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Film Review: ‘Mechanic: Resurrection’
2 hours ago
“You’re different!” So says an old colleague (Michelle Yeoh) who hasn’t seen Arthur Bishop, the mission-improbable hitman in “Mechanic: Resurrection,” for a long time. “Older,” he replies, coming out and stating the obvious. In fact, Jason Statham doesn’t merely look older than he did when he last played Arthur Bishop, in the 2011 thriller “The Mechanic.” He looks leaner and meaner, more squinty with resolve, more brutally and methodically sociopathic. With his hair cropped closer than usual, Statham has become a total bullet-head, a human ice pick — a machine of death.
For a while now, Jason Statham has been the thinking man’s smart/dumb B-movie action star. His films, or at least a lot of them, swim around in the grindhouse muck of bloodsport and revenge, a genre that has spawned such brooding blocks of wood as Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris. But Statham, unlike most action-pulp icons, »
- Owen Gleiberman
Toronto: Covert Media Launches Lexica as Foreign Sales Label
5 hours ago
In a pre-Toronto Film Festival move, year-old Covert Media has launched Lexica Films as an international sales label for foreign-language feature film titles for the worldwide marketplace.
Covert is aiming to launch five-ten films per year through Lexica and will also be handling English-language remake rights, in many cases. Covert’s president of international, Liz Kim Schwan, will lead the division.
“Broadening our reach into foreign language films is a natural step for Covert Media and we are proud to announce the Lexica label,” said CEO Paul Hanson. “The quality and commercial appeal of these films from some of the most talented filmmakers from all corners of the world enables us to expand the range of the distinctive projects we can offer to the worldwide marketplace.”
The first title announced under the new label is disaster film “Earthquake,” which will be presented to buyers in Toronto. Covert is handling all international sales outside of Russia, »
- Dave McNary
Sam Mendes in Talks to Direct Disney’s Live-Action ‘James and the Giant Peach’
5 hours ago
Sam Mendes is in “very early” negotiations with Disney to direct a live-action version of “James And The Giant Peach.”
Nick Hornby is also in preliminary talks to write the screenplay for the project, 20 years after Disney released the animated movie, directed by Henry Selick and based on the Roald Dahl book.
The original book, both fanciful and macabre, was published in 1961 and centered on 4-year-old James Henry Trotter, who lives in England with his loving parents until his parents are killed by a rhinoceros. He’s taken in by his two cruel aunts and leaves several years later thanks to an old man giving him magic crocodile tongues which produce a massive single peach — which contains human-like insects who befriend James.
The 1996 film, a combination of live-action and stop-motion animation, generated $29 million at the domestic box office. Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi produced with Paul Terry starring as »
- Dave McNary
Film Review: ‘Hermia & Helena’
5 hours ago
There’s a reason why petits fours are a patisserie staple, and grands fours are not: what’s puffily perfect at bite size can turn cloying in a larger slice. So it proves, in a sense, with “Hermia & Helena,” in which Argentinian writer-director Matias Piñeiro repeats the recipe behind his previous, scarcely feature-length Shakespearean cupcakes (all loosely drawn from the Bard’s comedies), only for the winsomeness to spread itself a little thin across 90 minutes. Riffing very liberally on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — directly invoked here as a text to be translated into Spanish — this tale of a Buenos Aires theater director finding her feet and potentially losing her heart in New York City lopes along with the same idle, chatty charm as Piñeiro’s hour-long “Viola” and “The Princess of France.” But with its tricksy timeline and waifish subplots, the film feels unduly stretched even to reach its modest length, »
- Guy Lodge
Chinese Media Lobby Against Cinema Blackout Periods for Hollywood Films
5 hours ago
State-owned media in China this week have lobbied against the so-called ‘blackout period’ in mid-summer in which Hollywood movies are not allowed to receive mainstream theatrical releases.
“It has never been officially confirmed, but it is widely recognized that domestic (Chinese) films are carefully protected from foreign competition every summer,” the China Youth Daily wrote this week. The opinion piece was reprinted as an editorial leader Friday in The People’s Daily.
The piece was careful not to frame the case for abolition of the blackout period as benefiting Hollywood movies, but rather as an argument helping the Chinese film industry. The piece was headlined “Competition is good for movies,” and argued “one cannot become a running champion by always racing with a snail. Similarly, domestic (Chinese) films cannot become powerful if they always fear the competition from foreign blockbusters.”
