Advertisement
Advertisement

Entertainment

Microdrama Platform FlareFlow Sets Thailand Launch on AIS Play (EXCLUSIVE)

Microdrama platform FlareFlow will launch in Thailand on Nov. 2 through AIS Play, the entertainment service of Thai telecom operator Advanced Info Service (AIS), in a deal brokered by Singapore-based distributor Rock Networks. FlareFlow, the vertical video service owned by COL Group, will cost subscribers THB39 ($1.15) a month. AIS Play users will find a […]

‘American History X’ Director Tony Kaye Takes On Leicester’s Giant Monsters in Short ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Tony Kaye, the British director of “American History X” and “Detachment,” will direct “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?,” a short running five minutes that blends documentary with reality drama and plays out among the giant monster sculptures installed across Leicester, England. Hiu Man Chan, a film entrepreneur and academic in creative industries at De […]

Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Salman Khan Starrer ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ to Mark 30th Anniversary at Edinburgh Film Festival With Karan Johar

“Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” Karan Johar’s first film as director, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji, will screen at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2028 to celebrate its 30th anniversary, with Johar set to attend. Johar received the invitation earlier this week at a meeting he hosted at the Mumbai offices of […]

Double Oscar Winner Barbara Kopple Talks ‘Union Town’ and People Who Fight for ‘Dignity and Fairness’: ‘They Are My Heroes’

Barbara Kopple completes her trilogy on labor rights with “Union Town.” It follows US delivery and warehouse workers employed by UPS and Amazon, as well as app-based “deliveristas,” as they fight for a better future. “I guess I’ve always been drawn to stories about people fighting for dignity and fairness in their lives,” she tells […]

Taiwanese Feature ‘Uncle’ Wins Top Prize at Tokyo Gap-Financing Market Awards

Taiwanese project “Uncle,” directed by Yen Hao-hsuan, won the Tokyo Project Award on Friday at the seventh Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) in Tokyo. “Uncle” had already picked up the Asian Gen-Z Award earlier in the ceremony. Prizes went to a handful of the 24 projects selected for this year’s market. Yen’s debut feature, set in […]

Annecy Winner ‘The Violinist’ Found Its Italian Co-Producers at Tokyo Market, Director Ervin Han Tells Anime Co-Production Panel

A meeting at TIFFCOM in 2023 brought Italian co-producers to “The Violinist,” the animated feature that went on to win the top prize at France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival this year, Singaporean filmmaker Ervin Han told a panel at the Tokyo market. Han, co-founder and CEO of Singapore’s Robot Playground Media, spoke at “Anime’s […]

Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat Push Back on Idea of Separate Oscar Category for Exiled Filmmakers as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund Hits Tokyo

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and Iranian-born Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat pushed back on the idea of a standalone Oscar category for exiled filmmakers, speaking at the Tokyo International Film Festival as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund gave its first five short films their Japan premiere. The question followed the Academy’s recent rule change making exiled […]

Advertisement

Sir Patrick Stewart: A life in pictures

His career on stages and screens spanned seven decades but came to be defined by his roles on some of the most popular sci-fi franchises in history.

Japan’s Anime Market Hits Record $28.2 Billion as Local Sales Surge

Spending on Japanese anime worldwide reached a record JPY4.45 trillion ($28.2 billion) in 2025. That is up 15.8% on the previous year, and overseas consumers now account for well over half of the total. Hasegawa Masahiro, editor-in-chief of the Association of Japanese Animations’ (AJA) annual “Anime Industry Report,” presented the preliminary figures Friday at TIFFCOM, […]

Gay Filipino Couple’s Homecoming Documentary ‘We Had a Plan’ Boarded by Cat&Docs Ahead of IDFA Premiere, Trailer Unveiled (EXCLUSIVE)

“We Had a Plan,” a documentary about a gay Filipino couple who head home after a decade as undocumented cleaners in the Netherlands, has been picked up for international sales by Paris-based Cat&Docs ahead of its world premiere at IDFA. Variety has the exclusive first look at the trailer. Directed by Suzanne Raes and co-directed […]

Rishab Shetty’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Epic ‘The Pride of Bharat’ Lands T-Series, Set as Two-Part Saga (EXCLUSIVE)

India’s T-Series has boarded “The Pride of Bharat – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” Sandeep Singh’s historical epic starring “Kantara” actor Rishab Shetty as the Maratha king. The project will now be made in two parts, and filming begins in early 2027. Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar will produce for T-Series Films, and Shetty also comes on […]

Shabana Azmi, Marco Müller Set for Inaugural Kathmandu Film Festival

Veteran Indian actor Shabana Azmi and film critic and historian Marco Müller are among the guests at the first Kathmandu Film Festival (KFF), which runs Oct. 30–Nov. 1 in Nepal. Launched by Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the three-day event will screen 40 films from 14 countries across several strands: the International Panorama, Nepal Panorama Shorts, a […]

Advertisement

Earl Barret, TV Writer and Co-Creator of ‘Too Close for Comfort,’ Dies at 94

Comedy writer Earl Barret died in his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on Oct. 22. He was 94. Barret began his career in TV writing in 1961 after taking Robert C. Dennis’s weekly free TV writing class. The two would go on to write episodes for several shows together. Over the next 30 years, Barret […]

California Begins Discussion on Unlimited Film Incentives: ‘That Is a Heavy Lift’

California lawmakers began a discussion Thursday about removing the cap on the state’s $750 million incentive for film and TV production, while acknowledging that such a move would face budget hurdles. At an Assembly committee hearing in North Hollywood, a handful of state lawmakers heard testimony from union leaders and industry advocates who argued that […]