June 17, 2018

Aviron Pictures has given Rosamund Pike’s drama “A Private War” an awards-season release, starting with Nov. 2 openings in Los Angeles and New York with a Nov. 16 wide launch.

The cast includes Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, and Tom Hollander. Matthew George’s Acacia Entertainment is producing and financing “A Private War” alongside the Fyzz Facility, which is executive producing.

June 10, 2018

There is a sound of relief around Los Angeles this afternoon and it’s not because everyone is finally seeing “Avengers: Infinity War” tonight.  No, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced key dates for the 2019 Oscar season and for the first time in two years have avoided announcing the Oscar nominations during the heart of the Sundance Film Festival, an event that delivered two Best Picture nominees last year.  And if you don’t think it screws with both organizations in some capacity you haven’t paid attention.

June 03, 2018

Margot Robbie is making the rounds right now supporting her new film “Terminal” (read our review), and as expected, people are asking the actress about her biggest role as Harley Quinn in the DC film universe. As we reported a while ago, Harley will be the focus of the upcoming team-up film directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson. However, we had no idea what was truly in store for the spin-off, until now.

May 24, 2018

It appears that even if Roman Polanski wouldn’t have been kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week, he would have still been making headlines. And probably not for the reasons he wanted.

Recently, the Polish edition of Newsweek (via AP) published an interview with the filmmaker that was conducted BEFORE the May 3 decision to expel him from the Academy. And in that interview, Polanski didn’t hold back when asked about the #MeToo movement.

May 16, 2018

It’s here. The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival is finally upon us. It may already be the season of superheroes, gigantic tentpoles, and more to come, but the Cannes is essentially the Olympics of cinema and always provides respite from the onslaught of blockbusters to come with its prestigious lineup that always features the best filmmakers on the planet. As you likely already know, actress Cate Blanchett is the President of the Jury (read our report from this morning’s press conference) and she’s not shying away from any controversies that may come Cannes’ way this year.It’s here. The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival is finally upon us. It may already be the season of superheroes, gigantic tentpoles, and more to come, but the Cannes is essentially the Olympics of cinema and always provides respite from the onslaught of blockbusters to come with its prestigious lineup that always features the best filmmakers on the planet. As you likely already know, actress Cate Blanchett is the President of the Jury (read our report from this morning’s press conference) and she’s not shying away from any controversies that may come Cannes’ way this year.

May 07, 2018

Cicha noc (Silent Night) by Piotr Domalewski was awarded as the year's best film at the Polish Eagles, the local equivalent of the Oscars, at a ceremony in Warsaw on Monday.

The dramedy, centered on the main character Adam's secret visit to his family home at Christmas after years of working abroad, swept 11 nominations and ended up with nine statuettes.

First-time feature director Domalewski collected the best director and best script awards, as well as the Discovery of the Year prize.

The movie's male lead, Dawid Ogrodnik, picked up the best actor trophy, and Agnieszka Suchora and Akadiusz Jakubik collected the best supporting actress and actor awards, respectively.

April 30, 2018

The inaugural ceremony of the local version of the Golden Globes is scheduled for April 14.

East-West: The Golden Arch, a new film award for movies from 32 countries of Eastern Europe and West Asia, has been unveiled in Russia as a local version of the Golden Globes.

The award is run by the Moscow-based International Confederation of the Filmmakers Unions with support from the Russian government.

The Golden Arches will be awarded in 12 categories, including best film, best director, best script, best actor and actress and a lifetime achievement award, by an international jury consisting of 24 film critics.

April 25, 2018

The group will now include on-air promo producers and directors, commercial performers and narrators.

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The Television Academy continues to broaden the scope of its body, announcing Wednesday several more groups of of professions eligible for membership.

Per changes to the current membership requirements, approved by the Board of Governors, on-air promo producers and directors are now eligible for the Commercials Peer Group. Additionally, commercial performers and narrators can now join the Performers Peer Group.

