Movies

Film permit applications rose 40% in August over July as location production restarts in the Los Angeles area amid COVID-19 restrictions, FilmLA reported Thursday. Since it resumed operations in mid-June after the pandemic forced the film and television business to essentially shut down in March, FilmLA has received 1,127 film permit applications from 829 unique

UPDATED: Robert Pattinson has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting “The Batman” to suspend filming in the United Kingdom days after it went back into production, according to a source familiar with the situation. Warner Bros. confirmed earlier on Thursday that production was being halted after a crew member tested positive but did not confirm the person’s

Over the next few days some 350 international movie talents and industry executives will be disembarking on the Venice Lido, coming from all corners of the world, many from countries with high Covid-19 infection rates.  Those expected to be soon strutting down Venice’s unique coronavirus-era catwalk, which is shielded by an outer barrier, include multi-hyphenate

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem is played by not one, not two, but four different actresses in Julie Taymor’s upcoming film “The Glorias.” In a first-look that debuted on Thursday, the nontraditional biopic features Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Lulu Wilson and Ryan Kiera Armstrong all portraying Steinem at different stages of her life. Based on Steinem’s

Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” world is getting a lot bigger, with an untitled film prequel and an anime series in development at Netflix. “I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with Netflix again as we expand the ‘Army of the Dead’ universe with both an international prequel, as well as exploring the

Three teenagers living in an institution for people with special needs fall into an unexpected love triangle, and are suddenly forced to navigate powerful new feelings of envy and desire. As their emotions threaten to upend the carefully structured world around them, the trio find themselves increasingly willing to resort to desperate measures to find

Director Pedro Almodóvar has warned that remaining “imprisoned” at home after lockdown is a “dangerous habit,” for which the only antidote is cinema. The iconic “Pain and Glory” and “Volver” director is in Venice for his short film and first English-language effort “The Human Voice,” starring Golden Lion recipient Tilda Swinton. Both were present at

“No Time to Die,” the 25th movie in the James Bond franchise, unveiled an explosive new trailer on Thursday. The trailer packs a serious amount of action in its 2 1/2 minutes and features all the thrills fans of the globe-trotting superspy could hope for from a much awaited big-screen outing. In the upcoming film,

“Love Actually” director Richard Curtis will headline a webinar on Oct. 1, co-hosted by the Royal Television Society and green charity Global Action Plan. The event, titled “Making a Drama Out of a Crisis,” aims to offer new insights into what youth audiences want to watch. Research conducted by Global Action Plan reveals that 77%

Ahead of its Venice world premiere, Beta Cinema has struck a number of pre-sales for James Norton starrer “Nowhere Special” from Uberto Pasolini. The film, which will bow at the fest on Sept. 10, has sold to a slate of distributors, including ARP (France), A Contracorriente Films (Spain), PIFFL Medien (Germany), Filmladen (Austria), Filmcoopi (Switzerland),

Tilda Swinton has praised the Berlin Film Festival for its decision to adopt gender-neutral performance awards, calling the move “eminently sensible and good.” The “Human Touch” actor was speaking as part of a masterclass session at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday morning, when she was asked how she felt about Berlin’s initiative — particularly

Independent U.K. production outfits Fulwell73 and Empty Room Productions have partnered to develop and co-produce a feature film based on the true story of a Welsh community that hosted a drag show to raise funds needed to bring their church back from disrepair. The project, which has the working title “Dragged to Church,” is inspired

Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić, whose latest feature, “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” world premieres Sept. 3 in competition at the Venice Film Festival, is developing a slate of new projects, including a documentary about the Jewish Bosnian businessman and philanthropist Emerik Blum, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled project tells the story of Blum, the founder and

TrustNordisk has scored a raft of key territory sales on Maria Sodahl’s “Hope,” which won the European Cinemas Label Award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. “Hope” world premiered at Toronto in the Discovery section in 2019. The heartfelt drama stars Stellan Skarsgard and Andrea Braein Hovig (“All the Beauty”) as a couple with a

Here’s a startling statistic for you. In Mississippi, at the height of the Reconstruction era (which lasted until 1877), African-American voter registration stood at 67 percent. A century later, after America had defeated the Nazis and was being held up as a beacon of freedom, African-American voter registration in Mississippi stood at just three percent.

