Movie News
‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Delivers a Welcome $56 Millon Haul; ‘The Watchers’ Stumbles in First Weekend
The domestic box office finally changed course after a slow start to the summer release season, as ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ won the weekend with a successful $56 million opening. This is the best R-rated opening in theaters since last year's 'Oppenheimer.' It’s also Will Smith’s sixth-highest domestic opening and the first notable major summer title that over-performed against tracking numbers.
The fourth film in Smith and Martin Lawrence's action franchise was projected to do well, but Hollywood had reasons to temper that optimism. For starters, this was Smith’s first major release after the infamous Oscars slap in 2022, and it wasn’t clear if the fallout would have a lasting impact on his box office marketability. And while the previous installment, ‘Bad Boys for Life,’ was the biggest hit of 2020 with $427 million worldwide, it was also the last hit of 2020 when the global pandemic brought the industry to a screeching halt.
The thriller ‘The Watchers,’ the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, opened in fourth place to just $7 million, a disappointing debut for a genre film supported by a bankable star in Dakota Fanning and a first-time director with built-in name recognition as the daughter of supernatural hit-maker M. Night Shyamalan.
Chris Pratt’s animated comedy ‘The Garfield Movie’ held in second place in its third week, earning $10 million for a $192 million worldwide total, while another family film—John Krasinski's animated/live-action film ‘IF’—also held its appeal with $8 million in its fourth weekend for a $160 million total worldwide.
It was another rough weekend for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,’ as it dropped to sixth place behind ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.’ The 'Mad Max: Fury Road' prequel took in a $4.25 million, a 60% drop from last week, while 'Apes' continued to draw audiences with $5.4 million.
In the top 10 were also re-releases of two The Lord of the Rings movies, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ ($2.44 million) and ‘The Two Towers’ ($1.91 million), which played on 1,529 screens each, capitalizing on audience nostalgia.
Next weekend, all eyes turn to Disney and Pixar to deliver with the release of animated sequel ‘Inside Out 2.’ Hollywood could use another bright spot this summer, and there isn’t another big hit expected until July, with the release of ‘Despicable Me 4’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
See all the weekend box office results at Box Office Mojo...
The fourth film in Smith and Martin Lawrence's action franchise was projected to do well, but Hollywood had reasons to temper that optimism. For starters, this was Smith’s first major release after the infamous Oscars slap in 2022, and it wasn’t clear if the fallout would have a lasting impact on his box office marketability. And while the previous installment, ‘Bad Boys for Life,’ was the biggest hit of 2020 with $427 million worldwide, it was also the last hit of 2020 when the global pandemic brought the industry to a screeching halt.
The thriller ‘The Watchers,’ the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, opened in fourth place to just $7 million, a disappointing debut for a genre film supported by a bankable star in Dakota Fanning and a first-time director with built-in name recognition as the daughter of supernatural hit-maker M. Night Shyamalan.
Chris Pratt’s animated comedy ‘The Garfield Movie’ held in second place in its third week, earning $10 million for a $192 million worldwide total, while another family film—John Krasinski's animated/live-action film ‘IF’—also held its appeal with $8 million in its fourth weekend for a $160 million total worldwide.
It was another rough weekend for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,’ as it dropped to sixth place behind ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.’ The 'Mad Max: Fury Road' prequel took in a $4.25 million, a 60% drop from last week, while 'Apes' continued to draw audiences with $5.4 million.
In the top 10 were also re-releases of two The Lord of the Rings movies, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ ($2.44 million) and ‘The Two Towers’ ($1.91 million), which played on 1,529 screens each, capitalizing on audience nostalgia.
Next weekend, all eyes turn to Disney and Pixar to deliver with the release of animated sequel ‘Inside Out 2.’ Hollywood could use another bright spot this summer, and there isn’t another big hit expected until July, with the release of ‘Despicable Me 4’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
See all the weekend box office results at Box Office Mojo...
- 6/10/2024
- by IMDb Editors
- IMDb News
Production on the third installment of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise is officially underway.
The director and writer gave fans a first-look at the beloved detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who is set to see himself embroiled in another murder mystery in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
A host of top talent have already signed on to whet the appetite of audiences. The suspects so far include Dune‘s Josh Brolin, Challengers’ Josh O’Connor, Civil War actress Cailee Spaeny, Ripley star Andrew Scott, Scandal alum Kerry Washington, screen and stage veteran Glenn Close, Hawkeye straight shooter Jeremy Renner, and Mila Kunis, who starred in thriller Luckiest Girl Alive for Netflix.
On Monday, Johnson shared a photo of Craig on set, writing: “Aaaaand we’re off! Today is day 1 of shooting on the next Benoit Blanc mystery ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ – see you on the other side.
The director and writer gave fans a first-look at the beloved detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who is set to see himself embroiled in another murder mystery in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
A host of top talent have already signed on to whet the appetite of audiences. The suspects so far include Dune‘s Josh Brolin, Challengers’ Josh O’Connor, Civil War actress Cailee Spaeny, Ripley star Andrew Scott, Scandal alum Kerry Washington, screen and stage veteran Glenn Close, Hawkeye straight shooter Jeremy Renner, and Mila Kunis, who starred in thriller Luckiest Girl Alive for Netflix.
On Monday, Johnson shared a photo of Craig on set, writing: “Aaaaand we’re off! Today is day 1 of shooting on the next Benoit Blanc mystery ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ – see you on the other side.
- 6/10/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There will be spoilers for the third episode of "Star Wars: The Acolyte," so beware.
The third episode of "Star Wars: The Acolyte" transports us back in time 16 years to the days leading up to the tragedy that allowed Osha (played as an adult by Amandla Stenberg and as a child by Lauren & Leah Brady) to be taken by the Jedi and to assume her sister, Mae (played by the aforementioned acting trio) was dead. In the last episode, we watched Master Torbin die by suicide with the poison offered to him by Mae, rather than face the pain of living with the consequences of what happened that night sixteen prior. This episode shows us, from at least one point of view, what happened during that fateful encounter, but it also introduces us to the family of Mae and Osha.
Mae and Osha were born in a coven of witches...
The third episode of "Star Wars: The Acolyte" transports us back in time 16 years to the days leading up to the tragedy that allowed Osha (played as an adult by Amandla Stenberg and as a child by Lauren & Leah Brady) to be taken by the Jedi and to assume her sister, Mae (played by the aforementioned acting trio) was dead. In the last episode, we watched Master Torbin die by suicide with the poison offered to him by Mae, rather than face the pain of living with the consequences of what happened that night sixteen prior. This episode shows us, from at least one point of view, what happened during that fateful encounter, but it also introduces us to the family of Mae and Osha.
Mae and Osha were born in a coven of witches...
- 6/12/2024
- by Bryan Young
- Slash Film
When LGBTQ community-gathering spaces were largely put on pause by the pandemic, those once-in-person safe havens became our streaming platforms and technical devices at home. Hyper-specific pop subcultures emerged — here’s looking at you, queer readers of the generally awful “Friends” — and reputations for streamers’ philosophies toward and commitment to LGBTQ content were widely discussed online. (Shout out to Showtime: the premium cable network still servicing lesbians everywhere.)
Even as the world has opened back up, in Hollywood, it feels like queer storytelling and community are more galvanized than ever. Nowhere is that more tidily displayed than on the carousels of “LGBTQ” offerings found across entertainment platforms. Netflix, a heavyweight in any streaming conversation (regardless of its rocky 2022), has played a significant role in green-lighting major queer-inclusive projects across television and film. Not only has the platform championed many shows that were queer in premise — see “Grace and Frankie” or...
Even as the world has opened back up, in Hollywood, it feels like queer storytelling and community are more galvanized than ever. Nowhere is that more tidily displayed than on the carousels of “LGBTQ” offerings found across entertainment platforms. Netflix, a heavyweight in any streaming conversation (regardless of its rocky 2022), has played a significant role in green-lighting major queer-inclusive projects across television and film. Not only has the platform championed many shows that were queer in premise — see “Grace and Frankie” or...
