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Luke Evans has been tapped to co-star alongside Noomi Rapace in “Traction,” an action-thriller about a former U.S. soldier leading a humanitarian mission through war-torn Chechnya. The film will be written and directed by Lorraine Darrow, the filmmaker behind “Pas Sages.”

Kate (Rapace), accompanied by her trusted Chechen ally Magomed, finds her mission taking a perilous turn when they unwittingly harbor a young rebel, Larissa, and her mysterious package. “Traction” follows them as they are forced to take on a cynical American war photographer (Evans), a schoolteacher and her injured student. Together, the group must navigate treacherous terrain and evade both Russian forces and guerrilla fighters.

Rapace and Evans previously shared the screen in 2019’s “Angel of Mine.” Evans’ credits include “Beauty and the Beast,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Criminal” and “Weekend in Taipai.” Rapace is best known for her performances in “Prometheus,” “The Girl with the Dragon,” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Apple TV+ will submit seven cast members from Disclaimer for Emmy consideration, Gold Derby has learned.

Kevin Kline as Stephen Brigstocke, a retired teacher and author, will submit in Best Limited Series/Movie Actor, while Cate Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, an award-winning documentarian, will compete in Best Limited Series/Movie Actress. Both A-listers are on the hunt for their first Emmy wins. Kline is a two-time nominee for Bob's Burgers (2017) and Great Performances (2009), while Blanchett has a pair of Emmy nods to her name for Mrs. America (2020) in acting and producing.

In the featured categories, Sacha Baron Cohen as Robert Ravenscroft, Louis Partridge as Jonathan Brigstocke, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nicholas Ravenscroft have been entered in Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actor, while Leila George as Young Catherine Ravenscroft and Lesley Manville as Nancy Brigstocke have been submitted in Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actress.

Four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón is the creator,...

A planned UK tour of Let the Right One In, the stage adaptation written by Jack Thorne, has been cancelled ahead of its October 2025 launch. Producers confirmed the news this weekend, attributing the cancellation to “unforeseen circumstances.”

The production was scheduled to begin at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate and conclude in Liverpool by April 2026. The tour was set to visit multiple cities, including Bromley, Bristol, Salford, Fareham, Cardiff, Southend, Eastbourne, Glasgow, and Birmingham.

Ticket holders are expected to be contacted by their original point of purchase. Details about potential rescheduling or revised plans have not been provided.

The play is based on the bestselling Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, which became internationally recognized following the 2008 Swedish-language film adaptation. The narrative, which explores isolation, connection, and violence through the story of a reclusive boy and a vampire girl, was later remade as a U.S. feature in 2010 starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

The UK tour of the play Let The Right One In, penned by Jack Thorne, has been cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

BBC News reports that the production, based on the best-selling Swedish novel and hit film by John Ajvide Lindqvist, was due to begin its UK tour in October 2025 and run until April of next year. This follows its previous successful run in Manchester.

However, this weekend it quotes a spokesperson saying: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the UK tour of Let the Right One In is no longer able to proceed as planned.”

The film of Let The Right One In was released in 2008 in its original Swedish. Its success inspired a US version to be made in 2010 starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the couple of solitary teenagers – one a vampire – who strike up an unlikely but soothing friendship.

Thorne was the co-creator of Adolescence, the...

Sydney Sweeney refuses to put her "personal feelings" into her characters.The 27-year-old actress has revealed an acting coach taught her how to stay removed from her roles because she wants to be able to have a "healthy, balanced life" away from her work.She told Empire magazine: "I love to be able to jump fully into these characters and go mad, almost, in the scenes, but if I took that home, that definitely would not be a fun dynamic for my friends and family. "I don’t ever put any of my own personal thoughts or memories or feelings into a character. I was taught that by my friend Kodi Smit-McPhee’s dad, Andy [an acting coach]. "He taught it to me as a way of just making sure that I can have a healthy, balanced life, and being able to know who Sydney is as a person, and then also be...

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2025 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 12 to June 23, with the official Emmy nominations announced Tuesday, July 15. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 18 and ends the night of August 27. The 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 14, and air live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

Prior to the most recent Emmys, where Lamorne Morris earned both a surprise nomination and win for his turn in the fifth season of “Fargo,” the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie race usually saw one contender breeze their way toward a victory with little competition. For instance, “Black Bird” star Paul Walter Hauser...

In 2018, Sony Pictures released Alpha, a prehistoric adventure film. The movie received positive reviews from the critics, but barely impressed at the box office.