Dwayne Johnson has revealed that he’s tested positive for coronavirus, in addition to his wife Lauren Hashian and their two young daughters. “I wanted to give you guys a little helpful update on things that have been going on on my end for the past two-and-a-half to three weeks now. So the update is this:

Sharon Horgan will play Nicolas Cage’s ex-wife in Lionsgate’s action comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” Cage stars as a fictionalized version of himself who’s feeling creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, leading him to accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a super fan, played by Pedro Pascal. When things

Hospitalization proves more than usually fatal in “12 Hour Shift,” a bloody black comedy from actress turned writer-director Brea Grant. This clever mix of the farcical and macabre finds shady nurse Angela Bettis’ sideline in illicit organ harvesting going seriously awry during an extra-long work stint at a 1999 Arkansas care facility. Although closer to

Disney Plus customers who shell out $30 for “Mulan” starting Friday, Sept. 4, will get the first look at the live-action remake — but in three months, all subscribers to the streaming service will get access to “Mulan” for no extra charge. Starting Sept. 4, “Mulan” will be available to Disney Plus subscribers who pay

Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris have joined John Boyega in the sci-fi mystery “They Cloned Tyrone” for Netflix and Macro. “Creed 2” writer Juel Taylor is attached to direct from a screenplay he wrote with Tony Rettenmaier. The film is described as a pulpy caper, in which an unlikely trio — portrayed by Boyega, Foxx

California’s Humboldt-Del-Norte County is open for business. Film commissioner Cassandra Hesseltine sent out an email to over 400 location managers heralding the news in an effort to promote economic regrowth and aid the film industry restart in the state. The redwood-forested, northernmost area in the state has served as a filming location for films including

Hollywood may never look the same after the coronavirus pandemic, but a relic of the old world has been returned to one major Hollywood agency: full paychecks. Of the agencies that cut staff salaries at the start of COVID-19, UTA will be the first to make employees whole, it was announced Wednesday by agency CEO

Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired the world sales rights to “The Art of Return” – a Spanish production by first-time director Pedro Collantes nurtured through Venice’s renowned Biennale College film workshop initiative. The boutique distributor will also handle the Spanish distribution for this coming-of-age drama, which focuses on a young actress (“Holy Camp’s” Macarena García) returning

The 77th Venice Film Festival opened in earnest Wednesday evening with a moving ceremony that served as a passionate rallying cry in defense of the collective moviegoing experience in the face of a perceived threat posed by streaming giants. The opening film was Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s marriage drama “The Ties,” which was generally well

Tilda Swinton accepted her Golden Lion for career achievement at the Venice Film Festival with a touching love letter to cinema, which she punctuated with “Wakanda Forever,” in a nod to “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman. The British actor accepted the prize from Venice jury president Cate Blanchett during the festival’s opening ceremony on Wednesday

Midway through “The Ties,” a long-absent father and his estranged young son realize they have an unlikely thing in common: They both tie their shoes in an unconventional way that draws light mockery from others. The boy must have learned it from his dad, though neither can remember when; now, as they scarcely know each

“I’m here. I’m part of this now.”— Pam, “The Office” The human mind and soul exist, but are not mutually exclusive to chasing your dreams. In kindergarten, your teacher may have asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up. As 5 and 6 year olds, we try to pick the coolest job,

Demi Moore was unable to come to the Venice Film Festival, which is hosting a series of virtual talks, titled “Life Through a Different Lens: Contactless Connections,” with Mastercard, which the actress launched Wednesday. But she assured the moderator that she is doing really well, and staying positive, despite the threat of COVID-19. “I know

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, has announced that its 36th edition will take place virtually from Sept. 24 to Oct. 31. The festival postponed its original in-person presentation in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, holding in its place the first-ever Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Virtual Showcase.

With sights set on shaking up the competitive entertainment-industry representation landscape, Peter Micelli and a group of high-profile defectors from super-agencies including CAA, UTA and WME have launched a new management firm that will target Hollywood’s most powerful potential clients for bespoke representation services. The new company, Range Media Partners, is backed by Steve Cohen’s