Russia’s Alexander Rodnyansky, producer of high-level Cannes hits such as “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” has added another prize to his illustrious career, winning the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award for the Soviet-era period drama “Red Rainbow.”
Presented Monday at the Forum, Series Mania’s industry arm, as one of 16 projects at its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, “Red Rainbow” beat a strong field of other contenders to take the Award, which comes with a €50,000 cash prize for development, a considerable sum to help a series project advance.
Written by Matt Jones, and based on a true story, “Red Rainbow” is set in 1979 and turns on three young German gay activists from West Berlin who, through a series of blunders and misunderstandings, are invited by Soviet Central Committee Secretary Kaptinov to join an official visit to the Ussr, despite homosexuality being illegal in the country.
Once there, their translator, Larissa, is given...
Presented Monday at the Forum, Series Mania’s industry arm, as one of 16 projects at its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, “Red Rainbow” beat a strong field of other contenders to take the Award, which comes with a €50,000 cash prize for development, a considerable sum to help a series project advance.
Written by Matt Jones, and based on a true story, “Red Rainbow” is set in 1979 and turns on three young German gay activists from West Berlin who, through a series of blunders and misunderstandings, are invited by Soviet Central Committee Secretary Kaptinov to join an official visit to the Ussr, despite homosexuality being illegal in the country.
Once there, their translator, Larissa, is given...
- 8/30/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Rural China is often object of bleak documentaries picturing the harsh realm of post-socialist China, but “Absurd Accident”, the debut feature of young film-maker Li Yuhe, produced by Hong Kong veteran Derek Yee, is showing a different and unconventional picture of provincial life. His refreshing indie noir has gained few nominations in important Film Festivals and has placed its young director in the spotlight.
“Absurd Accident” is streaming on CathayPlay (North America exclusively)
Yang Baiwan (Xixu Chen) and Ma Lilian (Ye Gao) are the young married couple that runs the Gods Are Coming Inn, a place renowned in the whole sparsely populated region for delicious handmade noodles. But Baiwan is a repressed man; not only he is sexually impotent, he also lives in fear that his wife is having affairs with any walking male in the village. His anger is boiling under surface and the pressure is getting very high because Baiwan,...
“Absurd Accident” is streaming on CathayPlay (North America exclusively)
Yang Baiwan (Xixu Chen) and Ma Lilian (Ye Gao) are the young married couple that runs the Gods Are Coming Inn, a place renowned in the whole sparsely populated region for delicious handmade noodles. But Baiwan is a repressed man; not only he is sexually impotent, he also lives in fear that his wife is having affairs with any walking male in the village. His anger is boiling under surface and the pressure is getting very high because Baiwan,...
- 8/24/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Ian McKellen’s Broadway credits include starring opposite Patrick Stewart in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, and with Helen Mirren in Conor McPherson’s adaptation of August Strindberg's Dance Of Death
Oren Jacoby’s fabulous tribute On Broadway features Helen Mirren, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Tony Kushner, August Wilson, Christine Baranski, Hal Prince, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, David Henry Hwang, Trevor Nunn, Julie Taymor, Jack O’Brien, Viola Davis, and George C Wolfe (director of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Best Costumes Oscar win Ann Roth) sharing their thoughts on the impact of Broadway. Stephen Sondheim, James Earl Jones, Sam Shepard, Bob Fosse, David Byrne, Michael Bennett, Adam Driver, Neil Simon, Michael Mayer, John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C Reilly, and Ethan Hawke, Patricia Schoenfeld’s role, and the importance of theatre came up during our conversation.
Oren Jacoby’s fabulous tribute On Broadway features Helen Mirren, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Tony Kushner, August Wilson, Christine Baranski, Hal Prince, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, David Henry Hwang, Trevor Nunn, Julie Taymor, Jack O’Brien, Viola Davis, and George C Wolfe (director of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Best Costumes Oscar win Ann Roth) sharing their thoughts on the impact of Broadway. Stephen Sondheim, James Earl Jones, Sam Shepard, Bob Fosse, David Byrne, Michael Bennett, Adam Driver, Neil Simon, Michael Mayer, John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C Reilly, and Ethan Hawke, Patricia Schoenfeld’s role, and the importance of theatre came up during our conversation.
