Movies

Charles Barkley, Chris Eubank and Bridget Everett are ready to “Rumble.” The trio have join the voice cast of Paramount Animation’s monster wrestling film “Rumble.” The movie — set to release in theaters on Jan. 29, 2021 — was written and directed by Hamish Grieve. Barkley, Eubank and Everett join the previously announced cast of

AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, and other exhibitors will pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the “Black Panther” star who died last week of colon cancer at the age of 43, by screening “42.” The baseball drama featured Boseman as Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman who broke the color line when he became the

Jack Quaid has been cast in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media’s “Scream” reboot. In the relaunch of the slasher film, Courteney Cox and David Arquette are reprising their roles as news reporter Gale Weathers and sheriff Dewey Riley. It’s unclear who Quaid will play in the movie. “Ready or Not” filmmakers Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler

Nickelodeon has promoted Ramsey Naito to president of Nickelodeon Animation. She was previously executive VP of animation production and development. In the new post, Naito will oversee the network’s animation content across all formats and platforms: linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical motion pictures and SVOD. She continues to report to Brian Robbins, president of ViacomCBS

“She’s All That” changed Rachael Leigh Cook’s life. The 1999 teen romantic comedy — a modern-day retelling of “Pygmalion” — starred Cook as Laney Boggs, a homely, artsy outcast who transforms, in late ’90s parlance, into a “total hottie” and captures the heart of the high school heartthrob, played by Freddie Prinze Jr. When the

Leslie K. Barry’s upcoming novel “Newark Minutemen” has been optioned by Fulwell 73, the independent production company behind “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” John Niven and Nick Ball are attached to pen the screenplay. “Newark Minutemen” is based on an incredible true story. It centers on a Jewish boxer who goes undercover for

Pierce Brosnan will star in “The Last Rifleman,” to be directed by Terry Loane (“Mickybo and Me”). The U.K.’s WestEnd Films has acquired worldwide rights and will be representing the project to buyers at the upcoming Toronto film festival. WestEnd is co-representing U.S. rights with CAA. “The Last Rifleman” will follow a World War II

The Busan film festival’s Asian project market will be held online this year on Oct. 12-14. Some 22 projects from around Asia will vie for production funds during the market. These include “Love Life,” from Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada who won the Un Certain Regard jury prize at Cannes in 2016 for “Harmonium,” and “A

Curzon Artificial Eye has acquired distribution rights in the U.K. and Ireland for “Apples,” the feature directorial debut of Greece’s Christos Nikou, which opens the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival on Sep. 2. Madman Entertainment has also scooped up rights for Australia and New Zealand. The film, which was also selected to

Actor Johnny Depp has filed documents at the Fairfax Country, Virginia, court to delay the defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, so that he can proceed with filming for his role in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3” in London. Depp sued Heard in March, 2019, over an op-ed piece she wrote

“Critical Thinking” is one of those up-from-the-streets high-school competition movies where just mentioning the true story it’s based on kind of gives the game away. Set in 1998, it’s about the five chess wizards from Miami Jackson High who became the first inner-city chess team to win the National Championship. Boom! But, of course, it’s

Based on a ’70s manga by Japanese master Osamu Tezuka, a bored writer’s affair with his beguiling young muse gets the live-action treatment in “Tezuka’s Barbara.” Primarily concerned with the story’s excursions into erotic surrealism and the occult while playing down its social and political themes, this handsomely packaged item isn’t deep or meaningful but

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Amy Hill packed her bags in Hollywood and returned home to her family in Hawaii, thinking she would quarantine there. But the actor-comedian’s short-lived break from production came to an end with a surprise Zoom call in April. Hill, 67, stars in director Quentin Lee’s sci-fi feature

Michael B. Jordan has shared a touching tribute to his “Black Panther” co-star Chadwick Boseman, following the actor’s shocking death due to colon cancer on Aug. 28. The two starred together in the blockbuster “Black Panther,” which made Boseman a household name, in addition to the star of Marvel’s first Black superhero film. Jordan played

More than 7,900 people have signed a petition calling for a statue of Chadwick Boseman to replace a Confederate memorial in Anderson, S.C., the late “Black Panther” star’s hometown. On Friday, Boseman died after a private, four-year battle with colon cancer, shocking many fans around the world. He was 43. “The Confederate Monument belongs in

