Movies

Ever since Thoreau published “Walden” in 1854, the eponymous pond has taken on a life far more metaphysical than geographic, appropriated by writers wanting to give a name to their own special place where life at some point in the past had the potential for time-stopping splendid isolation. In Czech director Bojena Horackova’s “Walden,” a

As the cinema of celestial brutes and space-set horrors goes, Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien” still retains a gold-standard status among its kind, continuing to lend its DNA to various sci-fi quests beyond the atmosphere. The latest film to ingest a piece of its eerie spirit — albeit, with varying degrees of success — is

Some moviegoers feel China’s exhibition sector has been unfairly targeted by prolonged closures and excessive COVID-19 prevention measures, Variety found in a WeChat-based survey of cinema patrons. Survey respondents, who participated on the condition of anonymity, felt the protective measures required of cinemas helped to lower the risk of movie-going, but that the exhibition sector

Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx have teamed up to executive produce a new film about the life of civil rights activist and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, starring Jill Scott. Shakim Compere and Holly Carter will also executive produce “Mahalia!.” “This is such an incredibly important story to tell and we’re thrilled to work with Jamie

Marc Malkin has been named Variety’s senior culture and events editor. Malkin’s new duties include helping to steer the editorial content of the weekly magazine, with an emphasis on expanding lifestyle and culture coverage as well as a focus on how the entertainment community is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. He reports to Ramin Setoodeh,

Come Aug. 26, virtually all roads in the lucrative U.K. and Ireland cinema market lead to Warner Bros.’ “Tenet.” In most of the countries’ cinemas on that date, you can watch any movie — just as long as it’s “Tenet.” At the Omnimax cinema in Limerick, Ireland, customers can choose from 19 showtimes for Christopher

Lulu Wang has set her follow up to “The Farewell” with a reimagining of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s acclaimed Japanese family drama, “Like Father, Like Son.” Variety has learned that Wang is attached to direct the project, which is currently in development stages at Focus Features, and will also produce the film with Josh McLaughlin of Wink

In 2017, mountaineer Chris Bombardier became the first person with hemophilia to scale Mount Everest. “Bombardier Blood,” bowing on demand Aug. 17, captures the remarkable journey in which he attempts to complete his goal of climbing the Seven Summits — the highest mountain on each continent — while raising awareness of the blood disorder. The

Just a few weeks after André Balazs bought the Chateau Marmont — he reportedly paid a little over $12 million for the 61-year-old, 63-room hotel in 1990 — he ran into legendary photographer Helmut Newton and his wife, June, in the lobby. The couple had been living part-time at the hotel for about three years. 

Like many, filmmaker Deon Taylor has been stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. And like many, he’s been itching to get back to production. Inspired by quarantine and lockdown, Taylor told his wife, producer Roxanne Avent Taylor, he was going to make a film. He wasn’t sure how, but after some calls, “Power” star

Fresh off the horror hit “The Invisible Man,” Elisabeth Moss is re-teaming with Blumhouse. The Emmy-winning actress and her Love and Squalor Pictures production company are developing the still-unpublished book “Mrs. March” into a feature film, which Blumhouse will back. Moss will also star in the film as the titular character, an Upper East Side

Paramount Pictures is developing Elsie Chapman’s magic-themed “Caster” novel as a movie with Scholastic Entertainment, Josephson Entertainment and Weed Road Pictures producing. “Caster,” published in 2019 by Scholastic Press, centers on Aza Wu, who knows that real magic is dangerous and illegal because it killed her sister, Shire. Aza must step in to save the

Mongolian filmmaker Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s “Ze” won the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors co-production forum, which featured eight projects from Southeast Asia and Mongolia looking for international partners. Purev-Ochir’s feature debut tells the story of the budding relationship between a teenage shaman and a young woman, set in the rough-and-tumble yurt district

In today’s Global Bulletin, Maven Screen Media gets backing, Venice unveils its VR offerings, Little Mix teams with BBC Three and AMC Networks International extends ties with Formula 1.  U.K. Creative Content EIS Fund has invested in Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler’s media and entertainment development company Maven Screen Media. The investment was made to

Australian audiences may be among the first in the world getting to see Christopher Nolan’s much anticipated blockbuster “Tenet.” Warner-affiliated distributor Village Roadshow has confirmed that paid preview screenings of “Tenet” will go ahead in all but one state during the weekend of Saturday Aug. 22 and Sunday Aug. 23. The film’s official local release

