Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor,” Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” lead the race for the 32nd European Film Awards with four nominations apiece. The awards, voted on by more than 3,600 members of the European Film Academy, will be presented at the awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in
November 9, 2019 11:38AM PT Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Daniel Radcliffe’s darkly comedic sc-fi thriller “Guns Akimbo” from writer/director Jason Lei Howden. Saban announced the deal Saturday at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. “Guns Akimbo” held its world premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. The
IFC Films has bought North American rights to the Beanie Feldstein coming-of-age comedy “How to Build a Girl” for release in 2020. The deal was announced Saturday at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it won the FIPRESCI Special Presentations award.
Instagram is about to launch a test of removing like counts from posts in the U.S. — and, predictably, the idea has been met with a range of reactions ranging from praise and support to concern and mockery. The hope is that the change can reduce anxiety among Instagram users, to make social media less
November 9, 2019 10:33AM PT The “Downton Abbey” movie will get its chance to charm China thanks to a theatrical release on December 13, nearly three months after its U.S. September 20 release date. The Julian Fellowes period TV series has been an extremely popular hit in China over the years, with audiences in the
“Motel Acacia” takes place in America, but not any version of America that Americans will recognize. “Re-elect Roberts!” announces a garish campaign billboard bearing the face of a generic white politician. “We are great again!” Well, it’s easy to guess who that’s referring to and to extrapolate what alternate reality “Motel Acacia” has in mind.
As Charlize Theron accepted the 33rd American Cinematheque honor at the Beverly Hilton on Friday night, the atmosphere more resembled a roast than a reverential evening celebrating the cinematic achievements of an Oscar winner. Presenters like Seth Rogen, Kristen Stewart and Seth MacFarlane shared bawdy jokes and reveals about what it’s really like working with
All those teases about the Black Crowes getting back together for a reunion tour appear to have finally been confirmed: A 2020 version of the band is set to play the “Shake Your Money Maker” album in its entirety, “plus all the hits,” in the New York area next July, presumably among many other dates.
TORUN, Poland – Adam Bajerski, the award-winning cinematographer behind Marcin Krzysztalowicz’s 1950s Warsaw drama “Pan T.” (“Mister T.”), is re-teaming with longtime collaborator Andrzej Jakimowski for his next project. The film, “Goat Mountain,” is likely to shoot next year on the Spanish island of Lanzarote. It follows a Polish photographer who moves to the Canary
TORUN, Poland – Norwegian cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth is making his mark with such recent high-profile films as Paul Greengrass’ “22 July” and Espen Sandberg’s “Amundsen,” both of which landed him in the main competition at the EnergaCamerimage Intl. Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Torun, Poland. Rokseth spoke to Variety about the challenges
Netflix film chief Scott Stuber urged film producers and exhibitors to come together to reach a consensus on exhibition window disputes as Netflix and other streaming giants move forcefully into feature production. Stuber, Netflix’s VP of film, spoke Saturday morning at the Producers Guild of America’s Produced By NY conference in a wide-ranging Q&A with
Japanese distributor Gaga Corporation has struck an output deal with U.S. financier and producer Participant Media, giving it the Japanese release of Participant’s films that are financed via its investment in Amblin Partners. The deal was announced on the sidelines of the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Participant and Gaga previously worked together on
Roland Emmerich’s WWII epic “Midway” is heading for the No. 1 slot at the box office with an estimated $17.5 million from 3,242 domestic locations. The number marks a slight drop from Friday’s estimate in the $20 million-plus range, but is still significantly ahead of early tracking’s $13 million prediction. “Midway” is on track to
November 9, 2019 7:02AM PT President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to blast as “fake news” a report earlier this week that he is planning to develop a TV series with “The Apprentice” creator Mark Burnett following his time in the White House. On Thursday, the Daily Beast reported that Trump has
The director-producers of “Finding Jack” are doubling down on their defense of bringing back James Dean through CGI visual effects for the Vietnam War-era indie drama. Producer-directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh of Magic City Films and producer Donald A. Barton of Artistry Media Group told Variety at AFM on Friday that they were surprised
Less than two months after announcing a planned move to a bigger and better facility in Nashville, BMG has declared plans to do the same in Los Angeles, with a deal in place to develop a two-story, 30,000-square-foot facility in the Miracle Mile district. It won’t be a long move: the location for the “proposed”
Charlie Higson, British writer and actor, known for his “Young Bond” novel series, has boarded “Curse of the Kohinoor,” a recently announced Anglo-Indian heist series, as its co-writer. He will join Farrukh Dhondy (“Mangal Pandey: The Rising”), screenwriter and former Channel 4 commissioning editor for multicultural programming, on the project. The thriller recounts a plot
Bong Joon-ho’s Korean-language black comedy “Parasite” is poised to polish its Oscar credentials this weekend when it is expected to pass the $10 million milestone at the North American box office. The scathing social critique, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in May, opened in U.S. and Canadian theaters on Oct. 11. It finished
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announces the premiere date for “Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show” and the CW releases its 2020 midseason premiere dates. BEHIND THE SCENES “The Bold Type” actor Melora Hardin is set to make her television directorial debut with an episode of Season 4 of the Freeform drama, Variety has learned exclusively.