Now, Alpha has become a hit on Netflix, per Tudum, seven years after its release. The adventure film comes from John Wick's spin-off limited series The Continental director Albert Hughes. A love letter to dogs, Alpha is set in the last Ice Age and follows a young hunter who encounters and befriends an injured wolf, becoming his best friend.

For the week between Mar. 31 and Apr. 6, Alpha debuted in third place globally, and fourth in the U.S. The movie received 5.5 million views, and 8.9 million hours viewed. The adventure survival film entered the Top 10 in five countries, including the U.S. Alpha's popularity continues, as the movie is still in the charts in seventh place globally, per FlixPatrol.

Alpha's logline reads, "Europe, 20,000 years ago.

Netflix's weekly Top 10 lists are always worth a look, not least of all because they often reveal truly unexpected gems that the streaming platform has managed to resurrect. For example, FlixPatrol is reporting that "Alpha" (a film that was absolutely overlooked upon its initial release) made it onto Netflix's Top 10 in multiple countries on April 6, 2025, and has continued to chart in much of the world in the week since then.

Directed and co-written by Albert Hughes, "Alpha" is a 2018 survival adventure in which an injured Ice Age-era young man is separated from his tribe and has to team up with a similarly inconvenienced wolf to stay alive. Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, the movie is an entertaining and exciting adventure in a relatively uncommon live-action setting. As such, it's good to see that streaming has given this largely forgotten film a new chance to find its audience.

Michael Fassbender is among the best actors of his generation and certainly among the most daring. While many of his contemporaries have settled into their own niches, Fassbender has shown an ability to try out many different genres and rarely fails to deliver a compelling performance. While Fassbender was briefly absent from the big screen over the last few years, he delivered a tremendous comeback performance in Steven Soderbergh’s twisty spy thriller “Black Bag,” which is already the best film of 2025 so far.

Fassbender may be known for the tremendous commitment he shows in his dramatic roles, but he has also developed a strong knack for comedy. Despite being regarded as one of the more artistically minded stars working today, Fassbender has managed to be a scene-stealer in two separate franchises, having played the mutant anti-hero Magneto in the rebooted “X-Men” series and the robot David in both “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.

Tim Roth’s next movie featuring a Shōgun star just got a thrilling new look. Roth has been set to play the lead role in Tornado, the upcoming action thriller that also stars Takehiro Hira alongside Game of Thrones veteran Rory McCann, who is famed for playing The Hound in the HBO series. Collider is thrilled to partner with IFC Films to unveil the first exclusive trailer for Tornado, which premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival in February. In addition to Roth, Hira, and McCann, Jack Lowden and Kōki, have also been set for roles in Tornado, which is a thriller coming from writer/director John Maclean. Maclean made his feature debut in Slow West, the 2015 R-rated Western thriller starring Kodi Smit-McPhee opposite Caren Pistorius.

Tornado is set against the rugged backdrop of late 1700s Britain. The film follows Tornado, a young and determined Japanese woman who lands in the...

Of all the actors announced as being part of last week's massive Avengers: Doomsday's cast reveal live-stream, Alan Cumming might have been the most surprising.

Cumming made his one and only appearance in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise as Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, in X2, but declined the studio's offer to reprise the role for the third film because he had no interest in sitting through the arduous makeup process again.

Wagner didn't show up in again until Kodi Smit-McPhee took over as a younger take on the character in X-Men: Apocalypse.

There's been some speculation that Cumming may only be lending his voice to a fully CG take on Nightcrawler, but the actor has now confirmed that this will not be the case, as he's already done a makeup test.

"Isn't it nuts? I'm excited and amazed," Cumming tells Collider when asked about his return for Doomsday.

With the rumors and speculations soaring around the upcoming final installment (Star Trek 4 ) of the J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek franchise, which is more than likely to include the reprise of the Enterprise crew portrayed by Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Lt. Uhura), and others. Despite Quinto’s convincing performance as Spock in the Kelvin timeline, should Star Trek creators decide to go in a different direction with a new cast, here are four talented Oscar-nominated actors who could take on the role of the archetypal Vulcan.

"Disclaimer - Chapter 5-7" Red Carpet - The 81st Venice International Film Festival - Kodi Smit-McPhee | Daniele Venturelli/GettyImages

1. Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Actor)

28-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee has been racking up acting accolades since his feature film debut at age 11 with co-star Eric Bana in Romulus, May Father, for which he [Smit-McPhee] received the Young Actor’s Award from the Australian Film Institute.

Exclusive: The London Barbican Theatre’s scintillating production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, boasting an all-star ensemble led by Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke and Emma Corrin and directed by the estimable Berlin-based Thomas Ostermeier, is setting course for New York in 2026, multiple sources inform me.

