Entertainment News Boom

A fortnight ago, documentary filmmaker Vera Krichevskaya was anticipating the Russia release of her latest feature, “F@ck This Job,” a spirited, behind-the-scenes portrait of the country’s last independent broadcaster, TV Rain. But just days before the film’s Moscow premiere, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine. On March 3, TV Rain bowed to political pressure and said

As the invasion of Ukraine continues, seven leading Ukrainian filmmakers allege complicity by the Russian artistic community. They are now calling for cultural sanctions against Russia. Valentyn Vasyanovych, director (“Black Level,” “Atlantis,” “Reflection”) Insidious shelling of residential areas with civilians, as well as blackmail of nuclear weapons – is a manifestation of the powerless rage

‘The Battle at Lake Changjin II’ headed the mainland Chinese box office for the fifth successive weekend as cinemas await significant new content. “Changjin II” earned $7.5 million over the latest weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The increment expanded the film’s aggregate to $626 million since release on Feb. 1, 2022, the

Matt Reeves and production designer James Chinlund have worked together before “The Batman.” The pair’s collaboration has been focused on creating grounded worlds, based in reality. That approach was no different for building the world of the new DC adaptation. Reeves wanted fans to feel like they were in a complete world in which a

Matt Reeves never meant for Colin Farrell to look unrecognizable in “The Batman.” In the finished film, Farrell’s appearance is utterly obliterated in the role of Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, the scarred and dumpy mid-level Gotham City gangster with the (unwelcome) nickname of “the Penguin.” But when the 55-year-old director — who co-wrote “The Batman” with

“Tonight is not about Yeezus. It’s about Jesus,” said DeVon Franklin, the TV and film producer, bestselling author and VP of the Motion Picture Academy’s board of governors, introducing a panel at NeueHouse in Hollywood this week. It was both, of course, as the event he was leading was sponsored by Netflix and at least

The winners of the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced on Sunday, March 6. The ceremony, hosted by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, honored the best in independent film and television in 2021. Held at the Santa Monica Pier in California, the event aired at 5 p.m. PT/2 p.m. ET on IFC and streamed

For years I’ve said that “The Dark Knight” is the one great comic-book movie. The films you might consider to be runners-up — “Spider-Man 2,” “Superman II,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” — are splendid entertainments, but none of them earn the G-word. Not really. “The Dark Knight,” though, had an operatic grandeur fused with a

True/False, the preeminent non-fiction festival, returned as an in-person event Thursday, drawing documentary notables and fans of their work to a Missouri college town for the first lineup under the artistic direction of Chloe Trayner. There were 31 features and 19 short non-fiction films at the fest, which had more of an international tilt than

“The Power of the Dog” took top honors from this year’s edition of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA), winning best picture, best director and best editing from the organization. The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association announced its winners on Sunday afternoon, honoring the top achievements of 2021 films. Other major winners during the afternoon included

Netflix has suspended its service in Russia to protest the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this week, the streaming service had announced that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from Russia, joining a growing list of companies that have cut ties with the country. Netflix had four Russian originals in the works,

When the world first learned that Robert Pattinson was in the running to headline “The Batman,” it was in May 2019, and Pattinson hadn’t even auditioned yet. “When that thing leaked, I was fucking furious,” Pattinson told Variety for a September 2019 cover story about the release of his film “The Lighthouse.” “Everyone was so upset.

Variety’s eighth annual Artisans Awards returns to an in-person ceremony for 2022 to celebrate and honor those essential to the filmmaking process who have exhibited the most exciting, immersive and innovative work of the year in their respective fields. The tribute evening will take place March 7 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. Jazz

In 2021, the Film Independent Spirit Awards went online in reaction to a then-still-raging pandemic, forcing nominees, guests, Film Independent members and even host Melissa Villaseñor to celebrate remotely. In 2022, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman have taken over hosting duties from Villaseñor, but the rest of those people will be back in the ceremony’s traditional venue, a

Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” towered over international box office charts, collecting $120 million from 74 overseas markets. After debuting to $128.5 million in North America, the Warner Bros. comic book adventure has generated $248.5 million globally to date. That’s a strong start since the movie, which clocks in at a butt-numbing three hours, cost $200

Holy ticket sales, Batman! Robert Pattinson’s pitch-black superhero adventure “The Batman” collected a mighty $128.5 million in its box office debut, marking the best opening weekend of 2022 by a landslide. But what is more impressive: it’s only the second pandemic-era movie to cross the $100 million mark in a single weekend, a feat first

Public service announcement to journalists: When discussing Oscars in the next few weeks, please don’t refer to “the technical categories.” Reminder to Academy/ABC decision-makers: You’ve always stated that all Oscar categories are equal, but the Feb. 22 move was a reminder that some categories are more equal than others. On that day, the Academy of

The five films nominated for live-action short at this year’s Oscars were shot and produced in five different countries around the world, and tell stories that have little in common with each other, from a satire to a romantic drama. But all were labors of love from talented directors who had to deal with numerous