Even before Nike founder Phil Knight acquired the studio that would be renamed Laika in 2002, it was already a staple of the Oregon filmmaking landscape. Will Vinton Studios spent 30 years creating stop-motion animation staples such as the California Raisins, and that history and legacy permeates both Laika’s work and that of the other
“Presence,” a twisty haunted house thriller, marks the second collaboration between Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp. The duo, who are longtime friends, also partnered on 2022’s “Kimi,” which featured Zoë Kravitz as an agoraphobic tech wiz. But Soderergh and Koepp entered each other’s orbit long before “Kimi” debuted. Koepp wrote the screenplay for the
Far-out cineaste Santiago Mohar Volkow (“Los Muertos”) will deliver his fourth feature “A History of Love & War” (“Una Historia de Amor y de Guerra”) to audiences at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. A viscally ludicrous examination of Mexico’s colonial history and the duplicitous nature of high-wealth, the film screens as
“News of a Kidnapping,” created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, has picked up more recognition at the Rose d’Or Latinos. The dramatic series, which won a Platino Award last April for best dramatic series, added to its collection of prizes at the inaugural event held at Content Americas in Miami on Jan. 23. The
Susie Tennant, a former Geffen Records executive who played a major role in the rise of Nirvana, died on Jan. 18 at her West Seattle home after several years living with frontotemporal dementia, a progressive neurological disorder, her family confirmed. She was 61. Born in Germany and raised all over the world as an “army
A production coming to Oregon with an in-state spend of $1 million dollars or more doesn’t have to hire locally to qualify for the state’s incentive program, but it’s still likely to be staffed largely by Oregonians. “Over the last eight or nine years, in excess of 85% of the crews on larger movies have
Brazil’s giant media conglom Globo and Spain’s Atresmedia International, the overseas arm of top commercial broadcaster Atresmedia, have renewed their strategic pact for another five years, in which Atresmedia delivers Globo telenovelas, series and mini-series across Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market. “Since we launched the agreement five years ago, we have witnessed how
Check out the official trailer for Ricky Stanicky starring John Cena and Zac Efron! ► Visit Fandango: https://www.fandango.com/?cmp=Trailers_YouTube_Desc Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to be notified of all the hottest trailers: http://bit.ly/2CNniBy ► Shop Rotten Tomatoes: http://bit.ly/3KvCU1M US Release Date: March 7, 2024 Starring: Jermaine Fowler, John Cena, Zac Efron Director: Peter
The magic of her swishy disco romp “Murder on the Dancefloor” getting a second life more than two decades after release isn’t lost on Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Over the past month, the 44-year-old, who came to prominence in her native England after her debut solo album “Read My Lips” arrived in Sept. 2001, has witnessed the
The annual MusiCares Person of the Year dinner will be like New Jersey West, with Bruce Springsteen among the performers announced to salute Jon Bon Jovi just prior to the Grammys in L.A. on Feb. 2. The lineup just put up by the Recording Academy includes a good deal of acts that either hail from
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed a new class of indie film stars on Friday, handing out its annual awards in Park City, Utah. Taking the festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition was “In the Summers” from writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio. The film tells of two daughters who come of age navigating a
Amazon MGM Studios is in final negotiations to acquire Megan Park’s sophomore feature “My Old Ass,” starring Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella, following its Sundance Film Festival debut. The high-concept film — which was produced by LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, with Indian Paintbrush’s Steven Rales — made its world premiere on
Disney + Oscar nominated documentary short “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” about two Asian grandmothers, is set to debut on the streamer and Hulu on Feb. 9. The 17-minute film directed by Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang follows the daily, often humorous, lives of his elderly maternal and paternal grandmothers who are best friends and
Sports Illustrated, the iconic sports publication, has gutted its editorial staff. So it might come as a surprise to learn that the Sports Illustrated Invitational — touted as “the ultimate golf excursion for A-List celebrities, athletes and golf enthusiasts” — is still on, to be held in Las Vegas on Thursday, Feb. 8, ahead of
Pharrell Williams is getting animated in a new feature film about his life. The musician and superproducer announced that he is teaming with The Lego Group, director Morgan Neville and Focus Features to create “Piece by Piece,” an animated film about his life using the famous toy blocks. Per the press release, “Uninterested in making
