Ari Aster and his producing partner Lars Knudsen have boarded Chile’s Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s new film “Hansel & Gretel” as executive producers through their company, Square Peg. The Chilean duo’s feature “The Hyperboreans” forms part of Cannes’ Directors’
Fresh out of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” is one of the titles headed to this year’s Mediterrane Film Festival, taking place in Malta between June 22-30. Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of
Paramount+ has never had better content. Since Viacom and CBS Access merged to form the new streamer in 2019, they’ve grown an impressive catalog that includes something for everyone: think the entire “Godfather” trilogy, the video game-adapted “Halo” series, “Star Trek:
Zoe Saldaña says the future of female representation in the film industry is dependent on women continuing to shatter the glass ceiling. And those who do cannot get complacent. “We need more female CEOs. We need more women sitting on boards. Because those are the gatekeepers,”
Rupert Evans and Ewan Horrocks will lead the cast of a new four-part limited series, “Truth & Conviction,” for “Sound of Freedom” producer Angel Studios. Based on a true story, the follows Helmuth Hübener, a teenager who led a resistance group with his two friends during World
Wang Chung had no idea John Mulaney’s six-episode Netflix talk show “Everybody’s in LA” would use their 1985 song “To Live and Die in L.A.” as its theme song — but they’re thrilled he did. “It’s a total surprise that it’s blown up in the way that it has,” says Wang Chung lead
Kevin Costner’s new Western epic may have gotten a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes, but once critics got back from festival screenings to their hotel rooms, they posted reviews for Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 that were far less enthusiastic. Horizon is the first
Already adapted as a two-part feature film, the acclaimed manga “Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction” is to be made available worldwide as an animated TV series on Crunchyroll later this week. The two-part feature film, distributed by Gaga Corp., has only been released in
Rolling off its buzzy world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, Oscar-nominated Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson’s poignant drama “When The Light Breaks” has sold to a raft of territories. Represented in international markets by The Party Film Sales, the movie has been
Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman, veteran producer Bobby Bedi and the Technicolor Group have unveiled a film project based on Middle Eastern wit Mulla Nasruddin at the Cannes Film Festival. Also known as Nasreddin Hodja, Nasruddin was a 13th
“White Lies,” a murder mystery series starring Natalie Dormer, has been acquired by Sundance Now for North America. A collaboration between production company Quizzical Pictures and Pan-African broadcaster M-Net in partnership with Fremantle, “White Lies” is set in the wealthy
Pearl Jam played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 18, and frontman Eddie Vedder couldn’t resist eviscerating Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College (via BroBible). Butker has received enormous backlash for the
After many people noticed that one of the voices in OpenAI’s voice-enabled chatbot sounded very much like that of Scarlett Johansson’s disembodied AI companion in Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her,” the company is suspending the voice for the time being. The Johansson-soundalike
A new study has found that while stress relief is still self-reported as the top reason people are playing video games, 46% of gamers now list “creation, imagination and self-expression” as their main motivations for gaming. That stat is up 10% from last year, per entertainment
Wake up, fans of “The Sandman,” we’ve got some Season 2 news for you: The Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s epic graphic novel series has cast the final three siblings in the “Endless Family” of Tom Sturridge’s Dream — Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium, Adrian Lester as Destiny
While often more intellectually stimulating than emotionally engaging, “Santosh” lays bare the dark heart of communal divisions in modern India. Sandhya Suri’s narrative debut follows a driven young Hindu widow who inherits her husband’s job as police constable thanks to a
Independent cabler INSP, focused on Western programming, will premiere its original television series “Blue Ridge” July 28 at 9 p.m. ET. Johnathon Schaech will reprise his role as Sheriff Justin Wise from the 2020 movie “Blue Ridge,” which the TV series is based on. The
When Cate Blanchett starts shooting a new movie or show, it’s always the same story. “It’s like Groundhog Day,” Blanchett said at the Kering Women in Motion Talks at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. “I do the head count, and I’m back in the same place, working with men who I
Fremantle’s The Apartment will partner with The Match Factory, Mubi, Kavac Film and Rai Cinema to produce Karim Aïnouz’s next feature film “Rosebushpruning.” Directed by Aïnouz, the film’s lead cast includes Kristen Stewart (“Love Lies Bleeding,” “Spencer”), Josh O’Connor
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) arrives at its halfway point, here is THR executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg’s assessment of the awards prospects — at the Cannes closing ceremony and later in the fall — of the films that have screened at the fest so far. The
On Monday night, all eyes in Cannes will be on the launch of “The Apprentice,” the high-profile drama that stars Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump. The filmmakers and stars haven’t done any press on the ground at Cannes ahead of the film’s world premiere, and few have seen
A new Saudi Arabian film studio with deep pockets and Hollywood connections is launching from the Cannes Film Festival with a slate of film and TV projects. The Los Angeled-based 3SIX9 Studios – announced at an event on a yacht in the bay of Cannes – is co-founded by actor and
British filmmakers Sean Cronin and Peter Stylianou’s latest feature, “Drained,” has wrapped post-production and is being sold by Cronin’s Magnificent Films at the Cannes Film Market. Cronin is also an actor who has appeared in “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” and “Fantastic
An epic drama series about Iran’s last monarchy is in the works, Variety has learned. Inspired by “The Crown,” Netflix’s sweeping dramatization of the British royal family, “The Last Shah” is set to span four decades beginning during World War II, when the young monarch,
FREE ASSOCIATION The 27-member European Film Agency Directors Association and the Asian Film Alliance Network, which was established this time last year and currently has seven members, have agreed to work together on topics of common interest and to jointly develop a better
Federation Spain, the Madrid-based arm of top indie European studio Federation Entertainment, has inked to co-produce Xavier Rull’s feature debut “My Stalker,” selected for this year’s Frontières Platform in Cannes. Structured as a Spain-Mexico-U.S. co-production, “My Stalker”
Kevin Costner defended his depiction of the old West in his latest film, particularly the portrayal of Native American, Black and Asian characters, saying he “is absolutely conscious of what’s at stake” when it comes to representation. Speaking at the Cannes film festival after
German Films celebrated its 70th anniversary at Cannes on Sunday, with its guests looking back but also looking forward. “It has gotten much better,” Managing Director Simone Baumann told Variety at the event. “We’ve had Oscar-winning ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’
Over the last century, the small but mighty island Republic of Malta has cemented itself as an appealing global destination for major film productions, with features such as Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator,” Robert Altaman’s “Popeye,” and Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” shooting there.
