Top News
Yorgos Lanthimos can’t stop (won’t stop!) working with Oscar winner Emma Stone, casting the actress once again as leading lady for his next project “Bugonia.”
The drama will also star Jesse Plemons who, along with Stone, appears in Lanthimos’ forthcoming “Kinds of Kindness.” That three-chapter feature just premiered on Friday at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“Bugonia” follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The script is from heat-seeking “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will Tracy.
Focus Features has won domestic rights to distribute the project. Universal Pictures will roll out the film in global territories, save Korea where “Parasite” producer Cj Enm will release. The latter is financing the film with Fremantle. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent brokered the rights deal.
This package is loaded with pedigree.
The drama will also star Jesse Plemons who, along with Stone, appears in Lanthimos’ forthcoming “Kinds of Kindness.” That three-chapter feature just premiered on Friday at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“Bugonia” follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The script is from heat-seeking “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will Tracy.
Focus Features has won domestic rights to distribute the project. Universal Pictures will roll out the film in global territories, save Korea where “Parasite” producer Cj Enm will release. The latter is financing the film with Fremantle. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent brokered the rights deal.
This package is loaded with pedigree.
- 5/18/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Dabney Coleman, the popular comic actor from 9 to 5, Tootsie and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman whose many redeeming qualities including a knack for portraying characters who had none, has died. He was 92.
Coleman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, his daughter, singer Quincy Coleman, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity,” she said. “As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery.
“A teacher, a hero and a king, Dabney Coleman is a gift and blessing in life and in death as his spirit will shine through his work, his loved ones and his legacy … eternally.”
The Emmy-winning actor also portrayed an irascible talk show host in upstate New York on NBC’s Buffalo Bill,...
Coleman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, his daughter, singer Quincy Coleman, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity,” she said. “As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery.
“A teacher, a hero and a king, Dabney Coleman is a gift and blessing in life and in death as his spirit will shine through his work, his loved ones and his legacy … eternally.”
The Emmy-winning actor also portrayed an irascible talk show host in upstate New York on NBC’s Buffalo Bill,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. has sold out most of international on Kevin Costner’s two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga,” with only a few territories left, ahead of its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
K5 closed sales to Tobis Film (German-speaking territories), Metropolitan Filmexport (France), Stan Entertainment (Australia), Unicorn (Eastern Europe), Sf Studios/Ab Svensk (Scandinavia), Echo Lake Distribution (Airlines), EnterMode (South Korea), Falcon Films (Middle East), Nos Lusomundo (Portugal), Tanweer (Greece), Madman Entertainment (Australia), Parallax Studios/Saga Film (Philippines), Aqua Group (Turkey) and Myndform (Iceland).
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16.
Last year, Baur re-launched K5 Intl. with a new focus on high-budgeted elevated genre films and series. When Baur received the call from producer Howard Kaplan of Territory Pictures that he...
K5 closed sales to Tobis Film (German-speaking territories), Metropolitan Filmexport (France), Stan Entertainment (Australia), Unicorn (Eastern Europe), Sf Studios/Ab Svensk (Scandinavia), Echo Lake Distribution (Airlines), EnterMode (South Korea), Falcon Films (Middle East), Nos Lusomundo (Portugal), Tanweer (Greece), Madman Entertainment (Australia), Parallax Studios/Saga Film (Philippines), Aqua Group (Turkey) and Myndform (Iceland).
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16.
Last year, Baur re-launched K5 Intl. with a new focus on high-budgeted elevated genre films and series. When Baur received the call from producer Howard Kaplan of Territory Pictures that he...
- 5/17/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
A new entry in the “Insidious” franchise has been set for the theaters. The next installment of the Blumhouse Productions horror property, co-produced by Screen Gems, has been added to Sony’s theatrical slate, with the studio dating the film for an Aug. 29, 2025 release.
No further details on the project were disclosed, including whether series regulars such as Patrick Wilson and Leigh Whannell would be involved. The newly announced feature is different from “Thread: An Insidious Tale,” an in-universe series spin-off that was first reported on by Deadline in May 2023 and is said to star Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani, with Jeremy Slater attached to write and direct.
Barring no other “Insidious” installments releasing before this newly announced one, this would mark the sixth entry in the horror franchise and the first since last year’s “Insidious: The Red Door,” which saw actors Patrick Wilson and Ty Simpkins return to...
No further details on the project were disclosed, including whether series regulars such as Patrick Wilson and Leigh Whannell would be involved. The newly announced feature is different from “Thread: An Insidious Tale,” an in-universe series spin-off that was first reported on by Deadline in May 2023 and is said to star Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani, with Jeremy Slater attached to write and direct.
Barring no other “Insidious” installments releasing before this newly announced one, this would mark the sixth entry in the horror franchise and the first since last year’s “Insidious: The Red Door,” which saw actors Patrick Wilson and Ty Simpkins return to...
- 5/17/2024
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety - Film News
Neon has bought North American rights to “The Unknown” (“L’Inconnue”), the hotly anticipated next movie from “Anatomy of a Fall”’s Oscar-winning co-writer Arthur Harari.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
- 5/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety - Film News
Writer-director John Krasinski‘s original family film IF has started off its box office run with $1.8 million in Thursday previews.
The fantasy pic, headlining Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming alongside an A-list voice cast, explores the world of discarded imaginary friends and what happens when a young girl and her neighbor try to reunite them with their previous human pals.
The live-action/CGI animated Paramount pic is tracking for a domestic debut in the $40 million range from more than 4,000 theaters, but the family marketplace continues to struggle in the post-pandemic era. Nor is original fare an easy proposition. It’s hard to read too much into Thursday previews since families don’t start turning out in earnest until Friday and Saturday, generally speaking, although some exhibitors are worried the movie could have a hard time getting to $40 million based on presales, according to sources.
Reviews aren’t so great — If...
The fantasy pic, headlining Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming alongside an A-list voice cast, explores the world of discarded imaginary friends and what happens when a young girl and her neighbor try to reunite them with their previous human pals.
The live-action/CGI animated Paramount pic is tracking for a domestic debut in the $40 million range from more than 4,000 theaters, but the family marketplace continues to struggle in the post-pandemic era. Nor is original fare an easy proposition. It’s hard to read too much into Thursday previews since families don’t start turning out in earnest until Friday and Saturday, generally speaking, although some exhibitors are worried the movie could have a hard time getting to $40 million based on presales, according to sources.
Reviews aren’t so great — If...
- 5/17/2024
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Recalling the first time one of his films screened at the Cannes Film Festival, a young filmmaker remembered how the duration of the standing ovation the audience gave seemed to grow with every retelling in the media. In the room, he clocked about “a six-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, [but] by the time I had got back to L.A., it had grown to 20 minutes,” he said. “I said: ‘Wait a minute, I’m happy with six. I never even had a two-minute ovation.’ ”
That director was Steven Spielberg. The film was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, which closed the 35th Cannes festival in 1982. Even back then, they were timing standing ovations — and arguing about just how long a festival audience stayed on its feet clapping. There’s a long a tradition of using that figure, preferably inflated, as a marketing hook in your movie’s rollout.
“The film that received a 15-minute...
