Chris Evans knows that critics hated “Ghosted,” his Apple original movie co-starring Ana de Armas. The film, directed by Dexter Fletcher, opened in April to abysmal reviews. It currently boasts a 26% Rotten Tomatoes score, and Variety called it “over-the-top and convoluted.” (Other critics, like IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, were even more brutal, calling the film
MetFilm Sales has picked up worldwide rights (excluding U.K.) and will handle international sales on acclaimed documentary “Name Me Lawand” from “Gangs of London” producer Pulse Films. Directed by Edward Lovelace (“The Possibilities Are Endless”), the documentary, filmed over four years, follows Lawand Hamad Amin, who spent his early years in Iraq unable to hear or
Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of indie distributor Magnolia Pictures, has acquired North American rights to “The Seeding,” a new horror-thriller. It marks the feature directorial debut of Barnaby Clay and world premiered in Tribeca Midnight “The Seeding” is about a hiker who gets lost in the desert and seeks refuge with a woman who
iHeartPodcasts and The Meteor are launching “In Retrospect,” a pop culture podcast by Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett. Each week on “In Retrospect,” Banikarim and Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them, to try to understand what it taught them about the
SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in the podcast “Hooked on Freddie,” currently available on Wondery, as well as the real tale it’s based on. Has there ever been a better elevator pitch than “dolphin sex scandal”? On the face of it, Wondery’s new podcast “Hooked on Freddie” is about precisely that. But
An Emmy-nominated documentary cinematographer with credits including “Procession” and “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Robert Kolodny puts his expert eye for shooting nonfiction to playful narrative use in his feature directing debut “The Featherweight.” A meticulously designed, gutsily played biopic of world champion featherweight boxer Guglielmo Papaleo, better known as Willie Pep — covering
Preview London’s upcoming stage production of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” has announced its full cast, including who will play young Hopper, Joyce, Dr. Brenner and Henry Creel (who will later turn into Vecna) — characters from the show played by David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine and Jamie Campbell Bower, respectively. From Netflix and Sonia
BBC boss Tim Davie has said the Russell Brand controversy shows that media companies can’t be “complacent.” The BBC is currently investigating following allegations that comedian Brand raped and sexually assaulted four women. More to come…
Alex Mahon, boss of U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4, has called the allegations against comedian Russell Brand “horrendous” and has confirmed the network is investigating the comedian’s behaviour. Brand has been accused of sexual assault and rape by four women. The allegations were made public last weekend in a joint investigation by The Times
AWARD British actor Vanessa Redgrave will receive the European Lifetime Achievement award for her outstanding body of work at the European Film Awards. Hailing from an illustrious family of actors, Redgrave’s first lead in “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” (1966), by Karel Reisz, won her best actress at Cannes and scored BAFTA and Oscar
Welcome to Kino Laika: Aki Kaurismäki and Mika Lätti’s cinema in Karkkila, an hour away from Helsinki. A place where love for movies – and dogs – meets ghosts of cinema’s past. “One time, I had a 35mm copy of the Lumière brothers’ film ‘Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat.’ I lent it to
BAFTA has shaken up major categories and rung in some eligibility changes as entries open for the 2024 TV awards. Limited drama is a new category for scripted one-off programs or series that tell a complete story over 1-19 episodes, replacing separate categories for single drama and mini-series. “The introduction of limited drama maintains the
International Sámi Film Institute’s managing director Anne-Lajla Utsi will now add “trailblazer” to her résumé as the recipient of the first-ever Women in Film and Television International Peace Prize. The award ceremony will take place on Sept. 23 during the WIFTI Helsinki Summit. The same week, WIFT Finland will present its digital “Equality Tool” for
Be scared, be very scared: Skoop Media has dropped the trailer for new series “Raspberry Hill.” “It challenges children in a way that’s refreshing,” says Skoop Media’s head of acquisitions and marketing Fulko Kuindersma. “Nowadays, kids are more resilient than we give them credit for. ‘Raspberry Hill’ [‘Hallonbacken’] embraces this by delving into suspenseful themes,
The Paramount+ streaming service will launch in Japan in December as a free-of-charge addition to cable and internet provider J:COM’s platform and to pay-TV service Wowow. Paramount+ originals including “Tulsa King,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” will be available at the launch of the service and for the first time in
