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
Warner Bros. Discovery added two million direct-to-consumer subscribers in Q1 and it didn’t even have Anduril, Flame of the West to rally its following. Yet.
As part of the quarterly earnings call this morning, Wbd CEO David Zaslav let us gaze into his palantir and see a bit of the future his development execs have planned for future films set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. First up, and planned for a 2026 release, “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” directed by Andy Serkis, who shot to fame playing the title character, himself. Warner Bros. does caveat that “The Hunt for Gollum” is a working title.
Serkis has been one of the leading pioneers of motion-capture technology with his performance of the split-personality villain, one of the most popular characters of the entire saga powered by the actor’s unique, squeaky-gravelly voice and Tolkien’s exceptional writing,...
As part of the quarterly earnings call this morning, Wbd CEO David Zaslav let us gaze into his palantir and see a bit of the future his development execs have planned for future films set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. First up, and planned for a 2026 release, “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” directed by Andy Serkis, who shot to fame playing the title character, himself. Warner Bros. does caveat that “The Hunt for Gollum” is a working title.
Serkis has been one of the leading pioneers of motion-capture technology with his performance of the split-personality villain, one of the most popular characters of the entire saga powered by the actor’s unique, squeaky-gravelly voice and Tolkien’s exceptional writing,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has announced that the next “Lord of The Rings” movie is aiming for a theatrical release in 2026 and will have the creative involvement of filmmaker Peter Jackson, who co-wrote and directed all six Middle-Earth feature films based on the beloved high-fantasy novels of Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. The new movie is only in the “early stages of script development” and will be titled “The Lord of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum,” which will feature the return of Andy Serkis in the iconic role.
Continue reading ‘Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’: Andy Serkis To Direct & Star In New Film Coming 2026; Peter Jackson Producing at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’: Andy Serkis To Direct & Star In New Film Coming 2026; Peter Jackson Producing at The Playlist.
- 5/9/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
By and large, the inclusion of intimacy coordinators seems to be a good thing for the industry. In fact, it’s sad when you think about all those decades when they weren’t on set to help make sure everyone was comfortable performing these incredibly sensitive moments. That said, there are still people who don’t believe intimacy coordinators are necessary and, in fact, do more harm than good. One such person is Michael Douglas.
Continue reading Michael Douglas Believes Intimacy Coordinators Allow Studios To “Take Control Away From Filmmakers” at The Playlist.
Continue reading Michael Douglas Believes Intimacy Coordinators Allow Studios To “Take Control Away From Filmmakers” at The Playlist.
- 5/9/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
Steven Soderbergh’s Sundance title ‘Presence’ acquired for UK-Ireland theatrical release (exclusive)
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, following its world premiere at Sundance in January.
The film stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, in the story of a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced that they’re not alone. Neon International handles worldwide sales.
Presence was written by David Koepp, and produced by Julie M. Anderson and Ken Meyer.
The latest buy from Picturehouse’s revamped acquisitions team, it joins a slate that includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, Matthias Glasner’s Dying and Andreas Dresen’s From Hilde, With Love.
The film stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, in the story of a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced that they’re not alone. Neon International handles worldwide sales.
Presence was written by David Koepp, and produced by Julie M. Anderson and Ken Meyer.
The latest buy from Picturehouse’s revamped acquisitions team, it joins a slate that includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, Matthias Glasner’s Dying and Andreas Dresen’s From Hilde, With Love.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
In 2022, A24 Films and Peacock teamed up with showrunner Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal“) to tackle a prequel streaming series set within the universe of “The Friday The 13th” franchise. However, ahead of its production, Fuller has exited “Crystal Lake,” following rumors that the series was falling apart or hitting pause, depending on who you believed. According to Variety, A24 aims to replace Fuller with another showrunner and continue on as key things like casting hadn’t even started.
Continue reading A24’s ‘Friday The 13th’ Prequel Series ‘Crystal Lake’ Loses Showrunner Bryan Fuller at The Playlist.
Continue reading A24’s ‘Friday The 13th’ Prequel Series ‘Crystal Lake’ Loses Showrunner Bryan Fuller at The Playlist.