- 8/19/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The premiere of Serbian drama series “Bad Blood” Wednesday night at the Sarajevo Film Festival was more than just the usual red-carpet event. An ambitious, decades-spanning period drama that chronicles the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, it was the first series from the festival’s CineLink Drama co-financing forum to go into production since its launch in 2016.
“We have now closed the full circle for TV series in the festival,” says Sarajevo’s long-time industry head Jovan Marjanović, who recently became the festival’s co-director alongside founder and director Mirsad Purivatra.
Five years after Sarajevo added a TV strand to its CineLink industry platform, drama has become an ever-larger part of the festival’s program. In addition to CineLink Drama, the co-production market which presents six high-end drama series in development from Southeastern Europe, there’s Avant Premiere, which this week introduced “Bad Blood” and four other anticipated Balkan...
“We have now closed the full circle for TV series in the festival,” says Sarajevo’s long-time industry head Jovan Marjanović, who recently became the festival’s co-director alongside founder and director Mirsad Purivatra.
Five years after Sarajevo added a TV strand to its CineLink industry platform, drama has become an ever-larger part of the festival’s program. In addition to CineLink Drama, the co-production market which presents six high-end drama series in development from Southeastern Europe, there’s Avant Premiere, which this week introduced “Bad Blood” and four other anticipated Balkan...
- 8/19/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Serbian drama “The Family,” which swept the newly launched Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Monday, has sold to North America, Variety can reveal.
Directed by Bojan Vuletić (“Requiem for Mrs. J”) and produced by Firefly Productions, the show will launch this fall on the Ott service MHz Choice, where it will join the streamer’s roster of top-flight European titles, including the Italian hit “Inspector Montalbano” and the Movistar Plus original series “Arde Madrid.”
“The Family” is a five-part miniseries which tells the inside story of the three days leading up to the arrest of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. At Monday’s award ceremony in Sarajevo, it won best drama series, best series creator for Vuletić, and best actor for leading man Boris Isaković.
Vuletić, whose acerbic portrait of a suicidal widow, “Requiem for Mrs. J,” earned critical praise following its world...
Directed by Bojan Vuletić (“Requiem for Mrs. J”) and produced by Firefly Productions, the show will launch this fall on the Ott service MHz Choice, where it will join the streamer’s roster of top-flight European titles, including the Italian hit “Inspector Montalbano” and the Movistar Plus original series “Arde Madrid.”
“The Family” is a five-part miniseries which tells the inside story of the three days leading up to the arrest of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. At Monday’s award ceremony in Sarajevo, it won best drama series, best series creator for Vuletić, and best actor for leading man Boris Isaković.
Vuletić, whose acerbic portrait of a suicidal widow, “Requiem for Mrs. J,” earned critical praise following its world...
- 8/18/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Wim Wenders says cinema is facing an “existential crisis” brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and the rise of streaming services, urging film lovers to “fight” for movie theaters, and calling on his fellow filmmakers to rise to the challenge at a time when their voices are needed more than ever before.
“[The pandemic] made me realize how much responsibility we have as filmmakers, and that this crisis that the whole of humanity is going through is also a task for us filmmakers,” he said, speaking to Variety at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Wenders is at the Bosnian fest this week to accept an honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award in recognition of a lifetime’s achievement in film. “I think no other city in the world could have a heart as a symbol,” he said of the Bosnian capital. “It’s a city that embodies gentleness, and a kindness to communicate between cultures,...
“[The pandemic] made me realize how much responsibility we have as filmmakers, and that this crisis that the whole of humanity is going through is also a task for us filmmakers,” he said, speaking to Variety at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Wenders is at the Bosnian fest this week to accept an honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award in recognition of a lifetime’s achievement in film. “I think no other city in the world could have a heart as a symbol,” he said of the Bosnian capital. “It’s a city that embodies gentleness, and a kindness to communicate between cultures,...
- 8/16/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
10 feature world premieres in the selection.
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
- 7/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
10 feature world premieres in the selection.
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
Sarajevo Film Festival has selected 20 features in the competition programme for its 27th edition, which will run in-person from August 13-20.
