Movie News
The summer movie kickoff has been a little bumpy, but the staff at IMDb have their sights set on several highly anticipated movies and shows coming out in June.
See IMDb’s June Picks
If you need something light and fun for the weekend, check out Glen Powell and Adria Arjona in ‘Hit Man’ on Netflix. Based on the true story of part-time undercover investigator Gary Johnson, director Richard Linklater's crime comedy finds Powell moonlighting as a fake hit man who starts to fall for a woman who enlists his services.
Those looking for thrills and chills can head to the theater, where Will Smith and Martin Lawrence go undercover in ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die,’ and Dakota Fanning finds herself trapped with a bunch of strangers under spooky circumstances in the directorial debut of M. Night Shyamalan's daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
The rest of June will keep many fans busy with new episodes of three Emmy-winning series: Season 4 of “The Boys” (6/13) on Prime Video, Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” (6/16) on Max, and Season 3 of “The Bear” (6/27) on Hulu.
There’s not a ton on the menu for families, but ‘Inside Out 2’ is expected to be one of 2024’s box office bright spots. The Pixar sequel brings back Riley’s original emotions and adds Maya Hawke (“Stranger Things”) as Anxiety and Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear’) as Ennui.
Take a look at all the staff picks for the month in our guide, where you can watch trailers, read more about what’s coming, and add movies and shows to your Watchlist....
See IMDb’s June Picks
If you need something light and fun for the weekend, check out Glen Powell and Adria Arjona in ‘Hit Man’ on Netflix. Based on the true story of part-time undercover investigator Gary Johnson, director Richard Linklater's crime comedy finds Powell moonlighting as a fake hit man who starts to fall for a woman who enlists his services.
Those looking for thrills and chills can head to the theater, where Will Smith and Martin Lawrence go undercover in ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die,’ and Dakota Fanning finds herself trapped with a bunch of strangers under spooky circumstances in the directorial debut of M. Night Shyamalan's daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
The rest of June will keep many fans busy with new episodes of three Emmy-winning series: Season 4 of “The Boys” (6/13) on Prime Video, Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” (6/16) on Max, and Season 3 of “The Bear” (6/27) on Hulu.
There’s not a ton on the menu for families, but ‘Inside Out 2’ is expected to be one of 2024’s box office bright spots. The Pixar sequel brings back Riley’s original emotions and adds Maya Hawke (“Stranger Things”) as Anxiety and Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear’) as Ennui.
Take a look at all the staff picks for the month in our guide, where you can watch trailers, read more about what’s coming, and add movies and shows to your Watchlist....
- 6/7/2024
- by IMDb Editors
- IMDb News
Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Gunning Join Star-Studded Cast for ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ Film Adaptation
Baby Reindeer breakout star Jessica Gunning and Bridgerton frontwoman Nicola Coughlan are the latest additions to the upcoming film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.
Neal Street Productions, Elysian Film Group, and Ashland Hill Media Finance announced the news on Thursday following the casting of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy.
Based on The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, The Magic Faraway Tree follows Polly (Foy) and Tim Thompson (Garfield) and their children, Beth, Joe and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. “There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants,” a plot synopsis reads.
The inhabitants of the tree, capable of transporting visitors to fantastical far-off lands, will be played by Coughlan, who has been cast as woodland fairy Silky, and Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth, Ted Lasso) as group leader Moonface. Gunning will star as...
Neal Street Productions, Elysian Film Group, and Ashland Hill Media Finance announced the news on Thursday following the casting of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy.
Based on The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, The Magic Faraway Tree follows Polly (Foy) and Tim Thompson (Garfield) and their children, Beth, Joe and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. “There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants,” a plot synopsis reads.
The inhabitants of the tree, capable of transporting visitors to fantastical far-off lands, will be played by Coughlan, who has been cast as woodland fairy Silky, and Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth, Ted Lasso) as group leader Moonface. Gunning will star as...
- 6/6/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before Wes Anderson skipped this year’s Oscars to film “The Phoenician Scheme” in Germany, fans already knew which actors would be at the heart of the director’s latest ensemble. Benecio del Toro and Mia Threapleton star as a father and daughter whose family business leads them into a dark espionage tale, with Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, and Anderson regular Bill Murray also starring.
Continue reading ‘The Phoenician Scheme’: Wes Anderson’s Espionage Flick Reportedly Also Stars Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe & More at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Phoenician Scheme’: Wes Anderson’s Espionage Flick Reportedly Also Stars Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe & More at The Playlist.
- 6/6/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Film financier, producer and distributor Sky Original Film has acquired U.K. rights to upcoming action-thriller “Mutiny,” starring Jason Statham.
“Mutiny” follows Statham as Cole, an ex-Special Forces and New York cop who was kicked off the force and now works in private security for Thai shipping tycoon and friend, Tibu. Cole is framed for the murder of Tibu at the hands of corrupt cops, forcing him to escape through Tibu’s freight ships, where Cole discovers that the corruption is deeper and more sinister than ever expected.
Principal photography on the film, directed by Jean-Francois Richet, will commence at U.K. locations in September. The film is written by J.P. Davis (“Plane”) and Lindsay Michel (“Sandpiper”).
Statham will produce “Mutiny” under his production company Punch Palace Productions alongside Marc Butan for MadRiver Pictures. Sky Original Film will release “Mutiny” on Sky Cinema and theatrically, alongside Lionsgate which recently picked up North American rights.
“Mutiny” follows Statham as Cole, an ex-Special Forces and New York cop who was kicked off the force and now works in private security for Thai shipping tycoon and friend, Tibu. Cole is framed for the murder of Tibu at the hands of corrupt cops, forcing him to escape through Tibu’s freight ships, where Cole discovers that the corruption is deeper and more sinister than ever expected.
Principal photography on the film, directed by Jean-Francois Richet, will commence at U.K. locations in September. The film is written by J.P. Davis (“Plane”) and Lindsay Michel (“Sandpiper”).
Statham will produce “Mutiny” under his production company Punch Palace Productions alongside Marc Butan for MadRiver Pictures. Sky Original Film will release “Mutiny” on Sky Cinema and theatrically, alongside Lionsgate which recently picked up North American rights.
- 6/6/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
Feathers McGraw is back!
The dastardly penguin supervillain is following in the stop-motion footsteps of fellow animation antagonist Mrs. Tweedy and making a grand return to screens, this time in the latest “Wallace and Gromit” feature. Whereas Tweedy, arch-nemesis in Aardman’s 2000 hit “Chicken Run” came back for last year’s sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” McGraw is returning almost 40 years after he was seen in 1993’s Oscar-winning short “Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trouser” for “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.”
Details of the new Aardman film — which was first announced in 2022 — have now been revealed, as has a teaser showing McGraw in all his evil glory.
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” will premiere this Christmas on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Outside of the U.K., the film will be available globally on Netflix.
Landing 16 years after the last Wallace and Gromit movie, “A Matter of Loaf and Death,...
The dastardly penguin supervillain is following in the stop-motion footsteps of fellow animation antagonist Mrs. Tweedy and making a grand return to screens, this time in the latest “Wallace and Gromit” feature. Whereas Tweedy, arch-nemesis in Aardman’s 2000 hit “Chicken Run” came back for last year’s sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” McGraw is returning almost 40 years after he was seen in 1993’s Oscar-winning short “Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trouser” for “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.”
