Movies

Discovering a man held captive in a bunker for 30 years should be more compelling than it proves in “Inheritance.” This overlong tale spends most of its nearly two hours as a somewhat draggy, talky mystery before finally deciding to be a thriller, with credibility lacking throughout. Questionable lead casting further undermines this second directorial

In a world still largely struggling with COVID-19 most film and TV productions remain halted. South Korea is one of the few places where filming has restarted – albeit hesitantly. Among the most prominent are two Netflix original series. “We worked quickly to develop safety protocols so that series such as our new drama ‘Move

The vast majority of the U.K.’s creative freelancers remain shut out from government support, with the Treasury so far refusing to commit further funds. Trade union Prospect and its entertainment division Bectu met with Treasury officials this week to continue lobbying for support for those workers who aren’t covered by the government’s Self-Employment Income Support

Indian cinemas are shuttered, production continues to be at a standstill and the country remains in lockdown until at least May 31 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Unsurprisingly, consumption of television and streaming services has surged during this period. But digital may not be an existential threat to the film business. India remains the

Ian McKellen, Lesley Manville, Lennie James and Joseph Fiennes are among the British talent delivering monologues as part of a new fundraising initiative by actors’ union Equity and actor Michelle Collins. The #ForTheLoveofArts monologues are between 2-5 minutes long and recorded remotely at the actors’ homes in a bid to raise money for Equity during

Spain’s Latido Films has acquired worldwide sales rights outside Colombia to animated feature production “Len y el canto de las ballenas” (“Len and the Song of the Whales”). To be showcased at the online Annecy Intl. Animation Festival’s  2020 Work in Progress Feature section this June, the project is co-directed by Manuel Alejandro Victoria and Joan

The Quirino Awards, a prize ceremony and industry forum for animation titles from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, will hold its third edition online with the support of Retina Latina and Filmin platforms. Event runs May 25 through June 27, when the awards ceremony takes place. Unspooling during its first two editions on Tenerife, a

Veteran film publicist Charles Lippincott, best known for handling the marketing campaign for George Lucas’ “Star Wars: A New Hope,” died Tuesday after being hospitalized in Vermont last week for a heart attack. He was 80. Lippincott’s wife, Bumpy, shared the news on social media. Lippincott joined Lucasfilm in 1975 as vice president of advertising,

In today’s film news roundup, “Waiting for the Barbarians,” “Don’t Tell a Soul” and “Daddy Issues” get distribution and the African American Film Critics Association is launching a virtual Strong Summer 2020 programming slate. ACQUISITIONS Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Ciro Guerra’s feature film “Waiting for the Barbarians,” starring Johnny Depp,

Writers Guild of America leaders are seeking a variety of improvements in script fees for writers as the guild launches master contract negotiations with studios this week. Representatives for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the WGA are facing a June 30 expiration of the current film and TV contract. Talks are

Skydance Animation has nabbed one of the biggest names in family entertainment to compose the music and score for an upcoming feature. Alan Menken, best-known for creating such classic songs as “Under the Sea” and “Be Our Guest,” will bring his melodic talents to “Spellbound.” The film, which will likely be re-titled, centers on a

Two “Game of Thrones” alums may be reuniting. Jason Momoa and Peter Dinklage are in negotiations to produce and star in the vampire movie “Good Bad & Undead” at Legendary. Dinklage will portray Van Helsing, the last in a line of vampire hunters. He has an uneasy partnership with Momoa’s vampire character, who has taken

For Clark Gregg, Agent Phil Coulson has been the character who just won’t die — literally. The beloved SHIELD agent was killed off in Marvel Studios’ “The Avengers,” only to be resurrected a year later on “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” on ABC. Then Coulson died again at the end of Season 5, only to return once

MGM has bought David Robert Mitchell’s superhero project “Heroes & Villains,” with the “It Follows” director on board to produce and direct from his own script. The studio is keeping the “Heroes & Villains” logline under wraps other than saying it offers a new take on superheroes. Good Fear Content’s Chris Bender and Jake Weiner

Blumhouse is developing “Our Lady of Tears,” a film based on a recent article about a mass hysteria epidemic that spread through an all-girls boarding school. Issa López (“Tigers Are Not Afraid”) is set to write and direct the film. The project is an adaptation of a story published by Epic Magazine and Vox and

