Movies

Hong Kong “Mulan” star Donnie Yen this week reiterated his political loyalty to mainland China as he teased work on the upcoming theatrical adaptation of popular video game “Sleeping Dogs” and announced “Golden Empire,” a new China-backed crime thriller. His hometown is currently roiling under the impact of a controversial new national security law imposed

Dylan O’Brien is in negotiations to star in Peter Farrelly’s next movie, which is based on the novel “The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A True Story of Friendship Stronger Than War.” O’Brien beat out a number of other actors for the part, which was one of the more sought after roles in Hollywood for a

Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard, both masked, arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday for the explosive start of a libel trial. Depp is suing the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers, and the paper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, for describing him as a “wife-beater,” based on allegations Heard

Lucy Liu opened up in a recent interview about the difficulties she faced earlier in her career due to racism in Hollywood. The former “Charlie’s Angels” star’s comments come as actor Thandie Newton spoke out about how she was initially cast in Liu’s role in the 2000 film, but pulled out due to what she

In a cover interview with Cosmopolitan, Keke Palmer commented on her experience at a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles last month, specifically touching on an interaction that went viral through a clip posted by NBC News in which Palmer is seen urging members of the National Guard to march with protesters and them

When director Gina Prince-Bythewood took the helm of Netflix’s “The Old Guard,” bowing on the streaming service July 10, one of the first people she called was longtime collaborator and editor Terilyn Shropshire — the two have a partnership that dates back 20 years, along the way collaborating on “Love & Basketball,” “The Secret Life of

Martin Scorsese has come on board to co-direct and executive produce a feature documentary profiling David Johansen, the frontman of the New York Dolls. The film will follow Johansen’s arrival in New York’s East Village in the late 1960s and the start of his musical career started in the 1970s as lead singer for the

Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser have been cast alongside Kristen Bell and Leslie Jones in the caper comedy “Queenpins.” Independent financier Align has joined AGC Studios, Aloe Entertainment and Marquee Entertainment to provide financing and co-produce. Pre-production will begin in late summer in Los Angeles. “Queenpins” is written and will be directed by husband-wife

“Westworld” star Thandie Newton revealed several stories about shocking behavior she’s encountered from Hollywood executives and creatives over the course of her career in a provocative interview with Vulture. The actor cited incidents ranging from press coverage of her alleged sexual assault to what she remembers as a racist encounter with former Sony Pictures head

It was only a matter of time before the most powerful brothers in Hollywood got into business together. In the late ’90s, “Scary Movie,” a comedy that satirized slasher-killer movies, brought three of the Wayans brothers — Marlon, Shawn and Keenen Ivory — to the doorstep of Dimension Films, the boutique horror studio run by

A group of movie theater companies — including AMC, Cinemark and Regal — have filed a lawsuit against the governor of New Jersey, claiming a First Amendment right to reopen during the pandemic. The companies, led by the National Association of Theatre Owners, is challenging Gov. Phil Murphy’s order that allows malls, libraries, churches and

The upcoming Venice Film Festival, which is scheduled to run Sept. 2-12, is expected to be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition after the coronavirus crisis, albeit with a somewhat slimmer but still substantial lineup. Variety spoke exclusively to Venice Artistic Director Alberto Barbera about how he’s been navigating the crisis,

The clock is ticking for movie theaters. As coronavirus cases rise in the United States, cinemas around the country are finding their plans for reopening in jeopardy, and that’s putting a greater strain on a section of the economy that’s been hit hard by the public health crisis. For years, movie theater chains such as

Leading Black U.S. congressman John Lewis has joined “Ahimsa – Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless,” the upcoming documentary on non-violent political struggle. The film was produced to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth and tackles issues including race relations, the under-trodden members of society, and restoration of human rights. Coming at a

The upcoming Venice Film Festival’s reconfiguration due to coronavirus safety measures has been officially unveiled. Barring complications, Venice, which runs Sept. 2-12, is set to be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition after the coronavirus crisis, with a lineup that is somewhat reduced but still substantial. Venice Artistic Director Alberto

Halle Berry has pulled out of a role in an upcoming film in which she’d play a transgender character after facing backlash online. In an Instagram live interview on Friday, the actor said she had been preparing for the role, but had not been officially cast. “[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans

“Hamilton” won 11 Tonys, a Pulitzer and a Grammy, and the filmed version on Disney Plus was the talk of social media throughout July 4 weekend — but it won’t be headed to the Oscars. Disney had planned a theatrical release in October 2021 before dropping it early on its streaming service, but that’s not

A3 Artists Agency has hired industry veterans Andy Patman and Adam Kanter as partners in an effort to build its literary division and grow the company. Patman has been hired as co-head of television content and Kanter has become co-head of motion pictures. Patman spent more than 20 years at Paradigm, where he sold “Desperate

Theater star Clare Dunne has inked with UTA for representation. Dunne is best known for her breakout theater performances, including her role in “Julius Caesar” at Donmar Warehouse, which also starred Harriet Walter with Phyllida Lloyd directing. She also performed in the acclaimed all-women production of “Henry IV” at Donmar Warehouse. Her big-screen break came

Brad Pitt is set to star in action-thriller “Bullet Train” for Sony Pictures, sources tell Variety. David Leitch will direct and will supervise the script, which will be written by Zak Olkewicz. Since directing the “Fast & Furious” spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw,” Leitch had been taking his time in picking his next film, and only

On Tuesday, Johnny Depp’s libel trial against the publisher of The Sun newspaper starts in London. Here are seven things you need to know: 1. The Main Players Judge Andrew Nicol will preside in the graystone Victorian gothic Royal Courts of Justice in London over the case brought by John Christopher Depp II against Rupert

Tom Hanks shows what a commanding actor he can be from the first taut combat sequence of “Greyhound,” when the title warship, leading a convoy through the North Atlantic in the early months of World War II, spies a U-boat speeding toward it from a dozen miles away. As the German sub approaches, we hear

Antonio Banderas, Edgar Wright, Jean Michel Jarre, Chance the Rapper and even the Italian prime minister were among the people paying to legendary film composer Ennio Morricone early Monday, who died following complications from a fall. He was 91. Over seven decades, Morricone contributed to over 520 scores including, “The Good, the Bad and the

Hollywood screenwriter and author Bettina Gilois died Sunday night in her sleep after battling cancer, her friend Joshua Plant confirmed to Variety. She was 58. Gilois wrote the HBO film “Bessie” starring Queen Latifah, and numerous other films and books. Before her death, Gilois had several projects in the works, including the drama “Shutter Spy,”

“Star Wars” actor John Boyega will star alongside Jodie Turner-Smith (“Queen & Slim”), Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) and Jack Reynor (“Midsommar”) in thriller “Borderland,” to be directed by the Guard Brothers (“The Uninvited’). The film will follow an Irish paramilitary soldier who witnesses the shooting of his wife by an SAS sergeant and

Austrian broadcaster ORF and Germany’s ZDF have commissioned a three-episode season two for period crime drama “Vienna Blood,” produced by Endor Productions — a Red Arrow Studios company — and MR Film. After successful season one runs in the U.S. and U.K., both PBS and BBC Two are on board as well. Screenwriter Steve Thompson

Danish writer Karen Blixen, whose memoir “Out of Africa” and short story “Babette’s Feast” were both turned into Academy Award-winning films, is now the subject of another big-screen makeover with an adaptation of her short story “The Immortal Story” set to be penned by Argentina’s Daniel Rosenfeld and Lucía Puenzo. Argentine-French actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart

Eye-popping action steals the show in “Lupin III: The First,” the first computer-animated feature entry in the classic franchise about the French gentleman thief and master of disguise. Casting the hero as an Indiana Jones-like adventurer tussling with Nazis to unearth an ancient scientific invention, visual effects wizard Takashi Yamazaki has pulled off another hit

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is back in the spotlight after stating on Twitter that young people are being “shunted towards” hormones and surgery that may not be in their best interests, and comparing the measures to “conversion therapy.” “Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay

Terrence Malick-produced English-language costume drama “The Book of Vision,” directed by Italy’s Carlo Hintermann, will open the Venice Film Festival’s independently-run Critics’ Week section on Sept. 2. (Watch an exclusive clip from the film above.) Venice, barring complications, is set to be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition after the