Details of the new Aardman film — which was first announced in 2022 — have now been revealed, as has a teaser showing McGraw in all his evil glory.
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” will premiere this Christmas on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Outside of the U.K., the film will be available globally on Netflix.
Landing 16 years after the last Wallace and Gromit movie, “A Matter of Loaf and Death,...
- 6/6/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Remember how we used to catapult birds into fortresses run by evil pigs? Yeah, the Angry Birds video game was one of the most popular ones by far and no one was surprised when Sony released a movie adaptation that went on to become one of the more popular animated movies of that year. A sequel was released in 2019, also to mostly positive reviews and since then… nothing. Well, at least not until today! Namely, today, producer John Cohen released a short teaser video featuring Red, which confirmed that The Angry Birds Movie 3 was in production, which made many fans happy!
Not much is known about the upcoming project, but we know that Sony won’t be involved with the third movie, and that Dneg Animation and Rovio’s new parent company, Sega Sammy Group are producing the upcoming sequel to the 2019’s hit film.
Now, as we have stated,...
Not much is known about the upcoming project, but we know that Sony won’t be involved with the third movie, and that Dneg Animation and Rovio’s new parent company, Sega Sammy Group are producing the upcoming sequel to the 2019’s hit film.
Now, as we have stated,...
- 6/6/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
More panda-monium is coming to Peacock.
This year’s family friendly adventure movie “Kung Fu Panda 4” is arriving on Peacock on June 21.
Along with the latest movie, Peacock will exclusively stream the original “Kung Fu Panda” beginning on June 6, plus “Kung Fu Panda 3” on June 26.
DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 4” opened in theaters back in March with an impressive $58 million. It has gone on to gross $540 million worldwide to date, pushing the animated karate franchise to more than $2 billion in total.
Jack Black returned as Po, the fluffy Dragon Warrior and kung fu master, in the fourth movie. The cast also included Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, James Hong, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan and more.
In his review, Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote, “When the original ‘Kung Fu Panda’ was released in 2008, it was built around a great joke: that Po, incarnated by...
This year’s family friendly adventure movie “Kung Fu Panda 4” is arriving on Peacock on June 21.
Along with the latest movie, Peacock will exclusively stream the original “Kung Fu Panda” beginning on June 6, plus “Kung Fu Panda 3” on June 26.
DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 4” opened in theaters back in March with an impressive $58 million. It has gone on to gross $540 million worldwide to date, pushing the animated karate franchise to more than $2 billion in total.
Jack Black returned as Po, the fluffy Dragon Warrior and kung fu master, in the fourth movie. The cast also included Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, James Hong, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan and more.
In his review, Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote, “When the original ‘Kung Fu Panda’ was released in 2008, it was built around a great joke: that Po, incarnated by...
- 6/6/2024
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety - Film News
In the wake of last year’s prequel movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate has announced and dated the next installment in the hit movie franchise today.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters November 20, 2026, an adaptation of the just-announced novel that Suzanne Collins will release next year.
Frequent Hunger Games filmmaker Francis Lawrence is in talks to direct.
Deadline details, “While The Hungers: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was set 64 years before the events of the original trilogy, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before that trio of Jennifer Lawrence films in the world of Panem, commencing on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.”
The website’s report continues, “Those games are an important event in the canon as the victor was Haymitch Abernathy, the only...
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters November 20, 2026, an adaptation of the just-announced novel that Suzanne Collins will release next year.
Frequent Hunger Games filmmaker Francis Lawrence is in talks to direct.
Deadline details, “While The Hungers: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was set 64 years before the events of the original trilogy, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before that trio of Jennifer Lawrence films in the world of Panem, commencing on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.”
The website’s report continues, “Those games are an important event in the canon as the victor was Haymitch Abernathy, the only...
- 6/6/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
“SNL” alum Beck Bennett is the latest actor to join the cast of James Gunn’s “Superman,” which is currently in production.
Details about Bennett’s role are being kept under wraps.
“Superman” is the inaugural DC Studios film and is part of “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” of the relaunch of the new DC Universe.
The “Superman” cast features Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel. Other cast members include Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. Additionally, Skyler Gisondo joined the cast as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher. Wendell Pierce is playing Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White. Recently Pruitt Taylor Vince joined the cast as Jonathan Kent with Neva Howell playing Martha Kent.
Bennett...
Details about Bennett’s role are being kept under wraps.
“Superman” is the inaugural DC Studios film and is part of “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” of the relaunch of the new DC Universe.
The “Superman” cast features Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel. Other cast members include Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. Additionally, Skyler Gisondo joined the cast as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher. Wendell Pierce is playing Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White. Recently Pruitt Taylor Vince joined the cast as Jonathan Kent with Neva Howell playing Martha Kent.
Bennett...
- 6/5/2024
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Michael B. Jordan recently told People that the script for “I Am Legend 2” is still being written and he’s currently not privy to any filming start date at this time. A sequel to Will Smith’s 2007 blockbuster was first announced in March 2022, with Smith set to return opposite new cast member Jordan. Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote “I Am Legend” with Mark Protosevich, was back to pen the sequel’s script.
“We’re still working on the script and getting that up to par,” Jordan told People. “It doesn’t have a release date or anything like that. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going to be filming that one, but I’m really excited to get in front of the camera with him. Being somebody that I’ve looked up to for a really long time, to be able to work with Will is something I’m really looking forward to.
“We’re still working on the script and getting that up to par,” Jordan told People. “It doesn’t have a release date or anything like that. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going to be filming that one, but I’m really excited to get in front of the camera with him. Being somebody that I’ve looked up to for a really long time, to be able to work with Will is something I’m really looking forward to.
- 6/5/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
Witches, the sophomore feature from English filmmaker Elizabeth Sankey, poses an interesting hypothesis concerning the link between the English witch trials and maternal mental health. Sankey illustrates this correlation by utilizing filmic portrayals of sorceresses (from Häxan to The Craft) and “psychotic women” (from Rosemary’s Baby to Unsane), their historical accuracy and cultural relevance buttressed by insight from doctors, historians and those who’ve been diagnosed with postpartum mental illnesses. Sankey is perfectly poised to tackle the topic given that she spent several months in a mother and baby psychiatric unit after experiencing severe postpartum anxiety and depression that made her […]
The post “I Was Trying to Illustrate What It Was Like to Lose My Mind”: Elizabeth Sankey on Her Tribeca-Premiering Essay Doc Witches first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Was Trying to Illustrate What It Was Like to Lose My Mind”: Elizabeth Sankey on Her Tribeca-Premiering Essay Doc Witches first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/7/2024
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Despite a copious amount of violence, multiple deaths, and slimy, goopy scenes wherein little monsters get blended, torched, melted, and otherwise horribly mutilated, Joe Dante's Frank Capra spoof "Gremlins" was released on June 8, 1984, with a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Producer Steven Spielberg recognized that "Gremlins," in being so tonally whimsical, wasn't quite raw enough to warrant an R-rating, but recognized that it might be a little too terrifying for the kids who were allowed to see PG-rated movies. Spielberg suggested to the MPAA that they introcued a PG-13 rating to cover films like "Gremlins." It should also be noted that, in 1984, a PG rating was also given to Spielberg's violent adventure film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," so it was high time a stop-gap be included.