- 5/9/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
It’s not necessarily that, in a pathetic version of Henry Hill’s childhood desire to be a gangster, I’ve “always wanted to attend a pitch forum.” But I’ve admittedly been curious to see how this particular part of the festival-film apparatus works and never had ready access; impelled by both that and ties of friendship, I went on my third day at this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival to the Jeonju Cinema Project pitching panel. Fellow Filmmaker writer and pal Blake Williams was one of the seven projects—four Korean, three international, with one finalist selected from each category—selected to pitch at […]
The post Jeonju 2024: Cinema Projects Past and Future first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Jeonju 2024: Cinema Projects Past and Future first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/9/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
U.K.-French film company Alief has boarded Cinélatino winner Victoria Linares Villegas’ upcoming horror debut “No salgas” (“Stay Quiet”) as its world sales agent and co-producer, teaming up with El Perro de Argento, the Dominican Republic-based production company founded by Linares Villegas and Carlos Marranzini.
Alief partners Brett Walker and Miguel Angel Govea are heading to Cannes with a sizzle reel to meet with potential buyers and post-production partners at the Marché du Film. Pic is slated for completion by winter 2024, in time for the festival circuit.
Currently filming in the Dominican Republic, the queer coming-of-age horror pic stars Camila Issa (Nickelodeon’s “Are You Afraid of the Dark”) Cecile van Welie (San Sebastian’s New Directors Award winner “Carajita”) and Camila Santana (Berlinale Generation’s “Ramona”) as well as newcomer Gabriela Cortés.
In “No salgas,” van Welie portrays Liz, a college student grappling with her sexual identity. While...
Alief partners Brett Walker and Miguel Angel Govea are heading to Cannes with a sizzle reel to meet with potential buyers and post-production partners at the Marché du Film. Pic is slated for completion by winter 2024, in time for the festival circuit.
Currently filming in the Dominican Republic, the queer coming-of-age horror pic stars Camila Issa (Nickelodeon’s “Are You Afraid of the Dark”) Cecile van Welie (San Sebastian’s New Directors Award winner “Carajita”) and Camila Santana (Berlinale Generation’s “Ramona”) as well as newcomer Gabriela Cortés.
In “No salgas,” van Welie portrays Liz, a college student grappling with her sexual identity. While...
- 5/9/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety - Film News
If you had told me back in 2009 or so that one day the guy who played Jim on "The Office" was going to helm one of the most successful horror movie franchises of the 21st century, I would have first been very impressed to learn that time travel was real, then immediately questioned what sort of future you came from where this was a possibility. And yet, in 2018, John Krasinski did exactly that, joining forces with the creative duo of Bryan Woods and Scott Beck to deliver, "A Quiet Place."
Set in a world where mysterious creatures hunt by sound, forcing what's left of humanity to go silent, "A Quiet Place" is centered on a family fighting for survival. The film was a massive success at the box office, inspiring the sequel film "A Quiet Place Part II," which saw the family moving on without their father after he was killed in the previous film,...
Set in a world where mysterious creatures hunt by sound, forcing what's left of humanity to go silent, "A Quiet Place" is centered on a family fighting for survival. The film was a massive success at the box office, inspiring the sequel film "A Quiet Place Part II," which saw the family moving on without their father after he was killed in the previous film,...
- 5/9/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Screen is running this regularly updated page with the latest film festival and market dates from across the world.
To submit details of or alter your festival dates, please contact us here with the name, dates, country and website for the event. Screen is also running a calendar for UK-Ireland film release dates here.
Ongoing
Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea - May 1-10
JFilm Festival, US - May 2-12
UK Asian Film Festival, UK - May 2-12
Seattle International Film Festival, US - May 9-19
May
Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival Part 2, US - May 11-26
Cannes Film Festival,...
To submit details of or alter your festival dates, please contact us here with the name, dates, country and website for the event. Screen is also running a calendar for UK-Ireland film release dates here.
Ongoing
Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea - May 1-10
JFilm Festival, US - May 2-12
UK Asian Film Festival, UK - May 2-12
Seattle International Film Festival, US - May 9-19
May
Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival Part 2, US - May 11-26
Cannes Film Festival,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
George Miller is about to return to the wasteland with "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," but it might surprise some people to know that his biggest box office hit to date remains the technological marvel that is "Happy Feet."