- 6/12/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
All eyes were on Ricky Martin during CAA’s seventh annual Amplify summit on Tuesday where the Grammy-winning entertainer took the stage to discuss his storied career with Bruno Del Granado, the head of CAA’s global Latin music touring division.
Martin discussed his role in Apple TV+‘s (newly-renewed for Season 2) “Palm Royale,” and opened up about his major career milestones, including his impact on Latin American music in the United States, and LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream spaces.
Martin showed love for his “Palm Royale” castmates and the “life-changing” stories they’ve been able to portray. Set in the 1960s in Palm Beach, Martin portrays Robert, a gay man and a bartender at the high society club Palm Royale.
“A couple of years ago when I was promoting ‘[The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’], this journalist from Poland asked me ‘Ricky, aren’t you afraid that you’re going to be typecast as a gay...
Martin discussed his role in Apple TV+‘s (newly-renewed for Season 2) “Palm Royale,” and opened up about his major career milestones, including his impact on Latin American music in the United States, and LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream spaces.
Martin showed love for his “Palm Royale” castmates and the “life-changing” stories they’ve been able to portray. Set in the 1960s in Palm Beach, Martin portrays Robert, a gay man and a bartender at the high society club Palm Royale.
“A couple of years ago when I was promoting ‘[The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’], this journalist from Poland asked me ‘Ricky, aren’t you afraid that you’re going to be typecast as a gay...
- 6/12/2024
- by Thania Garcia and Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
Françoise Hardy, a French singer, actor and model whose classical beauty and often melancholy music combined to transfix fans internationally in the 1960s and beyond, has died at age 80.
Her son, Thomas Dutronc, also a musician, reported the death on his Instagram account, posting a baby photo of himself with his mother and writing: “Maman est partie.” Or, mom is gone.
Hardy had battled lymphatic and laryngeal cancer over the last two decades, since first being diagnosed with the former condition in 2004.
In a sign of her ongoing legend, in 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hardy as No. 162 on a ranking of the greatest singers of all time. She was the only French performer on the list. Will Hermes wrote that Hardy “epitomized French cool and Gallic heat simultaneously, with a breathy, deadpan alto that wafted like Gauloises smoke. Her words enhanced her tone: Writing her own material, unusual in the early mid-Sixties,...
Her son, Thomas Dutronc, also a musician, reported the death on his Instagram account, posting a baby photo of himself with his mother and writing: “Maman est partie.” Or, mom is gone.
Hardy had battled lymphatic and laryngeal cancer over the last two decades, since first being diagnosed with the former condition in 2004.
In a sign of her ongoing legend, in 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hardy as No. 162 on a ranking of the greatest singers of all time. She was the only French performer on the list. Will Hermes wrote that Hardy “epitomized French cool and Gallic heat simultaneously, with a breathy, deadpan alto that wafted like Gauloises smoke. Her words enhanced her tone: Writing her own material, unusual in the early mid-Sixties,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety - Film News
It’s safe to say a lot of people had a lot of problems with the switch from HBO Max to Max, but there was at least one upside to the streaming shakeup. Now, it’s easier than ever to find the excellent queer stories floating around Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform.
During its lifespan, HBO Max never had an LGBTQ tag to filter its offerings and help subscribers find stories about the queer community more easily: a surprising move for a streamer named after the channel that brought us boundary-breaking works like “Six Feet Under” and the miniseries adaptation of “Angels in America.” That’s been remedied on Max, which features an “LGBTQ+ Voices” collection. You do have to scroll quite far down the homepage to find it in the collections carousel, but when you do, it makes searching for the queer films and shows on the streamer considerably easier.
During its lifespan, HBO Max never had an LGBTQ tag to filter its offerings and help subscribers find stories about the queer community more easily: a surprising move for a streamer named after the channel that brought us boundary-breaking works like “Six Feet Under” and the miniseries adaptation of “Angels in America.” That’s been remedied on Max, which features an “LGBTQ+ Voices” collection. You do have to scroll quite far down the homepage to find it in the collections carousel, but when you do, it makes searching for the queer films and shows on the streamer considerably easier.
- 6/12/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Producer Joe Sabia first encountered tennis legend Roger Federer in 2019 for Vogue’s “73 Questions” series. Sabia enjoyed the interview and kept in touch with his team. Three years later, as Federer looked to retire from the sport as a professional player, Sabia was brought into his offices. Federer was planning to officially announce the news via his Instagram page with an audio message accompanying the post. His team pondered if Federer’s retirement should be filmed.
But Sabia responded, “Yes,” believing “it’d be a mistake not to.’”
As conversations went back and forth, the idea was that the video would be stripped back, private, under the radar, and like Federer himself, effortless. So, Sabia used two cameras, and the idea was to shoot an 8 to 12-minute film. “If Roger doesn’t want anyone to see it, I’m completely fine doing this, knowing that it’s going to be just for friends and family,...
But Sabia responded, “Yes,” believing “it’d be a mistake not to.’”
As conversations went back and forth, the idea was that the video would be stripped back, private, under the radar, and like Federer himself, effortless. So, Sabia used two cameras, and the idea was to shoot an 8 to 12-minute film. “If Roger doesn’t want anyone to see it, I’m completely fine doing this, knowing that it’s going to be just for friends and family,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety - Film News
On June 12, the Tribeca Film Festival will present the East Coast premiere of a new restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” screening in glorious 70mm thanks to Warner Bros. and Martin Scorsese‘s Film Foundation. It’s just the latest in an ongoing series of collaborations between the studio and the foundation, whose 70mm upgrade of John Ford’s “The Searchers” also premiered this year. Both films now look better than they have since their initial theatrical releases thanks to the studio going back to the original VistaVision negatives and taking full advantage of that format’s increased resolution to create the most detailed, vivid masters of Hitchcock and Ford’s classics possible.
When VistaVision was introduced in 1954 alongside other new formats like CinemaScope and Cinerama (all of which were intended to bring back the movie audience that had migrated to television), what made it special was that...
When VistaVision was introduced in 1954 alongside other new formats like CinemaScope and Cinerama (all of which were intended to bring back the movie audience that had migrated to television), what made it special was that...
- 6/11/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Shari Redstone, whose National Amusements owns a majority stake in Paramount Global, has called off long-running merger talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
The decision comes as Paramount Global’s special committee was understood to be meeting on Tuesday morning before National Amusements lawyers notified them the deal was off.
A spokesperson for National Amusements told press it was unable to reach “mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai”.
They added, “Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing,...
The decision comes as Paramount Global’s special committee was understood to be meeting on Tuesday morning before National Amusements lawyers notified them the deal was off.
A spokesperson for National Amusements told press it was unable to reach “mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai”.
They added, “Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing,...
- 6/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
The first one is always a feel-out game. This is true for the NBA Finals and it’s true for “All In: The Boston Celtics,” a documentary series that embedded itself inside the Celtics organization the season they made a run to the 2024 NBA Finals. The timing of the series — and the dramatic stakes for the Celtics — proved to be as serendipitous to the documentary team at Shadow Lion as the Jrue Holiday trade seems to have been for Boston.
In art, just as in sports, it’s a huge effort to build the kind of communication, chemistry, and flow that delivers something special under the intense pressure of deadlines. That relentless collaboration, along with some canny workflow setups, have allowed “All In” to truly drive a proverbial train while still laying the track (and/or the editing timeline) of the ‘24 Boston Celtics’ story. Four episodes of the series are out as of this writing,...
In art, just as in sports, it’s a huge effort to build the kind of communication, chemistry, and flow that delivers something special under the intense pressure of deadlines. That relentless collaboration, along with some canny workflow setups, have allowed “All In” to truly drive a proverbial train while still laying the track (and/or the editing timeline) of the ‘24 Boston Celtics’ story. Four episodes of the series are out as of this writing,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
There's a new king in town. It may have happened just as the movie is arriving on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, but "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" has passed a majorly impressive box office milestone. Two and a half months after director Adam Wingard's follow-up to 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong" hit theaters, it has officially passed 2017's "Kong: Skull Island" to become the highest-grossing movie in the MonsterVerse franchise.