When you think of Kelela, what image comes to mind? Maybe it’s the cover of her breakout mixtape, Cut 4 Me, with her then-signature undercut, or maybe it’s her in a blonde wig in the now-cult music video for “LMK”? Perhaps it’s her in a luscious strawberry red wig at a Bottega Veneta show, or
Podcast producer Glisten+ (a portmanteau of “great” and “listen”) launched Tuesday with two initial programs, part of a larger slate of scripted fare that it plans to roll out in the coming months. The first original series include the young adult-geared “Can’t Relax,” about a relaxation app that secretly places murderous messages into the brains
The 67th BFI London Film Festival’s annual industry forum has assembled a lineup of heavyweights. The forum events, which take place through the festival, kick off with a conversation between Bill Kramer, CEO, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)
Oscar season is always full of twists and turns, and the biggest one yet just dropped with “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Variety has learned exclusively that Lily Gladstone’s work as Mollie Burkhart, an Indigenous woman at the center of a sinister plot in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic, will be campaigned for the Oscars in
Attentive music fans have had some time now to become familiar with who and what the singer Laufey is: a young Icelandic-Asian-American woman whose traditional balladry often recalls the pre-rock era. Still, for a few of us, it might have come as a very slight surprise to see her step onto the outdoor stage of
Rolling Stone published an excerpt from Leslie Jones’ new memoir in which the actor opened up about the brutal racism and death threats she received over her involvement in the 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot. The Sony release, directed by “Bridesmaids” helmer Paul Feig, became the target of racist and misogynistic trolls for featuring a main cast
As Halloween creeps toward us, networks and streamers are launching their spooky programming to scare you. From new movies like the upcoming video-game adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s” to new reality series like the Kristen Stewart-narrated gay ghost-hunting show “Living for the Dead,” there’s something for every ghost and ghoul. “A Really Haunted Loud House”
Steven DeKnight, who served as the showrunner on the first season of Netflix’s “Daredevil,” recently took to social media to criticize Disney for running a scam with its upcoming reboot series “Daredevil: Born Again” (via Entertainment Weekly). The 18-episode series features the returns of Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal, who starred on the
Herbie Hancock and Erykah Badu are set to headline Penske Media Company’s second annual LA3C culture and creativity festival. The three-day event will take place from Nov. 10 to Nov. 12 at multiple venues across Downtown L.A. LA3C, known in full as Los Angeles, Capital of Culture & Creativity, held its inaugural event last year,
Upon closing out their 23-date summer tour, Phish has revealed the dates for their 2023 New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden. Kicking off on Dec. 28, the band will play four consecutive nights through New Year’s Eve on the 31st. The ticket request period is currently open at tickets.phish.com until Sept. 25 at
Kevin Costner y su próximamente ex esposa, Christine Baumgautner, parecían destinados a pelear por su divorcio durante meses. Pero todo llegó a su fin el martes…. lo que hace aún más interesante, y sorprendente, mirar para atrás y ver cómo fue que llegaron aquí. Empezando el camino desde el principio, tenemos que remontarnos a mayo,
“Dark Winds” has been renewed for Season 3 at AMC, Variety has learned. The news comes after the second season wrapped up on AMC and AMC+ on Sept. 3. It is also one of the AMC series currently being featured on Max. Season 3 is expected to debut in early 2025. “We started this journey
Filming is now underway in Australia on “Desert King,” a neo-western drama series for Netflix that is positioned to be one of the streamer’s iconic prestige productions in the Asia-Pacific region. The story revolves around money and power in Australia’s harsh Outback regions with filming locations in the remote Northern Territory and near Adelaide, South
Leonardo DiCaprio finally weighed in on the massive “Killers of the Flower Moon” rewrite that changed the direction of Martin Scorsese’s latest historical epic. The script originally centered on FBI agent Tom White, who DiCaprio was supposed to play, as he investigates a string of murders among the Osage Nation in the 1920s. That perspective
Meredith Stiehm has been reelected as president of WGA West, in a strong show of support as the union’s strike continues into its fifth month. Stiehm took 3,354 votes, easily defeating Rich Talarico, who took just 300 votes. Two other officers were also reelected: Michele Mulroney, as vice president, and Betsy Thomas, as secretary-treasurer. Five