“Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran will headline the cast of “Arzu,” a drama series based on the sexy novel of the same name by Mumbai-based Riva Razdan. Geetika Lizardi, whose writing credits include “Bridgerton,” “Mira, Royal Detective” and “Outsourced,” is attached to write and will also serve as showrunner. The project comes out of the first-look
Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan are set to receive career honors at Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which has also announced its full jury roster. Joining Baz Luhrmann, who is presiding over the main Red Sea jury, are Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”); Freida Pinto
Chinese films “Trending Topic” and “The Invisible Guest” will be given theatrical releases in Malaysia and Singapore in the coming month. This step follows agreements between Chinese streamer iQiyi and Malaysian cinema chain GSC and Singaporean distributor Clover Films. Terms, structures and value of the deals were not disclosed. “By partnering with GSC Movies and
China’s nationwide annual box office passed the symbolic $7 billion and RMB 50 billion marks in recent days, confirming a decent, but still incomplete recovery of the theatrical cinema industry. According to consultancy Artisan Gateway, the running box office total to Nov. 26 was $7.15 billion. That is a 79% rebound compared with 2022, when
Korean drama “12.12: The Day” brought life back to South Korean cinemas with a powerful $11 million opening weekend. Directed by Kim Sung-soo and starring the reliable Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo-sung, the film recounts a nine-hour period in 1979 in which a military coup was attempted. It is understood to be based on real
Colman Domingo is defending “Euphoria” against reports claiming that the production of Season 2 was toxic due to lengthy shoots and the alleged mistreatment of actors. Domingo, who portrays recovering drug addict Ali Muhammad on “Euphoria,” recently told the Independent that he did not have the same experience as the ones stated in these reports
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the film “Australia” and the limited series “Faraway Downs,” now streaming on Hulu. Fifteen years after the release of his 2008 epic romance “Australia,” Baz Luhrmann still struggles to find the right words to sum up its production. In this particular interview, he settles on one –– “fraught.” While
Netflix has emerged victorious in a bidding war for “The Fifth Wheel,” a comedy starring Kim Kardashian. Several major players, including theatrical distributors and streamers, were competing for the film, according to Deadline, which first reported news of the sale. But two of the five companies backed out at the last minute before Kardashian and
Jorge Ramos, the Univision star anchor who has become as defined by his clashes with the Trump administration as he has by his coverage of major world events, has become the latest of the Spanish-language network’s top anchors to take issue with an interview broadcast by the news division earlier this month with the former
Christopher Nolan is defending the role of franchises in Hollywood, saying they are a crucial part of the film industry ecosystem. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the “Oppenheimer” and “Dark Night” director weighed in on the debate over how superhero franchises are affecting Hollywood. While Nolan stressed the importance of originality in
Love hurts, and so, if you’re a Gram Parsons fan, does the idea that the world has had to do without him for 50 years, as of September of this year. Imagining how his style might have changed over the subsequent half-century is never-ending, as is conjecturing how he might have simply have brought the
With Brazil under focus at Ventana Sur’s this year, highlighting the work of Spcine, Cinema do Brazil and Projeto Paradiso, São Paulo film-TV commission Spcine has organized a series of panels and other events to signal Brazil’s return to normal after the devastating tenure of Jair Bolsonaro. With President Lula da Silva back in the
Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” may not have conquered the top spot in North America, but it emerged victorious at the worldwide box office. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French ruler, debuted to $78.8 million, including $46.3 million internationally — enough to stave off the competition on global charts. “Napoleon” brought in
Disney may need to find another star to wish upon. “Wish,” the studio’s newest animated adventure, was projected to land on top of box office charts over the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead, ticket sales fell short of expectations with a weak $19.5 million over the traditional weekend and $31.7 million over the five days, and the
The impression of flawlessness is a tough standard to maintain. It’s what audiences have come to expect of Beyoncé since she debuted as one-fourth of Destiny’s Child in 1997, not merely because of her era-defining music and performances but because she executes it with such seeming ease. Surprise plays a role: It’s part of the
