News

The great Angela Lansbury, winner of five Tony Awards and an honorary Oscar, and nominee for three Oscars and 18 Primetime Emmys besides -- passed away in 2022 at the age of 96, leaving a legacy so large, it cannot be measured by other mortals in the acting sphere. Lansbury was one of the more versatile actresses of her generation, playing innocent girls, scheming villainesses and murderers, heroes, crones, and loving matrons all with equal aplomb. 

Lansbury was already a sizable celebrity by 1984 when she took the role of Jessica Fletcher on the long-running detective series "Murder, She Wrote." Fletcher was a retired English-teacher-turned-mystery-author who became embroiled in a series of murders in her small town of Cabot Cove, Maine. It was a cozy and intelligent series, buoyed by Lansbury's personable performance. The series ran for 247 episodes over 12 seasons. Frustratingly, Lansbury won none of 12 Emmys for which she was nominated for "Murder, She Wrote.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This April, Netflix is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the highly anticipated conclusion to the psychological crime thriller drama series You to the brutal Tom Hardy action film Havoc. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Netflix this month and have an 80% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the seven best films that are coming to Netflix in April 2025 with an 80% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

The Age of Innocence (April 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88% Credit – Columbia Pictures

The Age of Innocence is a historical romantic drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks. Based on the 1920 novel of the same name by Edith Wharton, the 1993 film is set in the 1870s and it follows Newland Archer, a wealthy...

When considering who could play an ancient Roman philosopher, few great actors come to mind more quickly than John Malkovich. He has the ability to easily slide into regal, careful, sometimes pompous, sometimes painfully self-aware performances befitting of archaic geniuses. From the trailer and images, it looks like he's bringing all that to his portrayal of the eponymous stoic in the film Seneca (also known as Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes). Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, acquired the VOD rights to the historical drama, also featuring Geraldine Chaplin and Tom Xander. While it was filmed years ago, it will finally be available in North America on digital platforms, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting April 8, 2025. Watch the trailer below:

Seneca also stars Tom Xander (‘Nero’), Geraldine Chaplin (‘Cecelia’), Mary-Louise Parker (‘Agrippina’), and the late, great...

"I did it for Rome." Freestyle Digital Media has debuted their official trailer for the film Seneca, made by director Robert Schwentke who worked in Hollywood for years (he last made Snake Eyes before this). The full title is actually Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes - this first premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival a few years ago and opened in Germany that year. But most critics hated it and reviews have been harsh. It's about the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Emperor he mentored since childhood and who accused him of plotting his assassination. The plot revolves around Nero telling him to kill himself and Seneca's response to this directive. "Schwentke has made a pyrotechnic display of a film that is almost peerless in its use of over-the-top punchlines, splatter-sarcasm, love of verbal precocity. Stunning & incredibly topical, Seneca asks: is the educated elite a victim...

Animation will possibly always be inextricably linked with and thought of as family-friendly content. Even though it's a medium of storytelling, animation continues to be widely perceived as a genre. As a result, it's simply considered a children's genre by most, even though the best R-rated animated films demonstrate that there's nothing inherently child-friendly about animation. Horror as a genre, on the other hand, barring horror comedy movies which are hilarious and terrifying, is largely considered to be an adult genre, exploring adult themes and featuring visuals inappropriate for children.

So, the blend of horror and animation is very commonly appropriate only for adults. In fact, one of the best horror movies of the past 10 years is an animated movie called The Wolf House. But the most interesting area of intersection between the two categories is the family-friendly animated horror movie, which doesn't always come in the form of horror comedy.

Quick Links Chaplin Is One of The Most Underrated Biopics Ever Made Charlie Chaplin Was One of Robert Downey Jr.'s Most Demanding Performances Who Won The Best Actor Oscar Against Robert Downey Jr. in 1993?

This year, Robert Downey Jr. received his first-ever Oscar win for his supporting role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. With the remarkable performance that he gave, it was certainly well-earned, but having been nominated twice previously, it was an achievement that was long overdue. Even though he's now perhaps most well-known for his decade-spanning turn as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's had quite a remarkable career outside that one character that has proven him to have a wider range than some may give him credit for. One of these films that displayed said range and his ability to completely vanish into a role was the first film...

Charlie Chaplin’s family have collaborated on official documentary Spirit of the Tramp, and here’s the trailer for the film.