The play, adapted by Duncan Macmillan and Ostermeier, is propelled by blasts of oomph. It feels so marvelously fresh that it could have been written today. Indeed, Macmillan and Ostermeier keep on eye on current events and amend their script as and when significant news emerges.

Like, on Thursday night, Jason Watkin’s Sorin made a point about the “f*cking high tariffs” he has to pay on his country estate’s farm produce, a clear reference to the tariffs introduced Wednesday by the Trump administration.

Jason Wakins in ‘The Seagull’ at the Barbican Theatre

The line had the Barbican audience whooping with irresistible,...

X-Men MCU Fixes(Photo Credit –Facebook)

The X-Men movies from the Fox universe definitely had their highs and lows; let’s be honest, some of them were a mess. But guess what? The MCU might just be stepping in to clean up the mess with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel recently shocked fans by bringing in some of the original X-Men cast members from the Fox films, and this could mean a chance to fix some of the biggest mistakes from the past.

The Fox X-Men movies had more than a few hiccups, from confusing timelines to wasted characters. Now, with the MCU at the helm, there’s hope they’ll smooth things over. Whether it’s bringing in better character arcs or finally fixing some wild plot holes, these upcoming crossovers could be exactly what the X-Men need to get back on track. Let’s dive into...

On X (formerly Twitter), Marvel Studios revealed the impressive lead cast of Avengers: Doomsday, slated for release in 2026. The new movie will mark the first time the titular team has assembled since 2019's Avengers: Endgame. With several of Earth's mightiest heroes now either deceased or retired, the new movie will feature a new Avengers roster, presumably led by Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson as the McU's new Captain America. However, the Avengers aren't the only heroes set to appear in Doomsday, as they will be crossing paths with other teams of heroes from their universe and beyond.

In addition to those cast members expected to reprise their MCU roles to join the new Avengers lineup, the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement included the names of several stars from other Marvel movies. All four leads of The Fantastic Four: First Steps were among the Doomsday cast, as were the majority of the...

During a 5-hour stream, Marvel Studios revealed 27 names that will appear in the highly anticipated crossover movie, Avengers: Doomsday.

Some names, like Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, were expected, especially considering Fantastic Four history with Doctor Doom. Other names were more surprising, with nearly the entire Thunderbolts* cast, excluding Taskmaster, set to have a role in the film. Additionally, Lewis Pullman’s Sentry was confirmed to appear.

However, the biggest shock came when former X-Men stars like Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were revealed to be reprising their iconic roles, alongside James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, and Alan Cumming.

Related: Insider Reports Reveal the Reason Tom Holland Was Missing from ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Cast Reveal!

Cumming played Nightcrawler in only one movie: X2: X-Men United (2003).

Even though fans loved his performance, he did not return for later X-Men movies. The main reason was that the heavy blue makeup...

Alan Cumming has us all excited with his latest Instagram video. The Scottish actor, known for his vibrant personality, is stepping back into the blue skin of Nightcrawler for Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster ‘Avengers: Doomsday’. Dressed in a festive Christmas hat and a cozy scarf, he’s hopping around what looks like his own home, showing off some playful energy that’s got everyone talking.

The big news dropped recently when Marvel confirmed Cumming would return as the teleporting mutant he first played over 20 years ago in ‘X2: X-Men United’. That 2003 film gave us a Nightcrawler who stole the show with his quick moves and gentle charm, even if he only got one shot at the role back then. Now, he’s joining a massive lineup for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, and I can’t wait to see him in action again.

In the video, Cumming...

Since its launch half a decade ago, Apple TV+ has built up a strong reputation for adopting a quality over quantity approach in order to deliver some of the best shows and documentaries streaming has to offer. It's a platform filled wall-to-wall with lavish productions to watch and auteur filmmakers to appreciate, star-studded weekly-drop series to devour and cutting edge documentaries you simply must see.

It's because of this that, despite the vast content libraries of Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video, the house that Tim Cook built has become many a discerning viewer's chosen streaming home. Now, we know what you're thinking: with so many buzzy shows and docs to pick from, wouldn't it be great if there existed some sort of nifty, hand-curated guide to the best the streamer has to offer?

Well, whaddaya know? Team Empire have pooled the expertise of our crack team of critics from the...

Marvel is getting exciting again. After a few years with some rough movies following the hit film Avengers: Endgame, Marvel announced the cast for Avengers: Doomsday with a livestream. The cast is extremely large, and the stream lasted more than five hours with the sheer number of people returning for the film. There were certainly some exciting announcements, like Chris Hemsworth playing Thor and Paul Rudd playing Ant-Man, or the reveal that most of the 2000s X-Men actors would be reprising their roles.

