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SAG-aftra Keeping December’s Cuba Trip Under Wraps
38 minutes ago
SAG-aftra sent a high-powered seven-person delegation to the Havana Film Festival in early December — the union’s first official visit to the island since the 1959 Cuban Revolution — and has kept most of the details under wraps since.
The only official announcement came in February from a single paragraph in Los Angeles Local president Jane Austin’s eight-paragraph message to the Los Angeles members, who comprise about half of the union’s 160,000 members. The message disclosed the organizers of the festival had invited SAG-aftra to participate and then discussed the trip in general terms.
“As one of the members that traveled on this trip, I am pleased to report that it was very productive,” Austin said. “We planted the union flag and laid a very solid foundation for our performers who will be working there in the future. It was also fascinating to learn that our fellow performers in Cuba are »
- Dave McNary
Why ‘The Jungle Book’ Could Compete for the Animated Feature Oscar
57 minutes ago
With $103 million in domestic box office receipts coming in over the weekend, plus a collective enthusiastic thumbs up from critics, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” has positioned itself as a possible home run year-end awards possibility.
Of course, categories like best visual effects are a given. The film will likely remain the frontrunner there all year long, if it can fend off competition from prestige fantasy plays like “The Bfg” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and more adult-oriented films like “Passengers” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” But nearly 50 years after former Academy president Gregory Peck reportedly campaigned on behalf of the original animated musical in the best picture race, Jon Favreau’s fresh new take could easily navigate a more open-minded membership, particularly with a wider playing field that allows for up to 10 slots.
But should the studio want to get greedy, the film — which »
- Kristopher Tapley
Doris Roberts, Star of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ Dies at 90
2 hours ago
Doris Roberts, a character actress who labored honorably both on stage and screen for years before finding the perfect vehicle for her talents, the hit sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died on Sunday. She was 90.
Her “Everybody Loves Raymond” co-star Patricia Heaton confirmed the news on Twitter.
A cause of death has not yet been released. According to TMZ, which first reported the news, Roberts died in Los Angeles. An ABC spokesperson also confirmed the news.
Roberts was nominated for 11 Emmys, including seven for playing Marie Barone on “Raymond,” winning four for her work on that series; she picked up her first Emmy in 1983 for a guest appearance on “St. Elsewhere,” making for a total of five wins overall.
On “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Roberts’ almost omnipresent Marie Barone (she appeared on every episode of the show, which ran from 1996-2005) made life difficult for her son, Ray Romano’s Ray, and especially for his wife Debra, »
- Carmel Dagan
BAFTA Los Angeles Working to Tighten Voting Membership
2 hours ago
BAFTA Los Angeles is working to ensure that its film voters are still in the industry.
An April 15 letter to members, signed by BAFTA Los Angeles chairman Kieran Breen, said the organization has a cap on the number of film-voting members, and the org has reached that cap. As a result, some potential new members (and some current ones) are unable to vote on film awards, so the L.A. branch hopes to figure out which voters are no longer in the business.
Worldwide, BAFTA has 6,500 voters, with about 25% of them based in the U.S. (The org also has an additional 1,000 non-voting members.) Members vote in their respective sectors: film, TV or games. The cap is on the number of members who vote in film; BAFTA La is asking members to vote on the board proposal about establishing criteria for voting.
The boards of both BAFTA London and BAFTA »
- Tim Gray
‘They Call Me Jeeg’ Dominates Italy’s David di Donatello Awards
3 hours ago
Rome — Offbeat superhero movie “They Call Me Jeeg,” a fresh riff on formulaic Hollywood franchises and on a 1970 Japanese cartoon series, was the big winner at Italy’s 60th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film nods, scooping seven statuettes including for best debut director, producer, actress, actor, and supporting female and male thesps.
The best picture prize went to Paolo Genovese’s high-concept dramedy “Perfect Strangers.” “Strangers,” which is about a dangerous game played with cell phones, is the only Italian film unspooling at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Strangers,” which has done boffo biz locally, also took the best screenplay nod.
Matteo Garrone won the best director nod for the English-language horror/fantasy “Tale of Tales,” which also won in the cinematography, production design, costume design, makeup and hair categories.
“I’m lucky that Jeeg was not eligible for best director,” Garrone quipped as soon as he got on stage. »
- Nick Vivarelli
J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley to Reunite on Supernatural Drama ‘Kolma’
3 hours ago
A supernatural force may soon be reuniting J.J. Abrams and Daisy Ridley.