The editorial suggested that some “certain protection” is still needed for Chinese movies. »
- Patrick Frater
Q&A: John Krasinski and Margo Martindale Bonded Like a Real Family for ‘The Hollars’
7 hours ago
“The Hollars,” which debuts on Friday, takes a comedic look at a very emotional situation in a family that is, for better or for worse, a little disjointed. John Krasinski is in both the actor’s and the director’s chair for his latest project, accompanied by a cast of Anna Kendrick, Richard Jenkins, Sharlto Copley and Margo Martindale. Krasinski and Martindale spoke with Variety about bonding like a real family on the set of “The Hollars,” the awkward moments that bring out the truth of the film and their first job together.
How did you get attached to the project?
John Krasinski: I was attached as an actor six or seven years ago. I got sent the script and I don’t think I’ve said yes to anything faster. It was just a script that I felt – I mean, there’s a lot of family movies out »
- Maria Cavassuto
Photographer Jeff Vespa Making Directing Debut on ‘Amre’
7 hours ago
High-profile photographer Jeff Vespa is making his directorial debut in Moviq’s historical drama “Amre,” starring Sanjar Madi, Abbie Cornish and Ben Aldridge.
Producers are Cary Granat, Alidar Utemuratov, and Ed Jones. “Amre” is filming through Sept. 1 in Riga, Latvia, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, with Vespa directing from a script by Benjamin A. van der Veen.
The story, based on a true story, is set in 1925 in Soviet-ruled Kazakhstan and Paris. Filming is set to be completed on Sept. 1.
Madi plays a small-town Kazakh singer who journeys to Paris to compete in an international singing competition at the Expo. He meets American songwriter George Gershwin (played by Aldridge), forming a beautiful and unlikely friendship. While Amre’s talent for singing opens up an exciting new world outside Kazakhstan, he is forced to choose between following his singing career and remaining loyal to his home country.
“Jeff Vespa is making an impressive »
- Dave McNary
Bryan Singer Shows Off ‘X-Men’ Tattoo, Talks About Franchise’s Birth and Future
8 hours ago
Edinburgh, Scotland — Director-writer-producer Bryan Singer, who is an exec producer on X-Men TV series “Legion” for FX, and Peter Rice, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, discussed the genesis and future development of the “X-Men” franchise at the Edinburgh Intl. Television Festival Thursday.
Singer revealed an “X-Men” tattoo on his leg to the Edinburgh audience, who were the first to see it, he said. He added that one of the reasons he was drawn to the first “X-Men” movie, released in 2000, was it resonated with him emotionally.
“There has to be something in the main character or in the story that I connect to. I have a knack for ensembles. I like groups of people. Each [project] is individual. In ‘X-Men’ it is just that feeling of being isolated,” he said. “I had issues growing up with not being a good student and sexuality issues, whatever they were, and I »
- Leo Barraclough
Sarah Paulson in Talks to Join ‘Ocean’s Eight’
8 hours ago
Sarah Paulson is in negotiations to join “Ocean’s Eight,” the all-female spinoff of “Ocean’s Eleven.”
If the deal goes through, Paulson would join Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, and Awkwafina.
Gary Ross, whose credits include “The Hunger Games” and “Free State of Jones,” is directing. Bullock’s character will be the leader of a group of thieves and cons who try to pull off a major heist. Ross is directing from a script that he co-wrote with Olivia Milch.
“Ocean’s Eleven” director Steven Soderbergh and Ross will produce with executive producer Susan Ekins. Village Roadshow is co-producing and co-financing, as it did with the three previous “Ocean’s” movies starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Greg Silverman and Jesse Ehrman are overseeing the film for the studio.
Production is scheduled to begin in October in New York.
Paulson has been »
- Dave McNary
Helen Mirren Joins Disney’s ‘The Nutcracker’
8 hours ago
Helen Mirren is in talks to join Keira Knightley in Disney’s new retelling of “The Nutcracker.”
Mackenzie Foy is on board to play Clara, with Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman also attached to the movie.
The live-action film — based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” — is titled “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.” In the pic, one of Clara’s Christmas toys — a Nutcracker doll — comes to life and battles the evil Mouse King with seven heads.
Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of the classic story into the “The Nutcracker” ballet in 1892.
Lasse Hallström will direct the upcoming film from Ashleigh Powell’s script. Mark Gordon is producing, while Lindy Goldstein is executive producing. Sam Dickerman and Allison Erlikhman are overseeing the project for Disney. Sara Smith is working on behalf of the Mark Gordon Company. »
- Justin Kroll
Chloe Grace Moretz, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell to Be Honored at Napa Valley Film Festival
10 hours ago
Chloe Grace Moretz, Zoey Deutch, and Glen Powell will be feted during the sixth annual Napa Valley Film Festival on Nov. 10. More honorees will be announced in September.