Length aside, the livestream was also disappointing for quite a few reasons. Numerous actors who were rumored to appear in Avengers: Doomsday weren't named in the livestream, and the livestream spoiled a few details about Thunderbolts*. I tried to be as excited as I could about the announcements, but I couldn't help feeling equally worried that Avengers: Doomsday might be too much of a mess to save the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Bamf!

Of all the actors announced as being part of Avengers: Doomsday's cast during yesterday's massive reveal live-stream, Alan Cumming might have been the most surprising.

Cumming appeared in 20th Century Fox's X-Men sequel as Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, but declined the studio's offer to reprise the role for the third film because he had no interest in sitting through the arduous makeup process again.

Wagner didn't show up in the franchise again until Kodi Smit-McPhee took over as a younger take on the character in X-Men: Apocalypse.

“The character is really interesting, the message of the film (tolerance of others who are different from us) was very timely and unusual for a Hollywood blockbuster, but the real drag was having to spend over four hours a day having two men poke my face,” Cumming posted to his website recently. “Then there were the harnesses for the tail and for flying,...

Four-time Grammy Award winner Lizzo is officially going Hollywood as one of the world's most popular artists is set to star as a legendary musician in new music biopic for Amazon MGM Studios.

Per Variety, Lizzo is set to star as legendary musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the film, Rosetta, from producers Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, and Kevin Beisler. In addition to starring in the film, Lizzo will also serve as a producer. Natalie Chaidez and Kwynn Perry (Tigerbelles) serve as writers for the movie, however, no director is attached to the project yet. Tharpe rose to prominence as a gospel singer in the 1930s and would become a major influence for many rock & roll artists including Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.

According to an official description for the film, Rosetta "captures a pivotal period in her life — one of groundbreaking innovation, defiant passion, and secret love. As she...

While Anton Chekhov always thought of The Seagull as a comedy, that fact has frequently been forgotten through productions that fall into the soporific trap set by angsty, moping, lovelorn characters losing their hearts and minds in the Russian countryside.

There’s no such danger with Thomas Ostermeier, who once declared that he wanted to bring “some rock ‘n’ roll” to Ibsen (his Enemy of the People had the protagonist play Bowie covers in a band and open a political discussion with the audience). The firebrand German director now blasts the cobwebs off Chekhov with boisterous, dazzling delight.

But as irreverent as Ostermeier may seem — as self-referential, ironic, meta, playful — he’s true to his material. The reality of The Seagull is that it treads that fine line between comedy and tragedy. And while this production is an incredible blast, teetering on farce, Ostermeier and co-adaptor Duncan Macmillan (People, Places...

British actor Tom Burke has been spending a lot of time with Cate Blanchett lately.

Burke (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”) is currently starring alongside the Oscar winner in a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic “The Seagull” at London’s Barbican, and the two also worked together on Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming espionage thriller “Black Bag.”

In “The Seagull,” Blanchett stars as Arkadina, a celebrated actress whose larger-than-life presence dominates both the stage and her personal relationships. Arriving at her family’s country estate for the weekend, she finds herself caught in a storm of conflicting desires. Her playwright son, Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), struggles to step out of her shadow as he pursues his own artistic ambitions and her lover Trigorin (Burke) becomes the object of affection for the aspiring young actress Nina (Emma Corrin).

Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s adaptation caused the cast to collectively embrace...

Netflix produced its first non-documentary feature in 2015. It was called Beasts of No Nation, and it was fine. However, the film did not get nominated for an Academy Award. Lots has changed in the last decade.

Your favorite streamer often gets nominated for major awards each year. 2025 is no different. Emilia Pérez has 13 nominations alone, including one for Best Picture. So far, Netflix has yet to get a win in that category, and Emilia Pérez is not the favorite this year, either.

In fact, Netflix has also almost been entirely shut out of wins in the acting categories. Only Laura Dern won, and that was for Best Supporting Actress in 2020. But the streamer does do well in some other categories. Those might not be part of the Big 6, but when it comes to documentaries, Netflix knows what it is doing. Just see below, and you'll know.

The 2025 Oscars will be held on Sunday,...

During the promotional tour for “Mad Max: Fury Road” back in 2015, director George Miller discussed how silent cinema had inspired the filmmaking ethos behind his chase-movie epic. His hope was that you could potentially watch “Fury Road” as a silent film and still get most of what you needed in terms of the story from the visual language and physical performances of the actors.

When it comes to milieu, the petrol-punk dystopia of “Mad Max” is far removed from the period-piece trappings of “Tornado,” writer-director John Maclean’s long-awaited follow-up to his offbeat western “Slow West” (2015). But for the length of its gripping first act, Maclean’s earthy survival thriller seems pointed towards very similar ends.

