Movie News
Mubi has kicked off its 2024 Cannes Film Festival early and in style, acquiring worldwide rights to one of the buzziest films set to premiere in competition.
The arthouse distributor, production banner and streamer has landed Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Denis Quaid, picking up all rights for North America, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America and Benelux, where it will release theatrically this year. Mubi has also acquired the rights for Turkey and India. The Match Factory, owned by Mubi, is handling sales for all other territories.
Written and directed by Fargeat, who made a noise with her debut, 2017’s action-thriller “Revenge,” “The Substance” goes into Cannes with a significant amount of intrigue, having been produced by Working Title, the Brit banner best known for rom-coms and prestige dramas.
“Have you ever dreamed of a better version of yourself?” reads the...
The arthouse distributor, production banner and streamer has landed Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Denis Quaid, picking up all rights for North America, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America and Benelux, where it will release theatrically this year. Mubi has also acquired the rights for Turkey and India. The Match Factory, owned by Mubi, is handling sales for all other territories.
Written and directed by Fargeat, who made a noise with her debut, 2017’s action-thriller “Revenge,” “The Substance” goes into Cannes with a significant amount of intrigue, having been produced by Working Title, the Brit banner best known for rom-coms and prestige dramas.
“Have you ever dreamed of a better version of yourself?” reads the...
- 5/8/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Primates will rule (the box office) again!
Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is aiming for $50 million to $55 million from 3,700 theaters in its domestic debut, which will easily be enough to tower over the box office chart. Those ticket sales are roughly even with two of the three prior installments in 20th Century’s rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise: 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” opened to $56.2 million and 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opened to $54.8 million, while 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” notched a series-best $72 million.
At the international box office, where “Apes” movies tend to make the bulk of their revenues, this installment is tracking to collect $80 million to $90 million. Based on those projections, the film should end up on Sunday with a solid $130 million to $140 million at the global box office.
Directed by Wes Ball,...
Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is aiming for $50 million to $55 million from 3,700 theaters in its domestic debut, which will easily be enough to tower over the box office chart. Those ticket sales are roughly even with two of the three prior installments in 20th Century’s rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise: 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” opened to $56.2 million and 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opened to $54.8 million, while 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” notched a series-best $72 million.
At the international box office, where “Apes” movies tend to make the bulk of their revenues, this installment is tracking to collect $80 million to $90 million. Based on those projections, the film should end up on Sunday with a solid $130 million to $140 million at the global box office.
Directed by Wes Ball,...
- 5/7/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety - Film News
Actor George MacKay has reunited with his “For Those in Peril” director Paul Wright for “Mission.”
Backed by BBC Film, Screen Scotland and Ffilm Cymru Wales with funding from the U.K. National Lottery, “Mission” is a co-production between Early Day Films (“Bait”) and 65 Wilding Films (“Baltimore”). The project was developed with Screen Scotland and BBC Film.
The producers describe “Mission” as “a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme, embarking on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.”
Blue Finch Films will be handling worldwide sales on the project.
“Mission” is produced by Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Early Day Films), Alex Thiele (65 Wilding Films), Marie-Elena Dyche (Meraki Films) and Lowri Roberts (Rapt), with Maisie Williams (Rapt) serving as an associate producer.
Backed by BBC Film, Screen Scotland and Ffilm Cymru Wales with funding from the U.K. National Lottery, “Mission” is a co-production between Early Day Films (“Bait”) and 65 Wilding Films (“Baltimore”). The project was developed with Screen Scotland and BBC Film.
The producers describe “Mission” as “a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme, embarking on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.”
Blue Finch Films will be handling worldwide sales on the project.
“Mission” is produced by Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Early Day Films), Alex Thiele (65 Wilding Films), Marie-Elena Dyche (Meraki Films) and Lowri Roberts (Rapt), with Maisie Williams (Rapt) serving as an associate producer.
- 5/9/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
Documentary festival Millennium Docs Against Gravity, running in Poland from Friday to May 19 and online from May 21 to July 3, is in its 21st edition, but its industry section is a relatively recent addition. However, it is growing in size and impact.
The section started small four years ago, as Anna Szczypińska, head of the section, explains.
“At the beginning we held small, intimate networking events,” she says. “Then in 2022, when I joined, we had a short program of industry events. It included a pitching session of seven projects by Polish, Belarussian and Ukrainian filmmakers. Some panel discussions and a few networking events.”
This year’s edition reflects the emphasis of the festival organizers on growing this section. Szczypińska says, “This year we will present the 37 projects in four different pitching sessions. We are offering an extensive program of talks, masterclasses and discussion panels. These would be on different topics like distribution or the financing process.
The section started small four years ago, as Anna Szczypińska, head of the section, explains.
“At the beginning we held small, intimate networking events,” she says. “Then in 2022, when I joined, we had a short program of industry events. It included a pitching session of seven projects by Polish, Belarussian and Ukrainian filmmakers. Some panel discussions and a few networking events.”
This year’s edition reflects the emphasis of the festival organizers on growing this section. Szczypińska says, “This year we will present the 37 projects in four different pitching sessions. We are offering an extensive program of talks, masterclasses and discussion panels. These would be on different topics like distribution or the financing process.
- 5/9/2024
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety - Film News
Chinese streamer iQiyi is set to launch sales of action-comedy Clash from producer Guan Hu at the Cannes Market next week.
The film, directed by Jiang Jiachen, is based on the true story of a food delivery rider, dubbed the Usain Bolt of Shapingba in Chongqing, Sichuan province, who assembles 30 young men to form a rugby team.
Through clashes and crashes, the men channel their frustrations in their mundane lives to positive energy on the field. The cast includes Li Jiuxiao, Wang Qianyuan, Liang Chao and Pan Binlong. The iQiyi production was shot by Qian Tiantian, one of a few female DoPs in China.
The film, directed by Jiang Jiachen, is based on the true story of a food delivery rider, dubbed the Usain Bolt of Shapingba in Chongqing, Sichuan province, who assembles 30 young men to form a rugby team.
Through clashes and crashes, the men channel their frustrations in their mundane lives to positive energy on the field. The cast includes Li Jiuxiao, Wang Qianyuan, Liang Chao and Pan Binlong. The iQiyi production was shot by Qian Tiantian, one of a few female DoPs in China.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The French film industry is bracing itself for further #MeToo-related revelations about multiple male actors, directors and producers following weeks of rumours and unsubstantiated reports.
They have culminated in a report in Le Figaro newspaper this week headlined, ’#MeToo: before the Cannes film festival, the film industry is in a cold sweat’.
Le Figaro claimed top talent “are losing sleep over it” and that “entire artistic teams are trembling” in fear their films will be overshadowed by such allegations. Cannes president Iris Knobloch told Le Figaro she and her team were maintaining “reinforced vigilance” and the festival was being advised...
They have culminated in a report in Le Figaro newspaper this week headlined, ’#MeToo: before the Cannes film festival, the film industry is in a cold sweat’.