Starting Monday, many of Amazon‘s Prime Video users will see something they’ve never seen before: commercials in TV shows and movies. Amazon will begin serving ads in Prime Video content by default in major markets Jan. 29, unless users opt to pay extra ($2.99/month in the U.S.) to have an ad-free experience. The company promises
Style Points is a weekly column about how fashion intersects with the wider world. Between the countless microtrends that have popped up in recent seasons, inflated by TikTok and an explainer-happy media landscape, the overarching theme is one of hyper-femininity. First, Barbiecore cannonballed into our consciousness in all its hot-pink glory, followed closely by its
In her stunning and unsettling Prime Video limited series “Expats,” creator-writer-director LuLu Wang turns her lens on three American women living in Hong Kong whose lives are transformed into something so warped and raw that they are no longer able to cover the imperfections. As in her acclaimed 2019 feature film, “The Farewell,” Wang explores
Justin Timberlake’s hard-charging return to the spotlight continued on Thursday when he announced the “Forget Tomorrow” world tour during his appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” The tour will begin on April 29 in Vancouver, B.C., six weeks after the release of his first solo album in five years — “Everything I Thought
Hyundai hasn’t put a commercial in the Super Bowl since 2020. On Sunday, it hopes its newest auto ad makes people think of the stuff they might see in the Big Game. The automaker will take to the NFL‘s AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday to launch the 2024 Santa Fe — a familiar
“Concrete Utopia,” the highly regarded drama-thriller that was South Korea’s Oscars contender and one of the biggest box office hits of 2023, has scored a streaming release in North America. Rakuten Viki, which specializes in Asian content, has licensed exclusive rights to the film in the U.S. and Canada and will begin streaming it to
Ariana DeBose, Boy George and Nile Rodgers have teamed up for “Electric Energy,” the disco-infused bop featured in Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle.” Rodgers, who produced the track which plays over the film’s end credits, says he got a call from Vaughn asking if he wanted to be involved. Speaking with Variety over Zoom, the musician said
Ecuador-based 2bLatam, the driving creative force behind the wildly popular Spanish-language comedy channel enchufe.tv, has joined forces with Mexican media & entertainment indie Elefantec Global to develop content around enchufe.tv’s IP. Founded by former Televisa exec José “Pepe” Bastón, Elefantec Global is behind such notable productions as “Bosé” for Paramount+ in Latin America, “La rebellion”
Just a week after wrapping on Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” biopic, Austin Butler arrived in the U.K. to start work on Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ epic World War II drama “Masters of the Air.” He was joined on the Amblin and Playtone co-production by a cast who, like Butler, are poised to become the next
When the news came out in December that “The Grand Tour” — Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond’s post-“Top Gear” automotive series — would be coming to an end, fans were left wondering why. But, in a new interview with The Times, Clarkson has delivered a cheeky yet straightforward answer: it’s because he’s “unfit
Banijay Benelux’s Belgian banner Jonnydepony has set rising star Willem De Schryver from Netflix’s YA hit show” High Tides” (“Knokke Off”) for the title role of “I Was a Cop in the 80s,” ordered by Amazon Prime Netherlands and Flemish streamer Streamz. The period crime drama in development will be pitched by seasoned showrunner Philippe
Lucy van Beek, the award-winning factual TV and film specialist, has launched her own production outfit, Tailfeather Productions. The company, whose focus will be premium specialist factual documentaries and series for streaming platforms, broadcasters and theatrical release, launches with two major commissions, “Alexander: The Making of a God” for Netflix and “Born to Be Wild”
Chosen by Variety as one of 10 Euro Directors to Watch at 2013’s Karlovy Vary’ with her debut “Eat Sleep Die,” a Venice Critics Week winner, Sweden’s Gabriela Pichler confirmed her unique voice with her sophomore pic “Amateurs”, voted best Nordic film at the 2018 Göteborg Film Festival. At this year’s 47th festival, she makes her comeback with “Painkiller,”
Seasoned actor Tinna Hrafnsdóttir (“The Minister,” “The Valhalla Murders”) has joined Icelandic counterparts Aníta Briem (“The Tudors”, “As Long as We Live”) and Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir (“Paris of the North”, “Happily Never After”), successful female actors who have made with panache the leap to screenwriting, sharing the distinction of a nomination for best screenplay of a
Award-winning artist Justin Anderson’s debut feature “Swimming Home” has its world premiere in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam. Variety has secured access to the first clip from the film. The film, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, centers on poet Joe (Christopher Abbott) and war photographer Isabel (Mackenzie Davis),