Movies

In today’s film news roundup, Edgar Wright is directing “The Chain,” “Scoob!” and “The Secret Garden” get release dates, “Young Hearts” and “Doors” find homes; and the Film Life Foundation is launched. DIRECTOR ATTACHMENT  “Baby Driver” director Edgar Wright is attached to Universal Pictures’ adaptation of kidnap movie “The Chain,” based on the bestselling novel

With the 20th anniversary of the release date of the film “Almost Famous” approaching in September, the “Origins” podcast is getting a jump of the commemorating by launching a five-part series about the making of Cameron Crowe’s much-loved rock ‘n’ roll comedy-drama. Writer-director Cameron Crowe, who based the movie on his own experiences as a

Andrea Riseborough, Jon Hamm, Nicholas Hoult, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mackenzie Davis, Sofia Boutella and Steven Yuen are set to star in the science-fiction comedy “Alpha Gang.” The project is heading to next week’s Cannes market, with Protagonist Pictures handling international sales and CAA Media Finance shopping North American sales. Shooting will begin in 2021 in Eastern Europe.

Melanie Liburd has joined Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson in Sony’s action-comedy “Man From Toronto.” Harrelson recently replaced Jason Statham in the pic. Kaley Cuoco is also on board. The film revolves around a case of mistaken identity after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the “man from Toronto,” and a stranger, played by Hart,

AMC Theatres, the world’s largest exhibitor, has unveiled plans to re-open after coronavirus forced it to close its more than 600 venues in the U.S. for nearly four months. The company is expected to resume operations in 450 of those locations on July 15 and expects to be almost fully operational by the time that

Netflix has acquired the documentary “Giving Voice” and will release it on the streaming service later this year. “Giving Voice” won the Sundance Film Festival favorite award, a plaudit that’s selected by audience votes from the 128 features screened at the 2020 event. Directed by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena, “Giving Voice” follows the

The Producers Guild of America has re-elected presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher. Berman and Fisher will serve a two-year term, continuing their run as the first time two women have served as president in PGA’s history. The pair were elected in 2018 when they ran unopposed. Prior to her appointment, Berman served on the

Carey Mulligan has returned to CAA. Mulligan first broke out on the scene with her star-making role in “An Education,” which earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress. Since then, she has worked with A-list directors like the Coen brothers on “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Baz Luhrmann on “The Great Gatsby,” Steve McQueen on “Shame,”

Following the news that the 2021 Oscars have been pushed pack two months to April 25, the Critics Choice Association has postponed the 2021 Critics Choice Awards to March 7. The show, which honors both television and film work, is still be planned as live event at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, “health considerations

“How to Train Your Dragon” writer-director and Annecy favorite Dean DeBlois took part in a Q&A style virtual masterclass on Thursday evening as part of the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival’s online edition. A main talking point came just around the one hour mark, when Peter Debruge, Variety’s chief film critic and moderator for the conversation, sinisterly

Indian Film Festival Los Angeles, which recently rolled the films in its canceled 2020 edition over to 2021 due to the pandemic, has announced a project called IFFLA Over the Years. The virtual showcase highlights works by the festival’s alumni filmmakers, from Anurag Kashyap and Shonali Bose to Manish Acharya and Rima Das. Announcing the

Teen romantic comedies can be hard to invest in emotionally, particularly as one sinks further into decrepit, cynical adulthood. Whether or not the guy gets the girl in time for senior prom seems pretty inconsequential when you know they’ll probably be torn asunder by college. The good ones have something a little more lasting and

Costume designer Ann Roth has collaborated with actress Meryl Streep for four decades on films such as “Silkwood,” “Heartburn,” “The Post” and “Julie & Julia,” creating wardrobes that have helped the actor navigate a wide range of roles. While Streep has been nominated for Academy Awards five times in their 13 films together, Roth notes

“Mudbound’s” Garrett Hedlund and “The Rider’s” Brady Jandreau have signed on to star in writer/director Paxton Winters’ “Outside the Wire,” alongside Zahraa Ghandour (“Baghdad in My Shadow”). Film Constellation is handling international rights with UTA Independent handling North American. Sales will launch at next week’s Marché du Film Online. The story follows an American soldier

Director Zack Snyder on Thursday debuted a sneak peek of the mythical “Snyder Cut,” his unreleased version of the 2017 superhero film “Justice League.” The new footage, which runs at 34 seconds, puts the spotlight on Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman as she comes across an artifact in a cave dwelling. Before the clip cuts to