Charlie Chaplin is one of those film stars who are so iconic, he is almost a genre unto himself. With his hat and toothbrush moustache, Chaplin’s mastery of physical clowning mixed with his pioneering directorial skills means that his films are still delighting audiences a hundred years on. From his feature debut The Kid to The Great Dictator and sharing the screen with fellow silent comedy icon Buster Keaton in Limelight.

Many of Chaplin’s descendants have also found their way into the film and television industry. Daughter Geraldine Chaplin played her grandmother Hannah Chaplin. His granddaughter Oona Chaplin is also an actor: Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton cast her in their silent Inside No 9 episode A Quiet Night In as an in joke.

Chaplin’s life...

Exclusive: London and Paris-based production and sales company Film Constellation has unveiled a first teaser trailer for Charlie Chaplin doc Chaplin: Spirit Of The Tramp, directed by his granddaughter, Carmen Chaplin.

The film, an intimate portrait of the comic icon from inside the family circle, will get its world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival next month.

Th feature tells the story of Chaplin’s family as they embark on a journey into the Gypsy heritage that helped inspire his infamous and beloved character, The Tramp.

It marks the first time the Chaplin family has collaborated so extensively on a documentary about their famed relative, with narration by Michael J. Chaplin, and interviews with Geraldine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Jane Chaplin and Christopher Chaplin.

Also among talking heads are filmmakers, actors and performers including Johnny Depp, Emir Kusturica, Tony Gatlif, Stochelo Rosenberg, Lita Cabellut, and Farruquito.

BTeam will release the film in Spain,...

Film Constellation has taken international sales rights to “Chaplin, Spirit of the Tramp,” a feature documentary directed by Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter Carmen Chaplin, and set to world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The documentary delivers an intimate portrait of the iconic English-born Hollywood filmmaker and comedian from within his family, and explores his Romani roots, which inspired the creation of his beloved character the Tramp. The doc boasts interviews, film extracts, home movies and contributions from renowned contemporary Roma artists including Tony Gatlif, Stochelo Rosenberg, Lita Cabellut and Farruquito, among others.

Carmen Chaplin’s directorial feature debut benefits from unprecedented access to the Chaplin estate, thanks to the participation of the Chaplin Office, the Chaplin family and MK2 films. The director spoke to many relatives, including Michael J. Chaplin, Geraldine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Jane Chaplin and Christopher Chaplin.

“The story of my grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, has been told many times,...

One of cinema’s greatest partnerships is getting its due with Stephen Soucy’s forthcoming documentary Merchant Ivory, set for a release on August 30. Ahead of the release from Cohen Media Group, it’s prime time to revisit the work of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, and now those in NYC will get a chance. “Merchant Ivory: An Extraordinary Partnership,” taking place August 23-29 at Quad Cinema, features restorations of seven masterpieces from the Cohen Film Collection and we’re pleased to debut the exclusive series trailer.

Titles include Merchant Ivory classics Howards End, Maurice, The Bostonians, Heat and Dust, and Quartet, plus brand-new restorations of James Ivory’s 1977 ballroom drama Roseland starring Teresa Wright, Geraldine Chaplin, and Christopher Walken and Ismail Merchant’s 1993 directorial debut In Custody starring frequent Merchant Ivory collaborator Shashi Kapoor. James Ivory will be in person for post-screening Q&As on August 27 & 28 for select screenings of In Custody,...

French actress Emmanuelle Béart and Belgian-Congolese director/songwriter Baloji will co-preside over the Caméra d’Or jury of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

The Caméra d’Or is awarded to the best first feature film in Cannes’ Official Selection, or in the parallel Critics Week or Directors’ Fortnight sections.

Béart’s long list of credits include 8 Women (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995), Heart In Winter (1992), La Belle Noiseuse (1991) and Manon Des Sources (1986).

Baloji won the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard last year for his debut feature Omen.

This year’s Caméra d’Or jury includes director of photography Gilles Porte,...

Belgian rapper and filmmaker Baloji and French film actress Emmanuelle Béart have been announced as co-presidents of the Cannes Film Festival’s Caméra d’Or jury for the upcoming 77th edition, running from May 14 to 25.

The award for the best first film is open to all the debut feature films presented in Official Selection and the parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.

The Caméra d’Or Jury has been co-chaired three times before: by actress Françoise Fabian and director Daniel Schmid in 1996, by Marthe Keller and Géraldine Chaplin in 2002, and by brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne in 2006.