According to Deadline, "Godzilla x Kong" has now amassed $570 million worldwide, taking it just past the $568.6 million total of "Skull Island." Wingard's second MonsterVerse film has earned $196.3 million domestically to go with $373.7 million internationally. The biggest difference is that "Skull Island" made a whopping $400 million of its total overseas in its day. The only film in the franchise to make more than "GxK" domestically was 2014's "Godzilla" ($200 million domestically/$529 million worldwide) directed by Gareth Edwards. That film kicked...
According to Deadline, "Godzilla x Kong" has now amassed $570 million worldwide, taking it just past the $568.6 million total of "Skull Island." Wingard's second MonsterVerse film has earned $196.3 million domestically to go with $373.7 million internationally. The biggest difference is that "Skull Island" made a whopping $400 million of its total overseas in its day. The only film in the franchise to make more than "GxK" domestically was 2014's "Godzilla" ($200 million domestically/$529 million worldwide) directed by Gareth Edwards. That film kicked...
- 6/11/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are only two viable career options for retired boxers: selling plastic kitchen crap in infomercials, and drinking yourself into a lonely death of despair until you get talked into training a smart-ass young fighter and rediscover your thirst for life. If anyone is on the fence about which path to choose after hanging up their gloves, Vincent Grashaw’s “Bang Bang” provides a good illustration of both paths.
In the 1980s, the city of Detroit was enthralled by the boxing rivalry between Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer) and Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson), two hometown heroes whose eventual fight was among the decade’s most highly anticipated sporting events. Not only did Washington win the fight, he’s won pretty much everything else since. After making a fortune selling his trademarked juicers, he now presides over a Detroit business empire and...
In the 1980s, the city of Detroit was enthralled by the boxing rivalry between Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer) and Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson), two hometown heroes whose eventual fight was among the decade’s most highly anticipated sporting events. Not only did Washington win the fight, he’s won pretty much everything else since. After making a fortune selling his trademarked juicers, he now presides over a Detroit business empire and...
- 6/11/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for the ending of “Ren Faire.”]
It didn’t take director Lance Oppenheim long to realize his three-part docuseries about the Texas Renaissance Fair would become a succession drama. He was drawn to the project by the story of King George Coulam, a man who built this empire of make believe, which he ruled like an emperor: playing corporate overlord, elected mayor, and cosplay king of the festival and town he built from scratch. With Coulam being 86-years old and experiencing some health issues, Oppenheim knew there was at least the potential of a Game of Thrones-like storyline when he started making “Ren Faire.”
“I knew that the succession idea was existentially in the air,” said Oppenheim. “And by the end of our first shoot, like seven days into this, I had met everybody already, and knew fairly quickly, especially compare to previous projects, what this would be about.”
Oppenheim said that while...
It didn’t take director Lance Oppenheim long to realize his three-part docuseries about the Texas Renaissance Fair would become a succession drama. He was drawn to the project by the story of King George Coulam, a man who built this empire of make believe, which he ruled like an emperor: playing corporate overlord, elected mayor, and cosplay king of the festival and town he built from scratch. With Coulam being 86-years old and experiencing some health issues, Oppenheim knew there was at least the potential of a Game of Thrones-like storyline when he started making “Ren Faire.”
“I knew that the succession idea was existentially in the air,” said Oppenheim. “And by the end of our first shoot, like seven days into this, I had met everybody already, and knew fairly quickly, especially compare to previous projects, what this would be about.”
Oppenheim said that while...
- 6/11/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
During CAA Amplify, Lionsgate announced the development of Story Spark, a free online tool that helps creatives and development executives measure diversity and intersectionality in storytelling.
The studio describes Story Spark as a “filmmaker-first and creative-driven, collaborative and open-ended development tool,” which provides guidance toward telling more inclusive stories. There’s no pass or fail grade for each script and, to note, this tool is not artificial intelligence, but instead guided by the creatives and executives who bring these stories to life.
“Story Spark is a simple, friendly, easy-to-use partner in content development that feels more like a Buzzfeed quiz than a checklist,” said Kamala Avila-Salmon, Lionsgate motion picture group’s head of inclusive content, announcing the project. “It’s a tool to start discussion, a dialogue prompt and a step in the right direction for constructive collaboration.”
Avila-Salmon demoed for a collective of filmmakers, creatives, tastemakers and executives as...
The studio describes Story Spark as a “filmmaker-first and creative-driven, collaborative and open-ended development tool,” which provides guidance toward telling more inclusive stories. There’s no pass or fail grade for each script and, to note, this tool is not artificial intelligence, but instead guided by the creatives and executives who bring these stories to life.
“Story Spark is a simple, friendly, easy-to-use partner in content development that feels more like a Buzzfeed quiz than a checklist,” said Kamala Avila-Salmon, Lionsgate motion picture group’s head of inclusive content, announcing the project. “It’s a tool to start discussion, a dialogue prompt and a step in the right direction for constructive collaboration.”
Avila-Salmon demoed for a collective of filmmakers, creatives, tastemakers and executives as...
- 6/11/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
Since 2019, 98 animated titles have benefited from France’s tax-rebate on international productions (Trip) scheme, representing 27% of all projects and reflecting a wider industry desire to make the country a global toon boom hub.
This year’s Annecy Animation Festival will share the fruits of that program – which offers an across-the-board 30% tax rebate for international productions, with an additional 10% bonus to projects that partner with local VFX houses — showcasing internationally funded, made-in-France projects like Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” and Studio Ponoc’s anime fantasy “The Imaginary.” Meanwhile local artists are currently hard at work bringing Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. 2” to life at Illumination’s Paris facility.
Recent big-screen blockbusters that benefited from that program include “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” while Netflix’s small-screen sensation “Blue Eyed Samurai” and upcoming titles “The Doomies” from Disney+, “Creature Commandos” from James Gunn and Max/Warner,...
This year’s Annecy Animation Festival will share the fruits of that program – which offers an across-the-board 30% tax rebate for international productions, with an additional 10% bonus to projects that partner with local VFX houses — showcasing internationally funded, made-in-France projects like Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” and Studio Ponoc’s anime fantasy “The Imaginary.” Meanwhile local artists are currently hard at work bringing Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. 2” to life at Illumination’s Paris facility.
Recent big-screen blockbusters that benefited from that program include “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” while Netflix’s small-screen sensation “Blue Eyed Samurai” and upcoming titles “The Doomies” from Disney+, “Creature Commandos” from James Gunn and Max/Warner,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
After closing out last month’s Cannes competition, Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Most Precious of Cargoes” opened this year’s Annecy Animation Festival on an auspicious note. With French productions accounting for one half of Annecy’s 12 competition slots, the Alpine showcase doubles a show of force for Gallic filmmakers writ large – a fact made all the more impressive given their sector’s relative youth.
“20 years ago, French animation barely existed,” says “The Most Precious of Cargoes” executive producer Valerie Schermann, who credits “Kirikou and the Sorceress” director Michel Ocelot with forging a new path that many have since followed. “Michel showed that it was possible to produce animated features in France; without him I would never have been able to make my own films.”
But if Schermann built a sterling filmography in those ensuing decades – with credits such as “Zarafa,” “Wolfy, the Incredible Secret” and “The Red Turtle” – the stalwart...
“20 years ago, French animation barely existed,” says “The Most Precious of Cargoes” executive producer Valerie Schermann, who credits “Kirikou and the Sorceress” director Michel Ocelot with forging a new path that many have since followed. “Michel showed that it was possible to produce animated features in France; without him I would never have been able to make my own films.”
But if Schermann built a sterling filmography in those ensuing decades – with credits such as “Zarafa,” “Wolfy, the Incredible Secret” and “The Red Turtle” – the stalwart...
- 6/11/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
There will be minor spoilers for "Star Wars: The High Republic - Temptation of the Force" by Tessa Gratton.