That director was Steven Spielberg. The film was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, which closed the 35th Cannes festival in 1982. Even back then, they were timing standing ovations — and arguing about just how long a festival audience stayed on its feet clapping. There’s a long a tradition of using that figure, preferably inflated, as a marketing hook in your movie’s rollout.
“The film that received a 15-minute...
- 5/19/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In Hiroshi Okuyama’s My Sunshine, three souls find solace and poignant moments of self-discovery in figure skating. The film chronicles a season of the sport in a small town on a Japanese island, the kind of place whose melting snow and changing leaves inspire poetic musings. Guided by the beauty of the landscape and the nostalgia of childhood, Okuyama constructs a quiet narrative buoyed by an understated charm.
The film opens with signs of a new season. During a baseball game, Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), a sheepish boy with minor speech troubles, becomes mesmerized by snowflakes fluttering to the ground. While his teammates steal bases, he cranes his neck, angling for a better view of the crystals. Scenes of snow blanketing the town in Hokkaido, the Japanese island where Okuyama (Jesus) filmed My Sunshine, follow. These images — of powdery mountain peaks and quiet streets flanked by snow — possess the haunting...
The film opens with signs of a new season. During a baseball game, Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), a sheepish boy with minor speech troubles, becomes mesmerized by snowflakes fluttering to the ground. While his teammates steal bases, he cranes his neck, angling for a better view of the crystals. Scenes of snow blanketing the town in Hokkaido, the Japanese island where Okuyama (Jesus) filmed My Sunshine, follow. These images — of powdery mountain peaks and quiet streets flanked by snow — possess the haunting...
- 5/19/2024
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of only nine directors to win the Palme d’Or twice, Francis Ford Coppola took home his first 50 years ago — back when the award was still called the Grand Prix — for The Conversation.
A psychological thriller starring Gene Hackman as a morally conflicted surveillance expert in San Francisco, The Conversation couldn’t have been released at a more appropriate time. Hitting U.S. theaters on April 7, 1974, the movie asked pointed questions about power, responsibility and technology — subjects that had been top of the American mind for two years as a result of the Watergate scandal. It was pure serendipity; Coppola had started writing the screenplay in the 1960s. Just four months after the film’s release, Richard Nixon would resign the presidency for his role in the infamous cover-up.
In the intervening years, the film has only seen its cultural resonance increase. In 1995, it was chosen for preservation by...
A psychological thriller starring Gene Hackman as a morally conflicted surveillance expert in San Francisco, The Conversation couldn’t have been released at a more appropriate time. Hitting U.S. theaters on April 7, 1974, the movie asked pointed questions about power, responsibility and technology — subjects that had been top of the American mind for two years as a result of the Watergate scandal. It was pure serendipity; Coppola had started writing the screenplay in the 1960s. Just four months after the film’s release, Richard Nixon would resign the presidency for his role in the infamous cover-up.
In the intervening years, the film has only seen its cultural resonance increase. In 1995, it was chosen for preservation by...
- 5/19/2024
- by Shannon L. Bowen
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Julianne Moore says the film industry has “changed dramatically” since she started out in the early 1990s when it comes to female representation.
Speaking as part of Kering’s Women in Motion program at the Cannes Film Festival, the Oscar winner said one of the most noticeable differences is when it comes to career longevity for actresses.
“Meryl [Streep] said this too the other day [during the festival’s opening ceremony], this idea that when she was 40, she thought it was all going to be over,” she said. “I think we’re now seeing women represented through all stages of their lives, which is very exciting.”
In the conversation, moerated by Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson, Moore noted that she is now seeing not just more female directors, but more women working as camera operators, grips and in the electric department. “Whereas before there were none,” she said. “But we’re still really far from gender parity.
Speaking as part of Kering’s Women in Motion program at the Cannes Film Festival, the Oscar winner said one of the most noticeable differences is when it comes to career longevity for actresses.
“Meryl [Streep] said this too the other day [during the festival’s opening ceremony], this idea that when she was 40, she thought it was all going to be over,” she said. “I think we’re now seeing women represented through all stages of their lives, which is very exciting.”
In the conversation, moerated by Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson, Moore noted that she is now seeing not just more female directors, but more women working as camera operators, grips and in the electric department. “Whereas before there were none,” she said. “But we’re still really far from gender parity.
- 5/19/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Spanish animation is experiencing a historic boom. Shorts and features from the country are achieving notable success at festivals and the box office, while Spanish artists are contributing to some of the most influential film and TV productions coming from Hollywood today.
The question now is what steps should be taken to build on recent success.
Spaniard Almu Redondo won an Emmy this year for her work on the Cartoon Saloon-produced “Star Wars: Visions” episode “Screecher’s Reach,” and Pablo Berger’s Spanish feature “Robot Dreams” was nominated for a 2024 animated feature Academy Award. Few artists had as profound an impact on the aesthetic of the “Spider-Verse” films as Alberto Mielgo, who also won the animated short Oscar in 2022 for his film “The Windshield Wiper.”
Spanish artists flourishing abroad is a longstanding tradition, but one that may be waning. Many animation professionals are now staying in Spain, while...
The question now is what steps should be taken to build on recent success.
Spaniard Almu Redondo won an Emmy this year for her work on the Cartoon Saloon-produced “Star Wars: Visions” episode “Screecher’s Reach,” and Pablo Berger’s Spanish feature “Robot Dreams” was nominated for a 2024 animated feature Academy Award. Few artists had as profound an impact on the aesthetic of the “Spider-Verse” films as Alberto Mielgo, who also won the animated short Oscar in 2022 for his film “The Windshield Wiper.”
Spanish artists flourishing abroad is a longstanding tradition, but one that may be waning. Many animation professionals are now staying in Spain, while...
- 5/19/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety - Film News
Entertainment lawyer Susan Abramovitch, partner at law firm Gowling Wlg, splits her time between Toronto and Cannes.
With the Cannes Film Festival taking over much of the famed Croisette, just like every year, she shared tips with THR some and discussed the biggest Cannes faux-pas to avoid for visitors.
Check out Abramovitch’s insights below.
Best place to grab a drink after 3 a.m.?
Palm Club. Ok, you caught me. I had to consult my 24-year-old stepdaughter on this one. She says Palm Club trumps Baoli, hands down. Newly opened in 2023, it replaced Gotha. Designer clothes and bottle service only.
One thing you won’t travel without, besides your phone?
My Goyard Saint Louis tote. My best insider tip for you is this: Skip the painful lineups at the Paris and NYC shops and go to the Monaco store instead. It’s worth it for the selection and immediate entry.
With the Cannes Film Festival taking over much of the famed Croisette, just like every year, she shared tips with THR some and discussed the biggest Cannes faux-pas to avoid for visitors.
Check out Abramovitch’s insights below.
Best place to grab a drink after 3 a.m.?
Palm Club. Ok, you caught me. I had to consult my 24-year-old stepdaughter on this one. She says Palm Club trumps Baoli, hands down. Newly opened in 2023, it replaced Gotha. Designer clothes and bottle service only.
One thing you won’t travel without, besides your phone?
My Goyard Saint Louis tote. My best insider tip for you is this: Skip the painful lineups at the Paris and NYC shops and go to the Monaco store instead. It’s worth it for the selection and immediate entry.
