Movies

“F9” will have to wait a little longer to take a lap in theaters. Universal announced Friday that it has pushed back the debut of the next “Fast and Furious” sequel. It will now hit theaters over Memorial Day weekend on May 28, 2021. The news comes hours after “No Time to Die” delayed its release

Facebook has a bone to pick with “The Social Dilemma,” the recently released documentary on Netflix — actually, several bones. The social-media giant released a seven-point rebuttal Friday to the Netflix film, from director Jeff Orlowski, which debuted Sept. 9. “We should have conversations about the impact of social media on our lives. But ‘The

Sports and jokes have a lot in common, at least according to comedian Desus Nice. In basketball, some shots are more difficult, while others are all but guaranteed to succeed, even if worth fewer points. Those easier shots are comedy’s “dad jokes.” “Dad jokes are like layups,” Nice said. “You don’t got the hops no

For Variety‘s Comedy Impact 2020, comedians shared the funniest TV shows and films. For “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bowen Yang, the funniest show is “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days,” a long-running series with over a thousand episodes to stream at any time. For his favorite film, the comedian chose “Spirited Away,” a

Alright, alright, alright! The cast of “Dazed and Confused” is reuniting to raise money for get-out-the-vote initiatives in Texas. Original cast members Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Rory Cochrane, Marissa Ribisi, Cole Hauser, Deena Martin, Esteban Powell, Christine Harnos, Wiley Wiggins, Michelle Burke, Mark Vandermeulen,

Thursday’s news that President Trump and several in his orbit have tested positive for coronavirus should probably give one pause before heading to cinemas this weekend — or anytime soon. This thing is contagious, people! And I say that as someone who got COVID-19 myself during an early March trip to Broadway. But that doesn’t

Paramount Pictures is looking to revive Paramount Players, a sleepy label it launched to back properties with a contemporary feel in 2017. Jeremy Kramer, a 20th Century Fox executive, is at the top of a shortlist to lead the shingle, but there’s no deal in place. If Kramer gets tapped, it will mark a reunion

As the coronavirus-forced lockdown continues, movie studios have realized releasing new titles directly for consumers to stream and rent at home may continue to be necessary. Upcoming releases on subscription platforms and VOD range from horror films for stay-at-home Halloween to family movies for the holiday season. While a handful of high-profile films still plan

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, on Friday demanded justice and urged action to shed light on his assassination during a special hearing at the European Parliament. The hearing in Brussels, where U.S. director Bryan Fogel’s documentary “The Dissident” screened, marked the two-year anniversary of the day Khashoggi walked into

Chinese audiences didn’t fall in love with Disney’s live-action “Mulan,” but a Chinese firm is betting that its own retelling of the famous ballad may storm the box office in its stead with depictions of traditional values that better appeal to mainland viewers. Gold Valley Film is set to release its feature animation “Kung Fu

Nicole Garcia’s romance thriller “Lovers” has lured a raft of distributors before and after its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. The love-triangle movie also played at Toronto as part of the Industry Select lineup. France Televisions Distribution, which represents “Lovers” in international markets, has sold the film to Switzerland (JMH), Belgium

Italy has a new theatrical distribution player, Rome-based Fenix Entertainment, which, undeterred by coronavirus concerns, has announced its first acquisition of an international title, French actor-auteur Maïwenn’s drama “DNA,” which the company plans to release in Italian theaters by year’s end. Netflix recently picked up English-language rights in several territories – including U.K. and North

Actor and filmmaker George Clooney will deliver a virtual screen talk at the 64th British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival, where he will discuss his career and his latest feature “The Midnight Sky.” “The Midnight Sky” is a post-apocalyptic tale that follows Clooney, playing a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to

It has taken me eight months and three viewings to wrap my mind around “Possessor.” From the beginning, I recognized Brandon Cronenberg’s brilliant sci-fi puzzle to be more than just another bracingly extreme psychological thriller, but I wasn’t sure what to make of the violence. Like a cold metal probe to the cortex, you can’t

When you hear the words “functional drug addict,” you tend to picture an adult — the physician quietly prescribing pharmaceuticals to himself, the cashier powering through a shift on amphetamines, the stay-at-home mom who gets by each day by getting stoned. But in “Sno Babies,” Kristen (Katie Kelly), a bright and beautiful 16-year-old whose life