Nine films have been chosen for the Feature Film section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres – Dušan Kasalica’s Montenegrin-Serbian title The Elegy Of Laurel, and Cristina Grosan’s Hungarian film Things Worth Weeping For.
Other films in the Feature Film section include Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut film at Cannes Film Festival last week; and Norika Sefa’s Looking For Venera,...
- 7/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Voltage Pictures has taken worldwide rights to American Boogeywoman, based on the early life of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos. Charlize Theron won an Oscar for playing her in the 2003 film Monster.
Currently in postproduction, the film stars Cobra Kai star Peyton List as young Wuornos and is written and directed by horror filmmaker Daniel Farrands.
List is joined by veteran genre actor Tobin Bell (“Jigsaw” from the Saw franchise), Lydia Hearst (The Haunting of Sharon Tate), Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), Swen Temmel, Meadow Williams, and Andrew Biernat (Shadow’s Edge).
Based on Wuornos’ early life in 1976, the film follows America’s most notorious female serial killer in Florida when she marries Lewis Fell, an older wealthy yacht club president only to inflict mayhem...
Currently in postproduction, the film stars Cobra Kai star Peyton List as young Wuornos and is written and directed by horror filmmaker Daniel Farrands.
List is joined by veteran genre actor Tobin Bell (“Jigsaw” from the Saw franchise), Lydia Hearst (The Haunting of Sharon Tate), Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), Swen Temmel, Meadow Williams, and Andrew Biernat (Shadow’s Edge).
Based on Wuornos’ early life in 1976, the film follows America’s most notorious female serial killer in Florida when she marries Lewis Fell, an older wealthy yacht club president only to inflict mayhem...
- 3/16/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“The wealth was spread around nicely, and that was really great to see,” opines Tom O’Brien. “What I think I like most about it, is that as opposed to last year where there were four films in double digits, [this year] there’s only one, and just barely,” he says. O’Brien joins Gold Derby editors Matt Noble and Rob Licuria and fellow contributors Charles Bright and Tony Ruiz to discuss the glorious surprises and heartbreaking snubs from Monday morning’s Oscar nominations. Watch the video above.
“I will fight anyone who says that 2020 was a bad year for film. I thought it was brilliant,” Licuria says. “It gave us so much sustenance and happiness over such a difficult year. So many of those films are so close to my heart and this Oscar season is one of my most favorite ever.”
See Complete list of 2021 Oscar nominations in all 23 categories
Netflix...
“I will fight anyone who says that 2020 was a bad year for film. I thought it was brilliant,” Licuria says. “It gave us so much sustenance and happiness over such a difficult year. So many of those films are so close to my heart and this Oscar season is one of my most favorite ever.”
See Complete list of 2021 Oscar nominations in all 23 categories
Netflix...
- 3/16/2021
- by Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Verve has acquired veteran TV lit agent Paul Alan Smith’s New Deal Mfg. Co., a boutique lit agency representing a bevy of television and film directors.
New Deal’s founding partner Smith and agent Tyler Reynolds will join Verve where they will continue to represent their clients, some of whom have been with Smith for decades. New Deal’s other founding partner, Lee Rosenbaum, who has served as chief operating officer and general counsel to the firm, will continue as an adviser to the agency.
New Deal’s clients joining Verve include Niels Arden Oplev, Allen Coulter, Tawfik Abu Wael (Our Boys), Oded Ruskin, Adam Arkin (Rebel), Milena Govich (FBI), Elodie Keene (Glee), Leslie Libman (The Manson Murders), Daniel Syrkin (Tehran), Sheelin Choksey (Stargirl), Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger...
New Deal’s founding partner Smith and agent Tyler Reynolds will join Verve where they will continue to represent their clients, some of whom have been with Smith for decades. New Deal’s other founding partner, Lee Rosenbaum, who has served as chief operating officer and general counsel to the firm, will continue as an adviser to the agency.
New Deal’s clients joining Verve include Niels Arden Oplev, Allen Coulter, Tawfik Abu Wael (Our Boys), Oded Ruskin, Adam Arkin (Rebel), Milena Govich (FBI), Elodie Keene (Glee), Leslie Libman (The Manson Murders), Daniel Syrkin (Tehran), Sheelin Choksey (Stargirl), Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger...
