Week of « Prev | Next »
1-20 of 142 items « Prev | Next »
Iff Panama: Abner Benaim Preps ‘Plaza Catedral’ and Ruben Blades Doc
1 hour ago
Panama City — One of Panama’s leading helmers, 44-year old Abner Benaim – whose past pics include hit 2010 comedy “Chance” and 2014 doc “Invasion,” about the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama – is currently prepping a new fiction feature “Plaza Catedral” (aka “Bien Cuidado”), while continuing to lens on music doc “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name.” He also has a documentary short, “Zachrisson,” screening at this year’s Iff Panama.
In line with Benaim’s other recent projects, both titles are co-productions between his own company, Apertura Films, and Argentina’s Gema Films, run by Gema Juárez Allen.
“Plaza Catedral” won the 2015 Berlinale Co-Production Market Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award. It returns to one of Benaim’s favorite themes, the contrast between rich and poor, but represents a shift in cinematic style, as he explores a thriller-drama, with a neo-noir aesthetic.
The film is about a street kid called “Bien Cuidado” who »
- Martin Dale
Melissa McCarthy’s ‘The Boss’ Ties With ‘Batman v Superman’ at Box Office
3 hours ago
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and Melissa McCarthy’s “The Boss” are headed down to the wire in a tight fight for the top spot at the U.S. box office at about $22 million each this weekend.
Universal’s “The Boss” ruled Friday with an estimated $8.1 million in its opening day at 3,480 sites — $2 million better than the 15th day of “Batman v Superman,” which is projected to make up the difference during the rest of the weekend.
No matter which title tops the weekend, it will likely be the third-lowest winner of 2016. “The Revenant” won the Jan. 22-24 frame with $16 million in its fifth weekend and “Kung Fu Panda” topped the Feb. 5-7 frame with $21.2 million in its second weekend.
Mid-week forecasts had shown “Batman v Superman,” which is playing at 4,102 locations, coming in at $25 million and “The Boss” set to finish at $21 million.
If “Batman v Superman” finishes at $22 million, »
- Dave McNary
Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone Boarding ‘Life of the Party’
16 hours ago
Melissa McCarthy and spouse Ben Falcone have set up the comedy project “Life of the Party” at New Line with McCarthy starring and Falcone directing.
As with “The Boss,” which opened Friday, McCarthy and Falcone wrote the script and are producing through their On the Way production company.
Planning is underway to shoot “Life of the Party” in August. Other than having a similarity in tone to the late Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School,” plot details are under wraps.
“Life of the Party” is the second project set up at New Line with McCarthy starring and Falcone following 2014’s “Tammy,” which grossed $100 million worldwide on a $19 million budget.
Universal’s “The Boss” is battling Warner Bros.’ third weekend of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” for the top spot at the box office with both expected to wind up the weekend at about $23 million.“The Boss,” which stars McCarthy »
- Dave McNary
‘Narcos’ Star Pedro Pascal Joining ‘Kingsman’ Sequel
17 hours ago
“Narcos” star Pedro Pascal has joined Fox’s spy comedy “Kinsgman: The Golden Circle” opposite Taron Egerton.
Matthew Vaughn is returning to direct from a script he co-wrote with Jane Goldman. The 2014 original, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” was based on the comic book “The Secret Service,” created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar, and follows the training of a potential secret agent to take on a global threat from Samuel L. Jackson’s Richmond Valentine.
Vaughn also produced the original, which grossed a surprisingly healthy $415 million worldwide. Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine also starred.
Halle Berry has been in talks to star as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Several recent reports have indicated that Julianne Moore has been in talks to play the villain in the sequel.
It’s unclear whether Strong will return for “Kingsman 2” but Egerton recently indicated in a Tweet that Firth will come back. »
- Dave McNary
‘Batman v Superman’: Where’s the Superhero Suit at Warner Bros.?
19 hours ago
When I finally caved for a second viewing of Zack Snyder’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” I spotted only six or seven other people in the theater. Even following a dramatic 69% second weekend drop, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
This is “Batman v Superman,” a blockbuster event meant to jump-start an entire cinematic universe, yet in its 13th day of release, the superhero pic mustered only $2.8 million, a number that couldn’t even match Marvel’s “Ant-Man” ($3 million), Snyder’s previous foray “Man of Steel” ($4 million) or even Tim Burton’s 1989 reintroduction to “Batman” on the big screen ($4.36 million). It was a heavily front-loaded release, to be sure: a $166 million opening was a rallying cry for proponents in the face of countless critical pans. But at this point, hitting the magic $1 billion figure in worldwide grosses seems to be out of reach.
