Movies

Elle Fanning has spent most of her 12-year career making movies. Now, at 22, she’s jumping into television, starring as Catherine the Great in Hulu’s 10-part satirical comedy series “The Great,” which debuts on May 15. Written by “The Favourite” scribe Tony McNamara, the show follows Catherine’s rise to power, from her arranged marriage to

In a guest article written for Variety, Christine Eloy, managing director of Europa Distribution, which represents indie distributors across Europe, appeals for assistance for the sector as its survival is threatened by the impact of COVID-19, and underscores its critical importance to the independent film business as a whole. The long, unprecedented crisis we are

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are re-teaming on the superhero movie “Ball and Chain” following their collaboration on “Jungle Cruise.” The project is being shopped among studios, including Netflix, but no distribution deal has closed. “Ball and Chain” is being written by Oscar nominee Emily V. Gordon and is an adaptation of the ’90s comic

In today’s film news roundup, Benedict Cumberbatch’s spy drama “The Courier” and supernatural thriller “Star Light” get release dates, and the Quarantine Cat Film Fest is unveiled. RELEASE DATE Lionsgate and sister company Roadside Attractions have set an Aug. 28 theatrical release for the spy drama “The Courier,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The film, formerly titled “Ironbark,”

For a while, the question of when movie theaters would re-open was defined by a capitalist conundrum that no one wanted to talk about much, because its implications were too depressing. It went like this: Hollywood movies are staggeringly expensive. To have any hope of success, they need to open on a vast number of

Editor’s note: “TFW No GF” is one of more than 100 movies originally scheduled to screen at the SXSW Film Festival in March. After the coronavirus outbreak forced the festival to cancel, event organizers partnered with Amazon Prime to make seven of those features available to stream for free through Wed., May 6. The coronavirus

The movie “Blue Story” tells the story of warring gangs in Southeast London through a unique lens — that of Andrew Onwubolu, aka Rapman, who makes the transition from rapper to director with his feature debut. Onwubolu has been on the U.K rap scene since 2013 and has worked with the likes of Margs and

Blake Lively will star in “Dark Days at the Magna Carta,” a post-apocalyptic thriller that’s being developed at Netflix as a possible trilogy. Michael Paisley will write the screenplay for “Dark Days at the Magna Carta,” set amid a catastrophic event and centering on a woman going to extreme lengths to survive and save her

Entertainment One has signed a first-look agreement with producer and former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham, with “Dungeons & Dragons” as the first project under the deal. Entertainment One made the announcement Wednesday, noting that the partnership with Latcham follows eOne’s acquisition by Hasbro earlier this year and will further power eOne’s ability to produce

Leaders of entertainment industry unions are pledging to move as quickly as possible to re-launch production — as soon as they can do so safely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “We were among the first to be hit by the virus and may be among the last to come back – simply because

It’s hard to bring Beanie Feldstein down. The on-screen effervescence she’s delivered to breakout performances in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” and Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart” is no act. Over a lengthy conversation to promote her new movie “How to Build a Girl,” her first shot at carrying a film on her own, Feldstein oozes optimism. She prepares and executes

I didn’t pay to see “Trolls World Tour” at home, nor would I have run to watch it at my local cinema in a pre-pandemic world since it’s not my thing. But what I am watching from the edge of my seat is what happens next in the cliffhanger drama that’s pitting the world’s largest

Mark Gooder and Alison Thompson’s sales company Cornerstone Films, and Debbie Gray and Julian Gleek’s production company Genesius Pictures have teamed with distribution executive Lisa Garner to form The Reset Collective, an Australian production and distribution company. The company’s distribution arm will focus primarily on digital and theatrical releases, and “will build innovative release strategies

Ron Howard and comedy site Funny or Die have teamed up on a pitch for the Motion Picture Television Fund. The six-minute video, which dropped online on Wednesday, is titled “Ron Howard Digs Up a Very Strange Voicemail His Agent Left Him in 1983.” The clip delves into the development of Howard’s comedy “Splash” following

For years, Nadia Hallgren would say that her best experience as a documentary cinematographer was shaking Michelle Obama’s hand in Liberia while shooting the 2016 CNN Films project “We Will Rise,” about the first lady’s efforts to expand education for girls worldwide. So when Hallgren got invited to meet with Obama one-on-one in 2018 to

