A cinematic essay about life, memory and time, Argentine Nicolas Prividera’s “Adios a la Memoria” (“A Farewell to Memory”), the Doc Works in Progress (WIP) winner at Spain’s Malaga Film Festival, captures the life and recollections of the filmmaker’s Alzheimer’s-stricken father. Produced by Pablo Ratto of Trivial Media, “Adios a la Memoria” does so through
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The Sydney Film Festival will go ahead in a smaller and all-digital format next month, organizers announced on Monday. They had previously announced that this year’s event would be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, and that the next edition would be held in 2021. The virtual festival will run June 10-21. The program will
The coronavirus outbreak has caused an 88% drop in theatrical box office income in Asia-Pacific. The figure comes from a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence and OPUSData, which shows just $528 million of box office revenue in the world’s largest theatrical region over the January to March period. Cinemas around Asia reacted differently and
Francesca Mazzoleni’s “Puntasacra,” Francisco Bermejo’s “The Other One” and Nick Brandestini’s “Sapelo” scooped the top prizes in the three major sections at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel prize ceremony Sunday night, held online as the whole of the documentary festival. Major plaudits in the festival’s main International Feature Film Competition also went to Markku Lehmuskallio and
As cars lined up by the dozens to get into the Mission Tiki Drive-In before dusk on Friday night, the producer of one of the films showing at the four-screen outdoor venue was holding a clipboard, manning a guest list for cast and crew members who were driving across the L.A. County line to Montclair
Film4 deputy director and industry titan Sue Bruce-Smith has died following a battle with cancer. She was 62. Bruce-Smith had been receiving treatment for cancer at home in Dublin, Ireland, with the support of her family. She died Saturday morning, Film4 confirmed to Variety. Bruce-Smith, a well-respected figure in the British film industry, spent 20
Indefatigable art film activist José María Riba, a former head of Cannes Critics’ Week, driving force behind San Sebastian’s Films in Progress and co-founder of Espagnolas en Paris, died on May 2 from cancer, exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19. He was 68. With his death, Spain and Latin America loses one of the founding
After being postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Kids’ Choice Awards held a virtual telecast to dole out the slime and the awards. “Victorious” star Victoria Justice hosted the show on Saturday, about six weeks after the original date. In addition to the awards and slime given out, the show made a $1 million donation
Do you know what the average life expectancy was in the 18th century? It was 17. (You read that right.) No, this wasn’t just about the fact that human beings back then tended to live less long. It was about the staggering inequality that society was built on. In Europe, the majority of people were
[Editor’s note: “Selfie” 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 Weds., May 6.] Many a screenwriter has
[Editor’s note: “Cat in the Wall” 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 Weds., May 6.] In
People risk all kinds of things to make movies — money, reputations, sometimes even their health. But in “The Infiltrators,” it feels as if the crew we see on-screen is putting their lives on the line for a cause they believe in, and that the movie is just a byproduct, as opposed to the principal
John Lafia, who co-wrote 1988 horror film “Child’s Play” and also co-wrote and directed “Child’s Play 2,” died by suicide on April 29 in Los Angeles. He was 63. Lafia collaborated with Tom Holland and Don Mancini on the horror movie screenplay, and was credited with coining the name “Chucky” and contributed the famous line,
Joe Pantoliano, best known for his role as mobster Ralph Cifaretto on “The Sopranos,” is recovering at his home after being struck by a car Friday. The actor was going for a walk around his neighborhood when two cars crashed into each other nearby him. The T-bone collision sent one of the cars sliding down
Alexander Abaturov’s “Paradise,” Eugenio and Mara Polgovsky’s “Malintzin 17” and Lola Arias’ “Reas” triumphed at the 2020 Visions du Réel Industry Awards, taking three of its weightiest prizes. Also winning big at project forum Pitching du Réel was Petter Aaberg and Sverre Kvamme’s “Nightcrawlers,” “Mashtat” and “In the Name of Roses.” “The Mission,” “Voice of
In today’s film news roundup, the documentary “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” and the thriller “Broil” find homes and AFI unveils winners of its Writers’ Room Ready Awards. ACQUISITIONS Super Ltd, Neon’s boutique division, has acquired North American rights to David Darg and Price James’ documentary, “You Cannot Kill David Arquette,” which is an official selection