Le Figaro claimed top talent “are losing sleep over it” and that “entire artistic teams are trembling” in fear their films will be overshadowed by such allegations. Cannes president Iris Knobloch told Le Figaro she and her team were maintaining “reinforced vigilance” and the festival was being advised...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Awful secrets and gorgeous swimwear are present in equal measure in this bizarre drama featuring a lightly-clad Hurley on top telenovela form
After Blackbird, the traumatising spy-thriller bankrolled by and starring Irish dancer Michael Flatley, filmgoers thought they were safe – for a while – from bizarre and eccentrically acted dramas set in luxury paradises. But now, at the age of 22, actor and model Damian Hurley has written and directed a softcore erotic mystery drama set in the Caribbean starring his sexy mum, Elizabeth Hurley … to whom he gives a full-on sapphic love scene with a nightclub singer. As this woman’s head slinks south after a lingering kiss, Mr Hurley brings his camera very candidly indeed to what could only be described as an imminent moment of oral pleasure. We know the phrase Too Much Information … but what about Too Much Content? Too Much Freud? Or just … Too Much?
Hurley plays Lily,...
After Blackbird, the traumatising spy-thriller bankrolled by and starring Irish dancer Michael Flatley, filmgoers thought they were safe – for a while – from bizarre and eccentrically acted dramas set in luxury paradises. But now, at the age of 22, actor and model Damian Hurley has written and directed a softcore erotic mystery drama set in the Caribbean starring his sexy mum, Elizabeth Hurley … to whom he gives a full-on sapphic love scene with a nightclub singer. As this woman’s head slinks south after a lingering kiss, Mr Hurley brings his camera very candidly indeed to what could only be described as an imminent moment of oral pleasure. We know the phrase Too Much Information … but what about Too Much Content? Too Much Freud? Or just … Too Much?
Hurley plays Lily,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Korean sales firm Finecut has inked multiple deals for horror thriller “Noise” and for “A Traveler’s Needs,” the recent Berlin prize-winner directed by Hong Sangsoo.
“Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with suspenseful elements. Directed by Kim Soo-jin, the film centers around a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds linked to her sister’s disappearance in her own apartment and attracting a malevolent presence. The film is currently in post-production.
Among the pre-completion buyers are France’s Kmbo, Red Castle Group for the Cis region, Indonesia’s Prima Cinema Multimedia and Thailand’s Iris Cinema Thailand. Finecut will screen a promotional extract at its booth and in the Cannes Market.
The Isabelle Huppert-starring, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize-winner “A Traveler’s Needs” has scored multiple deals since launching at Berlin’s EFM. These include one with The Cinema...
“Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with suspenseful elements. Directed by Kim Soo-jin, the film centers around a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds linked to her sister’s disappearance in her own apartment and attracting a malevolent presence. The film is currently in post-production.
Among the pre-completion buyers are France’s Kmbo, Red Castle Group for the Cis region, Indonesia’s Prima Cinema Multimedia and Thailand’s Iris Cinema Thailand. Finecut will screen a promotional extract at its booth and in the Cannes Market.
The Isabelle Huppert-starring, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize-winner “A Traveler’s Needs” has scored multiple deals since launching at Berlin’s EFM. These include one with The Cinema...
- 5/9/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
More background fluff from the streamer, this time from Mean Girls director Mark Waters with a splashy Thailand location
Despite experience mostly insisting caution, certain markers still allow one to naively daydream that a new Netflix comedy might be worth more than a background half-watch while ironing. A big name, an experienced writer, a genuine studio-trained director, some substantive source material, anything to allow us to glide on the brief hope that we’re not in hammy, Hallmark-adjacent territory.
This thinking sometimes works – 2019’s Let It Snow was based on a solid YA novel, 2021’s Moxie had Amy Poehler in front of and behind the camera, this year’s Players benefited from the considerable charm of star Gina Rodriguez – but it too often makes precious little difference. For Mother’s Day in the US, the streamer has Mother of the Bride, a breezy comedy that arrives from director Mark Waters,...
Despite experience mostly insisting caution, certain markers still allow one to naively daydream that a new Netflix comedy might be worth more than a background half-watch while ironing. A big name, an experienced writer, a genuine studio-trained director, some substantive source material, anything to allow us to glide on the brief hope that we’re not in hammy, Hallmark-adjacent territory.
This thinking sometimes works – 2019’s Let It Snow was based on a solid YA novel, 2021’s Moxie had Amy Poehler in front of and behind the camera, this year’s Players benefited from the considerable charm of star Gina Rodriguez – but it too often makes precious little difference. For Mother’s Day in the US, the streamer has Mother of the Bride, a breezy comedy that arrives from director Mark Waters,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Mother of the Bride’ Review: Brooke Shields Says I Do to Netflix’s Aggressively Inoffensive Rom-Com
After “Ticket to Paradise” and “Destination Wedding” showed us the different ways in which calamity ensues when planning weddings abroad, Netflix releases “Mother of the Bride,” which combines the essential elements of both those recent romantic comedies into one passable package. The far-off setting emphasizes the lavish and luxe, though the narrative is cheaply woven and fairly threadbare. While “Mean Girls” director Mark Waters’ latest fails to add anything unique to the conversation, it does scrounge up a modest amount of heart when it comes to its saccharine sweet message of never giving up on happily ever after.
Mere seconds after her extravagant proposal, Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) begins fretting to her fiancé Rj (Sean Teale) about how to frame their engagement to her judgmental widowed mom Dr. Lana Winslow (Brooke Shields), who doesn’t even know her only child has a steady beau. Cue zany, plucky score. Mom’s been busy saving the world,...
Mere seconds after her extravagant proposal, Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) begins fretting to her fiancé Rj (Sean Teale) about how to frame their engagement to her judgmental widowed mom Dr. Lana Winslow (Brooke Shields), who doesn’t even know her only child has a steady beau. Cue zany, plucky score. Mom’s been busy saving the world,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety - Film News
Ukrainian production powerhouse Film.UA is developing a bone-chilling slate of horror films all set within the same cinematic universe, the company revealed exclusively to Variety on the eve of this year’s Cannes Marché du Film.
Steeped in local folklore and delving into the rituals, sorcery and mysticism that are woven into the fabric of Ukrainian culture and mythology, the films will transport viewers into a realm where ancient powers stir and darkness reigns, unspooling stories that are rooted in historical and cultural facts and set against the backdrop of current events.
“We’re not just producing movies; we’re crafting an entire universe and forming an industry of the specific genre in Ukraine,” says Iryna Kostyuk, the producer behind two upcoming features as well as last year’s animated hit “Mavka. The Forest Song.” “Our goal is to create a diverse and immersive storytelling experience that resonates with audiences on a global scale.
Steeped in local folklore and delving into the rituals, sorcery and mysticism that are woven into the fabric of Ukrainian culture and mythology, the films will transport viewers into a realm where ancient powers stir and darkness reigns, unspooling stories that are rooted in historical and cultural facts and set against the backdrop of current events.
“We’re not just producing movies; we’re crafting an entire universe and forming an industry of the specific genre in Ukraine,” says Iryna Kostyuk, the producer behind two upcoming features as well as last year’s animated hit “Mavka. The Forest Song.” “Our goal is to create a diverse and immersive storytelling experience that resonates with audiences on a global scale.
