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‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Title Annouced
2 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
The title for “Star Wars: Episode VIII” has finally been revealed.
Disney annouced on Monday that the next chapter in the space opera saga will be named “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
“The Last Jedi,” written and directed by Rian Johnson, immediately follows the events of 2015’s smash hit “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
The film stars Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. The cast also includes the late Carrie Fisher, who died on Dec. 27. The actress, who played Princess Leia Organa, had wrapped shooting in July. Lucasfilm said earlier this month that it won’t digitally recreate Fisher in upcoming movies.
Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran will also appear in “The Last Jedi.”
The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, »
- Maane Khatchatourian
Alec Baldwin Sets 'Saturday Night Live' Return as Host
1 hour ago | The Hollywood Reporter - TV News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - TV News news »
Alec Baldwin was notably absent this past weekend on Saturday Night Live, but he won't be gone for long.
The actor, who has been making appearances all season long as President Donald Trump, is set to host on Feb. 11, it was announced Monday.
This will be Baldwin's record-breaking 17th turn as host. He was previously tied with Steve Martin. In addition to his frequent cameos this season as the new president, Baldwin last hosted in 2011.
Ed Sheeran will return for his second time as musical guest the same evening.
Baldwin will be preceded by Kristen Stewart, who makes »
- Kate Stanhope
Zoolander 2, Batman v Superman Lead Razzie Award Nominations
3 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
“Zoolander 2” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” are among “the crop of cinematic crap in 2016” leading the 37th Annual Razzie Award nominations, with nine and eight nods, respectively.
The two films are up for worst picture, and worst prequel, remake, rip-off, or sequel. Other worst movie Razzie nominees are the Robert De Niro comedy “Dirty Grandpa”; sequel “Independence Day: Resurgence,” starring Liam Hemsworth and Jeff Goldblum; fantasy adventure “Gods of Egypt,” and documentary “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party.”
Described as the “15-years-too-late sequel” in the press release, “Zoolander 2” received eight Razzie nominations, including for its director and star Ben Stiller, as well as co-stars Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Wiig.
“WTF comic book battle-royale” “Batman v Superman” also nabbed Razzie nods for worst screenplay and worst actor for both stars Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Gerard Butler (“Gods of Egypt” and »
- Maane Khatchatourian
Could Fox's 'X-Men' Movies Rescue Its Failing 'Fantastic Four' Franchise?
4 hours ago | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news »
When it comes to Fox's Marvel licenses, there are two inescapable facts: First, that people really seem to like those X-Men-related movies, with even satellite projects like Deadpool and Logan eliciting excitement from beyond the core fan base. Second, it's apparently impossible to make a good Fantastic Four movie — or, at least, Fox hasn't worked out how to do it, leaving that property essentially dead in terms of a big-screen franchise.
That second one feels particularly sad, when you consider the strength of the characters contained inside the Fantastic Four property. Not the eponymous quartet itself — indeed, it »
- Graeme McMillan
Sundance: Neon Buys ‘Ingrid Goes West’ (Exclusive)
19 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Neon has bought North American distribution rights to “Ingrid Goes West” out of the Sundance Film Festival, Variety has learned.
To nab the indie comedy-drama it beat out the likes of A24 and Netflix, both of whom were in the hunt. The film is a satire of the social media age, chronicling the exploits of an unstable woman (Aubrey Plaza) with an obsessive streak.
In addition to Plaza, “Ingrid Goes West” stars Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, and Billy Magnussen. It marks the feature film directorial debut of Matt Spicer.
CAA negotiated the deal.
More to come…
Related storiesSundance Film Review: 'To the Bone''Saturday Night Live' Host Aziz Ansari to Donald Trump: 'Don't Tweet About Me Being Lame' (Watch)Sundance Cancels Three Screenings Over Power Outage »
- Brent Lang and Ramin Setoodeh
Vin Diesel’s ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ Leads International Box Office
23 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Vin Diesel’s “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” showed major muscle to lead the international marketplace with $50.5 million in 53 territories.
