Saudi Arabian film industry pioneer Faisal Baltyuor is opening the first arthouse cinema in Riyadh in what amounts to a milestone in the kingdom’s moviegoing trajectory ever since Saudi lifted its 35-year ban on cinema in late 2017. The plush state-of-the-art 80-seat venue, called Cinehouse, is set to open in the Saudi capital later this month. […]

 “Joker: Folie à Deux” director Todd Phillips recently told Variety for a cover story that the goal in making the anticipated sequel to 2019’s “Joker” was “to make it feel like it was made by crazy people. The inmates are running the asylum.” It appears the director got his wish in part from his leading […]

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix soaked up the applause as Todd Phillips’ villainous musical sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux” earned an 11-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday night. Before the premiere, Phoenix showed up early and generously worked the carpet, taking selfies with fans. Phillips asked a guest to borrow her paper […]

"Joker: Folie à Deux" may be ambitious and superficially outrageous, but in a basic way it’s an overly cautious sequel. Phillips has made a movie in which Arthur really is just poor Arthur; he does nothing wrong and isn’t going to threaten anyone’s moral sensibilities.

Every film festival has its own personality, its place in the awards firmament, its strong and weak years. But the Venice Film Festival is now in a category all its own. It’s the place that has come to dominate the fall movie season, with the buzziest studio premieres and the art films that take the […]

“Joker” and “Joker: Folie à Deux” cinematographer Lawrence Sher will deliver a keynote address at the SMPTE Media Technology Summit, set to take place in October in Hollywood. Sher has served as the d.p. on more than 35 feature films, and he is the founder and CEO of ShotDeck, a digital image library widely used […]