Attorney Chris Perez has been promoted to name partner at the law firm of Donaldson Callif, a prominent player in documentary and independent film and TV production. The Beverly Hills-based firm has changed its name to Donaldson Callif Perez. “Chris has been a key member of our team and instrumental in the firm’s growth over
The CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, a training program for women documentary filmmakers conceived with a focus on Southern and Eastern Europe, has selected the four projects that will take part in its showcase as part of the Cannes Docs program of the Cannes Film Market, Variety can reveal. Hailing from the program’s backyard in the
Leading Australian actor Russell Crowe has announced concrete plans to fulfil his long-held dream of operating a movie studio in northern New South Wales, close to where he has lived for the past 25 years. Crowe unveiled details of a new facility at Coffs Harbour and told Variety: ”I want the East Coast of Australia
The Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) will present an overview of its inaugural Industry Action Report Card on Friday morning June 18th as part of the National Museum of African American Music’s State of Black Music Summit. With journalist and industry exec Naima Cochrane, BMAC drafted its first-of-its-kind report to “track and measure how individual
On Wednesday, the Annecy Animation Festival hosted a live, in-person Work in Progress panel for Spanish filmmaker Alberto Vázquez’s “Unicorn Wars” at the Salle Pierre Lamy, perhaps indicating that the world is healing. Joining Vázquez on stage were his Oscar-winning Autor de Minuit producer Nicolas Schmerkin, Spanish producer Chelo Loureiro from Abano Producións, and “Unicorn
Amazon Studios has put it in writing. The company has formally established a policy that outlines its commitments to diversity, inclusion and equity throughout its operations. It has also created a detailed “playbook” with hiring and purchasing guidelines for the studio’s creative collaborators. The policies have been in development for more than two years, shepherded
Paris-based sales and co-production company Charades has closed deals for all major Western territories on “Belle,” the anticipated animation feature from Oscar-nominated Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”) and Studio Chizu. Following GKids’ pick up of North American rights, Charades has unveiled a raft of sales to high-profile international distributors for “Belle,” including Anime Limited in
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 1, Episode 2 of “Loki,” streaming now on Disney Plus. One of the many delights of the God of Mischief having his own standalone series is that we not only get to admire Tom Hiddleston’s acting chops, but also get to see him dance gleefully
Barcelona production-distribution outfit Filmax has picked up international rights to director-producer Ibon Cormenzana’s “Guilt” ahead of its presentation at the Pre-Cannes Screenings, which run June 21-25. The Basque helmer directs his long-time partner Manuela Velles (“Muse,” “Kidnapped”) who co-developed the topical drama with him and was actually pregnant at the time of the shoot. Velles plays a
Even if you think that Brian Wilson is God — and yes, I do — you could easily say that we don’t need another documentary about him. There have been some good, rich, and deep ones, like “Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” the 1995 musicological meditation directed by record producer Don
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Season 4 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” streaming now on Hulu. Writer, producer and director Liz Garbus is adamantly opposed to the death penalty, something she has explored in such documentaries as “The Execution of Wanda Jean” dating back to 2002. Yet, for her
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Season 4 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” streaming now on Hulu. Two episodes before the end of the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” June (Elisabeth Moss) stood in front of her Gilead abusers and testified about their crimes. But when it came time
A Columbia U. doctoral student grapples with cultural expectations, demands and pressures while carving out her own path in “Queen of Glory,” writer-director-star Nana Mensah’s inviting and understated indie about immigrant identity anxieties. With a lived-in feel for the Bronx community in which her story takes place, the filmmaker generates endearing pathos from a story
Anti-vaccine protesters congregated outside of Foo Fighters’ show at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Calif. on Tuesday night (June 15). What looked like several dozen protesters carried signs reading “Foo Fighters fight to bring segregation back” and “event for vaccinated only, unvaccinated not allowed,” according to several Twitter posts. One Instagram post appeared to
Mother Nature might be predator, prey or another supernatural being altogether in “Gaia,” infiltrating her targets with unfurling shoots and roots and sudden fungal outcrops, until she’s eventually growing from within them. Or so it seems in first-time feature director Jaco Bouwer’s cool, taciturn ecological horror, which isn’t in any kind of hurry to show
Substitute “virus” for “tornado,” as the initial external threat and slot in “mandatory self-isolation” for “fallen tree that makes escape impossible” and it would seem Sean King O’Grady’s “We Need to Do Something” has instant allegorical relevance. It hardly takes a PhD in advanced semiotics for the pandemic-battered soul to identify with the plight of
Rita Moreno is defending Lin-Manuel Miranda and “In the Heights” following criticism over the film’s lack of Afro-Latino representation. On tonight’s episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Moreno appeared to promote her documentary, “Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It,” and later brought up the “In the Heights” controversy. “Can we
When one door closes, another opens: And with Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” the door is closing on Kelly Dodd and opening for returning cast member Heather Dubrow. Braunwyn Windham-Burke, who was on the show for two seasons, and Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, who was on the most recent season, also will not return.