April 19, 2018

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux isn’t bothered if audiences express their disapproval, and admits he sometimes makes mistakes in his selection. “I don’t care about people booing. It is part of the game,” he says, speaking at r7al, an event in Lausanne, Switzerland that is devoted to classic movies.

Fremaux and his team receive about 1,800 feature film submissions a year, of which 300-400 are “good” or “very good,” he says. From these, only 20 films can enter competition. The Cannes team have to accept “responsibility for our choices,” he says. “I know we make two or three mistakes a year.”

April 15, 2018

President Donald Trump’s looming trade war with China could leave Hollywood’s wallets lighter.

U.S. trade representatives have been trying to hammer out a new deal with China that could increase the number of foreign films allowed to screen in the Middle Kingdom, as well as sweeten the financial terms for major studios that are able to show films in the country.

But those talks risk being scuttled by larger geopolitical forces. The U.S. government sees its trade deficit with China as unfair and has begun imposing sanctions designed to pressure Beijing into making concessions. So far, Trump has approved some $60 billion of penalties against China that he believes will level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers. The Chinese, however, may look for leverage and find it in their ongoing talks with Hollywood.

April 08, 2018

Magnolia Pictures and Great Point Media will partner on the U.S. release of David and Nathan Zellner’s “Damsel,” starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska.

The Western comedy world-premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, and played at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. The movie is also screening Monday at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, the home town of the Zellner brothers.

Patinson plays an affluent pioneer who ventures across the American frontier to find and marry the love of his life, played by Wasikowska. David Zellner portrays a drunkard named Parson Henry who travels with Pattinson and a miniature horse, as their once-simple journey grows treacherous, increasingly blurring the lines between hero, villain, and damsel.

April 03, 2018

Netflix’s untitled Dan Gilroy pic starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo has set a starry ensemble prior to production.

British actress Zawe Ashton, “Stranger Things” breakout Natalia Dyer, Tony Award nominee Tom Sturridge, Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette, Academy Award nominee John Malkovich and Billy Magnussen have signed on to join Gyllenhaal and Russo in upcoming horror-thriller.

For Gilroy, Gyllenhaal, and Russo, this marks a reunion after teaming up on Gilroy’s directorial debut “Nightcrawler,” which earned Gilroy an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

March 29, 2018

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are adopting inclusion riders for films made through their Pearl Street production company, according to head of strategic outreach at the company, Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni.

"On behalf of Pearl Street Films, Matt Damon, @BenAffleck, Jennifer Todd, Drew Vinton & I will be adopting the #InclusionRider for all of our projects moving forward," Cox DiGiovanni tweeted on Monday, resonding to Michael B. Jordan's tweet from last week in which he announced that his production company, Outlier Society, would also begin including inclusion riders.

March 25, 2018

Look he so old to young eyes?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be out on Blu-ray soon, and some of the special features packed on the disk have started to trickle out online.

A really special moment posted on Monday showed the first time Mark Hamill saw Frank Oz working his Yoda puppet during production.

Hamill clearly got a little emotional over the scene — and it makes total sense. He and the Jedi Master (puppet or not) have some serious history together.

"Oh my God," Hamill says as he looks on with director Rian Johnson. "It's really getting to me."

March 22, 2018

Filmmakers walk a fine line when tackling a film adaptation of beloved work of fiction. If it is too much like the book, those who are unfamiliar risk being alienated, but if you stray too far from the source material, you run the risk of polarizing hardcore fans. This is especially true when you are tackling a particularly tough storyline that has been adapted (rather unsuccessfully) in the past.

