Movies

Christos Nikou’s “Apples” will represent Greece in the best international feature film race at the 2021 Oscars, Variety has learned. Nikou’s directorial debut, which opened the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival and was also a selection in Telluride and Toronto, is the story of a man struggling to recover his memory in the midst

Delivering a keynote presentation on the opening day of TIFFCOM, Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos said that the Hollywood studio is adapting to the pandemic-era reality. Speaking Wednesday morning (local time), Gianopulos attempted to strike a generally positive note, while also detailing the problems the pandemic has posed for Paramount in particular and

TIFFCOM, the market that runs concurrently with the Tokyo International Film Festival, is completely online this year, with 73 films screening for buyers Nov. 4-6. (The festival runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 7.) But the Japanese companies are quite at home in the new online environment. They are also pitching plenty of new product that

Box office results for “Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic that was unveiled amid a pandemic, have been heavily scrutinized in the weeks since its release. The film has grossed nearly $350 million globally in two months — prompting debates of whether that’s a disappointing or decent figure during the coronavirus crisis. Nolan, speaking to the

The closing movie of this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, Hashimoto Hajime’s “Hokusai” is a biopic of the eponymous artist, whose most famous picture “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa,” has been endlessly reproduced around the world. Rejecting the plodding literalism and smarmy sentimentalism of the usual Japanese film about local greats, “Hokusai” focuses on its

The emotional toll following the results of the 2016 presidential election varied on the spectrum from utter devastation to complete vindication. Hollywood’s responses have also varied, depending on the ways in which the industry and the world react to the outcome. This upcoming awards season will mark the 24th time the Academy has had to

The Ridley Scott Creative Group is in post-production on the documentary “Kipchoge: The Last Milestone,” about record-setting Kenyan Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge. Dogwoof is handling global sales and will present the film at the upcoming American Film Market, with release plans for 2021. Directed by Jake Scott (“American Woman”), the film is produced by Ross

Entertainment One U.K.’s animated kids title “Two by Two: Overboard!” remained at the top of the U.K./Ireland box office, collecting £190,761 ($248,200) in its second weekend, according to final numbers from Comscore. The film, which now has a running total of £955,370 ($1,244,109), is a sequel to 2015 hit “All Creatures Big and Small,” and

Shooting is underway in Italy on psychological thriller “State of Consciousness” by U.S. director Markus Stokes (“Criminal Minds”), starring Emile Hirsch (“Into The Wild”) as a young man trapped in an institution where he is forced to take medication for a mental disorder he doesn’t have. Cameras started rolling on the pic on Tuesday in

A second spike of coronavirus cases and new national lockdowns in Europe aren’t yet stopping film and television productions abroad, as new precautions to keep casts and crew in quarantine bubbles have been largely successful. Last spring, cameras stopped rolling almost everywhere during the first COVID-19 lockdown, since much was unknown about safeguarding sets from

Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Shoplifters”) returned for a second evening at the Tokyo International Film festival’s Asia Lounge talk series, which features dialogues between leading Asian film directors and their Japanese peers. On a video link from Taiwan, Kore-eda’s onscreen guest was award-winning filmmaker Huang Xi. Her debut feature, “Missing Johnny” won the Taipei Film Festival best

“Watchmen” actor Jeremy Irons is headlining Netflix original film “Munich,” an adaptation of the bestselling 2017 novel by Robert Harris (“Fatherland”). The film is set in the fall of 1938 when Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain’s government desperately seeks a peaceful solution. With

The Spanish Cinema Academy has selected Basque feature “The Endless Trench” to represent Spain in the race for best international feature film at the 2021 Oscars. A multi-award-winning feature from the trio of Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, “The Endless Trench,” if nominated, would follow Spain’s 2020 submission, Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and

Amanda Kernell’s family drama “Charter” has been selected as Sweden’s submission for an Oscar in the international feature film race. “Charter” world premiered at Sundance and had its European premiere at Goteborg. It was also recently nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize. The movie is represented in international markets by TrustNordisk. The film centers

Founded in 1936, the Directors Guild of Japan recently bestowed its 60th New Directors Award on Teruya Toshiyuki for his family comedy “Born, Bone, Born.” Set in on an island near his native Okinawa, the film features an ancient local funeral custom: Washing the bones of the dead. Better known to millions by his stage