- 5/9/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety - Film News
Obnoxious flatmates Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox get way more than they bargained for with the arrival of enigmatic Keith Allen and a suitcase full of cash
Rereleased for its 30th anniversary, the macabre black-comic crime caper is from screenwriter John Hodge with Danny Boyle making his feature-directing debut, giving us a hint of the turbocharged showmanship that always marked his style and which he was to crank up another notch a few years later with the zeitgeisty 90s hit Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is a bizarre Edinburgh noir, centring on cover-ups, disloyalty and incompetent corpse-management in the approximate spirit of Ealing, with touches of Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry and Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane. It’s also a kind of 90s young person flatshare entertainment, but closer to the BBC’s This Life than Friends.
We get an embarrassment of riches in the cast, with Peter Mullan,...
Rereleased for its 30th anniversary, the macabre black-comic crime caper is from screenwriter John Hodge with Danny Boyle making his feature-directing debut, giving us a hint of the turbocharged showmanship that always marked his style and which he was to crank up another notch a few years later with the zeitgeisty 90s hit Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is a bizarre Edinburgh noir, centring on cover-ups, disloyalty and incompetent corpse-management in the approximate spirit of Ealing, with touches of Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry and Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane. It’s also a kind of 90s young person flatshare entertainment, but closer to the BBC’s This Life than Friends.
We get an embarrassment of riches in the cast, with Peter Mullan,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
After producing the upcoming documentary “The Blue Angels,” J.J. Abrams and Glen Powell are in early talks to team up for a new movie, with Abrams eyeing Powell to star in his next directorial effort.
Deals have yet to close, but in the aftermath of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Anyone but You,” no one’s career has been hotter than Powell’s, who continues to garner interest from big-name filmmakers and studios.
There’s no telling when this project would fit into Powell’s jam-packed production schedule. He’ll next be seen starring in Netflix’s “Hit Man,” which he co-wrote with director Richard Linklater, but he’s also set to star in Edgar Wright’s “The Running Man” reboot for Paramount. That news was revealed at CinemaCon, where the actor also promoted Universal’s “Twisters” as a prospective summer blockbuster. Also in the works is “Chad Powers,” a half-hour...
Deals have yet to close, but in the aftermath of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Anyone but You,” no one’s career has been hotter than Powell’s, who continues to garner interest from big-name filmmakers and studios.
There’s no telling when this project would fit into Powell’s jam-packed production schedule. He’ll next be seen starring in Netflix’s “Hit Man,” which he co-wrote with director Richard Linklater, but he’s also set to star in Edgar Wright’s “The Running Man” reboot for Paramount. That news was revealed at CinemaCon, where the actor also promoted Universal’s “Twisters” as a prospective summer blockbuster. Also in the works is “Chad Powers,” a half-hour...
- 5/9/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
SXSW will host its inaugural London edition in June 2025, festival brass said on Wednesday.
The event will take place over one week across multiple spaces in Shoreditch in East London, and will feature keynotes, music showcases, tech, gaming, and screen, placing an emphasis on creative talent from around Europe.
The announcement comes after the festival expanded to Sydney last year and the initiative was welcomed on Wednesday by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and culture secretary Lucy Frazer.
Khan called the initiative “a historic opportunity for London to once again bring the world’s most exciting talent together as part...
The event will take place over one week across multiple spaces in Shoreditch in East London, and will feature keynotes, music showcases, tech, gaming, and screen, placing an emphasis on creative talent from around Europe.
The announcement comes after the festival expanded to Sydney last year and the initiative was welcomed on Wednesday by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and culture secretary Lucy Frazer.
Khan called the initiative “a historic opportunity for London to once again bring the world’s most exciting talent together as part...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Nishtha Jain’s “Farming the Revolution” — winner of the best international feature documentary prize at Hot Docs — captures the vast emotional scope of revolutionary movements. Chronicling the lengthy stand-off between Indian farmers and the Modi government, during which tens of thousands of Sikh and Punjabi farm workers occupied highways and state borders, the film is remarkable in its audio-visual inquiry into protest as a cultural movement, and in its excavation of the emotional highs and lows involved in making lasting change.
Over eight months between 2020 and 2021, millions of people would weave in and out of these caravans of trucks and makeshift houses surrounding New Delhi, in the hope of curbing new laws that would open Indian agriculture to predatory corporate interests while plunging farmers into poverty. Jain captures the sweeping magnitude of the protests through overhead drone shots and careful compositions on the ground — she often shoots large crowds from just above eye level,...
Over eight months between 2020 and 2021, millions of people would weave in and out of these caravans of trucks and makeshift houses surrounding New Delhi, in the hope of curbing new laws that would open Indian agriculture to predatory corporate interests while plunging farmers into poverty. Jain captures the sweeping magnitude of the protests through overhead drone shots and careful compositions on the ground — she often shoots large crowds from just above eye level,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety - Film News
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers have filed two more motions to throw out his manslaughter indictment in the “Rust” case in New Mexico.
Meanwhile, Rory Kennedy, who is making a documentary about Baldwin and the “Rust” shooting, is fighting a subpoena that would force her to turn over interview footage to the prosecutors in the case.
Baldwin faces a trial in July on a charge of negligently causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The actor was preparing to film a scene in the Western film in October 2021 when his Colt .45 fired, striking Hutchins and also wounding the director.
The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison for mistakenly loading a live bullet into the gun.
Baldwin’s latest motions argue that the charge is not legally justified, and that he has been deprived of a fair trial because the FBI broke the gun in the case during testing.
Meanwhile, Rory Kennedy, who is making a documentary about Baldwin and the “Rust” shooting, is fighting a subpoena that would force her to turn over interview footage to the prosecutors in the case.
Baldwin faces a trial in July on a charge of negligently causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The actor was preparing to film a scene in the Western film in October 2021 when his Colt .45 fired, striking Hutchins and also wounding the director.
The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison for mistakenly loading a live bullet into the gun.
Baldwin’s latest motions argue that the charge is not legally justified, and that he has been deprived of a fair trial because the FBI broke the gun in the case during testing.
- 5/9/2024
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety - Film News
The Coven has boarded Patricia Heaton-led horror The Beldham from Wicked Myth Films and heads to Cannes with worldwide sales rights.
Angela Gulner’s feature debut follows single mother Harper played by Katie Parker (The Fall Of The House Of Usher) who moves in with her own mother (Heaton) to renovate a fading suburban farmhouse.
Before long, Harper finds herself haunted by a threatening presence that seems to desire her infant child. Inspired by folklore about the Beldham, an old hag that feeds on the souls of the young, the film blurs the lines between myth and the true...
Angela Gulner’s feature debut follows single mother Harper played by Katie Parker (The Fall Of The House Of Usher) who moves in with her own mother (Heaton) to renovate a fading suburban farmhouse.
Before long, Harper finds herself haunted by a threatening presence that seems to desire her infant child. Inspired by folklore about the Beldham, an old hag that feeds on the souls of the young, the film blurs the lines between myth and the true...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Grace Caroline Currey has joined the cast of “The Breed,” and is set to lead the film. Directed by brothers Sean and Bryan Furst, the film is an “unconventional reimagining of the Wes Craven cult classic.” The brothers will produce together through their company, Curmudgeon Films.
The film centers around Currey’s character Violet, “a rebel icon and badass on a mission to search for abandoned dogs on a remote island which leads to complete adrenaline-fueled terror.”
Currey most recently starred in Lionsgate’s adventure thriller, “Fall,” directed by Scott Mann. The film follows two daredevil climbers, Becky (Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), who decide to scale the B67 TV tower — an abandoned 2,000-foot communication tower that juts up in the middle of the California desert.