Vacationing couple Neil and Christine wake up from a heavy night’s boozing on a remote Thai island to find their passports missing and their memories largely blank. No clarity is forthcoming when Neil checks his phone’s photos from the night before, only to find an extended video in which he has rough sex with his

The Viola Davis-starring 2018 heist thriller “Widows” is set to hit China on Oct. 16. It will go up against five other local titles releasing that day, but none of note. Competitive Chinese films have either timed their release for this week during the National Day holiday, or are waiting for a later time when

The British Film Institute (BFI) has released the first tranche of money from its £30 million ($38.6 million) Culture Recovery Fund, with £650,000 ($838,000) disbursed to 43 independent cinemas across England, U.K. culture secretary Oliver Dowden announced Friday. The BFI grants are part of the U.K. government’s larger $1.9 billion lifeline for the arts sector

Like “Ne Zha” — 2019’s monumental computer-animated box office hit — similarly spectacular CG epic “Jiang Ziya” concludes with nearly 10 minutes of credits: a dense scroll of names amounting to a virtual army of animators, punctuated by extra scenes and teasers for upcoming projects from Chinese distributor Beijing Enlight Pictures. That’s how fans first

Zachary Quinto has never seen William Friedkin’s 1970 big-screen adaptation of “The Boys in the Band,” based on Mart Crowley’s play about a group of gay men who gather in a New York apartment for their friend Harold’s birthday. You’d think he would have by now. Not only did he play Harold in the 2018

New movies from the world of “Dr. Seuss” — “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” and “The Cat in the Hat” spinoff “Thing One and Thing Two” — are in the works from Warner Animation Group. J.J. Abrams is producing an adaptation of the classic children’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” through his company, Bad

Things get gruesome in Amelia Moses’ werewolf thriller “Bloodthirsty.” The upcoming film follows a rising singer and songwriter named Grey (Lauren Beatty), who goes to work on her second album with noted music producer Vaughn Daniels (Greg Bryk) at his remote cabin in the woods. But as the music making progresses, she begins a gruesome

Author V.E. Schwab’s upcoming novel “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is getting adapted into a feature film. Studio eOne has acquired rights for the movie, which will be produced by Gerard Butler’s company G-Base. Schwab is penning the script in her screenwriting debut after an initial draft from Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage.

CAA Media Finance is representing worldwide distribution rights to “India Sweets and Spices,” produced by SK Global (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and Madison Wells (“Genius”). The film is directed by Geeta Malik (“Troublemaker”) and is based on her own script “Dinner With Friends” that won the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in screenwriting. The film follows a

Julie Andrews had a number of things working against her before she became an international superstar in her first movie role in “Mary Poppins.” Andrews, who turns 85 on Oct. 1, almost had to turn down the role because she was pregnant when it was first offered. But studio chief Walt Disney was wowed by

Los Angeles-based U.S. actor and producer Waleed Zuaiter, who plays the lead in Iraq war drama series “Baghdad Central,” is launching a TV and film production company called FlipNarrative that aims to become a bridge between Hollywood and the Middle East and South Asia. Zuaiter — who is of Palestinian heritage, was born in California

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on in India, boutique producer Yoodlee Films has managed to complete production of four projects while adhering to COVID-safe guidelines. Kanu Behl, known for “Titli” which played Cannes in 2014 and “Binnu Ka Sapna” that won Clermont-Ferrand in 2019, is now is post-production on “Agra,” starring Rahul Roy (“Aashiqui”) and

Distributor Altitude has picked up a slate of four films for the U.K. and Ireland, including Adam Egypt Mortimer’s “Archenemy,” Quentin Dupieux‘s “Mandibles,” Mathieu Turi’s “Meander” and Philippe Lacôte’s “Night of the Kings.” Spectrevision’s “Archenemy” stars Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”) as a hero from another dimension exiled to Earth, while the Venice Film Festival’s sleeper

Poland’s EnergaCamerimage Intl. Film Festival is honoring Oscar-winning French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot this year with its Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award. Celebrating the art of cinematography and its creators, the festival described Rousselot as “an incredibly versatile cinematographer whose body of work encompasses a wide variety of genres and styles.” Rousselot, who received an Academy Award

Video streaming giants, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have stepped up their efforts to penetrate the Tamil-language market by announcing release of anthology films in the language by leading filmmakers. Tamil is one of the dominant film, TV and streaming markets in India and content in the language is also consumed in Sri Lanka, Malaysia,