Movie News
It’s another bummer of a weekend at the summer of box office, where overall domestic revenue looks to be down 69 percent — no, not a typo — from a year ago as Hollywood and theater owners continue to grapple with a lack of big event pics. And year-to-date revenue is now down 24 percent over last year.
For some, there is reason to smile. Alcon and Sony’s The Garfield Movie easily purred past George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga to top the weekend chart with an estimated $14 million for a domestic tally of $51.6 million. Alcon fully financed the $60 million film, which crossed the $100 million mark overseas for a global tally of $152.2 million.
Furiosa, costing a pricey $168 million to produce, fell a steep 59 percent to $10.75 million, dashing hopes that it could rebound after a disappointing Memorial Day opening. The dystopian epic is also stalling overseas, where it took in only...
For some, there is reason to smile. Alcon and Sony’s The Garfield Movie easily purred past George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga to top the weekend chart with an estimated $14 million for a domestic tally of $51.6 million. Alcon fully financed the $60 million film, which crossed the $100 million mark overseas for a global tally of $152.2 million.
Furiosa, costing a pricey $168 million to produce, fell a steep 59 percent to $10.75 million, dashing hopes that it could rebound after a disappointing Memorial Day opening. The dystopian epic is also stalling overseas, where it took in only...
- 6/2/2024
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Most details about Sony’s forthcoming third, “Venom” film, titled, “Venom: The Last Dance,” have been kept under wraps, but one thing we do know, as the title suggests, this installment is the final edition. Sony’s Tom Rothman, in a recent interview, said ‘The Last Dance’ would be “The third and last Venom, is going to be huge,” he told Deadline.
Continue reading ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Trailer: Tom Hardy Does One Final Symbiote Tango This October at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Trailer: Tom Hardy Does One Final Symbiote Tango This October at The Playlist.
- 6/3/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
“Bridgerton” cordially invites you to the wedding of Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). Or does it?
In the trailer for Season 3 – Part 2 of the smash hit Netflix series, Colin and Pen’s engagement is the talk of the town — but Penelope’s secret identity as the gossiping Lady Whistledown grows harder to silence by the minute. While lying to Colin eats away at her, there’s also Eloise (Claudia Jessie) to contend with, who issues an ultimatum: Pen must tell Colin the truth, or Eloise will do it herself.
Season 3 – Part 1 saw Colin and Penelope rekindle their friendship while helping her find a husband, only for a kiss to reveal Colin’s true feelings to himself. In the midseason finale, he tells Pen the truth before she can be betrothed to Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), culminating in the infamous carriage scene that arguably lit the internet on fire.
In the trailer for Season 3 – Part 2 of the smash hit Netflix series, Colin and Pen’s engagement is the talk of the town — but Penelope’s secret identity as the gossiping Lady Whistledown grows harder to silence by the minute. While lying to Colin eats away at her, there’s also Eloise (Claudia Jessie) to contend with, who issues an ultimatum: Pen must tell Colin the truth, or Eloise will do it herself.
Season 3 – Part 1 saw Colin and Penelope rekindle their friendship while helping her find a husband, only for a kiss to reveal Colin’s true feelings to himself. In the midseason finale, he tells Pen the truth before she can be betrothed to Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), culminating in the infamous carriage scene that arguably lit the internet on fire.
- 6/3/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
“And Then We Danced” director Levan Akin returns with another intense and moving queer drama, “Crossing.” Winner of a jury prize at the 2024 Berlinale Film Festival and will next screen next week at Tribeca Festival, “Crossing” opens in arthouses across the country later this summer. IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the film below.
Where “And Then We Danced” centered on the romance between two young male dancers, the Swedish director’s latest bridges the gap between generations: Mzia Arabuli stars as Lia, a retired, world-weary schoolteacher on a journey from Batumi in Georgia to Istanbul in Turkey to find her missing trans niece Tekla, and Deniz Dumanli as Evrim, a trans Ngo lawyer who looks like an Anna Magnani, and is someone the movie at first dupes us into thinking is Lia’s niece. Along for the ride with Lia is Lucas Kankava as Achi, a Georgian teenager who...
Where “And Then We Danced” centered on the romance between two young male dancers, the Swedish director’s latest bridges the gap between generations: Mzia Arabuli stars as Lia, a retired, world-weary schoolteacher on a journey from Batumi in Georgia to Istanbul in Turkey to find her missing trans niece Tekla, and Deniz Dumanli as Evrim, a trans Ngo lawyer who looks like an Anna Magnani, and is someone the movie at first dupes us into thinking is Lia’s niece. Along for the ride with Lia is Lucas Kankava as Achi, a Georgian teenager who...
- 6/3/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Film producers Le Ly Hayslip (“Heaven & Earth”) and son Thomas Hayslip are behind “Woman I Phu Nu,” a documentary described as “untold stories of the women who fought and endured the Vietnam war and the next generation of women who are empowered to unpack their intergenerational reality to find strength in understanding.”
Besides Le Ly Hayslip, women featured in the doc include journalist and author Phan Thanh Hao; Nam Lan, a youth volunteer who recounts her story as a Pow (captured on film and then tortured for ten years); Tam Thoa, a spy who uncovered secrets that helped end the war; and A group of Ho Chi Minh Trail Volunteers.
“Forty years ago I saw the conditions these women were in and I’ve been trying to help them find their voice to tell their story ever since. This is the first time I feel like they’re being...
Besides Le Ly Hayslip, women featured in the doc include journalist and author Phan Thanh Hao; Nam Lan, a youth volunteer who recounts her story as a Pow (captured on film and then tortured for ten years); Tam Thoa, a spy who uncovered secrets that helped end the war; and A group of Ho Chi Minh Trail Volunteers.
“Forty years ago I saw the conditions these women were in and I’ve been trying to help them find their voice to tell their story ever since. This is the first time I feel like they’re being...
- 6/3/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety - Film News
The UK’s VFX sector is pushing back against a surprise government decision that generative AI will not qualify for the additional tax relief for visual effects.
The sector received a major boost in the March budget with the announcement UK VFX costs on film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in tax relief within the UK’s new Audio Visual Expenditure Credit (Avec), for an overall net rate of 29.25%.
The government is also removing the Avec’s 80% cap on qualifying expenditure for UK VFX costs. These changes will take effect from April 1, 2025.
However, in a recent Treasury consultation document seen by Screen,...
The sector received a major boost in the March budget with the announcement UK VFX costs on film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in tax relief within the UK’s new Audio Visual Expenditure Credit (Avec), for an overall net rate of 29.25%.
The government is also removing the Avec’s 80% cap on qualifying expenditure for UK VFX costs. These changes will take effect from April 1, 2025.
However, in a recent Treasury consultation document seen by Screen,...
- 6/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Quebecois filmmaker Denis Villeneuve should be running a victory lap after his sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part Two” earned over $700 million at the box office this year and after recently receiving the Academy Icon Award at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards on May 31, but the current lack of audiences showing up to movie theaters this summer is bringing him down.
Speaking to the press after receiving the award, Villeneuve said, “I think we need movies that are theatrical experiences, that will fully embrace the power of the theater, and I’m not just talking about ‘Dune 2.’ Of course I’m talking about many movies. A movie like ‘Civil War,’ for instance, is a strong example of a movie that absolutely used the power of the theater. I was lucky that ‘Part Two’ did reach the audience, I wish it would happen more often, honestly.”