She also portrayed superhero Mary Marvel and Mary Bromfield in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” alongside co-stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer,...
The film centers around Currey’s character Violet, “a rebel icon and badass on a mission to search for abandoned dogs on a remote island which leads to complete adrenaline-fueled terror.”
Currey most recently starred in Lionsgate’s adventure thriller, “Fall,” directed by Scott Mann. The film follows two daredevil climbers, Becky (Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), who decide to scale the B67 TV tower — an abandoned 2,000-foot communication tower that juts up in the middle of the California desert.
She also portrayed superhero Mary Marvel and Mary Bromfield in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” alongside co-stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety - Film News
Kristen Stewart recently graced the cover of Porter magazine and called out “phony” Hollywood for how it often self-congratulates itself for doing away with the patriarchy when in reality, Hollywood has just prioritized a select group of women to operate in the studio world. While progress is being made, Stewart rang the alarm by saying changes for women in Hollywood are not as broad as Hollywood might like to make it out to be.
“[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it,” Stewart said. “It’s easy for them to be like, ‘Look what we’re doing. We’re making Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie! We’re making Margot Robbie’s movie!’ And you’re like, ‘Ok, cool. You’ve chosen four.'”
“And I’m in awe of those women, I love those women, [but] it feels phony,...
“[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it,” Stewart said. “It’s easy for them to be like, ‘Look what we’re doing. We’re making Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie! We’re making Margot Robbie’s movie!’ And you’re like, ‘Ok, cool. You’ve chosen four.'”
“And I’m in awe of those women, I love those women, [but] it feels phony,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
Apple TV+ released a new trailer for its drama “Fancy Dance” starring Lily Gladstone and Isabel Deroy-Olson.
The film follows Jax (Gladstone), who has cared for her niece Rokie (Deroy-Olson) since her sister’s disappearance by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow. When she risks losing custody of Roki, the two hit the road and scour backcountry to track down Roki’s mother in time for the powwow.
“Fancy Dance,” a Confluential Films and Significant Productions/Aum Group production, is produced by Deidre Backs, Erica Tremblay, Heather Rae, Nina Yang Bongiovi and Tommy Oliver. Bird Runningwater, Lily Gladstone, Forest Whitaker and Charlotte Koh serve as executive producers.
Watch the trailer below.
DeNiro Con Unveils Lineup for Event During Tribeca Festival
DeNiro Con, celebrating 80 years of the actor who co-founded the Tribeca festival,...
The film follows Jax (Gladstone), who has cared for her niece Rokie (Deroy-Olson) since her sister’s disappearance by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow. When she risks losing custody of Roki, the two hit the road and scour backcountry to track down Roki’s mother in time for the powwow.
“Fancy Dance,” a Confluential Films and Significant Productions/Aum Group production, is produced by Deidre Backs, Erica Tremblay, Heather Rae, Nina Yang Bongiovi and Tommy Oliver. Bird Runningwater, Lily Gladstone, Forest Whitaker and Charlotte Koh serve as executive producers.
Watch the trailer below.
DeNiro Con Unveils Lineup for Event During Tribeca Festival
DeNiro Con, celebrating 80 years of the actor who co-founded the Tribeca festival,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay, Lexi Carson and Selena Kuznikov
- Variety - Film News
Update: The Adg has issued a statement: “Due to an internal technical error, applicants to our Production Design Initiative (Pdi) program received an email that had not been edited or fact-checked.” The full statement is at the bottom.
Art Directors Guild is suspending its Production Design Initiative program, designed to give hands-on training and job placement opportunities to those seeking a career in the field, according to an email sent to prospective applicants and acquired by IndieWire. (Read the full statement below.)
In the email, Adg cited its membership’s 75 percent unemployment as the reason, concluding: “Given this situation we cannot in good conscience encourage you to pursue our profession while so many of our members remain unemployed.”
The Adg is one of the largest IATSE locals with approximately 3,000 members, and houses a wide range of art department professions including production designers, art directors, set designers, illustrators, model makers, as well as matte,...
Art Directors Guild is suspending its Production Design Initiative program, designed to give hands-on training and job placement opportunities to those seeking a career in the field, according to an email sent to prospective applicants and acquired by IndieWire. (Read the full statement below.)
In the email, Adg cited its membership’s 75 percent unemployment as the reason, concluding: “Given this situation we cannot in good conscience encourage you to pursue our profession while so many of our members remain unemployed.”
The Adg is one of the largest IATSE locals with approximately 3,000 members, and houses a wide range of art department professions including production designers, art directors, set designers, illustrators, model makers, as well as matte,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
If, like many of us, you're often struck by just how many subscription services you're paying for, you'll probably be pleased to learn that there'll soon be an easier way to bundle three of the biggest into one subscription. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney are teaming up to offer a streaming package that will bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max into one subscription. The bundle is set to arrive this summer complete with the increasingly prevalent ad-free and ad-supported options. As of now, there's no exact release date or pricing details, but there will surely be more news on that front in the very near future.
While Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made a habit of partnering with other studios since taking on the Warner Bros. brand, licensing certain movies and TV shows to Roku and Tubi and previously licensing HBO originals to Netflix, this...
While Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made a habit of partnering with other studios since taking on the Warner Bros. brand, licensing certain movies and TV shows to Roku and Tubi and previously licensing HBO originals to Netflix, this...
- 5/8/2024
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg is having a bit of a “hail the conquering hero” moment that very few people would have expected him to be having this far into the 21st century, least of all himself. Although he has had many successes in film and in the theater over the last 60 years or so, he remains most famous as the director of the Beatles documentary “Let It Be” — and that 1970 film remains most famous as something that has been kept locked in the vault since it got a brief VHS and laserdisc release in the early 1980s. Shot in 1969 as the Beatles recorded their next-to-last album, “Let It Be” has been remembered largely as a glum look at a great band, rehearsing not so much for an album or concert as rehearsing for a breakup.
But what if it wasn’t really that at all? Two surprising developments have occurred to...
But what if it wasn’t really that at all? Two surprising developments have occurred to...
- 5/8/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety - Film News
Spoilers for "X-Men '97" follow.
In Part 1 of "X-Men '97" finale, "Tolerance is Extinction," Bastion's Sentinels crashed the party at the X-Mansion. Despite Wolverine and Nightcrawler holding them off, the mansion got pretty trashed.
So in Part 2, the X-Men go to an old base on Scotland's Muir Island (cue the bagpipes), once owned by Professor X's old friend Moira MacTaggert (who died in the Genosha massacre back in episode 5, "Remember It"). On Muir Island, the X-Men stock up on supplies and a new Blackbird jet.
Since this is a back-up base, their costumes are out-of-date; these "new" designs are actually going backwards in comic history. In a nod to this, as they suit up, Cyclop asks a nonplussed Cable: "What were you expecting, black leather?", flipping a joke about yellow spandex costumes from the 2000 "X-Men" movie. The original "X-Men" cartoon also started in media res with the team already assembled,...
In Part 1 of "X-Men '97" finale, "Tolerance is Extinction," Bastion's Sentinels crashed the party at the X-Mansion. Despite Wolverine and Nightcrawler holding them off, the mansion got pretty trashed.
