Movies

Seven fellows have been selected for the 9th annual Native American TV Writers Lab, administered by the Native American Media Alliance. The eight-week program consists of daily workshops, seminars and one-on-one mentoring with the aim of coaching the fellows on how to develop a pilot and cultivate the skills needed to land TV staff writer

Five documentary filmmakers have been chosen to receive Catapult Film Fund‘s annual research grant. Each recipient will receive $10,000 in direct support and six months of mentorship from industry advisors to support new nonfiction projects. The Bay Area-based nonprofit organization launched its latest artist-centered program in 2020 to address issues of career sustainability and diversity

Limonero Films has picked up world rights to distribute environmental documentary “Wild Coast Warriors,” which launches at Mipdoc. The film aims to raise awareness of the plight of small coastal communities on South Africa’s Wild Coast, who are standing up to the oil and gas industry. It follows a David vs. Goliath court-case against Shell,

Watching “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” I realized that the movie, a standard overly busy and mediocre blockbuster with a pretty awesome wow of a clash-of-the-titans climax, was demonstrating one of the essential principles of Hollywood movie culture today. Namely: All blockbuster movies are now connected! Kong, living in the Hollow Earth, where most

Vertical has acquired U.S. rights to “Bucky F*cking Dent,” a father-son story set against the 1978 Red Sox vs. Yankees pennant race. The movie was written, directed by and stars David Duchovny. It also happens to be based on Duchovny’s 2016 best-selling novel of the same name. The cast of “Bucky F*cking Dent” includes Logan

Italy’s Indiana Production – which is part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group – is making a significant move into the comedy space by forging a multi-picture deal and a creative collaboration pact with multihyphenate Gennaro Nunziante who has directed top local hits including “Quo Vado” that is the country’s all-time highest grosser. Nunziante – who

Don’t expect to see Kristen Stewart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the actor is no stranger to big budget Hollywood tentpoles, from the “Twilight” movies to “Snow White and the Huntsman,” she recently said on the “Not Skinny but Not Fat” podcast that the studio system would have to dramatically change in order for

Popular Bollywood actor Boman Irani is making his directorial debut with “The Mehta Boys.” Irani starred in 2002 Locarno title “Let’s Talk” and shot to Bollywood fame with his roles in “Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.” (2003) and “Main Hoon Na” (2004). He also had significant roles in “Khosla Ka Ghosla” and “Don” (both 2006) and “3

Netflix has released the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld‘s upcoming Pop-Tart movie, “Unfrosted,” set for release on May 3. Per Netflix’s Tudum, the logline for “Unfrosted” reads, “Michigan, 1963. Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever. A tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing

“Civil War,” the A24 action-thriller about a violently divided United States, isn’t offering up much in the way of escapism. Though it takes place in the dystopian future, it not-so-subtly feeds into the blue-state/red-state rift that’s sure to widen as the race for the White House heats up. That strategy is prominent in the movie’s

A number of major names from the U.K. film and TV world and beyond have donated items — and their own time — to an auction raising money for Gaza. Organized by Cinema for Gaza in support of Medical Aid for Palestinians, the auction has drawn in gifts from likes of Tilda Swinton, Ken Loach, Asia Kapadia,

ASIAN CINEMA CELEBRATION Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as

Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s. The Locarno retro, titled “The Lady With the Torch –– The Centenary of Columbia Pictures,” is being curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, co-director

The Busan International Film Festival has postponed the appointment of a permanent festival director. A new leader may be appointed after this year’s edition in October. Pak Dosin, a former senior programmer, has been appointed as co-deputy director in a dual-leadership structure, alongside co-deputy director Kang Seung-ah. That means that this year’s festival will be

Joey King has nothing against method acting – it’s just not for her. Especially for projects like her latest, the Holocaust series “We Were the Lucky Ones.” Based on Georgia Hunter’s best-selling novel of her family’s fight to survive the Holocaust, Logan Lerman stars as Hunter’s grandfather Addy alongside King as his younger sister Halina.