"Star Wars: Temptation of the Force" is a story about love. Not specifically romantic love, although it certainly has a strong element of that as well. The latest installment of the third phase of Lucasfilm's "The High Republic" publishing initiative threads themes of all different sorts of love — family, romantic, empathetic, maternal, parental, of country, of power, of control, and more. That's really what it comes down to. Picking up after the events of the "Star Wars: The High Republic - The Eye of Darkness" and "Star Wars: The High Republic - Defy the Storm," we witness a desperate Republic and Jedi Order. The Nihil, a group of marauding pirates, have locked off a huge portion of the galaxy to tyrannically rule on their own. But love persists in the...
"Star Wars: Temptation of the Force" is a story about love. Not specifically romantic love, although it certainly has a strong element of that as well. The latest installment of the third phase of Lucasfilm's "The High Republic" publishing initiative threads themes of all different sorts of love — family, romantic, empathetic, maternal, parental, of country, of power, of control, and more. That's really what it comes down to. Picking up after the events of the "Star Wars: The High Republic - The Eye of Darkness" and "Star Wars: The High Republic - Defy the Storm," we witness a desperate Republic and Jedi Order. The Nihil, a group of marauding pirates, have locked off a huge portion of the galaxy to tyrannically rule on their own. But love persists in the...
- 6/11/2024
- by Bryan Young
- Slash Film
Matt Bomer is speaking out against what he sees as the “weaponization” of sexuality in Hollywood.
Bomer revealed during The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast that he allegedly lost out on landing the lead role for axed DC film “Superman: Flyby” after being outed as gay.
“It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role,” Bomer said. “I signed a three-picture deal at Warner Bros.”
When asked on the podcast whether his sexual orientation affected his casting, Bomer said, “Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who [outed me], I don’t know.”
Bomer even exited CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” amid the audition process for “Superman: Flyby.”
“I went in on a cattle call for ‘Superman,’ [which] turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again,...
Bomer revealed during The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast that he allegedly lost out on landing the lead role for axed DC film “Superman: Flyby” after being outed as gay.
“It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role,” Bomer said. “I signed a three-picture deal at Warner Bros.”
When asked on the podcast whether his sexual orientation affected his casting, Bomer said, “Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who [outed me], I don’t know.”
Bomer even exited CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” amid the audition process for “Superman: Flyby.”
“I went in on a cattle call for ‘Superman,’ [which] turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Last year, Paramount Animation presented a work-in-progress version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” at the Annecy Animation Festival, which was met with overwhelming support from the crowd.
On night two of this year’s event, the studio returned with a Wip screening of its big 2024 offering, “Transformers One,” and reactions were equally enthusiastic.
Backstage before the show, Annecy’s artistic director, Marcel Jean, told Variety that he’s wanted “Transformers One” at the festival since seeing early footage from the film during a West Coast trip last fall.
“In October of last year, I was in Los Angeles, and I had the opportunity to watch footage from the film,” he said. “It was, for me, a very high-level work. I spoke with Josh Cooley, and I said to Ramsey Naito, ‘We need to have the whole film in Annecy, like what we did with ‘Mutant Mayhem’ last year.
On night two of this year’s event, the studio returned with a Wip screening of its big 2024 offering, “Transformers One,” and reactions were equally enthusiastic.
Backstage before the show, Annecy’s artistic director, Marcel Jean, told Variety that he’s wanted “Transformers One” at the festival since seeing early footage from the film during a West Coast trip last fall.
“In October of last year, I was in Los Angeles, and I had the opportunity to watch footage from the film,” he said. “It was, for me, a very high-level work. I spoke with Josh Cooley, and I said to Ramsey Naito, ‘We need to have the whole film in Annecy, like what we did with ‘Mutant Mayhem’ last year.
- 6/11/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy and Jamie Lang
- Variety - Film News
No more Paramount-Skydance. In a shocking twist, National Amusements (Nai) is ending negotiations over an acquisition with Skydance, even though it looked like a done deal and was previously reported David Ellison’s company was set to pay $8 billion to gain control of Paramount.
Nai announced June 11 “they have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai.”
“Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,” it said in a statement. “Nai supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount’s Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company’s Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.
Nai announced June 11 “they have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai.”
“Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,” it said in a statement. “Nai supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount’s Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company’s Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.
- 6/11/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Amazon MGM Studios announced that Latasha Gillespie is departing her role as Global Head of Deia. She will be replaced by Amanda Baker-Lane who previously served as the studio’s head of Deia product and strategy.
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, announced the internal shift via memo to staff. Salke wrote that Deia remains “crucial” to the work at Amazon MGM Studios.
“It’s very rare that you get to jump into a new venture with the support of your current org while also elevating the people you have been growing and nurturing along the way,” said Gillespie. “I look forward to tapping into other places and spaces that I’m equally passionate about, including public speaking, podcasts, consulting and executive coaching.”
Gillespie will officially exit her role on Aug. 20, but will remain with Amazon in a consulting capacity.
“Since joining Amazon 9 1/2 years ago, I have learned from many...
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, announced the internal shift via memo to staff. Salke wrote that Deia remains “crucial” to the work at Amazon MGM Studios.
“It’s very rare that you get to jump into a new venture with the support of your current org while also elevating the people you have been growing and nurturing along the way,” said Gillespie. “I look forward to tapping into other places and spaces that I’m equally passionate about, including public speaking, podcasts, consulting and executive coaching.”
Gillespie will officially exit her role on Aug. 20, but will remain with Amazon in a consulting capacity.
“Since joining Amazon 9 1/2 years ago, I have learned from many...
- 6/11/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
Editor’s note: This list was originally published in June 2018, and has been updated multiple times since to reflect new comings outs and groundbreaking LGBTQ castings. It could never and will never be complete, but we hope it reflects the changing face of Hollywood as we bid hello to Pride 2024.
With LGBTQ stories in film and on TV more popular than ever before, it’s important to celebrate out-and-proud acting talents — particularly those without the non-binary awards’ categories they deserve.
In 2024, the state of Hollywood is unsure to say the least. But even as existential questions about the business of making entertainment persist, audiences and artists are grappling with equally critical questions of representation on screen. Among those questions: should queer roles be played exclusively by queer actors?
It’s an evolving conversation, getting at the very core of what makes the art of acting, well, acting. Last year, the...
With LGBTQ stories in film and on TV more popular than ever before, it’s important to celebrate out-and-proud acting talents — particularly those without the non-binary awards’ categories they deserve.
In 2024, the state of Hollywood is unsure to say the least. But even as existential questions about the business of making entertainment persist, audiences and artists are grappling with equally critical questions of representation on screen. Among those questions: should queer roles be played exclusively by queer actors?
It’s an evolving conversation, getting at the very core of what makes the art of acting, well, acting. Last year, the...
- 6/11/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony) had an exceptional first Monday gross of $6,250,000. That result, combined with multiple positive other elements, suggests that it will ultimately be the biggest domestic grosser among early summer (May through two weeks of June) openers.
Currently, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Disney) leads among an overall disappointing set of releases with $150 million ($5.4 million last weekend). That projects to around a $170 million ultimate domestic result.
“Ride or Die” opened with $56.5 million, $1.9 million less than “Apes.” But with Monday’s total it is now less than $200,000 behind, and should be easily ahead of it for the full week.
Predicting that “Bad Boys” exceeds $170 million, perhaps getting closer to $200 million, is based on several factors playing in its favor. Let’s start with the trajectory of its results so far.
Recently unreliable tracking estimated a $45 million-$50 million opening. After Thursday’s previews, industry consensus was $53 million.
Currently, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Disney) leads among an overall disappointing set of releases with $150 million ($5.4 million last weekend). That projects to around a $170 million ultimate domestic result.
“Ride or Die” opened with $56.5 million, $1.9 million less than “Apes.” But with Monday’s total it is now less than $200,000 behind, and should be easily ahead of it for the full week.