- 5/19/2024
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Depending on who you talk to, the world is either in crisis, on fire, at war and/or simply lurching toward a frankly deserved final judgment. So what can be done to save it? Why, a carefully worded provisional statement, of course, from the global leaders currently in possession of both the gas canister and the lit match, but not a surfeit of great ideas for the future. The ineffectiveness of rhetorical politics and symbolic diplomacy — best represented by the Group of Seven, the intergovernmental forum keen on expensive meetings that could have been emails — is kookily but ruthlessly skewered in “Rumours,” a wildly entertaining shaggy-dog satire that sees a stuffy G7 summit devolve into a murky, muddy and strangely isolated zombie apocalypse.
As comedy subgenres go, political satire can often veer closer to the wryly clever than the baldly hilarious. But “Rumours” — the third feature collaboration between veteran Canadian...
As comedy subgenres go, political satire can often veer closer to the wryly clever than the baldly hilarious. But “Rumours” — the third feature collaboration between veteran Canadian...
- 5/19/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety - Film News
Cate Blanchett’s new film “Rumours” took its name from the iconic Fleetwood Mac album, it was revealed on Sunday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference.
The dark comedy, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 — a political and economic meeting of the minds between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — but get lost in the woods while trying to compose a joint statement. Debauchery ensues, and there are romantic connections between a few of the politicians.
“I did confirm something with Galen last night, and it’s weird that it never came up in rehearsal, which is: ‘Why the hell is this movie called Rumours?'” Blanchett said at the presser. “And my husband had said, ‘Is that after the Fleetwood Mac album?’ And you said, ‘Yes it was.
The dark comedy, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 — a political and economic meeting of the minds between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — but get lost in the woods while trying to compose a joint statement. Debauchery ensues, and there are romantic connections between a few of the politicians.
“I did confirm something with Galen last night, and it’s weird that it never came up in rehearsal, which is: ‘Why the hell is this movie called Rumours?'” Blanchett said at the presser. “And my husband had said, ‘Is that after the Fleetwood Mac album?’ And you said, ‘Yes it was.
- 5/19/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety - Film News
The stars of Cannes sensation “Emilia Perez” got personal about the politics of their genre-bending musical on Sunday.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez fielded questions at a press conference for the Jacques Audiard project about the film’s setting in Mexico — a country torn by cartel violence as it heads for a summer election. A Mexican journalist asked the actors if they could reconcile the beauty of the film with the real world corruption occurring in the nation.
“I’ve been living in LA for 20 years. Mexican culture, that’s something that’s dear to my heart. I have lots of family there. There is injustice and corruption, which is true of all places in the world. But I’m grateful to Jacques because he used a lot of creative library and freedom [in this story],” said Saldaña.
Gomez said she related “so much to what Zoe said. I still have family there and,...
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez fielded questions at a press conference for the Jacques Audiard project about the film’s setting in Mexico — a country torn by cartel violence as it heads for a summer election. A Mexican journalist asked the actors if they could reconcile the beauty of the film with the real world corruption occurring in the nation.
“I’ve been living in LA for 20 years. Mexican culture, that’s something that’s dear to my heart. I have lots of family there. There is injustice and corruption, which is true of all places in the world. But I’m grateful to Jacques because he used a lot of creative library and freedom [in this story],” said Saldaña.
Gomez said she related “so much to what Zoe said. I still have family there and,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Matt Donnelly and Ellise Shafer
- Variety - Film News
Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov (“Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu,” “Tchaikovsky’s Wife”) is back in the Cannes competition with “Limonov,” an epic about Russian punk poet Eduard Limonov that the director describes as “probably the most complicated project in my life.”
Based on the best-selling book by Emmanuelle Carrere, “Limonov” delves into the story of its titular character who lived many lives. He was an underground writer in the Soviet Union who escaped to the U.S. where he became a punk-poet and also a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. “Eddie” then became a literary sensation in Paris before returning to Russia where he morphed into a charismatic dissident party leader with rock star status, only to be incarcerated by Vladimir Putin.
Serebrennikov was shooting “Limonov” in Moscow on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The director – who himself has had troubles with Putin – was able to leave the country and eventually complete...
Based on the best-selling book by Emmanuelle Carrere, “Limonov” delves into the story of its titular character who lived many lives. He was an underground writer in the Soviet Union who escaped to the U.S. where he became a punk-poet and also a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. “Eddie” then became a literary sensation in Paris before returning to Russia where he morphed into a charismatic dissident party leader with rock star status, only to be incarcerated by Vladimir Putin.
Serebrennikov was shooting “Limonov” in Moscow on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The director – who himself has had troubles with Putin – was able to leave the country and eventually complete...
- 5/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
Brazilian directors Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha’s “The Falling Sky” delves into lives of the Amazonian Yanomami people, who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest where they are contending with a harsh humanitarian crisis caused by the massive invasion of wildcat miners searching for gold and cassiterite, a mineral used in electronics. This unique doc – which launches in Directors Fortnight – is inspired by the thoughts, expressed in an eponymous book, of Davi Kopenawa, a shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami who performs the reahu ritual, a collective ceremony to hold up the sky and prevent it from falling.
The directors spoke in unison to Variety about why the Yanomami’s struggle against miners transcends the woes of their land and how their cosmology can help heal our planet as a whole.
What drew you to this project?
In the book Davi Kopenawa says that it...
The directors spoke in unison to Variety about why the Yanomami’s struggle against miners transcends the woes of their land and how their cosmology can help heal our planet as a whole.
What drew you to this project?
In the book Davi Kopenawa says that it...
- 5/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
It’s become something of a movie fashion to forestall the title credits until well after an establishing sequence, if not deeper into the film. But when the title appears onscreen in Blue Sun Palace, at the half-hour point, there’s nothing self-consciously stylish about it: It marks a dramatic, ground-shifting change in perspective, a gut-punch of a narrative fracture, and one that writer-director Constance Tsang executes with assurance.
At the helm of her first feature, Tsang has made a sharp and tender story about dislocation, centering on a trio of hardworking Chinese immigrants in New York. In the movie’s first 30 minutes, Tsang draws us into the intimate orbit of her expatriate characters: a construction company employee and two colleagues at a massage parlor. Then, the sudden absence of one of them sets everything askew. Absence is the current that drives the narrative: absence from family, from homeland, from purpose.
At the helm of her first feature, Tsang has made a sharp and tender story about dislocation, centering on a trio of hardworking Chinese immigrants in New York. In the movie’s first 30 minutes, Tsang draws us into the intimate orbit of her expatriate characters: a construction company employee and two colleagues at a massage parlor. Then, the sudden absence of one of them sets everything askew. Absence is the current that drives the narrative: absence from family, from homeland, from purpose.
- 5/19/2024
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paolo Sorrentino is back in Cannes for the seventh time with “Parthenope,” a love letter to his native Naples but also, as he puts it, a film about his “missed youth” that comes as a natural follow-up to his autobiographical “The Hand of God.” Perhaps more significantly, “Parthenope” – an epic spanning several decades – is Sorrentino’s first female-centric film. Why? “In thinking of a modern hero, it came naturally to me that it would be a heroine, not a man,” he tells Variety.
