Movies

Certain films aren’t made for elevator pitches. “Arthouse ‘Gilmore Girls’ meets ‘The Fault in Our Stars’” would be one way to describe the array of familiar elements in “Asia,” while erasing any hint of the rare delicacy and emotional acuity with which Israeli writer-director Ruthy Pribar assembles them. In her unassumingly lovely debut feature, Pribar

Cameras are set to roll in February on the long delayed Arabic adaptation of hit Italian concept movie “Perfect Strangers” with a high-caliber ensemble cast now in place comprising star Lebanese director/actor Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”). After being postponed due to both COVID-19 and political turmoil in Lebanon, the latest in a slew of remakes of

Pierre Cardin, the French designer and branding pioneer whose career spanned more than 60 years, has died. He was 98. Cardin died at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-seine, near Paris. His family announced his death on Tuesday. The son of Italian immigrants, Cardin saw his career take off in the late 1950s. He became widely

Box office in Spain crashed 72% in 2020 to a total €169.7 million ($207 million), with COVID-19 wiping over half a billion dollars from box office sales this year, Comscore announced Tuesday. By way of comparison, 2019 total box office in Spain stood at €605 million ($738 million). Spanish cinema admissions similarly plunged from 105

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is urging film productions in the area to “strongly consider” pausing their operations for a few weeks amid a continued surge in COVID-19 cases. Per FilmLA, in an email sent to the county’s film industry contacts on Dec. 24, the LADPH wrote: “Although music, TV and film

Fans of the Alec Baldwin-voiced “Boss Baby” are going to have to wait a little longer to get their fix, as the animated comedy has been moved from its planned March 26 release date to Sept. 17, 2021. Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced today that the animated sequel, “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” would

Channing Tatum is in final negotiations to star opposite Sandra Bullock in the Paramount Pictures film “The Lost City of D,” multiple sources tell Variety. Bullock is producing the project through her company Fortis Films, along with Liza Chasin and her 3dot Productions. To be directed by Adam and Aaron Nee, the pic stars Bullock

Tom Cruise is set to resume shooting “Mission: Impossible 7” in the U.K., this time at Longcross Film Studios. Longcross used to be a U.K. Ministry of Defence site used to test army tanks, but has since been redeveloped as studios, housing blockbuster productions including “Skyfall,” “Thor: The Dark World” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

George Lopez has joined the cast of Dito Montiel’s “Afterward.” It’s unclear what role Lopez will play in the dramatic thriller, but he joins an ensemble that includes Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard. Lionsgate Grindhouse is distributing the film in North America. “Afterward” will shoot this winter in California. Angel Oak Films is backing the

Principal photography began on Monday in Glasgow, Scotland, on “Blind,” a Bollywood remake of the eponymous 2011 Korean action thriller. Sonam Kapoor (“Veere Di Wedding”) headlines the cast, which also includes Purab Kohli (“Sense8”) and Vinay Pathak (“A Suitable Boy”). “Blind” follows a woman who loses her sight after a car accident, only to find

“I have already lived my death — all that’s left is to make the movie.” So says celebrated Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco in a documentary that, sure enough, attempts to bring closure to a life already concluded. After three decades of living with cancer and related complications, Babenco passed away in 2016 aged 70; directed

Robert Rodriguez famously made his first feature, “El Mariachi” (1993), for $7,000, and in the years since he’s made a point, rather charmingly, of staying in touch with that DIY side of himself. This first became apparent in the early 2000s, when he churned out three “Spy Kids” films in a row, working out of

In a guest column for Variety, on the eve of the 125th anniversary of the first commercial movie screening, Thierry Fremaux, director of the Lumiere Institute and the Cannes Film Festival, celebrates the legacy and resilience of cinema through history. The film was made by Louis and Auguste Lumiere, the iconic French brothers who developed

Diana Prince is officially heading back to the big screen for a third “Wonder Woman” movie. Warner Bros. has fast-tracked development on another installment in the DC Comics franchise, with Gal Gadot returning to star as the title heroine and Patty Jenkins back to write and direct the concluding entry in the superhero trilogy. The

Tom Hanks has no doubt that movie theaters will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview with Collider for his new film, “News of the World,” Hanks addressed the impact this year has had on the movie theater business and the subsequent shift of many films to release on streaming services. “A sea change was