- 3/15/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Academy voters must turn in their nomination ballots by today at 5 p.m. Pt. When they do, they will be participating in a process for the nomination of Best International Feature Film. For the first time in history, anyone from any branch, anywhere, can vote in that category — if they’ve watched all 15 shortlisted international feature films.
They have the unenviable task of picking their top five films out of one of the most extraordinary selections in recent memory. In this pandemic year, the small and often feted Los Angeles committee did not hold sway, although those regulars still form the core of the expanded voting pool.
All 15 films have their fans and detractors. While it’s tough to gauge reactions from across potential voters around the world, here’s a stab at the 10 most robust contenders, ranked in order of their likelihood to land a nomination on March 15.
1. “Quo Vadis,...
They have the unenviable task of picking their top five films out of one of the most extraordinary selections in recent memory. In this pandemic year, the small and often feted Los Angeles committee did not hold sway, although those regulars still form the core of the expanded voting pool.
All 15 films have their fans and detractors. While it’s tough to gauge reactions from across potential voters around the world, here’s a stab at the 10 most robust contenders, ranked in order of their likelihood to land a nomination on March 15.
1. “Quo Vadis,...
- 3/10/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Academy voters must turn in their nomination ballots by today at 5 p.m. Pt. When they do, they will be participating in a process for the nomination of Best International Feature Film. For the first time in history, anyone from any branch, anywhere, can vote in that category — if they’ve watched all 15 shortlisted international feature films.
They have the unenviable task of picking their top five films out of one of the most extraordinary selections in recent memory. In this pandemic year, the small and often feted Los Angeles committee did not hold sway, although those regulars still form the core of the expanded voting pool.
All 15 films have their fans and detractors. While it’s tough to gauge reactions from across potential voters around the world, here’s a stab at the 10 most robust contenders, ranked in order of their likelihood to land a nomination on March 15.
1. “Quo Vadis,...
They have the unenviable task of picking their top five films out of one of the most extraordinary selections in recent memory. In this pandemic year, the small and often feted Los Angeles committee did not hold sway, although those regulars still form the core of the expanded voting pool.
All 15 films have their fans and detractors. While it’s tough to gauge reactions from across potential voters around the world, here’s a stab at the 10 most robust contenders, ranked in order of their likelihood to land a nomination on March 15.
1. “Quo Vadis,...
- 3/10/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is arguably the best Batman movie ever made, so it’s good news that it’s back on Netflix this month, along with Batman Begins, the film that kicked off this critically-acclaimed trilogy. And once you’ve reached the credits of Nolan’s second outing with the Caped Crusader, you’ll undoubtedly want to jump to the trilogy-closer, The Dark Knight Rises, which puts Batman back in the crosshairs of Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Shadows, this time led by the seemingly invincible Bane (played with relish by Tom Hardy).
The good news is that, despite what some might say, The Dark Knight Rises is absolutely worth a watch, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor. Just as The Dark Knight took its story from the pages of Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, Rises...
The good news is that, despite what some might say, The Dark Knight Rises is absolutely worth a watch, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor. Just as The Dark Knight took its story from the pages of Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, Rises...
- 3/4/2021
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic (“No Man’s Land”) has boarded the high-end comedy-drama series “Frust,” which is currently being developed by Serbia’s Firefly Prods. and Hungary’s Joyrider.
The six-episode series follows a young writer struggling for recognition. The writer suddenly becomes a local celebrity after accidentally shooting a petty criminal who’s been terrorizing his neighborhood. Production of the series is slated for 2022.
“Frust” is among a slate of projects being presented at the European Film Market by Firefly, the Belgrade-based production outfit co-founded by Ivana Mikovic and Boban Jevtic.
Also in development is “Absolute 100,” a six-episode series based on the hit film by Srdan Golubović, which tells the story of a talented amateur shooter who reluctantly kills a local criminal when her family is threatened. Golubović, whose drama “Father” unspooled in the Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar last year, will lead the directors team.
Inspired by real-life events, “Black...
The six-episode series follows a young writer struggling for recognition. The writer suddenly becomes a local celebrity after accidentally shooting a petty criminal who’s been terrorizing his neighborhood. Production of the series is slated for 2022.
