Swedish producer Erik Hemmendorff, Ruben Östlund’s regular production partner at Plattform Produktion, has attached “Holy Motors” star Denis Lavant for the sophomore pic from John Skoog, which has the Swedish working title of “Värn” (”Redoubt”). Hemmendorff was also behind the Sundance-selected pic “Pleasure” by Ninja Thyberg, which screens at this week’s Norwegian Intl. Film Festival
Seasoned Finnish writer-director-producer Aku Louhimies (“Rebellion,” “Frozen Land,” “Unknown Soldier”) is plotting multi-season TV drama “Conflict,” a near-future political action thriller that turns on a Finland threatened by an unknown military force. Comparing the project to high-profile Norwegian TV show “Occupied,” the director said he had the idea for “Conflict” after his war epic “Unknown
Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon – better known as his alter ego Johnny Rotten – has lost his legal battle against bandmates Steve Jones, the group’s guitarist, and drummer Paul Cook over a contract setting out how the 1970s punk band agrees to license its music. The decision means that Jones and Cook can now
Wild Bunch International has acquired world sales rights to Vladimir Bitokov’s “Mama, I’m Home,” which will have its world premiere next month in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, Variety can reveal. Bitokov’s second feature, which follows his 2018 Karlovy Vary premiere “Deep Rivers,” is a Non-Stop Production and AR Content film produced
A question as seemingly benign as “You’re Laura’s mother, right?” becomes the moment when Cielo’s life changes forever. The query, posed by a toothy-smiled young man, is born not out of curiosity but out of a need to make sure he’s found the right woman to extort. Even as he grins, there’s a sinister edge
Elliot Page says films like “But I’m a Cheerleader” offered relief from some of his struggles as a young LGBTQ+ person. “I for one know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager — there was very little — I just don’t know if I
Three local movies took the top positions at the South Korean box office over the weekend for the first time this year. The chart was headed by “Hostage Missing Celebrity,” which earned close to $4 million. Produced by Filmmaker R&K and distributed by Next Entertainment World, “Hostage” is a comedy-action movie starring the enduringly-popular, rubber-faced
“CSI: Vegas” star William Petersen was briefly hospitalized on Friday after feeling unwell on the set of the sequel series, Variety has confirmed. However, a representative for Petersen says the 68-year-old actor was taken to the hospital “as a precautionary measure,” as he has been exhausted from working long hours on the set of the show
“Free Guy,” starring Ryan Reynolds as a minor character in a video game who breaks out of his drone existence, is one of the fizziest movies you’ll ever see that has a bona fide brain. At first, it may remind you of a lot of other films — it’s like “The Truman Show” crossed with
Fox News said it has helped to evacuate four Afghan freelancers and their associates — 24 people in all — as part of a larger move by media organizations to secure an exit from the country for nationals who have helped their on the ground efforts in the region. In a memo to staffers on
“We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” the Central Park concert scheduled to be headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Patti Smith and others, originally was intended to celebrate all that is unique and glorious about the city that 8 million people call home. Unfortunately, on Saturday night, that also included the region’s typical late-summer downpours.