Though you wouldn't think of "Happy Feet" as being connected to "Mad Max: Fury Road," they have some things in common — particularly their stunning visuals and how they approach VFX. Despite what some fans would like to believe, "Fury Road" is full of CGI. As Miller himself told Vulture in 2022, "There was not one shot in that movie that wasn't CGI in one way or another." The film works because it blends digital and practical effects, using CGI to enhance scenes, delete wirework, and otherwise make what is already real feel larger-than-life. This is the approach that the best movies take -- the ones that understand CGI is a tool and not a shortcut.
Though you wouldn't think of "Happy Feet" as being connected to "Mad Max: Fury Road," they have some things in common — particularly their stunning visuals and how they approach VFX. Despite what some fans would like to believe, "Fury Road" is full of CGI. As Miller himself told Vulture in 2022, "There was not one shot in that movie that wasn't CGI in one way or another." The film works because it blends digital and practical effects, using CGI to enhance scenes, delete wirework, and otherwise make what is already real feel larger-than-life. This is the approach that the best movies take -- the ones that understand CGI is a tool and not a shortcut.
- 5/9/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw The TV Glow,” out in limited theaters now, is about teenagers Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Owen (Justice Smith), who bond over a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”-style TV show, “The Pink Opaque.” As they continue to get more into the lore of the television show, the edges blur between the reality of their lives and “The Pink Opaque.”
Schoenbrun has described “Buffy” as a pivotal show for them while they were growing up, so creating their version of that felt like giving their 13-year-old self a gift. So getting “The Pink Opaque” just right was monumental.
The premise of “The Pink Opaque,” like most ’90s shows, is perfectly silly and immediately nostalgic. Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Snail Mail’s Lindsay Jordan) meet at summer camp and realize they have an ancient, psychic connection. When camp ends, the two are able to meet on a...
Schoenbrun has described “Buffy” as a pivotal show for them while they were growing up, so creating their version of that felt like giving their 13-year-old self a gift. So getting “The Pink Opaque” just right was monumental.
The premise of “The Pink Opaque,” like most ’90s shows, is perfectly silly and immediately nostalgic. Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Snail Mail’s Lindsay Jordan) meet at summer camp and realize they have an ancient, psychic connection. When camp ends, the two are able to meet on a...
- 5/9/2024
- by Kerensa Cadenas
- Indiewire
Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.
STX, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, is handling international distribution.
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh from a screenplay by Chris Sparling and Mitchell Lafortune, “Greenland: Migration” sees Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return as John and Allison Garrity. Along with their diabetic son Nathan, the couple were forced to flee in the first film as a comet hurtled towards earth, threatening to destroy the planet. In the sequel the family embark on a perilous journey across what’s left of Europe to find a new home.
Butler and Baccarin are joined by Roman Griffin Davis (“Jojo Rabbit”), Amber Rose Revah (“The Punisher”) and Trond Fausa (“Oppenheimer”) in the film, which is produced by Anton, STX Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and Butler’s G-base Entertainment.
“In the film, the Garrity family, having found...
STX, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, is handling international distribution.
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh from a screenplay by Chris Sparling and Mitchell Lafortune, “Greenland: Migration” sees Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return as John and Allison Garrity. Along with their diabetic son Nathan, the couple were forced to flee in the first film as a comet hurtled towards earth, threatening to destroy the planet. In the sequel the family embark on a perilous journey across what’s left of Europe to find a new home.
Butler and Baccarin are joined by Roman Griffin Davis (“Jojo Rabbit”), Amber Rose Revah (“The Punisher”) and Trond Fausa (“Oppenheimer”) in the film, which is produced by Anton, STX Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and Butler’s G-base Entertainment.
“In the film, the Garrity family, having found...
- 5/9/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety - Film News
When Rebecca Hall isn’t in the middle of kaiju battles in the “Godzilla x King Kong” MonsterVerse, she’s often seen making really great films. Her directorial debut, “Passing,” is a wonderful example of her creative mind. Now, it appears she’s ready to dive back into directing with the upcoming film, “Four Days Like Sunday.”
Read More: ‘The Bookie & The Bruiser’: Vince Vaughn & Adrien Brody Will Star In S.
Continue reading ‘Four Days Like Sunday’: Rebecca Hall To Write, Direct & Star In Upcoming Family Drama at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘The Bookie & The Bruiser’: Vince Vaughn & Adrien Brody Will Star In S.
Continue reading ‘Four Days Like Sunday’: Rebecca Hall To Write, Direct & Star In Upcoming Family Drama at The Playlist.