MONDAY, AUG. 31 Shailene Woodley, Julie Bowen Join ‘Fallout’ Shailene Woodley and Julie Bowen have joined the cast of Jenna Ortega’s high school drama “Fallout,” which has been shooting in Los Angeles. John Ortiz, Will Ropp, Maddie Ziegler and Niles Fitch are also starring in “Fallout.” Megan Park is directing from her own script about

It seems only natural that filmmaker Ninian Doff recruited music supervisors Sophie Urquhart and producer-turned-supe Bobby Perman, aka S-Type, for his off-kilter feature debut “Get Duked!” (previously known as “Boyz in the Wood”), since it marries horror and satire. Doff didn’t want a traditional horror sound; he sought a score and soundtrack that were reflective

It takes a great man to play a great man; Chadwick Boseman did it four times! To have the gravity, the intelligence, the physicality to portray any of his signature roles — Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and T’Challa, the Black Panther — is a breathtaking feat, but to give four entirely different performances

COVID-19 and its long-term affects on film marketing took center stage at the Keynote Marketing Roundtable event on Wednesday, as part of Variety‘s Entertainment Marketing Summit. Brent Lang, Variety‘s executive editor of film and media, moderated the panel conversation, which featured various professionals from the marketing side of the film industry. Participants included Paul Noble, co-president

New Jersey will allow its indoor movie theaters to open on Sept. 4, the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Governor Phil Murphy announced Monday that theaters — which have been closed for almost six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and indoor performance venues would be allowed to reopen with attendance per

It’s been said about the Civil War that the South lost the war but won the narrative, rewriting history to soften its motives while enacting laws to uphold a uniquely American form of apartheid. In the face of more than a century and a half of such malignant propaganda, terrifying social thriller “Antebellum” lands like

Maipo Film, the leading Norwegian production banner behind “The Crossing” and “State of Happiness,” has acquired Oslo-based Friland Production, whose credits include the Nikolaj Coster-Waldau starrer “Headhunters.” Following Maipo’s acquisition, Christian Fredrik Martin, Friland’s owner and producer, is joining Maipo as a producer. Besides “Headhunters,” Friland’s track record also comprises Netflix’s romantic drama “Battle,” about

The Producers Guild of America has issued an extensive safety guide for independent producers as they return to work amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The PGA, which has more than 8,000 members, unveiled the 57-page document Monday with detailed recommendations on testing, maintaining physical distancing and wearing personal protective equipment. It includes “red light protocols”

It’s been said about the Civil War that the South lost the war but won the narrative, rewriting history to soften its motives while enacting laws to uphold a uniquely American form of apartheid. In the face of more than a century and a half of such malignant propaganda, terrifying social thriller “Antebellum” lands like

“Get on Up” director Tate Taylor pays tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Aug. 28 of colon cancer at age 43.  Chadwick and I were on our way to Augusta, Georgia to meet James Brown’s family. We were hopeful the Browns would give our unlikely pairing the blessing to tell the story of the

Poorly recorded, pirated versions of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” leaked online last week. Both are camcorded copies of negligible quality — at least one has Korean subtitles and another has German subtitles. It is unclear how widely seen the illegal copies of the sci-fi thriller were, but it comes as theaters are starting a major campaign

Netflix has released a smattering of original movies and series completely free to stream — no account needed. The streamer’s new “Watch Free” site, available free to any internet user worldwide, is a bid to land new paying customers: Each of the titles available free has a pre-roll sizzle reel highlighting a range of Netflix

Stephen Schwartz, the musical maestro behind such iconic shows as “Pippin” and “Wicked,” will be the subject of a new documentary from John Scheinfeld. Entitled “Defying Gravity: From Godspell to Wicked, A Musical Journey,” the film will commence production in 2021 and will track the highs and lows of Schwartz’s remarkable career. Scheinfeld is no

Russian World War II drama “Saving Leningrad” has sold to several major territories, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and China. The film was sold to Capelight for Germany and the U.S., Signature Entertainment for the U.K., Kinovista in France, New Select in Japan, iQIYI in China, Super Vision Trading in

Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux and veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, the duo behind the Lumiere Institut and its heritage film festival in Lyon, penned an open letter to support movie theaters. As in many countries around the world, France has seen its theaters struggle through the summer due to the dearth of fresh releases, as