Light on dialogue and exposition, the roughly 25-minute opening stretch excels as a work of sustained tension, with the odd farcical stunt — reminding you that this is the same filmmaker behind the “Slow West...

Anna Kendrick's roles in different films have showcased her versatility as a Hollywood actress.Netflix/YouTube; Universal Studios/YouTubeKatherine McKay in '50/50'LionsgateFilmsUK/YouTube

Anna Kendrick plays the role of young therapist Katherine McKay in the 2011 film 50/50, inspired by writer Will Reiser's cancer battle. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Adam Lerner receives treatment from the inexperienced psychologist and Ph.D. candidate, but Katherine successfully manages to make him open up to her until their relationship progresses.

Stephanie Smothers in 'A Simple Favor'Lionsgate Movies/YouTube

Kendrick appears in the 2018 film A Simple Favor as Stephanie Smothers, a widowed single mother who forms a friendship with Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). Her life turns upside down when Emily goes missing, leading her to investigate and solve the disappearance.

Alice in 'Alice, Darling'Lionsgate Movies/YouTube

The Mary Nighy-directed 2022 film Alice, Darling sees the 39-year-old play the role of Alice, a young woman...

Alcoholism. Fetishism. Death. Aardman this certainly ain’t, but Adam Elliot’s film-festival-storming stop-motion animation proves more than capable of summoning big emotions through its clay creations. The characters of Memoir Of A Snail are more scuffed and visibly weighed down by the world, but the earnestness and vulnerability they carry throughout this sombre and occasionally darkly funny saga implores you to stick with them through the pain of it all.

Grace (Sarah Snook) — a collector of snails and owner of a cosy snail hat — is both the protagonist and narrator of the film, which, in biopic fashion, begins at the graveside of a beloved friend, before leaping right back to her birth in the ’70s. It’s an adroit vocal performance from Snook, who plays Grace with empathy that never crosses into over-sentimentality throughout a life marred by loss and loneliness. Grace’s mother dies while delivering her and...

A snail-obsessed introvert struggles with loneliness, hoarding and personal tragedy in Adam Elliot’s bleak stop-motion epic. Here’s our Memoir Of A Snail review.

Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook) is not one of life’s winners. Born with a cleft lip and the playground bullying that often comes with it, she spends a lonely, but contented childhood with her twin brother, Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and paraplegic, alcoholic father, Percy (Dominique Pinon). When circumstances find her separated from both and sent to live with a pair of swingers in Canberra, she copes about as well as you’d expect.

Australian stop-motion whizz Adam Elliot’s sophomore feature is an Aardman tale with the edges left rough. The Claymation style is thick, dirty and often borderline disturbing – more in line with the genre’s uncanny origins than the higher framerate aesthetic coming out of the medium’s biggest players. There are some...

In a category that is often filled with animated films geared toward children and families, “Memoir of a Snail” and its themes of depression and conversion therapy immediately stand out in this year’s Best Animated Feature category. But this isn’t the first time that director Adam Elliot has found himself at the Academy Awards, with his short “Harvie Krumpet” winning 21 years ago.

Elliot notes how the success of “Harvie Krumpet” helped get “Mary & Max” off the ground, which released to critical acclaim after its 2009 Sundance premiere. On the campaign trail for “Memoir of a Snail,” Elliot finds himself back in the artistic hub of Los Angeles after 15 years, meeting agents and representatives from major studios like Netflix and Sony. “They’re all very lovely and nice but they all want me to direct one of their films,” he explains. “So far, it’s always been something for...

IFC Films’ Memoir of a Snail, nominated in what’s shaped up to be among the most competitive categories of this Academy Awards, is back in more than 500 theaters nationwide Tuesday night.

The one night of screenings of the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee will include a prerecorded Q&a with the filmmaker Adam Elliot and fellow Australian director George Miller (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga). Presenting theaters include AMC, Regal, Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins, Laemmle, City Cinemas, Look Cinemas and National Amusements.

“We’re so glad adult audiences continue to discover Adam Elliot’s impeccably crafted, heartfelt story,” said Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ film group. “The film’s sophisticated themes of religion, seeking acceptance, and remaining hopeful amid life’s tougher times are tremendously relevant in this current climate.”

The film first opened October 25 and has grossed $627,000 domestically ($1.8 million worldwide). It’s a tough Oscar path up against Flow,...

Universal’s “Dog Man” barked its way to the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office this weekend, debuting with a commanding £3.2 million ($4 million), according to Comscore.

