Michael Chiarello, a celebrity chef and former Food Network star, has died. He was 61. Chiarello died Saturday at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, Calif., where he was being treated for an acute allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock, his company Gruppo Chiarello announced in a statement. “We deeply mourn the
For us dazzled foreigners, it’s easy to forget that South Korea — land of superfast internet, glossy K-Pop, state-of-the-art foldable phones and “Squid Game” — is not in every respect the utopia of hypermodernity its recent global cultural boom might lead one to suspect. The nation actually lags some way behind other developed democracies in
“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig discussed how Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” dance sequence came to be during her Screen Talk at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, revealing that she was asked in a “big meeting” if the scene was necessary. “It just said in the script, ‘And then it becomes a dream ballet
Nick Wilkinson, veteran director of casting for theater and ABC Television, died on the island of Kauai on Sept. 29. He was 69. Wilkinson became a prominent player in regional theater as the longtime casting director for Theatre Communications Group in New York City, known in the 1980s as Central Casting for most theaters across
Sri Lankan auteur Prasanna Vithanage is back at the Busan International Film Festival with thriller “Paradise,” which is in the Jiseok competition. The film follows Indian couple – streaming content producer Kesav (Roshan Mathew, Sundance 2023 series “Poacher”) and blogger Amritha (Darshana Rajendran, “Hridayam”) – who are on vacation in Sri Lanka during the country’s
Olivia Rodrigo may spill just a little more of her guts at a one-off performance in downtown Los Angeles this week, as American Express announced Sunday morning that the singer-songwriter is set to do an intimate show for its cardholders at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on Monday night. Said cardholders will have to be
“The Exorcist: Believer,” a reboot in the legacy horror franchise, summoned the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office charts despite falling short of expectations. The R-rated film, from Universal and Blumhouse, collected $27.2 million from 3,663 North American venues over the weekend, below estimates that suggested a debut closer to $35 million. These ticket
“Workin’ on a album, now it’s finished,” Drake casually mentions on the album in question, “For All the Dogs.” An unnecessary update, to be sure, but one likely prompted by force of habit: Drake has never taken a meaningful break, perpetually prepping and releasing new music. Since 2006’s “Room For Improvement,” two years have never
Distribution in Indonesia was the subject of a lively debate at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. With 277 million people, Indonesia has one of the largest populations in the world. However, geographically it is an archipelago and for its population, the country is under-screened with just 2,300 cinema screens. Despite
The enduring popularity of the Asian LGBT and horror genres and the relationship with giant streamer Netflix were among the topics of discussion at a lively panel focusing on distribution at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. “I hate the fact that all the producers want to work with Netflix, it
Ali Kalthami’s satirical drama “Mandoob” (“Night Courier”) examines the class divide in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, telling the story of a hapless delivery man and the desperate avenues he takes to make money. Comedic actor Mohammed Aldokhei plays Fahad, who finds himself in a precarious situation after he is fired from his day job
The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has added a 5% cultural bonus incentive to the existing 20% cash rebate that is part of the Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), it was revealed at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. The cultural bonus will apply if the project showcases Philippines
Director Karan Tejpal’s feature film debut “Stolen” is a nail-biting thriller about two privileged, big-city boys who unwittingly embark on a harrowing adventure as they help an impoverished young woman find her kidnapped baby in rural India. The film, which is produced by Gaurav Dhingra’s Jungle Book Studio, is also a commentary on the alarming
Bradley Liew of Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), Stefano Centini of Volos Films (Taiwan/Italy) and Singapore’s Huang Junxiang have reunited to launch two genre projects at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. The trio previously teamed on Sundance Midnight hit, “In My Mother’s Skin” by Kenneth Dagatan, which was recently ranked number six
After his fiction feature debut, the absurdist satire “Eeb Allay Ooo!,” Indian filmmaker Prateek Vats is readying political comedy “Chronicles of a Confession.” The film is a selection at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market. “Eeb Allay Ooo!” won big at the Mumbai Film Festival and went on to play at the Berlinale,
