders at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), which were announced Thursday. Coming-of-age drama “Rocks” won best British independent film, with Kosar Ali winning the awards for both best supporting actress and most promising newcomer with her young co-star D’Angelou Osei Kissiedu winning best supporting actor. Lucy

When Harry Lennix first signed up to appear in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Superman film “Man of Steel,” he thought he was playing General Swanwick, the U.S. military’s primary point of contact with Henry Cavill’s Kryptonian superhero. In Snyder’s follow-up, 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” Lennix returned as Swanwick, who’d been promoted to Secretary

Dominique Boutonnat, the president of France’s powerful National Film Board, will remain in post despite his indictment last week following a lawsuit for alleged sexual assault and attempted rape filed by his 22-year-old godson. Boutonnat, a 51-year-old film financier and producer who took the helm of the CNC in July 2019, was placed under investigation

Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda has joined the voice cast of “Luck,” a new feature from the just-announced content partnership between Apple and Skydance Animation. Fonda, who has a long relationship with Skydance Media as the producer of her Netflix series “Grace and Frankie,” is on board for a key role in the film that envisions

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have flocked to streaming services at an unprecedented rate — speeding up the migration already under way in the entertainment business toward direct-to-consumer models. To dive into the trends, the Variety Streaming Room hosted a discussion on the state of direct-to-consumer entertainment marketing with a panel of marketing professionals. Moderator

“Gran Torino” actor Bee Vang published an op-ed in NBC News’ “Think” column on Wednesday criticizing the anti-Asian slurs in the 2008 movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Playing Thao Vang Lor in the film alongside Eastwood, Vang said the lead role was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group, around

Singer-turned-actor Andra Day brought versatility to Lee Daniels’ biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” She performs the Golden Globes-nominated song “Tigress & Tweed,” which she co-wrote with soul and R&B singer Raphael Saadiq, and she sizzles in the title role as the jazz legend, portraying her as a significant civil rights activist. Below, she

“Violence of Action,” a crime thriller starring Chris Pine, has landed at STX Films. The studio previously nabbed international rights to the movie and will now distribute in the U.S. as well. Directed by Tarik Saleh, “Violence of Action” centers on James Harper (Pine), a man who joins a paramilitary organization to support his family

The cast of “Minari,” about a Korean family hoping to achieve the American dream in the Ozarks circa the 1980s, spoke about the way the film’s “deep humanity” and authenticity allows it to be universally appreciated. “I think what really dominates the relationship amongst this family is love,” said star Yeri Han via translator. “And

In tackling one of the most notorious feuds in pop culture history, director Tim Story used one guiding principle: “It’s not war; it’s sibling rivalry.” Those rivals would be Tom and Jerry, the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters who first came to exist out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1946. The duo are now relaunching in a live-action/animation

⊗ Film is supposed to be inclusive. But if you can’t see yourself on-screen, do you feel as if you even exist? One-third of our lives is spent at work, and the artists who express their creativity through cinema deserve to have their work seen, and not just because of the color of their skin or

Ring them bells! Liza Minnelli will be celebrating her 75th birthday on March 12 with a dancing and singing streaming shindig. The virtual “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration” will include appearances and performances by Joel Grey, Lily Tomlin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chita Rivera, Joan Collins, Harry Connick, Jr., Ben Vereen and the

Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, the Oscar-nominated screenwriters behind “The Fighter” and “The Outpost,” are on board to adapt “Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II,” a best-seller from Adam Makos. The project reunites the duo with “The Outpost” producer Paul Merryman, who acquired the rights

Producer and director Ava DuVernay has launched ARRAY Crew, a database for Hollywood’s below-the-line crew members. ARRAY Crew’s main focus is to elevate women, people of color and other underrepresented film and television professionals. “We’ve ideated, incubated and executed the idea of ARRAY Crew over two years with one mission in mind: to help productions

“Get over here!” — because Warner Bros. has unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming “Mortal Kombat” movie, full of blood, guts and fatalities. The movie, which is the third live-action feature based on the popular video game series, will not have any connection to its underperforming 1995 and 1997 predecessors. Instead, director Simon McQuoid,

The Golden Globes nominations were announced on Feb. 3, with Netflix’s “Mank” from David Fincher leading with six nods. As the ceremony approaches on Feb. 28, the categories have been analyzed to determine what they mean for the awards season. Several nominees have already made history, but with final voting taking place and due back to

A judge on Wednesday ruled that Randall Miller did not violate his probation when he shot a film in 2019, but warned the director not to make any more films for the remainder of his sentence. Judge Anthony Harrison sentenced Miller in 2015 to a year in jail in connection with the February 2014 death

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association wants the nominees of the 78th Golden Globes to stay home and be safe. Just last week, the HFPA invited presenters to appear in person at the Beverly Hilton or New York’s Rainbow Room on the big night. But it’s a different story for nominees, as word comes that those

“Paddington 3” — a new entry in the beloved movie series — is in active development, representatives from Studiocanal told Variety: “We can confirm Studiocanal is working very hard on film 3 with the utmost craft and care — as with film 1 and 2.” Last week, in an interview on BBC Radio 2’s “The Zoe