- 5/9/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
In the "Futurama" episode "A Fishful of Dollars", Fry (Billy West) remembers that he had 93 cents in his savings account when he was cryogenically frozen in 1999. After a thousand years of .25% interest, however, that amount had grown into a fortune of 4.3 billion dollars. Thankfully, inflation hasn't kept pace, and Fry is suddenly one of the wealthiest people on the planet. As anyone with abrupt access to a massive fortune might, Fry immediately begins to squander his riches on frivolous things. He buys the Mona Lisa merely so he may use it as a clay pigeon for skeet shooting. He tries to recreate a slobby, 20th-century apartment just as he remembered it. Most notably, he buys an ancient can of anchovies at auction, a valuable commodity indeed, given that anchovies went extinct many years before. The anchovies, still sealed, are guaranteed to be edible.
Unbeknownst to Fry, however, the anchovies are...
Unbeknownst to Fry, however, the anchovies are...
- 5/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum.
Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an earnings call Thursday.
The project is currently in the early stages of script development from writers Walsh and Boyens, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, and will “explore storylines yet to be told,” Zaslav said.
In a press release from Warner Bros. later Thursday morning, the studio revealed that the working title for the film is “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” and it will be directed by and star Serkis in his iconic titular role. The film will be executive produced by Ken Kamins,...
Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an earnings call Thursday.
The project is currently in the early stages of script development from writers Walsh and Boyens, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, and will “explore storylines yet to be told,” Zaslav said.
In a press release from Warner Bros. later Thursday morning, the studio revealed that the working title for the film is “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” and it will be directed by and star Serkis in his iconic titular role. The film will be executive produced by Ken Kamins,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety - Film News
Pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions is expanding operations by setting up Mad World, a Dubai-based company dedicated to selling Arab movies internationally that will officially launch in Cannes.
Touted as Arab cinema’s first global sales outfit, Mad World segues from Mad Solution’s first foray in the international distribution arena last year with Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” which they sold widely after it’s splashy launch from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section.
In addition to acquiring global rights to an increasing number of international co-productions, the Cairo-based studio has been stepping up its involvement in packaging Arabic projects with global market potential.
Besides fresh product, Mad World will be handling sales on an extensive library of recent festival award-winners, including shorts, and a back-catalog of titles comprising regional theatrical and streaming titles, many of which have not reached audiences outside the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
Touted as Arab cinema’s first global sales outfit, Mad World segues from Mad Solution’s first foray in the international distribution arena last year with Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” which they sold widely after it’s splashy launch from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section.
In addition to acquiring global rights to an increasing number of international co-productions, the Cairo-based studio has been stepping up its involvement in packaging Arabic projects with global market potential.
Besides fresh product, Mad World will be handling sales on an extensive library of recent festival award-winners, including shorts, and a back-catalog of titles comprising regional theatrical and streaming titles, many of which have not reached audiences outside the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
- 5/9/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
The main gag of John Carpenter's 1986 fantasy flick "Big Trouble in Little China" is that the sidekick seems to think he's the main character. The main character of the story is Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), a restaurant owner who cannot wait to meet his fiancée Miao Yin (Suzee Pai). Miao Yin, however, is kidnapped by the Lords of Death, a San Francisco street gang. Wang follows them to Chinatown hoping to rescue his fiancée, only to discover that she was passed to David Lo Pan (James Hong), an ancient Chinese sorcerer who aims to sacrifice her on a magical alter and break a ghostly curse he suffers from. Wang gathers old friends, each of them possessing knowledge of magic and ancient Chinese sorcery, to trek into the magical underworld in order to defeat Lo Pan and rescue Miao Yin.
Oh yeah, and Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is there. Jack is a none-too-wise,...
Oh yeah, and Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is there. Jack is a none-too-wise,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
For those keeping score, and we know Neon is, it’s four Palme d’Or victories for Neon, who bought “Anatomy of a Fall” out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The boutique shingle didn’t stop there, and also acquired “Robot Dreams” and “Perfect Days” as well. Netflix plunked down $11 million for “May December,” and the festival produced sales for other buzzy titles like “Jeanne du Barry” and “The Taste of Things.” All that, and with the specter of the writers strike hanging over it.
So what will sell big this year? Many of the titles in competition as part of this year’s Official Selection are up for grabs, even as Neon, A24, Mubi, and Searchlight are all arriving with at least one contender in the main race. We’ll be tracking everything that gets bought below throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired Before the Festival...