Let’s start with the film’s titular protagonist, Parthenope. Of course, Neapolitans in Italy are also known as “Parthenopeans.” My impression is that, after returning from Rome to Naples to make “The Hand of God,’ your native city drew you further back into its fold.
It’s a bit more complex, actually, not necessarily just linked to Naples. “Parthenope” was born from a series of long-simmering thoughts and emotional changes.
Let’s start with the film’s titular protagonist, Parthenope. Of course, Neapolitans in Italy are also known as “Parthenopeans.” My impression is that, after returning from Rome to Naples to make “The Hand of God,’ your native city drew you further back into its fold.
It’s a bit more complex, actually, not necessarily just linked to Naples. “Parthenope” was born from a series of long-simmering thoughts and emotional changes.
- 5/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
Most baseball movies are not, per se, about baseball. To take some examples: The Natural is about a prodigy overcoming trauma; Eight Men Out is about greed and corruption; Bad News Bears is a foul-mouthed coming-of-age flick; Bull Durham is all about Kevin Costner’s sex appeal; Moneyball carries the sport into the information age; and Field of Dreams (Costner, again) is haunted by the ghosts of baseball past.
First-time director Carson Lund clearly had this in mind when he made his feature debut Eephus, a movie steeped in nostalgia for the game itself, as well as what it represents for a bunch of men past their prime: the long afternoons in the sun, the trash-talking at the plate, the brewskies in the cooler and the kind of camaraderie you can only find in the dugout.
In many ways, this existential and increasingly surreal indie effort, which seems to be...
First-time director Carson Lund clearly had this in mind when he made his feature debut Eephus, a movie steeped in nostalgia for the game itself, as well as what it represents for a bunch of men past their prime: the long afternoons in the sun, the trash-talking at the plate, the brewskies in the cooler and the kind of camaraderie you can only find in the dugout.
In many ways, this existential and increasingly surreal indie effort, which seems to be...
- 5/19/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, Switzerland is ranked third in Europe for its yearly output of documentaries, with more than 70 titles in 2023. On May 19, it will unveil four of its most promising features at the Swiss Cannes Docs Showcase.
The event is jointly organized by the national promotional agency Swiss Films, Visions du Réel —the country’s sole non-fiction film festival—and Cannes Docs.
“It’s actually the very first Swiss Showcase of docs-in-progress ever at Cannes Docs!” said Pierre-Alexi Chevit, head of the sought-after doc industry event.
“We’ve been talking about it with Swiss Films for many years, and it’s now finally happening in the framework of Swiss Country of Honour at the Marché du Film this year,” he added.
“It is fabulous to have Visions du Réel as a key collaborator for this Showcase, as it is such a great festival, run by amazing people,...
The event is jointly organized by the national promotional agency Swiss Films, Visions du Réel —the country’s sole non-fiction film festival—and Cannes Docs.
“It’s actually the very first Swiss Showcase of docs-in-progress ever at Cannes Docs!” said Pierre-Alexi Chevit, head of the sought-after doc industry event.
“We’ve been talking about it with Swiss Films for many years, and it’s now finally happening in the framework of Swiss Country of Honour at the Marché du Film this year,” he added.
“It is fabulous to have Visions du Réel as a key collaborator for this Showcase, as it is such a great festival, run by amazing people,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety - Film News
There’s a scene early in the documentary “Nasty,” a rollicking portrait of the ’70s Romanian tennis bad boy Ilie Năstase, where the Grand Slam champion’s mentor and longtime doubles partner Ion Țiriac recalls teaching Năstase how to ski. The young prodigy was a fast study — perhaps too fast.
“He skied down perfectly,” says Țiriac, “except he ran into the fence because I hadn’t taught him to stop.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better metaphor for the free-wheeling, fast-living Năstase, a “wild child,” “rock star” and “insolent, elegant, angry, whimsical bon vivant” who makes a fitting subject for the documentary, which was directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu. A co-production between HBO Documentaries Europe and Romania’s Libra Films, the film has a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23 and will drop across Europe on Max the following day.
“He skied down perfectly,” says Țiriac, “except he ran into the fence because I hadn’t taught him to stop.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better metaphor for the free-wheeling, fast-living Năstase, a “wild child,” “rock star” and “insolent, elegant, angry, whimsical bon vivant” who makes a fitting subject for the documentary, which was directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu. A co-production between HBO Documentaries Europe and Romania’s Libra Films, the film has a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23 and will drop across Europe on Max the following day.
- 5/19/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety - Film News
Focus Features has bought international rights to “Hamlet,” Aneil Karia’s London-set modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s famed play starring Oscar winner Riz Ahmed.
Morfydd Clark and Joe Alwyn (“Kinds of Kindness”) also star in the film, which wrapped production at the end of last year and was acquired by Focus Features some time ago. WME Independent and CAA are co-repping North American rights, while WME handled international sales.
In this latest interpretation of “Hamlet,” Ahmed plays the titular lead, a man who is haunted by his father’s ghost and moves from elite London to the city’s underground, from Hindu temples to homeless tent cities. He embarks on a violent journey to avenge his father’s murder, ultimately questioning his own role in the family’s corruption.
The film was penned by Michael Lesslie (“Macbeth”). Ahmed produced “Hamlet” on behalf of his production company Left-Handed Films with Allie Moore.
Morfydd Clark and Joe Alwyn (“Kinds of Kindness”) also star in the film, which wrapped production at the end of last year and was acquired by Focus Features some time ago. WME Independent and CAA are co-repping North American rights, while WME handled international sales.
In this latest interpretation of “Hamlet,” Ahmed plays the titular lead, a man who is haunted by his father’s ghost and moves from elite London to the city’s underground, from Hindu temples to homeless tent cities. He embarks on a violent journey to avenge his father’s murder, ultimately questioning his own role in the family’s corruption.
The film was penned by Michael Lesslie (“Macbeth”). Ahmed produced “Hamlet” on behalf of his production company Left-Handed Films with Allie Moore.
- 5/19/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety - Film News
Mubi has swooped on its third 2024 Cannes competition title, Variety has learned.
Having acquired worldwide rights to Coralie Fargeat’s buzzy body horror “The Substance” and U.K. rights to Andrea Arnold’s Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski-starring ‘Bird’ before the festival began, the arthouse distributor, production banner and streamer has now picked up Magnus von Horn’s chilling black and white drama “The Girl With the Needle.” Mubi bought the title for North America, U.K./Ireland, Latin America, Germany/Austria, Italy, Turkey and India.
Directed by von Horn (“Sweat”) from a screenplay he wrote with Line Langebek, “The Girl With the Needle” is loosely based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, who helped impoverished women kill their unwanted children and was first sentenced to death in 1921, but it was later changed into a lifetime in prison.
In von Horn’s pic, set in post WW1 Copenhagen,...
Having acquired worldwide rights to Coralie Fargeat’s buzzy body horror “The Substance” and U.K. rights to Andrea Arnold’s Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski-starring ‘Bird’ before the festival began, the arthouse distributor, production banner and streamer has now picked up Magnus von Horn’s chilling black and white drama “The Girl With the Needle.” Mubi bought the title for North America, U.K./Ireland, Latin America, Germany/Austria, Italy, Turkey and India.