If all the recent release »
- Kristopher Tapley
Boyd Holbrook to Play Villain in ‘Wolverine 3’
19 hours ago
Boyd Holbrook is in talks to star as the key villain alongside Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart in Fox’s “Wolverine 3.”
Holbrook would portray the chief of security for a global corporation pursuing Jackman’s Wolverine character. The film will start shooing in May, with James Mangold directing David James Kelly’s script.
Jackman has asserted that the third “Wolverine” film will be his final appearance as the character. Fox has scheduled “Wolverine 3” for March 3. His mutant powers include animal-like senses and the ability to heal rapidly.
Stewart will return in the Charles Xavier role as the founder of the X-Men.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” directed by Gavin Hood, was the fourth film in the X-Men series and grossed $375 million worldwide in 2009. Four years later, Mangold directed “The Wolverine,” which grossed $415 million worldwide.
“The Wolverine” was the sixth film in the X-Men universe, followed by “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Deadpool” and “X-Men: Apocalypse, »
- Dave McNary
Lupita Nyong’o Chess Drama ‘Queen of Katwe’ Gets Awards-Season Release Date
20 hours ago
Disney has given the Lupita Nyong’o chess drama “Queen of Katwe” an awards-season release date with a limited launch on Sept. 23, followed by a Sept. 30 expansion.
“Queen of Katwe” is directed by Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding”) from a screenplay by William Wheeler (“The Hoax”) based on Tim Crothers’ book “The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster.” David Oyelowo and newcomer Madina Nalwanga are also starring in the film.
The story follows a young girl selling corn on the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess. She receives support from her family and community, and is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion.
Nyong’o is playing the mother of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, who is portrayed by Nalwanga. »
- Dave McNary
‘Batman v Superman,’ ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Mad Max’ Top Golden Trailer Award Nominations
21 hours ago
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Deadpool” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” along with Universal Pictures, led nominations for the 17th annual Golden Trailer Awards, announced Friday by Evelyn Watters, executive director of the GTA.
The awards ceremony celebrates the year’s most outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television marketing. The Golden Trailer Awards has emerged as one of the biggest events acknowledging the work of film marketers and companies that create trailers, commercials and posters worldwide.
“Everyone loves trailers,” said Watters. “They are the most important and impactful part of a film campaign, and they now live well beyond the movie theaters and have become the most consistently popular content online.”
Universal (including Focus Features) racked up 46 nominations for “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and others. Fox (including Fox Searchlight) was runner-up with 44 nominations for projects such as “Deadpool,” “The Martian” and “The Revenant. »
- Lamarco McClendon
‘Batman v Superman’ and Melissa McCarthy in Dead Heat at Box Office
21 hours ago
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and Melissa McCarthy’s “The Boss” are locked in a battle for U.S. box office supremacy, with each projected to reap $23 million this weekend, according to early estimates Friday.
Updated forecasts showed Warner Bros.’ third weekend of “Batman v Superman” coming in slightly under recent projections of $25 million and Universal’s launch of “The Boss” set to finish slightly above the $21 million consensus. Both films have been battered by critics and are likely to finish well behind Disney’s opening of “The Jungle Book” the following weekend.
If “Batman v Superman” finishes at $23 million, it would represent a 55% decline from the second weekend’s $53.1 million — a less severe drop than its 69% plunge from the opening weekend. The superhero tentpole would probably finish the frame just short of $300 million domestically.
“The Boss” did solid business on Thursday night, launching with $985,000 at 2,533 North American sites in previews, »
- Dave McNary
‘The Office’ Movie Spinoff Trailer Promises More Ricky Gervais Awkwardness
21 hours ago
Awkwardness abounds in the first teaser trailer for Ricky Gervais’ “The Office” spinoff movie, “David Brent: Life on the Road.”
Gervais returns as his titular character from the BBC mockumentary series “The Office.” The trailer for the film from Entertainment One and BBC Films shows Brent — now a singer and traveling salesman — returning after a dozen years to the office. He then explains to two women the sexual innuendo in one of his rock songs.
“I’m going to roll you over and leave you stupid,” he sings. “There’s a party in my pants and everybody’s coming.”
“Life on the Road” is directed, written by and stars Gervais, with a documentary crew catching up with Brent as he chases his dream of rock stardom by self-financing a U.K. tour with his band Foregone Conclusion.
“The Office” ran for two six-episode seasons in 2001 and 2002, and aired two Christmas »
- Dave McNary
‘Spider-Man’ Reboot to Include Additional Marvel Characters
22 hours ago
The upcoming “Spider-Man” reboot will include cameos from other Marvel superheroes, the studio has confirmed.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed to EW that Spidey won’t be the only Marvel regular to make the jump to the Sony pic.