So what will sell big this year? Many of the titles in competition as part of this year’s Official Selection are up for grabs, even as Neon, A24, Mubi, and Searchlight are all arriving with at least one contender in the main race. We’ll be tracking everything that gets bought below throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired Before the Festival...
- 5/9/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Paul Walter Hauser has added another project to a packed upcoming slate.
The Emmy and Golden Globe winner, who in the last few weeks alone has been tapped to play Chris Farley in Josh Gad’s biopic and has joined the cast of both “Fantastic Four” and the “Naked Gun” reboot, is to lead “Press Your Luck,” a drama-thriller based on the true story of Michael Larson. Protagonist Pictures has unveiled the drama-thriller — from Plenty Good in co-production with Fabula — alongside a first look image and will handle international sales, while CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.
Set in 1984, “Press Your Luck” follows Larson, an unemployed truck driver from Ohio who stepped onto the game show “Press Your Luck” harbouring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.
The...
The Emmy and Golden Globe winner, who in the last few weeks alone has been tapped to play Chris Farley in Josh Gad’s biopic and has joined the cast of both “Fantastic Four” and the “Naked Gun” reboot, is to lead “Press Your Luck,” a drama-thriller based on the true story of Michael Larson. Protagonist Pictures has unveiled the drama-thriller — from Plenty Good in co-production with Fabula — alongside a first look image and will handle international sales, while CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.
Set in 1984, “Press Your Luck” follows Larson, an unemployed truck driver from Ohio who stepped onto the game show “Press Your Luck” harbouring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.
The...
- 5/9/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Protagonist Pictures has acquired international sales to Samir Oliveros’ dramatic thriller Press Your Luck, starring Paul Walter Hauser, based on a true story about an unemployed ice-cream truck driver from Ohio who arouses suspicion when he goes on a winning streak on the TV game show Press Your Luck.
CAA Media Finance represent North American rights to the film now in postproduction.
The cast also includes Walton Goggins, Maisie Williams, David Strathairn, Haley Bennett, David Rysdahl, Johnny Knoxville, Brian Geraghty, Patti Harrison and Shaunette Renée Wilson.
Oliveros directs from a screenplay co-written with Maggie Briggs, and the film is produced...
CAA Media Finance represent North American rights to the film now in postproduction.
The cast also includes Walton Goggins, Maisie Williams, David Strathairn, Haley Bennett, David Rysdahl, Johnny Knoxville, Brian Geraghty, Patti Harrison and Shaunette Renée Wilson.
Oliveros directs from a screenplay co-written with Maggie Briggs, and the film is produced...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Pan-Arab outfit Mad Solutions has launched international sales company Mad World, which will introduce its first slate of titles and executive team at the Cannes market next week.
The Dubai-based firm will handle worldwide sales and international distribution of new Arab-language feature films, led by Mad Solutions’ co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab as well as the company’s managing partner Colin Brown. All three are co-presidents of Mad World, with Karkouti serving as CEO.
Also joining Mad World are European executives Edin De Liancourt as vice president of sales and acquisitions and Jeanne Deny as director of sales and acquisitions.
The Dubai-based firm will handle worldwide sales and international distribution of new Arab-language feature films, led by Mad Solutions’ co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab as well as the company’s managing partner Colin Brown. All three are co-presidents of Mad World, with Karkouti serving as CEO.
Also joining Mad World are European executives Edin De Liancourt as vice president of sales and acquisitions and Jeanne Deny as director of sales and acquisitions.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
"Star Trek" was initially meant to be a portrait of a technological utopia set in a future when humanity had outgrown war, shed religion, and put money behind it. In the best of cases, the franchise revealed a world without want or starvation, having become so well-organized that resources could be freely shunted about the galaxy on miraculous faster-than-light starships. Most notably, starting with "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Federation vessels were equipped with magical food replicators, which rearranged energy into edible matter. One could walk up to a food slot on the wall -- everyone's personal quarters had one -- and order anything from a glass of water to a six-course meal. Famously, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) would order "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."
Replicators are such a miraculous technology, that the writers of "Star Trek" had to begin inventing limitations merely for dramatic reasons. It's now been established repeatedly...
Replicators are such a miraculous technology, that the writers of "Star Trek" had to begin inventing limitations merely for dramatic reasons. It's now been established repeatedly...