The PG-13 rating was introduced on July 1, less than a month after "Gremlins" opened. Weirdly, "Gremlins...
The PG-13 rating was introduced on July 1, less than a month after "Gremlins" opened. Weirdly, "Gremlins...
- 6/7/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
“Do you have any idea how expensive it is to hire a twink?” Zach Cregger asked with mock exasperation during a recent Zoom call with IndieWire. “We have like nine twinks in our movie! That’s crazy! You couldn’t do that in the real world.”
The twink-filled topic of discussion was “Mars,” the new animated film that sees the cult sketch troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know” reuniting one final time. Over the course of their eponymous show’s five-season run on IFC from 2007-2011, Cregger, Sam Brown, Trevor Moore, Timmy Williams, and Darren Trumeter built a passionate fanbase with their darkly absurd sketches, many of which centered around ill-advised advertising pitches like “The Grapist,” convoluted schemes, or lengthy debates between straight men about whether their homoerotic behavior was technically “gay.” Fans will be quick to tell you that the show’s lo-fi production value was part of its charm,...
The twink-filled topic of discussion was “Mars,” the new animated film that sees the cult sketch troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know” reuniting one final time. Over the course of their eponymous show’s five-season run on IFC from 2007-2011, Cregger, Sam Brown, Trevor Moore, Timmy Williams, and Darren Trumeter built a passionate fanbase with their darkly absurd sketches, many of which centered around ill-advised advertising pitches like “The Grapist,” convoluted schemes, or lengthy debates between straight men about whether their homoerotic behavior was technically “gay.” Fans will be quick to tell you that the show’s lo-fi production value was part of its charm,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Joe Dante's "Gremlins" is a one-of-a-kind blockbuster from an era when studios hadn't quite yet developed the formula for producing hit movies. In the early 1980s, executives under pressure to find projects capable of breaking the coveted $100 million domestic mark relied heavily on movie stars or bestselling books, but to strike gold you needed vision. That meant finding a visionary.
There were two 30-something film brats who fit this profile during that period: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And since Lucas was, at the moment, a two-franchise man with "Star Wars" and the just-taking-off Indiana Jones series, Spielberg, who'd just set up his production company Amblin Entertainment at Universal Pictures, was the closest thing to a Walt Disney alive and unfrozen in Hollywood.
After scoring a one-two box-office knockout in 1982 with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Poltergeist," Spielberg was eager to expand his burgeoning showbiz empire. For his first official,...
There were two 30-something film brats who fit this profile during that period: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And since Lucas was, at the moment, a two-franchise man with "Star Wars" and the just-taking-off Indiana Jones series, Spielberg, who'd just set up his production company Amblin Entertainment at Universal Pictures, was the closest thing to a Walt Disney alive and unfrozen in Hollywood.
After scoring a one-two box-office knockout in 1982 with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Poltergeist," Spielberg was eager to expand his burgeoning showbiz empire. For his first official,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Distribution veteran Wendy Lidell will depart Kino Lorber as SVP of theatrical acquisitions and distribution at the end of June after eight years to pursue a new, undisclosed, chapter.
Kino Lorber chairman and CEO Richard Lorber made the announcement on Friday and hailed Lidell as “the rarest amalgam of smart cinephile and canny business executive”.
Kino Lorber chief revenue officer Lisa Schwartz will oversee theatrical distribution and acquisitions in the interim and continue to report to Klmg president Ed Carroll.
Lidell joined the company in 2016. During her tenure she shepherded three documentaries to Oscar nominations – Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire At Sea,...
Kino Lorber chairman and CEO Richard Lorber made the announcement on Friday and hailed Lidell as “the rarest amalgam of smart cinephile and canny business executive”.
Kino Lorber chief revenue officer Lisa Schwartz will oversee theatrical distribution and acquisitions in the interim and continue to report to Klmg president Ed Carroll.
Lidell joined the company in 2016. During her tenure she shepherded three documentaries to Oscar nominations – Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire At Sea,...
- 6/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Though many of our most popular films about astronauts are about men, like the true stories behind "Apollo 13" and "The Right Stuff," there are some incredible women who have explored the cosmos, chief among them Sally Ride. Ride was the first American woman in space as one of the crew of a Challenger expedition to launch new satellites in 1983, and she went into space a second time on the Challenger in 1984, spending a total of around 14 days in orbit. She was a trailblazer who not only broke barriers in space travel but was an incredible mind, earning four different degrees from Stanford University, including a doctorate in physics. Though she retired from NASA in 1989 to pursue a career in academia, Ride held the unique distinction of being the only person to serve on the investigation boards for both NASA shuttle accidents, including the 1986 Challenger explosion. Sadly, Ride died in 2012 at...
- 6/7/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is almost back, and season 2 aims to be bigger, bolder, and darker than the first. The trailer for the upcoming season literally shows darkness spreading, as Sauron's influence grows, and his power with it. And yet, not everything is bad. Some of it is aggressively neutral, like the arrival of the whimsical Tom Bombadil, who will finally make his screen debut in season 2 of "The Rings of Power."
Now, what about the good guys? The show has mostly focused on the story of Galadriel and her haunt for Sauron following his defeat in the First Age, and the first season ended with her huge f— up after trusting totally-not-Sauron into creating the first three magic rings of power. Though we saw the creation of the first three rings, we haven't seen their bearers put them on — yet. Executive producer Lindsey Weber...
Now, what about the good guys? The show has mostly focused on the story of Galadriel and her haunt for Sauron following his defeat in the First Age, and the first season ended with her huge f— up after trusting totally-not-Sauron into creating the first three magic rings of power. Though we saw the creation of the first three rings, we haven't seen their bearers put them on — yet. Executive producer Lindsey Weber...
- 6/7/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
What might make a game of bingo more interesting than your standard gymnasium raffle affair? Well, comedians answering humorous prompts to get bingo balls would spice it up. So would a secret set of players hidden in a green room looking to achieve bingo — not by checking off numbers on a board, but by tracking the quirks and behavior of their friends playing the first game. So would an even more secret set of players trying to get bingo based on the green room players’ interactions with each other and the film crew. That’s the idea behind “Bingo,” the fifth episode in Season 6 of the relentlessly inventive show “Game Changer.”
The Dropout series is described by host Sam Reich at the top of each episode as “the only game show where the game changes every show.” Six seasons of new games — and new twists on “game samers” — lock the...
The Dropout series is described by host Sam Reich at the top of each episode as “the only game show where the game changes every show.” Six seasons of new games — and new twists on “game samers” — lock the...
- 6/7/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Richard Gadd's smash-hit series "Baby Reindeer" is exactly the kind of story that thrives on Netflix. Based on true events that happened to Gadd, the seven-episode drama has been one of the streamer's most discussed original offerings since its debut in April of 2024. Gadd plays a fictionalized version of himself, an aspiring comedian named Donny Dunn who is already failing to address his previous traumas when he meets a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning), who proceeds to stalk him and the people close to him. "Baby Reindeer" is an adaptation of Gadd's award-winning one-man play that he performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, so it's not like this information or the way he, as a survivor, has elected to discuss it is new.
However, bringing the show to Netflix understandably put his story in front of the largest audience possible, and online sleuths who couldn't just respect the...