So in Part 2, the X-Men go to an old base on Scotland's Muir Island (cue the bagpipes), once owned by Professor X's old friend Moira MacTaggert (who died in the Genosha massacre back in episode 5, "Remember It"). On Muir Island, the X-Men stock up on supplies and a new Blackbird jet.
Since this is a back-up base, their costumes are out-of-date; these "new" designs are actually going backwards in comic history. In a nod to this, as they suit up, Cyclop asks a nonplussed Cable: "What were you expecting, black leather?", flipping a joke about yellow spandex costumes from the 2000 "X-Men" movie. The original "X-Men" cartoon also started in media res with the team already assembled,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Here’s a bundle we can get behind. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on a mega-streaming bundle that will package Disney+, Hulu, and Max for one price.
The bundle will be available starting this summer. Pricing has not been revealed.
Currently, the Disney+ and Hulu bundle is $9.99 per month for an ad-supported plan and $19.99 per month without ads. Max runs you $9.99 with ads or $99.99 for an annual plan, and $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year for its basic ad-free plan. The premium plan is $19.99 per month.
Disney and Warner Bros. said in a statement that the ad-supported and ad-free bundles will be available for purchase on any of the three streaming platforms’ websites.
This bundle is not to be confused with the jointly owned sports streaming service coming later this year between Disney, Wbd, and Fox. We’re still waiting on a name for that, presuming it isn...
The bundle will be available starting this summer. Pricing has not been revealed.
Currently, the Disney+ and Hulu bundle is $9.99 per month for an ad-supported plan and $19.99 per month without ads. Max runs you $9.99 with ads or $99.99 for an annual plan, and $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year for its basic ad-free plan. The premium plan is $19.99 per month.
Disney and Warner Bros. said in a statement that the ad-supported and ad-free bundles will be available for purchase on any of the three streaming platforms’ websites.
This bundle is not to be confused with the jointly owned sports streaming service coming later this year between Disney, Wbd, and Fox. We’re still waiting on a name for that, presuming it isn...
- 5/8/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
It has been 56 years since “Planet of the Apes,” arguably one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. To see the franchise display such promising growth and evolution almost six decades later is phenomenal and deeply heartening. That’s especially so at a time when Hollywood is enduring one of its most challenging eras. The fourth installment in the franchise reboot, “Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes,” takes place 300 years after the events of 2017’s “War For The Planet of the Apes.”
At the center of this story is a young chimpanzee named Noa, played by Owen Teague, forced to make a perilous journey after his village is destroyed and his family and community are either slaughtered or abducted by the army of Kevin Durand’s megalomaniacal Proximus Caesar.
Continue reading ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Review: Wes Ball Delivers A Bold, Engaging Vision & Solid...
At the center of this story is a young chimpanzee named Noa, played by Owen Teague, forced to make a perilous journey after his village is destroyed and his family and community are either slaughtered or abducted by the army of Kevin Durand’s megalomaniacal Proximus Caesar.
Continue reading ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Review: Wes Ball Delivers A Bold, Engaging Vision & Solid...
- 5/8/2024
- by Simon Thompson
- The Playlist
In an unprecedented collaboration, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery will launch a streaming bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max this summer.
The offering will house a selection of content from Disney, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros, HBO, ABC, CNN, and FX, among others.
It will be available for purchase on any of the platforms’ websites as ad-free and ad-supported. No name or price point was provided.
Industry observers said the move was designed to motivate customers to stay and not cancel their services.
It comes as Netflix continues to pull away as the leading platform in the streaming wars.
The offering will house a selection of content from Disney, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros, HBO, ABC, CNN, and FX, among others.
It will be available for purchase on any of the platforms’ websites as ad-free and ad-supported. No name or price point was provided.
Industry observers said the move was designed to motivate customers to stay and not cancel their services.
It comes as Netflix continues to pull away as the leading platform in the streaming wars.
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Chris Pine was taken by surprise when news hit that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” Why? “I thought there was already a script,” the actor recently told Business Insider during an interview on his “Poolman” press tour.
Pine’s not wrong, as a potential “Star Trek 4” has gone through multiple iterations in the years since the 2016 release of “Star Trek Beyond.” Pine took on the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 franchise reboot “Star Trek,” and reprised the character in 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and 2016’s “Beyond.” Variety exclusively reported in March that Paramount Pictures remained committed to making a fourth “Star Trek” film to be headlined by Pine and his co-stars.
The actor’s fellow “Star Trek” cast members include Zachary Quinto (as Cmdr. Spock), Zoe Saldaña (as Lt.
Pine’s not wrong, as a potential “Star Trek 4” has gone through multiple iterations in the years since the 2016 release of “Star Trek Beyond.” Pine took on the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 franchise reboot “Star Trek,” and reprised the character in 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and 2016’s “Beyond.” Variety exclusively reported in March that Paramount Pictures remained committed to making a fourth “Star Trek” film to be headlined by Pine and his co-stars.
The actor’s fellow “Star Trek” cast members include Zachary Quinto (as Cmdr. Spock), Zoe Saldaña (as Lt.
- 5/8/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
Australian director George Miller made his first feature film, "Mad Max," in 1979. It was a very low-budget affair costing about $200,000. The film takes place in the near future when the Earth is running low on oil and civilization is just beginning to crumble. "Mad" Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is a road cop tasked with reigning in the chaos. "Mad Max" was decidedly low-fi, but it struck a chord with audiences, ultimately earning almost $100 million worldwide. It remains one of the most profitable movies of all time, comparable only to "The Blair Witch Project," "Paranormal Activity," and "Deep Throat." Miller would go on to make several sequels to "Mad Max" in 1981, 1985, and 2015. The fifth film in the series, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," is hitting theaters this month, with a potential sixth entry, "Mad Max: The Wasteland," in the early planning stages.
Miller recently participated in a "Furiosa" screening and Q&a event,...
Miller recently participated in a "Furiosa" screening and Q&a event,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
It’s not always easy to find out which movies hit theaters each week, especially after the Hollywood strikes led to many release date changes. With the WGA and actors strikes resolved and summer blockbusters starting to roll in, May is filled with both big budget flicks and new indie releases.
Premiering May 10 is Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the newest installment in the “Apes” franchise about a young chimp who must save his clan from the evil king Proximus Caesar starring Owen Teague, Freya Allen, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon and William H. Macy. Also hitting theaters is Chris Pine’s directorial debut “Poolman,” a noir comedy about a pool cleaner who stumbles upon a mystery at a Los Angeles apartment block starring Pine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito and Annette Bening. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Lazareth,” a thriller following a...
Premiering May 10 is Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the newest installment in the “Apes” franchise about a young chimp who must save his clan from the evil king Proximus Caesar starring Owen Teague, Freya Allen, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon and William H. Macy. Also hitting theaters is Chris Pine’s directorial debut “Poolman,” a noir comedy about a pool cleaner who stumbles upon a mystery at a Los Angeles apartment block starring Pine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito and Annette Bening. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Lazareth,” a thriller following a...
- 5/8/2024
- by Pat Saperstein and Jack Dunn
- Variety - Film News
The other night, I had a hankering to watch a good high-concept movie I'd never seen before. I saw 2014's "Coherence" on a few lists, and being almost wholly unfamiliar with it, I decided to fire it up and give it a shot. Thankfully, this film gave me exactly what I was looking for.
Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Manugian, Lauren Maher, Hugo Armstrong, and eventual "Hustlers" director Lorene Scafaria star in this ultra-low budget brain melter about a group of friends gathering for a dinner party while a comet passes by overhead. When the power goes out, a couple of them trek up the street to a neighboring house with the lights on -- only to discover something that shakes them to their core. I won't get into the specifics here, but the film has an incredible conceit, and director James Ward Byrkit, who shot...
Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Manugian, Lauren Maher, Hugo Armstrong, and eventual "Hustlers" director Lorene Scafaria star in this ultra-low budget brain melter about a group of friends gathering for a dinner party while a comet passes by overhead. When the power goes out, a couple of them trek up the street to a neighboring house with the lights on -- only to discover something that shakes them to their core. I won't get into the specifics here, but the film has an incredible conceit, and director James Ward Byrkit, who shot...
- 5/8/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
What really happened during the 48 hours leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — at least according to mob bosses — is heading to the big screen in the upcoming film “November 1963: The Killing of a President.”
The mob’s version of events were passed down to Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana’s nephew, Nicholas Celozzi, by Sam’s brother, the late Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, who drove around with his brother Sam during those two days.
“The reason why there’s this fascination or anxiety is because people know that what they’ve heard so far doesn’t make sense,” Celozzi tells Variety of the ongoing interest in the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, even 60 years later. “They keep talking about it because they’re waiting to hear something that makes more common sense.”
Celozzi, whose film producing and writing credits include “The Legitimate Wiseguy,” “The Class” and...
The mob’s version of events were passed down to Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana’s nephew, Nicholas Celozzi, by Sam’s brother, the late Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, who drove around with his brother Sam during those two days.
“The reason why there’s this fascination or anxiety is because people know that what they’ve heard so far doesn’t make sense,” Celozzi tells Variety of the ongoing interest in the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, even 60 years later. “They keep talking about it because they’re waiting to hear something that makes more common sense.”
Celozzi, whose film producing and writing credits include “The Legitimate Wiseguy,” “The Class” and...
- 5/8/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety - Film News
Sydney Sweeney is getting in the ring.
The breakout from, well, basically everything she’s done lately is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic directed by David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom”). Insert your own joke here about being a knockout. The script for the untitled project was written by Mirrah Foulkes and Michôd.
Martin was the most successful female boxer of the 1990s. She signed with Don King and is the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Martin became welterweight champion — but that was about the end of the good things in her life. Christy was physically abused by husband Jim Martin, who was eventually convicted of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Christy Martin’s life is documented in “Untold,” the excellent series of documentaries by Chaplain and Maclain Way. Her episode is subtitled “Deal with the Devil,...
The breakout from, well, basically everything she’s done lately is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic directed by David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom”). Insert your own joke here about being a knockout. The script for the untitled project was written by Mirrah Foulkes and Michôd.
Martin was the most successful female boxer of the 1990s. She signed with Don King and is the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Martin became welterweight champion — but that was about the end of the good things in her life. Christy was physically abused by husband Jim Martin, who was eventually convicted of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Christy Martin’s life is documented in “Untold,” the excellent series of documentaries by Chaplain and Maclain Way. Her episode is subtitled “Deal with the Devil,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in seven cities in Poland from Friday to May 19 and then online from May 21 to July 3, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, the largest film festival in Poland.
Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. There are a lot of arthouse cinemas, in comparison to the U.K. for example. Even in small cities.”
Piekarczyk has worked for the festival for the past seven years and this edition will be his fourth as artistic director. He sees his job as “reminding everyone that our priority is and has always been the audience. However, we are a documentary festival, and whether we like it or not, audiences mainly choose films based on topic. We as programmers focus more on the quality.
Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. There are a lot of arthouse cinemas, in comparison to the U.K. for example. Even in small cities.”
Piekarczyk has worked for the festival for the past seven years and this edition will be his fourth as artistic director. He sees his job as “reminding everyone that our priority is and has always been the audience. However, we are a documentary festival, and whether we like it or not, audiences mainly choose films based on topic. We as programmers focus more on the quality.
- 5/8/2024
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety - Film News
Movie theaters can’t sell tickets if they don’t have a lot of new blockbusters to advertise on their marquees. And the actors and writers strikes that ground Hollywood to a standstill in 2023 left studios with fewer movies to release as 2024 got started. As the biggest exhibitor in the world, AMC Theatres certainly felt the lack of franchise movies and tentpole films as the year kicked off, but the company still managed to beat projections with its quarterly earnings. That was partly thanks to the March release of “Dune: Part Two” and “Kung Fu Panda 4,” popular sequels that helped off-set declining admissions in January and February.
Despite the late breaking entry of some must-see movies, revenues at the the theater chain fell to $951.4 million from $954.4 million in the prior-year quarter. However, net losses for the three-month period ending in March narrowed to $163.5 million, or 62 cents per share. That...
Despite the late breaking entry of some must-see movies, revenues at the the theater chain fell to $951.4 million from $954.4 million in the prior-year quarter. However, net losses for the three-month period ending in March narrowed to $163.5 million, or 62 cents per share. That...
- 5/8/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety - Film News
It's been seven years since director Matt Reeves concluded Caesar's story with 2017's "War for the Planet of the Apes." But that movie wasn't the definitive ending for the long-running sci-fi franchise by any means. Now, the apes are finally back on the big screen in director Wes Ball's "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." Featuring a new cast in a new timeline years removed from the previous trilogy, this is a new start for the series. So, are moviegoers going to have to stick around during the credits to see what the future holds?
Credits scenes are a staple of franchise filmmaking in the modern era. Given that Disney is now in control of "Planet of the Apes," it doesn't feel out of character for there to be a tease of something else to come down the line. For those headed to a theater to see "Kingdom,...
Credits scenes are a staple of franchise filmmaking in the modern era. Given that Disney is now in control of "Planet of the Apes," it doesn't feel out of character for there to be a tease of something else to come down the line. For those headed to a theater to see "Kingdom,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
“Let It Be,” the legendary 1970 Beatles documentary that has been out of circulation since the ’80s, is now streaming on Disney+ in a new restoration by Peter Jackson and his Park Road Post Production. This long-lost Beatles artifact, which inspired Jackson to dig deeper with his Emmy-winning “The Beatles: Get Back” docuseries, captures director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s fly-on-the-wall snapshot of the Fab Four’s creatively productive yet tense studio sessions for their final two albums — “Let It Be” and “Abbey Road” — followed by their joyous rooftop concert at Apple Corps headquarters.
“Peter’s a Beatles fan par excellence and, through his investigation [for ‘Get Back’], he ended up with this wonderful giant’s mood of a movie because he had the time to do it,” Lindsay-Hogg told IndieWire. “And also because he was a great tinkerer as well, he was able to come up with visual things and audio things that...
“Peter’s a Beatles fan par excellence and, through his investigation [for ‘Get Back’], he ended up with this wonderful giant’s mood of a movie because he had the time to do it,” Lindsay-Hogg told IndieWire. “And also because he was a great tinkerer as well, he was able to come up with visual things and audio things that...
- 5/8/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
17,000 fans. The reunion of an American football dynasty and the coach no one expected to show. Televised live around the world while the reputation of a man considered “the greatest of all time” sits in the hands of savage comedians and one-time foes. What could go wrong?