“Dune: Part Two” remains the highest grossing...
Speaking to the press after receiving the award, Villeneuve said, “I think we need movies that are theatrical experiences, that will fully embrace the power of the theater, and I’m not just talking about ‘Dune 2.’ Of course I’m talking about many movies. A movie like ‘Civil War,’ for instance, is a strong example of a movie that absolutely used the power of the theater. I was lucky that ‘Part Two’ did reach the audience, I wish it would happen more often, honestly.”
“Dune: Part Two” remains the highest grossing...
- 6/3/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
The Clooney Foundation for Justice, the human rights campaign group established by George and Amal Clooney, has petitioned the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention over the death in custody of Thai activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom.
Sanesangkhom died on May 14 following a 65-day hunger strike after repeatedly being denied bail while facing charges of insulting the monarchy (lèse majesté). She was 28.
The Clooney Foundation’s TrialWatch unit says that it is “seeking remedies for violations of Netiporn’s rights, including reparations for her family and, more broadly, an opinion from the Working Group urging Thailand to stop misusing detention to stifle criticism of the monarchy.”
Sanesangkhom had been in and out of prison following charges relating to her involvement in an informal opinion poll in February 2022, which sought the public’s views on whether the royal family’s motorcades were an inconvenience to the public. Thai authorities allege this...
Sanesangkhom died on May 14 following a 65-day hunger strike after repeatedly being denied bail while facing charges of insulting the monarchy (lèse majesté). She was 28.
The Clooney Foundation’s TrialWatch unit says that it is “seeking remedies for violations of Netiporn’s rights, including reparations for her family and, more broadly, an opinion from the Working Group urging Thailand to stop misusing detention to stifle criticism of the monarchy.”
Sanesangkhom had been in and out of prison following charges relating to her involvement in an informal opinion poll in February 2022, which sought the public’s views on whether the royal family’s motorcades were an inconvenience to the public. Thai authorities allege this...
- 6/3/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
Kaleidoscopic visual overload is on the menu in this chaotic animation from the director of Chinese blockbuster Monkey King: Hero Is Back
Having conquered the Chinese box office with the superhit Monkey King: Hero Is Back in 2015, director Tian Xiaopeng plunges into the whirlpool of childhood blues for his latest animated adventure. In contrast to the earlier film, which was drawn from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, Deep Sea carries Tian’s first original screenwriting credit. While fantastical elements abound, the story is at its heart a coming-of-age tale about weathering the storm of grief and trauma.
The central figure is a young girl called Shenxiu. Abandoned by her mother after her parents’ divorce, she also feels alienated from her father and his new wife, whose attention is showered solely on their own child. Outside, the world seems as hopelessly grey as Shenxiu’s nightmares, in which she...
Having conquered the Chinese box office with the superhit Monkey King: Hero Is Back in 2015, director Tian Xiaopeng plunges into the whirlpool of childhood blues for his latest animated adventure. In contrast to the earlier film, which was drawn from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, Deep Sea carries Tian’s first original screenwriting credit. While fantastical elements abound, the story is at its heart a coming-of-age tale about weathering the storm of grief and trauma.
The central figure is a young girl called Shenxiu. Abandoned by her mother after her parents’ divorce, she also feels alienated from her father and his new wife, whose attention is showered solely on their own child. Outside, the world seems as hopelessly grey as Shenxiu’s nightmares, in which she...
- 6/3/2024
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Zombies have become a pretty major part of the horror genre. The first zombie movie, "White Zombie," was released all the way back in 1932, but they first really took a bite out of our subconscious with George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968. Since then, their popularity has exploded, with more zombie movies, TV shows, and books than you could shake a stick at. But where did the idea of zombies really come from?
It turns out that zombies have their origins in Haitian Vodou (more commonly known as voodoo). Unlike its cousin hoodoo, practiced in New Orleans as a kind of mixture of folk medicine and superstition, Vodou is a complex diaspora faith borne of West African religions. In Vodou, a zombi is someone put under the control of another through the use of psychedelic plants, a nightmarish concept documented in anthropological texts like "Tell My Horse...
It turns out that zombies have their origins in Haitian Vodou (more commonly known as voodoo). Unlike its cousin hoodoo, practiced in New Orleans as a kind of mixture of folk medicine and superstition, Vodou is a complex diaspora faith borne of West African religions. In Vodou, a zombi is someone put under the control of another through the use of psychedelic plants, a nightmarish concept documented in anthropological texts like "Tell My Horse...
- 6/3/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Rebel Wilson thinks the idea that only gay actors should play gay characters is “total nonsense.”
In a new interview on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” (via The Guardian), the “Pitch Perfect” star brought up the topic when host Lauren Laverne asked if she felt there was a different standard with the kinds of jokes women comedians can make compared to men.
“I don’t think there’s a different standard, it’s more this thing about, if you are something then now you’re allowed to joke about it,” she said. “So say, if you are overweight, you can say jokes. But if you’re not [you can’t]… that’s kind of what’s currently happening.”
But, is that a positive development for the state of comedy today? “I think that’s hard,” Wilson said. “It’s going into this territory of like saying, ‘Well, only straight actors can...
In a new interview on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” (via The Guardian), the “Pitch Perfect” star brought up the topic when host Lauren Laverne asked if she felt there was a different standard with the kinds of jokes women comedians can make compared to men.
“I don’t think there’s a different standard, it’s more this thing about, if you are something then now you’re allowed to joke about it,” she said. “So say, if you are overweight, you can say jokes. But if you’re not [you can’t]… that’s kind of what’s currently happening.”
But, is that a positive development for the state of comedy today? “I think that’s hard,” Wilson said. “It’s going into this territory of like saying, ‘Well, only straight actors can...
- 6/3/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety - Film News
With the 1995 release of "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah," Toho ended the Heisei era of their Godzilla films in earnest and, in an unprecedented move, handed the reigns of their most popular monster over to TriStar Pictures for a proposed three-picture deal. Rather than make a typical mid-budget film, TriStar elected to make a major summer tentpole, pouring about $150 million into production and hiring "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich. The film was a 139-minute FX bonanza that reimagined Godzilla as a sleek, square-jawed iguana that terrorized New York City. The monster was small enough to hide inside skyscrapers and spent large portions of the film offscreen in New York's sewers.
The script was more comedic than awe-inspired, populated by chattering Noo Yawk characters whose reactions to Godzilla were more along the lines of "weary acceptance" than awe. The cast would end up featuring Matthew Broderick, Maris Pitillo, Jean Reno, Kevin Dunn, and...
The script was more comedic than awe-inspired, populated by chattering Noo Yawk characters whose reactions to Godzilla were more along the lines of "weary acceptance" than awe. The cast would end up featuring Matthew Broderick, Maris Pitillo, Jean Reno, Kevin Dunn, and...