The action movie, from Paramount Pictures and Revolution Studios, finished first in 32 markets, performing 42 percent above “Kingsmen,” 4 percent above “San Andreas,” and on par with “G.I. Joe Retaliation.”
India generated the top number with $7.3 million including previews, followed by first-place launches in Russia with $5.5 million, France with $3.1 million, and Germany and Mexico with $2.8 million each. Australia generated $2.3 million in second place and Brazilian grosses were $2.2 million for a third-place finish.
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Film Review: ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’
“Xander Cage” will open in Korea on Feb. 9 and in China on Feb. 10. The film has an $85 million budget with backing from Chinese companies Huahua Media and Shanghai Film Group, which limits Paramount’s exposure to about 50 percent. Paramount and the two companies announced a three-year $1 billion co-financing deal on Thursday. »
- Dave McNary
Newswire: Martin Freeman joins the Black Panther cast
4 hours ago | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news »
Martin Freeman made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War as bureaucrat Everett Ross, a guy who really seemed to have it in for Bucky Barnes. Perhaps that’s what’s prompted him to journey to Wakanda (that is, Atlanta). Freeman was photographed on the set of Black Panther over the weekend, and since he was accompanied by an umbrella holder, we assume he wasn’t just there to gawk at lead cast members Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, and Forest Whitaker.
Ross’ comics backstory has a much stronger connection to T’Challa. Not only did he serve as a diplomatic liaison to the prince, but he also dated someone who dated the Black Panther when he was in his Luke Charles guise. But even if he doesn’t find himself in that capacity, Ross could end up in Wakanda while on »
- Danette Chavez
Sundance Cancels Three Screenings Over Power Outage
20 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
It’s already been an eventful couple of days at the Sundance Film Festival.
The festival suffered a power outage at the Redstone theater on Sunday, causing screenings of “Mars Generation,” “Dolores,” and the buzzy “Landline” to be canceled, according to a Sundance Twitter account.
Update: Power outage at Redstone. Mars Generation + Landline + Dolores screenings cancelled, attempting to reschedule. More info to come.
— Sundance Fest Now (@sundancefestnow) January 22, 2017
The power outage comes one day after a cyberattack forced the closure of Sundance’s box office. The hack occurred shortly after Chelsea Handler led a Women’s March in Park City, Utah, to protest the election of Donald Trump.
More to come…
Related storiesWith 'Split,' Horror and M. Night Shyamalan Remain Box Office DrawsLondon Critics' Awards: 'La La Land' Comes Out on Top, Isabelle Huppert Doubles UpSundance Film Review: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in 'A Ghost Story »
- Alex Stedman
Bleecker Street Nabs ‘Nostalgia’ With Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn
22 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Bleecker Street has nabbed North American distribution rights to “Nostalgia,” a drama about the memories that certain artifacts evoke. Mark Pellington (“Arlington Road”) directs the film with a cast that includes Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Catherine Keener, Bruce Dern, Nick Offerman, Amber Tamblyn, John Ortiz, and James LeGros. Alex Ross Perry (“Listen Up Philip”) wrote the screenplay.
Bleecker Street already has a relationship with Pellington. The indie label is distributing “The Last Word,” a drama with Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried that premieres at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film makes its way to theaters in March. Bleecker Street’s films include “Denial,” “Captain Fantastic,” and “Eye in the Sky.”
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Sundance: Amazon Lands ‘The Big Sick’ in Blockbuster Deal (Exclusive)
“Mark has assembled an incredible cast to share this story of family, memories and loss,” said Bleecker Street CEO Andrew Karpen in a statement. “‘Nostalgia’ is one »
- Brent Lang
Abbas Kiarostami Honored by Writers Guild of America West
21 minutes ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
The Writers Guild of America West has selected the late Iranian screenwriter-director Abbas Kiarostami as the recipient of the Jean Renoir Award for International Screenwriting Achievement.
The filmmaker, who died last July, will be honored at the Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Feb. 19. His son, Ahmad Kiarostami, will accept the award on his father’s behalf.