However, bringing the show to Netflix understandably put his story in front of the largest audience possible, and online sleuths who couldn't just respect the...
- 6/7/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
A recent addition to Airbnb is the “Host Passport,” an enhanced information panel for those who’d like to let those who rent rooms in their places know a little bit more about them. The host’s profile picture is placed more prominently, and, if you’re hosting, the site writes, “… new sections of your profile let you share things like where you live, your hobbies, pet’s name, fun facts, and what makes staying at your place special.” Finally, hosts taking advantage of the new profile category can let renters know “how much social interaction to expect.” “Guests often enjoy spending time […]
The post “It’s Not ‘Punk Rock’ To Not Have an Intimacy Coordinator”: Writer/Director/Actor Kit Zauhar on Her Airbnb Relationship Drama, This Closeness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “It’s Not ‘Punk Rock’ To Not Have an Intimacy Coordinator”: Writer/Director/Actor Kit Zauhar on Her Airbnb Relationship Drama, This Closeness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/7/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
When spoof-master Mel Brooks delivered his classic "Star Wars" parody "Spaceballs" back in 1987, his Schwartz-wielding character Yogurt (a riff on Frank Oz's beloved Yoda) made a meta joke that put forth the hope of one day seeing a sequel, "Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money." Sadly, in the decades since "Spaceballs" was released, the line has proven to be nothing more than a punchline. Despite the fact that George Lucas returned to "Star Wars" with a prequel trilogy, Mel Brooks never came back to his sci-fi lampoon, even though the lambasted saga of Anakin Skywalker would have been ripe for parody. However, it seems that the chance of a "Spaceballs" sequel coming together has increased.
"Frozen" and live-action "Beauty and the Beast" co-star Josh Gad made a not-so-cryptic post to social media about the completion of a script that he was very excited about, saying it "may be...
"Frozen" and live-action "Beauty and the Beast" co-star Josh Gad made a not-so-cryptic post to social media about the completion of a script that he was very excited about, saying it "may be...
- 6/7/2024
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
What’s next for Jared Leto after “Tron: Ares” in 2025? Deadline reports the actor and Oscar winner will produce and star in h.wood Media‘s on a real-life of science professor who moonlights as a cat burglar. Andy Bellin adapts the article “The Talented Dr. Gray” by Steve Croft and Howard L. Rosenberg for the currently untitled pic. Also of note: no one’s attached to direct yet, just Leto as Dr.
Continue reading Jared Leto To Star In High-Society Thriller Based On Real-Life Professor Who Moonlighted As A Cat Burglar at The Playlist.
Continue reading Jared Leto To Star In High-Society Thriller Based On Real-Life Professor Who Moonlighted As A Cat Burglar at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Following her turn in the provocative thriller “Love Lies Bleeding,” Academy Award-nominated actress Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) has set up one of her next projects, and it’s a first. Stewart will make her TV starring debut in the limited series “The Challenger,” about astronaut and physicist Sally Ride, best known as the first American woman in space.
Maggie Cohn, known as a writer on “American Crime Story,” “The Staircase” and “Narcos: Mexico,” will serve as the writer and showrunner.
Continue reading The Challenger: Kristen Stewart To Star In Limited Series About Astronaut Sally Ride at The Playlist.
Maggie Cohn, known as a writer on “American Crime Story,” “The Staircase” and “Narcos: Mexico,” will serve as the writer and showrunner.
Continue reading The Challenger: Kristen Stewart To Star In Limited Series About Astronaut Sally Ride at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
The ethics of documentary filmmaking is not a new topic of debate, but after last month’s Washington Post article about an Afghan man allegedly murdered by the Taliban as a consequence of his participation in Matthew Heineman’s Oscar shortlisted 2022 documentary “Retrograde,” the discussion around the moral responsibility of nonfiction filmmakers has once again heated up.
Unlike with journalists, there are no widely-accepted standards that documentary filmmakers are expected to abide by. Regulations for personal nonfiction storytelling can be counterintuitive. Intrusive. Unless a director is working on a documentary for PBS’ “Frontline” series, known for adherence to journalism standards, situational ethics determined on a case-by-case are more often than not the norm.
“Retrograde” tells the story of the United States’ final months of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In the film Heineman, whose “Cartel Land” was nominated for an Oscar in 2016, embedded with the U.S. Army Green Berets and Lt.
Unlike with journalists, there are no widely-accepted standards that documentary filmmakers are expected to abide by. Regulations for personal nonfiction storytelling can be counterintuitive. Intrusive. Unless a director is working on a documentary for PBS’ “Frontline” series, known for adherence to journalism standards, situational ethics determined on a case-by-case are more often than not the norm.
“Retrograde” tells the story of the United States’ final months of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In the film Heineman, whose “Cartel Land” was nominated for an Oscar in 2016, embedded with the U.S. Army Green Berets and Lt.
- 6/7/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety - Film News
The first ever TV-only version of IndieWire Honors took place Thursday, June 6.
“This will be another extraordinary IndieWire Honors, the awards evening that isn’t like any other,” Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire’s senior VP and Editor in Chief said when announcing the event. “It’s our first one dedicated to the best of TV and we’re proud to have an opportunity to celebrate these artists.”
Alex Edelman hosted the event, which handed out awards to 13 stars of the TV season picked by IndieWire’s staff. At the awards ceremony at Citizen News in Hollywood, there was a cocktail party vibe that allowed guests to mingle, celebrate each other’s work, and even sneak a glance at honoree and all-around icon Carol Burnett, who accepted the Vanguard Award for her performance on Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale.”
Dakota Fanning received the Performance Award for her stellar work in Netflix’s “Ripley.
“This will be another extraordinary IndieWire Honors, the awards evening that isn’t like any other,” Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire’s senior VP and Editor in Chief said when announcing the event. “It’s our first one dedicated to the best of TV and we’re proud to have an opportunity to celebrate these artists.”
Alex Edelman hosted the event, which handed out awards to 13 stars of the TV season picked by IndieWire’s staff. At the awards ceremony at Citizen News in Hollywood, there was a cocktail party vibe that allowed guests to mingle, celebrate each other’s work, and even sneak a glance at honoree and all-around icon Carol Burnett, who accepted the Vanguard Award for her performance on Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale.”
Dakota Fanning received the Performance Award for her stellar work in Netflix’s “Ripley.
- 6/7/2024
- by Erin Strecker
- Indiewire
Dakota Fanning is only 30 years old, but she's been acting professionally for 24 of them. A child actor who fortunately avoided the trap of the teen idol curse, Fanning successfully transitioned into more mature roles like Squeaky Fromme in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Emma Collins in "The Equalizer 3," and as Marge Sherwood on "Ripley." Now, Fanning is starring in Ishana Shyamalan's feature directorial debut, "The Watchers," a dark fairytale about an artist named Mina who gets stranded in the woods and finds sanctuary with three strangers as they are all watched by mysterious, unseen creatures at night.
Fanning plays Mina, a messy, complicated, driven character that is a bit outside of the wheelhouse of what general audiences may be used to seeing her portray. The success of "The Watchers" hinges on whether or not the audience can identify with and root for Mina's survival.
Fanning plays Mina, a messy, complicated, driven character that is a bit outside of the wheelhouse of what general audiences may be used to seeing her portray. The success of "The Watchers" hinges on whether or not the audience can identify with and root for Mina's survival.