- 6/3/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
“Pieces of a Woman” filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó is set to direct “The Revolution According to Kamo,” an epic drama about the early life of Joseph Stalin. The Hungarian filmmaker’s last feature, “Pieces of a Woman,” earned an Oscar nomination for Vanessa Kirby.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski and scriptwriter Ben Hopkins (“Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie”) penned the original screenplay which was adapted by Kata Weber, a frequent Mundruczó collaborator.
“The Revolution According to Kamo” revolves around the friendship between the future Bolshevik revolutionary Simon Arshaki Ter-Petrosyan, also known as Kamo, and his childhood friend Soso, who would go on to become the dictator Stalin.
The film, which is scheduled for a 2025 shoot in the Republic of Georgia, is being produced by Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos, whose last film, “Santosh,” played in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and Ilya Stewart of Hype Studios,...
Oscar-winning filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski and scriptwriter Ben Hopkins (“Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie”) penned the original screenplay which was adapted by Kata Weber, a frequent Mundruczó collaborator.
“The Revolution According to Kamo” revolves around the friendship between the future Bolshevik revolutionary Simon Arshaki Ter-Petrosyan, also known as Kamo, and his childhood friend Soso, who would go on to become the dictator Stalin.
The film, which is scheduled for a 2025 shoot in the Republic of Georgia, is being produced by Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos, whose last film, “Santosh,” played in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and Ilya Stewart of Hype Studios,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety - Film News
Jack Brett Anderson is set to play the male lead in upcoming feature film “The Insect Life.”
The project marks the feature debut of writer/director James Hughes and his production banner Sunset Aperture. Hughes previously directed various award-winning shorts starring the likes of Georgina Campbell and Tobias Menzies.
“The Insect Life” is set to tell the emotional story of two lost souls — Levi and Céleste — who both suffer from mental health issues and romantically cling to one another until addiction tears them apart into two parallel journeys of metamorphosis that contrast their chances of survival. Anderson will play Levi, the first confirmed casting on the film.
“There are few times in life when you read a script that completely immerses you like ‘The Insect Life,’ and it is visually stunning,” Anderson said in a statement. “Levi and Céleste, for me, are like the shining of one soul and in turn,...
The project marks the feature debut of writer/director James Hughes and his production banner Sunset Aperture. Hughes previously directed various award-winning shorts starring the likes of Georgina Campbell and Tobias Menzies.
“The Insect Life” is set to tell the emotional story of two lost souls — Levi and Céleste — who both suffer from mental health issues and romantically cling to one another until addiction tears them apart into two parallel journeys of metamorphosis that contrast their chances of survival. Anderson will play Levi, the first confirmed casting on the film.
“There are few times in life when you read a script that completely immerses you like ‘The Insect Life,’ and it is visually stunning,” Anderson said in a statement. “Levi and Céleste, for me, are like the shining of one soul and in turn,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Sydney Film Festival has added several titles to its line-up that played at Cannes last month, including award winners The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Black Dog.
The 71st edition of the festival, which opens on Wednesday (June 5) and runs until June 16, previously announced it will close with Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which played in Competition at Cannes and won the prize for best screenplay.
The new additions include Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, which also played in Competition and won the jury special prize and Fipresci award, and Guan Hu’s Black Dog,...
The 71st edition of the festival, which opens on Wednesday (June 5) and runs until June 16, previously announced it will close with Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which played in Competition at Cannes and won the prize for best screenplay.
The new additions include Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, which also played in Competition and won the jury special prize and Fipresci award, and Guan Hu’s Black Dog,...
- 6/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
This well-meaning but stifling film is all too focused on pushing its cause at the expense of its characters, who are reduced to flat ciphers
‘This is us! Not a cause!” says Samoan husband-to-be Jason (Nick Afoa) in a rare moment of self-illumination in this soapy and stiflingly well-meaning gay rights drama from New Zealand. But the film is all too focused on pushing its cause: same-sex marriage and greater flexibility of religious thought. In the process, it reduces its characters to flat ciphers and divvies up surrounding society into LGBTQ+ cheerleaders and graffiti-scrawling hate-mongers.
After being in prison, rugby coach Jason gets cosy with widowed vicar Peter (Richard Short). Peter runs an enlightened parish, with a rainbow-emblazoned billboard outside the church, but discovers the limits of tolerance when he declares his intention to marry Jason on the premises. Their nearest and dearest – including Peter’s daughter Kate (Becky McEwan...
‘This is us! Not a cause!” says Samoan husband-to-be Jason (Nick Afoa) in a rare moment of self-illumination in this soapy and stiflingly well-meaning gay rights drama from New Zealand. But the film is all too focused on pushing its cause: same-sex marriage and greater flexibility of religious thought. In the process, it reduces its characters to flat ciphers and divvies up surrounding society into LGBTQ+ cheerleaders and graffiti-scrawling hate-mongers.
After being in prison, rugby coach Jason gets cosy with widowed vicar Peter (Richard Short). Peter runs an enlightened parish, with a rainbow-emblazoned billboard outside the church, but discovers the limits of tolerance when he declares his intention to marry Jason on the premises. Their nearest and dearest – including Peter’s daughter Kate (Becky McEwan...
- 6/3/2024
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
One of the more underrated aspects of the "Star Wars" saga is the sheer number of major characters who don't talk. Well, they do talk, but the audience is never able to understand them. R2D2 speaks in beeps and whistles, and we can only infer what he's saying based on how C3PO responds. It's a delightful bit of worldbuilding, implying so much about the inter-species relationships in this universe while never alienating us to the point where we don't get at the gist of what's going on.
Chewbacca's another fun example of this: he speaks in growls, but his partner Han Solo always seems to have no trouble understanding him. It's mainly through body language and assumptions that we've come to the conclusion that Chewie's a loyal, kind-hearted character, someone we'd hate to see get blown up in a spaceship or put in chains. He's one of the...
Chewbacca's another fun example of this: he speaks in growls, but his partner Han Solo always seems to have no trouble understanding him. It's mainly through body language and assumptions that we've come to the conclusion that Chewie's a loyal, kind-hearted character, someone we'd hate to see get blown up in a spaceship or put in chains. He's one of the...
- 6/3/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Worldwide box office May 31-June 2 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. The Garfield Movie (Sony) $41m $152.1m $27m $100.6m 61 2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros) $31.7m $114.3m $21m $64.7m 78 3. Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes (Disney) $24m $337m $15.2m $197.1m 52 4. If (Disney) $21.8m $138m $11m $57.6m 70 5. Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Earth (Toho) $12.2m $40.5m $12.2m $40.5m 1 6. Symphony Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle (various) $9m $95m $5.5m $91.5m 44 7. A Little Something Extra (Pan Distribution) $8m $49.1m $8m $49.1m 1 8. The Fall Guy (Universal) $7.6m $157.8m $3.4m $77.6m 82 9. The Strangers: Chapter 1 (various) $5.1m...
- 6/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s hit Netflix drama Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar has been renewed for a second season.
The series, which debuted on the streaming platform on May 1, climbed Netflix’s top 10 non-English TV list in 43 countries, becoming the most-viewed Indian series globally. The period drama has ranked number one on Netflix in India since its launch.
Set from 1920 into the 1940s, the series follows the lives of courtesans in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore against a backdrop of the Indian independence movement against British rule in India.
The cast includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari,...