“Frust” is among a slate of projects being presented at the European Film Market by Firefly, the Belgrade-based production outfit co-founded by Ivana Mikovic and Boban Jevtic.
Also in development is “Absolute 100,” a six-episode series based on the hit film by Srdan Golubović, which tells the story of a talented amateur shooter who reluctantly kills a local criminal when her family is threatened. Golubović, whose drama “Father” unspooled in the Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar last year, will lead the directors team.
Inspired by real-life events, “Black...
- 3/3/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning “Hurt Locker” producer-sales agency Voltage Pictures has rolled out sales on one of its key titles at next week’s European Film Market, Conor Allyn’s thriller “No Man’s Land.”
Set in modern-day Guanajuato and starring Jake Allyn, Frank Grillo, Andie MacDowell, George Lopez, Alex MacNicoll and Jorge A. Jimenez, “No Man’s Land” was released in the U.S. by IFC Films on Jan. 22, opening on over 250 screens and bowing as No. 2 for new releases and No. 3 for independent streaming films on iTunes.
International sales on “No Man’s Land” include the U.K. (Signature), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto), Italy (Leone) and pay TV Asia (Fox/Disney). Voltage has also closed Benelux (Just Media), Portugal (Cinemundo), Middle East (Front Row) and South Africa (Filmfinity).
Directed by Conor Allyn from a screenplay by Jake Allyn co-written by David Barraza, the thriller follows Jackson’s as he goes on the run...
Set in modern-day Guanajuato and starring Jake Allyn, Frank Grillo, Andie MacDowell, George Lopez, Alex MacNicoll and Jorge A. Jimenez, “No Man’s Land” was released in the U.S. by IFC Films on Jan. 22, opening on over 250 screens and bowing as No. 2 for new releases and No. 3 for independent streaming films on iTunes.
International sales on “No Man’s Land” include the U.K. (Signature), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto), Italy (Leone) and pay TV Asia (Fox/Disney). Voltage has also closed Benelux (Just Media), Portugal (Cinemundo), Middle East (Front Row) and South Africa (Filmfinity).
Directed by Conor Allyn from a screenplay by Jake Allyn co-written by David Barraza, the thriller follows Jackson’s as he goes on the run...
- 3/1/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Margate House Films’ Edge of the World (previously known as Rajah), starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors), Josie Ho (Dream Home) and Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings).
Rob Allyn penned the script and produced the period adventure film alongside sons and partners Conor and Jake Allyn via their production company Margate House Films, together with Ho and Conroy Chan for 852 Films. Samuel Goldwyn is planning a release in June.
Helmed by Sundance and Venice alum Michael Haussman, the movie charts the true story of Sir James Brooke, the English adventurer who partly inspired Rudyard Kipling story The Man Who Would Be King and Joseph Conrad novel Lord Jim. Brooke fought pirates and slavery to rule a kingdom larger than England in the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo, where the movie was filmed with support from the Sarawak Tourism Board and...
Rob Allyn penned the script and produced the period adventure film alongside sons and partners Conor and Jake Allyn via their production company Margate House Films, together with Ho and Conroy Chan for 852 Films. Samuel Goldwyn is planning a release in June.
Helmed by Sundance and Venice alum Michael Haussman, the movie charts the true story of Sir James Brooke, the English adventurer who partly inspired Rudyard Kipling story The Man Who Would Be King and Joseph Conrad novel Lord Jim. Brooke fought pirates and slavery to rule a kingdom larger than England in the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo, where the movie was filmed with support from the Sarawak Tourism Board and...
- 2/17/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Frank Grillo has an insatiable appetite for flexing his movie muscles.
The actor is superhumanly prolific, practically cornering the market on macho roles as he veers from facing off with Captain America in “The Winter Soldier” to entering the ring with Nick Jonas in “Kingdom.” Since 2014, the 55-year-old Grillo has starred or had a supporting turn in 30 films or television shows, eight of which are scheduled to debut in 2021 alone. But he insists that he’ll hang up his spurs the second he stops feeling a thrill when he sees his name in lights or his face on a billboard.