- 5/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Cannes Competition titles Bird by Andrea Arnold and Emila Perez by Jacques Audiard are among the films eligible for the Queer Palm at this year’s festival.
Any title playing in Cannes which addresses LGBTQ+ themes is eligible for the Queer Palm, whose jury this year will be presided over by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont.
Bird centres on a 12-year-old who lives with her single father and brother in a squat and seeks attention and adventure elsewhere; among the cast are Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski. Emilia Perez is a musical thriller with a cast including Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldana,...
Any title playing in Cannes which addresses LGBTQ+ themes is eligible for the Queer Palm, whose jury this year will be presided over by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont.
Bird centres on a 12-year-old who lives with her single father and brother in a squat and seeks attention and adventure elsewhere; among the cast are Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski. Emilia Perez is a musical thriller with a cast including Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldana,...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The actor said that making movies by a small number of female film-makers was not cause for celebration. ‘You’re like, Ok, cool. You’ve chosen four’
Kristen Stewart has chastised Hollywood’s efforts at gender equality, saying that the industry clapping itself on the back for an embrace of female film-makers “feels phony”.
Speaking to Porter magazine for the release of Love Lies Bleeding, a violent romance set in the world of female bodybuilding, Stewart said much of the high-profile greenlighting of female stories was lip service.
Kristen Stewart has chastised Hollywood’s efforts at gender equality, saying that the industry clapping itself on the back for an embrace of female film-makers “feels phony”.
Speaking to Porter magazine for the release of Love Lies Bleeding, a violent romance set in the world of female bodybuilding, Stewart said much of the high-profile greenlighting of female stories was lip service.
- 5/9/2024
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Warner Bros. Discovery added 2 million direct-to-consumer (Dtc) subscribers in the first quarter of 2024. It now has a total of 99.6 million Dtc subscribers across Max, linear HBO, Discovery+, and some relatively small international streamers you’ve never heard of — don’t worry about those.
It’s just the second straight quarter of a return to Dtc-subscriber growth after three straight quarters of losses. The combination of HBO Max and Discovery+ was bound to cannibalize some subscriptions in the early going, and that is exactly what it did.
The company’s Dtc business made an $86 million profit in the recently ended January-to-March quarter. David Zaslav, the Wbd president and CEO, shorthands that segment to “streaming,” so you can too — but anyone who gets the HBO channel through their cable provider is counted there as well.
Warner Bros. Discovery, itself the combination of Discovery, Inc. and AT&T’s former WarnerMedia wing, is a...
It’s just the second straight quarter of a return to Dtc-subscriber growth after three straight quarters of losses. The combination of HBO Max and Discovery+ was bound to cannibalize some subscriptions in the early going, and that is exactly what it did.
The company’s Dtc business made an $86 million profit in the recently ended January-to-March quarter. David Zaslav, the Wbd president and CEO, shorthands that segment to “streaming,” so you can too — but anyone who gets the HBO channel through their cable provider is counted there as well.
Warner Bros. Discovery, itself the combination of Discovery, Inc. and AT&T’s former WarnerMedia wing, is a...
- 5/9/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
The actor on the fate of Lovejoy’s leather jacket, appearing nude on the cover of Cosmo and how to make a perfect cup of tea
Which of the so-called serious actors – Richard Burton, John Hurt, Oliver Reed etc – that you worked with were the funniest? Kellysahero1970
Oli. We did Sitting Target together. I knew him before that and we had a good time together. The trouble was he became inclined to be a bit of a bully when he drank, but he was charming most of the time. Richard was terrific. I think he was very underrated when we did Villain and I played his bisexual driver fixer, Wolfie. There’s the infamous scene where we’re about to get it on and he looked at me and said: “I’m very glad you’re playing this part.” I said: “Really, Richard?” He said: “Yes, because you remind me of Elizabeth.
Which of the so-called serious actors – Richard Burton, John Hurt, Oliver Reed etc – that you worked with were the funniest? Kellysahero1970
Oli. We did Sitting Target together. I knew him before that and we had a good time together. The trouble was he became inclined to be a bit of a bully when he drank, but he was charming most of the time. Richard was terrific. I think he was very underrated when we did Villain and I played his bisexual driver fixer, Wolfie. There’s the infamous scene where we’re about to get it on and he looked at me and said: “I’m very glad you’re playing this part.” I said: “Really, Richard?” He said: “Yes, because you remind me of Elizabeth.
