Movies

Two powerful figures in the Arab world, Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy and Tunisian-born actor and model Hend Sabri, have been named Officers of the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s highest honors. The ceremony took place in Cairo on Wednesday, and the honor was given by Stéphane Romatet, the ambassador of France in

Ava DuVernay is reuniting with “When They See Us” composer Kris Bowers for the documentary short “A Concerto Is a Conversation.” DuVernay will executive produce the film, which was co-directed and produced by Bowers and Ben Proudfoot. “A Concerto Is a Conversation” was selected to premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which has shifted

Adam Bucci is a Los Angeles-based actor and visual artist making a name for himself with his painted denim jackets. Matt Bomer recently Instagrammed the jacket Bucci made for him featuring a portrait of Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in the “Alien” franchise. “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Karen Gillan also showed off a Bucci design

In Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang’s appreciative and insightful review of Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” Chang notes “ ‘Another Round,’ while very much about addiction, isn’t really an addiction drama. It’s a male midlife-crisis comedy in which drinking to excess is less a cause than a symptom of Martin’s funk — and sometimes,

Kazakhs this year are very passionate about a film, and it does not feature Borat. “The Crying Steppe,” Kazakhstan’s entry for the international film Oscar and Golden Globes is supported by crowdfunding from the people. “It’s an important story,” says creative producer Eleanora Granata. Unfortunately, it’s also a story she fears many will not hear.

The Cannes Film Festival has confirmed a new set of dates for this year’s event, which has again been postponed due to the pandemic. The decision was taken following a board meeting with Cannes festival’s administration board on Tuesday. The initial dates, which were May 11-22 didn’t seem feasible as France is on the verge

Shares of beleaguered movie theater chain AMC Entertainment soared on Wednesday, driven by a frenzied rescue effort by users on Reddit, TikTok and other social media platforms to buy the stock. AMC shares were up nearly 300% as the market opened Wednesday, with shares trading at $20.31 per share. That’s the highest the stock has

“Morbius,” a Marvel movie starring Jared Leto as a biochemist who becomes a vampire, has seen its release date pushed back two times due to the coronavirus. As Sony Pictures is waiting for movie theaters to open again, the comic book film now has a release date set for January 2022. In an interview for

Welcome to “Just for Variety“… Nicole Kidman is in Australia spending time with her family, including husband Keith Urban, their two daughters and the Oscar winner’s 80-year-old mom, Janelle. The night before we talked, Kidman and the kids headed to Grandma’s to watch “Call of the Wild.” “She’s a good mama, and she makes me

Florida Georgia Line member Brian Kelley’s plan to bring a country-music musical to life as a legit stage production is now extending to a movie version that is being developed simultaneously. Kelley and his partners  announced not just a film iteration of “May We All” — whose planned staging has been put off due to

Argentine multi-hyphenate Ana Katz, who’s worked in both theater and film, premieres her sixth feature, “The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet,” at Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition section. She’s no stranger to the Park City-based fest, having previously won its 2015 World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize in Screenwriting for her drama “My Friend From

“Minyan,” an acclaimed tale of sexual and spiritual identity directed by Eric Steel, has sold to Strand Releasing in North America. The film, starring stage breakout Samuel H. Levine of Broadway and the West End’s “The Inheritance,” played in the official selection at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to win Outfest’s

The USC Libraries has announced this year’s finalists for the 33rd annual USC Libraries Scripter Award, which recognizes the most accomplished film and episodic series adaptations. The 2021 Scripter selection committee chose the finalists from a wide selection of 87 films and 65 episodic series adaptations. The finalist writers for film adaptation are: Mike Makowsky for

“Martha: A Picture Story,” a feature documentary about trailblazing graffiti and street photographer Martha Cooper, has been acquired for North American distribution by Utopia. Cooper was an American photojournalist and the first female staff photographer at the New York Post in the 1970s. She is best known for capturing New York City graffiti in the

Variety returns to the Sundance Film Festival with a virtual interview studio in partnership with AT&T TV. Videos from the studio will appear on Variety’s and AT&T TV’s social media platforms as well as on Variety.com, beginning on Jan. 28 and continuing throughout the festival.   Variety and AT&T have returned to the Sundance Film Festival as an official media sponsor and leadership