- 6/7/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
June is often a prime moviegoing month for fans of blockbusters, but none of Hollywood’s typical calendar rules seem to apply in 2024. The strike-induced production delays in 2023 have left many studios with abnormally thin summer movie slates this year, meaning that many cinephiles might find themselves relying on streaming more heavily than usual.
Fortunately, Netflix has a particularly robust slate of additions to its movie library this month. Many eyes in the film world are on “Godzilla Minus One,” the 2023 Japanese blockbuster that has previously been unavailable to stream in the United States; and “Hit Man,” Richard Linklater’s Glen Powell-led comedy that earned strong reviews at last year’s Venice Film Festival and has adorned Los Angeles with viral billboards lampooning the city’s many slip-and-fall lawyers. In addition to those new releases, Netflix has also loaded up on studio hits and indie gems of yesteryear, providing something for everyone this month.
Fortunately, Netflix has a particularly robust slate of additions to its movie library this month. Many eyes in the film world are on “Godzilla Minus One,” the 2023 Japanese blockbuster that has previously been unavailable to stream in the United States; and “Hit Man,” Richard Linklater’s Glen Powell-led comedy that earned strong reviews at last year’s Venice Film Festival and has adorned Los Angeles with viral billboards lampooning the city’s many slip-and-fall lawyers. In addition to those new releases, Netflix has also loaded up on studio hits and indie gems of yesteryear, providing something for everyone this month.
- 6/7/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
On June 6, the 2024 IndieWire Honors ceremony celebrated 13 creators and stars responsible for some of the most stellar work of the TV season. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, the event was a new edition of previous IndieWire Honors ceremonies, this time focused entirely on television. We showcased their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles celebration.
“Is your desk very messy or is it very clean?”
This was the question host Alex Edelman asked renaissance man, actor, filmmaker, and documentarian Fisher Stevens before welcoming him to the stage to accept the Magnify Award at the 2024 IndieWire Honors. It’s a fair ask, as Stevens remains one of the busiest men in Hollywood and abroad. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, starring in films from Wes Anderson, as well as being a part of the hit series “Succession,” producing movies like “Swimfan” and “Uptown Girls,” and taking on...
“Is your desk very messy or is it very clean?”
This was the question host Alex Edelman asked renaissance man, actor, filmmaker, and documentarian Fisher Stevens before welcoming him to the stage to accept the Magnify Award at the 2024 IndieWire Honors. It’s a fair ask, as Stevens remains one of the busiest men in Hollywood and abroad. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, starring in films from Wes Anderson, as well as being a part of the hit series “Succession,” producing movies like “Swimfan” and “Uptown Girls,” and taking on...
- 6/7/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
What’s Sam Mendes have in store next for audiences after 2022’s “Empire Of Light“? Well, World Of Reel reports (via The InSneider) that it may be not one movie, but four: biopics on each member of arguably the greatest pop-rock group ever, The Beatles. Yup, that’s a movie each for John, Paul, George, and Ringo. In other words, eat your heart of Peter Jackson: “The Beatles: Get Back” may no longer be the apex of Beatles visual projects any longer.
Continue reading Sam Mendes Casts Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan & Charlie Rowe As The Fab Four In His Beatles Films [Report] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Sam Mendes Casts Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan & Charlie Rowe As The Fab Four In His Beatles Films [Report] at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
When I talked to German writer-director Tom Tykwer and his “Run Lola Run” star Franka Potente on Zoom recently, Tykwer and I remembered our interview 25 years ago when Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) released the movie the first time. (Not that I could find that interview online.) It became a word-of-mouth hit all over the world, scoring $22.9 million worldwide. “It was one of our top movies,” said SPC co-president Michael Barker on the phone. “Our goal has been to find movies that stand the test of time. It was one of the first movies with English subtitles that the younger generation turned out for.”
“Run Lola Run” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 before opening in the U.S. in early 1999. Now, SPC has orchestrated a 4K restoration coming to 250 theaters on June 7, following the success with younger audiences of such recent classic reissues as A24’s “Stop Making Sense” and SPC’s “Amelie.
“Run Lola Run” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 before opening in the U.S. in early 1999. Now, SPC has orchestrated a 4K restoration coming to 250 theaters on June 7, following the success with younger audiences of such recent classic reissues as A24’s “Stop Making Sense” and SPC’s “Amelie.
- 6/7/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from musician turned filmmaker Robert Schwartzman, the younger brother of Jason Schwartzman and part of the larger Coppola-related film dynasty. Schwartzman began his career as lead vocalist of the rock/pop band Rooney. But circa 2014, he shifted towards writing and directing and directed “Dreamland” (2016), “The Unicorn” (2018), and “The Argument” (2020).
Continue reading ‘The Good Half’ Trailer: Nick Jonas & Brittany Snow Star In Robert Schwartzman’s Latest Indie at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Good Half’ Trailer: Nick Jonas & Brittany Snow Star In Robert Schwartzman’s Latest Indie at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Unless you are buried too deep into the Plato’s Cave that UFO researchers and enthusiasts insist we are only now emerging from, it has been hard to miss that UFOs — or, as they are called now, UAPs — are having a moment. Interest in what’s out there has ebbed and flowed over the years, from speculation about Roswell, Nm and Area 51, the Ericn Von Daniken books of the 1970s, The X Files to, more recently, declassification of Navy videos and Uap government whistleblowers testifying before government committees. Uap sightings are increasing — partly due to Starlink — while […]
The post “A Purely Rationalist Dismissal of UFOs Fails To Capture Something Essential About the Phenomenon”: Daniel Claridge and Pacho Velez on Their Tribeca-Premiering They’re Here first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “A Purely Rationalist Dismissal of UFOs Fails To Capture Something Essential About the Phenomenon”: Daniel Claridge and Pacho Velez on Their Tribeca-Premiering They’re Here first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/7/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Thanks to photorealistic tech advancements, George Miller evolved his approach to VFX on the “Mad Max” franchise in the nine years since “Fury Road.” Which is why he was much more comfortable using CG in post on “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” His thrilling stunt-driven chase sequences were shot in-camera with as many practical effects as possible, but CG enabled him to achieve greater dynamic energy while enhancing his stylized world-building.
Back from “Fury Road” was production VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson of Dneg, who was eager to play with a bigger digital toolbox. This not only encompassed more realistic fire, water, dust, and smoke but also allowed the VFX team to extend the Wasteland desert landscape and skies and embellish the newly created Gas Town and Bullet Town environments. Plus, they were able to replace or augment the iconic vehicles (especially the multitude of motorcycles) for the action set pieces.
Back from “Fury Road” was production VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson of Dneg, who was eager to play with a bigger digital toolbox. This not only encompassed more realistic fire, water, dust, and smoke but also allowed the VFX team to extend the Wasteland desert landscape and skies and embellish the newly created Gas Town and Bullet Town environments. Plus, they were able to replace or augment the iconic vehicles (especially the multitude of motorcycles) for the action set pieces.
- 6/7/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Jude Law is ready to be challenged by screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes.
Law shared in an interview with Vanity Fair that he is set to work with “Challengers” scribe Kuritzkes on a Mike Nichols-inspired film.