- 5/9/2024
- by As told to Rich Pelley
- The Guardian - Film News
Amsterdam- and Beijing-based Fortissimo Films is to pre-sell Chinese crime drama “Family at large,” kicking off at the Cannes Market.
The film had previously been announced with sales handled jointly by Fortissimo and Rediance. Now, Fortissimo alone is representing rights worldwide, ex-China.
Directed by Kang Bo, the film is set in the chilly far north of the country. Recently released from prison, Zhu Shaoyu is a former trafficker of women who is forced to return to the sordid business when his son is abducted. He goes undercover and tries to infiltrate the kidnap gang. But he finds that the boy’s minder, awash in gambling debts, is also intent on holding him hostage. In order to gain leverage, the gang targets the minder’s pregnant girlfriend and convinces her to sell her unborn child.
The cast is headed by the in-demand Hu Ge “(“The Wild Goose Lake,” Wong Kar-wai’s...
The film had previously been announced with sales handled jointly by Fortissimo and Rediance. Now, Fortissimo alone is representing rights worldwide, ex-China.
Directed by Kang Bo, the film is set in the chilly far north of the country. Recently released from prison, Zhu Shaoyu is a former trafficker of women who is forced to return to the sordid business when his son is abducted. He goes undercover and tries to infiltrate the kidnap gang. But he finds that the boy’s minder, awash in gambling debts, is also intent on holding him hostage. In order to gain leverage, the gang targets the minder’s pregnant girlfriend and convinces her to sell her unborn child.
The cast is headed by the in-demand Hu Ge “(“The Wild Goose Lake,” Wong Kar-wai’s...
- 5/9/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
The UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) has selected 20 executives for the 2024 edition of Inside Pictures, the film and television business training and development programme.
Participants include Swedish producer Erik Hemmendorff, who has made all of Ruben Ostlund’s feature films including Palme d’Or winners The Square and Triangle Of Sadness, through the duo’s Plattform Produktion.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Also selected are Alex Gardener-Smith, head of commercial planning at Lionsgate UK; Charlotte Lopez, VP international sales at Studiocanal; and David Swetman, SVP content and commercial strategy at All3Media International.
Inside Pictures...
Participants include Swedish producer Erik Hemmendorff, who has made all of Ruben Ostlund’s feature films including Palme d’Or winners The Square and Triangle Of Sadness, through the duo’s Plattform Produktion.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Also selected are Alex Gardener-Smith, head of commercial planning at Lionsgate UK; Charlotte Lopez, VP international sales at Studiocanal; and David Swetman, SVP content and commercial strategy at All3Media International.
Inside Pictures...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Australian filmmaker Peter Weir will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28 – September 7).
The director and screenwriter is a six-time Oscar nominee for films including Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show, both of which premiered at Venice in 1989 and 1998 respectively.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetimes work as a director is a considerable honour,” said Weir.
The filmmaker first rose to prominence in 1975 with Picnic At Hanging Rock, followed by The Last Wave...
The director and screenwriter is a six-time Oscar nominee for films including Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show, both of which premiered at Venice in 1989 and 1998 respectively.
“The Venice Film Festival and its Golden Lion are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetimes work as a director is a considerable honour,” said Weir.
The filmmaker first rose to prominence in 1975 with Picnic At Hanging Rock, followed by The Last Wave...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Cannes Market is deploying a three-pronged plan to assure better conditions for market attendees in booking tickets to festival screenings in anticipation of a record number of participants expected for its 2024 edition.
Initiatives include an improved algorithm, cracking down on no-shows and bolstering options for market badge-only catch-up screenings in order to “prioritise professionals,” explained Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of the Marché du Film.
Esmiol said Cannes Film Festival and the Marché have been working hand in hand for months to ensure more tickets are circulating. They hope to ease long-existing frustrations over not being able to secure tickets...
Initiatives include an improved algorithm, cracking down on no-shows and bolstering options for market badge-only catch-up screenings in order to “prioritise professionals,” explained Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of the Marché du Film.
Esmiol said Cannes Film Festival and the Marché have been working hand in hand for months to ensure more tickets are circulating. They hope to ease long-existing frustrations over not being able to secure tickets...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cate Blanchett is to receive San Sebastian’s highest honorary award, the Donostia Award, at the Spanish film festival’s 72nd edition which runs from September 20-28.
