Helen Mirren is to be honored with a Golden Bear for lifetime achievement at next February’s Berlin Film Festival. The Oscar-winning star of “The Queen” and new HBO-Sky drama series “Catherine the Great” will also be the subject of an homage featuring several of her best-known films, including “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife &
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s Lucía Puenzo, one of Latin America’s most sought-after writer-directors, is in talks with Mariana di Girolamo, star of Pablo Larraín’s “Ema,” and Marcelo Alonso (“Neruda,” “The Club,” “Araña”) for both to star in feature “Impactados.” Both actors have expressed their interest in appearing in the film, said Puenzo, which she will
Paz Fábrega’s “Restless” comes into Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte section as one of the sidebar’s most buzzed titles. In 2011, Fábregá’s “Agua Fria de Mar,” (“Cold Water of the Sea”) played in San Sebastian’s Horizontes Latinos competition and scooped awards at Lima’s Latin American Film Fest and Rotterdam, after playing well in rough-cut at an
December 4, 2019 3:01AM PT Global content creation and distribution company ADD Content has inked a deal with India’s Abundantia Entertainment to develop an Indian remake of the hit Israeli young-adult drama “The Missing.” The original series, created by Yaron Arazi and produced by ADD Content, has had three hit seasons on Nickelodeon Hot in
BUENOS AIRES — Under municipal Minister of Culture Enrique Avogadro, the City of Buenos Aires is relaunching its Film Commission, taking advantage, yes, of the peso-dollar exchange but, above all, of Argentina’s unquestioned talent base, which is already triumphing outside Argentina. Two examples, both from the TV sector: in 2018, Argentina sold more top 20
Written and directed by popular Argentine genre filmmaker Santiago Fernandez Calvete, “Vurdalak Blood,” based on Alexi Tolstoy’s short story “The Family of the Vourdalak,” is screening in works in progress version at this year’s Ventana Sur Blood Window genre sidebar. “Vurdalak Blood” takes place in the uncertain hours after a vampire hunt when it’s unclear
December 4, 2019 2:24AM PT Jessica Chastain is in negotiations to star alongside Ralph Fiennes and Caleb Landry Jones in “The Forgiven,” an adaptation of the novel by Lawrence Osborne, Variety has learned. John Michael McDonagh will be directing the film, which deals with the impact of a tragic accident on the lives of an
BUENOS AIRES — Caracol Televisión is introducing to select sales agents at Ventana Sur “El Olvido que Seremos,” the latest feature film from Academy Award-winning director Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”), which is written by David Trueba (“Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed”) and stars Javier Cámara (“Truman”) and adapts one of the most loved of
Top screenwriter, Michael Hirst (“The Vikings,” “The Tudors”) has been appointed to draft the screenplay for “The Ibis Trilogy” a series adaptation that depicts the lives of vividly-drawn characters against the backdrop of the narcotics trade between Britain, India and China and including the “Opium Wars.” The move reunites Hirst with “Elizabeth” director Shekhar Kapur,
Sky Studios has signed a funding and first-look distribution deal with Merman TV, the company founded by “Catastrophe” writer Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford. The two-year agreement covers overhead and development funding for Merman, which has won three BAFTA television awards. Sky Studios is pay-TV broadcaster Sky’s new dedicated production arm, which is being ramped
Robert Pattinson, Alicia Vikander, Sam Rockwell, Melissa McCarthy, Joanne Froggatt, Himesh Patel and Nicholas Hoult are among the record-setting 559 new members joining BAFTA in 2019, Variety can reveal. The new class includes a number of recent BAFTA Award nominees, such as composer Nicholas Britell (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), director and producer “Arthur Cary”
Exclusive TMZ.com Gorilla Zoe‘s domestic violence case is no more — and it’s all thanks to the girlfriend he allegedly attacked. The Monroe County Florida Prosecutor’s Office tells TMZ it dropped all the charges against the Atlanta rapper after his GF made it clear she didn’t want him prosecuted. She even delivered a notarized letter
Khadija Alami, CEO of K Films, is line producing and producing an increasing number of foreign shoots in Morocco, and is also hosting a rising number of shoots in her studio facility, Oasis Studios Morocco, built in 2015, located in Ouarzazate on the edge of the Sahara desert. Oasis Studios Morocco is conceived as a
December 3, 2019 9:46PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Lucasfilm claims the top spot in spending with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” Ads placed for the sci-fi drama had an estimated media value of $6.08 million through
December 3, 2019 9:21PM PT Former BBC executive, Myleeta Aga has been appointed by Netflix as director of content in Southeast Asia and Australia and New Zealand. Erika North, who was previously director of original content in Asia, has departed the streaming giant. “She is not ‘replacing’ Erika. Myleeta was hired months before Erika’s departure.