The family-friendly animated adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s best-selling book series proved to be a major draw, delivering one of the biggest opening weekends of the year so far.

Last week’s leader, Disney’s “A Complete Unknown,” slid to second place, adding $1 million in its fourth weekend. The Timothée Chalamet-led Bob Dylan biopic has now reached $12.4 million. Also holding strong is Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which took third place with $869,889 in its eighth weekend. The prequel has now crossed $37.6 million, cementing itself as one of the highest-grossing family films of the season.

Trafalgar Releasing’s “Macbeth: David Tennant And Cush Jumbo,” the filmed stage production of Shakespeare’s tragedy climbed to fourth place with $858,637, bringing its total to $1.9 million.

IndieWire invited the directors of the five Oscar-nominated Best Animated Features to pick and analyze a pivotal scene that best represents their films: Chris Sanders (“The Wild Robot”), Gints Zilbalodis (“Flow”), Kelsey Mann (“Inside Out 2”), Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham (“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”), and Adam Elliot (“Memoir of a Snail”).

“The Wild Robot,” the Best Feature Annie winner, is the crowning achievement for writer-director Sanders. The dramatically compelling and visually arresting sci-fi adventure (adapted from Peter Brown’s illustrated book) finds robot Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) washed ashore on an uninhabited island, where she must adapt and survive among the animals. DreamWorks’ innovative handmade stylization takes Sanders back to his 2D roots with its tactile nature and watercolor backgrounds. The more time Roz spends in the wild, the more her surface changes with dents, scratches, mildew, and mold. She quickly becomes a hand-painted surface, blending in with the animals and the wilderness.

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains details of the film Memoir of a Snail.

Adam Elliot never shies away from an opportunity to turn societal misfits into people worthy of love and acceptance on screen. Though his signature style places his characters through a series of unfortunate events, there is often a bit of levity and strength that his leads hold while they become self-sustaining. “I’m telling stories about perceived imperfections and the flaws we all think we have and how many of us try to fix our flaws,” Elliot says. “But really what we should be doing is embracing them and also other people. Empathy is a real key ingredient with my characters.”

In his latest tragicomedy, Memoir of a Snail, set against the backdrop of 1970s Australia, the director centers his film around Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook), a melancholic recluse who finds comfort in the hoarding of snails...

Final voting is February 11-18. The 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7 p.m. Et/ 4 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

The Best Animated Feature nominees are “Flow,” “Inside Out 2,” “Memoir of a Snail,” “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” and “The Wild Robot.”

“The Wild Robot” is the slight favorite after grabbing two additional Oscar nominations for score (Kris Bowers) and sound. This is a first for DreamWorks Animation. However, the sci-fi adventure from director Chris Sanders (who is very well liked and due for a win) is in a tight race with indie sensation “Flow,” which also secured a Best International Feature nomination for Latvia. The low-budget underdog is on a roll of its own, capturing prizes from the Golden Globes,...

Content warning: the following discusses the death of a pet, so please proceed with caution.

At the time of writing, it's only been a few days since my family and I bid farewell to one of our dear beloved cats (who had been diagnosed with cancer a couple of months earlier). A grey and white sweetheart, he was a part of our lives for nearly 13 years. I've never met anyone, animal or human, who loved to be petted by and snuggle other cats and people as much as him (nor a cat who purred quite so loudly when he was happy). He was also a charming rascal and lovable weirdo who left us with countless anecdotes to regale ourselves with. To say my family and I are heartbroken would be putting it mildly.

In my sorrow, as I've always done whenever I lose someone dear to me, I've found myself...

Modern Films has released the UK trailer and artwork for the award-winning stop-motion animated feature ‘Memoir of A Snail.’

Grace Pudel is a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love for books. At a young age, when Grace is separated from her fire-breathing twin brother Gilbert, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst. Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerges when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman named Pinky, who is full of grit and lust for life.

Featuring the voice talents of Sarah Snook (Succession) as Grace with Kodi Smit-McPhee as her estranged twin brother Gilbert, this is another incredibly rich and moving feature-length “clayography” from one of the world’s most admired animation auteurs – part seven of Elliot’s Trilogy of Trilogies. The voice cast also includes Eric Bana, Nick Cave, Dominique Pinon...

Djimon Hounsou said in a recent interview with CNN that he continues to struggle as a working actor in Hollywood despite several roles in studio blockbusters under his belt and two Oscar nominations to his name. The actor noted that his continued struggles in Hollywood points to the “systemic racism” that prevails in the film industry.

“I am still struggling trying to make a living,” Hounsou said. “After 30 years…maybe the first 10 years was trying to acclimate myself to the industry, to establish myself. But I’ve been in this business making films now for over two decades and with two Oscar nominations and been in many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially to make a living. I’m definitely underpaid.”