As part of the celebrity tributes, Zoey Deutch of the upcoming “Why Him? and this year’s “Everybody Wants Some” will be honored along with her “Everybody Wants Some” co-star Glen Powell as the Domaine Chandon Rising Stars. Chloe Grace Moretz, who starred in “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” and “The Equalizer,” will be nab the Raymond Vineyards Trailblazer Tribute.
“We are thrilled to share our hospitality, food, wine, and our appreciative film-loving audiences with these fantastic actors,” said Nvff co-founder and director Brenda Lhormer. “Chloe was an easy choice as our Trailblazer. She impresses us with the risks she takes and her positive maverick mentality. Zoey and Glen are on their way to greatness and epitomize Rising Stars. We look forward to »
- Maria Cavassuto
Dev Patel Searches for Home in First Trailer for ‘Lion’
10 hours ago
Dev Patel is setting off on a heart-tugging journey to India to find his real parents in the first trailer for The Weinstein Company’s “Lion,” based on Saroo Brierley’s memoir “A Long Way Home.”
“I had another family — a mother, a brother,” he tells his mother, played by Nicole Kidman. “Every day my real brother screams my name.
The movie tells the story of 5-year-old Indian child who gets hopelessly lost after falling asleep on a parked train and ending up 1,000 miles from his village. He’s adopted by an Australian couple (Kidman and David Wenham), then begins a painstaking search for his lost village and family, utilizing Google Earth, more than two decades later.
Sunny Pawar plays the 5-year-old version of Brierley with several scenes in the trailer showing the nightmarish sequence of getting lost on the train. Rooney Mara also stars.
TWC is opening “Lion” in an awards-season slot of Nov. »
- Dave McNary
‘Doctor Who’ Actor David Tennant to Star in Drama ‘Bad Samaritan’
11 hours ago
British actor David Tennant, known for his role as the Tenth Doctor in “Doctor Who,” will star as a thief in the drama “Bad Samaritan” for Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment.
The film will be directed by Devlin and is set to begin shooting later this year in the greater Portland, Oregon area. Brandon Boyce wrote the screenplay and Electric’s Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan are producing alongside Devlin.
The film centers on two young car valets who use their business as a front to burglarize houses of their unsuspecting patrons. Life is good for these petty thieves until they target the wrong house.
Tennant recently played the Alec Hardy character on the ITV crime series “Broadchurch” and appeared as Dr. Zebediah Kilgrave opposite Krysten Ritter in the Netflix Marvel series “Jessica Jones.” He will next take on the role of Rd Laing in Robert Mullan’s “Mad to »
- Dave McNary
Denzel Washington Circling Dan Gilroy’s Legal Drama ‘Inner City’ (Exclusive)
12 hours ago
Denzel Washington is eyeing the lead role in “Inner City,” a legal drama written and to be directed by Dan Gilroy.
The project is being billed as a character study in the vein of Paul Newman’s 1982 classic “The Verdict,” and could land two-time Oscar winner Washington back in the awards race.
Washington will play a lawyer in an ambulance-chasing firm. When his boss falls ill, he steps in as the frontman, but manages to make a mess of things at every turn.
The movie takes place in Los Angeles, the familiar gritty setting of “Nightcrawler,” which was Gilroy’s directorial debut after three decades of screenwriting. That 2014 film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled crime paparazzo (who also chased ambulances), grossed $32 million domestically on a $8.5 million budget.
Jennifer Fox is producing “Inner City.”
The script is hot off the presses and hasn’t been shopped to distributors yet. However, »
- Ramin Setoodeh
Venice Film Festival Cancels Opening Gala Following Italy Earthquake
13 hours ago
Castiglioncello, Italy — The Venice Film Festival has cancelled its opening-night dinner and beachside gala in solidarity with victims of the Italian earthquake.
The dinner and party were planned for August 31, following the world premiere of Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” The musical film’s red carpet will not be affected.
The decision was taken by artistic director Alberto Barbera in tandem with the fest’s parent organization, the Venice Biennale, headed by Paolo Baratta.
The Biennale in a statement “expressed deep condolences for the victims and absolute solidarity and closeness to the victims and the communities which were hit hardly by the quake.”
The powerful earthquake, which rocked a stretch of central Italy on Wednesday, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, has killed at least 247 people, according to the most recent count.
