Movies

CinemaCon, the movie theater exhibition industry’s annual trade show, has been rescheduled. The National Association of Theatre Owners, the organization behind the event, cited ongoing international travel restrictions and limits on large gatherings due to coronavirus as the reason behind the delay. The yearly gathering of cinema lovers, which occurs at Caesars Palace in Las

Eugen Jebeleanu’s debut feature “Poppy Field” has been sold to Missing Films for distribution in German-speaking territories ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his

French director David Moreau has been accused of sexual assault by a crew member on his movie “King,” which wrapped filming on Oct. 9. The female crew member, whose name has not been disclosed, filed a police complaint in Montpellier, in the south of France. The news was first reported by Le Parisien newspaper and

Former FCC chief William Kennard has been named chairman of AT&T’s board of directors. Kennard has been a member of AT&T’s board of directors since 2014. The telco giant vowed to separate the chairman and CEO posts following the retirement in January of Randall Stephenson, who previously was chairman-CEO. Last July, Stephenson handed the CEO

Ventana Sur’s Blood Window Works in Progress Screenings and Spotlight on International Projects sections have become standout events on the global genre films calendar. The event has matured in stature, but in content as well, featuring high-end content and expanding from a straight horror event to other genre areas such as science fiction and fantasy.

London-based Matchbox films has bagged the U.K., Ireland and Australasian rights to Boaz Yakin’s all-singing, all-dancing gender-fluid romance “Aviva,” from Tbilisi, Béziers and London-based producer/distributor Alief Film. The film is scheduled for distribution in those territories from the first quarter 2021. Closed on the eve of the AFM, the deal follows Alief’s earlier U.S. sale

“Fantastic Beasts 3” will no longer hit theaters next year. Warner Bros., the studio behind the “Harry Potter” spinoff series, initially intended to release the upcoming installment on Nov. 12, 2021. It’s now expected to open during summer of 2022. The exact date has not been confirmed yet. Warner Bros. made the announcement as part

We may be past the Oct. 31 witching hour, but “The Craft: Legacy” is still casting a spell on streaming viewers across the country. The sequel-of-sorts to the groundbreaking 1996 teen thriller “The Craft” bowed last weekend from writer-director Zoe Lister-Jones, and brought a modern (or “woke,” to use the completely oversaturated moniker from nearly

When you watch a biographical movie about an artist, the drama of creativity — the writing of “In Cold Blood,” the invention of funk — tends to be front and center. But in “Mank,” David Fincher’s raptly intricate and enticing movie about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the fabled screenwriter of ’30s and ’40s Hollywood, and how

With so many festivals canceled or downsized due to the coronavirus, Variety shifted its annual celebration of 10 Producers to Watch to coincide with this year’s virtual AFM. The producers on this year’s list hail from Europe and the U.S., and tackle a wide range of topics and genres. Their numbers include a former pro

“The Bike Thief,” “Hello Again – a Wedding a Day” and “Karnawal” are among the hottest titles on Beta Cinema’s sales slate for the virtual version of the American Film Market, which starts Monday. The Munich-based sales company will give Matt Chambers’ “The Bike Thief” its market premiere at AFM, following its world premiere this

Johnny Depp will no longer portray the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, the actor announced Friday. “I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request,” he

Gaumont has come on board “Fantasies,” a sex-themed French comedy headlined by Monica Bellucci (“Spectre”), Carole Bouquet (“For Your Eyes Only”) and Karine Viard (“Famille Belier”). Directed by David and Stephane Foenkinos, the omnibus film follows six couples and revolves around their intimate lives and fantasies, from role-playing to exhibitionism and abstinence. Besides Bellucci, Bouquet

In “Let Him Go,” Kevin Costner and Diane Lane play a longtime married midwestern couple in the 1950s who attempt to save their grandson and dead son’s widow from the violent family she married into. Costner insists viewers will be in for the same kind of ride they enjoyed with a couple of his classics.