It will be Blanchett’s first visit to San Sebastian, but the festival has already screened a number of her films including Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Babel in 2007 and Joel Schumacher’s Veronica Guerin in 2003.
Blanchett is the second Australian actor to receive the Donostia award after Hugh Jackman in 2013.
Blanchett will also feature on San Sebastian’s official poster, created by graphic designer José Luis Lanzagorta based on a photograph by Gustavo Papaleo.
It will be Blanchett’s first visit to San Sebastian, but the festival has already screened a number of her films including Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Babel in 2007 and Joel Schumacher’s Veronica Guerin in 2003.
Blanchett is the second Australian actor to receive the Donostia award after Hugh Jackman in 2013.
Blanchett will also feature on San Sebastian’s official poster, created by graphic designer José Luis Lanzagorta based on a photograph by Gustavo Papaleo.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir – whose body of work comprises “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” – with its 2024 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
“With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.
Barbera added that Weir made a name for himself at the end of the 1970s as the leading figure behind the rebirth of Australian cinema thanks to two movies: “The Cars That Ate Paris” (1974) and cult classic “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975). The international success of his following two films, “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously” then “opened Hollywood’s doors.”
“Weir combines reflections on personal themes and a need to...
“With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.
Barbera added that Weir made a name for himself at the end of the 1970s as the leading figure behind the rebirth of Australian cinema thanks to two movies: “The Cars That Ate Paris” (1974) and cult classic “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975). The international success of his following two films, “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously” then “opened Hollywood’s doors.”
“Weir combines reflections on personal themes and a need to...
- 5/9/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
Skyline Media, a leading Vietnamese studio, is getting ready for Cannes with a string of sales on its local and Southeast Asian film sales slate.
Since appearing at FilMart in Hong Kong in March, Skyine has licensed Cambodian horror title “The Night Curse of Reatrei” to Taiwan’s Cai Chang International and to Exponenta Film for the Cis region. The film about a woman doctor who takes up a job in an orphanage, only to find that the place is haunted, is directed by Leak Lyda. Starring Jenna Norodom, Shin Yubin and Paing Takhon, the Khmer-language film is Cambodia’s highest-grossing horror title of all time.
Vietnamese horror film, “The Soul Reaper,” scored $2.34 million at its domestic box office, having been released at the end of 2023. Since its market debut in Busan last year, the film has since added $320,000 of theatrical revenue in Myanmar and Taiwan and been licensed to Netflix for 11 East Asian territories.
Since appearing at FilMart in Hong Kong in March, Skyine has licensed Cambodian horror title “The Night Curse of Reatrei” to Taiwan’s Cai Chang International and to Exponenta Film for the Cis region. The film about a woman doctor who takes up a job in an orphanage, only to find that the place is haunted, is directed by Leak Lyda. Starring Jenna Norodom, Shin Yubin and Paing Takhon, the Khmer-language film is Cambodia’s highest-grossing horror title of all time.
Vietnamese horror film, “The Soul Reaper,” scored $2.34 million at its domestic box office, having been released at the end of 2023. Since its market debut in Busan last year, the film has since added $320,000 of theatrical revenue in Myanmar and Taiwan and been licensed to Netflix for 11 East Asian territories.
- 5/9/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
The European Film Academy (Efa) has added a record 709 film professionals as new members, including actress Cate Blanchett and directors Molly Manning Walker and Matteo Garrone.
New members are invited to join Efa once a year, and the 2024 cohort has been announced on today’s Europe Day.
Other new members include Sarajevo festival director Jovan Marjanović, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, Anatomy Of A Fall producers David Thion and Marie-Ange Luciani, German actress and director Aylin Tezel, Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Romanian director and screenwriter Christi Puiu, and UK’s National Film and Television School head of fiction directing Lizzie Franke.
New members are invited to join Efa once a year, and the 2024 cohort has been announced on today’s Europe Day.
Other new members include Sarajevo festival director Jovan Marjanović, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, Anatomy Of A Fall producers David Thion and Marie-Ange Luciani, German actress and director Aylin Tezel, Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Romanian director and screenwriter Christi Puiu, and UK’s National Film and Television School head of fiction directing Lizzie Franke.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
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 (BAFTA winner “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...
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 (BAFTA winner “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...
- 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
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