Paramount is developing the supernatural drama “Kolma” with Abrams producing through his Bad Robot production company and Ridley in talks to star.
Marielle Heller is in talks to direct from a script by Megan Holley. Besides Abrams, producers are Ram Bergman, Sherryl Clark and David Lonner.
The remake of the 2003 Israeli TV movie Kol Ma — which translates to English as “All I’ve Got” — centers on a man who died in a car accident 50 years ago who waits on the other side for his former girlfriend who survived.
Abrams directed and co-wrote “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” He’s also produced the rebooted “Star Trek” franchise and the last three “Mission: Impossible” films.
Ridley is currently shooting “Star Wars: Episode VIII.” She’s also executive producing “The Eagle Huntress,” which premiered at Sundance and is being released through Sony Classics. »
- Dave McNary
Mike Birbiglia’s ‘Don’t Think Twice’ Gets Summer Release From Film Arcade (Exclusive)
4 hours ago
“Don’t Think Twice,” Mike Birbiglia’s indie about a troupe of improv comedians, will be distributed by Film Arcade for a platform summer release, Variety has learned.
The movie, which was written, directed by and starring Birbiglia, screens at the Tribeca Film Festival and debuted at SXSW last month to solid reviews. Although the picture received offers from A24 and Roadside Attractions, Film Arcade, which also financed the project, will keep U.S. distribution rights.
“Film Arcade basically said if you release a movie with us, we’re going to let you tour the movie and not be day-and-date, and go as wide as the movie allows,” Birbiglia told Variety. “The critics seem to like it. We’re pulling out the circus to hand deliver this movie to the country.”
“Don’t Think Twice” follows a group of New York comedians — played by Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Chris Gethard »
- Ramin Setoodeh
San Franciso Film Festival Honors Ellen Burstyn
4 hours ago
The San Francisco Film Society has selected Ellen Burstyn as the recipient of its Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting.
The award will be presented at the April 25 awards night for the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival at Fort Mason Center’s Herbst Pavilion.
“Ellen Burstyn’s extraordinary career in film and television has provided some of cinema’s most indelible performances,” said Noah Cowan, the festival’s executive director. “She has collaborated with some of the medium’s finest directors over many years and in a remarkable range of genres. Her recent performance in Todd Solondz’s ‘Wiener-Dog’ is perhaps her bravest yet — caustic, sincere and unforgettable.”
Burstyn will also be publicly honored at An Afternoon with Ellen Burstyn at the Victoria Theatre on Saturday. An onstage interview and a selection of clips from Burstyn’s notable acting career will be followed by a screening of »
- Dave McNary
Charlotte McKinney Joins Dwayne Johnson in ‘Baywatch’ Movie
4 hours ago
Supermodel Charlotte McKinney has joined the cast of Paramount’s “Baywatch” movie adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.
Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, “Quantico” actress Priyanka Chopra and Ilfenesh Hadera are also on board to star. Seth Gordon is directing the film.
Johnson will also produce the movie with his partner Dany Garcia through their Seven Bucks Productions banner. Beau Flynn and Ivan Reitman are producing as well, along with Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz and Greg Bonann.
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift wrote the latest draft of the script. The first footage of the film made a splash at ComicCon last week.
McKinney has been tapped to play one of the locals in the bay community.
The film will mark McKinney’s biggest acting job to date. She previously appeared in season 20 of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” as well as appeared in Spike TV’s “Lip Sync Battle »
- Justin Kroll
‘Royal Rabbits of London’ in the Works as Movie at Fox
5 hours ago
Twentieth Century Fox Animation is developing children’s book “The Royal Rabbits of London” as a feature film.
The upcoming book is written by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore with Kate Hindley illustrating. Fox has not yet attached producers.
The story centers on a small, quiet rabbit named Shylo who stumbles across a band of ratzis and overhears their evil plan to take a photo of the Queen in her nightie. He travels to London to inform the secret society of the Royal Rabbits of London, a secret society charged with protecting the Queen, about the plot.
Publishers describe the book as “The Hobbit” meets “Watership Down.” The book is due to be published in October by Simon and Schuster in the U.K.
Santa Montefiero has authored “The Italian Matchmaker,” “The Affair,” “The House by the Sea,” “The Summer House,” “Secrets of the Lighthouse,” “A Mother’s Love, »
- Dave McNary
‘Captain America: Civil War’ Eyes Massive $175 Million-Plus Debut
6 hours ago
“Captain America: Civil War” is set to dominate the box office.