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority is teaming with Asian streamer Hooq and Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to fund and develop local content for distribution in Southeast Asia and India. Both partnerships are under the aegis of the Capabilities Partnership Programme that is part of the IMDA’s ‘Made With Singapore’ initiative. The Hooq collaboration will
The Society of Composers & Lyricists has been around for nearly 75 years, but not until this year did the organization start its own annual awards program for music appearing in film, TV and videogames — and the nominees announced Tuesday for the inaugural show are certain to be scrutinized as a bellwether for what
December 3, 2019 6:25PM PT French multiplex company CGR Cinemas has selected Sony’s “Jumanji: The Next Level” as the first Hollywood film to be shown in the United States with its Immersive Cinema Experience technology. The announcement was made Tuesday by execs from AEG, Sony and CGR at the Regal LA Live in downtown Los
A knife fight, books thrown across the room, a broken jaw and a rainy New York. Those are just a few of the many components that went into the sound design and sound mixing for “John Wick 3: Parabellum.” The film is as much about sound as it is about the action and the acting.
Roddy Ricch went from zero Grammy nominations to three literally overnight. The Compton-born, Atlanta-raised rapper was recognized for his blend of melody and hip-hop, riding a lane of trap rap that’s taken over the streets and beyond. After his first mixtape, “Feed Tha Streets,” Roddy unleashed the London on da Track-produced “Die Young” in July
MediaCorp, Singapore’s public broadcast group, is moving ahead with the first project to emerge from its partnership with online story vault Wattpad. The news was announced on the first day of the Asia Television Forum in Singapore. The pair will adapt hit romantic story “Slow Dancing” by Singaporean writer Noelle (@Hepburnettes) as a six part
In today’s film news roundup, Patrick Stewart receives an honor, Nick Pillegi is working on a “Sex and the Shield” script, “Driveways” finds a home and the DGA honors student filmmakers. STEWART HONORED Patrick Stewart will receive this year’s distinguished artisan award at the 7th Annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards. The event
Post Malone, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are heading out on a three-day beach vacation as headliners of the 11th annual Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, just announced for May 15-17, 2020. Among the others set for the fest are Lana Del Rey, Cage The Elephant, Juice WRLD, Kane Brown,
Australian comedy “Top End Wedding” has been acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films for the U.S. market. The deal was announced by producer Goalpost Pictures Australia. The film had its premiere at the Sundance festival in the U.S. in January this year. Samuel Goldwyn says that it will release the film on multiple digital platforms from
Striking a lightsaber into the hearts of “Star Wars” fans, it appears that a romance between Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) will not materialize in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” But that does not necessarily mean there won’t be any LGBTQ representation in the final film in the Skywalker saga, either.
As entertainment and media figures continue to react to the ouster of “America’s Got Talent” judge Gabrielle Union, former cast member Sharon Osbourne weighed in on Tuesday with her own experience on the show. The reality star and rock matriarch addressed the panel of her syndicated daytime series “The Talk” where, in her notoriously candid
As the iconic “L Word” returned to the small screen in the form of a new spinoff titled “The L Word: Generation Q,” with a premiere celebration at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on Monday night, stand-up comedian and actress Fortune Feimster shared why joining the cast meant more than just a new job. “When the
Ronan Farrow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative reporting into sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, defended Gabrielle Union following her departure from NBCUniversal’s “America’s Got Talent,” during his time as guest co-host on “The View.” “It’s no secret that I’ve done a bunch of reporting on a number of media companies,” Farrow
December 3, 2019 4:00PM PT Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul are returning to Fox. The pair have signed on as writers of the half-hour single-camera comedy project “Mr. Black,” which was first announced as being in development back in August. Mogel and Paul previously created the Fox comedy series “The Grinder” starring Rob Lowe and
Third Man Records today announced the launch of Maggot Brain — a new, full-color quarterly magazine edited by noted Detroit music scribe Mike McGonigal. The December/January/February issue is available now, and yearly four-issue subscriptions are available. The magazine is clearly a nod to Third Man founder Jack White’s Detroit roots — “Maggot Brain,” of course, is the name of