The series, which debuted on the streaming platform on May 1, climbed Netflix’s top 10 non-English TV list in 43 countries, becoming the most-viewed Indian series globally. The period drama has ranked number one on Netflix in India since its launch.
Set from 1920 into the 1940s, the series follows the lives of courtesans in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore against a backdrop of the Indian independence movement against British rule in India.
The cast includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari,...
- 6/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
This hour-long reverie from Argentinian film-maker Matías Piñeiro offers chilling insight into the agonies of unrequited love
The three words “you burn me” are a surviving fragment (or micro-poem) by Sappho, and make up the title of this hour-long reverie from the Argentinian film-maker Matías Piñeiro, a multilayered essay or dramatised exchange musing on the nature of death, desire and love. It is, in fact, an adaptation of the chapter Sea Foam from the Italian author Cesare Pavese’s 1947 volume Dialogues With Leucò, which imagines conversations between mythic figures.
This film shows us a dialogue between Sappho (supposed by unreliable romantic myth to have thrown herself into the Ionian sea in the anguish of heartbreak) and the goddess Britomartis, who is imagined to have plunged into the water to escape the pursuit of a man. So they are the exact opposites: in them desire runs in opposite directions. The movie...
The three words “you burn me” are a surviving fragment (or micro-poem) by Sappho, and make up the title of this hour-long reverie from the Argentinian film-maker Matías Piñeiro, a multilayered essay or dramatised exchange musing on the nature of death, desire and love. It is, in fact, an adaptation of the chapter Sea Foam from the Italian author Cesare Pavese’s 1947 volume Dialogues With Leucò, which imagines conversations between mythic figures.
This film shows us a dialogue between Sappho (supposed by unreliable romantic myth to have thrown herself into the Ionian sea in the anguish of heartbreak) and the goddess Britomartis, who is imagined to have plunged into the water to escape the pursuit of a man. So they are the exact opposites: in them desire runs in opposite directions. The movie...
- 6/3/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Georg Maas and Judith Kaufmann’s The Glory Of Life, a biopic of legendary writer Franz Kafka, has secured key distribution deals including North America and France.
After a closed market screening at Cannes, the film has sold to North America (Menemsha Films), France (Condor), Benelux (September Film), Spain (Divisa Red), Italy (Wanted Cinema), Turkey (Ozen Film), Former Yugoslavia (Cinemania Group), Taiwan (Swallow Wings) and Australia (Moving Story).
International sales are handled by TrustNordisk, which announced the deals on the 100th anniversary of the death of Kafka.
The Glory Of Life centres on Kafka, the celebrated author of Metamorphosis, and his meeting with Dora Diamant,...
After a closed market screening at Cannes, the film has sold to North America (Menemsha Films), France (Condor), Benelux (September Film), Spain (Divisa Red), Italy (Wanted Cinema), Turkey (Ozen Film), Former Yugoslavia (Cinemania Group), Taiwan (Swallow Wings) and Australia (Moving Story).
International sales are handled by TrustNordisk, which announced the deals on the 100th anniversary of the death of Kafka.
The Glory Of Life centres on Kafka, the celebrated author of Metamorphosis, and his meeting with Dora Diamant,...
- 6/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cannes-do
The imminently upcoming Sydney Film Festival has added eight titles that premiered at Cannes to its lineup. They are: Guan Hu’s “Black Dog”; Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis”; Guy Maddin, Evan and Galen Johnson’s “Rumours,” starring Australia’s Cate Blanchett; documentary “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” Jia Zhangke’s “Caught by the Tides”; “The Girl with the Needle”; and revenge thriller “Ghost Trail.”
Due to demand, the Sff organizers have also added additional screenings of “The Substance,” the Demi Moore-starring film already set as the festival’s closing night title. The festival runs June 5-16.
Filmmaker On The Move
Nishikawa Miwa, the Japanese director behind “The Long Excuse” (2016) and “Under the Open Sky” (2021), has been set as the mentor to the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Teens Meet Cinema, film production workshop for teenagers. Selected...
The imminently upcoming Sydney Film Festival has added eight titles that premiered at Cannes to its lineup. They are: Guan Hu’s “Black Dog”; Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis”; Guy Maddin, Evan and Galen Johnson’s “Rumours,” starring Australia’s Cate Blanchett; documentary “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” Jia Zhangke’s “Caught by the Tides”; “The Girl with the Needle”; and revenge thriller “Ghost Trail.”
Due to demand, the Sff organizers have also added additional screenings of “The Substance,” the Demi Moore-starring film already set as the festival’s closing night title. The festival runs June 5-16.
Filmmaker On The Move
Nishikawa Miwa, the Japanese director behind “The Long Excuse” (2016) and “Under the Open Sky” (2021), has been set as the mentor to the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Teens Meet Cinema, film production workshop for teenagers. Selected...
- 6/3/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films (Rkf), in collaboration with Trickitainment Media, is set to produce a biopic on Sukumar Sen, India’s first Chief Election Commissioner.
Rkf’s latest project follows the success of SonyLIV series “Rocket Boys,” a fictionalized version of the story of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, who engineered India’s nuclear program and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, who established the Indian space program. It will chronicle the life of Sen, the architect behind India’s first general elections in 1951-52.
Sen, a mathematician and civil servant, was pivotal in transitioning India from a British colony to a democratic republic. Tasked with organizing the world’s largest democratic exercise, Sen managed an electorate of 175 million people spread across 565 princely kingdoms and newly formed states.
The logistics were daunting. Some 224,000 polling booths were constructed and equipped with two million steel ballot boxes; 16,500 clerks were appointed on six-month contracts...
Rkf’s latest project follows the success of SonyLIV series “Rocket Boys,” a fictionalized version of the story of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, who engineered India’s nuclear program and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, who established the Indian space program. It will chronicle the life of Sen, the architect behind India’s first general elections in 1951-52.
Sen, a mathematician and civil servant, was pivotal in transitioning India from a British colony to a democratic republic. Tasked with organizing the world’s largest democratic exercise, Sen managed an electorate of 175 million people spread across 565 princely kingdoms and newly formed states.
The logistics were daunting. Some 224,000 polling booths were constructed and equipped with two million steel ballot boxes; 16,500 clerks were appointed on six-month contracts...
- 6/3/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
Director Xun Sero grew up fatherless and resentful. As his mother opens up about her troubled life, he must face his own role
In a culture where discussion of family trauma and gender-based abuse are still considered taboo, Xun Sero’s frank, intimate documentary seeks to find a common ground in a community fractured by precariousness and violence. Staying close to the film-maker’s mother, Hilda, Sero’s camera not only observes exteriors but also looks inward; this is a film of dialogue and self-interrogation.
Growing up in the Indigenous Tzotzil community in Mexico, from the age of nine Hilda was already promised as a wife to an older man. Her one act of rebellion as a teenager resulted in the birth of Sero, a source of shame for mother and son. During his childhood, Sero’s resentment towards his absent father was often directed at his mother, resulting in bitter accusations.
In a culture where discussion of family trauma and gender-based abuse are still considered taboo, Xun Sero’s frank, intimate documentary seeks to find a common ground in a community fractured by precariousness and violence. Staying close to the film-maker’s mother, Hilda, Sero’s camera not only observes exteriors but also looks inward; this is a film of dialogue and self-interrogation.