March 19, 2018

Debates over Emily Dickinson's personal life are a staple not just among literary scholars and poetry lovers but with assemblers of LGBT histories eager to add another gay genius to the pantheon. Treating the argument as if it were settled once and for all, Madeleine Olnek's Wild Nights With Emily is unambiguous in showing the poet as the lifelong lover of her sister-in-law Susan Dickinson (nee Gilbert), and as nothing like the reclusive spinster of popular myth. The merits of its scholarship may be a moot point, as the humble production and peculiar tone of Wild Nights will likely — despite the draw of star Molly Shannon, a standout presence in some recent indies — limit its appeal largely to the English and Queer Studies departments of universities across the country.

March 14, 2018

“Bad Genius,” the drama-thriller in which a girl student cheats at exams and corrupts others, dominated proceeding at Thailand’s National Film Association Awards.

In total it won 12 Golden Swans or Subhanahongsa Awards including best film, best director (Nattawat Poonpirya), best actor and best actress.

March 09, 2018

Steven Spielberg's sci-fi action adventure Ready Player One is tracking for a sluggish $35 million-plus debut at the North American box office over the three-day Easter weekend.

Ready Player One is getting a jump start on the weekend by rolling out on March 28, a Thursday.

Warner Bros. and Spielberg, who are hoping for at least $50 million, still have three weeks left to make their final marketing push. (Warners is particularly encouraged by strong interest among males.)

The film will have a major presence at SXSW — a screening is rumored, although nothing is official — and will get heavy placement on March Madness basketball games.

March 07, 2018

Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph teamed up to present the Oscar for best documentary short and best live action short, and Twitter users are already campaigning for the pair to host next year’s ceremony.

The “Girls Trip” star and “Saturday Night Live” alumna bantered ahead of announcing the nominees, commenting on their interactions with white attendees and crew members to laughs from the audience.

March 06, 2018

Retired basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and animator Glen Keane have won the Academy Award for best animated short feature for “Dear Basketball.”

The six-minute film won over “Garden Party,” “Lou,” “Negative Space,” and “Revolting Rhymes.”

On stage, Keane addressed the crowd saying, “[‘Dear Basketball’] is a message for all of us, whatever form your dream may take, it’s through passion and perseverance that the impossible is possible.”

March 05, 2018

As Chinese New Year receded into memory, cinemagoing in China returned to more normal levels. But two of the holiday releases continued to dominate.

War actioner, “Red Sea Operation” continued its recent momentum and took top place at the Chinese box office from previous winner, comedy “Detective Chinatown 2.”

March 04, 2018

“The Shape of Water” led the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday, winning best picture and best director (for Guillermo del Toro). The film also nabbed prizes for production design and original score.

Gary Oldman won the lead actor award for his work as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” Frances McDormand earned her second best actress Oscar for her role as a grieving mother in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Here’s the full winners list.

Best Picture:

“The Shape of Water” (WINNER)

Actress:

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)

Actor:

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” (WINNER)

Director:

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro (WINNER)

February 25, 2018

From ladybugs to the Johnson administration to a creepy Mother Goose rhyme.

Saoirse Ronan’s character never explains why she begins calling herself "Lady Bird" in the Oscar-nominated film of the same name. Born Christine McPherson, Lady Bird decides to embrace the new moniker to the chagrin of her mother and community. In the beginning, when a teacher at the Catholic high school she attends asks Lady Bird if that’s her given name, she retorts, “It was given by myself to myself.”

February 22, 2018

Lionsgate is set to release its race-relations comedy Blindspotting this summer.

The studio on Wednesday said it will open the hip-hop-flavored buddy pic in limited release under its Summit Entertainment label on July 27. Blindspotting will then expand theatrically Aug. 10.

February 20, 2018

Universal’s untitled “Fast and Furious” spinoff, centered on Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s characters, may have found its director.

“John Wick” and “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch is the top choice to helm the movie that has Johnson and Statham reprising their roles of special agent Luke Hobbs and criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw, sources tell Variety.