“I’m developing a project with Justin Kuritzkes, who just wrote ‘Challengers,'” Law said. “The thing that bonded us was Mike Nichols. I said, ‘I think this is a Mike Nichols film.’ He was like, ‘Well, you would know.’ He felt the same when he went into ‘Challengers.'”
While Law kept the details of their upcoming project under wraps, he did reveal there would be a “sexual-social intercourse” element, much like in tense love triangle dramedy “Challengers” and late filmmaker Nichols’ famed works. Nichols directed Law in the 2004 romantic quadrangle drama “Closer.”
“If you’re true, if you get the tone right, there is something about that kind of intelligence and honest and...
Law shared in an interview with Vanity Fair that he is set to work with “Challengers” scribe Kuritzkes on a Mike Nichols-inspired film.
“I’m developing a project with Justin Kuritzkes, who just wrote ‘Challengers,'” Law said. “The thing that bonded us was Mike Nichols. I said, ‘I think this is a Mike Nichols film.’ He was like, ‘Well, you would know.’ He felt the same when he went into ‘Challengers.'”
While Law kept the details of their upcoming project under wraps, he did reveal there would be a “sexual-social intercourse” element, much like in tense love triangle dramedy “Challengers” and late filmmaker Nichols’ famed works. Nichols directed Law in the 2004 romantic quadrangle drama “Closer.”
“If you’re true, if you get the tone right, there is something about that kind of intelligence and honest and...
- 6/7/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Terry Gilliam hasn’t shot a movie since 2018’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” a film that took him nearly 30 years to make. So let’s call the seven years between that movie and Gilliam’s upcoming “The Carnival At The End Of Days” a well-deserved break. The British filmmaker plans to shoot the new film this year, and Premiere reports it has quite the cast attached to it, led by none other than disgraced actor Johnny Depp.
Continue reading ‘The Carnival At The End Of Days’: Terry Gilliam’s Latest Stars Johnny Depp As Satan, Jeff Bridges As God, Adam Driver & Jason Momoa at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Carnival At The End Of Days’: Terry Gilliam’s Latest Stars Johnny Depp As Satan, Jeff Bridges As God, Adam Driver & Jason Momoa at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Vertical has acquired Conor Soucy’s directorial debut “Dead Whisper” and will debut it in select theaters on July 5, and on AppleTV and Prime Video, beginning July 9.
The horror/thriller film “Dead Whisper” stars Samuel Dunning (“Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox”) and marks the first on-screen role for Rob Evan, whose previous credits include Broadway’s “Les Misérables,” and “Jekyll & Hyde.” The rest of the cast’s ensemble includes Tana Sirois, Samantha Hill, Codey Gillum, Chris Goodwin, Dhane Ross, Hester Wilkinson and Bruce Winant.
According to an official logline, the film “follows Elliot Campbell, (Dunning) a Cape Cod lawyer drawn to a mysterious island, where he faces the temptation of reuniting with his dead daughter at the peril of his soul.”
The film is produced by Conor Soucy, Birk Gran and Ben Grant. The cinematography is also by Grant and a live orchestral score is by Nikhil Koparkar.
The horror/thriller film “Dead Whisper” stars Samuel Dunning (“Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox”) and marks the first on-screen role for Rob Evan, whose previous credits include Broadway’s “Les Misérables,” and “Jekyll & Hyde.” The rest of the cast’s ensemble includes Tana Sirois, Samantha Hill, Codey Gillum, Chris Goodwin, Dhane Ross, Hester Wilkinson and Bruce Winant.
According to an official logline, the film “follows Elliot Campbell, (Dunning) a Cape Cod lawyer drawn to a mysterious island, where he faces the temptation of reuniting with his dead daughter at the peril of his soul.”
The film is produced by Conor Soucy, Birk Gran and Ben Grant. The cinematography is also by Grant and a live orchestral score is by Nikhil Koparkar.
- 6/7/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety - Film News
Spoiler Warning: This story contains plot details from “Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme,” which premiered Thursday at Tribeca Festival.
Just how easy is it to get duped?
It’s the central question of “Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme,” a documentary that premieres this week at Tribeca Festival and details aspiring movie star Zach Avery (aka Horwitz) who defrauded investors of out $227 million and pulled off the entertainment industry’s biggest Ponzi scheme. Nobody ever believes they’d be the ones dumb enough to ignore the red flags and fall prey to such a hoax. So then how exactly did Horwitz, a D-list actor with no notable credits, deceive so many people? Director Joslyn Jensen, who appears throughout the film while interviewing law enforcement, scam victims and people who know Horwitz, ultimately discovered it’s way easier than you’d think to get tricked.
After all, she didn’t actually direct the film.
Just how easy is it to get duped?
It’s the central question of “Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme,” a documentary that premieres this week at Tribeca Festival and details aspiring movie star Zach Avery (aka Horwitz) who defrauded investors of out $227 million and pulled off the entertainment industry’s biggest Ponzi scheme. Nobody ever believes they’d be the ones dumb enough to ignore the red flags and fall prey to such a hoax. So then how exactly did Horwitz, a D-list actor with no notable credits, deceive so many people? Director Joslyn Jensen, who appears throughout the film while interviewing law enforcement, scam victims and people who know Horwitz, ultimately discovered it’s way easier than you’d think to get tricked.
After all, she didn’t actually direct the film.
- 6/7/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety - Film News
Biographies of artists have typical rises and falls, eddies into new enthusiasms and returns to consistent themes. But when it comes to musician, artist and cultural provocateur Genesis P-Orridge, such rhythms occur in truly outsized relief. In S/He Is Still Her/e — The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary, director Charles Rodrigues, whose previous Tribeca-premiering feature was Gay Chorus Deep South, proceeds biographically through P-Orridge’s life, from her childhood in Manchester through early assaultive work with the UK performance group Coum Transmission, industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle and finally the more beatific psych-rock outfit Psychic TV. P-Orridge’s ultimate destination was the body-morphing Pandrogyny […]
The post “A True Download of Her Consciousness Into What Has Now Become a Feature Film”: Director David Charles Rodrigues On His Tribeca-Premiering S/He Is Still Her/e — The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “A True Download of Her Consciousness Into What Has Now Become a Feature Film”: Director David Charles Rodrigues On His Tribeca-Premiering S/He Is Still Her/e — The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/7/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Warning: In case the headline didn't give it away, this article contains major spoilers for "The Watchers."
Stop me if you've heard this one before: There's a new horror movie directed by a filmmaker with the last name Shyamalan that's about creepy (and possibly supernatural) threats in the middle of a secluded forest ... and, yes, there's a big plot twist hiding in plain sight. Reactions thus far have been rather divisive, as you can see from my rather mixed review for /Film, and the sense of atmosphere and tone certainly feel consistent with someone who received their film-school crash course while serving as a second-unit director on M. Night Shyamalan's 2021 film "Old" and a director on several episodes of his streaming series "Servant," but that's pretty much where the similarities between father and daughter end.
Ishana Night Shyamalan's debut feature "The Watchers" is very much abiding by its own rules entirely.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: There's a new horror movie directed by a filmmaker with the last name Shyamalan that's about creepy (and possibly supernatural) threats in the middle of a secluded forest ... and, yes, there's a big plot twist hiding in plain sight. Reactions thus far have been rather divisive, as you can see from my rather mixed review for /Film, and the sense of atmosphere and tone certainly feel consistent with someone who received their film-school crash course while serving as a second-unit director on M. Night Shyamalan's 2021 film "Old" and a director on several episodes of his streaming series "Servant," but that's pretty much where the similarities between father and daughter end.