Growing up in the Indigenous Tzotzil community in Mexico, from the age of nine Hilda was already promised as a wife to an older man. Her one act of rebellion as a teenager resulted in the birth of Sero, a source of shame for mother and son. During his childhood, Sero’s resentment towards his absent father was often directed at his mother, resulting in bitter accusations.
- 6/3/2024
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Two foreign-made animation movies opened on top of the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. Japanese film, “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony” landed in first place, ahead of “The Garfield Movie,” though the match-up was not like-for-like.
According to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, “Doraemon” earned $12.6 million (RMB89.5 million) over the three days from its Friday release. “Garfield” was released on Saturday and earned $8.2 million or RMB58.3 million.
“Earth Symphony” is the 43rd film in the franchise and was released in Japan in March. Comscore says that it now has a global box office total of $40.5 million.
Both of the animated newcomers were comfortably ahead of “The Last Frenzy,” the comedy action film that had been on top in China for the previous two weeks. In third place, it earned $4.5 million over the latest weekend. That lifted its cumulative total to $106 million since releasing on May 1.
Chinese...
According to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, “Doraemon” earned $12.6 million (RMB89.5 million) over the three days from its Friday release. “Garfield” was released on Saturday and earned $8.2 million or RMB58.3 million.
“Earth Symphony” is the 43rd film in the franchise and was released in Japan in March. Comscore says that it now has a global box office total of $40.5 million.
Both of the animated newcomers were comfortably ahead of “The Last Frenzy,” the comedy action film that had been on top in China for the previous two weeks. In third place, it earned $4.5 million over the latest weekend. That lifted its cumulative total to $106 million since releasing on May 1.
Chinese...
- 6/3/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
In the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Initiations", Chakotay (Robert Beltran) undertakes a personal mission on a shuttlecraft only to be attacked by a Kazon teenager named Kar (Aron Eisenberg), an adolescent out on his first mission. In the brief battle, Chakotay accidentally destroys Kar's ship, but takes the time to rescue him. Kar explains that the Kazon are an honor-bound species and that Chkotay, in rescuing him, robbed him of his ability to prove his worth to his elders. Kar is furious and embarrassed. Kar's superiors find Chakotay and explain that the only way to restore Kar's honor is for Chakotay to kill him or for Kar to kill Chakotay. The Starfleet officer and the Kazon go on the lam, trying to find a solution to their plight that doesn't involve murder.
Aron Eisenberg was already known to Trekkies as Nog, the Ferengi teen on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,...
Aron Eisenberg was already known to Trekkies as Nog, the Ferengi teen on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” maintained a narrow win at the South Korea weekend box office in its second week of release. The highest new release was local crime drama “The Plot.”
Total weekend revenues in Korean cinemas were a modest $8.91 million. That figure keeps a post-covid recovery on course, but progress is slow and incomplete.
“Furiosa” earned $2.24 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That gives it a 12-day cumulative total of $7.90 million.
With some thematic resemblance to Soi Cheang’s celebrated Hong Kong film “Accident,” the story of “The Plot” involves a gang who design murders to look like everyday occurrences. The gang takes a job to kill a prosecutor, but its leader is worried that he is being gaslighted.
The film opened on Wednesday, as is the norm for most titles in Korea, and...
Total weekend revenues in Korean cinemas were a modest $8.91 million. That figure keeps a post-covid recovery on course, but progress is slow and incomplete.
“Furiosa” earned $2.24 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That gives it a 12-day cumulative total of $7.90 million.
With some thematic resemblance to Soi Cheang’s celebrated Hong Kong film “Accident,” the story of “The Plot” involves a gang who design murders to look like everyday occurrences. The gang takes a job to kill a prosecutor, but its leader is worried that he is being gaslighted.
The film opened on Wednesday, as is the norm for most titles in Korea, and...
- 6/3/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety - Film News
One of the most memorable traits of the roguish Han Solo is just how lucky he is. Depending on which version of "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" you watched, this guy somehow managed to avoid getting shot by a bounty hunter despite being mere feet away from the guy either before or after they yelled "Maclunkey!" at him. He also spent years fleeing from the evil space gangster Jabba the Hutt -- and when Jabba did finally catch him, Han had already made friends with a powerful young Jedi who could rescue him not long after.
Even on a meta level, Han's a lucky guy. Harrison Ford thought Han should've died in "Return of the Jedi" to lend some "gravitas and emotional weight" to the third film, and I don't think he was wrong: "Return of the Jedi" was a little too cutesy of a follow-up to...
Even on a meta level, Han's a lucky guy. Harrison Ford thought Han should've died in "Return of the Jedi" to lend some "gravitas and emotional weight" to the third film, and I don't think he was wrong: "Return of the Jedi" was a little too cutesy of a follow-up to...
- 6/3/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Throughout the 1950s, big-budget musicals were de rigueur for Hollywood, and there was a sudden glut of epics that sported gigantic budgets, recognizable stars, and no small amount of studio hype. Such films were exhibited as touring roadshow productions, which was a great way for films to make fistfuls of cash. Roadshow epics were also, it should be noted, a concerted ploy by studios to distract audiences from the rising threat of television. Studios felt the need to invest a lot of money into musicals and epics, hoping the massive productions could draw people into theaters and keep the industry afloat.
One might logically predict, however, that Hollywood tried to ride the trend of epics for a little longer than was healthy, and foolish overspending eventually became common. The age of the "roadshow epic" pretty much came to a close with the release of the notorious bomb "Cleopatra" in 1963.
But then,...
One might logically predict, however, that Hollywood tried to ride the trend of epics for a little longer than was healthy, and foolish overspending eventually became common. The age of the "roadshow epic" pretty much came to a close with the release of the notorious bomb "Cleopatra" in 1963.
But then,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Norman Lear was not a man to shy away from controversy. If anything, he sprinted toward it, knowing that doing so would help open people’s minds to pervasive American issues related to discrimination, human rights, and more. Through his landmark sitcoms like “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Sanford and Son,” “One Day at a Time” (twice!), and “Good Times” (also twice!), Lear helped American families address thorny political and social topics by bringing those circumstances into their living rooms every week.
But one episode has long stood out as his most controversial: “Maude’s Dilemma,” a two-part episode airing in the first season, wherein the lead character (played by Bea Arthur) decides to get an abortion. At the time, abortions were legal in the state of New York (where Maude and her family lived), but the Roe v. Wade verdict was still two months away. CBS was wary about...
But one episode has long stood out as his most controversial: “Maude’s Dilemma,” a two-part episode airing in the first season, wherein the lead character (played by Bea Arthur) decides to get an abortion. At the time, abortions were legal in the state of New York (where Maude and her family lived), but the Roe v. Wade verdict was still two months away. CBS was wary about...
- 6/2/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Time is an obsession of Richard Linklater’s. His films, from “Slacker” to the “Before” trilogy to “Boyhood,” have been thorough examinations of its passage on scales large and small, but his latest ongoing project, an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s under-appreciated musical gem “Merrily We Roll Along,” aims to be Linklater’s biggest canvas yet. The musical tracks the deterioration of a 20-year friendship between three creatives with one specific feature: the entire story is told in reverse, beginning with the end and slipping back into the past to show how things go so bad and eventually why they were so good together.