The combined Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India entity has ambitious plans in both the scripted and unscripted spaces, founder and group CEO Deepak Dhar has revealed. Coming up is “The Donkey Route,” “a cross-border immigration story that is locally based out of Punjab,” Dhar told Variety. “It is about people who think they can
After skipping Venice due to the actors’ strike, a busy Willem Dafoe is back on the festival trail, attending the 20th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival with his wife, filmmaker and actor Giada Colagrande. He spoke to Variety about his ties to Morocco, why he’s “happy to be promoting and starting to work again”
Beyoncé captivated Hollywood’s attention Saturday night as the superstar held a stealthily staged world premiere of her concert movie, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The movie, which documents her Renaissance World Tour, will be released in the U.S. on Dec. 1 via major exhibition chains, including AMC, Regal
Marty Krofft, who with his brother Sid produced memorable kids shows “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Land of the Lost” — as well as the 2009 feature based on the latter — has died. He was 86. Krofft died of kidney failure Saturday in Los Angeles, Calif., a family representative told Variety. Often referred to as the
Bradley Cooper is open to reprising his role as Phil in another installment of the “Hangover” film series. On a recent episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour” podcast, Cooper spoke to host David Remnick about his directorial efforts, including “A Star Is Born” and “Maestro,” and pivoting to more dramatic roles. Remnick then asked
Ross McDonnell, an Irish filmmaker known for his Emmy-winning cinematography on “The Trade,” has died, his family confirmed more than a week after his body was reportedly found on a New York City beach. He was 44. McDonnell died “unexpectedly” on Nov. 5, according to a notice on RIP.ie. NBC News reported Monday that the
What better way to celebrate 100 years of Disney Animation than a movie about the brand’s famous wishing star? After all, so many Disney characters, dating back to “Pinocchio’s” Jiminy Cricket, look to the stars and cast their dreams and hopes on them. With 61 feature films preceding it, “Wish” is filled with nods to
Doug Ibold, who edited episodes of “Law & Order,” “Magnum, P.I.” and “Miami Vice,” died on Nov. 8 after a battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 83. Ibold edited the 1990 pilot for Dick Wolf’s seminal “Law & Order,” as well as the 1999 pilot for “Law & Order: SVU”; he cut dozens
What is Joaquin Phoenix so unhappy about? And so twitchy? We’ve all seen someone triumph at the Oscars and use their acceptance speech to push a social cause (in fact, it’s almost required). But I’ve never seen a speech quite like the one Phoenix gave in 2020 when he took the best actor award for
The Black Friday box office saw “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” continue to stretch ahead of new releases like Disney’s animated adventure “Wish” and Apple and Sony’s historical epic “Napoleon.” Lionsgate’s young adult drama gobbled up another $11.4 million on Friday, adding onto the $13.2 million it nabbed across Wednesday and
The husband and wife team of Otsuka Ryuji and Huang Ji, who worked with a minimalist crew and mostly non-professional actors, gave a round of thanks to Asian leading auteurs for inspiring them, and then hugged each other on stage for winning the Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards best narrative feature prize with their pregnancy
Now entering its sixth edition, the Marrakech Film Festival’s industry-focused Atlas Workshops can expect its busiest year to date. Showcasing rising talents from the MENA world, the production spotlight will welcome more than 200 industry delegates — among them 15 sales companies — and will co-ordinate 460 professional meetings as part of its co-production market.
The sight of dogs ravaging war-torn streets has become an all too familiar sight. Sandra Tabet’s debut feature film “Rabies” (Rage) – a development project at the Atlas Workshops – returns to early 1990s in Beirut, in the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), when rabies began to spread rapidly amongst ravenous dogs, leading
Indian project market Film Bazaar has revealed the winners and deals that took place during the event. Prasad Labs gives out one winning award and three participation awards annually for works in progress. The winner, “Waste Side Story” by Supriyo Sen, gets a free 4K digital intermediate (DI) for 50 hours. Participants, who get a
An appeal court in China on Friday confirmed the original trial verdict which ruled against Chinese Canadian rapper and actor Kris Wu (real name Wu Yifei). An appeal hearing by the Beijing No. 3 People’s Intermediate Court in July heard the performer’s appeal case away from cameras and the public and said that it would