The first time Donna Langley came to the Cannes Film Festival she was a junior executive working on 1999’s “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” “I had just been promoted and I was fortunate enough to get picked to come on this trip to be part of the support team, and it was
Rolling off their partnership on Studiocanal’s “‘Mayhem!” (“Farang”) and Netflix hit movie “Watch Under Paris,” popular genre filmmaker Xavier Gens (“Gangs of London”) is joining forces with Vincent Roget and Eric Lavaine’s banner Sameplayer to launch a new production company.
High prices? In this economy? As Lucille Bluth famously said in “Arrested Development, “I mean it’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars?” Even if she was more than a few dollars off, the point still stands. Prices have continued to skyrocket in the years since
Proof of Concept, an accelerator program supporting women, trans and non-binary filmmakers founded by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, producer Coco Francini and Dr. Stacy L. Smith, has set its inaugural class of filmmakers. Proof of Concept was created after Dirty Films partners
“Madagascar” writer-director Eric Darnell knew he wanted to adapt Chinese folklore about a magic paintbrush for modern audiences from the moment he came across the ancient tale while at DreamWorks, initially developing an animated film inspired by it, then a VR project for
Longtime X-Men producer Simon Kinberg is beaming up to a new franchise. The multi-hyphenate is in talks to produce a new Star Trek feature for Paramount Pictures, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. If all goes well, the door would open to him taking active creative roles on
Yogi Berra, perhaps the greatest catcher in history, is quoted in Carson Lund’s “Eephus,” a movie about players who, unlike Berra, are never going to trouble the Baseball Hall of Fame’s induction committee. To homage so lofty a legend in so humble a film is a pretty big swing.
Tracy Spiridakos is saying goodbye to Haley Upton. Ahead of the May 22 finale, the “Chicago P.D.” actor is opening up for the first time about her decision to leave the procedural at the end of Season 11. In an exclusive interview with Variety, Spiridakos, who joined the Dick
Fred Roos, the casting director turned producer who jump-started the career of Jack Nicholson and collaborated often with Francis Ford Coppola, sharing a best picture Oscar with the filmmaker for 'The Godfather: Part II,' has died.
“Top Gun: Maverick” and “Insecure” star Jay Ellis has been named host of the MPTF NextGen Board’s 2024 Summer Party, which will take place June 23 on the rooftop of NeueHouse Hollywood. The yearly celebration benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund, which supports
Fred Roos, casting director for landmark films such as “American Graffiti” and who went on to have a close relationship with Francis Ford Coppola, including producing best picture winner “Godfather Part II” and “Apocalypse Now,” died Saturday in Beverly Hills. He was 89. Roos
Actor-singer-songwriter Keke Palmer and her Big Bosses Entertainment imprint have partnered with the SRG-ILS Group, which is distributed by Universal Music’s Virgin Music Group, the companies announced on Tuesday. Palmer’s first release under the new partnership will drop in
It was a neck-and-neck battle atop the U.K. and Ireland box office between Paramount’s “IF” and Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” While Disney’s simian saga won the three-day weekend, Paramount’s Imaginary Friend tale was the winner including previews. “IF” bowed
Fast rising Saudi studio Telefaz11 – the label behind record-breaking wrestling comedy “Sattar” – is set to make an ambitious concept comedy titled “Alzarfa” that will combine the heist movie and film-within-a-film genres. “Alzarfa” is being lead produced by Telfaz11 studio
Kino Lorber has picked up U.S. rights to Johan Grimonprez’s Sundance-winning documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, which traces how the U.S. used “Jazz Ambassadors” like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Duke Ellington, to build goodwill during the Cold War all while
S.E. Cupp, the longtime political analyst and CNN contributor will have more to say during the run-up to the 2024 presidential election on a new roundtable program for Fox-owned TV stations. Fox intends to air “Battleground” starting June 10 every Monday across all of its
The uncut gem of this year’s Cannes competition, “Anora” is a rowdy Safdie-style movie about two cultures (Russian and American), two languages (Russian and English) and two currencies (money and sex). Like countless Hollywood fantasies that have come before, it tells the story
Korean cinema technology company CJ 4DPLex has appointed longstanding CJ Entertainment & Media exec Joon Beom Sim as its new CEO, set to lead the Seoul-based producer of premium large format theater technology, such as panoramic ScreenX auditoriums and the moving, multi-sensory
Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a hilarious yet touching drama in which a sex worker falls in love with a Russian oligarch, energized Cannes Film Festival with a 7.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday. As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the
When “Agatha All Along” premieres on Disney+ in September, the series will not open with the traditional Marvel Studios logo — as has been the case with (almost) every previous series from the Kevin Feige-led division since “WandaVision” premiered in 2021. Instead, the company
Film industry luminaries have paid fulsome homage to Indian DoP Santosh Sivan, this year’s recipient of the annual Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography award conferred during the Cannes Film Festival. Hosted by professional cinema lens manufacturer Angénieux at Cannes,
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has spent nearly half a century making fun of advertisers and Madison Avenue pitches. A few big marketers want to help the show continue. Allstate, L’Oreal Groupe, T-Mobile, and Volkswagen of America have signed up to serve as presenting sponsors of
It is a paradoxical but nonetheless true statement to say that the retro-leaning L.A. rock band Redd Kross was far ahead of their time — not just musically (the power-pop resurgence of the early ‘90s) but also in pop-culture worship and the irony that saturated the 1990s. But
Pixar was hit with layoffs on Tuesday as approximately 175 employees, or 14% of its workforce, were let go. In a note to staff, Pixar president Jim Morris said that individuals who have been impacted by the layoffs will be notified on Tuesday. “Calendar invites to speak with a
Neon has picked up the North American rights to Sentimental Value, the upcoming film from Norwegian director Joachim Trier that reteams him with Renate Reinsve, star of Trier’s 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World. Trier and Worst Person in the World co-writer Eskil Vogt