Since his arrival in the franchise’s fifth installment, Universal has tried to find a way to spin-off Johnson’s Hobbs character, given his popularity with fans. With the arrival of Statham’s character in the seventh movie of the series, and seeing the chemistry between the two in “The Fate of the Furious,” Universal took action on plans to develop a spinoff. It’s set to hit theaters on July 26, 2019.

February 18, 2018

With “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” expanding nationwide, two more Oscar contenders, Sony Pictures Classics’ “Call Me by Your Name” and Focus Features’ “Darkest Hour” entered this weekend to huge limited release numbers.

“Call Me by Your Name” set a new per screen average record for the year from its four-screen LA/NY release, making just under $405,000 for a PSA of $101,219. That’s the highest PSA at the box office since the $176,000 average scored by “La La Land” in a five-screen release last year.

February 16, 2018

The New York festival, which encourages inclusion and authentic portrayals in cinema of people with disabilities, will screen Elisabeth Moss-starrer 'Mad to Be Normal'

The 10th annual ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York has set its lineup, including an opening-night award-presentation to Marlee Matlin.

The festival, designed to promote inclusion and authentic portrayals in cinema of people with disabilities, will open on March 8 with the previously announced 2017 Tribeca Film Festival award-winner Keep the Change and will close with the New York premiere of Matan Yair's Scaffolding, which won best Israeli feature and best actor at the 2017 Jerusalem Film Festival. Other highlights of this year's lineup include Mad to Be Normal, starring Elisabeth Moss, David Tennant, Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon; as well as documentaries about an aspiring rock guitarist with Cerebral Palsy and WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw, who struggled with mental illness. The festival will also screen the Oscar-nominated documentary short Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405.

February 15, 2018

Paramount has hired high-profile writer John Logan to adapt Walter Isaacson’s biography “Leonardo da Vinci,” with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the painter/scientist.

DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson are producing through their Appian Way banner. Paramount won movie rights in August following a multi-studio bidding battle.

Logan’s screen credits include “Alien: Covenant,” “Genius,” the two most recent James Bond movies “Spectre” and “Skyfall,” and a trio of scripts that received Academy Award nominations — “Gladiator,” “The Aviator,” and “Hugo.” It’s Logan’s second collaboration with DiCaprio, more than a decade after he scripted the Howard Hughes biopic “The Aviator.”

February 13, 2018

Welcome to “Playback,” a Variety podcast bringing you exclusive conversations with the talents behind many of today’s hottest films.

Daniel Kaluuya’s life is about to change and he knows it. An Oscar nominee for his performance in Jordan Peele’s critical and popular success “Get Out,” he also appears in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” releasing Feb. 16. Peele’s film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival over a year ago, however, and it has been a mainstay on the awards circuit throughout the fall and winter, making it quite a long haul for Kaluuya.

February 11, 2018

FilmNation Entertainment is backing Armando Iannucci‘s “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” and will launch sales at the European Film Market this month.

The project is based on the novel by Charles Dickens and will offer a modern take on the title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. The original “David Copperfield” was first published in 1850 and describes the journey of the titular protagonist — who was modeled after Dickens himself, from impoverished childhood to becoming a successful author, thanks to perseverance and despite a lack of personal discipline.

February 08, 2018

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s “Blade Runner 2049” remained the week’s top-selling DVD and Blu-ray Disc for the second week, according to NPD VideoScan research for the week ended Jan. 27.

The long-delayed sequel to 1982’s “Blade Runner,” with a domestic box office gross of $92 million, remained No. 1 on both NPD VideoScan’s overall disc sales chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

February 06, 2018

It looks like Denzel Washington is putting together quite the team for his directorial follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated “Fences.”

Fresh off his Oscar nomination for the titular role in “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” Washington is teaming with another recent nominee for an adaptation of the best-selling memoir “A Journal for Jordan,” according to Deadline. “Mudbound” co-writer Virgil Williams, who was just nominated alongside Dee Rees, will adapt the memoir that tells the story of journalist Dana Canedy, who married First Sgt. Charles Monroe King. After deploying to Iraq, King began a journal of life lessons for his newborn son, Jordan. After his tragic death in 2006, King’s lessons have lived on as then 7-month-old Jordan has grown.