Announcing the pair today, the festival described Baloji and Béart as “free spirits with no limits, who rely on their art to achieve creative freedom.” Baloji is best known for his directorial debut Omen, which debuted at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard.

Robert Downey Jr. faced his darkest hour before making a miraculous comeback in Hollywood, proving people can change if they want to. Jodie Foster, who directed Downey Jr. in Home for the Holidays, saw his immense talent but also the struggles he faced due to addiction. Despite legal troubles and drug abuse, Downey Jr. never gave up, eventually rebuilding his career to become one of the industry's top actors.

Jodie Foster recalls directing Robert Downey Jr. in the 1995 movie Home for the Holidays, while he was in the midst of his addictions. A year after working on the movie, Downey Jr. ended up being arrested as his dark years began, something Foster could see coming to the actor.

Home for the Holidays DramaRomanceComedy Release DateNovember 3, 1996DirectorJodie FosterCastHolly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Claire Danes, Cynthia Stevenson, Charles DurningRuntime103 min

Robert Downey Jr. has...

Jodie Foster opened up to Esquire magazine as part of its Robert Downey Jr. cover story about what it was like directing him in the 1995 Thanksgiving comedy “Home for the Holidays.” The film marked Foster’s second outing as a feature film director after 1991’s “Little Man Tate.” Production kicked off in early 1995, which overlapped with Downey’s addiction struggles. He’d be arrested the following year for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded gun.

At one point during the production of “Home for the Holidays,” Foster “took him aside” and told Downey: “Look, I couldn’t be more grateful for what you’ve given in this film. But I’m scared of what happens to you next. Right now you are incredibly good at balancing on the barstool. But it’s really precarious, and I’m not sure how that’s going to end.”

“What was so interesting...

Along with the handful of television shows headed to Paramount+ next month, the streaming service also has a solid line-up of films arriving. Known for its humorous commercials riddled with various television and film characters, the platform understands how to market itself. Although relatively new compared to veterans like Hulu and Netflix, it manages to hold its own within the world of streaming.

Along with its slew of television series headed to Paramount+ next month, the streaming service also has a solid line-up of films arriving. Together with two comedic dramas, there’s an action film slated for release on the streaming service in the coming weeks. Also, with two horror films heading to the platform, fans of the spooky season won’t have to wait until October to enjoy something scary. While there might not be a range of genres available next month, there’s certainly plenty subscribers will find worth watching.

In 1971, just six years after Frank Herbert published his groundbreaking science-fiction novel "Dune," Arthur P. Jacobs' Apjac International obtained the rights to the story for a film adaptation. The producer behind "Planet of the Apes" was ready to craft another world set in a distant future, but with the sequel film "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" on its way, "Dune" was delayed.

Jacobs went through a handful of different directors and screenwriters in early development, but he tragically passed away in 1973. David Lynch would eventually bring "Dune" to the big screen in 1984, but there were multiple failed attempts that paved the way for his film and a remake in his wake that led to Denis Villeneuve's recent adaptations. The messy histories of failed "Dune" adaptations could justify their own feature-length documentaries but allow this to be a crash course on the bizarre "Dune" movies that never came to be.

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Leonardo as Creature from the Black Lagoon Figure from Neca

Leonardo as Creature from the Black Lagoon will join Neca’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Universal Monsters toy line in January. Pre-order are up for $34.99.

Packed to the gills with accessories, the 7” scale action figure comes with six interchangeable hands, two harpoon katanas, attachable wrist bone blade, and turtle. It’s packaged in a window box with opening flap featuring art by Daniel Horne.

This is the line’s eighth release, following Raphael as Frankenstein, Leonardo as Ygor, Michelangelo as The Mummy, April as Bride of Frankenstein, Splinter as Van Helsing, Donatello as The Invisible Man, and Casey Jones as The Phantom.

The Boogens...

Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation recently scored at the local box office, is being feted with a career award by the El Gouna Film Festival.

The Egyptian fest, running Oct. 13-20 in the Red Sea resort roughly 250 miles south of Cairo, is also paying tribute to the Sudanese Film Group, a groundbreaking collective of filmmakers, and is planning an homage to late great British-French icon Jane Birkin.

Hamed (pictured above) broke out internationally in 2006 with his bold adaptation of Alaa Aswany’s bestselling novel “The Yacoubian Building” that became a game-changer in Egytian cinema due to the way it depicted homosexuality, Islamic fundamentalism and government corruption. After “Yacoubian” become a local hit and travelled widely Hamed scored again big time with “The Blue Elephant,” a thriller with supernatural elements and its sequel “The Blue Elephant 2” that more...

