Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired North American rights to “The Good House” from Amblin Partners, in association with Participant. The film will have its U.S. premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 18, with Roadside Attractions setting a wide release date for September 30 exclusively in theaters. The film, starring Sigourney Weaver and
Revolutionary U.S. producer Jason Blum, known for shepherding hit horror franchises such as “Paranormal Activity” and “The Purge,” and more recently the films “Whiplash,” “Get Out,” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” will be honored by the Locarno Film Festival with its Raimondo Rezzonico Prize for a producer who epitomizes the indie ethos. The prominent Swiss fest
Hajni Kis’ first feature “Wild Roots” (“Külön falka”) was named best feature film at the Hungarian Film Awards. Kis also won best first feature director and best screenplay with Fanni Szántó. Women were awarded in 12 categories at the awards, perhaps heralding the beginning of a new era in Hungarian filmmaking, Film New Europe reports.
DOCUMENTARIES U.K. TV producer Content Kings and production finance broker and distribution agent Silverlining Rights have revealed a raft of international pre-sales for “Diana: The Ultimate Truth” (1×60’), a documentary which investigates the circumstances leading up to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago. Despite a verdict of unlawful killing and two
“You’re not gonna like the way this story ends,” announces the teenage narrator of “Don’t Make Me Go” as the film opens, “but I think you’re gonna like the story.” The first half of that sentence is so accurate it complicates the second. The movie’s ending is misguided to the point of being perplexing rather
Roc Espinet “I’m a big fan of 2D, keeping a handcrafted look and strong emotions, like in Ghibli movies. Having said that, I always want to complement it with a contemporary narrative concept and bold and crazy camera movements,” Catalan animator Espinet says. He’s a regular collaborator of Alberto Vázquez (“Unicorn Wars,” “Birdboy”) and has
Fortified by top executive appointments, London-based Academy Award winning Passion Pictures is driving powerfully into long-form animation. It has already produced episodes of cult Netflix series “Love, Death & Robots” – “Life Hatch” and “Ice,” which scored three Emmy Awards – as well as Netflix’s “Headspace,” Disney’s “101 Dalmatian Street” and Nickelodeon’s “Lego City Adventures.”
“Unicorn Wars” (Alberto Vázquez) Alberto Vázquez, the director of “Birdboy: The Forgotten Children,” a Gkids pickup for North America, delivers an apocalyptic anti-war parable narrating the ancestral war between teddy bears bigots and environmentalist unicorns with irreverent visual exuberance and moments of real horror. WIP’S “They Shot the Piano Player” (Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal) Trueba and
The Walt Disney Company’s streaming video service Disney+ will be available in 42 new countries and 11 new territories this week following the launch on Tuesday in Greece, Turkey and countries in Central Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Croatia. Tuesday’s series of launches follow the arrival of the service in South
U.K. broadcaster ITV has acquired a majority 79.5% stake in leading natural history program producer Plimsoll Productions. The deal values Plimsoll at £131 million ($161 million) and ITV will pay £104 million ($127 million) in cash for the stake. Founded in Bristol in 2013, the BAFTA, Emmy and Academy award winning Plimsoll has produced hundreds
Kinology (“Annette”) has closed a raft of deals on two highlights from its slate, “Argonuts,” an animated feature produced by TAT Productions, the banner behind “The Jungle Bunch,” and Emmanuel Mouret’s “Diary of a Fleeting Affair” which premiered at Cannes. A Pixar/Dreamworks-style family film, “Argonuts” is a comedy adventure set in a magical yet hostile
Following the success of his dystopian coming-of-age tale “Birdboy,” Spanish illustrator Alberto Vázquez brings another graphic novel to the big screen with his highly anticipated second feature “Unicorn Wars.” The film takes place between two worlds: an unscrupulous and industrial bear Bootcamp, where foul-mouthed pastel warriors prepare for battle, and a serene enchanted forest where
Alberto Vázquez’s “Unicorn Wars” is an Annecy competition frontrunner. “They Shot the Piano Player,” from Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, weighs in as one of the festival’s most anticipated works in progress. A bevy of Annecy MIFA unveils and score of Spanish titles, sometimes sneak peeked at other events, form part of a historic growth on
Speaking on Monday at the 6th Women in Animation (WIA) Summit at the Annecy Animation Festival, Chris Mack, director, Grow Creative at Netflix, addressed issues of labor shortage and inclusivity in the animation industry. “Never before in the history of person kind have we told these many stories, or pumped these many dollars into entertaining the
Every entry in the “Despicable Me” franchise is technically a Minions movie, since one way or another, the adorable yellow buggers manage to steal the show. But the fun thing about 2015’s stand-alone prequel was just that: It allowed the Minions to stand alone, pairing them with someone other than Gru for a change. Gru’s
