Bill Kong is cautious, vastly experienced and has an impeccable reputation as a key gateway between Hollywood and China to maintain. He is someone far more likely to deadpan than gush.

So, to hear him getting into high gear with a pitch for his bucket list martial arts movie project “The Furious” immediately invites comparison with previous Kong-produced action pictures including Oscar-winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Jet Li’s Fearless” or the Zhang Yimou-directed “Hero.”

“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.

Significantly, “The Furious” is a project made by Hong Kong, rather than made in Hong Kong. Kong’s Edko Films is financing and producing.

A quartet of fast-rising British names are coming together for a buzzy new project launching at the Cannes market.

Bella Ramsey, Louis Partridge and Ruby Stokes are set to lead “Sunny Dancer,” the sophomore feature from George Jaques. Embankment Films is handling global pre-sales of the film, which it says showcases the “best of new British talent.”

“Sunny Dancer” follows Ivy (Ramsey), a teenager in remission from cancer, whose gloriously outspoken mum and well-intentioned dad insist she attend Children Run Free Camp, a summer retreat for young adults affected by cancer. The camp’s slogan, “Where kids come to kid,” does little to alleviate Ivy’s apprehension, and a quick Google search confirms her fears when she stumbles upon a cringeworthy promotional video filled with tacky messages and clichéd sunsets. As if conquering cancer wasn’t enough of a challenge, Ivy now faces the prospect of spending her summer at what she calls “chemo camp.

Fred Schepisi is set to direct Israel-based thriller “The Dimona Affair,” Variety has learned exclusively.

The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).

After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.

Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.

The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...

Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” has added Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes to its cast.

The continuation of the “28 Days Later” franchise will be released in theaters globally by Sony Pictures. “28 Days Later” was released in 2002 and starred Cillian Murphy, then largely unknown. Boyle directed the feature, while Alex Garland wrote. A sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” was released in 2007.

Plot details are still being kept under wraps for the new screenplay, written by Garland. It will be part of an upcoming trilogy, for which Nia DaCosta is in talks to direct the second film.

Boyle and Garland are producing, as is original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice. Bernie Bellew is also producing. Murphy is also returning as an executive producer, and is not currently attached to star.

Comer earned an Emmy for her work as Villanelle on “Killing Eve.” She will next be seen...

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.”

This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.

The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...

Kenneth Branagh has spent much of his career bringing to life the works of British writers William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. Now he will not get a chance to play a different famed scribe. Branagh will voice star as Charles Dickens in The King of Kings, a faith-based feature inspired by the lives of both Dickens and Jesus Christ.

Uma Thurman will voice star as Catherine Dickens, the wife of the author, while Jojo Rabbit‘s Roman Griffin Davis will voice the couple’s youngest son, Walter.

The King of Kings is inspired by “The Life of Our Lord,” a Dickens short story published in 1934, decades after his death. It follows Dickens and Walter as they — and their cat Willa — become immersed in the story of Jesus.

“It is through the Dickens family that our audience experiences the life of Jesus Christ, and Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman and Roman Griffin Davis bring all the emotion,...

Netflix has come on board “The Thursday Murder Club,” Amblin’s upcoming adaptation of the bestselling novel starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley. Chris Columbus is writing and directing the story of a group of friends who solve murders.

The 2020 book by Richard Osman tells the story of four friends who live in a retirement community and take on cold cases for fun. When a shady property developer is found dead, the four find themselves in the middle of their first live crime. Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth, Kingsley will play ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim and Brosnan will play former union activist Ron.

Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership also includes the upcoming Jason Bateman-Taron Egerton film “Carry-On.”

Osman, a popular British quiz show presenter, said in a statement, “I’m so proud of this book, so it is a dream to see ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ in such incredible hands.

Gabby and her cats are coming to the big screen next year.

DreamWorks Animation and Universal revealed Thursday that Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will open nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.