Serbian director Stefan Arsenijević is competing for Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Crystal Globe with his second feature, “As Far As I Can Walk.” It’s a surprising and exhilarating blend of contemporary refugee story, love triangle and medieval Serbian poem. Arsenijević’s hometown Belgrade marks an important point on the Balkan migrant route. A few years ago,
After some amuse bouche shorts and a pair of features as a starter, Philip Barantini is hungry for the main course. The actor-turned-director spent over two decades in front of the camera (you may recognize him from heavyweight HBO series “Band of Brothers” and “Chernobyl”), but has now developed a serious taste and talent for directing
Rachel Maddow will stay at MSNBC, according to two people familiar with the matter, after negotiating a new pact that will keep her at the cable-news outlet beyond 2022. Maddow, who is the linchpin of the network’s primetime lineup, had been considering her own independent content ventures, and had enlisted top executives at Endeavor to
Before discussing country-rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson’s so-called final album, it’s best to clear up a few things. When most think of the last 20 years of Wanda Jackson’s career, and her return to secular music after a decade doing songs of praise, it is often more in consideration of the producers and collaborators who aided
The year is 1993, and Yugoslavia is dead. Long live the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, though that, too, will only last another 10 years. The Belgrade-based family at the heart of “Celts” doesn’t know that yet, though they kind of do: After years of political tumult that have left them all older, poorer and more
Michaela Coel, Norman Lear and Steve McQueen were among the special achievement honorees at the third annual AAFCA TV Honors on Saturday. The event, presented by the African American Film Critics Association, was held virtually, with Emmy-nominee Yvette Nicole Brown hosting the award show. Honorees including Wanda Sykes, Naomi Ackie and Omar Sy beamed in from
Need proof that moviegoing is far from returning to normal? Look no further than this weekend’s domestic box office charts. Case in point: “PAW Patrol,” an animated movie based on the popular kids TV show, left Hugh Jackman’s sci-fi romance drama “Reminiscence” in the dust in North America, with the heroic pups of Adventure City
The Norwegian International Film Festival kicked off on Saturday its 49th edition in the coastal town of Haugesund, an occasion for industry filmgoers and Nordic film aficionados to discover new projects from the region’s top talent. One of festival’s highlights is its Next Nordic Generation– a selection of the best graduation short films from various
Powered by its famed partners, Oslo-based Motion Blur, one of Norway’s top producers of commercials, features and TV shows, has never been that busy with projects both on home turf and in the U.S. That activity in part rolls off the pulling power of the company’s pedigreed partners: “Karate Kid” helmer Harald Zwart; “Kon-Tiki” and
Don Everly, who with his late younger sibling Phil established the template for close harmony vocalizing in the chart-topping duo the Everly Brothers, died Saturday at age 84 in Nashville. NO cause of death was immediately disclosed. The Los Angeles Times confirmed the death through a family spokesman, even as tributes were already accumulating on
After a stellar year picking up awards at Berlin, South by Southwest, Edinburgh and Melbourne, “Ninjababy” continued its prize-winning streak at Norway’s top plaudits for national movies, the Amanda Awards. Their prize ceremony kicked off the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund on Saturday night. The second feature from TV-film director Yngvild Sve Flikke (“Women
Nickolas Davatzes, longtime CEO of A+E Networks who steered the launch of A&E Network and History Channel, died Saturday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 79. Davatzes joined the company as CEO in 1983 just as A&E Networks was formed through the merger of fledgling cable channels Entertainment Network, owned by RCA and
UPDATED: “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” the Clive Davis-programmed concert in Central Park, was called off just past its halfway point Saturday due to lightning strikes occurring within a 10-mile radius of the Great Lawn. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Maluma, Patti Smith and the Killers had yet to appear at
A musical biopic featuring Milan Marić in the title role, “Toma” uses creative license to chart the eventful life of legendary Yugoslav folk singer-songwriter Tomislav Zdravković (1938-91), one of the most beloved recording artists and dedicated live performers of his time. The screenplay by Serbian multi-hyphenate Dragan Bjelogrlić and co-writers Nikola Pejaković, Zoran Lisinac and
1:20 PM PT — Kanye may or may not have just responded to Drake — depending on how you take his most recent IG post … which is very ominous, and seems to have Drake’s other nemesis, Pusha, in the loop. Ye just threw up a screenshot of a group chat he’s in … where
A 46-year-old man attending a Dead & Company concert at Citi Field in New York City on Aug. 20 fell off of a balcony and died. The New York Police Department confirmed to Variety that first responders were called to the stadium at about 9:05 p.m on Friday night. The man was then transported in
Sean Penn remains committed to his previous comments that the COVID-19 vaccine should be mandatory for all. “I am so grateful that audiences — and yes, we’ll come around to that I would request only vaccinated audiences — have an opportunity to see this theatrically,” the actor told CNN’s Michael Smerconish in an interview about
Irony is a word that pops up a lot in discussing the group Sparks — in their content, and in their career. And here’s an irony for you: When brothers Ron and Russell Mael created a project called “The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman” many years back, it was with the intent of it being a
As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 fast approaches, you’ll have no shortage of options should you want — for whatever reason —to watch a documentary about it. As a mere sampling: there’s “One Day in America” from National Geographic, “Generation 9/11” from PBS, “9/11: Inside the President’s War Room” from Apple TV Plus, and an