Movies

Spain’s Bendita Film Sales has picked up worldwide sales rights to coming-of-age drama “The Saint of the Impossible,” the feature debut of Swiss director Marc Wilkins. Variety has had exclusive access to the film’s trailer. Based on a novel by Dutch writer and New York Times contributor Arnon Grunberg, “Saint” toplines Peru’s Magaly Solier (“The

Twenty-one projects have been selected to take part in the upcoming Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum’s Work-in-Progress section. It will be operated virtually alongside the Hong Kong FilMart that runs March 15-17, 2021. The ten documentary and eleven fiction film projects were selected from the 129 submissions, organizers said on Tuesday. The WIP section, open

Emmy and Tony winner Hal Holbrook, an actor best known for his role as Mark Twain, whom he portrayed for decades in one-man shows, died on Jan. 23. He was 95. Holbrook’s personal assistant, Joyce Cohen, confirmed his death to the New York Times on Monday night. Holbrook played the American novelist in a solo

A century ago, Winston Churchill made the case that “history is written by the victors,” but here in the year 2021, even — and sometimes especially — those crushed beneath the boot of authority have found ways to make their side heard. Every so often, with time, the underdog version of events wins out, putting

The sad spectacle of Brexit over the last five years has led many casual news-watchers to over-idealize the European Union, even as its uniform industry regulations and injunctions weigh harshly on a lot of innocent parties. A view from the other side comes in “Luzzu,” an honest, affecting slab of working-class portraiture, altogether bracing with

If you had to say what the biggest difference is between the porn industry of the 1970s and the porn industry of today, you’d probably start with the obvious and overwhelming fact that people used to watch porn in grungy movie theaters and now access it on the Internet. You might talk about how even

The enigma, at the beginning, is that the dog makes no noise. Unless you count the tinkling of his bone-shaped name-tag as he snuffles doggishly around the yard. Neighbors come by, politely, to complain about his whimpering, and his owner acknowledges the problem apologetically, but if he’s noisy, it happens offscreen. It’s that way with

Warner Bros. has announced that “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” a neo-Western film starring Angelina Jolie, has set its release date for May 14. As part of Warner Bros.’ 2021 lineup, the film will debut both in theaters and on HBO Max. Based on Michael Koryta’s 2014 novel of the same name, the film is

Rebecca Hall’s feature directorial debut “Passing” dives into the nuance of racial identity and the complex realities of racial passing, with Variety’s Sundance review touting Hall’s work: “This radically intimate exploration of the desperately fraught concept of ‘passing’ — being Black but pretending to be white — ought to be too ambitious for a first-time filmmaker,

Hong Kong cinema operators and filmmakers are crying for help following a government announcement on Monday that COVID-19 social distancing measures will remain in place until Feb. 17. Crucially Hong Kong cinemas cannot reopen until after Chinese New Year and will have missed three important holiday seasons in the space of two months. The city

It’s been precisely a decade since the first edition of “Life in a Day” debuted at Sundance, though in internet years, that amounts to several eons. YouTube was young, Facebook was the hip subject of a hot movie, and TikTok was not yet a glimmer in a millennial developer’s eye. The film’s concept was simple

The team behind JuVee Productions, Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s production company, described how they offer a leg up to emerging creatives of color by giving them a “foot in the door” into an industry that often sidelines them. Variety, in partnership with Dell Technologies, hosted a panel conversation with JuVee CEO Davis, president of

I started writing these words on Jan. 20, 2021, a day of historical firsts: Kamala Harris was the first African American woman to be sworn in as Vice President of the United States of America. One of the first orders of business for VP Harris, also of South Asian descent (another first) was to swear

The biggest challenge of discussing Mike Cahill’s “Bliss” lies in describing its premise without making it sound considerably wilder and more interesting than it actually is. In short, the film stars Owen Wilson as a sad-sack office drone who, after accidentally killing his boss, is rescued by an intense, shamanistic homeless woman played by Salma

Anyone who thought that a virtual Sundance Film Festival couldn’t recapture the same enthusiasm as a premiere in Park City’s Eccles Theatre would be sorely mistaken. After filmmakers, critics and journalists remotely screened “CODA,” a heartwarming family drama written and directed by Sian Heder, there was an immediate outpouring of love on social media that