The superhero adventure is on track to be one of the biggest openings of any Marvel Comics film in history, with pre-release tracking suggesting it will open between $175 million and $180 million. Rival studio executives and analysts believe that the film, which has Captain America in the title, but also includes Avengers staples such as Iron Man and Black Widow among its cadre of costumed protagonists, could debut to nearly $200 million.
“It’s tough to predict any movie getting above $200 million, but this one has a shot,” said Eric Handler, an analyst with Mkm Partners. “They have two weeks of good buzz to build on and the marketing machine behind this is going to be huge.”
The issue with firming up a prediction for a film like “Captain America: Civil War” is that awareness of the picture is nearly universal and interest is high. »
- Brent Lang
Golden Globes 2017 Date, Rule Changes Unveiled
6 hours ago
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. on Monday announcedthe 74th annual Golden Globes will be held Jan. 8, 2017, while the org also unveiled tweaks to eligibility rules in multiple categories, including the definition of comedy vs. drama.
The HFPA also changed rules about campaigning and advertising.
“Motion pictures shall be entered in the category that best matches the overall tone and content of the motion picture. Thus, for example, dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas,” the HFPA said. A musical, meanwhile, is “a comedy or a drama in which songs are used in addition to spoken dialogue to further the plot.”
This means that Ridley Scott’s “The Martian,” which won best motion picture, musical or comedy at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, would likely be classified as a drama this year. Star Matt Damon also won best actor in the comedy or musical category, which was the »
- Maane Khatchatourian
‘The 100’ Star Lindsey Morgan Lands Lead in Thriller ‘Lasso’ (Exclusive)
6 hours ago
“The 100” star Lindsey Morgan has been set as the lead in the independent thriller “Lasso,” Variety has learned.
Evan Cecil is directing from a script by Roberto Marinas. Elaine Gibson is the producer.
The thriller centers around Morgan’s character and Andrew Jacobs’ character as they navigate life working for a senior community center. Their lives are turned upside down when they find themselves fighting to stay alive against a group of psycho, bloodthirsty cowboys from the local rodeo.
Morgan’s character holds a huge amount of guilt for not keeping the senior citizens safe and takes on the duty of ensuring their safety throughout the film.
Morgan portrays Raven Reyes in the CW drama “The 100,” which is currently airing its third season and has been renewed for a fourth. She also starred on “General Hospital” in 2012-13 as Kristina Davis.
Jacobs played the lead in 2014’s “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. »
- Dave McNary
‘Below the Line’ Website Editor, Publisher, Others Quit Over Pay Dispute (Exclusive)
7 hours ago
Below the Line, an industry website devoted to covering issues important to Hollywood crew on TV and film productions, didn’t post any new stories last Friday. The home page featured an old date (April 14), alongside an ad for Ang Lee’s new movie.
It wasn’t a technical glitch. The business, owned by Patrick Graham and funded in part through awards season ads, is facing a staff exodus. Variety has learned that three top-ranking managers—editor Scott Lehane, publisher Sandra Howatt and advertising executive Dan Evans—resigned last week, after complaining that Graham had stopped paying them. One of the site’s writers, Jack Egan, is also leaving.
They claim that collectively Graham owes them tens of thousands of dollars in back pay. When reached by phone, Graham declined to comment on the departures. “It’s an internal matter,” said Graham, who serves as the CEO.
The company, which »
- Katie Van Syckle and Ramin Setoodeh
‘Jurassic World 2’ Finds Director in J.A. Bayona
8 hours ago
J.A. Bayona is on board to direct “Jurassic World 2” for Universal Pictures.
Producer Frank Marshall and “Jurassic World” director Colin Trevorrow confirmed the news on Twitter.
Thrilled to announce Ja Bayona is on board to direct JW2. Welcome to the team @FilmBayona!
— Frank Marshall (@LeDoctor) April 18, 2016
Proud to collaborate with one of my favorite filmmakers on the next Jurassic adventure. Ja Bayona, it's all yours.
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) April 18, 2016
Bayona had long been rumored to be the frontrunner for the job after he parted ways with another major sequel, “World War Z 2,” last year. Sources tell Variety that a deal has officially closed.
Exec producers Steven Spielberg and Trevorrow will reunite with stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard for the follow-up to one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of cinema. Marshall and Pat Crowley will produce along with Belén Atienza.
Trevorrow and his writing partner Derek Connolly penned the script. »
- Justin Kroll
Jon Chu Returning to Direct ‘Now You See Me 3’ (Exclusive)
11 hours ago
Jon M. Chu is returning to the director’s chair for Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me 3,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The studio struck a deal with Chu nearly two months before it releases his “Now You See Me 2” on June 10 — a signal that it believes the sequel will perform in the same range as the 2013 original, which took in $351.7 million worldwide.