Studiocanal has signed a deal with Metropolitan Filmexport for worldwide rights to the entire film catalog of acclaimed French director Claude Lelouch.

The deal, announced at the Cannes Film Market on Saturday, includes more than 40 films, among them such French classics as A Man and a Woman (1966) — winner of the 1966 Palme d’Or, as well as two Oscars, for best international film and best original screenplay — Live for Life (1967), Love Is a Funny Thing (1969), The Crook (1970), Money Money Money (1972), Happy New Year (1973), Bolero (1981), Itinerary of a Spoilt Child (1988) and Les Misérables (1995).

Studiocanal has been handling French TV rights for the Lelouch catalog for the past seven years. The new deal will give the group exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the director’s vast catalog, as well as SVOD, free-on-demand and AVOD rights in France. Metropolitan will continue to distribute Lelouch’s films in theaters, on video and through transactional video-on-demand (Tvod) in France.

For the past 40 Cannes Film Festivals, Alexandre has been putting on a show.

As the head bartender at the Mondrian Cannes — the établissement formerly known as The Grand — he’s been mixing cocktails and charming post-premiere revelers since 1983. Alexandre — it’s always “Alexandre,” no last name, like Prince or Madonna — is, for festival regulars, as familiar and welcome a sight as Cannes’ iconic red carpet. With a tall, lean frame and sharp Gallic nose, he darts between tables like a more elegant version of Monsieur Hulot, instantly recognizable with his striking bald head and those playful eyes that spring open in delight and surprise at every new guest.

Over the years, Alexandre has served festival grandees and Hollywood royalty. Johnny Depp and Jim Jarmusch, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. Isabella Rossellini.

He has his stories.

“Sitting right there: Tony Curtis. And there, Bo Derek,” Alexandre begins. “He goes over,...

Veteran Spanish actor Ana Torrent was around five-years-old when she was cast in her first movie, the landmark drama The Spirit of the Beehive, by maverick filmmaker Víctor Erice.

Fifty years later, the pair have reunited on a new pic, Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos), Erice’s first feature-length film in over a decade. The film debuts Out-of-Competition in the Cannes Premiere section on Monday.

The film follows a famous Spanish actor, Julio Arenas, who disappears while shooting a film. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he’s been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance is brought back into the spotlight by a TV show outlining his life and death, showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, the director Miguel Garay.

Exclusive: In 2016, the hottest book in Hollywood hadn’t even been published yet. Circulating in galley proofs, it was the latest non-fiction work from author David Grann, whose 2009 book The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon had recently been filmed by James Gray and produced by Plan B. His new book was another mouthful — Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI — and it proved just as tasty.

Seven-figure bids materialized, with talent attachments that included Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and J.J. Abrams. The deal ended with a statement buy by Imperative Entertainment’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas, who went well beyond the bids and took it off the table for $5 million. With Martin Scorsese directing, they would set it up at Paramount, casting DiCaprio alongside Robert De Niro in the most iconic pairing since...

Picture Tree Intl. has picked up global sales rights to “Gina” (working title), by Ulrike Kofler, which follows her Netflix debut “What We Wanted.”

“Gina” tells the story of a 9-year-old girl longing for a home and family while having to take care of her younger siblings and mother, who is too overwhelmed to take care of herself, let alone her children.

The film, produced by Film Ag, is the second feature by Kofler, who is a long-time editor for Austrian director Marie Kreutzer. Kofler’s editing work includes “Corsage,” which won best film at the London Film Festival and three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2022, “The Ground Beneath My Feet”, and Josef Hader’s “Wild Mouse”.

Kolfer’s directorial debut “What We Wanted,” starring Elyas M’Barek and Lavinia Wilson, was sold by Pti exclusively to Netflix, and was Austria’s official entry for the Academy Awards in...

Early last year, Stefan Kitanov, director of the Sofia International Film Festival, thought that after two years of lockdowns and online events, things were finally getting back to normal.

“For two years I was out of all festival events and travels, I avoided all public events and spent time in our family house outside the city,” says Kitanov, who started Bulgaria’s biggest film event 27 years ago. “[Then], just as we thought the pandemic is finally over, the war in Ukraine broke out, just a month before our 2022 edition.”