“It’s the kind of thing I’ve thought a lot about my entire life: What could transform me?” Linklater said in a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine. “I was probably more in the camp of we’re fixed, give or take whatever little percentage around the edges.
“It’s the kind of thing I’ve thought a lot about my entire life: What could transform me?” Linklater said in a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine. “I was probably more in the camp of we’re fixed, give or take whatever little percentage around the edges.
- 6/2/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Most any film school syllabus will likely cite Georges Méliès' 1902 film "A Trip to the Moon" (French title: "Le Voyage Dans la Lune") as the very first science fiction film ever made. Even the British Film Institute lists it as such, citing only a 1901 film called "Mister Moon" as the progenitor, and "Mister Moon" hardly counts as it is merely a musical short wherein actor Percy Honri dresses up as the moon and plays the ukulele. The film was meant to accompany a live performance. Not even the most hardcore sci-fi fans would classify that as "science fiction."
"A Trip to the Moon" is certainly one of the most recognizable silent sci-fi films, and many are likely familiar with the image of the Moon wincing in pain when a human rocket lands in its eye. "A Trip to the Moon" takes a lot of visual cues and ideas from the novels of Jules Verne,...
"A Trip to the Moon" is certainly one of the most recognizable silent sci-fi films, and many are likely familiar with the image of the Moon wincing in pain when a human rocket lands in its eye. "A Trip to the Moon" takes a lot of visual cues and ideas from the novels of Jules Verne,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
“What took you so long?”
That was the general vibe of the “Suits” reunion panel Sunday afternoon, where stars Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Dulé Hill, Amanda Schull, and executive Jeff Wachtel gathered to discuss the legal drama that aired for nine seasons on USA Network but gained an expanded following when it hit Netflix in June 2023.
“The people in this room know it’s hard to make TV, and it’s really hard to make good TV, let alone great TV,” Wachtel said. “But on some level, when people ask me if I was surprised [by the resurgence on Netflix], I’m like, what took you so long?”
Wachtel, who was the head of programming at USA Network when “Suits” premiered, praised the cast as well as the casting director who put them together, Bonnie Zane, who was watching from the audience.
“We knew how great this show was, and it was very successful at USA Network,...
That was the general vibe of the “Suits” reunion panel Sunday afternoon, where stars Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Dulé Hill, Amanda Schull, and executive Jeff Wachtel gathered to discuss the legal drama that aired for nine seasons on USA Network but gained an expanded following when it hit Netflix in June 2023.
“The people in this room know it’s hard to make TV, and it’s really hard to make good TV, let alone great TV,” Wachtel said. “But on some level, when people ask me if I was surprised [by the resurgence on Netflix], I’m like, what took you so long?”
Wachtel, who was the head of programming at USA Network when “Suits” premiered, praised the cast as well as the casting director who put them together, Bonnie Zane, who was watching from the audience.
“We knew how great this show was, and it was very successful at USA Network,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
You could say that Kate Hudson is extremely famous as an actor and almost famous as a singer. That last part is changing as the public gets a gander of the promotional appearances she’s been doing for her debut album, “Glorious,” everywhere from the “Voice” finale to Howard Stern’s show. There’s a nearly universal reaction: “Wow, you can sing… really sing” — which maybe shouldn’t come as such a great surprise after her vocal appearances in the musical films “Nine” and “Music” and a prominent guest spot on “Glee,” and yet, maybe there was a suspicion in those instances that some sort of studio trickery was helping out a slumming movie star.
Now that she’s been doing live TV appearances and making her public performance debut at a star-filled L.A. show, it’s clear that she’s the real deal, as a rocker, and could...
Now that she’s been doing live TV appearances and making her public performance debut at a star-filled L.A. show, it’s clear that she’s the real deal, as a rocker, and could...
- 6/2/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety - Film News
This post contains spoilers for Alex Garland's "Annihilation" and the source material.
Self-destruction is a sentiment wired into the human DNA. Irrespective of how put-together we feel about our standing with respect to the rest of humanity, these self-destructive tendencies, both overt and unconscious, creep in and threaten to tear us apart. It is relatively easy to capture the dramatic extremes of such a complex, universal feeling — one that is also so uniquely personal — but the nuances tend to be elusive, as these impulses remain indescribable. Alex Garland's stunning, uncompromising take on Jeff VanderMeer's first book in The Southern Reach Trilogy, "Annihilation," grabs these indescribable emotions by the throat, compelling us to look deep into the refracted images of our own selves with equal parts compassion and scrutiny. It is a film that can leave you feeling deeply moved, and deeply confused.
VanderMeer's first book in the trilogy...
Self-destruction is a sentiment wired into the human DNA. Irrespective of how put-together we feel about our standing with respect to the rest of humanity, these self-destructive tendencies, both overt and unconscious, creep in and threaten to tear us apart. It is relatively easy to capture the dramatic extremes of such a complex, universal feeling — one that is also so uniquely personal — but the nuances tend to be elusive, as these impulses remain indescribable. Alex Garland's stunning, uncompromising take on Jeff VanderMeer's first book in The Southern Reach Trilogy, "Annihilation," grabs these indescribable emotions by the throat, compelling us to look deep into the refracted images of our own selves with equal parts compassion and scrutiny. It is a film that can leave you feeling deeply moved, and deeply confused.
VanderMeer's first book in the trilogy...
- 6/2/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
With the 2024 Tony Awards a few weeks away and the record-breaking Broadway run of “Merrily We Roll Along” coming to a close in a little over a month, three-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff is looking back on the roles that shaped this first stage in his career. In an interview in The New Yorker, Groff recalled the impact performing in the visually-stunning and narratively-meta film “The Matrix Resurrections” had on his psyche.
“Getting to play Agent Smith really unlocked rage inside of me that I didn’t know was there,” Groff said. “That’s helped me so much with ‘Merrily,’ particularly in the first act. Learning the kung fu was, like, months of fight training. They called me the Savage, because I was so into it. We were shooting a big fight sequence with Keanu, and, after the first few takes, I remember Lana [Wachowski] at the monitor, like, ‘Jonathan, come over here.
“Getting to play Agent Smith really unlocked rage inside of me that I didn’t know was there,” Groff said. “That’s helped me so much with ‘Merrily,’ particularly in the first act. Learning the kung fu was, like, months of fight training. They called me the Savage, because I was so into it. We were shooting a big fight sequence with Keanu, and, after the first few takes, I remember Lana [Wachowski] at the monitor, like, ‘Jonathan, come over here.
- 6/2/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Maya Hawke Is Ok With Being a Nepo Baby: ‘I’m Comfortable With Not Deserving It and Doing It Anyway’
Maya Hawke is fine with being called a “nepo baby.”
Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, recently admitted to the Times of London that she believes her family ties influenced her casting in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” as Flower Child, one of Charles Manson’s followers.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned,” Hawke said of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” “I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did.”
Hawke got her big break playing Robin Buckley in the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” and her other credits include “Do Revenge,” “Asteroid City” and “Maestro.”
While talking about if she deserves the opportunities she’s had, Hawke said, “‘Deserves’ is a complicated word…there are so many...
Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, recently admitted to the Times of London that she believes her family ties influenced her casting in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” as Flower Child, one of Charles Manson’s followers.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned,” Hawke said of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” “I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did.”
Hawke got her big break playing Robin Buckley in the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” and her other credits include “Do Revenge,” “Asteroid City” and “Maestro.”
While talking about if she deserves the opportunities she’s had, Hawke said, “‘Deserves’ is a complicated word…there are so many...
- 6/2/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety - Film News
Godzilla is a creature all his own, but he's often classified as a dinosaur; one dinosaur species, the Gojirasaurus, was even named in 1997 as a tribute to the King of the Monsters. It should go without saying, though, that Godzilla doesn't resemble any real fossils that paleontologists have found.
Godzilla was created in 1954, debuting in his first movie that year (directed by Ishirō Honda). There had been prior dinosaur movies, such as "The Lost World" and "King Kong" where the animals were brought to life with stop-motion, so audiences recognized the notion and imagery of a dinosaur. Still, scientific knowledge of these prehistoric beasts was more limited back then. "Godzilla" covers its bases by suggesting the creature was mutated via atomic radiation, but its star still looks little like any real dinosaur.
What makes one giant lizard-looking beast different from another? For starters, not even the largest of (discovered) dinosaurs even approach Godzilla's 300+ foot height.
Godzilla was created in 1954, debuting in his first movie that year (directed by Ishirō Honda). There had been prior dinosaur movies, such as "The Lost World" and "King Kong" where the animals were brought to life with stop-motion, so audiences recognized the notion and imagery of a dinosaur. Still, scientific knowledge of these prehistoric beasts was more limited back then. "Godzilla" covers its bases by suggesting the creature was mutated via atomic radiation, but its star still looks little like any real dinosaur.
What makes one giant lizard-looking beast different from another? For starters, not even the largest of (discovered) dinosaurs even approach Godzilla's 300+ foot height.
- 6/2/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
One year ago, as the WGA strike was just getting underway and the SAG strike was still looming, Beau Willimon and Greg Iwinski took part in a panel at the Atx TV Festival to rally support and better explain what their unions were fighting to secure. Sunday, with both strikes in the rearview mirror following major victories for both parties, the two WGA East members returned to the festival with SAG member and national board representative Dulé Hill to discuss what they won and what work still needs to be done.
“Strikes aren’t necessarily for the membership now,” Hill said. “Strikes are for the members who are coming. […] I cannot let there be rollbacks so I receive more than the next generations receive. I cannot let that happen.”
Part of that responsibility extends beyond the specific unions to the broader labor movement, especially when it comes to IATSE, the...
“Strikes aren’t necessarily for the membership now,” Hill said. “Strikes are for the members who are coming. […] I cannot let there be rollbacks so I receive more than the next generations receive. I cannot let that happen.”
Part of that responsibility extends beyond the specific unions to the broader labor movement, especially when it comes to IATSE, the...
- 6/2/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
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Frank Herbert's "Dune" series is as dense with detail as some of the most beloved science fiction and fantasy universes ever created. The cultural nuances of the various houses — from the regal rationality of the Atreides clan to the unapologetic savagery of the Harkonnens — have been fully thought through, and expanded upon throughout the numerous books. Like J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth saga or everything that's grown out of Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek," you don't have to immerse yourself in the minutiae to enjoy these works — at least, not until they dive into the narrative reeds and turn into glorified fan service.
Herbert got there somewhere between "God Emperor of Dune" and "Heretics of Dune," so I'm curious to see how faithful Denis Villeneuve and his successors are willing to be to the author's increasingly involved text. The "Dune...
Frank Herbert's "Dune" series is as dense with detail as some of the most beloved science fiction and fantasy universes ever created. The cultural nuances of the various houses — from the regal rationality of the Atreides clan to the unapologetic savagery of the Harkonnens — have been fully thought through, and expanded upon throughout the numerous books. Like J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth saga or everything that's grown out of Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek," you don't have to immerse yourself in the minutiae to enjoy these works — at least, not until they dive into the narrative reeds and turn into glorified fan service.
Herbert got there somewhere between "God Emperor of Dune" and "Heretics of Dune," so I'm curious to see how faithful Denis Villeneuve and his successors are willing to be to the author's increasingly involved text. The "Dune...
- 6/2/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Following the inspiring true story of American competition swimmer and Olympic athlete Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English channel, “Young Woman and the Sea” aims to offer audiences a more hopeful viewing experience than they’ve been used to lately. Speaking with A. Frame, the film’s director Joachim Rønning, stars Daisy Ridley and Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer share how moved they were upon reading the script and why they think this is the story to bring summer moviegoers into theaters.
“Jeff Nathanson’s script was one of the best scripts I’ve ever read — if not the best script I ever read,” Rønning said, “and it just had everything I’m looking for in a story: It’s dramatic, it’s very emotional, it’s funny, it’s scary, it’s inspirational. It’s a true underdog story about someone that were...
“Jeff Nathanson’s script was one of the best scripts I’ve ever read — if not the best script I ever read,” Rønning said, “and it just had everything I’m looking for in a story: It’s dramatic, it’s very emotional, it’s funny, it’s scary, it’s inspirational. It’s a true underdog story about someone that were...
- 6/2/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Hollywood loves a buzz word and for the last few years, it feels like “nepo-baby” has been the buzziest. When you really think about it though, family giving family a leg up in life — in most cases — is rather innocuous. And the concept doesn’t only apply to work in the entertainment industry, but in every field. Or at least this is what Maya Hawke — daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman — would want you to believe. Talking to The Times of London for a recent interview, Hawke defended her benefiting from her parents’ fame and admits she can’t help the life she was born into.
“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word… There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway,” Hawke said when asked if she deserves the work she’s been given.
“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word… There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway,” Hawke said when asked if she deserves the work she’s been given.
- 6/2/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Actor John Boyega starred in three of the extant 16 "Star Wars" movies*, playing the rogue-Stormtrooper-turned-good guy Finn in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015), "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017), and "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019). Boyega liked playing Finn, but has gone on record (notably in a 2020 GQ interview) about his disappointment with how the series treated his character; Finn was set up to be a leading man, and was sidelined for what appeared to be racism-based reasons. Boyega was also off-put by Disney's habit of micromanaging "Star Wars," feeling that every one of the franchise's actors ran the risk of being roped into "Star Wars" projects exclusively. "You ain't going to Disney+ me," he once laughingly said to Variety.
There hasn't been a "Star Wars" movie since 2019, as Disney+ kind of killed their Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. The theatrical market was oversaturated, audiences didn't respond terribly well...
There hasn't been a "Star Wars" movie since 2019, as Disney+ kind of killed their Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. The theatrical market was oversaturated, audiences didn't respond terribly well...
- 6/2/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Lots of ways to describe how bad it is for theaters. Here’s one: A year ago, the #2 film “The Little Mermaid” grossed $41.4 million; this weekend, the top four films grossed $44.4 million combined.
“The Garfield Movie” (Sony) took over #1 with $14 million and a 10-day total about $2 million better than last week’s #1, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” (Warner Bros.). George Miller’s $160 million-budget prequel dropped 59 percent from a disappointing start and is in a tight battle for #2 with “If” (Paramount). The family fantasy with Ryan Reynolds tentatively stands at $50,000 ahead; to its credit, WB wasn’t aggressive in its estimate. (Tomorrow will tell the actual result).
