The annual GLAAD Media Awards will be held virtually for the first time on July 30. The star-studded lineup includes Lil Nas X, Dolly Parton, the cast and producers of “Pose,” Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Ryan O’Connell, Brian Michael Smith, Peppermint and Lena Waithe. Cara Delevingne, who appeared
Movies
Holy cinematic mystery, Batman! Last week, writer Marc Bernardin (“Castle Rock,” “Star Trek: Picard”) tweeted that he’d heard from “VERY good authority” that a 170-minute cut of the 1995 superhero blockbuster “Batman Forever” from the late director Joel Schumacher exists, but that Warner Bros. was “unsure if there’s any hunger for what was described to
For this year’s edition of Nespresso Talents, a competition that celebrates emerging filmmakers and innovative forms of storytelling, organizers faced an obvious challenge as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe, disrupting lives and rattling the global film industry. But the competition, designed for short films shot in vertical format, can claim its most successful
City authorities in Shanghai are to be paid a subsidy that partially helps them offset their financial losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The move was announced on Wednesday and confirmed by the Shanghai Municipal Film Administration, which identified the beneficiaries. In all $2.6 million (RMB18 million) will be paid to 345 cinemas, state news
When you look at the face of Danny Trejo, you see the creases and hollows and pockmarks, the eye pouches like saddlebags, the badges of a life so well-worn that, at first, that’s just about all you see. Yet the more you look, the more you notice a paradox. For someone who has been around
The co-directors and producer of a new Netflix documentary about the life of iconic television astrologer Walter Mercado are hoping to adapt the film into a scripted biopic. Cristina Costantini, who directed “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” with Kareem Tabsch, tells Variety that they asked Mercado who he wanted to play him.
Being released during an epidemic lends additional if unintended frisson to “The Beach House,” a cryptic yet reasonably involving thriller in which vacationers find themselves under threat. The nature of that threat remains ambiguous, but in its partially-airborne inescapability, it definitely hits a note of creepy relevance. Writer-director Jeffrey A. Brown’s first feature is neither
In 2013, Daniel Rye, a Danish photographer in his mid-twenties, went to Syria to document the plight of civilian refugees and was kidnapped by ISIS. Ransomed and held captive for 13 months, Rye was psychologically and physically tortured, starved and beaten by his captors, first on his own and then alongside several other international hostages,
One would assume that the powers that be at Disney and Marvel have approached Charlize Theron about joining the MCU. But no, Theron says, she hasn’t heard a peep. “I swear to God. I’ve never gotten anything,” the Oscar winner says during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big
“The Invisible Man” director Leigh Whannell is in negotiations to helm Ryan Gosling’s “Wolfman” for Universal Pictures. Whannell will also be writing the treatment for the film, based on an original idea of his own. Blumhouse, which teamed with Whannell on “The Invisible Man,” has come on board to produce “The Wolfman.” Variety first reported
On-location film in Los Angeles plunged to its lowest levels on record for the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, the FilmLA permitting agency reported Wednesday. The report showed overall production plunged by 97.8% to only 194 shoot days as production remained shut down from March 20 to June 15. State and county officials
Giving evidence on the second day of a libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Johnny Depp denied slapping his former wife Amber Heard when she laughed at one of his tattoos. Depp, who is suing the publisher of The Sun newspaper for describing him as a “wife beater,” was being cross-examined
Laemmle Theatres is considering unloading at least one of its theaters that has been sitting idle for the past four months amid the pandemic-induced shutdown. The Claremont 5 theater has already been put up for sale and the company is mulling shopping one or more of the six other theaters the 82-year-old business owns and
Documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor,” from Latinx filmmakers Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) and Kareem Tabsch (“The Last Resort”), focuses on the legacy of Walter Mercado, the iconic gender-nonconforming Hispanic astrologer who disappeared from the public eye, choosing to live off the grid in Puerto Rico, before resurfacing to prepare for the opening of a late-in-life exhibition
Universal Pictures is pushing back the openings of “Candyman” and its two “Halloween” sequels, marking only the latest release date delays amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Candyman” will move back three weeks from Sept. 25 to Oct. 16. “Halloween Kills” has been delayed for a year from Oct. 16, 2020, to Oct. 15, 2021, and “Halloween