Mark Wahlberg’s adventure movie “Arthur the King” has received financing ahead of the 2020 virtaul Cannes market. Entertainment One and Tucker Tooley Entertainment have backed the movie, one of the sales set up by Sierra/Affinity. “Arthur the King” was initially set up at Paramount but will now be distributed in the U.S. by Lionsgate. Variety

Although born in the U.S., Toby Wallace grew up in Australia. He’s made a splash in films such as the critically acclaimed “Boys in the Trees” and TV series “Romper Stomper.” He can been seen on Netflix’s hit supernatural thriller series “The Society,” playing the evil teen Campbell Eliot. He will be seen June 19

Award-winning filmmaker Liam Saint-Pierre has embarked on a project to encourage Britons to share what they have and haven’t missed during the lockdown via a free anonymous phone line known as The Missing Line. Selected caller confessions will form the basis of “Missed Calls,” a short documentary film sketching 24 hours of life in lockdown

Producer Oge Egbuono’s directorial debut “(In)Visible Portraits” arrives having perhaps committed the first-feature error of wanting to say everything. Even so, the documentary’s emotional generosity and mindful elegance impress. A rumination on Black women in America, the film’s release was moved up from fall 2020 to June 19. The timing couldn’t be more resonant. The

TV and film production in Japan shut down in early April in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. Since then the Japanese industry has been struggling to adapt to the new normal. One of the first to pick up his camera — or rather his smartphone — was Shinichiro Ueda, the director of the smash zombie

MIFA’s Short Film Pitch category went live yesterday with strong contenders including a post apocalyptic number from Argentina, “El After del Mundo” (“The World’s After”). The 2D project from 28-year-old animation director Florentina Gonzalez goes for a Millennial after party vibe, focusing on two ghosts floating around in a post human ether. There is Fluor,

Hong Kong FilMart, the largest film rights market in Asia, and the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) have given up on plans to be held in physical form this year. Instead, both will hold virtual, online editions in August. FilMart will migrate to a virtual platform, FILMART Online, running Aug. 26-29, 2020. HAF

Rennes-based production outfit Vivement Lundi!, whose short film “Memorable” claimed two top prizes at last year’s Annecy Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award, returns this year to pitch a project of a wholly different flavor. Presented in the Mifa Pitch forum, the short-format series “Douce” (French for “Meek”) offers a bawdy and irreverent

On Wednesday, Les Femmes s’Animent (LFA), the French arm of Women in Animation (WIA), hosted and streamed “Confinement Votre” (Your Confinement), a global video conference, as part of this year’s WIA Summit at the virtual edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. LFA reached out to women working in the animation industry across Europe

French animation house My Fantasy, a 2P2L Group subsidiary dedicated to new media animation, has unveiled its first feature project at Annecy’s MIFA pitch forum. Finalizing pre-production, the noirish thriller “Eugène” tells the real-life story of Eugene Falleni – a transman accused of murder in 1920s Sydney. Etched in inky greyscale, the true-crime potboiler offers

Each year, Variety staff pick 10 short films screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, either from competition or from the event’s multiple prestigious sidebars, which attendees should take care not to miss. This year, with the entirety of the short film competition on the festival’s digital platform, animation fans from almost anywhere in the world

Writer-director Brad J. Silverman’s “Selfie Dad” is a pleasantly predictable faith-based dramedy that has been scheduled and marketed for family viewing over Father’s Day weekend on VOD platforms. As it turns out, however, the timing of its release might actually serve to expand the film’s appeal slightly beyond the usual target audience for similar fare.

In a good haunted-house thriller, architecture is destiny. Early on in “You Should Have Left,” when Theo (Kevin Bacon), a wealthy retired banker with a tabloid scandal in his past, shows up with his movie-actress wife, Susanna (Amanda Seyfried), and their six-year-old daughter, Ella (Avery Essex), at the vacation home they’ve rented for a getaway

As it continues to focus on premium scripted content, Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has boarded MGM’s romantic comedy “Valley Girl,” a reboot of the 1983 classic starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. “Valley Girl” marks NENT Group’s first foray into the U.S. feature landscape and will be labeled a Viaplay Original film. As such,

Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the Alicia Witt romantic comedy “Modern Persuasion,” which will premiere at the Cannes Virtual Market. The film, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel “Persuasion,” is directed by Alex Appel and Jonathan Lisecki from a script by Lisecki and Barbara Radecki. The film also stars Liza Lapira, Daniela