But here we are, just days after Tom Brady took to the stage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles for Sunday’s “The Greatest Roast of All Time,” and the walls are still standing. For decades roast comedy has been a beloved national tradition, once shepherded on TV by Comedy Central. It was a show that often targeted Hollywood legends or zeitgeist icons. It took the willingness of Brady, who holds a record 7 Super Bowl rings, to reinvigorate the format for streaming under host Kevin Hart. And not just any roast, which would typically be shot on a Hollywood backlot and edited ahead of its premiere.
But here we are, just days after Tom Brady took to the stage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles for Sunday’s “The Greatest Roast of All Time,” and the walls are still standing. For decades roast comedy has been a beloved national tradition, once shepherded on TV by Comedy Central. It was a show that often targeted Hollywood legends or zeitgeist icons. It took the willingness of Brady, who holds a record 7 Super Bowl rings, to reinvigorate the format for streaming under host Kevin Hart. And not just any roast, which would typically be shot on a Hollywood backlot and edited ahead of its premiere.
- 5/8/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety - Film News
One of the best recent rule changes the Television Academy recently made was the 2020 decision to expand the Drama and Comedy series categories to include eight nominees, regardless of the number of entries. But if the goal of the Primetime Emmys is to be reflective of the shows that most engaged viewers and voters alike throughout the TV season, it needs to now go one step further. The TV Academy needs to expand the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category to eight nominees as well.
In the decade since they have re-split the Limited Series and TV Movie categories there have been plenty of winners that were a cultural moment, from “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” to “Big Little Lies” to “Watchmen,” but these event series were not as common an occurrence. Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, an event that has had ramifications to the television schedule still present today.
In the decade since they have re-split the Limited Series and TV Movie categories there have been plenty of winners that were a cultural moment, from “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” to “Big Little Lies” to “Watchmen,” but these event series were not as common an occurrence. Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, an event that has had ramifications to the television schedule still present today.
- 5/8/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Spoilers for "X-Men '97" to follow.
"I am trying to be better," proclaimed Magneto — "Please... do not make me let you down." He was speaking to a small United Nations panel, but addressing humanity as a whole. So, of course, mankind again forced his iron (controlling) fist.
As of episode 9, "Tolerance Is Extinction Part 2," Magneto is once more an antagonist to the X-Men (I won't say "bad guy"). He puts on his old red outfit, complete with the telepathy-blocking helmet. Regrettably, I don't think we'll be seeing Magneto back in the opening credits team line-up anytime soon, if ever again.
This heel U-turn is far from unmotivated, though. The season's Big Bad, Bastion, orchestrated the genocide of mutant nation Genosha and intends to build a future where human/Sentinel hybrids rule enslaved mutants. Magneto is a Holocaust survivor (a tragic backstory that "X-Men '97" has maintained). He's always refused to...
"I am trying to be better," proclaimed Magneto — "Please... do not make me let you down." He was speaking to a small United Nations panel, but addressing humanity as a whole. So, of course, mankind again forced his iron (controlling) fist.
As of episode 9, "Tolerance Is Extinction Part 2," Magneto is once more an antagonist to the X-Men (I won't say "bad guy"). He puts on his old red outfit, complete with the telepathy-blocking helmet. Regrettably, I don't think we'll be seeing Magneto back in the opening credits team line-up anytime soon, if ever again.
This heel U-turn is far from unmotivated, though. The season's Big Bad, Bastion, orchestrated the genocide of mutant nation Genosha and intends to build a future where human/Sentinel hybrids rule enslaved mutants. Magneto is a Holocaust survivor (a tragic backstory that "X-Men '97" has maintained). He's always refused to...
- 5/8/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Mother’s Day means a lot of things — and for many, it means a chance to grab some wire hangers and rekindle a love for the 1981 camp extravaganza “Mommie Dearest.” Starring Oscar winner Faye Dunaway as Oscar winner Joan Crawford, the movie adaptation of a memory by Crawford’s adopted daughter, Christina, was intended to be a serious drama. An awards-bait biopic. Anne Bancroft was attached, initially!
But things went awry, as they always do in the making of a camp classic. And while we wait for Dunaway to address the movie anew in the upcoming “Faye” documentary about her life and career premiering at Cannes, we have A. Ashley Hoff’s making-of book “With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic” to tide us over.
One of the most remarkable things Hoff uncovered in his voluminous research is just how enthralled everyone was by Dunaway’s...
But things went awry, as they always do in the making of a camp classic. And while we wait for Dunaway to address the movie anew in the upcoming “Faye” documentary about her life and career premiering at Cannes, we have A. Ashley Hoff’s making-of book “With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic” to tide us over.
One of the most remarkable things Hoff uncovered in his voluminous research is just how enthralled everyone was by Dunaway’s...
- 5/8/2024
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
Unlike big-budget blockbusters that often depend on famous faces or explosive (and expensive) set pieces to draw audiences into the theater, the horror genre has been thriving for decades with no-name actors, shoestring budgets, and still pulling in huge profits thanks to a quality idea that audiences want to see. If the characters in the film are more than likely not going to make it to the end credits, there's no need to shell out the dough for a household name when they're just going to be killed off.
Fortunately, horror films also frequently inspire unprovoked reactions from audiences that work better than any marketing campaign ever could. A24 struck gold when audience members were reportedly fainting during preview screenings of "Talk to Me," which certainly helped skyrocket the film's popularity and contributed to it becoming the production company's highest-grossing horror film, ever, even surpassing Ari Aster's "Hereditary."
IFC Films...
Fortunately, horror films also frequently inspire unprovoked reactions from audiences that work better than any marketing campaign ever could. A24 struck gold when audience members were reportedly fainting during preview screenings of "Talk to Me," which certainly helped skyrocket the film's popularity and contributed to it becoming the production company's highest-grossing horror film, ever, even surpassing Ari Aster's "Hereditary."
IFC Films...
- 5/8/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Heading into Cannes, Utopia has secured worldwide rights to college fraternity thriller The Line starring Alex Wolff, Halle Bailey, Austin Abrams, Lewis Pullman, and the late Euphoria star Angus Cloud.
Ethan Berger’s feature debut premiered in Tribeca last year and explores the cult-like aggression in fraternity culture and the antiquated traditions perpetuated in educational institutions.
Wolff (Hereditary) stars in the Chaos Cedar Production as Tom, a university sophomore who gets caught up in fraternity politics when he is lined up as a potential successor to the group’s president. Berger and Alex Russek co-wrote the screenplay.
Bailey starred in The Little Mermaid,...
Ethan Berger’s feature debut premiered in Tribeca last year and explores the cult-like aggression in fraternity culture and the antiquated traditions perpetuated in educational institutions.
Wolff (Hereditary) stars in the Chaos Cedar Production as Tom, a university sophomore who gets caught up in fraternity politics when he is lined up as a potential successor to the group’s president. Berger and Alex Russek co-wrote the screenplay.
Bailey starred in The Little Mermaid,...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Guy Nattiv’s “Harmonia” has cast Naomi Watts, Vicky Krieps, Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young as Embankment Films, Range Media Partners and CAA Media Finance launch pre-sales ahead of Cannes.