“That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly,” he added. “It’s so deeply inserted in so...

Famous actor Djimon Hounsou has talked about his money problems, even though he has had a successful job for over twenty years. In a recent interview with CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, the Beninese-American actor, who is renowned for his significant parts in hit and critically acclaimed films, discussed his life.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” Hounsou said, pointing out that he is fighting for fair pay as an actor and has shown that he is good at what he does. “I’ve been in this business for over twenty years, received two Oscar nominations, and starred in many big films, but I still have money problems.” “I’m not paid enough.”

Hounsou has had notable performances in films like Gladiator, Amistad, and Blood Diamond, where he starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Despite Blood Diamond and In America’s nominations for Academy Awards, he said there was a...

Two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou revealed he still struggles to “make a living” in Hollywood despite receiving critical acclaim and awards attention for films big and small.

In a recent interview on CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, the Beninese-born actor — whose most-known performances include Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, Blood Diamond opposite Jennifer Connelly and Leonardo DiCaprio and In America (the latter two which nabbed him the Academy Award nods) — said he is often lowballed when it comes to financial compensation for his work.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” he said. “I’ve been in this business making films now for over two decades with two Oscar nominations, been in many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid.”

Reflecting on his breakthrough in 1997’s Amistad, in which he played slave rebellion leader Cinqué, Hounsou alleged he was passed...

It’s been 15 years since Australian filmmaker Adam Elliot’s last stop-motion marvel, “Mary and Max.” And his latest, “Memoir of a Snail,” couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

The new movie, like Elliot’s previous film, liberally mixes tragedy and comedy, following the life of Grace Pudel (voiced by “Succession” star Sarah Snook) as she endures countless missteps, including the estrangement of her twin brother (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a disappointing love life. But “Memoir of a Snail” isn’t oppressively sad — it mixes pathos with humor and ends on an oddly uplifting note.

“Like all of my other films, they start with more frustration or annoyance with something,” Elliot said. “Usually, some person close to me is annoying me.” In this case, it was the death of his father, who left behind three garages full of stuff that Elliot and his siblings had to sort through. It...

Give the gift of unforgettable animation to the film lover or collector in your life with the acclaimed works of Laika, a studio that has redefined the art of stop-motion. This includes the unforgetable ParaNorman.

In collaboration with Laika, Anime Limited is thrilled to announce the release of brand-new 4K Uhd & Blu-ray Limited Edition Steelbooks for these iconic films, now available to order from leading retailers and to celebrate we have one to give away.

Win a 4K + Bd Steelbook copy of ParaNorman

Directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), the dark fantasy Coraline — widely hailed as one of the greatest animated films ever made — leads the pack, celebrating its 15th anniversary. Joining it are The Boxtrolls as well as ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings. All four films earned Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature in their respective years, with Kubo and the Two Strings also...

Anora had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at Sunday’s Golden Globes. The Best Picture Oscar frontrunner and critics awards leader went home empty-handed, going 0-for-5 despite being the odds-on favorite in three categories, Best Comedy/Musical Film, Best Comedy/Musical Actress for Mikey Madison, and Best Screenplay for writer-director Sean Baker. What’s more, it saw its top Oscar rivals bag at least one statuette each. The Brutalist won Best Drama Film, Best Director for Brady Corbet, and Best Drama Actor for Adrien Brody. Emilia Pérez converted four of its 10 nominations into hardware for Best Comedy/Musical Film, Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Best Non-English Language Film, and Best Original Song for “El Mal.” Conclave took home Best Screenplay. And regardless of what you think about the Globes’ Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award, it allowed the Wicked gang to get onstage, hold a trophy,...

“Disclaimer” is the new seven-part ‘psychological thriller’ TV series, written and directed by five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón, based on the novel by Renée Knight, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George and Hoyeon, with narration by Indira Varma, now streaming on AppleTV+:

…acclaimed journalist ‘Catherine ‘ (Blanchett) built her reputation revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets and threatens to destroy her family.

“As Catherine races to uncover the writer’s true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys her life and her relationships with her husband ‘Robert’ (Cohen) and son Nicholas’ (Smit-McPhee).”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in ‘Maria’ (Photo Cr. Pablo Larraín / Netflix © 2024)

A character study rather than biopic, Pablo Larraín’s Maria showcases Oscar winner Angelina Jolie’s acting prowess, capturing the opera singer’s dramatic highs and lows with captivating intensity and emotional depth. Told in three distinct acts, Maria is a bold reimagining of the latter years in Callas’ life – emphasis on “reimagining.” Those familiar with the soprano’s dramatic vocal style and mesmerizing performances will find writer Steven Knight’s take more fulfilling, while those new to her work may find the narrative less accessible.