Directed by von Horn (“Sweat”) from a screenplay he wrote with Line Langebek, “The Girl With the Needle” is loosely based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, who helped impoverished women kill their unwanted children and was first sentenced to death in 1921, but it was later changed into a lifetime in prison.
In von Horn’s pic, set in post WW1 Copenhagen,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy and Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival.
The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film. The rights for France were previously taken by Pyramide and for North America by Neon.
Negotiations are underway for the rights in Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Latin America, the Baltics, Denmark, former Yugoslavia, the Indian subcontinent, Poland and Sweden.
It was revealed on Monday that Rasoulof had left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities,...
The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film. The rights for France were previously taken by Pyramide and for North America by Neon.
Negotiations are underway for the rights in Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Latin America, the Baltics, Denmark, former Yugoslavia, the Indian subcontinent, Poland and Sweden.
It was revealed on Monday that Rasoulof had left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
Athens-based sales and production outfit Heretic has sold key territories on the Cannes Film Festival’s Acid sidebar opening film, Greece’s “Kyuka: Before Summer’s End.”
Heretic has sealed distribution deals for France with The Dark, Benelux with Gusto Entertainment and Greece with Cinobo.
Directed by feature debutant Kostis Charamountanis, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, the film follows a family of three, a single father, Babis, and his twin children on the verge of adulthood, Konstantinos and Elsa, who sail to the island of Poros on the family boat for their holidays. In the midst of swimming, sunbathing and making new friends, Konstantinos and Elsa meet, unbeknownst to them, their birth mother Anna who abandoned them when they were babies. The encounter stirs up long-held feelings of resentment in Babis, resulting in a bittersweet coming-of-age journey.
The film, which had its world premiere last week, opening Cannes Acid (Association...
Heretic has sealed distribution deals for France with The Dark, Benelux with Gusto Entertainment and Greece with Cinobo.
Directed by feature debutant Kostis Charamountanis, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, the film follows a family of three, a single father, Babis, and his twin children on the verge of adulthood, Konstantinos and Elsa, who sail to the island of Poros on the family boat for their holidays. In the midst of swimming, sunbathing and making new friends, Konstantinos and Elsa meet, unbeknownst to them, their birth mother Anna who abandoned them when they were babies. The encounter stirs up long-held feelings of resentment in Babis, resulting in a bittersweet coming-of-age journey.
The film, which had its world premiere last week, opening Cannes Acid (Association...
- 5/19/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
The very title of “Everybody Loves Touda” poses a kind of challenge to viewers. If everybody loves Touda, dare you not? Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s forthright musical drama certainly doesn’t permit much room for dissent. From first gilded frame to last, the film is besotted with its eponymous heroine, a fiery small-town singer aspiring to the status of ‘Sheikhat’ — a revered class of diva versed in the poetic traditions of historical Aita music. With scene after scene conceived to emphasize Touda’s strength of character and depth of talent, it’s just as well star Nisrin Erradi is sufficiently magnetic not to buckle under the weight of the film’s devotion to her.
As a dramatic construction, however, Touda is more fabulous than she is intrinsically fascinating, characterized predominantly by determined ambition and glittering, show-must-go-on resolve. Ayouch’s script, written in collaboration with his wife and fellow filmmaker...
As a dramatic construction, however, Touda is more fabulous than she is intrinsically fascinating, characterized predominantly by determined ambition and glittering, show-must-go-on resolve. Ayouch’s script, written in collaboration with his wife and fellow filmmaker...
- 5/19/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety - Film News
When asked to name her organization’s biggest accomplishment so far, Charlene Deleon-Jones, the executive director for Film AlUla and Saudi Tourism leadership board member, doesn’t hesitate to name-check Norah, the first Saudi film to crack the Cannes lineup. The Tawfik Alzaidi-helmed indie movie, which will compete in the fest’s Un Certain Regard section, was shot in AlUla, the country’s 200,000-year-old “living museum” and first Unesco World Heritage Site, with a crew that was 40 percent Saudi and includes an all-Saudi cast. The latter includes teenager Maria Bahrawi in her debut role as the titular Norah, an orphaned girl who develops a nurturing bond with Nader, an artist and new teacher in her village, played by Saudi actor Yagoub Alfarhan. “That they were able to get to this stage is really impressive,” Deleon-Jones says. “Often, people can be very focused on what is seen as their ‘international piece,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Becky Lucas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Brazilian production powerhouse Gullane, which is behind Netflix’s “Senna” and Karim Aïnouz’s Cannes competition title “Motel Destino,” has closed international co-production pacts on new projects from Cao Hamburger (”The Year My Parents Went on Vacation”) and Sandra Kogut (“Three Summers”).
France’s Playtime Group and Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes will co-produce Hamburger’s “School Without Walls.” A Playtime Group company will also handle international sales on the true and inspiring story of Braz Nogueira, principal of a public school in Heliopolis, one of Brazil’s biggest slums.
Kogut will direct “New Cancun,” co-created by and starring Sundance actress winner Regina Casé. The film teams Gullane with Kogut’s regular producer in France, Gloria Films. It’s slated to shoot by the first quarter of 2025.
In the film, Casé plays Madá, who has never dwelled on her family’s tragedy in an environmental disaster. When chosen for a Christmas campaign,...
France’s Playtime Group and Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes will co-produce Hamburger’s “School Without Walls.” A Playtime Group company will also handle international sales on the true and inspiring story of Braz Nogueira, principal of a public school in Heliopolis, one of Brazil’s biggest slums.
Kogut will direct “New Cancun,” co-created by and starring Sundance actress winner Regina Casé. The film teams Gullane with Kogut’s regular producer in France, Gloria Films. It’s slated to shoot by the first quarter of 2025.
In the film, Casé plays Madá, who has never dwelled on her family’s tragedy in an environmental disaster. When chosen for a Christmas campaign,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente and John Hopewell
- Variety - Film News
Oliver Stone is talking about “Lula,” his new documentary about Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, when the conversation turns to American politics. The conspiracy-minded director, who’s never seen a grassy knoll without glimpsing a second gunman on it, is drawing an analogy between Lula’s political travails, involving a corruption investigation that led to a 580-day prison stint, and those of Donald Trump. That’s when the film’s publicist interjects and politely tries to steer the topic back to the documentary. But Stone waves him off and plunges ahead.
“The charges on both sides of the Trump-Biden election are pretty wild — that Biden is corrupt and Trump is corrupt,” he says. “It’s a new form of warfare. It’s called lawfare. And that’s what they’re using against Trump. And I think there’s interesting parallels here in America,...
“The charges on both sides of the Trump-Biden election are pretty wild — that Biden is corrupt and Trump is corrupt,” he says. “It’s a new form of warfare. It’s called lawfare. And that’s what they’re using against Trump. And I think there’s interesting parallels here in America,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety - Film News
Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk has just picked up international rights to the Danish drama “Home” by actor-turned director Marijana Jankovic (“The House that Jack Built”).
For her debut feature after 2019’s multi-awarded short film “Maja,” a best short winner at Tribeca, Jancovic has assembled an impressive A-list international cast.