John Magaro doesn’t have a lot to say in Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow.” He stars as Otis “Cookie” Figowitz, the cook to a group of fur catchers in 1820s Oregon, who is befriended by King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) on the run for killing a Russian man. His performance, which earned the 37-year-old actor

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is on the move — again. Shortly after Warner Bros. bumped up the film’s release date two months earlier than expected, from May 21 to March 26, the studio has postponed its domestic premiere by another week. Now, “Godzilla vs. Kong” will debut on March 31 simultaneously in movie theaters and on

Skydance Media has optioned the rights to “Spy Kids” and plans to reimagine the franchise about a family of super-secret agents. Robert Rodriguez, who created the original series, has returned for the upcoming reboot, which he will write and direct. Spyglass Media, which owns the “Spy Kids” franchise, is also on board. Skydance will serve

Movies and art are still the pillars for our survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. As one awards season is currently underway, we look ahead to films that shifted from their original dates, features coming soon to theaters and streaming, and films that don’t have a date but have compelling directors attached. Variety assembled a robust list

The Writers Guild of America and William Morris Endeavor have agreed to postpone a federal trial until February 2022, as the two sides continue to work toward a settlement. Attorneys for both sides filed a request on Tuesday in federal court to push back the trial, which is currently set for Aug. 24. WME said

Creative Artists Agency executive Rachel Rusch has been elevated to co-head of motion picture talent. In her new role, she will lead the department alongside agency veteran Franklin Latt. All the while, Rusch will continue to lead CAA’s comedy department, a position she’s held since 2019. “Rachel is an extraordinary advocate for artists, a proven

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced grants for seven films through its Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, totalling $115,000. Seven documentary projects will receive grants of up to $20,000 each through the fund, which received more than 180 applications in 2020. Created in 2011 with support from The New York Community Trust, the initiative honors

It was lucky for the filmmakers behind the self-financed “Malcolm & Marie” that they didn’t have a studio behind them, said Zendaya, the movie’s star and producer, because it took them two days of shooting to figure out what they were doing. After they had shot — and thrown out — “two days of unusable

In a profile in the New York Times in December, Carey Mulligan was asked about the initial reactions to her movie “Promising Young Woman” during its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January of last year. After Mulligan “winced” at the question, she answered. “I read the Variety review, because I’m a weak person,’”

Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) and Zendaya (“Malcolm & Marie”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.  In “Promising Young Woman,” Carey Mulligan’s Cassie has been knocked off track by the rape of her best friend, Nina. In the aftermath, Cassie has devoted

In “Promising Young Woman,” Carey Mulligan’s Cassie has been knocked off track by the rape of her best friend, Nina. In the aftermath, Cassie has devoted herself to a life of revenge — but it’s getting her nowhere. Mulligan and Emerald Fennell, the writer-director of “Promising Young Woman,” clearly formed a close bond, which she

Big name Hollywood executives and talent including Sam Raimi, Gianni Nunnari, Patrick Wachsberger and Paula Wagner have joined the “Stars Collective” diversity program launched by Chinese film financier Starlight Media. They will serve as advisors and mentors to emerging and under-represented filmmakers. Other mentors include: Donna Gigliotti (“Hidden Figures,” “Silver Linings Playbook”), who recently produced

GLAAD is teaming up with Outfest to host the first virtual Queer House during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Celebrating LGBTQ films and filmmakers at the festival, Queer House will offer panels, discussions and performances. “GLAAD is thrilled to lock arms with our friends at Outfest for this year’s virtual Sundance Film Festival, building upon

“All In: The Fight for Democracy” filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, wanted their documentary to paint a holistic picture of voter suppression in the United States through the lens of Stacey Abrams’ 2018 bid for Georgia governor. Garbus and Cortés discussed the impact of the film on the future of voting rights and democracy,

Luc Besson, the French filmmaker behind “Lucy” and “Valerian,” who is accused of rape by Dutch-Belgian actor Sand Van Roy, was made an assisted witness by a French judge on Monday. The judge assigned the new status following a private, five-hour hearing with Besson as part of an ongoing judicial review into the French filmmaker