Movies

“Freaky,” a body-swap horror movie from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, slashed its box office competition, debuting to $3.7 million over the weekend. In the coronavirus era, when nearly every movie scheduled for theatrical release has been postponed, those ticket sales were easily enough to nab first place on U.S. charts. The film played on

Dating back to her childhood in Greece, first-time director Janis Rafa has spent the better part of her life contemplating death. The title of her feature-length debut, “Kala Azar,” takes its name from the parasitic disease that swept through the country in the 1990s, ravaging the animal population. In Rafa’s childhood home, which included both

Taiwan’s legalization of gay marriage last year helpfully came in time for the real-world launch of the GOL Summit, Asia’s largest LGBTQ+ filmmaking conference. That in turn helped maintain the momentum for a second edition that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be a fully virtual affair. The event, which runs Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 16-17,

“Never Gonna Snow Again,” which was chosen as Poland’s Oscar submission prior to its world premiere in Venice, marks a further step in cinematographer Michał Englert’s long collaboration with Małgorzata Szumowska. It started in the 1990s with her short “Silence,” followed by her feature debut “Happy Man” in 2000, and continues with “Never Gonna Snow

Indian actor Soumitra Chatterjee, best known internationally for his long association with Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray, died on Sunday in Kolkata after contracting coronavirus. He was 85. Chatterjee was born in Calcutta in 1935. While at university he developed an interest in theater and was subsequently mentored by Sisir Bhaduri, a doyen in the field.

One of the most anticipated films of this awards season, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” emerges as one of the premier Oscar vehicles for Netflix. At its soulful core, the farewell performance of the late Chadwick Boseman is as invigorating as anticipated. His work as Levee may very well be his best and most spiritual gift

Justin Simien, writer and director of television’s “Dear White People” and the recent horror feature “Bad Hair,” spoke about the difficulties experienced by queer students during the Virtual Point Honors Los Angeles Gala on Saturday. “I’m not that far out from my college years at Chapman University, but I have been around long enough to

Sylvester Stallone is joining the cast of “The Suicide Squad,” according to the standalone sequel’s director, James Gunn. A representative for Stallone also confirmed the news to Variety. Gunn took to Instagram on Saturday to make the announcement, writing opposite a selfie of him and Stallone: “Always love working with my friend @officialslystallone & our

A meditative, elegiac triptych capturing three chapters in the life of the same man, Kamen Kalev’s “February” is an unconventional portrait of what the director describes as an unconventional figure: his grandfather, a reserved but complex man who lived a humble life in a village in eastern Bulgaria. “He was a very inspiring figure to

The Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, announced the awards from this year’s online edition at a virtual ceremony held Friday. The Crossroads Co-Production Forum’s Two Thirty-Five Co-Production Award, which offers full post-production image and sound to the winning project, went to writer-director Estibaliz Urresola’s “20,000 Species of Bees,” produced by Lara Izagirre of Spain’s

Tom Cruise and the “Mission: Impossible 7” cast make cameos in this week’s AGBO Superhero League trash talk video, starring Pom Klementieff. In a new clip, exclusive to Variety, Klementieff — who portrayed Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including “Avengers: Endgame” — performs a French song she wrote about Chris Hemsworth. The music video

A new discovery is always welcomed in Hollywood, and breakout star Adarsh Gourav makes his presence well known in Netflix’s “The White Tiger.” Written and directed by acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani, the ambitious and intriguing tale is likely to draw lazy comparisons to Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire,” due to mere geographic location. Much darker

Paramount Pictures has removed its Michael B. Jordan spy thriller “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse” from the theatrical release schedule. The studio announced the move Friday evening — which signals that the studio may decide sell the movie to a streamer such as Netflix or Amazon or go with a PVOD release. Paramount had announced in

With coronavirus cases surging around the country, Friday the 13th might not be the time to test your luck in theaters — though that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from serving up an unusually enticing slate of fresh releases exclusively in cinemas. From body-swap slasher movie “Freaky” to Mel Gibson’s nutzo Santa satire “Fatman,” the week’s new

David E. Talbert had been developing “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” as a stage musical for several years, but wasn’t getting anyone to back the project. He shelved it until one day when he was watching “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” with his young son. “He wasn’t into it,” Talbert tells Variety. “I realized it was