Warner Music Group has brought on Sherry Tan to be its head of recorded music business in mainland China. She will be based in Beijing and report to Jonathan Serbin, CEO of Warner Music Greater China. Tan comes to Warner from a position as CEO of Mengxing Media, a start-up company she co-founded that has
The weathered, storied face of rapper-actor Saul Williams does the heaviest lifting in “Akilla’s Escape,” an exceedingly solemn crime drama from Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer that benefits from every ounce of his natural gravitas. As a Toronto drug trader facing the ugly roots of his underworld life in the wake of a botched deal, Williams
Hollywood icon Rita Moreno went for it — and the message is loud and clear. Speaking to an audience at the Tribeca Festival 2021 premiere of her new uninhibited documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It,’ the legendary EGOT winner boldly said about the filming, “I made a promise to
AMC is close to taking over the Pacific Theatres locations at two popular Los Angeles shopping malls, a source confirmed to Variety on Tuesday. Pacific Theatres, founded in 1946, announced in April that it would not be reopening its 17 locations as pandemic restrictions loosened. That includes a half dozen Pacific locations and 11 ArcLight
Julia Butters — the young actor who stole scenes outright from Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” — will play a character inspired by Steven Spielberg’s sister in the filmmaker’s untitled semi-autobiographical film about his childhood. She’ll join Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen, who are playing characters loosely based on Spielberg’s
It was one of Ted Danson’s daughters who gave him perhaps the best perspective on his “Cheers” role, Sam Malone. “He was the reformed alcoholic in a bar,” Danson says of his ironic character. “He was always alone surrounded women one after the other, but always alone. One of my daughters, when she was five,
Jonathan Majors had just come from a boxing session with his trainer when he joined me for an interview for Tuesday’s episode of “Just for Variety.” I couldn’t help but wonder if the workout was to prepare him for his upcoming work in the next “Ant-Man” movie or the third “Creed” to be directed by
Fast-rising singer-songwriter Clairo has signed with Universal Music Publishing Group, in advance of her forthcoming second full-length album, “Sling,” which was co-produced by Jack Antonoff and marks her major-label debut (on the Fader label via UMG’s Republic Records). Now 22, Clairo’s (Claire Cottrill) success story began in 2017 when her song “Pretty Girl” went viral
The Senate has unanimously passed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth, which takes place annually on June 19, marks the true end of slavery in the United States. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom from slavery in the state of Texas, nearly two years
Without Brian Wilson, the world would be devoid of West Coast anthems like “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.” The musician and record producer, who founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with his brothers Dennis and Carl, as well as their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, is the subject of a new
“I May Destroy You,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Killing Eve” were among the top winners as the Banff World Media Festival revealed the winners to this year’s Rockie Awards International Program Competition. Announced Tuesday via a live, streamed virtual event, this year’s Rockie Awards saw the United Kingdom take home the most kudos, with 11,
When Lauren Hadaway was working on “Justice League” in the sound department, she had time to kill between arduous reshoots on the gritty superhero adventure. With years of experience finessing sound and dialogue on a range of blockbusters and indies, including the jukebox musical “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash,” Quentin Tarantino’s