The festival lineup was already locked down, but Kitanov quickly adjusted to the new reality. And made Sofia’s allegiance clear.

“We decided to withdraw Russian films and call off Russian talents and guests,” recalls Kitanov, who has many friends among both Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers and fellow festival colleagues. “[Ukrainian director] Oleg Sentsov was selected to serve on the main jury, but he...

Co-production forum marks 20th anniversary this year.

Laurynas Bareisa, winner of the 2021 best film prize at Venice’s Orrizonti section for his debut Pilgrims, is among the directors presenting new projects at the 20th edition of the Sofia Meetings co-production forum (22-26 March).

The Lithuanian director is bringing Drowning Dry to Sofia where it is one of five projects in a section dedicated to second feature films.

The section’s line-up also includes The Last Slap by Italian director Matteo Oleotto whose debut feature Zoran, My Nephew The Idiot premiered in Venice’s Critics Week in 2013.

The Last Slap’s...

It’s not a coincidence that Volker Schlöndorff’s latest film The Forest Maker, the environmental essay documentary about Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo, who found a way to grow trees in the most barren areas of Africa, is opening the 27th Sofia International Film Festival kicking off Thursday in the Bulgarian capital.

One of the major film festivals in Eastern Europe is going green, and the veteran German filmmaker, winner of the Palme d’Or and what was then called the best foreign language Oscar for The Tin Drum (1979), will plant the first tree of the future Sofia Film Festival Forest.

“We wanted to remind ourselves of our deep connection to the land and our power to be agents of change together. We wish to engage the public in the global vision of sustainable development of society and a responsible attitude towards nature”, the festival organizers said about the green...

Films Boutique are close to further deals in China and Italy.

Animated sci-fi film White Plastic Sky has scores sales in Europe and Asia by Films Boutique following its world premiere at last month’s Berlinale.

The Berlin-based sales agent has sold the Hungarian feature to Kmbo for France and Flash Forward Entertainment for Taiwan. Films Boutique is in talks for the feature at Hong Kong Filmart and deals in China and Italy are expected to close shortly.

Directed by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó, the film is set in 2123 and follows one man’s risky attempts to save his...

German director Robert Schwentke’s directorial career has swung in a few directions; he has made Hollywood actioners like Flightplan with Jodie Foster, the adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife and a film that almost defines the idea of a personal movie, based on his own diagnosis with testicular cancer. He has both written and directed Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, an eccentric competition choice, even by the inclusive standards of the Berlinale – starring John Malkovich as the eponymous Stoic philosopher. Over two hours, he delivers what is largely a monologue: as a performance, it has at least the strength of dogged determination. As a film, however, Seneca is almost unendurable.

Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in Ad 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on...

There is one thing to be said for Seneca — On the Creation of Earthquakes, which has its world premiere in Berlin this week. It may be the first major film set in ancient Rome in a couple of decades. But those who are hoping for a vivid adventure like Gladiator or Spartacus or even a campy hoot like Quo Vadis will be sorely disappointed by this bizarre effort to create a historical fantasia. John Malkovich has a rare starring role and acquits himself solidly enough. But it is harder to understand what motivated director Robert Schwentke, who has some successful films to his credit (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Red, the Divergent series) but adds no luster to his resume with this head-scratcher.

Schwentke was born in Germany but has made most of his films in Hollywood. This German-financed effort was filmed primarily in Morocco and showcases a cast from all over the world,...

Actor John Malkovich is in Berlin to debut his latest pic Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, and during a press conference Monday, he spoke to reporters about his relationship with his co-star, Julian Sands, who has been missing since January.

“Julian and I were very, very close,” Malkovich told reporters in Berlin.

“I’m a godfather to his first son from his first marriage to Sarah, who I know very well. I introduced him to his second wife, and we have been close since we met in 1983 on the set of The Killing Fields. It’s a very sad event.”

Related: Deadline’s Berlin Film Festival Coverage

Sands was reported missing on January 13 after he failed to return from a hiking expedition in California. Several searches by public and private parties have already been carried out. The actor is also an experienced hiker.

John Malkovich, Julian Sands, ‘The Killing...

British actor Sands has been missing in California’s San Gabriel Mountains since January 13.

John Malkovich has commented on the disappearance of his friend and colleague, the UK actor Julian Sands, calling it “a very sad event.”

UK actor Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains outside of Los Angeles, California on January 13 this year, 38 days ago. He has not yet been located; yesterday a body of a hiker who went missing on the same day, 62-year-old Bob Gregory, was found.

