It’s not always easy to find out which movies hit theaters each week, especially after the Hollywood strikes led to so many release date changes. With the WGA and actors’ strikes resolved and summer blockbusters rolling in, September is filled with both big-budget flicks and new indie releases. Premiering Sept. 6 is the follow-up to […]

Lajos Koltai’s period biopic “Semmelweis,” about a Hungarian doctor best known for introducing antiseptic procedures at Vienna’s maternity clinic, has been selected as the Hungarian entry for the best international film category of the Academy Awards. Koltai was nominated for an Oscar for the cinematography of 2001’s “Malena.” “Semmelweis,” sold by NFI World Sales, has […]

This year’s Venice Film Festival will, for 10 days, be the starriest place on earth, with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Cate Blanchett in Alfonso Cuarón’s TV series “Disclaimer” and Daniel Craig in Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” all lighting up the Lido. But Alberto Barbera, the festival’s artistic director, promises that […]

Dec. 2007. Nicolás, early twenties, has his life before him. He’s part of Europe’s student elite, living in Paris, up to study in London a master’s degree in architecture.   Then, in “Concert for a Single Voice,” from Peru’s Alejandra Carpio Valdeavellano, the past suddenly catches up with him. Just before Christmas, he learns his mother […]

Standing in the middle of the Media Row section at the United Center, veteran journalist Roland S. Martin made a bold statement on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. His “Roland Martin Unfiltered” daily talk show series had been humming for hours, shooting one-on-ones and roundtable interviews from a makeshift studio perched in […]

India’s antitrust watchdog has expressed initial concerns about the proposed $8.5 billion merger between Reliance and Walt Disney’s media assets in the country, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly flagged potential harm to competition, primarily due to the combined entity’s power over cricket broadcast rights. Cricket is the […]

Variety has been given access to the first clip from “Why War,” written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai. The film, starring Irène Jacob, Mathieu Amalric, Micha Lescot and Jérôme Kircher, has its world premiere on Aug. 31 at the Venice Film Festival in an out of competition berth. The film is inspired by […]

Taylor Sheridan’s new “Yellowstone” spinoff “The Madison” is adding three new cast members. Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, and Beau Garrett are all set to star in the series, joining previously announced lead Michelle Pfeiffer. “The Madison” was previously in development under the title “2024.” Per the official logline, the show is a “heartfelt study […]

Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao’s next film “Hamnet” has landed at Focus Features with Steven Spielberg newly joining the project as a producer. “Hamnet” is adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s Shakespeare-era novel, which was published in 2020 and fictionalizes the life of the Bard’s son who died at a young age. As previously announced, Jessie Buckley and Paul […]

Maria Bello has joined the upcoming Netflix drama series “The Waterfront,” Variety has learned. The eight-episode show, which hails from Kevin Williamson, was originally greenlit at Netflix back in May. Bello is now the second confirmed cast member, joining Holt McCallany in the series. Per the official logline, “The Waterfront” is inspired by true events […]

“It Ends With Us,” a big screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s literary sensation, has surpassed a notable box office milestone. The film, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has grossed $100 million domestically after just 11 days of release. It’s one of 13 films to achieve that benchmark in 2024. “It Ends With Us” is […]

An ailing mother and estranged sister (Paola Lattus) reluctantly coax prodigal daughter Silvia (Patricia Cuyul) home after her 30-year absence in “Death Brought you Back” (“La muerte te vio volver”), the debut film from emerging Chilean director Sebastián Cuevas, selected for Sanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Works In Progress lineup.   In 2023, the film received financing from the Regional […]

“Hacks” co-creator Jen Statsky has moved to Warner Bros. Television Group, sealing an exclusive, multiyear overall deal with the studio. Insiders said Statsky landed at Warner Bros. after a “highly competitive situation.” This reps Statsky’s first overall deal with Warner Bros. TV Group; she was previously based at Universal Television, which produces “Hacks” for Max. […]

Distribution Advocates, a collective that aims to reclaim power for independent storytellers, has launched the FilmADE Fund. The program seeks to support up to 30 independent film releases a year by offering financial support, skills training and industry collaborations for U.S. theatrical and non-theatrical releases. Applications for the fund open Thursday, and will feature grants […]

The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University is offering a new master’s degree in music business, expanding on the success of the school’s undergraduate Bandier Program in the recording and entertainment industries. Both degree programs are named after Martin Bandier ’62, the veteran music publishing executive. Launching in fall 2025, the Bandier music […]

This year’s Emmy nominees embrace a lot of genres and stories: from high-society culture wars to post-apocalyptic Westerns, Feudal Japan epics, murder podcasts and elementary school hijinks, just to name a few. But no category is a more mind-boggling exercise in Hollywood Mad Libs than the original music and lyrics lineup. The five nominees all […]

Writer and producer Keith Dorrington has teamed with multicultural ad agency IW Group to produce the China-set adoption drama “Hou Yi.” Inspired by Dorrington’s experience working in China during the 1990s, the story chronicles an American businessman’s unlikely adoption of a three-year-old orphan girl named Hou Yi. “Hou Yi” marks IW Group’s venture into film development. Dorrington is best […]

J.K. Rowling’s articles delving into the intricacies of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World — a collection spanning 80 entries — have been adapted in audio format for the first time, set to launch later this month on Audible. “From the Wizarding Archive” draws on the 80 articles written by Rowling for the original (now-defunct) […]

Eric André says he was “racially profiled” and “detained” at the Melbourne Airport after a series of flights from New York City. In a video posted to Instagram, the comedian and actor said he was “pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line in Melbourne where I was sniffed thoroughly by a […]