KiKi Layne is a natural — and not just when it comes to acting. While training to star opposite Charlize Theron in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s graphic novel-based film “The Old Guard” (streaming on Netflix beginning July 10), the 28-year-old learned she’s quite adept at preparing firearms. “Our tactical trainer was blown away at how smooth all
The proposal to build London’s largest film studios on former industrial land in the suburb of Dagenham has been approved by the Barking and Dagenham Council’s planning committee. The approval comes after what has been a tumultuous journey. In 2018, leading U.S. production facility developer Pacifica Ventures and private equity firm Media Content Capital won
Oprah Winfrey, The New York Times and Lionsgate are partnering on a series of feature films and television shows based on “The 1619 Project.” The collaboration was announced Wednesday, nearly a year after the Times debuted “The 1619 Project” series to re-examine the legacy of slavery in the United States on the 400th anniversary of
Roy Andersson’s “About Endlessness” and Tsai Ming-liang’s “Days” are among the highlights of the Masters and Auteurs section of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival. The festival will hold screenings in front of live audiences next month. It had originally been scheduled to take place in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus
The Venice, Toronto, Telluride and New York Film Festivals have joined forces in an alliance that will see the prominent fall events, all positioned six weeks from each other, collaborate rather than compete in a spirit of post-pandemic solidarity. The statement announcing this alliance provides scant details of what concrete form it will take, beyond
Welsh actor Luke Evans (“Midway”) has revealed details of Hulu’s quarantine plans for the Australia shoot of limited series “Nine Perfect Strangers.” “We all have to be quarantined in a hotel room,” said Evans in an interview for the July 14 episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.” “I can’t see anyone
Paolo Sorrentino will return to his hometown of Naples for feature film “The Hand of God” for Netflix. Produced by “The Great Beauty” director alongside Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle-backed The Apartment Pictures, the film will be produced in Naples. Sorrentino will both write and direct, though further details about the project remain sparse. The film’s
British star Idris Elba has once again teased the prospect of a feature film version of popular BBC TV series “Luther,” according to Sky News. “There isn’t a real formal plan for ‘Luther’ at the moment,” Elba said. “I’ve made it very clear that I’d like to see ‘Luther’ come back as a film. And
European pay-TV operator Sky and Sony Pictures Television have agreed a new long-term partnership across the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. The deal includes a multi-year extension across all markets to the exclusive first pay window, and access to Sony’s film library, and extends to all of Sky’s transactional services across its markets.
“Harry Potter” writer J.K Rowling, “Handmaid’s Tale” author Margaret Atwood and “Midnight’s Children” writer Salman Rushdie are amongst 150 public figures to have signed a letter condemning the practice of ‘public shaming,’ or cancel culture as it is known popularly. Cancel culture is a term used to describe individuals who have shared an unpopular opinion
Spackman Entertainment, a company listed in Singapore with a collection of Korean-themed investments, said that it has received a takeover offer for its Zip Cinema subsidiary, one of Korea’s leading independent production companies. In a regulatory filing, Spackman said that a non-binding letter of intent was delivered by Charm Accounting Corporation. Charm in turn is
SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles board has voted to oppose ratification of a successor deal on its master contract for feature films and primetime television work. The move came Tuesday, two weeks after the national board of the performers union had approved sending out the contract for ratification by a vote of 67.6% to 32.4%. Ballots are due
Jude Law may be heading to Neverland. The actor is in talks to play the classic Disney villain, Captain Hook, in the studio’s live-action Peter Pan film “Peter Pan & Wendy,” sources tell Variety. “Pete’s Dragon” director David Lowery is on board to direct the project. Lowery co-wrote the script with Toby Halbrooks, and Jim Whitaker
Matt Bomer already knew Derek Simonds, the creator and showrunner of “The Sinner,” before being approached about starring in the third season of the USA Network series. “I had met with Derek years ago when he was involved in ‘Call Me by Your Name,’ and we’d hit it off creatively and had a great conversation,”
Movie theaters have been banking on a grand end-of-summer reopening to begin recovering from the closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic. The plan has been to remind consumers about what they missed about the theatrical experience by luring them back to cinemas with the promise of watching Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi adventure “Tenet” or Disney’s action epic