CEO Jon Feltheimer announced nearly a year ago during a conference call with analysts that Lionsgate had already started planning for the third film, but gave no details.
Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are reprising their roles for “Now You See Me 2,” while Lizzy Caplan has replaced Isla Fisher and Daniel Radcliffe has joined the cast.
Feltheimer said at the time that Lionsgate believed that “Now You See Me 2” would top the gross for the original »
- Dave McNary
‘Serial (Bad) Weddings” Philippe de Chauveron, Christian Clavier, Snd Team On ‘Pleeeeeze’
11 hours ago
Paris– Philippe de Chauveron, whose comedy “Serial (Bad) Weddings” was a box office mega-hit, will team up with French film studio Snd on “Pleeeeeze,” another high-concept, culture-clash laffer toplining French star Christian Clavier.
Produced by Pulsar Productions, Clavier’s Ouille Productions and co-produced by Snd, “Pleeeeeze” will also star Belgian comedy fixture Francois Damiens (“Heartbreaker,””La Famille Belier”) and Canadian thesp Anne Dorval (“Mommy”).
While Clavier played a provincial bigot in “Serial (Bad) Weddings,” he will star in “Pleeeeeze” as Jean Etienne Fougerolle, a brilliant and popular left-wing intellectual married to a rich heiress (Dorval). Their lives take an unexpected turn after he participates in a talk show to promote “You’re welcome!” a new book meant to encourage everyone to offer shelter to those in need. Confronted by a pugnacious journalist who suggests he is hypocrite and should welcome Romanian Gypsies to his own house, Fougerolle shares his address on TV. »
- Elsa Keslassy
U.K.’s ITV Recommissions Simon Nye’s Hit Drama ‘The Durrells’
11 hours ago
London — U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV has commissioned a second season of its hit family drama “The Durrells” after airing just two episodes of the first run. The series, produced by Sid Gentle Films, is ITV’s best-rating new drama of the year and its highest-rating new show since September 2014.
The first episode launched on ITV with 6.4 million and a 29% share — the channel’s best new drama since “Cilla” in September 2014. The first episode has since consolidated to 8.2 million and a 33% share, making it the most watched ITV drama of this year.
“The Durrells,” Simon Nye’s adaptation of Gerald Durrell’s trilogy of memoirs, tell the story of Louisa Durrell who makes a radical change and uproots her four unruly children — Larry, Leslie, Margo and Gerry — from Bournemouth, England to start a new life in Corfu in the 1930s.
Keeley Hawes will return as matriarch Louisa alongside her fictional »
- Leo Barraclough
Cannes: Critics’ Week Announces 2016 Lineup
15 hours ago
There are no American features to be found in Critics’ Week at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as the parallel section dedicated to first and second films will privilege both European productions and fresh discoveries from such countries as Turkey, Lebanon, Cambodia and Singapore.
The 55th edition of Critics’ Week will kick off on May 12 with Justine Triet’s “In Bed With Victoria,” a light-hearted, frank and modern comedy about a young single mother (played by Virginie Efira) trying to find the balance between her career and her love life.
According to Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson, this sophomore offering from the Cesar-nominated director of “Age of Panic” (which opened in Cannes’ Acid sidebar in 2013) underscores a willingness to shake up the sidebar and marks a change in tone from the typically serious-minded movies that constitute the rest of the section.
The Critics’ Week selection committee sifted through »
- Elsa Keslassy and Peter Debruge
Film Review: Zoe Saldana in ‘Nina’
18 hours ago
Nina Simone lived many lives in her 70 years on the planet, and for a filmmaker looking to dramatize the iconic singer-pianist’s story on screen, the potential entry points are almost endless. Considering the range of possibilities, and the continuing relevance of Simone’s music in an era of renewed racial tensions, “Nina’s” decision to frame her story through a “Sunset Blvd.”-style narrative is truly a head-scratcher. Focusing on Simone’s late-life relationship with a younger nurse-turned-manager provides a perilously shaky foundation from which to consider her legacy, and that’s just the first of many major miscalculations made by writer-director Cynthia Mort’s long-gestating biopic, which meanders into theaters and VOD this month after years of pitched controversy. Interest in Simone will be evergreen as long as recorded music exists, but arriving just a year after Liz Garbus’ Oscar-nominated doc “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” superior competition and »
- Andrew Barker
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