Movies

“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than

The Vue and Odeon cinema chains are gradually reopening their doors in England and Ireland. Select Odeon venues will begin reopening from Dec. 4. “We’ll be reopening some of our cinemas on December 4th, in line with government guidelines. For up-to-date information, please select your local cinema and check showtimes,” the Odeon group said in

An icon of Latin American genre movie production, Crudo Films, the Buenos Aires-based production house headed by Jimena Monteoliva and Florencia Franco, will diverge from the fantastic with the upcoming production “La Virgen Cabeza,” a big screen adaptation of the hit debut novel from local author Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. Director of Fantaspoa and Morbido competition

Italian sales company Intramovies has scored some fresh sales on Israeli writer-director Ruthy Pribar’s mother-daughter drama “Asia,” winner of the Nora Ephron award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and Israel’s candidate for the International Oscar. The pic starring Shira Haas, who previously gained notice in Netflix mini-series “Unorthodox,” has been sold to Italy (Lucky

Spain’s Oscar entry, “The Endless Trench,” a multi-award-winning feature from the Basque trio of Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, has also become a flagship production for the Andalusian film sector. The film was set and shot in Andalusia, with Andalusian actors and co-produced by Seville-based La Claqueta. Released last year in Spain

Bananeira Filmes’ Vania Catani, a producer on Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama” and Lisandro Alonso’s “Eureka,” is set to produce Anne Guimaraes’ “Super Powers,” as Catani primes films from leading lights in Brazil’s youngest generation of emerging female filmmakers. Two titles from such directors – Flavia Neves, with Primer Corte’s “Fogaréu” and Monica Demes with “Requiem for

Having premiered in San Sebastian’s Culinary Zinema and passed through Canada’s Devour Film Festival, Festimania Films’ latest documentary -after Pedro Peiras’ ‘LA QueenCiañera’ – introduces the viewer to Catalan cuisine through an almost baroque structure that pivots around its two main characters, Raül Balam and his mother, Carmen Ruscalleda, the latter being one of the

“Wonder Woman 1984” will play in cinemas in the U.K. for just one month from Dec. 16 before potentially getting a premium video-on-demand (PVOD) release on Sky, Variety can reveal. It’s understood that the deal between Warner Bros. and Comcast-backed pay-TV operator Sky isn’t yet complete and exact terms are still being hammered out, but

Director Frant Gwo has announced that the sequel to his sci-fi hit “The Wandering Earth,” China’s third highest grossing film of all time, will release over the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday, consistently the country’s biggest movie-going week of each year. “The Wandering Earth” became a surprise hit after its 2019 Lunar New Year debut,

Propped shakily over the lapping waters of Lake Maracaibo in the Caribbean-facing northeast corner of Venezuela, the tiny settlement of Congo Mirador is as tranquil as it is far-flung, but only the most obtuse of passing backpackers would describe it as idyllic. Impoverished and increasingly depopulated as it bears the economic brunt of the country’s

Legendary Japanese producer Ichiyama Shozo encouraged young filmmakers not to give up despite the challenging climate brought upon by digital revolution and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He recounted his 30-year career at a talk at the Singapore International Film Festival, part of the Singapore Media Festival. Despite having worked with many renowned filmmakers, from Kitano

There will be no “virtual” Oscars. “The Oscars in-person telecast will happen,” a rep from the Academy and ABC tells Variety exclusively. This year, the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences moved their annual telecast back two months to April 25, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources inside the Oscars say that

The SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and its trustees have been sued in federal court by Ed Asner and nine other senior participants over the upcoming cuts in benefits and eligibility for the plan. Asner, a six-time Emmy winner, is the lead plaintiff in the class action complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The

While it may seem a bit odd that the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival is world premiering his new film, “Curfew,” at the Cairo International Film Festival, the director in question Amir Ramses says it makes perfect sense. “There was no way I would consider El Gouna for my film because it’s

Four summers ago, Keesha Sharp found out that her mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America. Sadly, her mom died in August. However, Sharp, who starred as Monica on this hit sitcom “Girlfriends,” and has more recently been seen on “Empire” and “The Good Fight,”