As happened last year with the Eddie Vedder-helmed Ohana Festival, an “encore weekend” has been added for the Southern California rock gathering. But this ain’t no Coachella — the second weekend, set for Oct. 8-9, has a lineup that is entirely difference than who was booked for the initial one, apart from the presence of
A new DC star is born. Lady Gaga is in early negotiations to join “Joker: Folie à Deux” as Joker’s partner-in-madness, Harley Quinn, for what would be a musical sequel to director Todd Phillips’ 2019 blockbuster. Speculation that Harley Quinn would appear in the movie first bubbled to the surface after Phillips posted the cover
During a storyteller conversation with Gayle King at Tribeca Film Festival, Tyler Perry spoke publicly for the first time about the moments after Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Perry was seen speaking to Smith after the incident, but the actor-director-producer made it clear that he was “de-escalating” the situation, rather than
The Banff World Media Festival revealed the winners of the 2022 Rockie Awards International Program Competition on Monday, with big winners including the “Friends” Reunion, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “We Are Lady Parts” and more. The event, held in Banff and hosted by comedian Rakhee Morzaria (“Run the Burbs”) featured winners chosen by a panel of
Kate Bush‘s classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” may yet have a shot at topping the Billboard Hot 100: In its second week of resurgence, the “Stranger Things”-boosted perennial has moved up four spots to No. 4, after coming in hot at No. 8 last week. But the Bush oldie still has
Lizzo has released a new version of her single “Grrrls” after receiving backlash from disability advocates for including the word “spaz” in the song’s beginning lines. The original version of the track sparked heated debate among fans, who were disappointed with the singer’s decision to include the derogatory term. In the medical field, “spastic” refers
Martin Luther King III will host a new docuseries produced by Calabasas Film and Media, the company announced Monday. Titled “Protect/Serve,” the series sees King, the oldest child of revered civil right activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., moderate a series of conversations with law enforcement officials, activists, grass-roots organization founders, DAs and other prominent
HBO Max Latin America has unveiled a new take on the Dark Knight in the upcoming animation feature “Batman Azteca: Choque de Imperios” (“Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires”) in the first ever collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation, Particular Crowd, Mexico’s Anima and “Book of Life” producer Chatrone. The new project was announced Monday night at
Chris Evans certainly has the market cornered on superheroes, voicing the iconic space ranger Buzz Lightyear shortly after hanging up (and handing over) his shield as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America. At the world premiere of the Disney-Pixar animated movie on June 8, Evans admitted that taking on the voice role was “intimidating,” especially
Cheyenne Jackson is adding producer to his resume. The actor and singer has quietly launched a production company, Shiny Boy Entertainment, with his husband Jason Landau, the couple exclusively tells me. Their first project is “Brutal,” director Sam McConnell’s comedy short about a news anchor (Jackson) who acquires a leaked sex tape of a longtime
Meghan Markle brought her most elegant businesswoman style to visit Project Fearless. The Duchess of Sussex partnered with the Amsterdam-based nonprofit, which works to empower young women and nonbinary students to further their education, be creative, and become the best versions of themselves. Chris Allerton Meghan joined the organization’s first entrepreneurship course as a guest
The music of the gaming world is finally getting recognition of its own from the Recording Academy. While much of the attention about the Grammys’ addition of several new categories last week went to news of a new songwriter of the year award, composers for video games are thrilled that their world will be acknowledged
The sophomore slump is, as history has shown, a real thing. The first season of “Hacks” earned an Emmy for Jean Smart and a nom for Hannah Einbinder — so the new season had to step it up. And that’s exactly what the writers did, kicking things into high gear — literally — as Deborah
Mehcad Brooks is suiting up to play a detective in “Law and Order” Season 22 at NBC, Variety has learned. Brooks joins a returning cast that includes franchise veteran Sam Waterston as well as Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy, and Odelya Halevi. It was previously announced that Anthony Anderson, who returned for Season 21,
Seasoned film and television animator Robert Valley is tackling a new project about the life of Billy Rose — a songwriter, Broadway producer and unwitting activist. “American Rose” will tell the roving true story of Rose, once married to comedian and multi-hyphenate Fanny Brice and producer of “Carmen Jones,” the first musical on Broadway to