Spanish actor Antonio Banderas has starred in such box office champs as “The Mask of Zorro,” “Evita” and “Spy Kids,” and worked with great directors, including Jonathan Demme, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh and Julie Taymor. But he’s best known for his eight films with writer-director Pedro Almodóvar. Sony Pictures Classics’ “Pain and Glory,” for which
When writer Nina Weinman heard Hallmark wanted to include Hanukkah in their annual “Countdown to Christmas” original movie slate for the 2019 holiday season, she was thrilled. Weinman was raised Jewish but now celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas with her own family after marrying a man who is Christian. Weinman’s producing partner, Joel Rice, is
It seems like every year there’s talk about the acting races being the most competitive and unpredictable ever — the kind of hype typical of a “the most dramatic season ever” of ABC’s “The Bachelor.” But for the 2020 Oscars, there’s quite a bit of truth to the cliché. Whereas the lead actress prize was
“I am a very angry, optimistic woman,” says Israeli human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel toward the end of “Advocate,” a sober, engrossing documentary dedicated to her life and work. Her description isn’t a contradiction in terms, exactly, but it does highlight two traits that are rarely twinned, particularly to positive effect. It’s an apt pairing,
A&E-backed video aggregator Littlstar has teamed up with Whistle, New Form, Silver.tv and others to launch premium content channels for its paying subscribers. The new partnerships will bring esports and other types of short-form content to the PlayStation and VR devices supported by Littlstar. The new partnerships will get Littlstar subscribers access to the entire
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Interview,” the first season finale of “The Morning Show.” Apple TV Plus’ “The Morning Show” began with beloved fictional morning news anchor Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) getting fired amid sexual misconduct allegations. The veteran media industry professional felt himself to be a casualty in
December 20, 2019 9:00AM PT “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” will expand its podcast menu with the launch of “The Daily Show Podcast Universe” in January. “Podcast Universe” will serve up a five-episode miniseries featuring parodies of popular genres of podcasting, from true crime potboilers to social justice crusades to self-appointed self-help experts. The
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Interview,” the first season finale of “The Morning Show.” Apple TV Plus’ “The Morning Show” launched its series with the firing of morning news anchor Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) amid sexual misconduct allegations. To bring the show full-circle, the season finale ended on
December 20, 2019 9:00AM PT Netflix is going back to the Dr. Seuss buffet for another helping of “Green Eggs and Ham.” Sam-I-Am would be proud. The streamer has announced it is renewing the animated series for a second season, appropriately titled “Green Eggs and Ham: The Second Serving.” Netflix’s adaptation of the classic Dr.
‘Tis the season to experiment with digital multicast channels. Sony Pictures Television is looking to spruce up the programming on its GetTV multicast channel, which mines the studio’s vault with blocks of vintage movies and TV series. Starting next year, Sony plans to add a block of superhero, sci-fi and action-themed movies and TV shows
Social-media star Cameron Dallas is heading to the New York City’s Great White Way. Dallas will make his Broadway debut when he joins the cast of the “Mean Girls” musical in the role of Aaron Samuels. He will play a four-week run starting Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the August Wilson Theatre in Times Square. The
Moviegoers will not just be thinking about Jennifer Hudson in terms of how she fares as a feline over the holidays. In timing that may serve either to capitalize on her appearance in “Cats” or to ameliorate any blowback she might get as part of the critical savaging of the movie musical, or both, a
December 20, 2019 8:21AM PT Twitter said it fixed a critical security vulnerability in its app for Android that could allow a hacker to take over a user’s account — and send tweets or direct messages as well as see private account info. In a tweet Friday, Twitter’s support team urged Android users to “update
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” launched to a mighty $40 million during Thursday night previews, setting the stage for a massive opening weekend. The latest entry in the 42-year-old franchise is expected to earn as much as $200 million, casting a shadow across the box office, but falling short of the debuts of other
In the beginning, the 62nd Grammy Awards looked set to be an inevitable showdown between two of the hottest new stars of 2019: Lizzo vs. Billie Eilish. In a way, it could still be. When the nominees were announced Nov. 20, Lizzo scored the most, with eight. In second place: Eilish, who landed six. But