Carol Arthur, an actress best known for her several collaborations with Mel Brooks including “Blazing Saddles,” has died, Variety has confirmed. She was 85. Arthur died on Sunday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Mary Pickford House in Woodland Hills, Calif. She appeared in the 1974 comedy “Blazing Saddles,” directed by Brooks, as the schoolmistress

“Star Wars” stars Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill have both lent their talent to spots for anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project. Titled “Fauci” and “Absentee,” respectively,” the two videos were released on Monday in a last-minute appeal to voters. “Fauci,” voiced by Ford, focused on Trump’s response to COVID-19 and his criticism of Dr.

One of the big awards season question marks has been answered. Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” will campaign Kingsley Ben-Adir, who plays Malcolm X in the period drama and Eli Goree, who plays Cassius Clay, in the best actor race. His co-stars Aldis Hodge (Jim Brown) and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Sam Cooke) will seek

MONDAY, Nov. 2 ‘The Craft’ Sequel, ‘Unhinged’ Show Strength  Blumhouse’s “The Craft: Legacy,” the follow-up to 1996’s “The Craft,” and Russell Crowe’s thriller “Unhinged” have been the top titles at Vudu and FandangoNOW, respectively, for the past week on Fandango’s transactional streaming services. “The Craft: Legacy” is Vudu’s top title for the past week (Monday

Kevin Bacon is joining Travis Fimmel and Colson Baker, also known as recording artist Machine Gun Kelly, in the new action-thriller “One Way.” Andrew Baird (“Zone 414”) is directing from a script by Ben Conway. Principal photography is set to begin in February in Los Angeles and Tulsa, Okla. Highland Film Group is handling worldwide

The winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or for his dark family drama “Shoplifters and one of Japan’s most outspoken filmmakers, Hirokazu Koreeda is also a moving force behind “Asia Lounge.” This is a new series of online conversations being held over eight days at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. In addition to helping to

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character is making a satirical pre-election pitch to female voters, asking them not to vote in the presidential election. In a video posted Monday to Borat’s Twitter account, he said, “This is important message. Women — do not vote tomorrow. We hear if you do then glorious Premier Trump will lose.

On the eve of Tuesday’s presidential election, the famously press-shy filmmaker Lilly Wachowski is speaking out about the urgency for people to vote and mobilize at this critical juncture when everything in our democracy—from human rights to climate change—are at stake. “I feel like we’re at this point in our history where we’re facing this

For too long, the stories of Native and Indigenous people have been told by Hollywood through the eyes of everyone but us. It’s an exciting time in film and television, with more Natives writing, directing, and developing content. We’re challenging images and stereotypes and wiping the war paint off the lens. These are the films,

John Boyega was surprised to see the recent articles about him saying he’s willing to return to the “Star Wars” franchise because it’s not the first time he’s expressed interest. However, the actor said during an interview for an upcoming episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket” that he’s in no hurry

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have become just the latest in a long line of celebrities advocating for Americans to vote — and just in time, too. With one day left until the 2020 presidential election, both artists took to social media to link fans to important voter information. Both also notably shared their support for

Neil Marshall will direct and produce a new horror action thriller titled “The Lair,” with Highland Film Group handling the worldwide sales. “The Lair” centers on Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair, who is on her final flight mission when her jet is shot down over one of the most dangerous rebel strongholds of

Tom Hardy, Pete Davidson, Stephan James, Bill Skarsgård, Tye Sheridan, Ashton Sanders, Martin Sensmeier, Moises Arias and Angus Cloud have been cast in the Vietnam War drama “The Things They Carried.” The project is based on Tim O’Brien’s novel about a platoon of young soldiers and their experiences on the front lines during the Vietnam

Dan Limerick has been promoted to chief operating officer of WME. The executive’s new title was announced Monday by the talent agency’s chairman, Lloyd Braun. In his new role, Limerick will work closely with Braun — who is also the president of WME owner Endeavor’s client group — and WME president Ari Greenburg, overseeing all

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has canceled its 2021 edition due to coronavirus concerns, with plans to return for 2022, organizers have confirmed. But the film awards will move forward on Feb. 25, with details still to be discussed. A letter announcing the decision went out Monday to the festival’s board members, signed by