“[Spider-Man] is in the universe now, and the fun of the universe is that characters go back and forth,” said Feige.
Though the plot details of Marvel and Sony’s untitled “Spider-Man” film — which is set for a July 2017 release — are still under wraps, Tom Holland is confirmed to play Spider-Man and Marisa Tomei will star as Aunt May. Though details on her role have not been revealed, Zendaya is also confirmed to star in the actioner.
Directed by Jon Watts, the “Spider-Man” standalone movie will center on a teenage, high school-era Peter Parker. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein will write the screenplay, with Feige and Amy Pascal attached to produce the superhero film. »
- Alyssa Sage
Biographer Simon Callow on Orson Welles: ‘He Was Deeply Insecure’
22 hours ago
Simon Callow has become the preeminent chronicler of the life and times of Orson Welles.
Over three sprawling biographies, Callow has traced Welles’ rise, fall, and years in the Hollywood wilderness. “Orson Welles: One-Man Band,” Callow’s latest book, follows the multihyphenate from 1948 to 1965. It’s a period of self-exile, one that finds the “Citizen Kane” director scrambling to cobble together money in Europe for films such as “Macbeth” and “Othello” that are daring and intermittently brilliant, but often show signs of their troubled birth and shoe-string budgets. It also recounts the making of two of Welles’ signature films — the pulpy and galvanizing “Touch of Evil” and the revelatory “Chimes at Midnight,” perhaps the most kinetic Shakespeare cinematic adaptation of all time.
Callow, an acclaimed stage and film actor in his own right who has appeared in the likes of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “A Room With a View, »
- Brent Lang
New York Indian Film Festival Selects ‘Let’s Dance to the Rhythm’ as Opening Night Film
23 hours ago
Bardroy Baretto’s Konkani feature “Let’s Dance to the Rhythm” will open the 16th annual New York Indian Film Festival.
Centering on a destined-for-disaster love story between a singer and her mentor, “Let’s Dance to the Rhythm” is a 1960s-set romance-drama that celebrates Goan music. The film, which stars Vijay Maurya, Palomi Ghosh and Prince Jacob, will screen at the festival’s opening night gala on May 7 at NYC’s Skirball Center for Performing Arts.
“’Let’s Dance to the Rhythm’ is a beautiful representation of another era, where jazz music flourished outside of the realms of the popular Hindi cinema of Bombay,” Nyiff director Aseem Chhabra said in a statement. “The film is a joyful celebration of the music, the energy and the musicians and it is a story that not many people know about.”
Umesh Kulkarni’s “Highway,” a diversity-centered Marathi film that follows an Indian road trip, »
- Alyssa Sage
Tribeca Entry ‘As I Open My Eyes’ Bought by Kino Lorber
8 April 2016 10:26 AM, PDT
Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to Leyla Bouzid’s “As I Open My Eyes” a week prior to the film’s U.S. premiere on April 14 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
Following the film’s Tribeca screenings, “As I Open My Eyes” will play at this year’s Colcoa (“City of Light, City of Angels”) and is in competition at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The film also won the Europa Cinemas Label prize as the best European film in the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Venice Days section.
The film is set in the summer of 2010, just before the Jasmine Revolution. It depicts the clash between culture and family as seen through the eyes of a young Tunisian woman balancing the traditional expectations of her family with her creative life, as the singer in a politically charged rock band. »
- Dave McNary
Anders Holm Joins Judy Greer’s ‘A Happening of Monumental Proportions’ (Exclusive)
8 April 2016 10:25 AM, PDT
“Workaholics” star Anders Holm has joined the cast of Judy Greer’s directorial debut “A Happening of Monumental Proportions.”
He joins Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Common in the cast. Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz and Andrew Miano are producing via their Depth of Field banner along with David Gardner of Principato-Young.
The film is fully financed by Great Point Media. CAA arranged financing and will represent the domestic distribution rights.
The pic takes place in a small school in Los Angeles that serves as the backdrop for an all-in-one-day tale of sex, lies and dead bodies. Written by Gary Lundy, the script was a semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship, and was a finalist for the Sundance Writers Lab.
Besides starring in “Workaholics,” Holm was most recently seen opposite Dakota Johnson in New Line’s “How to Be Single.” He also appeared last year in Nancy Meyers’ “The Intern” with Anne Hathaway »
- Justin Kroll
Viacom Velocity Marketing Unit Opening Los Angeles Office (Exclusive)
8 April 2016 10:03 AM, PDT
Integrated marketing operation Viacom Velocity has opened a Los Angeles office, Variety has learned exclusively.