Long before Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” (2006) won the best picture Oscar, Academy voters had a soft spot for bad fellas. From the first Academy Awards, voters have taken crime tales and gangster yarns seriously. In 1929, “The Racket” was “best picture, production” nommed, and Ben Hecht won the screenplay award for “Underworld.” In 1931,
With a focus on Italian films accompanying a large selection of international features, most of which are competing for Oscars, the 31st annual Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival will run Jan. 3-12. “An Almost Ordinary Summer,” directed by Simone Godano, will kick off the festival on Jan. 3. Other Italian films to unspool are “The
This may be the first year in memory when the movies seem more serious about politics than the politicians. Of course, the flippancy began about three years ago when Donald Trump ascended to the highest elected position in the land. What quickly followed was The Resistance Movement that refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of a
December 20, 2019 7:52AM PT In a long-anticipated installment of James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke,” Billie Eilish talked about her love for Green Day and Justin Bieber, rocked two songs on the ukulele — the Beatles’ “I Will” and “What a Wonderful Life,” the first song she ever wrote — and sang several of her own
France’s antitrust board has fined Google €150 million ($166 million) for abusing its dominant position in the online search advertising market. In its decision published online, the board said that Google Ads, the advertising platform of The Alphabet unit, imposed rules on advertisers that were established and applied in conditions that were “non-objective, non-transparent and
December 20, 2019 7:41AM PT Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, the creators of Sky hit series “Pagan Peak,” will direct “Hagen Von Tronje,” based on the Wolfgang Hohlbein bestseller, a reinterpretation of the Nibelungen saga. Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben will produce the project for Constantin Film as both a feature-length film and a six-part
Check out the official Respect Sneak Peek starring Jennifer Hudson! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Respect: ?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US
Of the 10 comedy and drama series nominated for the Golden Globes, only one in each category is a true newcomer: Freshman drama “The Morning Show” from Apple TV Plus scored a nom, as did first-season comedy “The Politician” from Netflix. Instead, it was all about the “second-season smashes,” as veteran awards consultant Richard Licata
Hipgnosis Songs’ music-acquisition binge has gained steam as 2019 draws to a close, with a new catalog being announced almost every day: Today the company announced that it has acquired a catalog from Savan Kotecha, the Indian-American songwriter, producer and frequent Max Martin collaborator whose songs have been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards. Kotecha has collaborated
When “Old Town Road” went viral on TikTok in December 2018, an unlikely star was born in 20-year-old Lil Nas X. Arguably even more rare than breaking the record for most weeks spent in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100? Making bedazzled western wear look so chic. But, armored with a pair
If you’re searching for a quick snapshot of the TV landscape circa 2020, take a look at this year’s Golden Globes nominations. Netflix dominated both the film and TV categories, landing 17 noms in both — 34 altogether. The streamer is a dominant force, thanks to its sheer volume of content. Only a fraction of
In the heyday of the film industry of the former Yugoslavia, silver-screen icons including Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn could be spotted ducking the paparazzi at Belgrade’s historic Hotel Metropol, a five-star redoubt that hosted royals, statesmen and the New Year’s soirees of then-President Josep Broz Tito. Four decades later, Serbian officials are
Check out the official Downhill trailer starring Will Ferrell! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Downhill: ?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US Release
Hardly a decade ago the film industry in Serbia was in a state of crisis. The state-funded film center had failed to secure its annual budget for 2011. Production was in the doldrums. For a proud country with a rich cinematic legacy dating back to the glory days of the former Yugoslavia, alarm bells were
ViacomCBS has reached a deal to acquire a 49% stake in Miramax from Qatar-based owner BeIN Media Group for a total of $375 million. The deal calls for ViacomCBS to pay $150 million in cash up front, plus a commitment to invest $45 million a year for five years to fund new film and TV