Malkovich took part in a press conference today (February 20) for Berlinale Special Gala Seneca - On The Creation Of Earthquakes,...

Few directors have had as eclectic a career as Robert Schwentke. His 2002 German-language debut Tattoo — a slick Se7en-style serial-killer thriller — got the attention of Hollywood, and he initially appeared to be on the classic studio-director track, helming the Jodie Foster-starrer Flightplan, the all-star action hit Red and its sequel, and, most recently, the G.I. Joe movie Snake Eyes with Henry Golding and Andrew Koji.

But even from the start, Schwentke was a difficult director to pigeonhole. Best known for his action thrillers, he also took time to direct the romantic sci-fi drama The Time Traveler’s Wife with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, the supernatural comic-book adaptation R.I.P.D. with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, and two films in the Divergent YA sci-fi franchise with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.

He has also continued to make smaller, more personal, German movies. The Family Jewels, his 2003 follow-up to Tattoo, is...

In his dark historical comedy “Seneca,” Robert Schwentke explores themes of power, corruption and hypocrisy as he traces the fateful final days of the Roman philosopher and dramatist that followed his souring relationship with the despotic Emperor Nero.

The film stars John Malkovich in the title role, Tom Xander as Nero and an ensemble cast that includes Geraldine Chaplin, Louis Hofmann, Mary-Louise Parker and Julian Sands.

The story of a morally conflicted, opportunistic character grappling with tyranny run amok can be seen as a continuation of the subject matter at the heart of his acclaimed 2017 World War II drama “The Captain,” says Schwentke. Both “are concerned with individual choice within a totalitarian system. They both deal with the theme of collaboration, opportunism and survival and how tainted one can become.”

Schwentke says he was most intrigued by the stark contradictions of Seneca, who he describes as a “complex character and a paradox.

Later in life, Raquel Welch would occasionally acknowledge that Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) provided her with the best reviews of her career. And it’s hard to argue. Prior to those successful, and slyly subversive, reworkings of Alexandre Dumas’ most famous novel, Welch was known as the sex symbol of the ’60s. She was the redhead in the fur bikini of One Million Years B.C. (1966); the poster image that was so iconic her figure became the primary sales pitch for a movie about dinosaurs!

The bombshell persona opened the doors of Hollywood, but for a woman who was already a mother of two at the time and had to change her name to hide her Bolivian heritage, it was a mirage. She ran with it throughout the ‘60s, leaving a legacy that lingered on in movies which ranged from The Shawshank Redemption (1994) to Belfast...

Spanish auteur Carlos Saura, known for a lifetime of movies made in the shadow of his country’s civil war under the Franco dictatorship and its aftermath, has died. He was 91.

The Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences said Saura died at home “surrounded by his loved ones.”

Fernando Mendez-Leite, president of the Spanish Academy, paid tribute to Saura, saying the filmmaker’s “highly personal, varied work and creative has left an indelible mark on the history of our cinema and Spanish culture. Personally I’m very sad, because I had the pleasure of knowing and dealing with Carlos for many years, whom I considered an a teacher and a friend.”

Saura had been due to receive the Academy’s Honorary Goya Award at a ceremony Saturday but instead received the statuette at home this week. The Spanish Academy added the 37th edition of the Goya Awards will pay tribute to “an unrepeatable creator.

Spanish auteur Carlos Saura died on Friday of natural causes, the Film Academy of Spain confirmed. He was 91.

In a statement, the org stated: “The Film Academy deeply regrets to announce the death of Carlos Saura, Goya de Honor 2023. Saura, one of the fundamental filmmakers in the history of Spanish cinema, died today at his home at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones.”

Born in 1932 in Huesca, Aragon – the same part of Spain as Luis Buñuel, whom he recognised as his mentor – Saura was taken by his family to Madrid during its Civil War. As a child, Saura he listened with horror to its bombings, the trauma of its violence never leaving him, inspiring his third feature, 1965’s “The Hunt,” a portrait of a Franquist ruling class which won him a Berlin Silver Bear.

This crowned him as the leading light of a New Spanish Cinema, an attempt...