Predicting that “Bad Boys” exceeds $170 million, perhaps getting closer to $200 million, is based on several factors playing in its favor. Let’s start with the trajectory of its results so far.
Recently unreliable tracking estimated a $45 million-$50 million opening. After Thursday’s previews, industry consensus was $53 million.
- 6/11/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
The Duplasses are starting miniature with their first full-fledged family affair on all sides of the camera: the short film “Oh, Christmas Tree,” a bittersweet 10-minute ode to a father and daughter reliving their favorite holiday traditions.
It’s written by Mark Duplass, directed by his wife Katie Aselton (“Mack and Rita“), and stars their 16-year-old daughter Ora opposite her dad in roles that aren’t exactly autobiographical despite the onscreen, lived-in rapport. Here, the mother is dead, and the daughter, Claire, is now the one doing the parenting as her father grapples with mental health struggles. The short, currently seeking buyers out of Tribeca Festival, packs a lot into its brief running time, and for this trio, it also marks Ora’s entry into filmmaking as she readies to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
“Oh, Christmas Tree” is close to home in other ways: The Duplass family brain factory...
It’s written by Mark Duplass, directed by his wife Katie Aselton (“Mack and Rita“), and stars their 16-year-old daughter Ora opposite her dad in roles that aren’t exactly autobiographical despite the onscreen, lived-in rapport. Here, the mother is dead, and the daughter, Claire, is now the one doing the parenting as her father grapples with mental health struggles. The short, currently seeking buyers out of Tribeca Festival, packs a lot into its brief running time, and for this trio, it also marks Ora’s entry into filmmaking as she readies to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
“Oh, Christmas Tree” is close to home in other ways: The Duplass family brain factory...
- 6/11/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
After more than six months of on-again-off-again talks, Shari Redstone has ended negotiations with David Ellison’s Skydance Media about a prospective merger with Paramount Global.
The news shocked the entertainment industry as there had been many signals this week that the sides were moving closer to a transaction. Redstone is Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder through National Amusements Inc., which owns 77% of the voting shares in Paramount. Paramount Global shares plummeted 7.9% in the final half-hour of trading Tuesday after the news of the Skydance talks ending broke, closing at $11.04 per share.
In a statement, Redstone’s Nai said, “National Amusements, Inc., the majority voting shareholder of Paramount Global, today announced that they have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai.”
The statement continued, “Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of...
The news shocked the entertainment industry as there had been many signals this week that the sides were moving closer to a transaction. Redstone is Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder through National Amusements Inc., which owns 77% of the voting shares in Paramount. Paramount Global shares plummeted 7.9% in the final half-hour of trading Tuesday after the news of the Skydance talks ending broke, closing at $11.04 per share.
In a statement, Redstone’s Nai said, “National Amusements, Inc., the majority voting shareholder of Paramount Global, today announced that they have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Nai.”
The statement continued, “Nai is grateful to Skydance for their months of...
- 6/11/2024
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety - Film News
Calling all amateur malacologists: With “Memoir of a Snail,” stop-motion director Adam Elliot (an Oscar winner for “Harvie Krumpet”) invites us to study snails of every shape and size, starting with a gastropod-hoarding outcast named Gracie Pudel (pronounced “puddle”), who withdrew from the world after an unhappy childhood in which she was bullied and orphaned and shipped off to Canberra to be raised by a pair of negligent swingers.
Fitting squarely on the shelf of grown-up films about misfit kids, Elliot’s latest — which comes 15 years after Sundance opener “Mary and Max” — finds the Australian auteur deeply committed to his dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling. Like Edward Gorey’s, his palette is nearly monochromatic; his characters tend to face the camera, à la Wes Anderson, as if posing for gloomy school photos; and his John Waters-esque humor is irreverent enough to encompass everything from disabilities to weird...
Fitting squarely on the shelf of grown-up films about misfit kids, Elliot’s latest — which comes 15 years after Sundance opener “Mary and Max” — finds the Australian auteur deeply committed to his dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling. Like Edward Gorey’s, his palette is nearly monochromatic; his characters tend to face the camera, à la Wes Anderson, as if posing for gloomy school photos; and his John Waters-esque humor is irreverent enough to encompass everything from disabilities to weird...
- 6/11/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety - Film News
Jon Bon Jovi is a snowbird — the nickname given to people of a certain age who flee their northern homes during the winter months to areas with warmer climates.
It’s late April and the famous New Jersey native is in Palm Beach, Fla.
“My license still says the great state of New Jersey,” the Bon Jovi frontman tells me on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “I’m there when it’s not cold. But when it’s cold, these old bones are on the beach.”
The rocker, 62, is talking and thinking a lot about his age lately. While his Hulu docuseries, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” chronicles the iconic rock band’s rise to the top, the through line of the four episodes is the singer’s struggle to overcome vocal problems in time for the group’s 40th anniversary tour.
As of today, Bon...
It’s late April and the famous New Jersey native is in Palm Beach, Fla.
“My license still says the great state of New Jersey,” the Bon Jovi frontman tells me on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “I’m there when it’s not cold. But when it’s cold, these old bones are on the beach.”
The rocker, 62, is talking and thinking a lot about his age lately. While his Hulu docuseries, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” chronicles the iconic rock band’s rise to the top, the through line of the four episodes is the singer’s struggle to overcome vocal problems in time for the group’s 40th anniversary tour.
As of today, Bon...
- 6/11/2024
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety - Film News
"The War of the Rohirrim" is one of our most anticipated movies of the year here at /Film. For me personally, ever since the prospect of a "Lord of the Rings" anime was announced, it's been the most exciting project set in Middle-earth, and it's not even close. When the very first early footage was shown at the 2023 Annecy Film Festival, it only made this project more exciting. Now, dear reader, I have seen about 20 minutes of the film, which is not quite done, but getting close to that point, and it left me as addicted to wanting to see more as Gollum is addicted to the One Ring.
This year's Annecy presentation started with a short video introduction by Peter Jackson, who, together with Fran Walsh, are back to executive produce the project. Jackson expressed his admiration for animators, how they brought Gollum to life, and how the medium...
This year's Annecy presentation started with a short video introduction by Peter Jackson, who, together with Fran Walsh, are back to executive produce the project. Jackson expressed his admiration for animators, how they brought Gollum to life, and how the medium...
- 6/11/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Welcome to My Favorite Scene! In this series, IndieWire speaks to actors behind a few of our favorite television performances about their personal-best onscreen moment and how it came together.
One moment from “Seth Goes Day Drinking” with Kristen Stewart still haunts Seth Meyers.
The popular “Late Night with Seth Meyers” segment finds the host drinking an afternoon away with a celebrity guest while playing an escalating set of ridiculous games and challenges. For Stewart’s appearance in March 2024, Meyers and staff planned to have the Oscar-nominated actress do some purposely goofy cold scene readings — while appropriately tipsy.
Meyers just didn’t count on Stewart still being so damn good.
“My favorite moment of Kristen was making her act and watching her up close act was thrilling,” Meyers told IndieWire. “Big goosebumps-inducing. But I cut her off at one point [while she performed] and she was really mad. I don’t know if she was actually mad,...
One moment from “Seth Goes Day Drinking” with Kristen Stewart still haunts Seth Meyers.
The popular “Late Night with Seth Meyers” segment finds the host drinking an afternoon away with a celebrity guest while playing an escalating set of ridiculous games and challenges. For Stewart’s appearance in March 2024, Meyers and staff planned to have the Oscar-nominated actress do some purposely goofy cold scene readings — while appropriately tipsy.
Meyers just didn’t count on Stewart still being so damn good.
“My favorite moment of Kristen was making her act and watching her up close act was thrilling,” Meyers told IndieWire. “Big goosebumps-inducing. But I cut her off at one point [while she performed] and she was really mad. I don’t know if she was actually mad,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Erin Strecker
- Indiewire
Dwayne Johnson got a little “smashed up” while filming his A24 mixed martial arts movie “The Smashing Machine,” the actor and professional wrestler announced in a video posted to Instagram Tuesday.