Play video content Joe Budden Network Joe Budden says Drake is an old head trying to appeal to young’ns … but Drizzy’s firing back, telling Joe to shut it in the fiercest way possible. The podcaster went in on Drake’s latest album, “For All the Dogs,” during his newest episode of ‘The Joe Budden Podcast‘
India’s Crawling Angel Films and Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia are teaming on Busan Asian Film School (AFiS) alumnus Aakash Chhabra’s feature directorial debut “I′ll Smile in September.” The film is selected at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market. Akanga’s credits include Cannes winner “Tiger Stripes,” Locarno winner “A Land Imagined” and its “Oasis
Korean sales agency Finecut has struck a raft of rights sales on upcoming fantasy-romance “Secret: Untold Melody.” The film, which will premiere at the upcoming Hawaii International Film Festival, tells the tale of a man whose promising piano career is cut short by a wrist injury. He returns to Korea and falls in love with
Vietnam-based sales agent Skyline Media has unveiled five new titles for sales and distribution at the ACFN market that accompanies the Busan International Film Festival. They range from horror films to gay rom com series. “The Soul Reaper” is adapted from director-producer Thao Trang’s best-selling horror novel “Lunar New Year in Hell Village” (Tet O
The renaissance in Indonesian cinema is being celebrated at the Busan International Film Festival this year with 15 films, shorts and series being showcased. Hilmar Farid, Director General of Culture at Indonesia‘s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is leading a 50-strong delegation of filmmakers, committee members and media to the festival. Variety spoke
Berlin-based sales agent ArtHood Entertainment has picked up world rights, outside of much of East Asia, to “Salli,” a film which has its world premiere this week in the Busan International Film Festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema program. The Mandarin-, Taiwanese-, English- and French-language film follows a lonely middle-aged chicken farmer Hui-Chun, who doesn’t
Celebrated Indian filmmaker Rima Das is at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market with “Malati, My Love.” Like all of Das’ previous films, “Malati, My Love” is set in Assam, eastern India. It will follow Apurva and Malati who are happily married and madly in love, unabashed by what people in their small
“Where the Rivers Run South,” the Nepalese project at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market, has received support from the Asian Cinema Fund’s script development pool. The film, which aims to tackle head on two timely issues in Nepal today – migrant labor and patriarchy – marks the feature directorial debut of Suraj
Pink wishes she never ventured down to Bikini Bottom with the “SpongeBob SquarePants” song, “We’ve Got Scurvy.” In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the Grammy-winning singer revealed which of her singles she considers her best and worst. After sharing that “So What” and “Get the Party Started” are among her best songs,
When it comes to how big a movie experience can get, Sphere has answered that question once and for all: The sky is the limit. The first film to play in the enormous, immersive new space in Las Vegas, Darren Aronofsky‘s “Postcard From Earth,” has plenty of blue-screen, so to speak — that is, vast
At the memorial gathering for her husband Adnan, 30-year-old Nawal (a riveting Mouna Hawa) is offered many empty words of support and so-called comfort by friends and family. “When a woman loses her husband, she loses her lover, her partner, everything in her life,” clucks a commiserating neighbor. What she fails to mention is how
“Hesitation Wound” and “Hollywoodgate” were named winners at the Zurich Film Festival, as the 19th edition of the Swiss festival came to a close. Selman Nacar’s drama “Hesitation Wound” impressed the Feature Film Competition jury. “Moral issues are a frequent underlying theme in many films, but the dilemma facing the main character in this film
Barbra Streisand has revealed in her upcoming memoir “My Name is Barbra” the lengths she went to in order to cast Robert Redford in Sydney Pollack’s 1973 romantic drama “The Way We Were,” even after he initially refused the part. “The Way We Were” stars Streisand and Redford as Katie and Hubbell, an unlikely couple
Like countless moviegoers around the world, I’m a major fan of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” But like many of those who saw it, I wasn’t alone in having qualifications about the last part of the movie. For me, the first two hours of “Oppenheimer” were electrifying. I felt the kind of full-scale mind/soul immersion that’s the
World War I spy drama “Davos 1917” was inspired by real stories, says head writer and creative producer Adrian Illien. As well as real women. “There were all these Swiss nurses who would go abroad during the war. When you read their diaries, there is a sense of adventure. They could finally get away. I