"Aim for virtue, happiness will follow." German distributor Weltkino Filmverleih has revealed two official trailers for the film Seneca, the latest from director Robert Schwentke who has been working in Hollywood for years (he last made Snake Eyes). The full title is actually Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes, and this is premiering at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival later this month, with a German release set in March. A look at the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Emperor he mentored since childhood and who accused him of plotting his assassination. The plot revolves around Nero telling him to kill himself, and how Seneca then responds. "Schwentke has made a pyrotechnic display of a film that is almost peerless in its use of over-the-top punchlines, splatter-sarcasm and love of verbal precocity. Stunning and incredibly topical, Seneca asks: is the educated elite a victim of tyranny or an opportunistic collaborator?...

The Traitors season 1 contestant Geraldine Moreno was the first player to be banished from the game by her fellow competitors, and she deserves a second chance to win the grand prize when the series returns for season 2. Geraldine is an actress from North Hollywood who has appeared in several films. She was one of the "civilian" contestants on The Traitors, who competed against nine other previously non-famous players and 10 celebrities. On the first episode, she was not chosen by host Alan Cumming to be a traitor. However, when the players took off their blindfolds after the selection, several people commented that Geraldine's fidgety body language indicated that she was nervous. They began to suspect that she was one of the traitors, who were actually Cirie Fields, Cody Calafiore, and Christian de la Torre.

During the first mission on The Traitors season 1, Geraldine noticed a disagreement between Dmv office manager Michael...

The ambitious film is based on the classic Italian novel, Dino Buzatti’s ’The Desert Of The Tatars’

US-Belgian director Jessica Woodworth shot her ambitious new film Luka in Sicily, in black and white and in 16mm, as a complex European co-production.

The film has its world premiere this week in the Big Screen competition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

Geraldine Chaplin and Jonas Smulders star in the English-language film, about a young man, played by Smulders, who heads off to join the army at the remote and desolate Fort Kairos. Under the command of the General, played by Chaplin,...

“I knew from day one it was Geraldine Chaplin who needed to play The General,” says director Jessica Woodworth about having Charlie Chaplin’s daughter play one of the central characters in her latest drama, “Luka,” which is having its world premiere in the Big Screen Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

“Not because she’s female, however,” emphasizes the director. “This had nothing to do with it. In fact, my intention was to have her incarnate a male character, but our working relationship is so strong, I told her I couldn’t make a film without her. In the end, it became totally irrelevant whether she was male or female.”

The film is inspired by Dino Buzzati’s classic novel “The Tartar Steppe,” and stars Chaplin and Jonas Smulders, a previous European Shooting Star, as the titular character. “I studied Italian literature at university, and lived in Italy for a while,...

The trailer has debuted for Jessica Woodworth’s sci-fi epic “Luka,” which has its world premiere in the Big Screen Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Films Boutique is handling international sales.

The film is Woodworth’s take on Dino Buzzati’s “The Tartar Steppe,” in which she crafts a fantasy of post-truth lunacy. Geraldine Chaplin plays the twisted General in a drama tinged with the conjured terrors of George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” and the rapturous brotherly love of Jean Genet’s “Un chant d’amour.”

In the film, Luka, a young and ambitious soldier, embeds himself in Fort Kairos where heroic warriors defend the remains of civilization. His hopes to serve as an elite sniper are crushed when he is assigned to maintenance and must submit to the code of Kairos: obedience, endurance and sacrifice. As he rises through the ranks, Luka finds joy and strength in friendships with Konstantin,...

Luka

Shot in glorious B&w and Super 16mm, Belgian-American filmmaker Jessica Woodworth mounted this solo adventure utilizing the backdrop of Sicily back in October of ’21. Before being selected for the upcoming edition of Rotterdam, Luka was known as “Fortress” and was in the works dating back to 2017’s TorinoFilmLab. Jonas Smulders toplines the project sharing the screen alongside Geraldine Chaplin, Samvel Tadevossian, Jan Bijvoet, Sam Louwyck, Django Schrevens and Hal Yamanouchi. As we already know Woodworth was part of the filmmaking team with Peter Brosens beginning with Khadak which preemed at the Venice Days, followed by 2009’s Altiplano in the Cannes Critics’ Week, 2012’s The Fifth Season as a comp title in Venice, The King of the Belgians in Venice’s Orizzonti and The Barefoot Emperor a Toronto selection.…...

John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary are set to have their world premieres at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival next year. The projects are among the six titles which will play in the fest’s Berlinale Special Gala section, which also includes Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman and Todd Field’s Tár.

Infinity Pool will get its European premiere at the festival while Field and Tár stars Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir will attend the festival to give a public talk as part of the Berlinale Talents section.