February 04, 2018

It’s a tale of two streaming services: While Netflix soared to the top of the leaderboard with 19 SAG nominations (followed by HBO with 12), Amazon didn’t register with SAG voters, failing to secure even a single nomination for its original series efforts. (The streamer did receive noms on the film side, however: an overall cast nod for “The Big Sick” and best supporting actress for Holly Hunter.)

Netflix’s success was spread across a wide lineup of hits, including the ’80s sci-fi paean “Stranger Things” (4 nominations), female-led wrestling drama “GLOW” (4 noms), British period piece “The Crown” (2), friendship comedy “Grace and Frankie” (2), prison-set ensemble dramedy “Orange Is the New Black” (2), and dark drama “Ozark” (2). Jeff Daniels also scored an acting nom for the western “Godless,” as did Aziz Ansari for “Master of None” and Robin Wright for political potboiler “House of Cards.”

February 01, 2018

If it’s a Saturday night in Hollywood in January or February there’s a good chance a guild award ceremony is going on somewhere.  This Saturday night found the American Cinema Editors guild holding the 68th ACE Eddie Awards, an honor that is usually a precursor to the Oscar for Best Editing.  Based on this year’s winners, “Dunkirk” and “I, Tonya” are your Academy Award frontrunners.  The former wasn’t a surprise, the latter, somewhat.

Other big winners included “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Jane,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Fargo,” “Genius” and “Vice News Tonight.”

ACE’s prestigious Golden Eddie honor went to “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan who received his award from his longtime collaborator Skip MacDonald.  Guild members Leon Ortiz-Gil and Mark Goldblatt received lifetime achievement awards.

January 31, 2018

Fox’s second weekend of “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” should repeat as champion of the North American box office during what’s expected to be a typically subdued Super Bowl weekend.

The finale of the dystopian trilogy easily led last weekend with $24.2 million at 3,787 sites, so a typical decline would leave “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” in the $11 million to $13 million range. Sony’s seventh weekend of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” will probably provide the most competition, given its remarkable holding power, and finish in the $10 million range.

“Death Cure” led on Monday with $1.4 million, followed by Entertainment Studios’ “Hostiles” with $912,683, and “Jumanji” with $907,451 for a 41-day domestic total of $338.7 million — the 46th highest of all-time.

January 30, 2018

Oscar nominations for the 90th annual awards were announced on Tuesday morning from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Academy Awards — hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second time — will air live on ABC on March 4.

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Here is the list of 2018 Oscar nominations:

Best Picture:

“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Director:

“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro

January 29, 2018

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s romantic ode to the horror films of his youth, dominated the 90th Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday.

January 27, 2018

The first superhero tentpole of 2018 hits theaters in three weeks.

Ryan Coogler's Black Panther is tracking to open to a heroic $100 million-$120 million at the North American box office, according to early prerelease surveys.

Marvel Studios and Disney open the stand-alone superhero movie on Feb. 16, the beginning of the four-day Presidents' Day weekend.

Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis.

The movie is the 18th title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's also the first tentpole of 2018.

If tracking is correct, Black Panther will come in ahead of stand-alone Marvel pic Doctor Strange, which posted a three-day debut of $85 million in November 2016. It would also be the biggest opening of 2018 to date.

January 27, 2018

Elsewhere, Christian Bale's 'Hostiles' expands nationwide, while a flurry of films landing Oscar nominations look for a bump.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure should have no trouble sprinting to the top of the North American box office this weekend with a debut of $20 million or more.

The threequel is the final installment in the successful YA film series adapted from James Dashner's dystopia-themed books.

