Before Samuel L. Jackson became synonymous with the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his decades-long role as Nick Fury, it was “Star Wars” that was the first Hollywood mega-franchise to open its doors for the beloved actor. Jackson played Jedi master Mace Windu in George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, and it’s a role he
Adam Sandler has set a new comedy special at Netflix — this time directed by Josh Safdie. The project continues Sandler’s string of collaborations with Safie, who co-directed him in 2019’s “Uncut Gems” alongside his brother Benny Safdie. Sandler also starred in the brothers’ 2020 short film “Goldman v. Silverman” and is set to lead
Lilly Wachowski is bound to direct “Trash Mountain,” a queer comedy-drama starring rising comedian and actor Caleb Hearon. The film follows a young gay man living in Chicago who returns to his hometown in Missouri following the death of his hoarder father. Along with starring in the feature, Hearon also co-wrote the script with Ruby
Kate Winslet said in a new interview with Net-a-Porter that she actively took roles in smaller, independent films after the record-breaking success of “Titanic” because the fame that resulted in starring in James Cameron’s epic was “horrible.” Winslet was just 22 years old when “Titanic” opened in 1997 and became a cultural phenomenon. It won
Controversial director Woody Allen’s 50th film “Coup de Chance” is coming to U.S. theaters. MPI Media Group will release the movie on April 5 for North American markets, with a digital/VOD release on April 12. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, drew both protests and an enthusiastic two-and-a-half minute standing
The 10th annual Variety Artisans Awards at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival hosted its biggest crowd to date at this year’s event, with 2,000 attendees packing the Arlington Theater to hear artisans behind Oscar-nominated films discuss their projects. After one-on-one conversations, honorees Stephane Ceretti, visual effects supervisor on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,”
On the “Pod Meets World” podcast, co-hosts Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle have often given their guests — many of whom are actors who grew up on TV in the 90s — the opportunity to debunk any headlines about them. During the Feb. 12 episode, Andrew Keegan was ready to do just that.
Paramore has announced its first order of business as independent artists will be championing independent record stores as a Record Store Day Ambassador for 2024. Paramore — the trio consisting of frontwoman Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro — took to social media over the weekend to share the news and confirmed the band
The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and
Play video content Instagram / @therealmikeepps Mike Epps isn’t backing down from Shannon Sharpe‘s apparent threat that the streets aren’t safe for him … this, after the comic recently took some big shots at the HOF’er. In response to SS’s recent tirade against him on his podcast with Chad OchoCino — in which Shannon claimed
Play video content Instagram / @therealmikeepps Mike Epps no se asusta con las amenazas de Shannon Sharpe, quien asegura que las calles no son seguras para él… esto después de que el cómico recientemente bromeara a sus expensas. La reciente amenaza de Shannon fue en su pódcast con Chad OchoCino, en el que Shannon afirmó
“The Bachelor” franchise is continuing to grow, with “The Golden Bachelorette” currently casting its lead and suitors — but that may not be the only spinoff in the works. With “The Golden Bachelor” proving that a very large older audience is watching, would the flagship — which usually casts men and women in their 20s
In “The Housewife and the Hustler 2: The Reckoning,” Erika “Jayne” Girardi of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” meets the victims whom her estranged husband Tom Girardi allegedly defrauded over many years. It’s an awkward, and at times frosty and defensive encounter — and is the centerpiece of this new documentary that dropped
As an alumna of “Saturday Night Live,” Kate McKinnon knows what it takes to come up with interesting characters. Now she will do so for a decidedly different format. The comic actor plans to launch a debut novel aimed at young-adult readers. “The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science” is
How big was the Taylor Swift effect on the Super Bowl? Her impact on viewership of CBS’s Super Bowl LVIII telecast will continue to be debated even after ratings for TV’s biggest event of the year come out. But it’s undeniable that Swift — who jetted from Tokyo to Las Vegas to cheer on beau
CrimeCon has announced its call for submissions for the 3rd annual Clue Awards, which will take place on Saturday, June 1, in Nashville, Tenn. The awards ceremony takes place as part of the three-day 2024 CrimeCon at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The awards honor true crime storytelling in television, film, podcasts and
