Grasshopper Film and Gratitude Films have jointly acquired U.S. distribution rights to Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard selection “Rehana” from sales agent Films Boutique. The film will open in cinemas in early 2022 followed by digital, home video, and non-theatrical releases. The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film
The only one of several same-titled movies in recent years to make a significant commercial dent, Adam Robitel’s 2019 “Escape Room” proved a considerable sleeper hit, making back many times its modest $9 million budget. Ergo “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” which brings back the first edition’s director, surviving characters and other elements in another
Top Indian actor Taapsee Pannu has launched production company Outsiders Films alongside former Sony Pictures Networks executive Pranjal Khandhdiya. Pannu who works in both Bollywood and the South Indian film industries, is known for her eclectic choice of roles including “Thappad,” for which won best actress at India’s prestigious Filmfare awards, “Badla” and “Mulk.” Khandhdiya’s
Eldridge Industries chief Todd Boehly has presented the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with a massive restructuring plan would create a for-profit entity in addition to the nonprofit side of the group that has come under heavy fire in recent months for the absence of Black members and for accusations of questionable ethical practices among many
Netflix has signaled its expansion into the world of video games with its latest executive hire, Mike Verdu. Verdu will serve as Netflix’s vice president of game development and will report to COO and chief product officer Greg Peters. According to Bloomberg, which first reported Verdu’s hiring, video games should hit the platform within the
Britney Spears is hoping it’s “out with the old and in with the new” in her conservatorship — a new hearing in the case is going down, and her new hand-picked attorney will have the spotlight. The judge in Brit’s conservatorship will hear arguments Wednesday in downtown L.A. on several issues — the most important
The Forum’s rock-christened return has been put on pause. The Inglewood arena was set to reopen with a Foo Fighters show on Saturday, but the band announced today that a COVID-19 case within their organization has led to the postponement of their show. “Despite having made every effort to follow CDC Covid protocols and local
Britney Spears celebrated Wednesday’s court hearing with a gratitude-filled Instagram post, even using the hashtag “#FreeBritney.” Following her conservatorship hearing, Spears posted on social media to express her relief at being able to hire her own lawyer. “Coming along, folks … coming along !!!!!” Spears wrote, along with the middle finger emoji. “New with real
The first thing you notice when going to Babi Yar is just how close the ravine is from Kiev. So close that if the wind was right in those final days of September 1941, the city residents could almost certainly have heard the gunfire as Nazi soldiers slaughtered 33,771 Jews. Standing on the site, one
The lovechild of passion and talent, Justin Chon’s “Blue Bayou” — a lyrical and emotional portrait of identity and family — is a piece that drums up lots of support within the film community, general audiences, and the Academy Awards in various branches. Leaving you in a puddle of tears by the end credits, the
American cartoonist Adrian Tomine uses the graphic novel to do what that other form of literature — the standard gray-words-on-white-paper short story — simply hasn’t been able to achieve. Like any writer, he can go inside his characters’ heads, taking the X-ray of their most private insecurities and rendering it visible to the reader. “Is
The number of films about Giacomo Casanova is legion, which makes the question “why another one?” especially relevant. What insight can be found to kindle enough interest to pour reportedly more than $7.5 million into a retelling of the great diarist’s life? Given Benoît Jacquot’s success with his earlier costume drama “Farewell, My Queen,” based
The music streaming business appears headed for unprecedented upheaval in the U.K., after an influential government committee recommended a “complete reset” of the sector. The U.K. Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Committee has been running its investigation into the economics of music streaming since October 2020. And, while British government committees
It shouldn’t be a shocker that an international feature from Asghar Farhadi has entered the awards conversation with the vivacious and flavorful “A Hero.” How the Iranian filmmaker chooses to frame his stories has always been compelling, and it’s a quality that has been overlooked by the Academy in his tenure. Perhaps, this could be
Sam Richardson may be best known for his comedic roles in “Veep,” “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson” and “The Detroiters,” but this summer, the funny guy is taking on furry beasts in “Werewolves Within” and spike-shooting aliens in “The Tomorrow War.” Playing skittish draftee Charlie, Richardson adds levity to “The Tomorrow War,”