From 20th Century Fox, Death Cure was originally set to hit theaters a year ago, but its release was delayed when franchise star Dylan O'Brien suffered an injury while filming. Wes Ball directed all three films, the last of which, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, launched to $30.6 million in September 2015. The first outing, The Maze Runner, opened to $32.5 million in September 2014.

This time out, the Gladers travel to the villainous WCKD headquarters to rescue their friends.

Death Cure is also making a play overseas, where it took in a solid $15 million from a handful or markets.

January 26, 2018

The latest smash hit from actor-producer Aamir Khan, 'Superstar' is the first Indian film to score a revenue-sharing release under China's quota system, which is usually reserved for Hollywood imports.

India's Aamir Khan remains a king of the Chinese box office.

The Bollywood actor's latest international hit, musical drama Secret Superstar, opened in first place with $27 million, outshining 20th Century Fox new release Ferdinand and Sony's Jumanji in its second weekend.

Khan's family sports drama Dangal set an all-time record for a non-Hollywood release in China last year, earning a historic $193 million.

January 26, 2018

Matria Wins Grand Jury Prize

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Park City, Utah — Winners of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival jury prizes in short filmmaking were announced today by Sundance Institute at a ceremony in Park City, Utah. The Short Film Grand Jury Prize, awarded to one film in the program of 69 shorts selected from 8,740 submissions, went to Matria, written and directed by Álvaro Gago. Full video of the ceremony is at youtube.com/sff. The Short Film program is presented by YouTube, as part of their ongoing support for emerging storytellers, unique voices and independent artists. 2018 marks the sixth year YouTube has been the official sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival Shorts program.

This year's Short Film jurors are Cherien Dabis, Shirley Manson and Chris Ware.

January 26, 2018

The World Cinema competitions at Sundance are dedicated to the discovery of new films and new voices from around the world.

Celebrating independence, creativity and risk-taking, the Sundance Film Festival plays a vital role in identifying emerging international talent and connecting them with audiences and industry in the United States.

January 24, 2018

Octogenarian Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gets a fully briefed profile in Betsy West and Julie Cohen's biographical documentary.

We are living in an era full of sound and fury, not to mention bitterness, hysteria and rampant incivility. So there is something deeply soothing about RBG, a documentary that, like its subject, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is eminently sober, well-mannered, highly intelligent, scrupulous and just a teeny-weeny bit reassuringly dull.

It makes one nostalgic for the good old days when most important public figures, and the documentaries about them, were comfortingly soporific. Not that veteran TV and doc producer-directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen's methodically constructed profile doesn't have its funny, light-hearted moments. Paradoxically, one of the best is Ginsburg's children Jane and James Ginsburg reminiscing about how as kids they used to keep a thin scrapbook entitled something like Times When Mom Laughed. There weren't many entries, they recall. But they say it smilingly, clearly feeling deep affection for their parent, and viewers are likely to empathize with a similar warm regard for this fine-grained work and its subject, a living secular saint deserving all the tributes heaped on her here, some from surprising quarters.

January 24, 2018

Rupert Everett wrote, directed and stars in this portrait of the final years of fallen literary genius Oscar Wilde, exiled to continental Europe following his notorious trial and imprisonment.

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There's no doubting the affinity of Rupert Everett for Oscar Wilde. He has played the famed writer's alter ego in film adaptations of The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, and starred as the man himself in London and on tour in a 2012 revival of the biographical drama The Judas Kiss, which persuaded many critics to reconsider the 1998 David Hare play. Making his debut feature as writer-director, Everett returns to the role in what could almost be an expansion of that stage work, creating a richly inhabited characterization that counters louche irreverence with glimpses of melancholy fatalism.

But despite Everett's command in the central performance and a script liberally sprinkled with amusing bons mots, The Happy Prince generates only faltering dramatic momentum and a shortage of pathos. It's telling that the film's most moving moments come from the limited screen time of the emotionally incandescent Emily Watson as Wilde's estranged wife Constance. Her conflicted but enduring affections for her flamboyant husband, and his separation from their two boys, prove more stirring than his fatal attraction to Lord Alfred Douglas (Colin Morgan), the self-absorbed, epicene beauty known as Bosie.