“Look at that sucker right there,” Johnson said, showing off his swelled right elbow while standing in his kitchen. “It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes, and there might be some soft tissue damage in there. That’s a lot of fluid, we’ll see. I’ve got to get it out of there first before I can get any kind of Mri.”
It’s unclear whether production will be delayed. Variety has reached out to A24 for comment.
The actor nevertheless seemed in high spirits while detailing the gnarly injury, recalling advice from his father, the late wrestler Rocky Johnson.
“He always used to say,...
“Look at that sucker right there,” Johnson said, showing off his swelled right elbow while standing in his kitchen. “It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes, and there might be some soft tissue damage in there. That’s a lot of fluid, we’ll see. I’ve got to get it out of there first before I can get any kind of Mri.”
It’s unclear whether production will be delayed. Variety has reached out to A24 for comment.
The actor nevertheless seemed in high spirits while detailing the gnarly injury, recalling advice from his father, the late wrestler Rocky Johnson.
“He always used to say,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety - Film News
We’re not making this true story up: “Baby Reindeer” has officially booted “The Witcher” from Netflix’s Most Popular TV (English) list.
The Richard Gadd limited series has amassed 84.5 million views globally since its release on April 11. Season 1 of “The Witcher” snagged 83 million views over its first 91 days of availability, which is Netflix’s cutoff for the all-time Top 10 list. “Baby Reindeer” has about a month left, so expect it to climb higher in the ranks. “Bridgerton: Season 2,” “Stranger Things 3,” “Fool Me Once,” and “The Night Agent”: Donny and Martha are coming for you.
Yet “Baby Reindeer” is no longer making Netflix’s weekly Top 10. Just last week it spent its eighth week on the Top 10 weekly list, clocking in at No. 10, while “Bridgerton: Season 2” has spent a whopping 19 weeks in the Top 10 as the third season of “Bridgerton” has inspired a lot of rewatches.
On the film side,...
The Richard Gadd limited series has amassed 84.5 million views globally since its release on April 11. Season 1 of “The Witcher” snagged 83 million views over its first 91 days of availability, which is Netflix’s cutoff for the all-time Top 10 list. “Baby Reindeer” has about a month left, so expect it to climb higher in the ranks. “Bridgerton: Season 2,” “Stranger Things 3,” “Fool Me Once,” and “The Night Agent”: Donny and Martha are coming for you.
Yet “Baby Reindeer” is no longer making Netflix’s weekly Top 10. Just last week it spent its eighth week on the Top 10 weekly list, clocking in at No. 10, while “Bridgerton: Season 2” has spent a whopping 19 weeks in the Top 10 as the third season of “Bridgerton” has inspired a lot of rewatches.
On the film side,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Tony Maglio and Brian Welk
- Indiewire
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 2024 Academy Gold Rising talent development program, which invites college seniors and recent graduates on an eight-week summer educational initiative to help jumpstart their careers in film. Gold Rising participants will attend networking events, receive exclusive internship opportunities and hear from panelists and speakers from the industry’s top filmmakers.
“The Academy’s Gold Rising program cultivates the next generation of storytellers and artisans,” said Brooke Breton, Academy governor and member of the Academy Foundation Board of Trustees. “We eagerly anticipate guiding this year’s class to demonstrate and instill a deep appreciation of how each discipline and aspect of filmmaking contributes to the collaborative nature of our industry.”
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Producer World of Wonder Releases Trailer for Documentary ‘The Little Paegent That Could’
Producer of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” World of Wonder has released the trailer for its new...
“The Academy’s Gold Rising program cultivates the next generation of storytellers and artisans,” said Brooke Breton, Academy governor and member of the Academy Foundation Board of Trustees. “We eagerly anticipate guiding this year’s class to demonstrate and instill a deep appreciation of how each discipline and aspect of filmmaking contributes to the collaborative nature of our industry.”
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Producer World of Wonder Releases Trailer for Documentary ‘The Little Paegent That Could’
Producer of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” World of Wonder has released the trailer for its new...
- 6/11/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay and Jack Dunn
- Variety - Film News
“If Beale Street Could Talk” was one of the best films of 2018. Since then, we’ve been watching the young actress in the lead, KiKi Layne, and waiting for her star to keep rising. To be fair, she’s done some high-profile gigs since, including “The Old Guard” and “Coming 2 America,” but nothing that has really caught our eye since ‘Beale Street.’ From the looks of it, “Dandelion” could be that film.
Continue reading ‘Dandelion’ Trailer: KiKi Layne Stars As A Struggling Musician In Nicole Riegel’s New Drama at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Dandelion’ Trailer: KiKi Layne Stars As A Struggling Musician In Nicole Riegel’s New Drama at The Playlist.
- 6/11/2024
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
From Elizabeth Nichols’s Flying Lessons, to Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s Union, to now Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg’s Emergent City (likewise EP’d by Stephen Maing), corporate takeovers of NYC and the inherent Gotham vs. Goliath battles they spawn seem to be in the documentary air this year. And while Flying Lessons and Union clearly cast entities like corrupt Croman Real Estate and anti-labor Amazon as the respective baddies, Emergent City is surprisingly not much interested in blaming Jamestown Properties, the conglomerate behind Industry City, the largest privately owned industrial property in New York, for the rapid gentrification of […]
The post “I Was Shocked To Be the Only Person There with a Camera”: Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg on their Tribeca-Debuting Doc about Industry City Development, Emergent City first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Was Shocked To Be the Only Person There with a Camera”: Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg on their Tribeca-Debuting Doc about Industry City Development, Emergent City first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/11/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The “Sausage Party” TV-series spinoff “Foodtopia” is kind of like Seth Rogen’s warped, food-based version of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.”
Based off the 2016 animated feature, the upcoming Prime Video series “Sausage Party: Foodtopia” follows returning characters Frank, Brenda, Barry, and Sammy as they try to build their own food society. It’s a…bit less sophisticated than Coppola’s.
The infamously raunchy food-centric “Sausage Party” whipped up a bit of a stir with its original theatrical release. Now, almost a decade later, the Prime Video series features returning original cast members Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton, along with newcomers Will Forte, Sam Richardson, Natasha Rothwell, and Yassir Lester.
The eight-episode first season hails from Annapurna Television, Sony Pictures Television, and Amazon MGM Studios. The original film was a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Great Beyond.
The series is executive produced by Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter,...
Based off the 2016 animated feature, the upcoming Prime Video series “Sausage Party: Foodtopia” follows returning characters Frank, Brenda, Barry, and Sammy as they try to build their own food society. It’s a…bit less sophisticated than Coppola’s.
The infamously raunchy food-centric “Sausage Party” whipped up a bit of a stir with its original theatrical release. Now, almost a decade later, the Prime Video series features returning original cast members Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton, along with newcomers Will Forte, Sam Richardson, Natasha Rothwell, and Yassir Lester.
The eight-episode first season hails from Annapurna Television, Sony Pictures Television, and Amazon MGM Studios. The original film was a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Great Beyond.
The series is executive produced by Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
When you see a film that bills itself as a family drama, you always have to make sure the members of the family are convincing enough. Well, that’s not a concern for the new film, “Ghostlight.” The family at the center of the film are an actual family offscreen, as well.
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
With “Ghostlight” arriving in select theaters this week, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a scene from the film.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Exclusive Clip: A Man’s Life Changes When He Discovers A Local Theater Troupe at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
With “Ghostlight” arriving in select theaters this week, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a scene from the film.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Exclusive Clip: A Man’s Life Changes When He Discovers A Local Theater Troupe at The Playlist.
- 6/11/2024
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Colman Domingo is standing by “Euphoria” showrunner Sam Levinson.
The Oscar-nominated actor told GQ that despite Levinson’s rumored reputation for demanding long days on set and improvising “Euphoria” scenes, plus allegations of misogyny and Pa lawsuits during the “The Idol” production, Domingo knows Levinson best for his “kindness and his generosity.”