ICM Partners has taken a minority stake in Stockholm-based lit agency Albatros. As part of the investment, ICM veteran Pete Stone will relocate to Sweden and help run Albatros alongside founders and managing partners Martina Österling and Elin Sandström Lundh. The duo founded Albatros in 2017. The deal with Albatros is part of ICM’s effort

Anthony Hopkins, Chloé Zhao, and Mira Nair will be honored at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Hopkins, an Oscar winner for “The Silence of the Lambs,” will receive a TIFF Tribute Actor Award. Zhao, the director of “The Rider,” will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award. Nair, best known for directing “Monsoon Wedding,” will

Chinese war action film “The Eight Hundred” will open in theaters in North America, Australia and New Zealand at the end of the month, a week after it becomes the biggest local film this year to open in Chinese cinemas.. Handled by Huayi Bros., the controversial film will release in China on Aug. 28. Overseas,

The coronavirus pandemic might have brought production to a standstill across Southeast Asia earlier this year, but the continued growth of regional VOD platforms and an uptick in public funding is poised to boost the independent film industry and bring fresh voices into the fold, particularly among female filmmakers. Those were some of the takeaways

Charles Bukowski, the legendary gutter-rat-of-Los-Angeles author and poet, had such a pungent public image — the raw-meat face, like a bulldog’s mug sculpted out of hamburger; the fights and fornications and benders; the notes-from-the-underground beatnik derelict mystique — that watching “You Never Had It: An Evening with Charles Bukowski,” you may be surprised to hear

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has nabbed the title of the world’s highest-paid actor for the second year in a row. Between June 2019 and June 2020, Johnson racked up $87.5 million, making $23.5 million alone from his starring role in the upcoming Netflix film “Red Notice,” according to Forbes. In addition, Johnson has found monetary

Cinemas in some parts of China have been told that they may now sell up to 50% of their available tickets for each screening and play films over two hours in length without restrictions starting from Aug. 14, local reports and leaked directives show. Concessions may also now be sold — not to snack on

AFI Fest is going virtual for its 34th edition on Oct. 15-22, rather than hosting glitzy premieres at its usual site at the TLC Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The festival, an early stop on the awards season circuit, has opted to dispense with physical events, a spokesperson said. Upcoming fall festivals at Venice, Toronto and

Netflix has bought a trilogy of “Fear Street” movies, based on R.L. Stine’s teen horror series and directed by Leigh Janiak, from Disney. The three completed films were produced at Fox by Chernin Entertainment with the goal of releasing each movie a month apart. Filming began last year in Georgia and they were scheduled for

Trini Lopez, the pop singer and guitarist who also acted in Robert Aldrich’s “The Dirty Dozen,” died Tuesday of complications from COVID-19. Palm Springs Life magazine first reported his death; he was a longtime resident of the desert enclave. Filmmakers P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes had recently completed a documentary about his life, which

Against all odds, “The New Mutants,” Disney and Fox’s beleaguered superhero thriller that’s been delayed numerous times in the past two years, might end up being the film that revives moviegoing. Though Disney has shuffled around theatrical plans for nearly every movie slated for release in 2020 and beyond, “The New Mutants” has curiously stayed

Airbnb is offering sleepovers at the world’s last Blockbuster store in Bend, Ore. On Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. PT, movie lovers can request to book a one-night stay from Sept. 18 through 20. Reservations are only open to residents of Deschutes County, and up to four guests per household are allowed per night. The

Lionsgate has sold domestic rights to Sarah Paulson’s “Run” to streaming service Hulu, making the thriller the latest in a long line of titles to ditch its planned theatrical release amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Run” is directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Natalie Qasabian and Sev Ohanian are producing from a script by Chaganty and Ohanian. Paulson

Azazel Jacobs’ “French Exit,” the story of a Manhattan socialite who jettisons her old life for a new one in Paris, has been selected as the closing night feature of the 58th New York Film Festival. The film, which stars Oscar-nominees Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges, will make its world premiere at the festival, which

“Penny Dreadful” star Eva Green has fired back at allegations made in a lawsuit lodged at London’s High Court last week, alleging that the former Bond actor derailed £4 million ($5.22 million) sci-fi thriller, “A Patriot,” in which she was to star alongside Helen Hunt and Charles Dance. Green is currently embroiled in a legal