At first, the violence seems limited to news reports. Every time a gangster is gunned down or a car bomb goes off in the streets of Corsica, the local channel flashes footage of the crime scene. So long as the killings are confined to television, it’s easy for 15-year-old Lesia
Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing entertainment sector added a high-profile new film company this week. 3SIX9 Studios was launched at the Cannes Film Festival this week by Saudi Sheikh Mohammed El Khereiji, who has invested in Hollywood films for years and will serve as chairman;
Kevin Costner got candid about partly self-financing his new movie, “Horizon: An American Saga,” at a Cannes Film Festival press conference on Monday. Costner put much of his own fortune into making the $100 million-plus film, including mortgaging his ranch. He directs and
A new Italian distribution and international sales company called PiperFilm is launching in Cannes, having scored rights for Italy to Paolo Sorrentino’s Cannes competition title “Parthenope.” Former Vision Distribution managing director Massimiliano Orfei is president of
London’s Raindance Film Festival is making a significant calendar shift for its 32nd edition, moving from its traditional fall slot to a new summer schedule. Raindance kicks off with the U.K. premiere of Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” a horror feature starring Hunter Schafer and Dan
Demi Moore said performing in Coralie Fargeat’s body horror shocker The Substance required accepting a “level of vulnerability and rawness” with regard to her own body on screen. Moore put it all out there for the film, a gory, campy satire on beauty standards, toxic
Demi Moore’s new film, the feminist body horror “The Substance,” sees her bare it all, with several scenes featuring full nudity. At the Cannes Film Festival press conference for the film on Monday, the 61-year-old actor discussed the “vulnerable experience.” “Going into it, it
Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut “Santosh,” which bows in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard strand, has unveiled its first clip. In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural
Alan Partridge is officially back as evidenced by a new first look image from his upcoming BBC documentary “And Did Those Feet… with Alan Partridge.” Filming has officially commenced on the show, in which comedian Steve Coogan (who was twice nominated for Oscars his work on
The Mediterrane Film Festival, held in the Maltese capital of Valletta, returns for its second edition between June 22-30 with a revamped programming structure led by new artistic director Teresa Cavina. The inaugural Golden Bee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cinema will be
The Anne Hathaway- and Jessica Chastain-starring psychological thriller “Mothers’ Instinct” is set for release in Chinese theaters. Directed by cinematographer-turned-helmer Benoît Delhomme, the 1960s film depicts a pair of model homemakers and next-door neighbors whose close
Barcelona-based sales company Film Factory has picked up global rights to Alberto Gastesi’s sci-fi thriller “Singular,” a former Sitges Pitchbox winner that will begin shooting this month. “Singular” is the story of Diana, a university professor who works with artificial
Filming in Hungary offers everything from a massive amount of production space and a 20-year strong tax rebate to eight symphony orchestras and thermal baths. On a panel during the Cannes Film Festival at the Marche du Film, film commissioner Csaba Kael, as well as producers
For more than two decades, French auteur Christophe Honoré has made provocative features, frequently exploring romantic entanglements or focusing on gay characters that reflect his sexuality. His third Palme d’Or-nominated film premiering May 21, “Marcello Mio,” is a comic
“The Last Frenzy,” a comedy film about a dying man’s last hurrah, returned to the top spot in mainland Chinese cinemas in its third weekend of release. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which a week earlier had been the biggest title, slipped to fourth place. In another
American helmer Carson Lund uses the baseball diamond as a deeply cinematic space in his feature debut, “Eephus.” The esoteric title is the name of one of the game’s rarest pitches. “Eephus” marks the second film from the L.A. collective Omnes Films to screen in the Directors’
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read on if you haven’t watched “Tunnel Vision,” the final episode of “CSI: Vegas” that aired on Sunday, May 19. “Things are about to go kaboom.” That’s what Beau (Lex Medlin) says on Friday night’s series finale of “CSI: Vegas” as he prepares to detonate a
Local blockbuster, “The Roundup: Punishment” extended its dominance of the South Korea theatrical box office for a fourth weekend. That lifted its cumulative total to a powerful $75 million. “Punishment,” the fourth part of a brutal action comedy film franchise produced by and
The lasagna-obsessed feline with a near-pathological aversion to Mondays, who first came into popular consciousness in the late ‘70s as a comic strip, is a diluted version of himself in “The Garfield Movie.” Not only is his suave apathy mostly replaced by an excessive