British actor Geoffrey Palmer, known for the long-running series “As Time Goes By,” “Butterflies” and “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin,” has died peacefully at home, his agent told the BBC. He was 93. In “As Time Goes By,” Palmer co-starred with Judi Dench. The two reunited in the 1997 James Bond film “Tomorrow

Paris-based outfit Reel Suspects has acquired “The Three,” directed by up-and-coming Armenian-Russian filmmaker Anna Melikyan. “The Three” will have its international premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and will be distributed in Russia by Disney in December. Penned by Melikyan and Evgenia Khripkova, “The Three” revolves around a husband, a wife and another woman.

Netflix has chosen France to test its first channel offering. Named Direct, the linear channel — which is only available to subscribers — will air French, international and U.S. feature films and TV series that are available on the streaming service. However, the channel will only be accessible via the service’s web browser, unlike its

France’s exhibitors and distributors are aiming for a quick restart when theaters are allowed to reopen, whenever that may be. During the first lockdown, which lasted nearly three months, many French distributors took the streaming route, opting to release their films on transactional VOD services and in some cases, sell rights to SVOD platforms such

In “Mortal,” a film plagued by assorted crises and confusions of identity, one stands out at the very beginning: It’s an R-rated superhero movie that assumes its audience doesn’t know the meaning of its title. An introductory chyron helpfully offers the single dictionary definition “a human being,” without going into any of the others. That

In an unprecedented joint operation, U.S. and Brazilian law enforcement teams cracked down on pirate online services and apps that illegally reproduced and distributed copyrighted content from U.S. media companies to Brazilian customers. Three U.S.-based domain names were shut down while the Brazilian-led takedown, dubbed Operation 404, saw 25 search and seizure warrants issued across

ITV has commissioned COVID-19 documentary “The Year That Changed Britain” with Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald directing, Variety has learned exclusively. The film will attempt to tell the story of the pandemic’s impact on Britain through the intimate personal and professional experiences of those who lived through it. Producers have secured “unprecedented” access to intensive care

I’m always relieved, if not excited, to encounter a horror film that isn’t about anything supernatural. A lot of today’s audiences wouldn’t even consider that a horror film; if it doesn’t goose you with effects or try for some version of the uncanny, it’s just a drama. (You know, one of those boring movies for

Big-budget studio features like “The Batman” or enormous Netflix series are able to self-insure against COVID and manage to shoot during the pandemic, even when cast or crew do test positive. But how are indies managing to cope with all the new union and various local safety protocols? Without liability protection, COVID insurance coverage or

Disney announced another shake-up to the studio’s release calendar, postponing Ryan Reynolds’ action comedy “Free Guy” and “Death on the Nile,” the follow-up to Kenneth Branagh’s hit “The Murder on the Orient Express.” “Free Guy” was slated for Dec. 11 and “Death on the Nile” was set to debut on Dec. 18. Neither have new

Lionsgate earnings have topped Wall Street estimates with adjusted operating income of $156 million — 56% above consensus — and 33 cents earnings per share — 94% above estimates — for its second quarter that ended Sept. 30. Several hours earlier, Lionsgate told employees it was laying off 15% of its motion picture group, citing

Poland’s Camerimage, the world’s leading film festival dedicated to cinematography, has been forced to abandon plans to stage a hybrid event, and will pivot to a purely digital format. The festival, which takes place Nov. 14-21 in Toruń, had already announced that the majority of its screenings and events would be online, but it had

Disney has enacted more layoffs, impacting more than 50 employees in the studio’s marketing group, the NY-based theatrical division and Searchlight Pictures. Several hundred open positions have been eliminated as well. Six people at Searchlight Pictures, the independent label once owned by Fox, were laid off on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Disney-owned ESPN

Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” will finally be available the way the filmmaker decidedly does not want you to see it — at home. The sci-fi epic, which stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is debuting on 4K, Blu-Ray, DVD and digital rental services starting on Dec. 15. For film buffs, or anyone who felt they

Posters for “Borat 2” showing Sacha Baron Cohen nearly naked and wearing a ring engraved with the word Allah in Arabic have been removed from buses in the Parisian suburb of Essonne. The regional transportation group TICE took down the posters following a backlash that erupted over the weekend that saw some people, including bus

England may be going into a month-long second lockdown from Thursday, but it’s largely business as usual where film and TV production is concerned. The British Film Commission (BFC) has updated its COVID-safe rules for filming, which were first published June 1. While England residents are advised not to travel overseas or within the U.K.,