There are movie stars who make a memorable entrance the first time you see them. For Maria Bakalova, it all began with her sitting in a barn, covered in dirt, in “Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm.” Bakalova’s story has mostly remained a mystery since the film premiered, but recently it has started to emerge. On Tuesday, it

In filming the surprise hit young love story “Normal People” for the BBC and Hulu, cinematographer Suzie Lavelle departed from the big-scale war dramas and multi-camera TV work she had done previously (“World on Fire,” “Sherlock”) to create a more intimate, essential Irish-set story, she tells Variety. Working with directors Hettie Macdonald (“Howards End”) and

“Deadpool 2” star Zazie Beetz will join Brad Pitt in the cast of Sony’s action movie “Bullet Train.” Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Andrew Koji are also boarding the pic. “Hobbs & Shaw” helmer David Leitch is directing with Kelly McCormick producing through 87North and Antoine Fuqua through Fuqua Films. Zak Olkewicz

Star-Lord and Thor, played by two of Marvel’s famous Chrises, are set to team up in the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Chris Pratt’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” character is set to make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth “Thor” film, joining a lineup that includes Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman (who returns to

Costume designer Michael O’Connor worked closely with director Francis Lee to create the period look of “Ammonite,” the new drama starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. In conversations, Lee wanted O’Connor to stay away from red, keeping it for scenes of romance and passion between the two lovers. Set in the mid-19th century, O’Connor used

Blair Rich, president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros., is leaving the studio at the end of the year. Rich exited on her own accord, according to insiders, though her departure comes as the company has engaged in multiple layoffs amid a companywide restructuring at WarnerMedia. “It’s been my greatest honor to spend the first

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has exceeded its pre-opening fundraising goal of $388 million, director and president Bill Kramer announced Friday. A donation from film production company Laika closed out the campaign goal, the total of which encompasses capital gifts endowments, funding for education programs and other special gifts. More than 13,000 donors contributed

Despite amassing more than 70 credits, this year’s recipient of the Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award, Philippe Rousselot, shows no signs of stopping. As he tells Variety from his house in Brittany, he just can’t. “Once you have piled up enough films, the decision is made. They needed to give this award to someone and I

Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Simon Russell Beale and Pappa Essiedu are attached to star in the period drama “Curtain Call” with Anand Tucker directing for Mark Gordon Productions. The film, set in 1930s London, revolves around a feared theater critic named Jimmy Erskine (Beale), his loyal assistant (Essiedu), a newspaper owner (Firth) who wants to

For some, the prospect of former Pixar director Brenda Chapman (“Brave”) making her live-action debut will make “Come Away” seem exciting. For others, it’s the film’s literary conceit that appeals: What if Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan had been siblings? And then there’s the casting of Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo as the parents,

The “Lilo & Stitch” ohana is expanding, with Jon M. Chu in talks to direct Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation. Disney has yet to announce if the movie will release in theaters or on Disney Plus, the studio’s subscription streaming service. “Lilo & Stitch” has not set a screenwriter or any cast members. Dan Lin and

As titles go, “The Endless Trench” augurs a hard sell. Its very combination of words is arduous: Nobody will read them, glance further down at the 148-minute running time, and go in expecting a good time, if indeed they go in at all. That’s somewhat apt for a film that chronicles a long period of

Solstice Studios has acquired worldwide rights to the Gerard Butler action thriller “The Plane” on the heels of Lionsgate dropping out of distributing because producers were unable to obtain production insurance that would cover a COVID-19 outbreak. Lionsgate boarded “The Plane” a year ago at the American Film Market, buying the rights to the film for

Jeremy O. Harris knows exactly how big his plans are: “I think for me to call myself ambitious would be an understatement,” he acknowledged on a recent call from Rome. But the playwright, performer, producer and budding director is building the career to back it up. His Broadway buzzmagnet “Slave Play” earned a whopping 12

Now in its 25th year, the Red Nation Film Festival looks to shine a light on the voices, stories, contributions and assets of contemporary Native peoples in replacing dangerous stereotypes that Native peoples face in media and academia. Festival curator Joanelle Romero says, “I have created a 25-year history of cohesive research-informed strategies, ground-breaking initiatives,