Movies

The 2003 war drama “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” became a trending topic on Sunday after its star, Russell Crowe, responded to a tweet suggesting that the film is sleep-inducing. “Lots of folk complaining about lack of sleep during the Pandemic. May I recommend Master And Commander starring the usually captivating,

If time is a flat circle, then it’s only fitting that a second Liam Neeson movie is ruling over the U.S. box office during the pandemic. Months after his action thriller “Honest Thief” led domestic charts, another Neeson (you guessed it!) action thriller “The Marksman” has debut at No. 1 with $3.2 million in ticket

James Earl Jones, who turns 90 on Jan. 17, has one of the most famous voices of all time — not just as Darth Vader and Mufasa, but as the voice of CNN and hundreds of other programs. But the distinguished actor and narrator almost didn’t find his voice at all. Born in Mississippi, Jones

The International Documentary Association has announced the winners of the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards, with “Crip Camp” taking home the top prize. The ceremony was hosted by actor Willie Garson, with musical entertainment from Ruby Ibarra, who performed the theme from “A Thousand Cuts.” Directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht, “Crip Camp” received

First of all, for the love of God, do not read this story or watch the video unless you’ve seen Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman.” Just stop now — unless, of course, you love spoilers, in which case… go forth. In “Promising Young Woman,” Carey Mulligan plays Cassie, whose childhood best friend, Nina, was raped

Tom MacDougall has been promoted to president of Walt Disney Music. The longtime studio vet will report to Disney Studios Content Chairman Alan Bergman. Following Disney’s acquisition of Fox and the studio’s recent content and distribution reorganization, Disney Studios Content is consolidating music production for live-action and animated films across Disney, Disney Animation, Pixar, Blue

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (L.A.S.D.) is being petitioned to open an inquiry into the 1981 drowning case of Natalie Wood, as an upcoming book claims that there was a cover-up of the circumstances related to her death. The author of the book has taken legal action to obtain confidential sheriff records, which he

The cast and director of “The Mauritanian,” based on a true story of the torture and trial of a suspected 9/11 terrorist, want audiences to take away lessons of empathy, love and justice from the film. Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald, along with stars Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shailene Woodley and Tahar Rahim joined Variety

While nearly every movie has been delayed in wake of the pandemic, Warner Bros. has taken the unusual step of releasing “Godzilla vs. Kong” two months earlier than expected. The legendary monsters will face off on March 26, instead of May 21, in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max. Legendary Entertainment, the production

While moviegoers cope with being shut indoors, HBO Max has a film that could have you feeling even more stir-crazy. “Locked Down” sequesters audiences for nearly two hours with an unhappy couple (played by Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor), who vent for a time, before hatching a plan to steal a huge diamond from Harrods.

Bryan Fogel’s “The Dissident” was too hot to handle. The documentary about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist and political activist who was allegedly killed in 2018 on the orders of the Saudi Royal Family, was one of the hottest films at last year’s Sundance. It had glowing reviews, a ripped from the headlines

Nominees for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards are being unveiled Friday, with a packed slate of songs and scores in film, TV and videogame categories. Names in contention range from Alexandre Desplat, James Newton Howard and Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross as returning veterans in the score divisions to stars like Taylor Swift, H.E.R., Brandi Carlile,

For Anthony and Joe Russo, choosing their next project after making the all-time highest-grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” was not easy. But after reading the novel “Cherry” by Nico Walker, the filmmaking duo saw a personal connection to the opioid epidemic that they witnessed first-hand within their community and their own family. From a script by

“Tyger Tyger,” a thriller starring Dylan Sprouse that’s set during a deadly pandemic, has secured a distributor. Gravitas Ventures nabbed worldwide rights to the film and plans to release it in select theaters and drive-ins, as well as on digital platforms, on Feb. 26. Kerry Mondragon wrote and directed the movie, which was presciently filmed

There are a lot of reasons to like “Mank.” 1. It’s great filmmaking. 2. It has an irresistible backstory: David Fincher wanted to pay tribute to his late father, Jack, by directing his screenplay; 3. It tackles a well-known topic (Hollywood in the 1930s-‘40s) from an unusual angle. 4. It’s not what people expected, always