The festival also announced its first project from its Berlinale Series section: Zdf’s eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm), based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing. The project follows an international group of scientists who do research...

The full programme will be revealed in January 2023.

The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.

The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.

In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.

Robert Schwentke...

Berlin-based sales company Picture Tree Intl. has boarded Robert Schwentke’s historical drama “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes,” which has its world premiere in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival. The teaser (below) for the film, which stars John Malkovich, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Xander, “Dark’s” Louis Hofmann and Mary-Louise Parker, has been released.

The movie is a look at the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Roman Emperor he mentored since childhood, and who accused him of plotting his assassination.

As the foster father and mastermind of Nero, Seneca is instrumental in the rise of the self-indulgent young tyrant. The philosopher, known for his great speeches on renunciation and clemency, is himself one of the richest men in ancient Rome. But when one day the student tires of his teacher, Nero orders Seneca to kill himself. Is the latter ready for an honorable suicide,...

Easily one of the best movies of its kind, J.A. Bayona’s minute-by-minute tale of survival poses an immediate challenge to audiences: could I survive that? The genuinely terrifying true story of one family lost in the middle of a devastating disaster is even more relevant now, with similar disasters seemingly happening daily. The near-flawless direction concentrates on the direct experience of a mother and son, who in just a couple of days learn the meaning of human concern and kindness. It’s a Spanish production (in English); Naomi Watts received an Oscar nomination and Ewan McGregor and young Tom Holland give strong performances. We reach back ten years for this review.

The Impossible

Blu-ray

Summit Entertainment

2012 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 114 min. / Lo imposible / Street Date April 23, 2013 / Available from Amazon / 19.99

Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura, Sönke Möhring, Geraldine Chaplin, Ploy Jindachote, Jomjaoi Sae-Limh,...

For some cinephiles, Sicily may still conjure images from “The Godfather” franchise, but the Italian isle has long moved on.

When you see Sicily on screen these days in movies and TV series made for global audiences, the narratives now seldom involve Cosa Nostra tropes as they once used to. What’s taking precedence for producers now is the sheer beauty of the Sicilian landscape in its plethora of forms.

“For decades Sicily was where you would come to film stories that were centered around the Mafia and organized crime; but now this is changing,” says Sicilian Film Commission chief Nicola Tarantino. He notes that only 10 of the roughly 45 projects supported by the commission last year have anything to do with the mob.

While the crime angle may have boosted Sicily’s profile as a location, productions that chose the island for filming are just “less and less interested in this theme,...

Retitled Bolero for its American release in 1981, Claude Lelouch’s Les Uns et les Autres is a musical multi-family saga spanning five decades. Starring Robert Hossein and Geraldine Chaplin, Lelouch’s screenplay follows the travails and triumphs of four households of different nationalities—it’s their shared love for music that unites the characters and the film.

The post Les Uns et les Autres appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Geraldine Chaplin, Jonas Smulders star.

Berlin-based sales firm Films Boutique has boarded Jessica Woodworth’s Belgian feature Fortress starring Geraldine Chaplin and Jonas Smulders.

It has released a first-look image of the film, which is in post-production, above.

Fortress shot for six weeks in Sicily in autumn 2021, with filming in black-and-white on Super 16mm film. US-Belgian filmmaker Woodworth wrote the screenplay, adapted from Dino Buzzati’s 1940 novel The Tartar Steppe.

It is about a young soldier, hungry for battle, who embeds himself in an isolated fort where men wait in vain for an enemy to strike. Jan Bijvoet and Sam Louwyck also star.

We’re praying to Kaelego that Netflix’s dark horse hit “Archive 81” gets a second season, but until then, if you’re craving more strange cults, peel-back-the-wallpaper moments, and mind-bending, non-linear mysteries, these 11 series might fill the void. We’ve rounded up a list of shows like “Archive 81” that will give you your fix, ranging from series that are spooky, mysterious and mythological to horrifically devastating.

Ares Netflix

Biracial first-year medical student Rosa Steenwijk (Jade Olieberg) joins the mysterious secret society Ares in this Netflix Dutch series set in Amsterdam. What exactly are the membership fees to this elite, and largely white, group? In the first episode, a student stabs herself with a pair of scissors and Rosa’s friend Jacob (Tobias Kersloot) has disturbing visions of a terrifying black figure when he gets cold feet during their initiation ceremony.

Where to Stream It: Netflix

Castle Rock Hulu...