Maria shuns the banner of realism, preferring a more fantastical approach. The drama focuses on the week prior to her death on September 16, 1977, with the retired singer attempting to rediscover the voice that made her famous. Flashbacks fill in the years when she was a hot ticket. But Larraín’s film doesn...

Last Updated on December 26, 2024

Plot: Famed opera singer Maria Callas retreats to Paris in the 1970s after a glamorous yet tumultuous life in the public eye.

Review: Pablo Larrain‘s loose trilogy about famous twentieth-century women, beginning with 2016’s Jackie and 2021’s Spencer, comes to a close with Maria. Based on the life of revered opera singer Maria Callas, Larrain’s biopic focuses on the least recognizable of the three women. That Callas’ notoriously short life is not as easily remembered compared to Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana affords Maria the ability to examine the singer’s life from a vantage point that is less sterile and distant than the previous two films. With a direct connection to Jackie, Maria retains some of the languid pacing and uneven creative choices that prevented Larrain’s prior biopics from being as strong as they could have been. However, after solid performances from Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart,...

The Power of the Dog ending painted the whole story in a new light while leaving a lot of questions unanswered. The film earned high acclaim and awards recognition, including a win for Best Director for Jane Campion. It is also a complex and challenging movie that can take multiple viewings to read deeper into its characters' intentions. The Power of the Dog stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank, a successful yet bitter rancher whose brother George (Jesse Plemons) brings home his new wife Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Instead of shootouts and tough-talking, The Power of the Dog relies on tension and intimate discomfort as it builds to its shocking ending. The unexpected relationship that grows between Phil and Peter is at the center of the climax only to go in another unexpected direction by the conclusion of the story. The ending is rather grim...

There are effectively three stories being told in Maria. The first is the surface-level plot, the life of Maria Callas, told through that life’s final few days: the legendarily charismatic American-born Greek singer who beguiled the opera world with her exceptional voice and her dramatic private life, a foundational myth of the definitional diva. It is also the story of Pablo Larraín, the Chilean filmmaker who has become obsessed with making sumptuous, psychologically rich period biopics about regal 20th century women, and seems to be slowly building his own unique subgenre. The third and perhaps most compelling story is that of Angelina Jolie, in the title role, taking her first acting gig in three years, and her first leading dramatic role in over a decade. Her very presence here is a story in itself.

As Maria Callas, Jolie is staggeringly good. Perhaps the best she’s ever been. From the off,...

The AMC Networks January 2025 schedule has been announced and includes a new season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches and AMC’s premiere of Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale; Acorn TV’s new mystery series The Gone; BBC America’s new natural history series exploring Asia; the return of We TV’s hit series Toya & Reginae; and Allblk’s new political thriller Conspirators.

The New Year will also bring exciting film debuts, including IFC Films’ Skincare, starring Elizabeth Banks, comedic slasher Get Away, written by and starring Nick Frost, Shudder’s satirical body horror Grafted, starring Jess Hong, and wrestling-themed action-horror Dark Match, starring Sara Canning and Steven Ogg.

These films, series and more join an extensive catalog of compelling dramas, beloved franchises, popular films, and timely collections on Acorn TV, Allblk, AMC+, BBC America, Hidive, Shudder, Sundance Now, and We TV all month long.

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Season...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for 2024's Maria.Featuring some of the best spots in Europe, Maria masterfully uses its locations to recount La Callas' haunting journey through fame and heartbreak. Set a week before her death, the movie sees the opera singer revisit her most characteristic performances in Milan, Covent Garden, Venice, and New York, all while she walks by some of the most beautiful scenery in Paris, where she spent her last years of life. Pablo Larraín completes his movie trilogy on female icons, pairing up with cinematographer Ed Lachman to bring Maria Callas' inner and outer world to life.

Angelina Jolie leads Maria's cast with powerful grace, treating Europe's streets as if they were her permanent stage, and she is their favorite Diva. Benefiting from a fragmented narrative where reality, imagination, and memory form one story, Maria gets away with jumping from country to country as its subject tries...

Angelina Jolie's Maria features a shocking twist involving Kodi Smit-McPhee's Mandrax. 

Jolie stars in the Netflix biographical thriller as the renowned real-life opera singer Maria Callas living out her final years in solitude in Paris, France. 

The film marks the end of director Pablo Larraín's trilogy centered on important 20th-century women, following in the footsteps of 2016's Jackie and 2021's Spencer. 

Read full article on The Direct.