“The day that isn’t cool is the day you should ride off into the sunset and stop doing it,” says Grillo. “It’s pretty magical to be able to make movies. It’s pretty magical to have people come up to you and say, ‘Hey, you were great in...
The actor is superhumanly prolific, practically cornering the market on macho roles as he veers from facing off with Captain America in “The Winter Soldier” to entering the ring with Nick Jonas in “Kingdom.” Since 2014, the 55-year-old Grillo has starred or had a supporting turn in 30 films or television shows, eight of which are scheduled to debut in 2021 alone. But he insists that he’ll hang up his spurs the second he stops feeling a thrill when he sees his name in lights or his face on a billboard.
“The day that isn’t cool is the day you should ride off into the sunset and stop doing it,” says Grillo. “It’s pretty magical to be able to make movies. It’s pretty magical to have people come up to you and say, ‘Hey, you were great in...
- 2/10/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Christopher Plummer, whose long acting career included Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award wins, has died at the age of 91.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old-fashioned manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words,” Lou Pitt, Plummer’s longtime manager, said in a statement obtained by our sister site Deadline. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
More from TVLineFlight...
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old-fashioned manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words,” Lou Pitt, Plummer’s longtime manager, said in a statement obtained by our sister site Deadline. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
More from TVLineFlight...
- 2/5/2021
- by Rebecca Iannucci
- TVLine.com
Christopher Plummer, the Canadian-born Shakespearean actor who starred in films including “The Sound of Music” and “Beginners,” died on Friday morning at his home in Connecticut. He was 91.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
An imposing theatrical presence with a well-cultivated, resonant voice, that critic John Simon once observed, “in its chamois mode, can polish mirrors,” Plummer was best known for playing Captain von Trapp in the Oscar-winning musical “The Sound of Music.” He also won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,...
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
An imposing theatrical presence with a well-cultivated, resonant voice, that critic John Simon once observed, “in its chamois mode, can polish mirrors,” Plummer was best known for playing Captain von Trapp in the Oscar-winning musical “The Sound of Music.” He also won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
Harry Macqueen’s Supernova opened in 330 theaters this weekend, bringing some warmth to the specialty box office space. The Bleecker Street drama starring Colin Firth and Stanely Tucci is garnering tons of awards season buzz and has added some fuel to the specialty fire that has been struggling to stay afloat for almost a year. With day and date release becoming more popular and release strategies always changing, Supernova put coins in its piggy bank as the specialty box office attempts to figure out the standard when it comes to what is a “successful opening weekend” in Covid times.
Supernova opened in 330 theaters this weekend to an estimated $98,670 with an average of $299. The film is garnering acclaim and with Firth and Tucci as its leads, the drama checks the appropriate boxes when it comes to an awards season film.
Neon’s documentary short Apollo 11: Quarantine — a title that is...
Supernova opened in 330 theaters this weekend to an estimated $98,670 with an average of $299. The film is garnering acclaim and with Firth and Tucci as its leads, the drama checks the appropriate boxes when it comes to an awards season film.
Neon’s documentary short Apollo 11: Quarantine — a title that is...
- 1/31/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Organizations that give awards think every category is important. The American public, on the other hand, seems to only care about best picture, actor and actress.
However, to millions of people around the world, the most important category is the one devoted to movies that are not in the English language — what the Oscars call international feature film and what the Globes call foreign language.
For them, it’s not just about validation for one movie. Brillante Ma Mendoza, director of this year’s Philippines Oscar submission “Mindanao,” says, “An Oscar is more than a trophy,” adding that a nomination or win would be proof that “the whole Philippine film industry can stand with the best.”
Poland has been nominated three times in the past five years, including one win. Director Małgorzata Szumowska hopes the momentum carries to her film this year, “Never Gonna Snow Again.” After the award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida,...
However, to millions of people around the world, the most important category is the one devoted to movies that are not in the English language — what the Oscars call international feature film and what the Globes call foreign language.
For them, it’s not just about validation for one movie. Brillante Ma Mendoza, director of this year’s Philippines Oscar submission “Mindanao,” says, “An Oscar is more than a trophy,” adding that a nomination or win would be proof that “the whole Philippine film industry can stand with the best.”