One of the best things about Xbox Game Pass is sometimes you get to play the latest and greatest games on launch day — as part of a subscription to the online gaming platform. Case in point: “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II,” the highly anticipated sequel to 2017’s smash hit
Colm Meaney and Aiden Gillen have joined Vicky Krieps in the cast of six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan’s upcoming true crime drama “Re-creation.” Meaney has appeared in dozens of high-profile films and series over the past forty-plus years but is best known as Star Trek’s
Dolly Parton isn’t showing any signs of backing down from her proclamation that she thinks her touring days are over. But fans will yet have an opportunity to go see her music performed in concert, with orchestral renditions and Parton participating via appearances on a big
Ali Abbasi doesn't believe Donald Trump would be thrilled about how he's presented in the film, but adds: "I don't necessarily think that this is a movie he would dislike”
Nikki Glaser ripped on Ben Affleck for bombing at Netflix’s Tom Brady roast, telling Barstool Sports’ “KFC Radio” podcast that it was abundantly clear the Oscar winner came unprepared to the live taping. Affleck was one of the event’s surprise roasters. “I haven’t watched it
Metro Boomin has announced his initiative to donate $100,000 to five women-focused nonprofits in his native St. Louis, MO in honor of his late mother’s legacy. “I’ve seen firsthand the work that goes into being a single mother. Mine was my inspiration and my hero,” said Metro
HamptonsFilm’s 16th annual SummerDocs series will feature three Sundance favorites: “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” “War Game,” and “Super/Man:The Christopher Reeve Story.” HamptonsFilm and Hamptons Intl. Film Festival artistic director David Nugent and chairman emeritus Alec
It’s no mystery that music memorabilia is a booming business. The Gibson J-160E acoustic guitar on which John Lennon wrote many early Beatles hits went for $2.5 million at an auction. Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for his iconic 1965 song “Like a Rolling Stone” sold for $2
Rising Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani, whose latest movie “The Blue Caftan” won a flurry of awards and was shortlisted in the Oscar’s international feature race, is set to make her Spanish-language debut with “Calle Malaga.” Jean-Christophe Simon’s Films Boutique will handle
Comcast, as its legacy cable TV business continues to shrink, has built a new cable-style bundle for the streaming era. Beginning next week, the cable giant will offer StreamSaver, a package that includes NBCUniversal’s Peacock Premium (with ads), Netflix Basic (with ads) and
Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2004 Oscar for “Finding Neverland,” died Tuesday in Krakow, the Polish Music Foundation announced. He was 71 and had suffered from Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) in recent years. Also among Kaczmarek’s 50-plus film and television
Announced from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Projeto Paradiso – a Brazilian private foundation that supports local film and TV professionals – is teaming with the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (CECI) – an artistic cultural center in Moulin d’Andé, France – on a
Dwayne Johnson is nearly unrecognizable in the first look at his upcoming A24 drama “The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie and co-starring his “Jungle Cruise” screen partner Emily Blunt. The film casts Johnson as legendary MMA fighter Mark Kerr, who struggled with
Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for Season 2 of “Perfect Match.” The reality dating show follows 22 singles from Netflix’s various unscripted titles, who will couple up and test their romantic relationships through compatibility challenges. “Winning couples gain power
IFC Films and Shudder have acquired the North American rights to Spooky Pictures’ and Image Nation Abu Dhabi’s “Menace” out of the Cannes market. The indie labels also nabbed distribution rights to the sci-fi horror film in the U.K. and Ireland, as well as Australia and New
A24’s growing range of books, including its much-loved screenplay collection, will soon be available in physical stores around the world for the first time following a deal with independent publisher Mack. The publishing partnership — the first of its kind between a studio and
Indonesia has unveiled the four film projects that will be the pilot recipients of the country’s first government-funded film grant, Film Matchfund, at the Cannes Film Festival. As revealed by Variety, the $13 million annual fund was launched at Cannes 2023 by Nadiem Makarim,
Porter+Craig Film and Media Distribution, run by veteran industry executives Jeff Porter and Keith L. Craig has acquired worldwide rights to Gonçalo Galvão Teles’ “Nothing Ever Happened.” The film has enjoyed considerable success on the festival circuit, including awards in
David Cronenberg has opened up on putting his film The Shrouds to Netflix executives as a television series, who greenlit writing a first episode before rejecting the director’s project. The sci-fi drama, which aired in Cannes to a three-and-a-half minute applause before
Swedish director Ruben Östlund, who won Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for “The Square” and “Triangle of Sadness,” was among the guests at the German Films and Medienboard Reception on May 18 in the garden of the Mondrian Hotel in Cannes. Östlund, who is in the Riviera
Dolly De Leon, who rocked the Cannes Film Festival two years ago in “Triangle of Sadness,” has joined the cast of “Severino: The First Serial Killer,” an upcoming series from Philippines outfit CreaZion Studios. While “Severino” is the highest profile project, the producer is
David Cronenberg weighed the pros and cons of artificial intelligence in filmmaking at the Cannes Film Festival press conference for his latest film, “The Shrouds,” on Tuesday. Though Cronenberg said that technological advancements like CGI have “made filmmaking much easier” in
Prince Harry’s bid to include claims against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and broadcaster Piers Morgan has been rejected by London’s High Court. Harry – along with more than 40 other plaintiffs – is suing Murdoch’s U.K. newspaper business News Group Newspapers over claims of
Three days after its Critics’ Week world premiere, “The Brink of Dreams” director-producer team of Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir delved into the making of their documentary in an exclusive, behind-the-scenes conversation at the Palais des Festivals. Hosted by the Cannes Docs