Inspired by a real-life events, the film is based on Nattiv’s grandmother and her involvement in an insidious cult.
The synopsis reads: “Set in the 1980s, Rita (Watts) is entranced by the mesmeric leader (Krieps) and renounces her family to embrace the world of the enigmatic Harmonia commune. Her daughters, Ella (Ramsey), and Jo (Young), put everything on the line to infiltrate the cult and bring their mother back home. Yet, once immersed in the commune, they find themselves inexorably drawn into the leader’s labyrinthine web of psycho-spiritual manipulation.”
Producers for the film are Julia Lebedev and Eddie Vaisman for Sight Unseen, Jaime Ray Newman for New Native Pictures, and Oren Moverman. The film is co-written by Noa Berman-Herzberg.
Inspired by a real-life events, the film is based on Nattiv’s grandmother and her involvement in an insidious cult.
The synopsis reads: “Set in the 1980s, Rita (Watts) is entranced by the mesmeric leader (Krieps) and renounces her family to embrace the world of the enigmatic Harmonia commune. Her daughters, Ella (Ramsey), and Jo (Young), put everything on the line to infiltrate the cult and bring their mother back home. Yet, once immersed in the commune, they find themselves inexorably drawn into the leader’s labyrinthine web of psycho-spiritual manipulation.”
Producers for the film are Julia Lebedev and Eddie Vaisman for Sight Unseen, Jaime Ray Newman for New Native Pictures, and Oren Moverman. The film is co-written by Noa Berman-Herzberg.
- 5/8/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety - Film News
Rasoulof is one of Iran’s leading directors and his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig is due to premiere at Cannes film festival
The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and the confiscation of property, his lawyer has confirmed.
Writing on X, Babak Paknia, a human rights lawyer representing Rasoulof, said that the judgment was confirmed in a court of appeal and the case had now been sent for enforcement.
The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and the confiscation of property, his lawyer has confirmed.
Writing on X, Babak Paknia, a human rights lawyer representing Rasoulof, said that the judgment was confirmed in a court of appeal and the case had now been sent for enforcement.
- 5/8/2024
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
How do our perceptions shape history? Director Jake Paltrow uses three characters to show a historical event’s impact in “June Zero.” The film’s starting point is the 1961 trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, a major Holocaust organizer. A prison guard, a police investigator, and a 13-year-old all find themselves dealing with its aftermath.
For Paltrow, the project signals something profound in his filmography.” I like to think of myself as someone who is working in personal spaces, and on the surface, this may seem like the least personal movie I’ve made, but somehow I feel it is the most personal one,” the filmmaker said.
Continue reading ‘June Zero’ Trailer: Jake Paltrow Examines The Trial Of An Infamous Nazi War Criminal at The Playlist.
For Paltrow, the project signals something profound in his filmography.” I like to think of myself as someone who is working in personal spaces, and on the surface, this may seem like the least personal movie I’ve made, but somehow I feel it is the most personal one,” the filmmaker said.
Continue reading ‘June Zero’ Trailer: Jake Paltrow Examines The Trial Of An Infamous Nazi War Criminal at The Playlist.
- 5/8/2024
- by Valerie Thompson
- The Playlist
For a writer, signing on to “Planet of the Apes” is less an assignment than a calling. After all, it’s the longest-running science-fiction series in film history. So when Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the husband-and-wife screenwriting and producing team, conceived “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” in 2011, they envisioned more than a single-serving reboot. “We did see that if we played it right, there’d be at least three movies,” Jaffa tells Variety.
He wasn’t wrong: Their four-film stint culminates with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the franchise’s 10th installment (and the first in a reported new trilogy). Their tenure follows that of Paul Dehn, who took over screenwriting duties from Rod Serling and Pierre Boulle for the 1970s “Planet of the Apes” sequels. “Kingdom” also echoes the series’ labyrinthine internal timeline, which elapses across a millennia of circular (and occasionally contradictory) storytelling.
He wasn’t wrong: Their four-film stint culminates with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the franchise’s 10th installment (and the first in a reported new trilogy). Their tenure follows that of Paul Dehn, who took over screenwriting duties from Rod Serling and Pierre Boulle for the 1970s “Planet of the Apes” sequels. “Kingdom” also echoes the series’ labyrinthine internal timeline, which elapses across a millennia of circular (and occasionally contradictory) storytelling.
- 5/8/2024
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety - Film News
What’s the new way governments can control its populations? By controlling their food.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose documentary “Blackfish” exposed the animal cruelty at SeaWorld, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as he uncovers the colonization of food and water by the wealthiest nations. “The Grab” is billed as a global thriller combining hard-hitting journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with compelling character-driven storytelling spanning across the globe. It is one of Participant Media’s final films.
Per its synopsis, quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors, and mercenaries are working to seize food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new Opec, where the future world powers will be those who control not oil, but food. And it’s all beginning to bubble to the surface in real time. Global food prices have hit an all-time high, threatening chaos and violence.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose documentary “Blackfish” exposed the animal cruelty at SeaWorld, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as he uncovers the colonization of food and water by the wealthiest nations. “The Grab” is billed as a global thriller combining hard-hitting journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with compelling character-driven storytelling spanning across the globe. It is one of Participant Media’s final films.
Per its synopsis, quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors, and mercenaries are working to seize food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new Opec, where the future world powers will be those who control not oil, but food. And it’s all beginning to bubble to the surface in real time. Global food prices have hit an all-time high, threatening chaos and violence.
- 5/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) is kicking off worldwide sales in Cannes next week on the horror title It Feeds starring Ashley Greene from the Twilight Saga and Shawn Ashmore from the X-Men franchise.
Chad Archibald wrote and directed the Black Fawn Films production about a young girl who insists that a malevolent entity is feeding on her.
Greene portrays a clairvoyant therapist who must confront her own demons to save the girl before she is lost forever. Ashmore plays the girl’s father.
Ellie O’Brien, Shayelin Martin, Mark Taylor, and Juno Rinaldi round out the cast.
Archibald produced alongside Cody Calahan...
Chad Archibald wrote and directed the Black Fawn Films production about a young girl who insists that a malevolent entity is feeding on her.
Greene portrays a clairvoyant therapist who must confront her own demons to save the girl before she is lost forever. Ashmore plays the girl’s father.
Ellie O’Brien, Shayelin Martin, Mark Taylor, and Juno Rinaldi round out the cast.
Archibald produced alongside Cody Calahan...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award winner Laura Dern have signed on to star in “Monsanto,” the latest film from writer-director John Lee Hancock.
The film follows the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who in 2019 took on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used the company’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. Dern plays Dr. Melinda Rogers, the Monsanto Company’s chief toxicologist, who testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe during the landmark cancer trial.
“I was drawn to this contemporary David vs. Goliath true story because I found it dramatic, moving, quite funny and of critical importance in today’s world,” said Hancock. “My ambitions are to deliver a smart, thoughtful and...
The film follows the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who in 2019 took on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used the company’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. Dern plays Dr. Melinda Rogers, the Monsanto Company’s chief toxicologist, who testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe during the landmark cancer trial.
“I was drawn to this contemporary David vs. Goliath true story because I found it dramatic, moving, quite funny and of critical importance in today’s world,” said Hancock. “My ambitions are to deliver a smart, thoughtful and...
- 5/8/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
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