“Barbenheimer” may be the gift that keeps on giving. After Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” ignited the summer box office, the blockbusters with twin release dates are bringing populist energy to the Oscars. Yet the one-two punch of “Barbie” ($1.445 billion globally) and “Oppenheimer” ($957 million), along with a valiant assist from Martin
Margot Robbie‘s production company is making it official with the studio that backed the Oscar-nominated blockbuster “Barbie.” LuckyChap signed a multi-year, first-look feature film deal with Warner Bros. to collaborate on future projects. The pact follows the smash success of “Barbie,” which was distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Robbie and her LuckyChap co-founders,
Australia-based indie sales firm Odin’s Eye Entertainment has picked up international rights to adult-skewing animation film “The Weird Kidz.” The film, which has a 1980s vibe and sense of humor, debuted last year in festivals and Odin’s Eye will be using Berlin’s European Film Market to launch an expanded version. A weekend camping trip becomes
When Hannah Gadsby entered a deal at Netflix in 2022 with the goal of broadening “a notoriously transphobic industry,” they set plans for a multi-comic special featuring genderqueer comics from around the globe. Now titled “Gender Agenda,” that project will debut on March 5 with a lineup of seven performers. With Gadsby as curator and
Ahead of his return as host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart stopped by “CBS Mornings” to explain why it was finally time to return to his old job. Stewart hosted the network’s flagship news show from 1999 to 2015. He’ll now be hosting only Monday episodes throughout the 2024 election cycle. Stewart
It’s a semi-annual tradition during the PBS executive session at the Television Critics Assn.: Asking president/CEO Paula Kerger about the state of funding for the public broadcaster. And so it went on Monday, during the public broadcaster’s portion of the winter 2024 press tour — and despite the ongoing gridlock in Washington, Kerger said things,
Anyone imagining that a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction could be the thing that finally bring the Gallagher brothers together for an Oasis reunion has been disabused of that notion by Liam Gallagher. The singer posted a series of social media messages expressing his contempt for the institution, along with some ongoing disdain
SiriusXM is eliminating about 160 jobs, a move to cut expenses that represents a layoff affecting just under 3% of the satellite radio and audio streamer’s workforce. Jennifer Witz, CEO of SiriusXM, announced the layoffs in a memo to staff Monday. The cutbacks come after SiriusXM in March 2023 announced it was laying off 475
Sola Media has boarded CGI animated movie “The Super Elfkins” as sales agent and will unveil first footage at the European Film Market in Berlin. The film, which has a budget of Euros 9 million ($9.7 million), will be released in Germany in December 2024 by Tobis Film. It is a sequel to “The Elkfins
European production and distribution group Newen Studios has appointed Pierre Branco — the former country manager of Warner Bros Discovery for France, Benelux and Africa — as CEO. Branco will begin his position at Newen Studios starting in April, succeeding Romain Bessi, who has decided to step down after a six-year tenure during which he
Camelot Media has set action-adventure film franchise “The Lost Book of Creation.” Roel Reine (“Line of Fire,” “Halo”) will direct the first film of the planned three-film franchise. Matt Hookings (“Prizefighter”) has written the script and will also star alongside Madalina Diana Ghenea (“Deep Fear,” “House of Gucci”). The film follows archaeologists Slade (Hookings) and
For decades, the Berlin Film Festival has been forging its own iconoclastic path, known for screening the best of world cinema and edgy underground discoveries as well as its cold February temperatures, while the starrier and warmer Cannes and Venice fests have been in fierce competition to grab the limelight (aka Oscar movies). But the
Concourse Media, the sales and distribution banner led by Matthew Shreder, is teaming with Goldfinch on its already-established genre label The Number 44. Concourse will come aboard as sales partner for a five-picture slate, which is fully financed with production already completed on two films and three more slated for this year. Concourse is also
As the film industry braces for a colder-than-normal Berlinale, the indie sector faces a rising level of pain points, now exacerbated by leaner and meaner commercial terms on offer from territorial and domestic distributors for indie titles. Pre-pandemic overproduction, problems with minimum-guarantee payments (commonly referred to by the acronym MG), delays in payments, a decline