Grammy-nominated singer Andra Day had never starred in a movie before she channeled Billie Holiday in a new biopic directed by Lee Daniels. In “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday,” which will be released by Hulu on Feb. 26, Day plays the iconic jazz singer as she’s being targeted by a government investigation in the
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Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”) and Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here. The pop and soul singer Andra Day transformed her body and her sound to take on the role of a
The pop and soul singer Andra Day transformed her body and her sound to take on the role of a latecareer icon in Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holliday.” The historical drama, to be released on Hulu, depicts the “Strange Fruit” singer in all her glorious ravages,with a painfully ruined voice and as
When brothers Jake and Conor Allyn were growing up, they had something of an unusual family tradition. Whenever they would go to the movies, their dad, Rob, had a tendency to choose something that wasn’t exactly age-appropriate for his young kids. That’s how Jake came to perform a monologue from “Braveheart” in his elementary school
Before penning the script for “Supernova,” writer-director Harry Macqueen volunteered at many charities over the course of two years and spent a lot of time with people with dementia. He said the story behind his film is inspired by his time working with people going through this journey. In the Variety Streaming Room hosted by
Add “A Quiet Place Part II” to the growing list of 2021 films that have already been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Paramount’s post-apocalyptic thriller — directed by John Krasinski and starring Emily Blunt — has been postponed for a third time. It will now open in theaters on Sept. 17. “A Quiet Place
Anthony Pellicano, the former private eye who spent 16 years in federal prison, is back in business as a Hollywood fixer. Pellicano confirmed to Variety that he is working for Joel Silver, the “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon” producer who exited his company in 2019. Silver has since been engaged in an arbitration case with
In “One Night in Miami,” stars Kinglsey Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom, Jr. had some big shoes to fill. “Whoever was going to be the first or one of the first people to take on that mantle, to take on that legend, it was a large responsibility,” Odom said of playing legendary
Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou marks his directorial debut with “Apples,” an accidentally timely pandemic movie that captured imaginations at the Venice Film Festival, where it opened the respected Orrizonti section, and has since gone on to represent Greece in the international feature film Oscar race. The film wasn’t actually shot during the COVID-19 crisis, but
The Sundance Film Festival announced 22 jurors that will bestow this year’s awards at the digital ceremony taking place Feb. 2. The judges include actor Cynthia Erivo, Chilean actor Daniela Vega and sibling designer-filmmakers Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The awards, which recognize standout artistic and cinematic prowess, are decided on by six section juries. As
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact Hollywood, Disney has delayed another round of movies. On Friday, numerous titles, all from the company’s 20th Century Studios and Searchlight banner, were shifted out of the first half of the year. Among those films are “The King’s Man,” which moved from March 12 to Aug. 20, while animated
When an individual is cast against type, the results are always interesting. Armando Iannucci has made a reputation as a writer and director of cutting-edge contemporary comedies, from BBC’s “I’m Alan Partridge” to HBO’s “Veep,” and including his Oscar-nominated work as a writer of 2010’s “In the Loop.” So he may seem an unlikely match
Frank Abney says the idea for his animated short feature and Oscar hopeful “Canvas” was born out of a need to make a film that was personal. Six years ago, the animator, whose credits include Pixar titles “Soul,” “Coco,” “Toy Story 4” and “Incredibles 2,” felt he was nevertheless experiencing a rough patch creatively. “I
A sport as quickfire as indoor volleyball deserves a nimbler workout than it gets in “Leap,” Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s lavish but curiously low-boil based-in-truth sports movie. Telling the decades-spanning tale of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball team and its star-player-turned-head-coach, Lang Ping, it’s essentially a rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story. But in presenting a sanitized vision of Chinese patriotism
When composer Emile Mosseri and director Lee Isaac Chung began talking about the music for “Minari,” Chung’s reminiscence about his Korean family’s struggle to succeed at farming in Arkansas, they decided what the score shouldn’t be: overtly Korean or American in style. “No twangy guitars or harmonicas,” says Mosseri of the A24 film, which had