Ishana Night Shyamalan's debut feature "The Watchers" is very much abiding by its own rules entirely.
- 6/7/2024
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
It’s not a joke: Ally Pankiw spent 10 years making “I Used to Be Funny” into the dog whistle of a dark comedy for millennial women.
As Pankiw told IndieWire, the film is a “nightmare of what it is to be a young woman in the world,” with Rachel Sennott playing Sam Cowell, an aspiring stand-up comedian grappling with Ptsd after an assault. Sam is haunted by the memories of working as an au pair for teen girl Brooke (Olga Petsa), who recently disappeared. The film premiered at the 2023 SXSW Festival.
Writer/director Pankiw’s debut feature, which already landed her among IndieWire’s female filmmakers to watch list, has topped IndieWire’s must-see films of the summer in part due to the “no-brainer” casting of buzzy star Sennott in the lead role.
“Rachel is such an exceptional talent because she makes everything feel like it’s her, [and] like it’s effortless,...
As Pankiw told IndieWire, the film is a “nightmare of what it is to be a young woman in the world,” with Rachel Sennott playing Sam Cowell, an aspiring stand-up comedian grappling with Ptsd after an assault. Sam is haunted by the memories of working as an au pair for teen girl Brooke (Olga Petsa), who recently disappeared. The film premiered at the 2023 SXSW Festival.
Writer/director Pankiw’s debut feature, which already landed her among IndieWire’s female filmmakers to watch list, has topped IndieWire’s must-see films of the summer in part due to the “no-brainer” casting of buzzy star Sennott in the lead role.
“Rachel is such an exceptional talent because she makes everything feel like it’s her, [and] like it’s effortless,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
A murder mystery involving sheep detectives? It may end up one of Amazon MGM‘s biggest hits in 2026. Deadline reports that the studio has their cast lined for up “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie,” a live-action comedy helmed by “Minions” vet Kyle Balda. And this cast is a whopper, so don’t be surprised if this one ends up as popular as a “Knives Out” mystery.
Continue reading ‘Three Bags Full’: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholaus Braun, Nicholas Galitzine & More In Amazon MGM’s Sheep Detective Movie at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Three Bags Full’: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholaus Braun, Nicholas Galitzine & More In Amazon MGM’s Sheep Detective Movie at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
The Shiva Baby and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies standout goes serious in an uneven and at times frustrating combination of disparate tones and genre
There’s a particular, distinctly online note – dead-eyed, chaotic, teetering between hyper self-consciousness and delusional confidence – that comedian Rachel Sennott can hit so effectively it will temporarily and memorably spark its container: Twitter, where she rose to prominence as a self-aware zillennial comedy It Girl; Bodies Bodies Bodies, where she provided the bulk of the horror comedy’s actual zingers; The Idol, where her bit part as a pop star’s assistant was one of the misbegotten HBO series’ few highlights. As a lead – in Emma Seligman’s claustrophobic feature Shiva Baby and, less successfully, in Seligmans’ follow-up comedy Bottoms – Sennott stretched her shtick but remained most successful in this familiar, self-deprecating zone, though she has hinted at something darker and less irony-pilled.
I Used to Be Funny,...
There’s a particular, distinctly online note – dead-eyed, chaotic, teetering between hyper self-consciousness and delusional confidence – that comedian Rachel Sennott can hit so effectively it will temporarily and memorably spark its container: Twitter, where she rose to prominence as a self-aware zillennial comedy It Girl; Bodies Bodies Bodies, where she provided the bulk of the horror comedy’s actual zingers; The Idol, where her bit part as a pop star’s assistant was one of the misbegotten HBO series’ few highlights. As a lead – in Emma Seligman’s claustrophobic feature Shiva Baby and, less successfully, in Seligmans’ follow-up comedy Bottoms – Sennott stretched her shtick but remained most successful in this familiar, self-deprecating zone, though she has hinted at something darker and less irony-pilled.
I Used to Be Funny,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
A raft of new films, from Challengers to Hit Man, have shown the importance and popularity of desire on screen
The success of Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s new comedy that has garnered glowing reviews heralding Glen Powell’s emergence as a true movie star, largely boils down to one factor: illicit attraction. It’s the kind that powers fantasies and a good portion of human behavior, whether we’d like to admit it or not.
There’s the pull of Powell’s Gary, a nerdy thirtysomething psychology professor in New Orleans, moonlighting as an undercover impersonator of hired killers, trying on different, more confident identities for size. There’s the longstanding, vicarious thrill of watching ethically dubious protagonists flitter through a well-oiled crime caper. And most especially, there’s the heat between Gary, in disguise as a suave hitman, and Adria Arjona’s Madison, a potential client with whom...
The success of Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s new comedy that has garnered glowing reviews heralding Glen Powell’s emergence as a true movie star, largely boils down to one factor: illicit attraction. It’s the kind that powers fantasies and a good portion of human behavior, whether we’d like to admit it or not.
There’s the pull of Powell’s Gary, a nerdy thirtysomething psychology professor in New Orleans, moonlighting as an undercover impersonator of hired killers, trying on different, more confident identities for size. There’s the longstanding, vicarious thrill of watching ethically dubious protagonists flitter through a well-oiled crime caper. And most especially, there’s the heat between Gary, in disguise as a suave hitman, and Adria Arjona’s Madison, a potential client with whom...
- 6/7/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
Indian animation will be in the spotlight across the 2024 Annecy Animation Festival.
For the first time, Indian animation will feature at Namaste MIFA, a pitch event at MIFA (Marché International du Film d’Animation) in Annecy. The event, organized by Annecy-backed Indian animation festival AniMela and co-hosted by Assemblage Entertainment and Zebu Animation Studios, will present four work-in-progress projects reflecting diverse themes such as sports, food, gender and tradition. These projects aim to blend Indian essence with universal appeal.
The projects are “Hide & Seek” by Krishna Chandran Nair; “Rising Tides” by Pari Satarkar; “Lala” by Isha Mangalmurti and Shreeya Wagh; and “Table for One” by Debjyoti Saha and Dhruv Sehgal. These projects, part of the international MIFA Campus in India, benefited from mentorship at AniMela’s 2024 workshop.
Over at the MIFA Pitch, there are four Indian projects among the 41 global selections, two of which are also part of Namaste MIFA.
For the first time, Indian animation will feature at Namaste MIFA, a pitch event at MIFA (Marché International du Film d’Animation) in Annecy. The event, organized by Annecy-backed Indian animation festival AniMela and co-hosted by Assemblage Entertainment and Zebu Animation Studios, will present four work-in-progress projects reflecting diverse themes such as sports, food, gender and tradition. These projects aim to blend Indian essence with universal appeal.
The projects are “Hide & Seek” by Krishna Chandran Nair; “Rising Tides” by Pari Satarkar; “Lala” by Isha Mangalmurti and Shreeya Wagh; and “Table for One” by Debjyoti Saha and Dhruv Sehgal. These projects, part of the international MIFA Campus in India, benefited from mentorship at AniMela’s 2024 workshop.