The good news is we have touched bottom for the summer and it will get better from here. Both “Garfield” and “If” had strong holds: “Garfield” dropped 41 percent in its second weekend after a holiday Sunday and “If” dropped 33 percent and now is at...
“The Garfield Movie” (Sony) took over #1 with $14 million and a 10-day total about $2 million better than last week’s #1, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” (Warner Bros.). George Miller’s $160 million-budget prequel dropped 59 percent from a disappointing start and is in a tight battle for #2 with “If” (Paramount). The family fantasy with Ryan Reynolds tentatively stands at $50,000 ahead; to its credit, WB wasn’t aggressive in its estimate. (Tomorrow will tell the actual result).
The good news is we have touched bottom for the summer and it will get better from here. Both “Garfield” and “If” had strong holds: “Garfield” dropped 41 percent in its second weekend after a holiday Sunday and “If” dropped 33 percent and now is at...
- 6/2/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Next week, on June 7, the entertaining and highly acclaimed geek-goes-undercover-as-contract-killer screwball romantic thriller “Hit Man,” starring It Dude of the moment Glen Powell, drops on Netflix. But this weekend, in case you hadn’t noticed, the movie opened “in theaters.” How many theaters? If you use your hands and feet to count, you’ll have most of them covered.
Netflix, the company that did for streaming what McDonald’s did for fast food (made it everyone’s new normal), always likes to make a big show of when it’s playing a movie “in theaters.” It has long amused me to see entertainment journalists get suckered into this public-relations gambit, for the simple reason that so many of them live in New York and L.A., where the tiny number of theaters occasionally playing a Netflix movie tend to be. A film opens five blocks from your house, and you think,...
Netflix, the company that did for streaming what McDonald’s did for fast food (made it everyone’s new normal), always likes to make a big show of when it’s playing a movie “in theaters.” It has long amused me to see entertainment journalists get suckered into this public-relations gambit, for the simple reason that so many of them live in New York and L.A., where the tiny number of theaters occasionally playing a Netflix movie tend to be. A film opens five blocks from your house, and you think,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety - Film News
"Stargate" is a very silly movie, but like many silly movies, it's also kind of fun. The sci-fi action pic comes from the team of director Roland Emmerich and writer Dean Devlin, who would go on to score a blockbuster hit with "Independence Day." But before they got there, they made "Stargate," a movie in which a giant gate opens a portal to another planet, where the aliens all look human and live and behave like they're in Ancient Egypt. You see, centuries ago, these aliens visited our world and influenced human history. It's basically a scenario you'll hear time and time again on the ludicrous History Channel show "Ancient Aliens," but with a lot more guns. As Roger Ebert said in his one-star review of the film, "The movie is so lacking in any sense of wonder that it hurtles us from one end of the universe to the other,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
[This story includes spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “Hacks.”]
For three seasons, “Hacks” fans have watched up-and-coming comedienne Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) learn the ins-and-outs of finding success as a woman in the entertainment industry by helping aging stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) revitalize her career. Though Ava and Deborah seem to be kindred spirits, it’s clear they both struggle through their partnership, with Deborah’s old ways often coming into conflict with Ava’s more progressive outlook. Now, at the end of the television series’ third season, Ava finally takes a lesson out of Deborah’s book, threatening to reveal negative information about her to the press in order to assure her dream job as head writer for Deborah’s new late night show.
Discussing the finale in a recent interview with The New York Times, showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky address this shift in power dynamics and what it means for the future.
For three seasons, “Hacks” fans have watched up-and-coming comedienne Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) learn the ins-and-outs of finding success as a woman in the entertainment industry by helping aging stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) revitalize her career. Though Ava and Deborah seem to be kindred spirits, it’s clear they both struggle through their partnership, with Deborah’s old ways often coming into conflict with Ava’s more progressive outlook. Now, at the end of the television series’ third season, Ava finally takes a lesson out of Deborah’s book, threatening to reveal negative information about her to the press in order to assure her dream job as head writer for Deborah’s new late night show.
Discussing the finale in a recent interview with The New York Times, showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky address this shift in power dynamics and what it means for the future.
- 6/2/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Before he wrote such memorable lines as, "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone" and "death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities," novelist George R.R. Martin helped pen another instantly quotable turn of phrase: "It's rock and roll, you dumb son of a b***h!"
This quote is hilarious on its own, but even funnier when put in context: it comes partway through a now-forgotten episode of a once-popular "Twilight Zone" reboot series that aired from 1985 to 1989. The speaker of the quote is Gary Pitkin (Jeff Yagher), a spot-on Elvis impersonator. The subject of his ridicule? It's the King himself, also played by Yagher in a time travel plot that sees the two men come face to face on the eve of Elvis' first studio session. It doesn't go well. The episode, "The Once and Future King," was written by Martin from a story by Bryce Maritano.
This quote is hilarious on its own, but even funnier when put in context: it comes partway through a now-forgotten episode of a once-popular "Twilight Zone" reboot series that aired from 1985 to 1989. The speaker of the quote is Gary Pitkin (Jeff Yagher), a spot-on Elvis impersonator. The subject of his ridicule? It's the King himself, also played by Yagher in a time travel plot that sees the two men come face to face on the eve of Elvis' first studio session. It doesn't go well. The episode, "The Once and Future King," was written by Martin from a story by Bryce Maritano.
- 6/2/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
"Broadcast News" premiered at a pivotal time for the news industry: James L. Brooks' 1987 newsroom-set classic was born into a world in which pay cable, the internet, and the 24-hour news cycle were about to change the way the world received information for good. As such, the movie would already feel like a throwback to a simpler time just a few years after its release. Great as it is, it would soon join the ranks of movies and shows about legacy media that portray a writing world that looks nothing like the current freelance-heavy digital landscape.
Brooks was apparently acutely aware of the changing media world even as he made the film. In a retrospective interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2018, the filmmaker recalls being inspired to create one of the movie's most famous scenes when a visit to a real-life newsroom confirmed that it reflected reality. "I was in the...
Brooks was apparently acutely aware of the changing media world even as he made the film. In a retrospective interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2018, the filmmaker recalls being inspired to create one of the movie's most famous scenes when a visit to a real-life newsroom confirmed that it reflected reality. "I was in the...
- 6/2/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Lance Oppenheim, a 2019 25 New Face who is something of a non-fiction poet laureate of contemporary loneliness, oddball institutional rituals, and the ways in which fantasy and reality commingle in American life, premieres his latest documentary series, Ren Faire, tonight on HBO. Produced by Elara Pictures, with executive producers including Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie and Ronnie Bronstein, the three-part series tells a Succession-like drama involving an aging “king,” George Coulam, in the midst of deciding which of his employees will take over his sprawling and lucrative Texas-based Renaissance theme park. The series follows Oppenheim’s excellent Spermworld, for which the […]
The post Trailer Watch: Lance Oppenheim’s HBO Documentary Series, Ren Faire first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Lance Oppenheim’s HBO Documentary Series, Ren Faire first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/2/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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