This includes Dejan Cukic (“Snabba Cash”), Nada Sargin (“The Mould”), Zlatko Buric (“Triangle of Sadness”), Claes Bang (“The Square”), Jesper Christensen, Trine Dyrholm (“The Girl With the Needle”) and Lene Maria Christensen (“Unruly”).
Based on a script co-penned by Jancovic with the seasoned Bo Hr. Hansen, behind Thomas Vinterberg’s upcoming series “Families like Ours,” a hit at MipTV, and Babak Vakili (“Outlaw”), the story is inspired by the director’s own experience, and feelings of and reflections on uprootedness.
Aged six, she moved from Montenegro to Denmark with her parents, but feeling homesick, she returned to her grandmother’s care. A year later,...
For her debut feature after 2019’s multi-awarded short film “Maja,” a best short winner at Tribeca, Jancovic has assembled an impressive A-list international cast.
This includes Dejan Cukic (“Snabba Cash”), Nada Sargin (“The Mould”), Zlatko Buric (“Triangle of Sadness”), Claes Bang (“The Square”), Jesper Christensen, Trine Dyrholm (“The Girl With the Needle”) and Lene Maria Christensen (“Unruly”).
Based on a script co-penned by Jancovic with the seasoned Bo Hr. Hansen, behind Thomas Vinterberg’s upcoming series “Families like Ours,” a hit at MipTV, and Babak Vakili (“Outlaw”), the story is inspired by the director’s own experience, and feelings of and reflections on uprootedness.
Aged six, she moved from Montenegro to Denmark with her parents, but feeling homesick, she returned to her grandmother’s care. A year later,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety - Film News
Spain’s Latido Films has clinched world sales rights to serial killer drama-thriller “Sacamantecas,” the third feature by writer-director David Pérez Sañudo, whose Latido-repped debut feature, “Ane,” swept three Spanish Academy Goya Awards in 2021.
Latido is already handling Pérez Sañudo’s second feature, “Los últimos románticos,” which it announced at the Berlin Film Festival as the first title in a two-picture deal with Sañudo. The deals come as Spanish sales companies battle to retain top-flight talent, increasingly in the crosshairs of international counterparts.
”Sacamantecas,” on which Latido Films has just clinched a pre-sale deal for Italy with Movies Inspired, marks the second title in that deal. Distribution in Spain will close shortly, said Latido Films’ Oscar Alonso.
Produced by Olmo Figueredo, who’s also backing “Los últimos románticos,” “Sacamantecas” turns on Spain’s first recorded serial killer, Juan Díaz de Garayo.
In two killing sprees over 1872-79, the ageing and...
Latido is already handling Pérez Sañudo’s second feature, “Los últimos románticos,” which it announced at the Berlin Film Festival as the first title in a two-picture deal with Sañudo. The deals come as Spanish sales companies battle to retain top-flight talent, increasingly in the crosshairs of international counterparts.
”Sacamantecas,” on which Latido Films has just clinched a pre-sale deal for Italy with Movies Inspired, marks the second title in that deal. Distribution in Spain will close shortly, said Latido Films’ Oscar Alonso.
Produced by Olmo Figueredo, who’s also backing “Los últimos románticos,” “Sacamantecas” turns on Spain’s first recorded serial killer, Juan Díaz de Garayo.
In two killing sprees over 1872-79, the ageing and...
- 5/19/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety - Film News
Jeff Daniels is looking back at his time filming the infamous toilet scene in Dumb and Dumber and how he feared it would end his acting career.
The actor, known for several of his more dramatic roles, recently told USA Today that even his agents warned him about taking on the role of Harry, the “dumber” of two friends, alongside Jim Carrey’s Lloyd in the 1994 comedy.
“I had agents, who weren’t wrong, telling me, ‘You’re a serious actor. This is not the direction you need to be going. We’re going to stop this and get you off this movie,'” Daniels recalled. “But I wanted to shake it up with a comedy. And I wanted to work with Jim Carrey.”
Going into the project, the Terms of Endearment star knew he had to fully commit to the outlandish comedy scenes, as the movie studio initially wanted...
The actor, known for several of his more dramatic roles, recently told USA Today that even his agents warned him about taking on the role of Harry, the “dumber” of two friends, alongside Jim Carrey’s Lloyd in the 1994 comedy.
“I had agents, who weren’t wrong, telling me, ‘You’re a serious actor. This is not the direction you need to be going. We’re going to stop this and get you off this movie,'” Daniels recalled. “But I wanted to shake it up with a comedy. And I wanted to work with Jim Carrey.”
Going into the project, the Terms of Endearment star knew he had to fully commit to the outlandish comedy scenes, as the movie studio initially wanted...
- 5/19/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Raoul Peck’s life is as fascinating as his films, filled with unexpected twists and turns. From his early stints as a cab driver and journalist, to a minister of culture post in his native Haiti, to teaching, to founding his Velvet Film production shingle to his breakthrough when he earned an Oscar nomination as producer/director with the James Baldwin doc, “I Am Not Your Negro,” the common denominator is Peck’s drive to make life better through his work. “I went into film because there were things I wanted to say, to express or deconstruct,” he explained. “And there is a fight to be had about the state of the world and wherever I’m living.”
On May 20, Peck will have his third Cannes premiere with the Special Screenings doc “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” It chronicles the life of a South African photographer — another of Peck’s...
On May 20, Peck will have his third Cannes premiere with the Special Screenings doc “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” It chronicles the life of a South African photographer — another of Peck’s...
- 5/19/2024
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety - Film News
THR puts the spotlight on the best films from the festival circuit that have yet to land a U.S. distribution deal.
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
- 5/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture.
The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner. The first film has its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. is handling international sales.
“When we heard that these films were being offered, we had to jump at the chance to acquire them,” Wesley Villarica of Parallax Studio said. “It’s not every day that films like these come around. And coming from Kevin Costner,...
The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner. The first film has its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. is handling international sales.
“When we heard that these films were being offered, we had to jump at the chance to acquire them,” Wesley Villarica of Parallax Studio said. “It’s not every day that films like these come around. And coming from Kevin Costner,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
Jake Gyllenhaal decided to showcase his vocal talent during the Season 49 finale of “Saturday Night Live.” The actors began serendaring the audience with a rendition of Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.” During the ballad, Gyllenhaal switched up the lyrics, claiming he was the very last choice to host for the finale. He croons, “They asked Pedro Pascal, but he wasn’t around. Zendaya said no because she’d be out of town. Even asked [Ryan] Gosling to come back again, just hosted three shows ago.”
The sing-along monologue also featured appearances from cast member Kenan Thompson, Ego Nowdim,...
The sing-along monologue also featured appearances from cast member Kenan Thompson, Ego Nowdim,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Aramide Tinubu
- Variety - TV News
Jake Gyllenhaal had a show-stopping “Saturday Night Live” monologue for its Season 49 finale, literally breaking out into song with a Boyz II Men spoof of “End of the Road.”
“We’ve come to the end of the road, it’s the last episode. Time to say goodbye, season 49 — you’ll be 50 soon,” the actor sang alongside impromptu bandmates Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson and Devon Walker.
Riffing on the Grammy-winning R&b act’s 1993 Motown Records single, the highlight of the bit came with Gyllenhaal’s impassioned bridge where he listed all the hosts Lorne Michaels asked to come host for the Season 49 finale before him.
