Oren Moverman began his career as a screenwriter, contributing to such landmarks of independent film as “Jesus’ Son” and “I’m Not There.” In 2009, he made his directorial debut with “The Messenger,” an Iraq-war homefront drama that attracted major critical acclaim as well as two Oscar nominations (for best original screenplay and for Woody Harrelson
Movies
South Korean animation “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” opens Wednesday in some 300 cinemas in France, giving the fairy tale derivative a further chance demonstrate its resistant to coronavirus. Using the fairy tale format to tell a story about the true meaning of beauty, the film was written and directed by Hong Sung Ho
The Beijing International Film Festival will go ahead after all, organizers announced Wednesday. The festival was originally scheduled for late April, but was postponed in March due to the coronavirus outbreak. It was replaced with a hastily pulled together online event in early May, operated in partnership with streaming platform iQIYI. Now, the 10th edition
Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outfit New Europe Film Sales has acquired world sales rights to “A Piece of Sky,” Swiss director Michael Koch’s sophomore feature, which was selected for The Films After Tomorrow strand of the Locarno Festival. “A Piece of Sky” is based on the real-life story of Anna and Marco, a couple who
South Korea came relatively late to the zombie-cinema sweepstakes, making up for lost time most notably with 2016’s “Train to Busan,” which has already generated a sequel. Nonetheless, “Zombie for Sale” will seem most familiar not necessarily to horror fans, but rather those who grokked the comedy of family dysfunctionalia in prior genre-expanding local breakouts
Who would have thought a romantic comedy on the pain of being different could become such ironic and timely viewing in a global pandemic? In “I Weirdo,” a kooky and innovative debut by Taiwanese writer-director Liao Ming-yi, a couple with OCD trying to fit in to so-called “normal” society now looks like social-distancing heroes in
Popular Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana is teaming with director Abhishek Kapoor on an as yet untitled Bollywood romance. Khurrana will play a cross functional athlete in the film. The project is set up by Kapoor’s outfit Guy In The Sky Pictures (“Kedarnath”) and a producer is being finalised. Khurrana has made it a point of
David Rubin has been re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for a second consecutive term. The votes were cast on Tuesday by the Academy’s board of governors. The board also elected: Lois Burwell, First Vice President (chair, Awards and Events Committee) Larry Karaszewski, Vice President (chair, Preservation and History Committee)
Johnny Depp’s attorney David Sherborne described Amber Heard as a “compulsive liar” while delivering his concluding remarks on the ongoing libel case at London’s Royal Courts of Justice. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) and journalist Dan Wootton for an article on The Sun’s website that described him as a
Lionsgate has nominated Mignon Clyburn, a former commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, to its board of directors. Lionsgate made the disclosure Tuesday afternoon as part of its filing of its proxy statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If confirmed at the company’s annual meeting on Sept. 15 in Vancouver, Clyburn will become the
The Weinstein Co. bankruptcy estate is scrambling to salvage a $46.8 million global settlement that was rejected by a federal judge two weeks ago. The estate informed a Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday that the estate is working “feverishly” to arrange a deal with dozens of women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
The U.K. government has revealed how its planned £1.57 billion ($1.9 billion) Cultural Recovery Fund will be disbursed across arts sectors. Of the total amount, the government has currently released £880 million ($1.14 billion), which has been split into two funding rounds. The first round of £622 million ($805.3 million) will be distributed immediately, while
Citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, giant screen producer-exhibitor Imax has reported a $26 million second-quarter loss, or 44 cents a share, on revenues of $8.9 million. During the 2019 quarter, Imax had reported earnings of $11.4 million, or 19 cents a share, on revenues of $104.8 million. Wall Street analysts had expected a
Le Grand Rex theater, which boasts France’s biggest cinema screen, will be closing down on Aug. 3 for several weeks due to the dearth of fresh releases. The Grand Red theater, located in the heart of Paris and popular among teenagers and family audiences, reopened its doors on June 22 after a three-month shutdown. The
Werner Herzog says the success of Disney Plus series “The Mandalorian,” in which he plays The Client, has made him think it’s time to park his acting career. Speaking to Oscar-winning “Amy” director Asif Kapadia on Monday as part of the BFI at Home series on BFIYouTube, Herzog said, “I have done a lot more
Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has been through a rollercoaster ever since the coronavirus crisis struck. But he never stopped working, and on Tuesday unveiled a 60-title lineup which, while a bit thin on Hollywood glitz, represents the core essence of Venice any year. A rich roster of quality films from top global
Only 22% of European feature films made between 2015-2018 were directed by women, a new study by the European Audiovisual Observatory has revealed. When it comes to female professionals directing audiovisual fiction episodes, the percentage drops to 19%. Women are slightly better represented in the screenwriting department, accounting for 25% in films and 34% in
Celluloid Dreams is handling international sales for Majid Majidi’s Venice competition title “Sun Children.” Set to world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which today unveiled its lineup, the film tells the story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. Together, they work hard to survive and support their families, doing small jobs in a
In a normal year, the announcement of the Venice Film Festival lineup — often coming on the heels of its Toronto counterpart across the pond — triggers the first whisperings of awards season. Once second to Cannes in the European festival prestige stakes, Venice has in the last decade taken advantage of its late-summer scheduling
Paris-based company Indie Sales has acquired Jasmila Žbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” which will world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Co-produced by Indie Sales’ sister company Indie Prod, the film is based on real events and is set in the Bosnian summer of 1995, against the backdrop of the Serbian occupation of Srebrenica,
U.K. based HanWay Films will handle international sales on Israeli auteur Amos Gitai’s new film “Laila In Haifa,” set to bow in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September. HanWay will also represent 25 films from Gitai’s extensive body of award-winning work. With an ensemble cast of both Israeli and Palestinian actors, “Laila in
By now it is common knowledge that the coronavirus pandemic has been bad for cinema box office. New data for the Asia-Pacific region shows just how bad. Figures from S&P Global Market intelligence and OPUSData depict a 92% collapse between January and June, compared with the first half of last year. Aggregate cinema revenue was
The Venice Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled a rich roster of films by prominent auteurs spanning the globe, such as Mexico’s Michel Franco, France’s Nicole Garcia, Japan’s Kurosawa Kiyoshi, and from the U.S., Oscar-winning veteran Fredrick Wiseman, all set to grace the lineup of the Lido’s watershed 77th edition. The fest is on track with
The Venice Film Festival is unveiling the lineup of its 77th edition, which, barring complications, will be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition following the coronavirus crisis. Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11,
One of the rare festivals to be hosting physical edition in the coronavirus era, the Deauville American Film Festival is set to world premiere 10 anticipated movies that are part of Cannes’s 2020 Official Selection. The Deauville roster of Cannes pics was curated by the Normandy-set festival’s artistic director Bruno Barde out of the 56
Despite fears that the Japanese summer box office might be a lost cause, with many big Hollywood and local releases postponed, recent figures indicate that audiences, especially younger fans of hit TV shows, are returning to theaters after the coronavirus hiatus. The number one film for the July 20-26 period, when Japan enjoyed a four-day
MONDAY, JULY 27 Fred Willard’s ‘Here Comes Rusty’ Finds a Home Cinedigm has bought the comedy “Here Comes Rusty,” starring Fred Willard, Bruce Hampton, Joey Lauren Adams and Paulie Litt, for digital release this fall, Variety has learned exclusively. Hampton portrays the owner of a dog track who makes a wager with Willard’s dishonest owner
Regal Cinemas, the nation’s second largest cinema chain, has announced that it will begin to reopen its U.S. locations on Aug. 21. Regal’s U.K. parent Cineworld made the announcement on Monday afternoon following Warner Bros. disclosure that it will open Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller “Tenet” in international markets on Aug. 26 with a Sept. 3
Actress and director Amy Seimetz has obtained a temporary restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, director Shane Carruth, accusing him of years of mental, emotional and physical abuse. On one occasion in 2016, Seimetz alleges that Carruth jumped on her in a hotel room and strangled her until she struggled to breathe, according to filings attached
Johnny Depp did not appear at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on Monday, as his libel case against Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloid The Sun and executive editor Dan Wootton entered its penultimate day of hearings. His ex-wife, “Aquaman” actress Amber Heard, was present and in good spirits. Delivering the defense’s final submission, The Sun attorney