Play video content Exclusive X17online.com Lori Loughlin‘s going about her normal routine … just hours before getting an enormous clue about her fate in the college admissions scandal. Lori was doing a little shopping Thursday at Ralphs in Westwood when a photog asked how she’s doing, offering some words of support. Lori was mum, but
Character actor Larry Clarke strives to breathe fresh life into the clichés and conventions of family-reunion scenarios in “3 Days With Dad,” his first attempt at multitasking as director, screenwriter and star. As its time-twisting narrative proceeds apace, the movie makes more than a few awkward lurches between farcical exaggeration and sympathetic observation. Ultimately, however,
Three years ago, Spain’s independent TV production sector was heading toward a crisis with ever lower profit margins. Cut to 2019, and Spain is enjoying a golden age of drama series production, while consolidating as a global production center. One major factor in the turnaround has been Movistar Plus, the pay TV unit of Telefonica.
ABC aired an ad during Thursday’s Democratic debate that depicted a burning image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and likened her politics to those that caused the Cambodian genocide. New Faces GOP funded the ad, which features Elizabeth Heng, a Republican who lost a bid for a Fresno-area congressional seat last year. Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter,
Five European companies are set to compete at this year’s inaugural San Sebastián Zinemaldia Startup Challenge, dedicated to recognizing entrepreneurs and new or emerging startups in the audiovisual industries. After pitching on Sept. 22, one of the five will scoop prizes of €10,000 ($11,200) cash, a year’s free access to an incubation space within the
Microsoft and Apple have both joined the Academy Software Foundation, a group designed to promote the use of open source in Hollywood. Both companies joined the foundation at the premier membership level, which helps it to surpass $1 million in annual funding. “Filmmakers everywhere use Apple products,” said Academy Software Foundation executive director David Morin
Opening on Sept. 20 with Roger Michell’s “Blackbird,” starring Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon, and set at a stunning Basque resort, the San Sebastián Film Festival marks the highest-profile film event in the Spanish-speaking world. Here are 10 early takes on 2019’s edition. A Festival of Discoveries “Every festival has its own personality. Venice is
Veteran actor, David Wenham (“Lion,” “The Lord of the Rings”) and rising star Ahmed Malek are set to star in “The Furnace.” The adventure drama is by first time feature director Roderick MacKay, with production by Timothy White (“I Am Mother”) and Tenille Kennedy (“H Is For Happiness”). Set in Western Australia’s 1890s gold rush, “The Furnace”
Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures has picked up international sales rights to “Only Cloud Knows,” the new romantic film by Feng Xiaogang. Now in post-production, the film is a New Zealand- and China-set romance starring Huang Xuan (“Legend of the Demon Cat”) and Yang Caiyu (from Feng’s hit “Youth”). Production is handled by Feng’s Dongyang
Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi,” which screened this week at the Toronto Film Festival, has been selected by Poland to be its official entry in the Best International Feature Film category of the Academy Awards. The film, which world premiered as part of Venice Days earlier this month, follows 20-year-old Daniel, who experiences a spiritual transformation
The Walt Disney Studios has partnered with Microsoft to move key parts of its movie-making and distribution processes to the cloud. The five-year partnership is being spearheaded by Disney’s StudioLab, an internal innovation incubation lab, and has the ultimate goal of using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform all the way “from scene to screen,” as the
NBC’s behind-the-scenes glimpse of “Downton Abbey” is coming to the international market after Drive landed the distribution rights to the upcoming special. Focus Features and Carnival Films’ “Downton Abbey” movie premiered in London earlier this week and hits theaters Friday. NBC has scheduled a Sept. 19 air date in the U.S. for its one-hour behind-the-scenes
There’s a scene in the middle of Hal Hartley’s 1992 indie “Simple Men” where a cryptic brunette played by gamin actress Elina Löwensohn — ice-pale, with blunt black bangs — interrupts the plot with a choreographed dance number to a fuzzy track by Sonic Youth. Hartley wanted to break the fourth wall, and here comes
Director Thomas Heise was born and raised in East Berlin, and he’s been working long enough in documentaries that his earliest films were suppressed by GDR censors. His understanding of the German national character is rooted in the belief in its potential for curbing freedoms at a minimum and tipping into violent nationalism and fascism
September 12, 2019 9:24PM PT “Girls Trip” writer Tracy Oliver says she had a “dream situation” as the creator and executive producer of the new BET Plus comedy “First Wives Club.” “When I met with them I said, ‘I love the movie, but it’s not something I’m interested in if I can’t do it with