“They asked Pedro Pascal but he wasn’t around. Zendaya said no ’cause she be out of time. Even asked Gosling to come back again, just hosted three shows ago!” Gyllenhaal, capitalizing off his previously Tony Award-nominated singing chops, belted.
That came just after the host enthused,...
“We’ve come to the end of the road, it’s the last episode. Time to say goodbye, season 49 — you’ll be 50 soon,” the actor sang alongside impromptu bandmates Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson and Devon Walker.
Riffing on the Grammy-winning R&b act’s 1993 Motown Records single, the highlight of the bit came with Gyllenhaal’s impassioned bridge where he listed all the hosts Lorne Michaels asked to come host for the Season 49 finale before him.
“They asked Pedro Pascal but he wasn’t around. Zendaya said no ’cause she be out of time. Even asked Gosling to come back again, just hosted three shows ago!” Gyllenhaal, capitalizing off his previously Tony Award-nominated singing chops, belted.
That came just after the host enthused,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
The 49th season finale of “Saturday Night Live” opened with James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump speaking at the barricades of a Manhattan courthouse, in a nod to Trump’s ongoing legal woes amid his presidential campaign.
During the sketch, Johnson as Trump spoke about his “weird and depressing” state at the courthouse, saying, “I don’t like being in court because they say very mean things about me as I’m trying to sleep.” (It was reported that Trump fell asleep in court during proceedings.) He goes on to say, “Now that my defense is supposed to begin on Monday,...
During the sketch, Johnson as Trump spoke about his “weird and depressing” state at the courthouse, saying, “I don’t like being in court because they say very mean things about me as I’m trying to sleep.” (It was reported that Trump fell asleep in court during proceedings.) He goes on to say, “Now that my defense is supposed to begin on Monday,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Anne McCarthy
- Variety - TV News
During the Saturday Night Live monologue, Jake Gyllenhaal seemed to be trying to convince himself that he was Ok with hosting the season 49 finale, rather than the season 50 premiere.
“When you think of historic television seasons, the first number that pops into your head is 49,” Gyllenhaal said. “I mean, sure, you know, one more episode and I would have been hosting the premiere of the 50th season, but who cares?”
The Road House actor later broke out in song to the tune of Boyz II Men’s “End Of The Road,” listing off all the people the sketch comedy series asked to host the season finale before Gyllenhaal.
“You know, I was actually SNL‘s first choice to host the finale after a lot of people said no,” he joked. “I guess they’re all holding out for the 50th but not me.”
“I’m the one who said, yeah,...
“When you think of historic television seasons, the first number that pops into your head is 49,” Gyllenhaal said. “I mean, sure, you know, one more episode and I would have been hosting the premiere of the 50th season, but who cares?”
The Road House actor later broke out in song to the tune of Boyz II Men’s “End Of The Road,” listing off all the people the sketch comedy series asked to host the season finale before Gyllenhaal.
“You know, I was actually SNL‘s first choice to host the finale after a lot of people said no,” he joked. “I guess they’re all holding out for the 50th but not me.”
“I’m the one who said, yeah,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jesse Plemons has become an undisputed auteur’s favorite. The 36-year-old star’s beguiling unshowiness onscreen has landed him memorable parts in films from Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master), Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies, The Post), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon), Charlie Kaufman (I’m Thinking of Ending Things), Adam McKay (Vice) and Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), among so many others. Arguably even more viewers know him from his indelible work on the small screen, which began with his breakthrough role on NBC’s Friday Night Lights, continued through AMC’s landmark hit series Breaking Bad and culminated with an Emmy nomination for FX’s Fargo, where he met his wife, actress and co-star Kirsten Dunst.
Plemons touched down for the Cannes Film Festival on Friday for the world premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, the acclaimed Greek director’s follow-up to his multi-Oscar-winning period fantasy Poor Things.
Plemons touched down for the Cannes Film Festival on Friday for the world premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, the acclaimed Greek director’s follow-up to his multi-Oscar-winning period fantasy Poor Things.
- 5/19/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jake Gyllenhaal decided to showcase his vocal talent during the Season 49 finale of “Saturday Night Live.” The actors began serendaring the audience with a rendition of Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.” During the ballad, Gyllenhaal switched up the lyrics, claiming he was the very last choice to host for the finale. He crooned, “They asked Pedro Pascal, but he wasn’t around. Zendaya said no because she’d be out of town. Even asked [Ryan] Gosling to come back again, just hosted three shows ago.”
The sing-along monologue also featured appearances from cast member Kenan Thompson, Ego Nowdim,...
The sing-along monologue also featured appearances from cast member Kenan Thompson, Ego Nowdim,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Aramide Tinubu
- Variety - TV News
James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump returned to “Saturday Night Live” for one more appearance this season, with the cold open spoofing one of Trump’s many rants outside his criminal fraud trial. And, during this particular press conference, he ran through his shortlist for VP — from Kristi Noem to Hannibal Lecter.
To kick off his speech, the fake Trump noted that he was coming to viewers live from “my cage at the zoo,” speaking behind the barricades outside the courthouse. Naturally, he acknowledged the gag order put on him, though he complained that it “sounds like a challenge on RuPaul” more than anything else.
After following suit of the real Trump and complaining about how unfair the trial is to him, the fake Trump brought out his “short bus,” er, short list of VP candidates, though he caveated that the actual choice would be “determined by the winner of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.
To kick off his speech, the fake Trump noted that he was coming to viewers live from “my cage at the zoo,” speaking behind the barricades outside the courthouse. Naturally, he acknowledged the gag order put on him, though he complained that it “sounds like a challenge on RuPaul” more than anything else.
After following suit of the real Trump and complaining about how unfair the trial is to him, the fake Trump brought out his “short bus,” er, short list of VP candidates, though he caveated that the actual choice would be “determined by the winner of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.
- 5/19/2024
- by Andi Ortiz
- The Wrap
Films about the ecological stakes of contemporary life often center the results of unfettered human consumption. By showing the abuses suffered by the environment, they function as both an urgent warning and a desperate plea. Claude Barras takes a different route in Savages (Sauvages), his incisive and edifying animated feature about an 11-year-old girl trying to protect her land and people from encroaching deforestation.
Premiering at Cannes, Savages focuses on elemental beauty and the dignity of community-driven preservation. It is the latest film from the Swiss director whose last film My Life as a Zucchini premiered at Cannes in 2016 and went on to critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination. As in that movie, Barras does not condescend to or patronize his youngest audience members. Savages, written by Barras and Catherine Paillé in collaboration with Morgan Navarro and Nancy Huston, is uncompromising in its messaging, deceptively spare in its instruction and absolutely gorgeous to look at.
Premiering at Cannes, Savages focuses on elemental beauty and the dignity of community-driven preservation. It is the latest film from the Swiss director whose last film My Life as a Zucchini premiered at Cannes in 2016 and went on to critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination. As in that movie, Barras does not condescend to or patronize his youngest audience members. Savages, written by Barras and Catherine Paillé in collaboration with Morgan Navarro and Nancy Huston, is uncompromising in its messaging, deceptively spare in its instruction and absolutely gorgeous to look at.
