Romanian-born filmmaker Bogdan George Apetri has made a life for himself in New York City, since moving there 19 years ago to study film at Columbia University, where he now teaches. But for the director whose second feature film, “Unidentified,” plays in the Meet the Neighbors competition this week at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Greece’s
Movies
DC Comics has promoted Marie Javins to editor-in-chief following a restructuring at the company in August that put her as co-editor-in-chief alongside Michele R. Wells. The move was announced Monday by Daniel Cherry III, senior vice president and general manager of DC Comics, to whom Javins will report. “Marie intrinsically understands the power of comics
“Domino: Battle of the Bones,” a comedy from NBA player-turned-filmmaker Baron Davis, has scored domestic distribution rights from TriCoast Entertainment. The uplifting comedy stars Snoop Dogg and David Arquette, and tells of an elderly Black man who teams with his awkward, white step-grandson to defeat his rival in a domino tournament. Davis was an Emmy
Michel Franco’s Venice winner “New Order” (“Nueva Orden”) has scored over 330,000 admissions and $950,000 in Mexico off an Oct. 22 bow, according to Comscore. Released by Televisa’s Videocine distrib label, that box office would be notable in any normal circumstance, given that “New Order,” an often shocking dystopian thriller, is by no stretch of
As the 41st American Film Market launches online, Millennium Media is unveiling “Night Has Fallen,” the fourth installment in the Gerard Butler’s durable action franchise. The creative team from 2019’s “Angel Has Fallen” is returning with Robert Kamen penning the script along with Ric Roman Waugh, who is also set to direct again. What’s going
Blue Ivy Carter, the child of Beyonce and Jay-Z, will narrate the audiobook for “Hair Love,” based on Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar-winning short film. Cherry announced the news on social media, posting a clip that samples the four-minute long audiobook. https://t.co/MSZxGSkZJn pic.twitter.com/wQ8gWl30Oy — Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) November 9, 2020 The touching tale, which follows
German and European animation features remain plentiful on the slates of German sales agents at this year’s AFM, with adaptations, original works and new installments of popular franchises set to attract buyers. Arri Media Intl. is presenting a 10-minute preview of “The Ogglies,” an adaptation of the hit German children’s book series about a group
Rock Salt Releasing has picked up global sales rights and U.S. distribution for Ayar Blasco’s sophomore adult animation feature “Lava,” with sales kicking off at this year’s digital American Film Market (AFM). Rock Salt also announced that the English dub of the Spanish-language film, a hit in this year’s Contrechamp section at the Annecy International
American Film Market participants are grounded this year due to restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 virus and the market going virtual. Those factors have resulted in significant economic fallout for Santa Monica, the confab’s seaside home. There will be no power breakfast at Cora’s Coffee Shoppe; Santa Monica’s 29 movie screens are dark; and
Arclight Films is launching international sales on the horror-thriller “The Devil to Pay,” starring Danielle Deadwyler, Catherine Dyer and Jayson Warner Smith. Arclight chairman Gary Hamilton made the announcement Monday, coinciding with the launch of the online American Film Market. The story centers on a struggling farmer in an isolated Appalachian community, who fights to save
Italy’s Minerva Pictures — the company specialized in genre fare such as teen chiller “Shortcut” that recently made a U.S. splash — is launching world sales at AFM on “Mondocane,” a dystopian drama about the struggle of two 13-year-old orphan boys in a Southern Italian gangland. “Mondocane” toplines Alessandro Borghi (“Devils”). In “Mondocane,” Borghi (pictured) plays
The 69th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH) promises to be an ambitious celebration of cinema despite its move online due to the ongoing pandemic, with new sections showcasing visionary and innovative works from around the globe as well as classic titles from yesteryear. Sascha Keilholz, the fest’s new artistic and commercial director, and his team, including
The fourth edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFEST) has been postponed until early 2021 due to a recent revival of the coronavirus in the country. The Singapore-based Asian Academy Creative Awards will go ahead with its plans for a ceremony in December, but as a fully virtual, VFX-heavy affair. “According to the latest
HanWay Films will screen the first footage from psychological horror film “A Banquet” on Monday to buyers attending the virtual AFM, where HanWay is representing worldwide rights. Variety spoke to Leonora Darby, one of the film’s lead producers at Tea Shop Productions, the company behind breakout hit “47 Meters Down.” Female-driven “A Banquet” is the
