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The Middle East premiere of Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq’s timely drama “The Station” will open the revamped Doha Film Festival, which will run Nov. 19–27 in the Qatari capital. The film centers on Layal, who runs a women-only gas station in Yemen which is a safe haven during the country’s civil war. “When Layal’s younger […]
Paolo Strippoli’s “The Spiral” has been designated as Italy’s candidate in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards. The high-concept thriller stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as a demonic character called The Stranger, who entices a young mother played by Jasmine Trinca into forging a Faustian pact. The film, which premiered in […]
This year’s back-to-back phenomenon of “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” two low-budget horrors that have now earned in excess of $900 million globally, sparked a predictable frenzy in the industry as producers and studios began looking for the next YouTube genre stars ready to make the leap to feature film. But for a group of sales execs […]
The TV chef joined Paul Hollywood in the tent as the Channel 4 competition returned for a new series.
William and Catherine renew their friendship with the Hollywood star at the premiere for his film Digger.
Home to some of the Nordics’ hottest genre talents making waves at top international festivals – Hanna Bergholm and Ilja Rautsi whose respective “Nightborn” and “Red Snow” were snagged by Shudder – Helsinki will no doubt vibrate this week to the beat of some of the most jaw-dropping and entertaining genre projects taking part in […]
“You have all the hallmarks of a world-class politician,” campaign manager Gwen (Lisa Gilroy) tells her client Matthew McConaughey (Matthew McConaughey). “However, your Achilles’ heel is that you’ve been a celebrity for so long that your brain has turned into a big old sloppy pile of goo.” The literal premise of the Apple TV comedy […]
In reviewing “Wonka’s Golden Ticket,” a competition series from Netflix loosely (and I mean loosely) based on Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” it’s tempting to simply copy and paste my write-up of “Squid Game: The Challenge” from nearly three years ago. After all, the shows share similarly misguided concepts. In trying to kickstart […]
Ellie-Mae Siame, 14, says she was "in shock" but excited at being a part of the beloved series.
Robert Pattinson is opening up about “The Batman: Part II” — and how it is a totally “different take” on the franchise than the first film was. “It’s so ambitious. I mean, I sort of said the other day on something that the first one was a different take on a Batman movie, and this […]
Sister Group, Jane Featherstone and Elisabeth Murdoch‘s ever-growing transatlantic powerhouse, has entered the branded entertainment business by forging a strategic partnership with London-based company Common Interest, in which it has also taken a minority investment. The partnership with Common Interest, the communications and entertainment group founded by Anthony Freedman, brings together what it describes as […]
Of the five projects at the 9th Incubator program of the Madrid Film School (ECAM), Eire Cid’s debut feature “The Imaginary Kings” (“Los Reyes Imaginarios”) centers on the angst of male urban youth. “It is an irreverent and visceral project, with a stylized, anti-naturalistic aesthetic. Fluorescent, dirty and sexy, heavily influenced by urban culture,” Cid […]
In “The Woodworm” (“El Corquim”), the feature debut of Laura Obradors, a teenage girl’s search for an identity of her own runs up against the authority of her father, a successful artist in creative crisis. Developed through Madrid’s ECAM Incubator, the project examines the power exercised inside a family and the artistic prestige that can […]
With six decades just completed and a trajectory that just added a new chapter with 'Without Blood', the film directed by Angelina Jolie, Hayek is one of the brightest and most loved actresses of his generation. We review the great moments of his life, his career, his friendship with Penelope Cruz and his crusade against edadism
A new impact fund backing creators from the Global South launched at the recently concluded first edition of the Toronto Film Festival market, with a model built around getting films in front of audiences as well as getting them made. The Culture Fund was established by Product of Culture, a media, marketing and distribution company […]
Variety has announced the presenters for this year’s Power of Women event on Wednesday, Sept. 23 in Beverly Hills. The event, in partnership with Lifetime, celebrates the Power of Women honorees, who will each appear on the cover of the issue, as well as the accomplished women profiled in the annual Women’s Impact Report, which […]
Seattle’s Tasveer Film Festival & Market has unveiled its 21st edition lineup: 136 films from 16 countries screening Oct. 13-18, opening with Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s “Lali,” a Berlinale Panorama title, in its West Coast premiere. The films, spanning more than 25 languages, tell stories from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, […]
It appears Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson will reunite once again on “Law & Order: SVU” — at least for an episode. Mariska Hargitay shared two photos of herself and Christopher Meloni on the set of the long-running crime procedural to her Instagram on Tuesday, suggesting that the actor had returned to film the show’s […]
Dolly Parton’s longtime manager has filed for a restraining order against her nephew, who until being fired a week ago was her head of security, alleging that the family member is engaged in a campaign of coercion, extortion and violent threats that has terrified employees and associates of her management company and trust to the […]
When Rob Bonta sued to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger in July, he said he was doing so because the Trump administration had failed to act for political reasons. “They are greenlighting deals that their own antitrust section at U.S. DOJ knows and believes are unlawful, and they’re overriding them in the White House with […]
