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Mark Dodson, a voice actor known for “Gremlins” and “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” died Saturday. He was 64. Stellar Appearances, Dodson’s talent agency for personal appearances, shared the news on Facebook. “Mark worked on dozens of movies, video games, commercials and advertisements adding his unique voice and sound to each character and script

The #MeToo movement has claimed another casualty. Spain’s Málaga Film Festival, unspooling March 1-10, has canceled the participation of U.S.-born director Julio Hernandez Cordon’s vampire drama “The Day is Long and Dark” (“El día es largo y oscuro”) at the festival, citing “complaints regarding acts of gender violence.” In a press release issued on Feb.

“Dune: Part Two” is turbocharging the international box office. Director Denis Villeneuve’s otherworldly sequel has generated $97 million from 71 overseas markets, bringing its global tally to a promising $178.5 million. Those worldwide revenues include $81.5 million from North American theaters, where it landed the biggest domestic opening weekend of the year. The movie, starring

MALAGA —  Antonio Chavarrías’ “Holy Mother,” Celia Rico’s “Little Loves” and Diogo Viegas’s “Alice’s Diary” play at this year’s 3rd Spanish Screenings Content, the Malaga Festival’s part of the Spanish Screenings XXL, Spain’s biggest international industry platform in its history, featuring over March 4-7 and – when it comes to Málaga – the monumental number of

Producing successful Black female-fronted comedy in South Africa is no joke but Black female producers and writers Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt and Zoe Ramushu are determined to bring about change in front of and behind the lens. Their film “Real Estate Sisters” screened this week at the 6th Joburg Film Festival in South Africa. “Real Estate Sisters”

The sixth edition of the Joburg Film Festival wraps Sunday, putting a bow on a week that saw many in the host nation reflecting on South Africa’s long journey in the three decades since the end of apartheid. But among the filmmakers and executives taking part in the second JBX content market the focus was

At the inaugural American Society of Cinematographers awards almost four decades ago, about 100 attendees saw host Gregory Peck give a single award, acknowledging the artistry of Jordan Cronenweth on Francis Ford Coppola’s “Peggy Sue Got Married.” Today, the ASC Awards is an annual event with global reach where 10 major awards are presented, this

“Dune: Part Two” is riding those massive sandworms all the way to the top of box office charts. Director Denis Villeneuve‘s big-budget sequel has collected $81.5 million in its domestic debut and delivered a mighty, necessary jolt for struggling movie theaters. It’s the biggest opening weekend of the year and the largest since last October’s

Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” won outstanding film adaptation at the 36th annual USC Libraries Script Awards on Saturday, while Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” won in the episodic series category for the second year in a row. Jefferson and Percival Everett accepted the award for “American Fiction.” In his speech, Jefferson recalled his experience reading Everett’s

Nobody is broken in Shô Miyake’s films; nobody is quite beyond repair. But over the course of his last few features, the Japanese director has centered characters who are at at least mildly sprained, and trying hard to get by on hope and a homemade splint. In his previous movie, “Small Slow But Steady” —

Wendy Bednarz’s “Yellow Bus,” which follows a mother’s quest for justice after suffering an unthinkable tragedy, won the prize for best film at the Joburg Film Festival during an award ceremony Saturday night at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg. The film, which world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, is set in an unnamed

Oscar frontrunner “Oppenheimer” collected another award on Saturday, with its sound team topping the feature competition of the 60th Cinema Audio Society Awards for sound mixing. The mixing team from “Oppenheimer” includes two-time Oscar-winning production sound mixer Willie D. Burton, who previously won Academy Awards for “Dreamgirls” and “Bird;” rerecording mixer Gary Rizzo, who won

Fantasporto, the Oporto Intl. Film Festival, kicked off Friday in Portugal’s Porto — city famed for its elegant Romanesque cathedral, a bookstore that inspired “Harry Potter,” and the heady alcoholic drink — with an eclectic mix of titles but an emphasis on fantasy films. Typifying the broad tastes of the festival chiefs, film critics Beatriz

Riding a sandworm across the desert planet of Arrakis is something most “Dune” fans have undoubtedly wanted to do at one point or another, but it begs the question: how would one actually get off the giant annelids?  Well, “Dune: Part Two” director Denis Villeneuve seems to have an answer, telling IndieWire as such in an

In a stunning cinematic universe where sand dunes rise like mountains and the fate of galaxies hangs in the balance, Denis Villeneuve‘s first voyage into the Frank Herbert’s “Dune” saga clinched six of its 10 Oscar nominations. Yet, in a twist as dramatic as Dr. Wellington killing Duke Leto, Villeneuve found himself overlooked in the

David Bordwell, an influential film scholar and longtime professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, died Feb. 29 after battling a “long illness,” according to the university. He was 76.  UW-Madison described Bordwell as a prolific researcher, dedicated teacher and passionate cinephile — a man who helped guide “countless colleagues, students, and film lovers to heightened awareness of

It took a village of Denis Villeneuve‘s most trusted artisans to pull off “Dune: Part Two’s” epic Harkonnen arena fight scene. As epic as its predecessor, Villeneuve’s sequel raises the bar with striking visuals. None is more jaw-dropping than Feyd-Rautha’s (Austin Butler) celebration sequence. The grand fight occurs early on in the film as the

Sound doesn’t get a lot of high-profile recognition during movie awards season, outside of a single category at the Oscars. That’s why the 60th Cinema Audio Society Awards – which will be held on March 2 at the Beverly Hilton – are such an important date on the entertainment industry calendar.  The awards honor the

It’s a “Dune” boon for the box office. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Two” touched down with an impressive $32.1 million gross on opening day from 4,071 locations, a figure that also includes $12 million from Thursday evening and earlier event preview screenings. That’s already the biggest opening weekend of the year, surpassing

As South Africa marks three decades since its first democratic elections, a historic moment that dismantled the apartheid system and ushered in Black-majority rule, the country is at a crossroads. Inequality is rife. Crippling blackouts have pushed the economy to a tipping point. The ruling African National Congress — the party of Nelson Mandela —

Doc specialist house Autlook Film Sales has picked up world sales on the Finnish film “Once Upon a Time in a Forest,” ahead of its world premiere in the main competition of Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX festival. Variety is premiering its trailer (below). The film, directed and produced by Virpi Suutari, scooped the $15,000 Al Jazeera Documentary

Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions, which recently wrapped the action-thriller “G20” for Amazon Studios and MRC Film in Cape Town, is planning to return to South Africa to film the true story of a young African refugee’s improbable journey to the U.S., the company’s head of film production and development, Melanie Clark, revealed

Kaylen Ng was named as the recipient of the $10,000 Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award on Friday at the renowned art fair. Meanwhile, Britt Williams was announced as the winner of the $2,500 Audience Award, voted for by the public.  Ng and Williams received their prizes during a special invitation-only ceremony at the fair. Realized