The mythical, unreleased version of the 2017 superhero film “Justice League” will finally see the light of day on Warner Media’s HBO Max in 2021. After years of campaigning from talent and comic book fans, the studio behind the DC Films ensemble “Justice League” will offer original director Zach Snyder’s cut of the film, which

Though audiences will have to wait until 2021 for “Morbius” and “Venom 2” to hit the big screen, Sony Pictures is continuing to build up its slate of Marvel films. Veteran TV director S.J. Clarkson has signed on to develop the first female-centric movie from Sony’s catalog of Marvel characters, sources tell Variety. While it’s

Superstar athletes from every discipline are currently filming a documentary about the devastating impact that coronavirus has had on sports, Variety can report exclusively. The project was conceived by Chris Paul, a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the president of the NBA players union, and producer Brian Grazer. Titled “The Day That Sports

The 93rd Oscars aren’t until February, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering postponing the big night, according to multiple sources. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say definitive plans are far from being concrete at this juncture. The telecast is currently set for Feb. 28, 2021, on ABC.

The Locarno Film Festival’s short films section, Pardi di Domani, will go online this year as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. The section will be available from Aug. 5 through 15, with a limit of 1,590 viewers per film — the same as the number of physical admissions possible each year at Locarno for screenings

Martin “Marty” Cohen, longtime colleague of Steven Spielberg and head of postproduction at Amblin Entertainment, Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures, died May 17 in Los Angeles of natural causes after a battle with heart disease. He was 67. “Marty began in the editing room with Michael Kahn and me on “The Color Purple’ and then made

The Academy Museum is now the proud owner of Florence Pugh’s iconic floral dress from “Midsommar.” The organization behind the Oscars was the highest bidder in an auction held by A24, with proceeds going to coronavirus relief efforts. The final bid went for $65,000, per A24’s website, though the Academy Museum declined to confirm the

Apple TV Plus has bought worldwide rights from Sony Pictures to the Tom Hanks World War II drama “Greyhound” following a bidding war for the movie, which was previously set for a Father’s Day theatrical release. Six-month-old Apple TV Plus announced the deal Tuesday. The streaming service did not disclose when it will release “Greyhound.”

One of the appalling — and appealing — traits of malevolent presences onscreen is that they can be so darn imprecise in their revenge. Often victims of unfairness, ghosts and assorted other supernatural baddies may exact a semi-rational but flawed retribution. (Got bullied? Easy: Kill all the randy teens.) So it’s right to wonder what’s

Halle Berry is going galactic. The actress will star alongside Josh Gad in “Moonfall,” a sci-fi space epic from director Roland Emmerich. “Moonfall” centers on a mysterious force knocking the moon from its orbit around Earth, which sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. In response, a ragtag team

UPDATED: The Producers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America have announced new eligibility guidelines for their top feature film awards. The moves come after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ temporary eligibility change for the Oscars. The PGA announced Tuesday that the organization will be permitting films initially made available on

Actor-singer-songwriter Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne are set to star in “The Blacksmith” which, financed and produced by AGC Studios, signals a potential early top title with the makings of a new action thriller movie franchise at June’s Cannes virtual markets.  Jonas (the “Jumanji” franchise, “Midway”) and Fishburne (the “Matrix” and “John Wick” franchises, “Mission:

IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to “My Salinger Year” a drama starring Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley. Falardeau adapted “My Salinger Year” from Joanna Rakoff’s memoir of the same name. The film is set in New York City in the 1990s after Qualley’s character leaves graduate school to pursue her dream of becoming a writer and

Marvel fans shouldn’t expect to see a new “Deadpool” movie for at least five years, according to the character’s comic book creator Rob Liefeld. In an interview with io9, Liefeld explained that he’s seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe schedule for the next five years, and “Deadpool 3” isn’t on the docket. “Until a movie is

Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor have agreed to write the script for Reese Witherspoon’s “Legally Blonde 3” for MGM. Witherspoon committed to the project in 2018 and is set to return as Elle Woods, the sorority-girl-turned-lawyer. She will also produce through her Hello Sunshine production company. “Legally Blonde” producer Marc Platt will return, joined by