January 24, 2018

After the shortlist announcement there are two locks for the nomination: “Loveless” and “A Fantastic Woman.” The question is what movies will make the other three slots. 

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Frontrunners
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
“The Insult” (Lebanon)
“Loveless” (Russia)
“The Wound” (South Africa)
“The Square” (Sweden)

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Almost there
“Foxtrot” (Israel)
“In The Fade” (Germany)
“On Body and Soul” (Hungary)
“Félicité,” (Senegal)

January 24, 2018

The Producers Guild of America announced the nominees for their year-end awards this morning and for the top film category you could argue it was a very commercial list of nominees.

Outside of the cinephile favorite “Call Me By Your Name” the nominees included indie hits such as “The Big Sick,” “Lady Bird,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “The Shape of Water” as well as broad players that are less indie than they seem, “I, Tonya” and “Molly’s Game.”  Trow in traditional studio releases such as “The Post,” “Dunkirk” and, surprise, “Wonder Woman” and you have your ten.

The PGA revelations have to be heartbreaking for “The Florida Project,” “Mudbound” “Darkest Hour” and “Phantom Thread” whose chances for a Best Picture nomination are now on thin ice.  Since the advent of the expanded category PGA has a pretty good record when it comes to Best Picture nominees. Last year, 9 out of their 10 nominees made the cut (“Deadpool” was the only film not to get nominated).  In 2016 and 2015 only seven of the eight nominees were also recognized by PGA.  In 2014 and 2013 it was eight of nine. If you assume there will once again be nine nominees that means three of this year’s likely won’t make the cut and one other film not listed, will. Or, your nine nominees are listed below somehow in that mix.  At the worst, it certainly makes for an intriguing last week of voting......

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January 23, 2018

The Directors Guild of America won’t be announcing the film nominations for the DGA Awards until tomorrow, but this morning they revealed the TV honorees and it goes without saying “Game of Thrones” ruled.

“Game of Thrones,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Better Call Saul” lead WGA Awards TV nominees

The HBO drama series took three nominations for episodes directed by Alan Taylor, Matt Shakman and Jeremy Podeswa.  The Dramatic Series was rounded out by expected winner Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”).

The other categories were highlighted by the inclusion of first time nominees Aziz Ansari  (“Master of None”), Melina Matsoukas (“Master of None”), Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Scott Frank (“Godless”), Jean Marc-Valle (“Big Little Lies”), Kyra Sedgwick (“Story of a Girl”), and Niki Caro (“Anne with an E”), among others.

Kyra Sedgwick wants to direct full time and isn’t happy with ABC [Podcast]

It’s also worth noting that 13 women were nominated across eight categories revealed today. It’s unclear if that’s a record, but certainly a more balanced representation than many of the DGA’s sister guilds.

In the documentary category, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick (“The Vietnam War”), Bryan Fogel (“Icarus”), Matthew Heineman (“City of Ghosts”), Steve James (“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”) and Errol Morris (“Wormwood”) were all recognized.

Here are all the nominees in the TV, Documentary and Commercial categories. (Please note: Updated formatting due to DGA bizarre listings is in process)

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January 21, 2018

“Get Out,” “The Shape of Water,” “Big Little Lies” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” were just some of the films and television series honored by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. and Broadcast Television Journalists Assn. Thursday at the 23rd annual Critics’ Choice Awards.

Overall nominations leader “The Shape of Water” walked away with the most movie awards with four, including best picture and best director for helmer Guillermo del Toro. On the television side, “Big Little Lies” also reigned with four wins, including yet another best limited series prize. “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won in the top drama and comedy fields.

Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”) and Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”) joined Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) in the winners circle for film acting honors, while Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”), Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”), Ted Danson (“The Good Place”) and Mayim Bialik (“The Big Bang Theory”) were among the television acting victors.

January 17, 2018

In the rush to report the news that Leonardo DiCaprio was reteaming with Quentin Tarantino for the director’s next film, trade sites were furiously updating their stories after the fact. So, another intriguing nugget about the brewing project got overlooked as it was added later on.

According to Variety, Tarantino is eyeballing Al Pacino for a possible role in his Manson era movie. The story will be set in Los Angeles in the summer of 1969, and center on a male TV actor who’s had one hit series and is looking for a way to get into the film business. His sidekick—who’s also his stunt double—is looking for the same thing. Meanwhile, the horrific murder of Sharon Tate and four of her friends by Charles Manson’s cult of followers shadows the main narrative.

There’s no word yet on what role Pacino might take, but Margot Robbie is expected to play Sharon Tate, with Tom Cruise also in the mix to join the picture as well. The film needs to make $375 million worldwide to break even, hence all the A-list names being tossed around, but we’re certainly excited at the prospect of Pacino chewing on some Tarantino dialogue. Especially given the dismal state of affairs of the actor’s last few pictures (“Misconduct,” “The Pirates Of Somalia,” “Hangman“). Could 2019 see Pacino in movies by Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”) and Quentin Tarantino? That would be something else.

Quentin Tarantino’s film will hit cinemas on August 9, 2019.

January 15, 2018

For a second weekend in a row Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle takes the weekend's top spot, this time holding off three new wide releases over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend as well as Fox's nationwide expansion of Steven Spielberg's The Post, which finished in the runner-up position. As for the weekend's three brand new releases, Lionsgate's The Commuter managed to exceed expectations while both Paddington 2 and Proud Mary fell a bit short. Meanwhile Fox's The Greatest Showman continues to attempt to make up for its soft opening, dropping just 14% in its fourth weekend in release. With an estimated $27 million, Sony's holiday smash hitJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle finished atop the weekend box office and is expected to deliver a four-day weekend approaching $34 million, which would push the film's domestic cume near $290 million. Internationally……

January 14, 2018

The 49th NAACP Image Awards ceremony is underway, hosted by “Blackish” starAnthony Anderson at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Nine awards will be handed out during the Monday broadcast, including Entertainer of the Year, with nominees Issa Rae, Chance the Rapper, Jay-z, Bruno Mars, Ava DuVernay and Chadwick Boseman. 47 other Image Awards were handed out Sunday night during a non-televised gala dinner, including Outstanding New Artist for singer Sza, and writing and directing wins for “Get Out” director Jordan Peele. Idris Elba, Bruno Mars, Tiffany Haddish, and Kendrick Lamar among the night’s other big winners. 

January 24, 2017

The jury presented the award to “Marjorie Prime” for its “imaginative and nuanced depiction of the evolving relationship between humans and technology, and its moving dramatization of how intelligent machines can challenge our notions of identity, memory and mortality.” As a result, the film will receive a $20,000 cash award from the foundation.

January 23, 2017

Based on Jordan Harrison's Pulitzer-shortlisted 2014 play, this is the rare recent stage-to-screen adaptation that actually improves on the source. 

May 06, 2016

Far from Faultless, yet intriguing and definitely off-the-wall, French writer-director Sebastien Marnier’s debut feature stars comic actress Marina Fois (Daddy or Mommy) as a femme fatale returning to her hometown in the hopes of landing a job as a real estate broker.

January 27, 2016

A documentary about influential shoe designer Manolo Blahnik is in production with Michael Roberts directing and Nevision Studios One Limited producing.

September 24, 2014

Brazil’s BossaNovaFilms is linking to Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2, one of France’s most powerful and ambitious production forces, to produce “Going To Brazil,” a Brazil road movie marking the second feature helmed by Portuguese-French actor-writer-and-now director Patrick Mille.