Over at the MIFA Pitch, there are four Indian projects among the 41 global selections, two of which are also part of Namaste MIFA.
- 6/7/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
“There are many pieces at play here, some of which you can’t see,” the cunning Hand to the King and member of the Green council Otto Hightower says at one point in the second season of “House Of The Dragon” trying to assuage the anxiety and perplexity of a confounded character on the show. And it’s advice Hightower would do well to share with the audience, who often wonder what in blazes is going on.
Continue reading ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2 Review: ‘Game Of Thrones’-Level Intrigue Still Not Yet Achieved at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2 Review: ‘Game Of Thrones’-Level Intrigue Still Not Yet Achieved at The Playlist.
- 6/7/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Catalonia’s animation scene is flourishing thanks to a motivated and well-trained base of artists, generous government backing and early involvement from public broadcasters.
One need look no further than this year’s Annecy Animation Festival for proof of the Catalanimation boom. Titles from the Spanish territory appear in the main competition (“Rock Bottom”), Contrechamp competition (“Black Butterflies”), Annecy Presents non-competitive section (“Buffalo Kids”), Work in Progress (“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake”), Annecy market MIFA Pitches sidebar and several other high-profile sections of the French festival.
“Rock Bottom”
Given the quality and diversity of productions emerging from the region, there is no doubt that the foundation of the Catalan boom is artist-driven. Auteur indie titles like “Robot Dreams” (Arcadia Motion Pictures) have achieved critical and award success, including European Film Awards and an Oscar nomination.
Producing those types of films isn’t free, however, and often wouldn’t be possible...
One need look no further than this year’s Annecy Animation Festival for proof of the Catalanimation boom. Titles from the Spanish territory appear in the main competition (“Rock Bottom”), Contrechamp competition (“Black Butterflies”), Annecy Presents non-competitive section (“Buffalo Kids”), Work in Progress (“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake”), Annecy market MIFA Pitches sidebar and several other high-profile sections of the French festival.
“Rock Bottom”
Given the quality and diversity of productions emerging from the region, there is no doubt that the foundation of the Catalan boom is artist-driven. Auteur indie titles like “Robot Dreams” (Arcadia Motion Pictures) have achieved critical and award success, including European Film Awards and an Oscar nomination.
Producing those types of films isn’t free, however, and often wouldn’t be possible...
- 6/7/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety - Film News
"Batman: The Animated Series" is one of the best shows of all time, a masterclass in superhero and animation storytelling, with high stakes and mature stories that don't talk down to young audiences, no matter what limitations Fox put on the creators. It also features one of the best voice over performances in animation, with Kevin Conroy embodying the all-time greatest Batman and Bruce Wayne.
The cartoon was a visual marvel, the animation done on black paper to give it a noir aesthetic that, together with Art Deco designs give the show a unique and timeless look. The series also gave us new and bold reinterpretations of classic comic book characters from Scarecrow and Clayface to Mr. Freeze, making them sympathetic and complex.
Of course, capturing the entire 85-episode cartoon into a single Lego set is an impossible task, but the designers at Lego pulled it off by focusing on imagery and style.
The cartoon was a visual marvel, the animation done on black paper to give it a noir aesthetic that, together with Art Deco designs give the show a unique and timeless look. The series also gave us new and bold reinterpretations of classic comic book characters from Scarecrow and Clayface to Mr. Freeze, making them sympathetic and complex.
Of course, capturing the entire 85-episode cartoon into a single Lego set is an impossible task, but the designers at Lego pulled it off by focusing on imagery and style.
- 6/7/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Sandbox Films is releasing Penny Lane’s “Confessions of a Good Samaritan” in select theaters beginning June 28.
The docu, which premiered at the South By Southwest film festival in 2023, focuses on Lane’s decision to give one of her kidneys to a stranger, which turns into a funny and moving personal quest to understand the nature of altruism. The film also investigates the ethical controversies surrounding organ donation and Lane’s own motivations for giving away her kidney.
“Five years ago I tried to prepare for the first and only major surgery of my life,” says Lane. “I made an effort to remind myself why I was doing this; to save a stranger’s life. It was right around this time I decided to start filming this once in a lifetime experience. I was very lucky to lean on my collaborators who supported me throughout every twist and turn of this surprising,...
The docu, which premiered at the South By Southwest film festival in 2023, focuses on Lane’s decision to give one of her kidneys to a stranger, which turns into a funny and moving personal quest to understand the nature of altruism. The film also investigates the ethical controversies surrounding organ donation and Lane’s own motivations for giving away her kidney.
“Five years ago I tried to prepare for the first and only major surgery of my life,” says Lane. “I made an effort to remind myself why I was doing this; to save a stranger’s life. It was right around this time I decided to start filming this once in a lifetime experience. I was very lucky to lean on my collaborators who supported me throughout every twist and turn of this surprising,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety - Film News
One of the most storied franchises in contemporary pop culture, Japan’s “Ultra Series” has generated 44 movies, nearly 100 video games, countless pages of manga, and an endless parade of TV shows since Tsuburaya Productions first created the character in 1966 as a kid-friendly way of capitalizing on the success of kaiju phenomena like “Godzilla.” With such an illustrious legacy to its name, it might come as a surprise that Shannon Tindle’s “Ultraman: Rising” — an animated feature set in Tokyo but created entirely in the West — doesn’t require its preteen audience to know any of that, nor does it bother to fill them in along the way.
Unfolding like a family-oriented cross between “Pacific Rim” and “Big Hero 6,” this eye-popping CGI adventure makes no mention of the fact that its titular superhero is canonically an alien, just as it makes no attempt to explain why baseball star Ken Sato...
Unfolding like a family-oriented cross between “Pacific Rim” and “Big Hero 6,” this eye-popping CGI adventure makes no mention of the fact that its titular superhero is canonically an alien, just as it makes no attempt to explain why baseball star Ken Sato...
- 6/7/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Catalan animation is in a fantastic place and at this year’s Annecy Festival, the region will demonstrate its vitality to the whole world with an impressive lineup of films and projects selected in major sections.
Featuring in this year’s main competition lineup, Maria Trenor’s rock and roll musical “Rock Bottom” is a psychedelic trip inspired by the life and music of U.K. artist Robert Wyatt.
One of the most topical films to come out of Catalonia in recent years, “Black Butterflies,” is an animated documentary about three women from very different parts of the world whose lives are dramatically impacted by climate change. The film is directed by David Baute and produced by Ikiru Films, Televisió de Catalunya, Tinglado Film, Anangu Grup and Tunche Films.
Screening in this year’s non-competitive Annecy Presents section, “Buffalo Kids” is a CG family feature produced by Jordi Gasull’s...
Featuring in this year’s main competition lineup, Maria Trenor’s rock and roll musical “Rock Bottom” is a psychedelic trip inspired by the life and music of U.K. artist Robert Wyatt.
One of the most topical films to come out of Catalonia in recent years, “Black Butterflies,” is an animated documentary about three women from very different parts of the world whose lives are dramatically impacted by climate change. The film is directed by David Baute and produced by Ikiru Films, Televisió de Catalunya, Tinglado Film, Anangu Grup and Tunche Films.
Screening in this year’s non-competitive Annecy Presents section, “Buffalo Kids” is a CG family feature produced by Jordi Gasull’s...
- 6/7/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety - Film News
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