The annual Primetime Emmys always come with a dash of mystery and intrigue, but Hollywood’s Rise of the Streamers has given the Television Academy a whole new host of things to worry about. Like, what’s a network these days, anyway? The org caught flack for allowing HBO and HBO Max to merge their tallies, giving
The story of a high school girl who’s forced — alongside her dimwitted boyfriend and kind uncle — to fend off a pair of armed thieves, “How to Deter a Robber” delivers the blandest take possible on its home-invasion scenario. With low stakes and even lower energy, writer-director Maria Bissell’s feature debut isn’t sure if
Rep. Matt Gaetz, the highly controversial conservative Republican congressman from Florida, made a surprise appearance at a “free Britney” rally, accusing her father, Jamie Spears, and others of being “grifters” who have victimized the singer, as a court hearing was taking place in Los Angeles. He also called Spears’ father “a dick.” “If this case
Britney Spears broke down in tears in open court on Wednesday, making a tearful plea to the judge to remove her father for her conservatorship. “I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him for conservatorship abuse,” Spears said via remote video. “I want to press charges for abuse on this conservatorship today…
Peter Dinklage and David Ginsberg’s production banner Estuary Films has inked a new first-look TV deal with Entertainment One (eOne). Under the terms of the multi-year pact, the company will develop television series for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Former HBO executive Brad Saunders, head of television, will oversee the partnership for Estuary Films. “We
Archewell Productions, the Netflix-based shingle launched by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is getting into the animation business. Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, is the creator behind “Pearl,” described as a “family series that centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl, who is inspired by a variety of influential women from history.” Credited as
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 1, Episode 6 of “Loki,” streaming now on Disney Plus. Between the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) tormenting townspeople and twisting the fabric of reality to keep her synthezoid loved one alive and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), unleashing the wrath of Kang the Conqueror
Fox Entertainment has upped Darren Schillace to president of marketing, adding Tubi to his oversight along with the Fox network. Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier made the announcement on Wednesday. Schillace was most recently executive vice president of marketing at Fox Entertainment. In the newly expanded role, he’ll lead marketing strategies for all business units
Jerry O’Connell has joined daytime talk show “The Talk” as its first male co-host, more than three months after former co-host Sharon Osbourne made her controversial exit. “It’s fun, and it works, and we’re going to have a lot of fun,” O’Connell said during the announcement on Wednesday’s episode. His addition comes after serving as
Professional basketball players are a marvel seemingly created by an animator’s pen: elongated arms, mountainous shoulders, whirlwind speed and an ability to leap over defenders in a single bound. Even among other athletes, they’re unique physical outliers incapable of blending into a crowd — let alone a movie — unless playing themselves. Or unless their
Bleecker Street and ShivHans have secured U.S. rights to “Golda,” a biopic about Israel’s only female prime minister, Golda Meir. The film stars Helen Mirren, an expert at revealing the inner lives of public figures in films like “The Queen.” It will be directed by Guy Nattiv, an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin,”
All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. The late photographer Slim Aarons once described the content of his work as “attractive people doing attractive things
Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry (“Hair Love”) is partnering with director/writer Chaz Bottoms to adapt Bottoms’ animated short “Battu: An Animated Musical” into a series. Cartoon Network Studios is on board to develop “Battu” with Cherry and Bottoms. Described as a “coming-of-age musical comedy series about a young group of misfit dreamers who move to
Joshua Jackson started his career playing some of the sweetest and therefore most beloved characters in pop culture, from Charlie Conway in “The Mighty Ducks” to Pacey Witter on “Dawson’s Creek.” Even as he matured into more adult roles, such as Peter Bishop on “Fringe,” he leaned on likable, even when they became increasingly complex
Lilly Singh will join the upcoming second season of Hulu’s comedy series “Dollface,” Variety has confirmed. Singh will play a queer bar owner named Liv who explores both a relationship and a business venture with Stella (Shay Mitchell). This marks the actor’s first booked role since ending her late-night program, “A Little Late With Lilly