November 8, 2019 5:09PM PT Instagram likes are about to disappear from public view for many more users: The Facebook-owned photo sharing service is getting ready to hide like counts from U.S. users as early as next week, CEO Adam Mosseri announced at a Wired event in San Francisco Friday. In an attempt to strengthen
Viacom and Paramount Pictures have called off negotiations to acquire the Miramax film library, multiple insiders familiar with the talks told Variety. The media company and studio sent a letter today to Miramax owners beIN Media Group, which acquired the indie company in 2016, retracting their interest in further pursuing a deal. A spokesman for
November 8, 2019 3:44PM PT “Jumanji: The Next Level” has received a Dec. 13 release date for China, the same date as the Sony Pictures sequel’s North American launch. China was the top foreign market for 2017’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” with $78 million. Domestic grosses totaled $404 million, while the international take was
When Doc NYC started a decade ago, documentary film was still seen as something of a novelty. In the ensuing years, non-fiction movies have exploded in popularity with hits such as “RBG,” “Free Solo,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Apollo 11” helping to fuel more interest in the genre. “We never could have anticipated
November 8, 2019 2:43PM PT “This Is Us” has easily emerged as the top rated show other than football for the week of Oct. 28 after three days of delayed viewing. The NBC drama, which has been tussling at the top of the TV ratings with Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” grew 71% among adults 18-49
A French actress accused director Roman Polanski on Friday of raping her at a ski chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, in 1975. Valentine Monnier told Le Parisien that the director violently raped her when she was 18 years old. The publication also spoke with several people who offered corroboration, saying she had told them of the
On the heels seeing “Joker” becoming a mega-hit, Bron Studios founder and chairman Aaron Gilbert has stressed the importance of focusing on diversity and inclusion. “Diversity is in the DNA of our company,” he said during the opening of the American Film Market’s Finance Conference on Friday morning, dubbed The Future of Film, at the
There’s opulence, and then there’s a Valentino haute couture collection. The luxury Italian house swarmed Beijing this week with the opening of the Sanlitun flagship store, coinciding with a runway filled with extravagant gowns worthy of your next holiday party, bejeweled fencing helmets, and taffeta bows the size of a small child. The extreme lavishness
Katie Couric discussed Matt Lauer, the Me Too movement and female leadership in business at the Dress for Success annual Women Who Inspire breakfast in New York City on Wednesday. Couric, who spoke during a fireside chat at the nonprofit’s female empowerment event, was asked about Lauer’s ouster from the “Today” show, and the many
With Hollywood already fearing a strike, the Writers Guild of America has appointed more than two dozen members to serve on its negotiating committee for upcoming negotiations on its master contract. The current three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on May 1. The guild’s seven-month standoff with agencies
November 8, 2019 1:28PM PT Mister Smith International has released an exclusive first look at its “Black Beauty” reboot, starring Mackenzie Foy (pictured) and Kate Winslet. Ashley Avis is directing the Constantin Films’ pic from her own script. “Black Beauty” is based on Anna Sewell’s best-selling novel about the deep and enduring bond between a