“I know Sam very well, and I know his heart. I know his kindness and his generosity,” Domingo said. “People want to villainize him, for whatever reason, which I also think is very interesting, that people want to villainize someone who has been so open and honest about their own struggles with addiction and chooses to write about it so we can heal our hearts and ourselves.”
While Levinson has been “misunderstood” by critics, according to Domingo, he could not offer up any details on the long-gestating Season 3 of “Euphoria.”
“Sam’s my friend. I haven’t talked...
The Oscar-nominated actor told GQ that despite Levinson’s rumored reputation for demanding long days on set and improvising “Euphoria” scenes, plus allegations of misogyny and Pa lawsuits during the “The Idol” production, Domingo knows Levinson best for his “kindness and his generosity.”
“I know Sam very well, and I know his heart. I know his kindness and his generosity,” Domingo said. “People want to villainize him, for whatever reason, which I also think is very interesting, that people want to villainize someone who has been so open and honest about their own struggles with addiction and chooses to write about it so we can heal our hearts and ourselves.”
While Levinson has been “misunderstood” by critics, according to Domingo, he could not offer up any details on the long-gestating Season 3 of “Euphoria.”
“Sam’s my friend. I haven’t talked...
- 6/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Of all I.P. getting the TV treatment nowadays, you have to be shocked that something like “Sausage Party” is getting a sequel series nearly a decade after it debuted. But hey, we live in an age of streaming, and why not give Seth Rogen some more time to pretend he’s a hot dog?
Read More: Summer TV Preview: Over 35 Must-See Series To Watch
Now, we have our first real look at the upcoming TV series, “Sausage Party: Foodtopia,” which serves as a sequel to the 2016 original film.Here’s the official synopsis: “Based off the 2016 animated feature Sausage Party, the series Sausage Party: Foodtopia follows Frank, Brenda, Barry, and Sammy as they try to build their own food society.”
While quite a bit of time has passed since the original film, it’s clear the vibe has not changed in eight years.
Continue reading ‘Sausage Party: Foodtopia’ Trailer:...
Read More: Summer TV Preview: Over 35 Must-See Series To Watch
Now, we have our first real look at the upcoming TV series, “Sausage Party: Foodtopia,” which serves as a sequel to the 2016 original film.Here’s the official synopsis: “Based off the 2016 animated feature Sausage Party, the series Sausage Party: Foodtopia follows Frank, Brenda, Barry, and Sammy as they try to build their own food society.”
While quite a bit of time has passed since the original film, it’s clear the vibe has not changed in eight years.
Continue reading ‘Sausage Party: Foodtopia’ Trailer:...
- 6/11/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
“Inside Out 2” should evoke an emotion that Pixar hasn’t felt about the box office in years: Joy.
The follow-up film to 2015’s cerebral hit “Inside Out” is estimated to score a stellar $80 million to $90 million in its box office debut. If projections hold, it’ll overtake “Dune: Part Two” ($82.5 million) and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million) as the biggest opening of the year.
As this weekend’s only new nationwide release, it’ll have no trouble taking the box office crown from the prior champion, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” The fourth installment in Sony’s buddy-cop comedy, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, launched over the weekend with $56.5 million and should add roughly $28 million in its sophomore outing.
“Inside Out 2” also looks to snap Pixar’s recent cold streak following last summer’s “Elemental” (which scored the worst start in Pixar’s modern history...
The follow-up film to 2015’s cerebral hit “Inside Out” is estimated to score a stellar $80 million to $90 million in its box office debut. If projections hold, it’ll overtake “Dune: Part Two” ($82.5 million) and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million) as the biggest opening of the year.
As this weekend’s only new nationwide release, it’ll have no trouble taking the box office crown from the prior champion, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” The fourth installment in Sony’s buddy-cop comedy, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, launched over the weekend with $56.5 million and should add roughly $28 million in its sophomore outing.
“Inside Out 2” also looks to snap Pixar’s recent cold streak following last summer’s “Elemental” (which scored the worst start in Pixar’s modern history...
- 6/11/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety - Film News
We just found out that “The Boys” is ending with Season 5 on Prime Video, but that doesn’t mean the universe that has been established in that show is going anywhere. If anything, it’s only just begun.
Speaking during an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke talked about what the future looks like for the franchise he kickstarted several years ago.
Continue reading ‘The Boys’ Showrunner Eric Kripke Says There’s One More Secret Spinoff In The Works at The Playlist.
Speaking during an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke talked about what the future looks like for the franchise he kickstarted several years ago.
Continue reading ‘The Boys’ Showrunner Eric Kripke Says There’s One More Secret Spinoff In The Works at The Playlist.
- 6/11/2024
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Maya Hawke took on a mothering role while filming the final season of “Stranger Things.”
The actress told Entertainment Tonight that after joining the hit Netflix show in Season 3, she felt a responsibility to be a shoulder for her co-stars to lean on during the series finale.
“As a late addition cast member, I feel like it’s my job to be here to facilitate their feelings and just be grateful and excited to have been a part of it at all,” Hawke said, adding of the soon-to-be-released final season: “It’s already starting to be heartbreaking, you know? I mean it’s the end of a really long journey. Longer for some of my castmates, even, than for me. So it’s really sentimental.”
“Stranger Things” Season 5 will premiere later in 2024. The ensemble cast includes David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Finn Wolfhard, and more.
“We shoot for a long time,...
The actress told Entertainment Tonight that after joining the hit Netflix show in Season 3, she felt a responsibility to be a shoulder for her co-stars to lean on during the series finale.
“As a late addition cast member, I feel like it’s my job to be here to facilitate their feelings and just be grateful and excited to have been a part of it at all,” Hawke said, adding of the soon-to-be-released final season: “It’s already starting to be heartbreaking, you know? I mean it’s the end of a really long journey. Longer for some of my castmates, even, than for me. So it’s really sentimental.”
“Stranger Things” Season 5 will premiere later in 2024. The ensemble cast includes David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Finn Wolfhard, and more.
“We shoot for a long time,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Chris Sanders is no stranger to making audiences drop their jaws in awe, right before making them sob during a film. The co-director of "Lilo & Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon" has time and time again delivered movies full of heart, thrilling action, and fantastic visuals. Now, he's back with "The Wild Robot," one of our most anticipated movies of the year, and if the footage shown to enthusiastic audiences at the Annecy Animation Film Festival is anything to go by, you better get your tissues ready.
Based on Peter Brown's celebrated middle-grade book of the same name from 2016, the film follows Rozzum 7134, or "Roz." Played by Lupita Nyong'o, Roz is a robot who gets stranded on a deserted island populated only by animals. While trying to survive and find a task to fulfill (as is her programming), she accidentally becomes the guardian of a baby gosling, from...
Based on Peter Brown's celebrated middle-grade book of the same name from 2016, the film follows Rozzum 7134, or "Roz." Played by Lupita Nyong'o, Roz is a robot who gets stranded on a deserted island populated only by animals. While trying to survive and find a task to fulfill (as is her programming), she accidentally becomes the guardian of a baby gosling, from...
- 6/11/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Julia Fox is running for public office for being the best dressed and most civically minded.
The multi-hyphenate talent and creator of E! reality series “Omg Fashun” exclusively told IndieWire that she was determined to showcase sociopolitical issues through garments in the series. Fox and Scout Productions pitched the competition show to NBC, billing it as “Chopped” meets “Project Runway” as contestants craft clothes using unusual items.
“It just doesn’t seem real, still,” Fox said of having her own series. “My whole thing is trying to support emerging talent in any way. But I also was like, if I’m going to be putting something out on such a big platform, I want to make sure that [in] each episode, we touch on themes that really get people to think. It could be the single-use plastic crisis or sexual wellness or gender norms. I just really wanted each episode to...
The multi-hyphenate talent and creator of E! reality series “Omg Fashun” exclusively told IndieWire that she was determined to showcase sociopolitical issues through garments in the series. Fox and Scout Productions pitched the competition show to NBC, billing it as “Chopped” meets “Project Runway” as contestants craft clothes using unusual items.