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“Abbas Kiarostami was, as Martin Scorsese put it, ‘one of those rare artists with a special knowledge of the world,'” said WGA West President Howard A. Rodman. “As a founding father of the New Iranian Cinema, Kiarostami navigated tricky political and cultural terrains with courage and grace. Yet the impact of his work – and his life – is felt far outside the borders of his native land. Kiarostami’s films were fiction, were documentary, were transcendent. He expanded cinematic narrative for all of us, »
- Dave McNary
‘The Last Jedi': Let’s Talk About What the Newest ‘Star Wars’ Title Might Mean
23 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
So, here we are. “Star Wars Episode VIII” has a name: “The Last Jedi.” Because of the new yearly cycle of “Star Wars” movies, the marketing campaign for Episode VIII is just now kicking off with this title reveal — which means we don’t know much, officially, about the movie yet. So were left, for now, to speculate on what exactly “The Last Jedi” means and what it may imply about the plot of the movie. We’ve got a few thoughts on this. -That titular “last Jedi,” we can comfortably assume, is Luke Skywalker. At least for the moment, »
- Phil Owen
‘The Path’ Season 2: Cast and Creator Talk New Mystery, Plot Twists, and Getting ‘Dark’
1 hour ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
The first season of Hulu’s religious drama “The Path” ended with several cliffhangers, and when season two resumes on Jan. 25, those questions will get answered.
Is Dr. Steven Meyer alive, or was Eddie (Aaron Paul) hallucinating? Will Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) tell anyone her discovery about Cal (Hugh Dancy) having written the final rungs, or will he get away with Silas’ murder? Will Sarah and Eddie reconcile, or will he forever be shunned from his children?
But beyond those plot twists, season two will delve deeper into the themes of faith and religion that drove the complex drama.
“I think we’re grappling with these questions of what people believe when people corrupt their power,” creator and executive Jessica Goldberg tells Variety, referring to Meyerist Movement leader Cal, who’s on the verge of being exposed. “It’s also just about human beings dealing with being broken, and dealing with the damage.” While »
- Debra Birnbaum
Our Staff Picks: TV Shows to Watch the Week of Jan. 23, 2017
1 hour ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter, offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV.
Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s TV schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch it. This week, Shondaland’s Tgit lineup returns in full force, and the CW debuts its dark take on Archie Comics with “Riverdale.”
“The New Edition Story,” Bet, Tuesday, 9 p.m.
Bet’s three-night event tells the story of the formation and fame of the original boy band, which rose to prominence in the late ’70s and ’80s, and was credited with inspiring acts such as N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys. New Edition members will be played by actors Algee Smith, Elijah Kelley, Keith Powers, Luke James, Woody McClain, and “Empire’s” Bryshere Y. Gray. The real-life New Edition weighed in on Bet’s project, and »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
TV Review: The CW Updates Archie Comics With ‘Riverdale’
1 hour ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
With all due respect to the Eagles: On TV, high school is the real Hotel California. You can and probably did check out years ago, but television of every genre makes sure that you never escape it. The pressure cooker of nascent adulthood, structured days, uncertain futures, and wildly fluctuating hormones makes for a well of creativity with endless iterations — teenage superheroes, deadly secrets, pop music covers, introspective voiceover.