- 5/19/2024
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The setup reads like a thriller: 60,000 photo negatives were discovered in a safe in a Swedish bank, no one knows how they got there, and no one knows who paid to keep them there. But Raoul Peck’s Cannes-bound documentary Ernest Cole: Lost and Found aims to uncover the forgotten years of a photographer whose legacy and work could have easily been buried.
Peck, who was born in Haiti but fled the Duvalier dictatorship with his family, eventually landing in Berlin, felt a particular kinship with Ernest Cole, the South African photographer who captured the Apartheid state and published the 1967 book House of Bondage at only 27 years old. This led to the regime stripping him of his passport. Banished from his home country, Cole headed to New York City, where grants and assignments allowed him to continue photographing, but his past plagued him until his death.
Peck’s Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,...
Peck, who was born in Haiti but fled the Duvalier dictatorship with his family, eventually landing in Berlin, felt a particular kinship with Ernest Cole, the South African photographer who captured the Apartheid state and published the 1967 book House of Bondage at only 27 years old. This led to the regime stripping him of his passport. Banished from his home country, Cole headed to New York City, where grants and assignments allowed him to continue photographing, but his past plagued him until his death.
Peck’s Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Another union is coming to Disneyland.
On Saturday, a majority of the amusement park’s character workers voted to unionize with Actors’ Equity Association in a National Labor Relations Board vote, ushering more employees at Disneyland into the union fold. Nine hundred and fifty-three workers voted “yes” to join Equity, while 258 voted “no.” The parties now have several days to file any objections, and if none are submitted, the results will be certified.
“They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney cast members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association president Kate Shindle said in a statement on Saturday. “The next step will be to collaborate with them about improving health & safety, wages, benefits, working conditions and job security. After that we will meet with representatives of the Walt Disney Company to negotiate those priorities into a first contract.
On Saturday, a majority of the amusement park’s character workers voted to unionize with Actors’ Equity Association in a National Labor Relations Board vote, ushering more employees at Disneyland into the union fold. Nine hundred and fifty-three workers voted “yes” to join Equity, while 258 voted “no.” The parties now have several days to file any objections, and if none are submitted, the results will be certified.
“They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney cast members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association president Kate Shindle said in a statement on Saturday. “The next step will be to collaborate with them about improving health & safety, wages, benefits, working conditions and job security. After that we will meet with representatives of the Walt Disney Company to negotiate those priorities into a first contract.
- 5/19/2024
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Melissa Joan Hart said it was “hard” for her to take on more serious roles after years on Nickelodeon.
The actress, who has been in the entertainment industry for more than three decades, recently told People magazine that she now likes to “mix it up” when choosing characters and genres, but that it took some time to get to this point.
“I love doing these true crime movies because I never trusted myself to do drama when I was younger,” Hart said. “I did, when I was really young, I was actually in one of the episodes of The Equalizer, when I was about seven years old … and did some other dramatic roles — that was easy for me when I was a child. But then, as I got more comfortable with comedy, it was harder for me to flip into drama.”
The Melissa & Joey alum admitted she found comfort in...
The actress, who has been in the entertainment industry for more than three decades, recently told People magazine that she now likes to “mix it up” when choosing characters and genres, but that it took some time to get to this point.
“I love doing these true crime movies because I never trusted myself to do drama when I was younger,” Hart said. “I did, when I was really young, I was actually in one of the episodes of The Equalizer, when I was about seven years old … and did some other dramatic roles — that was easy for me when I was a child. But then, as I got more comfortable with comedy, it was harder for me to flip into drama.”
The Melissa & Joey alum admitted she found comfort in...
- 5/19/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Eva Longoria is putting a lot of thought into who she surrounds herself with in movies and TV shows.
The actress-filmmaker recently admitted to People magazine that she only wants “to work with people I love,” naming friends and fellow actresses Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union as an example.
“Life’s too short to work with assholes, and I’d much rather be surrounded by people I love, and creatives that I respect,” Longoria continued, adding that she uses “reverse engineering” to decide what to work on next.
The Flamin’ Hot star and director explained that before she even seeks out new projects, she considers who she wants to collaborate with first and later finds something that everyone can agree on.
“It’s the people and their vision and what they bring to it more than the actual project” that makes her want to be on set,” Longoria said.
The...
The actress-filmmaker recently admitted to People magazine that she only wants “to work with people I love,” naming friends and fellow actresses Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union as an example.
“Life’s too short to work with assholes, and I’d much rather be surrounded by people I love, and creatives that I respect,” Longoria continued, adding that she uses “reverse engineering” to decide what to work on next.
The Flamin’ Hot star and director explained that before she even seeks out new projects, she considers who she wants to collaborate with first and later finds something that everyone can agree on.
“It’s the people and their vision and what they bring to it more than the actual project” that makes her want to be on set,” Longoria said.
The...
- 5/19/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A self-portrait and cinematic essay, Leos Carax’s “It’s Not Me” is perhaps the most accurate impression of a late-era Jean-Luc Godard experiment anyone has ever attempted. From Carax’s raspy voiceover to his jaggedly assembled combination of archival footage and absurd original snippets, the 41-minute short probes a variety of personal and political subjects, but it never quite beats with the furious heart and provocative spirit of Godard’s twilight era.
The project was conceived as part of a museum exhibition on Carax for Paris’ Centre Pompidou, but the prompt posed to him in the form of a question — “Where are you at, Leos Carax?” — appears to have led the enigmatic filmmaker on a confounding quest of self-discovery. The exhibit would never come to fruition, but Carax’s inquiry into his work, his lifelong influences and cinema at-large has yielded an occasionally fascinating collage. The film not only ponders Carax’s past,...
The project was conceived as part of a museum exhibition on Carax for Paris’ Centre Pompidou, but the prompt posed to him in the form of a question — “Where are you at, Leos Carax?” — appears to have led the enigmatic filmmaker on a confounding quest of self-discovery. The exhibit would never come to fruition, but Carax’s inquiry into his work, his lifelong influences and cinema at-large has yielded an occasionally fascinating collage. The film not only ponders Carax’s past,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety - Film News
The first four episodes of the season three of “Bridgerton” dropped on Friday and sent fans of Penelope and Colin (#Polin!) into a carriage-induced frenzy. Anthony Ahn, who directed episodes 3 and 4 (yep: those episodes), replied to a few fan questions on Twitter/X, including one about a key ballroom scene that’s left people in tatters.
Tension between the longtime friends began to build in the first episode, after Colin returned to the ton fresh off a journey that took him through 17 cities, where he presumably… learned a few things. Still hurt after the season two ender in which Colin told friends he would never pursue a relationship with her, Penelope is simultaneously happy to see her friend is back, and mad as hell.
By the end of the first episode, Colin has suggested he help Penelope, who is in her third year of the marriage market, with her quest to get married.
Tension between the longtime friends began to build in the first episode, after Colin returned to the ton fresh off a journey that took him through 17 cities, where he presumably… learned a few things. Still hurt after the season two ender in which Colin told friends he would never pursue a relationship with her, Penelope is simultaneously happy to see her friend is back, and mad as hell.
By the end of the first episode, Colin has suggested he help Penelope, who is in her third year of the marriage market, with her quest to get married.
- 5/18/2024
- by Stephanie Kaloi
- The Wrap
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