At long last, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren were on the same stage. And the result was a long and fairly dull evening. After two Democratic Party debate stages in which the field of candidates had been bifurcated — splitting, in both cases, the perceived frontrunners from the establishment and insurgent
September 12, 2019 7:47PM PT Taiwan has chosen the 2018 film “Dear Ex” as its submission to this year’s Best International Film Oscars race. Directed by newcomers Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen and starring Roy Chiu, Hsieh Ying-hsuan and Chen Ru-shan, it was nominated for eight Golden Horse Awards last year and won three, including best
September 12, 2019 7:44PM PT Protesters interrupted presidential candidate Joe Biden during Thursday’s democratic debate. The chants came nearly two and a half hours in as moderator George Stephanopoulos asked the former vice president about any professional setbacks he’s faced and how he recovered from them. “We’re going to clear the protesters,” Stephanopoulos said. “We’re
Mother, the much beloved L.A.-based denim brand is embracing its free spirited California roots with an inspired 18-piece capsule collection. Launched on 8/8, the date is symbolic in the mystical world as the time when the Lion’s Gate Portal opens, promoting spiritual openness and awakenings. And for this week only, you can shop the full
The third Democratic debate on Thursday was billed as the first showdown between the top contenders: Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Biden did challenge the liberal senators on health care early in the debate, which was broadcast on ABC. He asked repeatedly how they would pay for their multi-trillion
September 11, 2001, was the day that changed our world — but really, the day that changed our world was April 24, 1980. That was when the United States, under the leadership of President Jimmy Carter, launched Operation Eagle Claw, the Delta Force mission (it was the very first Delta Force mission) that was designed
Rootbeer Films has completed “2nd Unit: Invisible Action Stars” with James Cameron, Keanu Reeves, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, Variety has learned exclusively. The film explores relationships between actors and stunt performers — a topic at the heart of Quentin Tarantino’s recent “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Joe Mantegna narrates “2nd Unit: Invisible Action
The conversation about gender disparity in film—which tends to crescendo around big festivals and awards season—got some fresh intel last year when a University of Southern California study, looking at the 100 top films of each year from 2007 to 2017 (1,100 titles), revealed that only 16 women worked as composers in those films (43
September 12, 2019 5:03PM PT The leading Democratic candidates will once again go head to head tonight in Houston, Tex. for the party’s third debate ahead of the primaries. The anticipated debate, which will include the 10 Democratic candidates currently leading in the polls, will kick off at 8 p.m. ET and will broadcast live
In today’s film news roundup, Patty Jenkins is honored, “Waves” will close the Hamptons Film Festival, Ellen Burstyn and Emma Thompson are cast, and “The Cotton Club” has been expanded. JENKINS HONORED The International Cinematographers Guild will honor “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins with its inaugural Distinguished Filmmaker Award. The award will be presented at
Amazon Studios has acquired worldwide rights to “The Vast of Night,” an alien contact tale, Variety has learned. The pact comes ahead of the film’s Thursday premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it is featured in the Midnight Madness section. The film is said to have a distinct “Twilight Zone” vibe. It is
Gwyneth Paltrow and art dealer Larry Gagosian are set to be honored at the 2019 amfAR Gala Los Angeles. The American Foundation for AIDS Research announced that the two honorees will receive the Award of Courage for their commitment in the fight against HIV and AIDS as well as for their other humanitarian efforts. Christina
After a busy FilMart in March, at which Hong Kong’s film industry leaders promised to lobby for greater access to mainland audiences, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam was able, only a month later, to announce that the lobbying had succeeded. But the past months of political protests in Hong Kong have increasingly impacted the
Shane Gillis, one of three new “SNL” cast members announced Thursday morning, can be seen using a racial slur in a resurfaced video posted to a YouTube channel called Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast. “Chinatown’s f—ing nuts,” Gillis says to comedian Matt McCusker in a segment of the longer YouTube video, which has been deleted.
China has had a roller-coaster year so far at festivals worldwide, with high-profile wins and accolades but also more instances of highly disruptive censorship than ever before. In 2019, five international film festivals around have so far ended up tangling with China’s content overlords, who are on unusually high alert ahead of a particularly sensitive