“Riverdale,” the CW’s new teen drama based on the Archie comics, is an eerie and offbeat take on the high school mythos — both addictive and confusing in equal parts. Its incredibly attractive leads, secret backstories, complex buried relationships, and unreliable, unethical adults are reminiscent of Freeform’s “Pretty Little Liars” and the CW’s “Gossip Girl.” But where those shows, and most teen shows, serve as titillating coming-of-age narratives, hovering between the wholesome bubble of innocence and the seductive call of the wider adult world, “Riverdale »
- Sonia Saraiya
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ – The Best Twitter Joke Titles for Episode VIII
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Disney announced Monday the title of its next “Star Wars” film, Episode VIII, would be “The Last Jedi.” As usually happens when “Star Wars” news appears, the Internet had a field day. Moments after the announcement of the title, Twitter was alight with fans speculating about what it could mean. “Jedi” can be singular Or plural! The color of the words “Star Wars” has been changed from the iconic yellow to red! That’s the color of the Sith! But this is Twitter. Along with fan theories, discussions, hype and flipping out in excitement, there are always cheeky jokes. Also Read: 'Rogue One':. »
- Phil Hornshaw
Sundance So Far: Never Mind the Movies, Let’s Talk About Politics and Weather
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival, here’s what everybody was talking about, in roughly this order: 1. The Women’s March. 2. The inauguration of Donald Trump. (Related to No. 1, of course.) 3. The weather. 4. And, oh yeah, movies. Sundance may be ground zero for independent filmmaking, an essential annual showcase for indie cinema in all its forms. But sometimes the offscreen events are bigger than the onscreen ones, which was certainly the case for the first four days of Sundance 2017. Also Read: Sundance Scene: Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Kate Upton and More (Updating Photos) The festival began on Thursday with politics in. »
- Steve Pond
Sean Spicer’s Longtime Hatred for Dippin’ Dots Has Been Uncovered
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Public opinion of the new Trump administration has been roughed up in its opening weekend, if social media is any indication. Women’s March participants uploaded pictures of anti-Trump signs held among overwhelming crowds en masse. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer became an internet meme after he cited false numbers to support his claim that the crowd at Trump’s inauguration was the largest ever, as did Kellyanne Conway after she said Spicer was just presenting “alternative facts.” Now, social media snoopers have dug far back into Spicer’s Twitter account — seven years back to be precise — and have found something. »
- Jeremy Fuster
Berlinale: Mister Smith Entertainment Takes International Sales on Terrence Malick’s ‘Radegund’
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
London-based Mister Smith Entertainment has acquired international sales rights to Terrence Malick’s “Radegund,” picking up what is sure to be one of the high-profile movies at next month’s European Film Market alongside the Berlin Film Festival.
Marking Malick’s return to World War II two decades after “The Thin Red Line,” “Radegund” tells the true story of Franz Jaegerstaetter, an Austrian farmer who, after Germany annexed Austria in 1938, refused to fight for the Third Reich. Written by Malick, the story is told through a series of real wartime letters between Jaegerstaetter and his wife, with Jaegerstaetter’s opposition to the Third Reich placing the couple at odds with members of their town, church and government.
August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”) plays Jaegerstaetter; Valerie Pachner (“Egon Schiele – Death and the Maiden”) plays his wife, Fani; and Matthias Schoenaerts (“Rust and Bone”) plays Captain Herder.
Malick’s longterm production partner Grant Hill (“The Tree of Life, »
- John Hopewell
Soulja Boy Slapped With Felony Gun Charges
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Soulja Boy might have to postpone his upcoming boxing match with Chris Brown while he settles his latest legal entanglement. The rapper has been hit with two felony gun charges, a representative for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told TheWrap on Monday. Soulja Boy — real name: DeAndre Cortez Way — was charged with possession of an assault weapon and being a felon in possession of an assault weapon. Also Read: Soulja Boy Says He's 'Throwing the Fight' With Chris Brown According to prosecutors, Soulja Boy was found in possession of an illegal Mini Draco Ar-is; as Glock 21 .45 caliber. »
- Tim Kenneally
Merriam-Webster Throws Shade at Kellyanne Conway’s ‘Alternative Facts’
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
The people in charge of defining the English language want to remind Kellyanne Conway what the word “fact” means. Merriam-Webster‘s online dictionary posted a blog on Sunday in response to President Donald Trump’s senior aide defending White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s use of “alternative facts” during his first press briefing. While the dictionary isn’t sure what an “alternative fact” is, it did clarify what a fact is: “A piece of information presented as having objective reality.” According to Merriam-Webster, searches for the word “spiked dramatically” on Sunday. Also Read: Watch Kellyanne Conway Sing Why She »
- Jeremy Fuster
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