Florence Pugh is back in Marvel movie mode and shared to Instagram a first look set video from the Atlanta studio where “Thunderbolts” is now in production. The tentpole will mark Pugh’s latest appearance as the assassin Yelena Belova, a role she debuted as in “Black Widow” and reprised on the Disney+ series “Hawkeye.” The

The biographical drama, or biopic as it is widely known, is often a staple of the movie release calendar. Paramount Pictures already has one of the year’s big hits thanks to its Bob Marley biopic “One Love,” featuring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the reggae music icon, which has earned more than $170 million at the worldwide

Ryan Gosling and Apple Original Films exec Jessie Henderson have launched General Admission, a production company with the objective to collaborate with world class filmmakers to create bold theatrical and streaming events within all genres. In introducing their new venture, the duo has signed a three-year first-look film deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Under the pact,

One of the most infamous reviews for David Lynch‘s “Blue Velvet” to publish when the film opened in 1986 came courtesy of Roger Ebert, who gave the movie one star. Then the most prominent critic in the United States, Ebert criticized how Lynch’s casting of Isabella Rossellini in a role where she gets “humiliated.” “[Rossellini] is

Paramount Global‘s debt rating was cut to junk status by credit-rating agency S&P Global, which cited the media conglomerate’s ongoing challenges with free cash flow generation relative to its debt. S&P on Wednesday said it expects Paramount Global’s free operating cash flow-to-debt will remain “well below” 10% through 2025, and that adjusted leverage (debt-to-equity ratio)

Bettina Blümner’s “Vamos a la playa” won ArteKino Festival’s European Audience Award at a ceremony co-organized by the iconic French fashion house Chanel in Paris. Held at La Femis, Paris’ prestigious film school, the event also included a conversation with French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”), followed by a ceremony honoring Blümner and a

Filmmakers Farah Nabulsi and Darin J. Sallam recently came together to discuss how ongoing violence in Gaza has impacted the Palestinian creative community, the hardships they’ve endured telling their stories, concerns over Hollywood censorship and hopes that film can “preserve” Palestinian history for the Muslim Girl Code podcast‘s debut episode “Will Storytelling Save Palestine?” In

Sony Pictures has acquired Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller “Caught Stealing,” which will star Austin Butler. The film follows Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ‘90s NYC. “I am excited to be teaming up with my old friends at

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has appointed Bridgette Wilder to the newly established position of chief people and culture officer. Wilder will report to Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy Museum director and president Jacqueline Stewart. Uniting the human resources teams of the Academy and the Academy Museum, Wilder will focus on

WooHoo, a film adaptation of “The Sims” is in the works! LuckyChap principals Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara and Tom Ackerley will produce alongside Roy Lee for Vertigo Entertainment. Kate Herron, who helmed “Loki,” is set to direct the movie and co-write with Briony Redman. The writing duo most recently collaborated on the script for a

Sharon Stone stopped by Dana Carvey and David Spade’s “Fly On The Wall” podcast to discuss the time she hosted “Saturday Night Live” back in April 1992 shortly after the release of her erotic blockbuster “Basic Instinct.” Stone remembered being “terrified” during the live taping as protestors stormed the stage seconds before her monologue. Six

While the experimental premise of “Azrael” is commendable on paper — a wordless, gore-filled revenge indie about a woman escaping a religious cult, as well as zombies of some sort — the film finds itself unable to visually convey many basic tenets of its story. In struggling to reconcile image and meaning, it ends up

Speaking to Them magazine alongside her “Love Lies Bleeding” co-star Katy O’Brien, Kristen Stewart briefly reflected on making the 2020 holiday romantic comedy “Happiest Season.” Set up at Sony Pictures and released in the U.S. direct to streaming via Hulu, the Clea DuVall-directed film was widely touted as the first lesbian Christmas rom-com produced by a major Hollywood studio. “The

The nerve-wracking documentary “War Game” follows a 6-hour Situation Room re-creation of events of Jan. 6, 2021, albeit on a larger, more distressing scale. In the process, the film lays bare numerous weaknesses in America’s political infrastructure, but its most revealing subjects might not be who you think. Directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss strip

Apollo Global Management, a major private-equity firm, has submitted an $11 billion bid to acquire Paramount Pictures and the Paramount TV studios group, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that Apollo Global offered $11 billion for Paramount Global’s film and TV studio business. That would apparently not include