“It just doesn’t seem real, still,” Fox said of having her own series. “My whole thing is trying to support emerging talent in any way. But I also was like, if I’m going to be putting something out on such a big platform, I want to make sure that [in] each episode, we touch on themes that really get people to think. It could be the single-use plastic crisis or sexual wellness or gender norms. I just really wanted each episode to...
- 6/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
In Alexander Payne's recent dramedy "The Holdovers," the Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti played a grumpy (but charismatic) teacher, largely hated by the student body. It seems that the students of Starfleet Academy are about to hate him even more, as — according to a new report from Variety — the actor has been cast as the central villain of the upcoming "Starfleet Academy" TV series. The Variety report says that Giamatti will serve as an as-yet unnamed recurring antagonist throughout the "Star Trek" show's first season, and that his character will have "a sinister connection to the past of one of the (yet to be cast) cadets." Variety didn't specify if he'd be playing a human or another alien species.
Speculation may now commence. Will he be playing a bitter former professor? An escaped convict and serial killer who just happens to be the father of one of the main characters? A charismatic cult leader,...
Speculation may now commence. Will he be playing a bitter former professor? An escaped convict and serial killer who just happens to be the father of one of the main characters? A charismatic cult leader,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The vast majority of US and international film festivals remain inaccessible to disabled participants, an accessibility report has revealed.
The inaugural findings of the Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report detail that 73% of the disabled respondents of its wide-ranging survey experienced inaccessibility during film festivals.
The Scorecard organisers include Fwd-Doc (Filmmakers With Disabilities), the Film Event Accessibility Working Group (Feaw) and the Film Festival Alliance (Ffa).
Compiled between July 2022 to November 2023, the report features 353 responses from the attendees of 75 festivals worldwide, including the Berlinale, Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca. Overall, 93% of festivals received scores below the median on the Accessibility Scorecard, with just 7% scoring above the median.
The inaugural findings of the Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report detail that 73% of the disabled respondents of its wide-ranging survey experienced inaccessibility during film festivals.
The Scorecard organisers include Fwd-Doc (Filmmakers With Disabilities), the Film Event Accessibility Working Group (Feaw) and the Film Festival Alliance (Ffa).
Compiled between July 2022 to November 2023, the report features 353 responses from the attendees of 75 festivals worldwide, including the Berlinale, Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca. Overall, 93% of festivals received scores below the median on the Accessibility Scorecard, with just 7% scoring above the median.
- 6/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Just about anyone who spends considerable time on the internet knows that hate speech proliferates on social media like a virus. But would you be surprised to learn that tech corporations tacitly condone such bigotry in order to profit off the engagement that far-right influencers generate? If you were previously unaware of such in-your-face malfeasance, Simon Klose’s new documentary “Hacking Hate” unpacks the ways that social media companies benefit from the amplification of white supremacy online and how they’re complicit in its real-world effects. Through slick photography that utilizes the visual language of genre films and digital life, Klose’s activist procedural illustrate the failures of the tech world to safeguard society through one reporter’s undercover operation into a Nazi organization.
The reporter in question is My Vingren, an award-winning investigative journalist described by the media as “the real life ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’” seemingly because...
The reporter in question is My Vingren, an award-winning investigative journalist described by the media as “the real life ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’” seemingly because...
- 6/11/2024
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
One of the most lauded events of the Tribeca Festival, Chanel returned to host the 17th annual Tribeca Artists Dinner on Monday, June 10 at The Odeon in Manhattan, moving locations from Balthazar last year. The intimate evening honors the artists who have contributed original artwork to the festival’s award-winning filmmakers.
The carpet always feels like some sort of family reunion at this event, where much of Hollywood assembles in what feels like a — though glamorous — laid-back dinner to celebrate how far the film scene of NYC has come as it regenerated itself after 9/11. IndieWire favorites Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Katie Holmes, Blake Lively, Jude Law, Trevor Noah, Mark Ronson, Camila Mendes, Selma Blair, Colman Domingo, Chloe Fineman, Olivia Munn, Dianna Agron, Hannah Einbinder, Hari Nef, Lizzy Caplan, Lily Rabe, Natasha Lyonne, Victoria Pedretti, David Harbour, David O. Russell, and Francesca Scorsese were just a handful of the many attendees.
The carpet always feels like some sort of family reunion at this event, where much of Hollywood assembles in what feels like a — though glamorous — laid-back dinner to celebrate how far the film scene of NYC has come as it regenerated itself after 9/11. IndieWire favorites Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Katie Holmes, Blake Lively, Jude Law, Trevor Noah, Mark Ronson, Camila Mendes, Selma Blair, Colman Domingo, Chloe Fineman, Olivia Munn, Dianna Agron, Hannah Einbinder, Hari Nef, Lizzy Caplan, Lily Rabe, Natasha Lyonne, Victoria Pedretti, David Harbour, David O. Russell, and Francesca Scorsese were just a handful of the many attendees.
- 6/11/2024
- by Vincent Perella
- Indiewire
Frontières has announced the full line-up of its 16th co-production market running July 24-27 in Montreal alongside Fantasia International Film Festival.
The selection of projects seeking partners encompasses a broad range of genre. It includes new work from Sophie Mair and Dan Gitsham with UK-set grief horror Ginger; Québecois filmmaker Patrice Laliberté with coming-of-age sci-fi He Who Sows Misery, Reaps Wrath; and Caye Casas’s Spanish dark comedy Sueños Son.
Also from Quebec is Eric Tessier with psychological horror Flots; while Germany’s Till Kleinert brings the supernatural thriller Turn On The Bright Lights; Australian Robyn Grace has pre-apocalyptic, coming-of-age...
The selection of projects seeking partners encompasses a broad range of genre. It includes new work from Sophie Mair and Dan Gitsham with UK-set grief horror Ginger; Québecois filmmaker Patrice Laliberté with coming-of-age sci-fi He Who Sows Misery, Reaps Wrath; and Caye Casas’s Spanish dark comedy Sueños Son.
Also from Quebec is Eric Tessier with psychological horror Flots; while Germany’s Till Kleinert brings the supernatural thriller Turn On The Bright Lights; Australian Robyn Grace has pre-apocalyptic, coming-of-age...
- 6/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Say hello to Peyo Company.
Tonight at the Annecy Animation Festival, Imps — “The Smurfs'” global license holder — revealed it will operate under a new name going forward and begin to revive other original creations from the little blue characters’ famed founder Peyo, aka Pierre Culliford.
Characters created by Peyo will be brought to life in new TV shows inspired by the original “Johan & Peewit” and “Benny Breakiron” comic books.
“Tales of Johan & Peewit”
Described as an “entertainment entity that proudly promotes and perpetuates Peyo’s work and legacy of creating fascinating stories and art,” Peyo Company will oversee “a wide range of consumer products and experience for kids and adults alike.”
Peyo Licensing is the worldwide licensor for consumer products, family entertainment and experiences, as well as book publishing. Peyo Distribution manages the distribution of the audiovisual catalogue, Peyo Productions oversees the production of audiovisual content and Peyo Creations regroups the studio activities,...
Tonight at the Annecy Animation Festival, Imps — “The Smurfs'” global license holder — revealed it will operate under a new name going forward and begin to revive other original creations from the little blue characters’ famed founder Peyo, aka Pierre Culliford.
Characters created by Peyo will be brought to life in new TV shows inspired by the original “Johan & Peewit” and “Benny Breakiron” comic books.
“Tales of Johan & Peewit”
Described as an “entertainment entity that proudly promotes and perpetuates Peyo’s work and legacy of creating fascinating stories and art,” Peyo Company will oversee “a wide range of consumer products and experience for kids and adults alike.”
Peyo Licensing is the worldwide licensor for consumer products, family entertainment and experiences, as well as book publishing. Peyo Distribution manages the distribution of the audiovisual catalogue, Peyo Productions oversees the production of audiovisual content and Peyo Creations regroups the studio activities,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety - Film News
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