The Melbourne International Film Festival, originally scheduled for August, but then canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, is to hold a digital edition. The online showcase has been nicknamed MIFF 68½ and will run during the original festival dates, Aug. 6-23, 2020. MIFF 68½ will present a smaller selection line up than the previously conceived

If everything had gone according to plan, the Tribeca Film Festival would have just wrapped its 19th edition, celebrating the best of indie film in the heart of New York City. Alas, the coronavirus had other ideas, shuttering the festival and leaving its backers without a clear way to move forward. Founders Jane Rosenthal and

Chinese romantic crime drama “Better Days” directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Tsang, scooped eight awards at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film, best director, best screenplay and best actress. Critically acclaimed elderly gay drama “Suk Suk” took the best actor and best supporting actress awards, organizers announced on Wednesday afternoon. Winners, however,

U.K. exhibitors are presenting evidence to the government that would allow them to safely reopen doors by the end of June. Phil Clapp, chief executive of the U.K. Cinema Association, tells Variety: “We’ve made representations to government on the safeguards which U.K. cinemas would look to have in place for audiences and staff alike upon re-opening,

Cinema operators in Australia are targeting mid-July as the date they will be open their theaters to the public. That would likely make Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” the country’s first tentpole release in the post coronavirus era. The optimism follows a board meeting of the National Association of Cinema Operators on Tuesday which weighed up Australia’s

Hollywood’s most acclaimed writers, including Damon Lindelof, Sarah Kucserka, Christina Hodson, Cord Jefferson, Susannah Grant, Janet Mock, Julio Torres, Robin Thede, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Rob McElhenney spoke with Variety on how they overcome their own writer’s block. “I think the thing that is important is that you can always do something, so sure you can

In today’s film news roundup, casting executives Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood land at Paramount, sci-fi thriller “Volition” finds a home and Everlast Pictures launches in Los Angeles. CASTING EXECUTIVES  Veteran casting executives Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood have been hired as executive VPs of casting for Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Studios. The duo will  act as

One small step for Tom Cruise, one giant leap for moviemaking? Cruise is partnering with NASA to shoot a movie, at least in part, aboard the National Space Station, NASA has confirmed, the first narrative feature to be shot in space. “NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station,” NASA

Movie theaters may be closed due the coronavirus pandemic, but The Walt Disney Company says it still believes that cinemas are a critical component in the rollout of its big blockbusters. However, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek did acknowledge that the disruptions caused by the public health crisis may require the company to send

Netflix is in talks with French director Louis Leterrier for the fantasy actioner “Bright 2,” with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton reprising their roles. Leterrier’s credits include the two “Transporter” titles, “Now You See Me,” “Clash of the Titans” and “Unleashed.” He executive produced and directed the Netflix series “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.”

Amid the binge-watching that quarantined movie lovers are undoubtedly doing, it may feel like every worthwhile film on streaming has been exhausted. So, why not consider revisiting (or perhaps watching for the first time) some exceptional moments from films that might not top anyone’s year-end lists? A single wide angle. A splash of color. An

Else Blangsted, a Holocaust survivor and film music editor who worked on classic films such as “The Goonies” and “The Color Purple,” died May 1. She was 99. Blangsted died from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, according to her cousin Deborah Oppenheimer, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and producer. Blangsted was three weeks

Profits at the high-flying Walt Disney Company fell sharply during its most recent quarter, brought low by the gravitational force of the coronavirus pandemic. Earnings topped out at 60 cents a share, a 63% tumble from the prior-year period. It was a drop that was expected as few companies have been harder hit by the

It’s game on for Cate Blanchett. Sources tell Variety the Oscar-winning actress is in talks to star as Lilith in Lionsgate’s “Borderlands,” an adaptation of the popular video game. Lionsgate had no comment. Eli Roth is directing with Avi and Ari Arad producing through Arad Prods along with Erik Feig, who is also producing via

MADRID — Six days before producers will be allowed to restart production shoots in Spain, Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE socialist government has powered up the tax breaks cap for Hollywood and other foreign shoots as part of a relief package for Spain’s cultural industries. Plowed through a Spanish-tax-paying service company working on a foreign nationality shoot,