Movies

After debuting at Busan and winning the Audience Award at Malaga’s Zonazine sidebar this August, Haroldo Borges and Ernesto Molinero’s “Son of Ox” has played at Malaga’s Spanish Screenings and will screen in competition at Mexico’s Guadalajara Festival, which kicked off Nov. 20. The film follows a 13-year-old boy, João  (João Pedro Dias), who lives

Jorge Coira, the Spanish director of “18 Meals” and the series “Hierro,” is set to direct “Project Emperor” (“Proyecto Emperador”), a timely spy thriller penned by “Cell 211” screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarria, also Alex de la Iglesia’s regular co-scribe. Vaca Films (“Extinction”) is producing with Sábado Películas (“A Perfect Enemy”), La Ley del Plomo AIE (“Gun

“Euphoria” star Sydney Sweeney has joined Pete Davidson and O’Shea Jackson, Jr., in the STXfilms drama “American Sole.” Camila Mendes, Bad Bunny and Offset are also starring in “American Sole.” The announcement was made Friday by Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms Motion Picture Group. Sweeney reteams with Davidson after previously co-starring in the film “Big

Composer John Debney has worked on the scores for “Elf” and “The Greatest Showman” and is no stranger to setting a warm holiday mood. When it came to working on Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” he sought a timeless and classic approach, hinting at classic holiday melodies. Debney worked with director David E. Talbert

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group has unveiled a multi-year agreement with Canada’s Cineplex chain to shorten the theatrical window and bring movies more quickly to the home. The pact, announced Friday, mirrors similar agreements that the studio reached on July 28 with AMC Theatres and on Nov. 17 with the Cinemark chain. Under the terms of

Brooklyn-based distributor KimStim has acquired North American rights to Brazilian director Maya Da-Rin’s feature debut “The Fever” (“A Febre”), which world premiered in competition at Locarno and played at Toronto in 2019. The film is represented in international markets by Pierre Menahem’s French sales banner Still Moving, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the

Okada Yusuke, Toei chairman and son of former Toei president and chairman Okada Shigeru, died on Friday in Tokyo of aortic dissection. He was 71. Born in Kyoto, Okada was scouted while still a student at elite Keio University and made his acting debut in a 1969 drama on the Nippon Television Network. In 1970

SK Global and Indonesia-based production entity Screenplay Bumilangit are partnering to co-finance and co-produce multiple feature films based on Indonesia’s Bumilangit cinematic universe. Screenplay Bumilangit is a joint venture between Screenplay Films and Bumilangit Entertainment. The joint company develops, finances, and produces superhero action films from the Bumilangit cinematic universe, a set of intertwining storylines

Few stars have worked harder to give audiences pleasure over a long haul than Jackie Chan. But lately, his screen appearances have been those of the elder statesman still trotted out to nominally preside over expensive but flavorless official diplomatic functions you doubt even he relishes. The newest case in point reunites him with director

Wrexham AFC, the Welsh soccer club recently taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is to be the subject of “A League Apart,” a British romantic comedy from Mad As Birds, producers of “The Vanishing,” starring Gerard Butler. To be directed by S.J. Evans (“Hiraeth”), the film will follow Phil, a lovable yet down-on-his-luck

Producer-director Kristina Konrad’s Berlin-based Weltfilm has boarded “Amateur,” the feature debut of Spaniard Martin Gutiérrez which won the top Malaga Festival Prize for best Spanish film at this Spring’s Malaga WIP pix in post competition. Konrad, one of the jury members for Spanish titles at Malaga WIP, along with Berlin Panorama director Paz Lázaro and

Comedian and actor Ramy Youssef challenged the misconception that actors with disabilities are more difficult to work with on set than other talent. Referring to the treatment of Steve Way, his friend and co-star on “Ramy” who was born with muscular dystrophy, Youssef said producers questioned how long Way could work per day and how

Sarah Paulson is either the world’s best mother or the worst in “Run,” a deranged (in a good way) two-hander from “Searching” director Aneesh Chaganty that piles one tragedy upon another and serves it up in the form of a thriller. The first of these injustices is revealed in the opening scene: Paulson plays expectant

Director Randall Miller has asked a Georgia judge to once again delay his probation hearing, noting that he recently tested positive for COVID-19. Miller is on probation for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2014 death of Sarah Jones, a camera assistant who was killed in a train crash on the set of the film

Newly-launched Taiwan production company Screenworks Asia is to be involved in a wide range of screen content. But it is to be particularly involved in development of international projects. The company was given its official launch in July and is jointly backed by quasi-government organization Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and locally-based streaming platform Catchplay.

