Entertainment News Boom

The gym in the basement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s apartment complex was small and dank, with low-tech equipment and fluorescent lighting, not a promising setting for what we hoped would be one of the most important shoots of our documentary about Justice Ginsburg’s life. After the justice had surprised us by agreeing to our request

Pathé has sold Roger Michell’s Venice title “The Duke,” starring Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent to Sony Pictures Classics for the U.S., Latin America and Scandinavia. Written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, the comedy drama follows a 60-year-old taxi driver who, in 1961, stole Francisco Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the

U.K. broadcasters ITV and Channel 4 win International Emmys; Sundance Now buys Stan’s “The Night Caller”; ZDF wraps factual series; GoQuest takes Czech drama “Rats”; UKTV joins Creative Diversity Network; and “Chef In Your Year” format bows in Chile. “Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag” by the U.K.’s Hardcash Productions and ITV, has won the International

“Gull,” Kim Mi-jo’s poignant South Korean drama, follows a woman whose life becomes increasingly difficult when she seeks justice against the man who raped her. The 61-year-old O-bok works as a seafood vendor in a Seoul street market that has been slated for redevelopment. One evening, after drinks with her colleagues, she is raped by

An emerging generation of new Basque filmmakers is making its mark in the San Sebastian Festival, building on the foundations of now consolidated creative and industrial infrastructures. Only time will tell if the Basque Country can follow in the footsteps of Catalonia, another richer region of Spain, and launch a modern day new wave. Expectations

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star as a couple traveling through England in an old RV visiting friends and places from their past in “Supernova.” Check out the trailer for the film above, shared exclusively with Variety. Written and directed by Harry Macqueen (“Hinterland”), “Supernova” is billed as a modern love story centered on Sam

Director of 2017 Cannes Critics’ Week short film winner “The Disinherited,” Laura Ferrés will direct her awaited feature debut “The Permanent Picture,” which is a co-production between Barcelona-based Fasten Films and Le Bureau, based out of Paris and London. International sales will be handled by The Bureau Sales, the sales arm of the French-British label.

Headlined by Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, The Mediapro Studio’s “Official Competition,” one of the year’s highest-profile international Spanish productions lensing in Spain, has resumed shooting. Compounding the difficulty of going into production for a second time, the film features an international cast including Argentine heavyweight Oscar Martínez, a former San Sebastian, Venice and Argentine

In its first year out, the San Sebastian Film Festival’s Works in Progress Europa showcase has selected five films that explore such timely themes as imprisonment, neo-colonialism, exploitation and morality. Running Sept. 22-24 – and taking place both on site and online, attracting a powerful lineup of companies, especially from Spain and France – WIP

Robbie Amell, star of “Upload,” “Code 8” and “The Babysitter: Killer Queen,” is set to produce and star in “Float,” a movie based on Kate Marchant’s popular Wattpad teen-romance story. Wattpad has teamed with Collective Pictures — formerly Colony Pictures — to produce “Float.” Marchant’s “Float” has accumulated more than 25.5 million reads on Wattpad

This quality in this year’s crop of home-grown productions at the San Sebastian Festival is no surprise to anyone following the region’s growth in recent years, but it is impressive. Below, 20 Basque projects and finished films and series which stand out at this year’s event. “Akelarre,” (Pablo Agüero) A former San Sebastian Festival Co-Production

At a crunch time for Europe’s film and TV industries, as it faces COVID-19 crisis and streamer-propelled sea change, the San Sebastian’s Festival European Film Forum will take both bulls by the horns at its Sept. 22 conference, Beyond COVID-19: Revitalizing the European Audiovisual Industry, Two panel discussions will be preceded by an in-depth analysis

Jackie Stallone, astrologist to the stars and mother to actor Sylvester Stallone, died on Monday. She was 98. Frank Stallone, the younger brother to Sylvester, made the announcement on Monday night, saying his mother had died that morning. “She was a remarkable woman, working out every day, full of spunk and fearless. She died in

Film designer and cartoonist Ron Cobb died Thursday of Lewy body dementia at the age of 83. Cobb was a significant influence on the look and aesthetics of films including “Alien,” “Star Wars” and “Back to the Future.” Cobb died on his birthday, Monday, after an illustrious career contributing to production design in Hollywood. He

‘Antebellum’ Leads Weekly Streaming Lists Janelle Monae horror thriller “Antebellum” has topped the the lists of the week’s movies streaming on Fandango’s streaming services Vudu and FandangoNOW. Lionsgate decided in early August to ditch a domestic theatrical release for “Antebellum” amid an uncertain outlook for launching movies at brick-and-mortar theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cinematographer and director Michael Chapman, known for his distinctive camera work on Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “The Last Waltz,” died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 84. His spouse, screenwriter and film director Amy Holden Jones’ Facebook page confirmed the news of his death, writing: “Michael Chapman ASC, love of my

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not seen “Antebellum,” now available on PVOD. Filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz weren’t worried about pushing the envelope too far with “Antebellum,” their twisty tale of a contemporary Black woman, a slave living on a brutal Southern plantation and the way their fates are intertwined. In