Dave McNary, a veteran reporter who tirelessly covered the film and labor beats at Variety for more than 20 years, died Saturday in Pasadena, Calif. He was 69. McNary suffered a stroke and had been hospitalized since Dec. 19, according to his wife, Sharon McNary, veteran journalist and KPCC-FM infrastructure correspondent. McNary had a more

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” about protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and  the ensuing trial, features great work by writer-director Aaron Sorkin, who is quick to salute his below-the-line colleagues: “They’re not there to take my instructions; they’re there to top my instructions. I consider these people to be co-authors of the

Emma Thompson was characteristically frank about Hollywood’s double standard during a recent interview with the CultureBlast podcast. The “Nanny McPhee” star, who is also a prolific screenwriter, was talking about her upcoming film “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” which she said is a refreshing change of pace from the the typical Hollywood film about

Costume designer Michael Wilkinson is the mastermind behind the looks in “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” a period musical that’s now streaming on Netflix. The idea, Wilkinson says of the holiday movie, was to design something viewers hadn’t seen before while paying homage to beloved titles such as “Mary Poppins.” Directed by David Talbert, the

Is journalism the best training ground for screenwriting? Two-thirds of the writers of Pixar’s “Soul” have backgrounds as reporters: Mike Jones (whose resume includes expert work at Variety, 2007-2009) and Kemp Powers (17 years on the beat, including stints at Forbes, Reuters and Newsweek). They wrote “Soul” with director Pete Docter; Powers is also co-director

There are few entertainers like Jamie Foxx; he’s a multihyphenate superstar with the trophy case to back it up. Though Foxx has the range and a backlog of dramatic, comedic and generally off-the wall characters to pull from, when it came to voicing Joe Gardner in Disney-Pixar’s “Soul,” the film’s creative team just wanted the

When Charlie Chaplin passed away on Christmas Day in 1977, aged 88, he left the screenplay for a last unfinished film titled “The Freak,” a passion project about a young woman with wings named Serapha who is exploited in all kinds of ways. Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna archives, which have long been in charge of

Hulu is wrapping up a deal for domestic distribution rights to “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” a move that will likely allow the drama to premiere in time for Oscars consideration. The film, which is directed by Lee Daniels and stars Andra Day as the legendary jazz and blues singer, was being shopped to

Variety asked some of the behind-the-scenes artists about their challenges and joys working on the year’s most prominent films. Nicholas BeckerSound Design, “Sound of Metal”“The most powerful scene in terms of sound is the last one, which ironically has none at all. Usually when there’s silence in film, the convention is to put a little

Jamie Foxx believes he and his character Joe Gardner, a passionate jazz pianist and music teacher, in Pixar’s animated dramedy “Soul” are a lot alike — they both like jazz, teaching children and chasing dreams. “Like when Ed Sheeran slept on my couch for six weeks, Nick Cannon and all those other people that have

The New York Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. handed out their awards this past week. The two orgs traditionally provide a starting place for AMPAS members viewing movies over the holiday break, pointing them to under-the-radar films and performances. Here are the movies that received the biggest boosts: BIGGEST WINNERS Chloé

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski would love it if people could see his latest film, the Tom Hanks Western “News of the World,” on the big screen as it was intended. But although Universal will carry out a limited theatrical release starting on Christmas Day, he realizes Academy voters and critics group members will probably consume the

When Pedro Pascal was offered the role of Max Lord in “Wonder Woman 1984,” he’d been working almost non-stop since his breakout performance as Oberyn Martell on “Game of Thrones.” In just a few short years, the Chilean-born actor had bounced from shooting the Netflix series “Narcos” to action franchises “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and

While the North American box office pulls in less than $5 million per weekend due to COVID-19, the China and Japan markets are not only open, but also capable of breaking theatrical records. It may feel logical to hurry more U.S. movies into Asian release, but when the real winners across the continent in 2020

Just a year ago, Shia LaBeouf was having a career resurgence. After being widely praised for his autobiographical film, “Honey Boy,” which he wrote and starred in, and the indie drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” LaBeouf landed a coveted role in the upcoming thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling,” the highly anticipated follow-up to Olivia Wilde’s directorial