The West Coast group is being created to meet movie studios’ increasing demand for custom-branded content campaigns for all major studios — not only Viacom’s Paramount. Recent titles handled by Viacom Velocity include Universal’s “Sisters” and “The Boss,” and New Line’s “Central Intelligence.”
The Los Angeles team is being led jointly by Chris Lenz, senior VP of creative and production, and Danielle Della Corna-Kupchak, senior VP of integrated marketing. Lenz reports to exec VP Niels Schuurmans, and Della Corna-Kupchak reports to exec VP Dario Spina.
“Viacom Velocity has developed trusted collaborations with movie studios in part because of our proven success delivering tailored creative campaigns that redefine marketing and demand the attention of targeted audiences that live uniquely throughout Viacom’s brands,” said Schuurmans.
For example, the campaign for “Central Intelligence,” an action-comedy »
- Dave McNary
New Arab Movies Tackle Terrorism, War & More Topical Themes
8 April 2016 10:00 AM, PDT
Ever since the Arab Spring in 2011 sparked a wave of uprisings that fueled hopes of transformation and transition from dictatorships to democracies, Arab directors have felt compelled to depict the complex changes going on in their nations. Now, some are feeling a greater urgency to take on themes surrounding the Islamic State group and terrorism, while still tackling issues of immigration and stultifying cultural mores.
Producers in Paris and Brussels — cities still reeling from recent Muslim extremist attacks — are proving crucial in shepherding films that address pressing Arab topics, as are institutions in the Arab world, such as the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra workshop, which took place March 4-9 in Doha.
Belgium’s venerable Dardennes brothers served as co-producers for Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia’s timely drama “Hedi,” a subtle, taboo-breaking love story largely set in Tunisian beach resorts devoid of tourists after the deadly 2015 Isis attack on »
- Nick Vivarelli
Tom Cruise’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow 2’ Moving Forward With ‘Race’ Writers
8 April 2016 8:02 AM, PDT
Warner Bros. is moving ahead with its sequel to the Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt time-travel tale “Edge of Tomorrow” with “Race” scribes Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse signed to write the script.
The 2014 original, directed by Doug Liman, grossed $370 million worldwide, including $100 million in the U.S. “Edge of Tomorrow,” based on the 2004 Japanese novel “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, took place in a future where Earth is invaded by aliens. Cruise’s character finds himself in a time loop that sends him back to the previous day every time he dies.
Christopher McQuarrie is attached to direct with Cruise and Blunt returning. McQuarrie teamed with Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth on the script for the original film, which was produced by Jason Hoffs, Gregory Jacobs, Tom Lassally, Jeffrey Silver and Erwin Stoff.
Shrapnel and Whitehouse made their feature debut in the Jesse Owens biopic “Race. »
- Dave McNary
Box Office: Melissa McCarthy’s ‘The Boss’ Does Serious Business Thursday Night
8 April 2016 7:05 AM, PDT
Melissa McCarthy’s comedy “The Boss” did solid business on Thursday night, launching with $985,000 at 2,533 North American sites.
The opening weekend of Universal’s “The Boss,” which is opening at 3,482 locations, is expected to gross about $21 million. That should provide a serious challenge to Warner Bros.’ third weekend of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which has been pegged to finish at around $25 million.
“The Boss” opened with a nearly identical preview number to McCarthy’s 2013 hit “The Heat,” which saw $1 million in previews on its way to a $39 million debut weekend.
“Batman v Superman” has grossed an impressive $270 million domestically in its first 13 days through Wednesday in the wake of a 69% plunge in its second weekend. The superhero match-up has totaled $450 million in international markets.
McCarthy, one of the most consistent box office forces in comedy, portrays a former billionaire sent to prison for insider trading. Her money-hungry post-prison »
- Dave McNary
Iff Panama Kicks off With Zest and ‘Viva’
8 April 2016 6:40 AM, PDT
Panama City — A bevy of international producers, directors and actors walked the red carpet in front of Teatro Balboa, in Panama City’s atmospheric historic quarter, for the opening ceremony of the 5th Panama International Film Festival, with Paddy Breathnach’s Cuban-set “Viva,” playing as the opening pic.
The fest’s director Pituka Ortega Heilbron began by explaining how the fest has grown since its 2012 bow and this year is welcoming over 350 films and over 450 international guests.
She then reminded the audience of the power of film and cited the example of the Pakistan film “Girl of the River,” about honor killings, which in February of this year won an Academy Award for Best Short and led to the introduction of a law abolishing this abhorrent practice.
“Cinema can change the world,” she exclaimed to loud applause. She then listed the social issues raised in some of the films screening at the fest, »
- Martin Dale
1-20 of 142 items « Prev | Next »