Rikke Ennis’ REinvent has sold “Outlier,” a female-led crime thriller, to major TV services, including HBO Nordic. Produced by Shuuto Arctic, the series follows Maja Angell, an acclaimed young academic in London who specializes in profiling serial killers and aims to develop analytical tools to predict serious crimes. One day, she learns of a young

After directing multiple TV episodes, Regina King makes her big-screen directing debut with Amazon’s “One Night in Miami.” Kemp Powers adapted his play about a 1963 meeting of Jim Brown, Cassius Clay (before he became Muhammad Ali), Sam Cooke and Malcolm X. King paid tribute to her colleagues behind the camera, saying, “They were my

Netflix has nabbed worldwide rights to “Heart of Stone,” a Gal Gadot-led espionage thriller that was developed by Skydance Media. “Heart of Stone” marks the second major movie that Skydance has siphoned off this week. On Tuesday, Amazon Studios emerged as the frontrunner for “The Tomorrow War,” a science-fiction spectacle starring Chris Pratt. Amazon is

Iconic basketball-themed game “NBA Jam” will be the focus of a new documentary. Initially released more than 25 years ago as an arcade game, it shattered records by earning more than $1 billion in quarters, becoming a memorable piece of pop culture. BestCrosses Studios, the production arm of the basketball-themed social media platform BestCrosses created

The Palm Springs International Film Awards will honor Carey Mulligan with the International Star Award for her performance in “Promising Young Woman.” The festival and film awards gala will not be held as in-person events this year, but honoree selections will recognize the year’s great performances, the Palm Springs Film Festival announced. Mulligan stars in

“Music,” the feature film directorial debut from Sia, is finally hitting the big and small screen. The musical drama — starring Kate Hudson, Maddie Ziegler and Leslie Odom, Jr. — will play in select Imax theaters for one-night only on Feb. 10. It will then be released on premium video-on-demand platforms on Feb. 12. Co-written

A short competition player at this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival, “Blue Fear” is the colorfully animated brainchild of filmmakers Marie Jacotey and Lola Halifa-Legrand, neither of which had any experience in the artform before working on the short together. “Blue Fear” uses traditional 2D animation to tell the story of a couple on the roads of Provence,

Maxime Roy, an accomplished actor and filmmaker involved in five productions over the past two years, whose short “Beautiful Loser” was nominated for a César, is participating in this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival with his latest short “Sole Mio,” finishing its worldwide festival lifecycle having previously played at Palm Springs in the U.S., Huesca in Spain and

Though the U.S. specialty theatrical market remains stagnant for the foreseeable future, two of the leading buyers of international art-house fare want to send a message to their French partners: We’re still here, and we’re looking to pick up. “As a very bullish, supportive and embracing distributor we’ll continue to acquire films,” says Charles S.

The Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market (EFM) is gearing up for its upcoming online edition, for which it has announced 35 promising feature film projects from 25 countries selected for its co-production market. The EFM on Friday also unveiled details of the digital platform on which business will be done. The Berlinale Co-Production Market

“Les Parfums,” a romantic comedy-drama starring Emmanuelle Devos (“Read My Lips”) and Grégory Montel (“Call My Agent!”), has been acquired by Distrib Films for U.S. distribution. Global rights for the film are handled by Pyramide Films International. The film, directed by Gregory Magne, tells the story of Anne Walberg, a celebrity in the world of

Changes in local financing coupled with new opportunities in global distribution have pushed the French industry towards a more international outlook, argued panelists at a Tuesday round table presented as part of UniFrance’s Rendez-vous With French Cinema. “[For certain French producers] ‘international’ used to mean who would take care of their talent when they travelled,”

South Korean distributor Pancinema has set a March release for “Minari,” the acclaimed Korean-language film by Lee Isaac Chung. The film follows a Korean family in the 1980s as they move to a farm in rural Alabama. Controversially, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association put the American-made picture in the foreign film category for the Golden

Speaking at a panel organized as part of UniFrance’s Rendezvous With French Cinema market on Tuesday, festival directors Vanja Kaludjercic of Rotterdam, Carlo Chatrian of Berlin, and Mickaël Marin of Annecy made clear that in order to survive this challenging moment their events needed to adapt. For one thing, they needed to separate their identities

“Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho will preside over the main jury of the 78th Venice Film Festival in September, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked as the Lido’s top juror. Bong, who does not have a previous rapport with Venice, made history in 2020 when “Parasite” became the first foreign-language