Poland has been nominated three times in the past five years, including one win. Director Małgorzata Szumowska hopes the momentum carries to her film this year, “Never Gonna Snow Again.” After the award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
The specialty box office found some shine this weekend with four new titles starting with the Gravitas Ventures pic Our Friend starring Jason Segel, Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson.
The Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed drama based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word debuted at 543 locations and grossed an estimated $250K on its first weekend out with a per-screen average $460. This bodes well for the drama which currently sits at an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and has thrown its hat in the ring for awards season.
The film separated itself from a typical day and date release as Gravitas used a focused and targeted exhibitor marketing approach. Outside of Wonder Woman 1984, which was an SVOD release, Our Friend debuted as the largest opening for a day and date film since October 16. It looks to expand next weekend to approximately 750 locations.
Another day and date title,...
The Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed drama based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word debuted at 543 locations and grossed an estimated $250K on its first weekend out with a per-screen average $460. This bodes well for the drama which currently sits at an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and has thrown its hat in the ring for awards season.
The film separated itself from a typical day and date release as Gravitas used a focused and targeted exhibitor marketing approach. Outside of Wonder Woman 1984, which was an SVOD release, Our Friend debuted as the largest opening for a day and date film since October 16. It looks to expand next weekend to approximately 750 locations.
Another day and date title,...
- 1/24/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
When brothers Jake and Conor Allyn were growing up, they had something of an unusual family tradition.
Whenever they would go to the movies, their dad, Rob, had a tendency to choose something that wasn’t exactly age-appropriate for his young kids.
That’s how Jake came to perform a monologue from “Braveheart” in his elementary school talent show while the other students were singing along to Aaron Carter songs.
Child-friendly or not, the Mel Gibson epic that easily earned its R-rating instilled in the siblings a deep love of movies and inspired them to start making their own homemade films. As kids, they borrowed their parent’s camcorder to capture footage around the block. They even got savvy with special effects, setting off their own fireworks for dramatic flair.
Nearly two decades later, Jake, 30, and Conor, 34, are still making what they refer to as personal home videos. The only difference?...
Whenever they would go to the movies, their dad, Rob, had a tendency to choose something that wasn’t exactly age-appropriate for his young kids.
That’s how Jake came to perform a monologue from “Braveheart” in his elementary school talent show while the other students were singing along to Aaron Carter songs.
Child-friendly or not, the Mel Gibson epic that easily earned its R-rating instilled in the siblings a deep love of movies and inspired them to start making their own homemade films. As kids, they borrowed their parent’s camcorder to capture footage around the block. They even got savvy with special effects, setting off their own fireworks for dramatic flair.
Nearly two decades later, Jake, 30, and Conor, 34, are still making what they refer to as personal home videos. The only difference?...
- 1/23/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
With the Sundance Film Festival less than a week away (and available to anyone in the U.S. willing to buy tickets to a Covid-safe 2021 virtual edition), late January sees more streaming options than virtually any week since the pandemic began. That doesn’t necessarily mean big movies for home viewers, but at least it offers a raft of new options.
For those seeking diversion with familiar faces, genre movies such as “Brothers by Blood” (featuring Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman), “No Man’s Land” (with George Lopez) and “Born a Champion” (starring Sean Patrick Flanery). Jason Segel plays a family friend who helps a couple (played by Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson) through the ugliness of cancer in “Our Friend,” based on a true story. If that sounds too serious, try “Psycho Goreman,” in which resourceful low-budget horror director Steven Kostanski makes a deliberately schlocky family film.
On the foreign language front,...
For those seeking diversion with familiar faces, genre movies such as “Brothers by Blood” (featuring Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman), “No Man’s Land” (with George Lopez) and “Born a Champion” (starring Sean Patrick Flanery). Jason Segel plays a family friend who helps a couple (played by Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson) through the ugliness of cancer in “Our Friend,” based on a true story. If that sounds too serious, try “Psycho Goreman,” in which resourceful low-budget horror director Steven Kostanski makes a deliberately schlocky family film.
On the foreign language front,...