Barbara Salabè, the top Warner Bros. executive in Italy, has been promoted to country manager Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific has announced. Salabè joined Warner Bros. in 2011 in the top Italian role having previously launched European musical theater production giant Stage
British distributor Vertigo Releasing has acquired David Bowie origin film “Stardust,” starring Johnny Flynn (“Emma,” “Beast”), who recently won the best actor award at London’s Raindance Film Festival for his performance as Bowie. Vertigo will release the film before the end of the year, on the back of the U.S. release by IFC Films on
Japanese comedy-drama “Hold Me Back” was Monday announced as the winner of the Tokyo International Film Festival. Azerbaijan drama, “In Between Dying” was named winner of the Tokyo Filmex Festival, which this year cooperated and overlapped with TIFF. Among the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, TIFF festival this year ditched its regular prizes
Iran has chosen childhood labor drama “Sun Children” as its national representative for the Academy Awards best international feature film category. It is the sixth time that a firm directed by Majid Majidi will represent the country. The decision was announced on Sunday by the delegation of the representative of Iranian cinema to the Oscar
China had a relatively quiet box office weekend, in which holdover Korean War-set title “Sacrifice” led for the third week in a row thanks to $14.4 million in sales, according to data from industry tracker Maoyan. This week’s most notable new release was the blood-stained, tear-soaked, seaside-set local crime thriller “Back to the Wharf,” which
Struggling movie theaters can’t wait for Joe Biden to move into the White House. They need help now. That’s the message from John Fithian, head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, who is issuing a dire warning on behalf of the cinemas who make up his trade organization. Unless Congress passes “Save Our Stages,”
When Nigerian cinemas reopened in September after a months-long lockdown, Moses Babatope, co-founder of the distributor and production company FilmOne Entertainment, began looking ahead to a busy fall season that could get the local industry back on track. “We were just beginning to see a recovery,” Babatope says, with “Fate of Alakada” — the third
At the end of nearly every movie with a villain, the villain goes down to defeat. That, of course, is what villains deserve. Yet as an audience, what we want — what we crave — is more than simple defeat, or even destruction. We want to see the villain get his just desserts, a taste
Focus Features’ “Let Him Go” provided a few sparks at an otherwise lifeless box office, opening over the weekend with an estimated $4.1 million. In these COVID times, that was good enough for a first place finish. Focus also took second place with the sophomore weekend of its horror film “Come Play.” Co-produced with Amblin
On Nov. 8, Norman Lloyd will celebrate his 106th birthday, which is just one more accomplishment for a man whose nearly-100-year career is filled with amazing milestones. Lloyd worked as an actor, director and/or producer in theater, the early days of radio, film and TV. He wasn’t a household name, but he has always been
Famed keyboard player Chuck Leavell is — as a native Georgian — all about living amid the moss, even if the group he’s most associated with, the Rolling Stones, are by definition averse to it. A new documentary opening this weekend, “Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man,” charts his double life, as one of the most
As if sensing that the election would provide enough nail-biting excitement to last Americans for days, distributors have largely backed off the first weekend in November. Focus Features is releasing a solid Kevin Costner-Diane Lane thriller with serious Red State appeal in “Let Him Go,” for those with access to theaters, and there are a
Wednesday saw a unique red carpet unfold in Los Angeles. It had actors and interviewers, but there was no premiere or awards show. And the real stars were the reporters. The reporters were 10 students from the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES), a public high school in Mid-City Los Angeles. The occasion was
Max Winkler’s “Jungleland” is a throwback to the kind of character-driven, road movies that Hollywood hasn’t made much since the glory days of the 1970s moviemaking. It’s the story of two drifter brothers who are so desperate to escape their dead-end lives that they accept an offer to ferry a young woman (Jessica Barden) across
Gravitas Ventures has bought North American rights to director-producer Thomas Balmès’ documentary “Sing Me a Song,” a coming-of-age story about a young monk searching to find a balance between tradition and technology. The Participant film will be released via virtual cinemas and on video-on-demand platforms on Jan. 1. “Sing Me a Song” will be shown
There are rising concerns over a number of coronavirus cases believed to have originated at last week’s El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. “I’m seeing a growing number of people who attended the Gouna Film Festival are learning they got COVID-19,” warns a Facebook post circulating among those who attended the Oct. 23-31 event. “If