The “G.I. Joe” franchise continues to expand. Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are developing an untitled fourth “G.I. Joe” movie, with the studio in negotiations with the writing team of Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse to pen the script. The new project would be a follow-up to Paramount’s upcoming release “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins,” with
[Editor’s note: “Le Choc du Futur” 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 Weds., May 6.] Turn
Anonymous Content has laid off roughly 15% of its staff due to the coronavirus pandemic, Variety has learned. In addition, Anonymous has implemented a temporary compensation reduction among executives, with the company’s partners shouldering the deepest pay cuts. The layoffs are across all of the company’s divisions, which include talent, television, motion picture, literary, media
Pamela Adlon is wiping away tears and sniffling a bit. She just finished watching the Season 4 finale of her FX series “Better Things.” “I’m so emotional,” she said during an appearance on Thursday night on Variety’s “After-Show” on Instagram. “It just killed me. It’s very many feelings.” A few minutes later, Adlon’s three daughters
Longtime CAA agent Jeremy Plager has departed the company to launch his own management and production entity. A 25-year veteran of the Hollywood dealmaking firm, Plager has represented top clients including Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Gerard Butler, Mila Kunis, Emilia Clarke, Hugh Grant, and Jane Fonda to name a few. Notably, he signed Lawrence and
Lionsgate has pushed back “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” to 2021, and Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick: Chapter 4” to 2022 as part a massive revamp its upcoming slate. The studio announced Friday that it has also set its “Saw” reboot “Spiral,” starring Chris Rock and Jackson for May, 21, 2021 — a full year after its
A handful of movie theaters in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, are set to reopen in the coming days, providing an early test case for coronavirus protection measures. EVO Entertainment plans to open two theaters on Monday using “airport security-style check-in,” says CEO Mitchell Roberts. Guests will enter a cordoned area near the front door,
Following the success of “Sausage Party,” Point Grey principals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have found their next animated project for adults. Sources tell Variety that Sony Pictures Animation is developing a movie based on the 2018 podcast “Bubble” with Point Grey and “Jumanji’s” Matt Tolmach producing. Tolmach will produce through his Tolmach productions with
MGM’s Cassidy Lange and Adam Rosenberg have left their posts as co-presidents of production at MGM in the latest executive shuffle at the studio. The duo had been with MGM since 2011 and were jointly promoted in 2018 by Jonathan Glickman, who was president of MGM’s Motion Picture Group. They were tasked with being responsible
While drive-in theaters remain virtually the only theaters still open in the U.S. (and a good place to see a new release like haunted-tree horror “The Wretched”), distributors are getting creative about how to release indie and foreign films. “Jackie” director Pablo Larraín’s latest, “Ema,” debuts for free on Mubi for one day, teasing a
The American Film Market has announced that it remains on track to hold the 2020 market set for Nov. 3-8 in Santa Monica, Ca., despite the coronavirus pandemic. “We know how difficult the past few months have been for our industry around the world and our thoughts go out to those whose loved ones have been
Media executive Matty Simmons, a producer of the influential “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” comedy movies, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 93. His daughter, Kate Simmons, announced the news on her Instagram account on Thursday. “Yesterday I lost my hero,” she wrote, in part. “My dad had gone from the
Lionsgate’s horror film “Antebellum” — starring Janelle Monae — will release in theaters in North America on Aug. 21. The move is a vote of confidence that moviegoing in the U.S. will be back in full swing by the late summer. “Antebellum” had originally been set to debut on April 24, but was pulled in
Even before the coronavirus crisis wreaked havoc across the entertainment industry, Weta Digital was monitoring the situation closely. The VFX house, headquartered in New Zealand and responsible for some of the most memorable visual effects in film over the past two decades, had to deal with the spread of the disease early due to Weta’s