Thousands of rescuers are sifting through rubble in hilltop communities, including the medieval town of Amatrice, which was »
- Nick Vivarelli
Watch Exclusive Clip From Leonard Nimoy Documentary ‘For the Love of Spock’
13 hours ago
For Adam Nimoy, the documentary “For the Love of Spock” gave him an opportunity to connect with father Leonard Nimoy in the closing months of his life.
“The minute I suggested it to dad, he was in,” Nimoy recalls in an exclusive clip. “That led me on a journey of self discovery about my relationship with my father.”
The clip includes multiple photos of the two in costume and in real life. The son bears more than a passing resemblance to his father, both physically and vocally.
The film will be released nationwide and on VOD by Gravitas Ventures on Sept. 9 — one day after the official 50th anniversary of the first network broadcast of “Star Trek” — and examines the phenomenon of the character Spock and the man behind the character.
Adam Nimoy began working on the film with his father in late 2014 before he passed away on Feb. 27, 2015. The doc »
- Dave McNary
Ben Foster on ‘Hell or High Water’ and Why He Doesn’t Like Watching His Own Films
13 hours ago
Ben Foster stars in five big-screen releases this year, including the current “Hell or High Water” and the Ron Howard movie “Inferno,” which debuts in October. Earlier this year, he starred with Gillian Anderson in “A Streetcar Named Desire” after its transfer to the New York stage from Britain’s National Theatre. Upcoming for Foster: the release of a music video he directed.
What is the biggest change in the industry since you started?
The stigma of TV has shifted dramatically. It’s really exciting; it feels like the Wild West right now. The best writers seem to be heading toward television. I’m open to anything. I think a long-term TV show is probably not for me, but doing a few years of something could be interesting.
Is “Hell or High Water” different from your other films?
I don’t usually watch my own films, but this one I’ve seen twice. »
- Maria Cavassuto
‘Southside With You’ Star Tika Sumpter on Malia Obama: ‘Give Her Some Slack’
13 hours ago
“I’m so hyper,” said Parker Sawyers, on the red carpet of the “Southside With You” premiere, presented by The Cinema Society and Miramax & Roadside Attractions, at Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema in New York Wednesday evening. “Even this is taking a lot of energy to stand still.”
It was obvious that Sawyers, who plays Barack Obama, and his leading lady Tika Sumpter, who plays Michelle Robinson, were excited about the release of the film that brings to life a romantic first date that you could only dream of.
Although the pair never got to meet the Obamas before playing them, it seems it may have been a blessing in disguise.
“I think that would’ve been a lot of pressure and I didn’t want to do an imitation of her,” said Sumpter. “I wanted to embody the essence of her.”
The soon-to-be-mom also learned about loving herself and being »
- Christina Dun
Neil Burger to Direct Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston in ‘Intouchables’ Remake
14 hours ago
“Divergent” director Neil Burger has been tapped to direct The Weinstein Company’s remake of “The Intouchables,” starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston.
TWC plans to start showing in January. Hart and Cranston, who have not worked together before, came on board the project in March.
The original French movie starred Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy in the story of the friendship that develops between a quadriplegic millionaire and his caregiver. “Intouchables” grossed close to $430 million worldwide in 2011 and TWC picked up remake rights that year as part of a deal to release the original domestically.
The original film was directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano.
John Hartmere has written the script for the remake. Burger worked with TWC on “The Illusionist” and also directed “Limitless.”
Burger has been writing the script for Universal’s “Bride of Frankenstein” remake. He’s repped by CAA. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood. »
- Dave McNary
George Clooney to Host Mptf’s 95th Anniversary Celebration
14 hours ago
George Clooney has signed on to host Hollywood’s Night Under the Stars, an evening of performances celebrating the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s 95th year of helping Hollywood entertainers.
Also appearing at the event will be Matt Bomer, Yvette Nicole Brown, Michael Douglas, Derek Hough, Hugh Jackman, Norm Lewis, Jane Lynch, Johnny Mathis, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Anika Noni Rose, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Chaired by Ann and Jim Gianopulos, the event takes place Oct. 1 at the Mptf’s Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, Calif. Ticket sales via the Mptf website will benefit the foundation.
“We are thrilled that our show director Richard Jay-Alexander, who just co-directed the incredible multi-city Barbra Streisand concert tour this month, is putting together a dynamic celebration of 95 years of entertainment and the people who made the magic happen,” said Ken Scherer, CEO of the Mptf Foundation.
Jay Landers will produce the evening, with Emmy-winner William Ross as musical director, »
- Variety Staff
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