- 1/22/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
A nice-enough young man kills a nice boy. One is Mexican, the other white. One will be buried. The other will learn an edifying lesson about bias. Can you guess which is which? The Tex-Mex border drama “No Man’s Land” — in select theaters, on digital platforms and VOD — arrives at a time when the good intentions of white filmmakers are often not good enough to address the grievances of filmgoers of color. Filmmaking brothers Conor and Jake Allyn strive to take on — and humanize — the tensions around migration in their drama that starts off in the titular area between the Rio Grande and the Texas border and then follows its hero on a reverse migration south into Mexico.
Rending events and soulful reckoning take place for all concerned, but the movie’s most dire consequences are reserved for characters who are Mexican. That says something about the filmmaker’s ambitions...
Rending events and soulful reckoning take place for all concerned, but the movie’s most dire consequences are reserved for characters who are Mexican. That says something about the filmmaker’s ambitions...
- 1/22/2021
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a fundamental problem at the center of Conor Allyn’s No Man’s Land: the tragic event sparking its introspective yet superficially transformative journey isn’t accidental. The fact that every synopsis and description of it uses that word only helps to prove that its story is being told from a privileged and biased perspective. Jackson Greer isn’t cleaning his gun when he shoots and kills a Mexican boy trespassing on his father’s property. He didn’t think the gun was unloaded when he pulled the trigger. The sole reason Jackson was even there that night was because he believed he had business to finish. He believed he had to help save his family’s ranch.
Did he intend to kill a child? No. Did he intend to kill anyone? No. But a lack of intent doesn’t make the deed accidental. It makes it a mistake.
Did he intend to kill a child? No. Did he intend to kill anyone? No. But a lack of intent doesn’t make the deed accidental. It makes it a mistake.
- 1/19/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Even in his pathetic last days, Donald Trump found time to take a trip to the Texas border to check on his wall. His journey only confirms the relevance of the new IFC movie, No Man’s Land, which examines some of the human consequences of the divisiveness regarding immigration. The film tells a simple but poignant story of two families caught up in this conflict. The making of the movie was also something of a family affair. Conor Allyn directed, and the script was written by his brother, Jake Allyn (with some help from co-writer David Barraza). Jake also stars in ...
- 1/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Even in his pathetic last days, Donald Trump found time to take a trip to the Texas border to check on his wall. His journey only confirms the relevance of the new IFC movie, No Man’s Land, which examines some of the human consequences of the divisiveness regarding immigration. The film tells a simple but poignant story of two families caught up in this conflict. The making of the movie was also something of a family affair. Conor Allyn directed, and the script was written by his brother, Jake Allyn (with some help from co-writer David Barraza). Jake also stars in ...
- 1/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
“No Man’s Land,” “Fauda” and “False Flag” producer Maria Feldman is teaming with “Tel Aviv on Fire” writer-director Sameh Zoabi on a new identity crisis series “Inheritance,” which offers a fresh, comedic take on the Israel-Palestine conflict, breaking new ground for scripted TV.
Created by Zoabi, Alma Ganihar and Leora Kamenetzky, a writer on “Fauda” and co-creator with Feldman on “False Flag,” “Inheritance” is set up at Feldman’s New York-based Masha Productions label, with Feldman and Cliff W. Roberts taking producer credits. The partners have a bible and screenplay for a pilot. Zoabi will direct all episodes.
Zoabi’s TV debut, “Inheritance” asks a weighty question: How far people can change their position on the Palestine-Israeli conflict? But it looks set to do so through light, fast-paced comedy – a combination of thematic weight and lightness of touch at the heart of “Tel Aviv on Fire,” Zoabi’s 2018 breakthrough movie,...
Created by Zoabi, Alma Ganihar and Leora Kamenetzky, a writer on “Fauda” and co-creator with Feldman on “False Flag,” “Inheritance” is set up at Feldman’s New York-based Masha Productions label, with Feldman and Cliff W. Roberts taking producer credits. The partners have a bible and screenplay for a pilot. Zoabi will direct all episodes.
Zoabi’s TV debut, “Inheritance” asks a weighty question: How far people can change their position on the Palestine-Israeli conflict? But it looks set to do so through light, fast-paced comedy – a combination of thematic weight and lightness of touch at the heart of “Tel Aviv on Fire,” Zoabi’s 2018 breakthrough movie,...
- 1/14/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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