Talent manager Nikola Barisic is parting ways with Untitled Entertainment to form a new venture. Barisic’s Bond Artist Management will be based in New York, covering creative and talent management. “The partners at Untitled Entertainment wish Barisic much success and look forward to collaborating and supporting him with his new endeavor,” Untitled leadership said in

Shochiku, a major Japanese film producer and distributor, has announced its remake of “Cube,” a 1997 fantasy-thriller by Vincenzo Natali about six people who find themselves trapped in a maze-like cube and have to figure a way out, while evading fatal traps. A Canadian production that premiered at Toronto, the original film became a cult

Clifton Collins Jr. doesn’t believe in half measures. For “Jockey,” an intimate drama about an aging rider, the actor shut himself off from friends and family to get in the mindset of his loner character. He needed to access the pain and emotional baggage of a man who is grappling with failing health, as well

The stock market drama surrounding GameStop is getting the Hollywood treatment. A film version of the still-unfolding social-media driven financial scenario is in the works, with a script by Oscar-winner Mark Boal (“The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty”). Noah Centineo is attached to appear in a major role in the untitled film. Known for his

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, the production company involved with films including “Joker” and Sandra Bullock’s “Ocean’s 8,” has promoted its longtime general counsel Kevin Berg. Berg’s expanded title will now include director, creative diversity and inclusion — with an eye toward content that appeals to LGBTQ+ individuals and other underrepresented groups worldwide. He will continue

“Soul” is in, but “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is out: That’s the message the Academy’s music branch is sending to members who began voting today for the shortlists for both song and score. Disney-Pixar’s “Soul” has been declared eligible for the original-score Oscar, but the song from Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was missing from

MONDAY, FEB. 1 Palm Springs International Film to Honor Leslie Odom, Jr. Leslie Odom, Jr. will receive the Palm Springs International Film’s spotlight award, actor for his performance in “One Night in Miami.” “Leslie Odom, Jr. is a truly talented performer. In his latest project, ‘One Night in Miami,’ Odom, Jr. brilliantly portrays singer Sam

Carey Mulligan’s performance in Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” has been beloved by critics and audiences alike since it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. She has been considered one of the top contenders in the best actress race, which is among the most competitive of all-time, with no shortage of talent

Naomi Watts is set to headline “Infinite Storm,” the highly anticipated film from Polish helmer Malgorzata Szumowska (“Never Gonna Snow Again”), with Bleecker Street and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions on board. Bleecker Street will take U.S. rights while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions is handling international rights on the film. Production will begin later this month.

Jennifer Lopez is set to star in the upcoming Netflix film “The Mother.” Niki Caro, who recently helmed Disney’s “Mulan” remake, is in talks to direct. “The Mother,” which Lopez will also produce, centers on a deadly assassin who comes out of hiding to protect the daughter she gave up years before. “Lovecraft Country” showrunner

Director Ronny Trocker, whose second feature “Human Factors” world-premiered at Sundance on Jan. 29 in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, was born in Bolzano, Italy, capital city of the autonomous province of South Tyrol where German is the first language of most of the population. Early in his career, Trocker moved to Berlin where he worked as

Evan Rachel Wood — the actor, singer and activist — has alleged that Marilyn Manson is the person to whom she has referred over the years when she has talked about being a survivor of domestic violence. Wood and Manson’s relationship became public in 2007 when she was 19 and he was 38. They became

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the International Jury for its 71st edition. All the jury members are winners of Berlin’s Golden Bear for best film. The jury will comprise Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, Israeli director Nadav Lapid, Romania director Adina Pintilie, Hungary director Ildikó Enyedi, Italian director Gianfranco Rosi and Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić.

The most fascinating element of Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s strong feature debut “Gritt” is the way the director presents a problematic character who polarizes viewers. For some, Gritt (Birgitte Larsen) will be seen as a passionately creative woman whose inability to break into the alternative performance community leads her to make some very bad choices —

“Sorya,” “Starseed,” and “Caramel’s Words” are among 55 projects from 16 countries set to be pitched at this year’s Cartoon Movie, Europe’s leading animated feature co-production event. The 23rd edition will move totally online, running March 9-11. Part of an In Development showcase, “Sorya” is directed by Denis Do, an Annecy Fest best feature film