Two years ago Egyptian film producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy was appointed president of the Cairo Film Festival with a mandate to revamp and relaunch the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence. Having largely accomplished that with last year’s watershed edition, Hefzy had to face new challenges this year,

In the COVID era, we have been forced to rethink everything. So I’m proposing another reinvention: New ways of using awards to protest Hollywood’s lack of diversity. Of course the protests must continue, carrying on the important work that # did to revolutionize Hollywood starting in 2015. It’s time to add another step. Protesters should

“Happiest Season,” from Sony’s Tri-Star Pictures and eOne, was always poised to make history, as the first holiday romantic comedy about a same-sex couple from a major Hollywood studio. Then the pandemic hit, leaving Sony with little choice other than to sell “Happiest Season” to Hulu. That seems to have turned out wonderfully: Variety has learned

Jada Pinkett Smith will star in “Redd Zone,” an upcoming drama that will be released by Netflix and produced by Westbrook Studios. The film is based on the true story of Tia Magee (played by Pinkett Smith), a single mother who helps her sons and their high school football teammates, “The Bros,” heal after the

Romanticized of late by disgruntled Americans enraged with President Trump and threatening immigration to its friendly northern neighbor, Canada has always held a significant spot in the zeitgeist of popular culture (Celine Dion! Justin Beiber! Ryan Gosling!). “Everything is better in Canada!” has been the ubiquitous trope echoing across the United States these past four

“Captain Marvel” and “No Time To Die” star Lashana Lynch has wrapped principal photography on BAFTA and Olivier-winning Debbie Tucker Green’s “Ear For Eye” at Kennington Studios. The film is an adaptation of Tucker Green’s own acclaimed play, which was staged at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2018, starring Lynch. The play, and the film,

Allison Baver, a three-time Olympic athlete, is expanding her footprint in the world of entertainment. Her burgeoning production company, Allison Baver Entertainment, has announced its upcoming slate of movies, television shows and documentaries, all of which will emphasize female and diverse talent on both sides of the camera. ABE’s film slate will feature social thrillers,

Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated star of “Juno” and Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” has announced he is transgender. Elliot, formerly known as Ellen Page, addressed his social media followers saying: “Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be

Tina Mabry and Gina Prince-Bythewood are set to adapt the NY Times best-selling novel “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.” Mabry will direct the film for Searchlight Pictures, from an original script by Prince-Bythewood. The film adaptation of Edward Kelsey Moore’s debut “Supremes” novel follows best friends Odette, Barbara Jean and Clarice, who consider Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

The Cairo Film Festival kicks off its 42nd edition Wednesday as a mostly physical event with the Middle East premiere of Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his hit stage play “The Father,” for which co-writer Christopher Hampton and actor Rufus Sewell are expected in attendance. “I think it’s one of the best films of the year,”

New Works Provincetown has commissioned its second and third projects. The developmental theater lab will help support a new play by Kevin Powell (“The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood”), developed with and directed by Oliver Butler (“What the Constitution Means to Me”). It has also commissioned a new musical, “Maiden Voyage,”

As a young, Black woman growing up in Soweto, the sprawling township built by South Africa’s apartheid government on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Lala Tuku had dreams of making movies. But after making inroads into the local industry in the mid-2000s, she found her path to the director’s chair blocked. “There were no people that

Amazon Prime Video is rapidly becoming a major force in Latin America with its mix of local content, ambitious productions and compelling stories. Taking part in a Ventana Sur online conference, Pablo Iacoviello, Amazon Prime Video’s director of content for Latin America, and Javiera Balmaceda, Amazon Studios’ head of originals for Argentina, Chile and Colombia,

“The Diam Diam Era Too,” the sequel to current release “The Diam Diam Era” by Singapore superstar Jack Neo, and period thriller “Precious is the Night” are among the upcoming releases from regional mini-conglomerate MM2 Entertainment. The company revealed a host of titles for 2020-21 release at the ongoing Asian Television Forum, which is part

Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning composer A.R.Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) has provided further details of his recently announced role as the ambassador of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Breakthrough India initiative. “As ambassador, my role is to help BAFTA to recognize breakthrough talent across the breadth of the Indian film industry