With the Sundance Film Festival less than a week away (and available to anyone in the U.S. willing to buy tickets to a COVID-safe 2021 virtual edition), late January sees more streaming options than virtually any week since the pandemic began. That doesn’t necessarily mean big movies for home viewers, but at least it offers
In “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Sacha Baron Cohen set aside his bag of improv tricks to portray “Flower Power” activist Abbie Hoffman. The drama, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, unravels almost like a play, following the real-life story of the seven defendants charged with federal offenses for supposedly inciting protests at the
A nice-enough young man kills a nice boy. One is Mexican, the other white. One will be buried. The other will learn an edifying lesson about bias. Can you guess which is which? The Tex-Mex border drama “No Man’s Land” — in select theaters, on digital platforms and VOD — arrives at a time when
A new documentary about “Frankenstein” actor Boris Karloff is in the works. Voltage Films is currently in production on the feature documentary “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster.” Co-produced and co-written by Ron MacCloskey and Thomas Hamilton with Hamilton directing and Tracy Jenkins producing, the film offers a fascinating portrait of Karloff, examining his
Magic never works the same way in movies that it does in person, which is not to say that it doesn’t work in movies. It just takes a different kind of finesse, typically relying on editing and effects rather than the time-honored principles of misdirection and distraction. For those who weren’t fortunate enough to catch
Nordisk Film has signed a development and distribution deal with MRP Matila Röhr Productions, a leading Finnish production company launched 30 years ago by Marko Röhr and Ilkka Matila, two veteran industry players in Finland. Under the deal, Nordisk Film will have exclusive distribution rights for the Nordic territories to MRP’s upcoming features, kicking off
Sony has shifted release dates for numerous titles, including “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Camila Cabello’s “Cinderella” and “Uncharted” with Tom Holland. “Cinderella” will release in theaters on July 16 instead of Feb. 5. That delay bumps the video game adaptation “Uncharted,” which was originally set for mid-July, to Feb. 11, 2022. Meanwhile, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”
Universal Pictures and Focus Features have juggled a couple key releases on their 2021-2022 schedule. Just a month ahead of its planned Feb. 26 wide release date, Universal has announced that “Nobody,” starring Emmy-winner Bob Odenkirk, will move back two months to April 2. Directed by “Hardcore Henry” filmmaker Ilya Naishuller and “John Wick” franchise
One of the trends of our time is the way that extreme culture can wind up turning into kiddie culture. Head-banging metal that was once the down-and-dirty province of those in their teens and twenties had evolved, by the time of “School of Rock,” into a grade-school activity as wholesome as choir practice. “Psycho Goreman,”
In the making of the documentary “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” the filmmakers unraveled the complicated nature of death to find joy. “Let us try to allow things to be exposed without shame, but in their deep pain and complexity, and have a sense of humor about it,” Kirsten Johnson said of her priorities as a
Sony has shifted release dates for numerous titles, including “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Camila Cabello’s “Cinderella,” “Uncharted” with Tom Holland and Sony/Marvel’s “Morbius” starring Jared Leto. “Cinderella” will release in theaters on July 16 instead of Feb. 5. That delay bumps the video game adaptation “Uncharted,” which was originally set for mid-July, to Feb. 11, 2022. Meanwhile,
As it further embeds in the U.K. ecosystem, Netflix is investing in a group of grassroots organizations to create more opportunities in the film and TV industries for youth from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds. The streaming giant is investing £350,000 across three organizations: the Identity School of Acting, where “Small Axe” actor John
Small-time Irish crooks Peter and Michael Brooks (played by Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman, respectively) are not siblings but cousins, although there’s no shame in feeling confused amid the somewhat convoluted Philadelphia-set crime drama “Brothers by Blood.” Other characters make the mistake all the time, pulling Peter aside and implying that the brewing trouble between
Aaron Ryder, the Oscar-nominated producer of “Arrival,” is launching a new production company, Ryder Picture Company. In addition, the Ryder Picture Company has entered into a first-look feature film deal with MGM. In an interview with Variety, Ryder said the deal with MGM came about because of his friendship with the film group’s chairman, Michael
Following Cannes, the AFM, Toronto, Rome and the Hong Kong’s Filmart, UniFrance’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema was for many film players at least the sixth virtual market since the start of the pandemic, but it was still a much-needed kick-off for French sales agents who launched a flurry of projects and market premieres during the