At least one comedy classic from years past would not have survived today’s standards for commercial production, according to the widow of one of those comedic movie stars. “I think in terms of the political correctness, I mean, certainly, ‘[National Lampoon’s] Animal House’ would not be made today,” Judy Belushi-Pisano said of her late husband,

Wen Tien-hsiang is one of the few film festival bosses who have been able to go ahead with an in-person event this year. He spoke with Variety to describe the challenges that remain. Variety: What are the conditions that have allowed the GHFF to go ahead as an in-person event this year? Wen Tien-hsiang: Good

Warner Bros. didn’t have a lot of good options. After the studio released Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in September to lackluster ticket sales, it was hesitant to unveil another hundred-million dollar movie in the middle of a pandemic. And yet, just three months after “Tenet” tried and largely failed to reignite moviegoing, Warner Bros. had to

Taiwan’s Studio76 is joining hands with Singapore’s MediaCorp launch a new script competition to be launched in 2021. The mission is to boost Chinese-language storytelling in the pan-Asia region. Unveiled at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, “Rising Stories” will begin accepting applications from Feb. 1, 2021 to April 15, 2021. Five winners will be selected,

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has inspired young creators to become more daring and to look for stories that are more relatable on a personal level as a response to global crisis, said one of the guest instructors of the Golden Horse FPP workshop. Yeh Jufeng (“The Great Buddha+,” “GF*BF”), chief executive producer of MandarinVision, said

Local stories will play an increasingly important role amid the accelerating globalization and exponential growth in OTT platforms, says Aileen Li, winning produce at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion. “There have been lots of talks about co-production in the past, but I feel that local stories will take on a leading role. Characteristics of

The Writers Guild of America has asked for a two-month delay in the next hearing in the CAA–WME lawsuit against it from Dec. 18 to Feb. 12, 2021. The agencies asked this week for U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte for an injunction that would require the WGA to drop its boycott of the agencies.

Glenn Close will star alongside Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Awkwafina in the drama “Swan Song,” portraying the head scientist at a facility. “Swan Song” is described as a genre-bending drama set in the near future that explores how far someone will go, and how much they’ll sacrifice, to create a happier life for the

The Sundance Institute is honoring “The Forty-Year-Old Version” filmmaker Radha Blank with the 2020 vanguard award. The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival — where it earned her a directing award — and was developed at the Institute’s Labs.

At the center of BET’s latest documentary, “Smoke: Marijuana + Black America,” is a deep analysis of how cannabis has influenced pop culture through the lens of two very contradicting lanes: entertainment and the legal system. Cannabis business owner and former NBA player Al Harrington has occupied two of those fields in his career.  After

Amazon Studios’ espionage thriller “All the Old Knives” has added actors Jonathan Pryce and Laurence Fishburne. Directed by Janus Metz, the stage and screen stars join the previously announced Chris Pine and Thandie Newton in the project. Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Olen Steinhauer, who also adapted the screenplay, “Knives”

Netflix has signed “Stranger Things” producer Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps Entertainment to a first-look deal for features and extended his current television overall deal. Levy signed his overall TV deal with Netflix in 2017, a year after “Stranger Things” became a hit for Netflix. The series has been renewed for an upcoming fourth season

With COVID resurgence meaning that only the naughty are likely to risk large gatherings this holiday season, there will be even more reliance on home-viewing comfort food in the vein of “The Princess Switch: Switched Again.” Bringing back the same director, writers and lead actors from Netflix’s original 2018 success, this pleasant sequel provides the

Kino Lorber has acquired the North American rights to Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s drama “Never Gonna Snow Again,” Poland’s Academy Awards entry. “Never Gonna Snow Again” follows a Russian masseur — played by Alec Utgoff of “Stranger Things” — who enriches the lives of the rich, unfulfilled residents living in a walled-off community. Kino

“Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt and director David Fincher have a shorthand way of communicating: They worked together on Netflix’s “Mindhunter,” and Messerschmidt served as gaffer on 2014’s “Gone Girl.” Messerschmidt makes his feature film debut as director of photography on “Mank,” the story of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz’s stay on a secluded ranch, where he