The live-action/CGI series has been a smash hit for Netflix since its debut in 2021. Created by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, Gabby’s Dollhouse is a mixed-media preschool adventure that centers on a 12-year-old who, after unboxing an item, uses the power of her magical cat ears to shrink down to dollhouse size and go on adventures with the help of her animated cat friends. The show operates with a narrative ethos of flexible thinking and learning from your mistakes, and does so through a mix of things like music, dance, cooking and crafting.

Laila Lockhart Kraner will reprise her role from the series in the feature film, which follows Gabby as she goes on a road trip with her...

Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang will star in Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures’ remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet” from director Andrew Ahn.

Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar-winner Yuh-jung Youn and Joan Chen are also attached to star.

The reimagination of Lee’s Oscar-nominated film is based on a screenplay by Ahn and James Schamus. Schamus also co-wrote the original film with Lee and Neil Peng.

The film, which begins filming in May in Vancouver, follows what happens when Min’s boyfriend Chris rejects his marriage proposal. Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him instead, paying for her partner Liz’s IVF treatments in exchange for his green card. However, things begin to unravel when Min’s grandmother makes a surprise trip from Seoul to throw the couple a Korean wedding banquet.

“It warms my heart to see how my film from so many years...

Jennifer Aniston is ready to pour herself a cup of ambition.

Aniston and her Echo Films partner Kristin Hahn are producing a “9 to 5” reimagining for 20th Century Studios, Variety has confirmed.

The film is currently in development, with Diablo Cody working on the latest draft of the “9 to 5” reimagining. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

The original “9 to 5” follows three female office colleagues who decide to exact revenge on their sexist, egotistical boss. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman starred in the 1980 office satire, directed by Colin Higgins and written by Patricia Resnick. The hit comedy film spawned a sitcom of the same name, which aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and in first-run syndication from 1986 to 1988. Parton, Tomlin and Fonda participated in the 2022 documentary “Still Working 9 to 5,” which focuses on the impact of the classic film 40 years later.

Multi award-winning Filipina actress Ruby Ruiz has landed her first major screen role following her appearance in Amazon’s “Expats.” She will lead “First Light,” the feature directorial debut of James. J. Robinson.

Principal photography is now underway on the Australian-Filipino co-production, which comes with funding from Screen Australia. Veteran actress Maricel Soriano (“Mother Nanny”), Rez Cortez (“Bukal”), Soliman Cruz (“Blue Room”) and Kidlat Tahimik round out the cast.

Set in the remote mountains of the Philippines, “First Light” sees the death of a young construction worker force an elderly nun to confront the muddied ethics of an institution she has dedicated her life to. The script, also by Robinson, is a deeply personal story exploring the intersection of duty, faith and institutional power.

“Developing ‘First Light’ over the past two years has been an incredibly profound journey into the heart of pre-colonial Filipino philosophy,” Robinson said. “To be able...

Sudanese first-timer Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan, and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters” lead the way in nominations for the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab films, winners of which will be announced during the Cannes Film Festival.

The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes’ official selection, “Goodbye Julia” (pictured) is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.

The drama, which marked Kordofani’s debut, has scored nominations in seven categories of the Arab film awards, including best feature, director, screenplay, actress, actor and editing.

Ben Hania’s hybrid doc/drama “Four Daughters,” about an Arab...

Magnify, the rebranded international sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” in the run up to its world premiere at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.

Directed and co-writer by Tyler Taormina (“Ham on Rye”), the film stars Michael Cera (“Barbie”), Francesca Scorsese, Maria Dizzia (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Ben Shenkman (“Billions”), Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), Gregg Turkington (“Entertainment”), Sawyer Spielberg (“Masters of the Air”) breakout actor Matilda Fleming, among others.

Written by Taormina and Eric Berger, the film revolves around a rambunctious extended family descending upon their small Long Island hometown for the holidays where hijinks, generational squabbles, and family traditions ensue.

“Taormina takes a singular approach to the classic holiday family movie, bringing his absurdist humor and dynamic filmmaking to life with a charming and perfectly cast ensemble,” said Lorna Lee Torres, Magnify SVP of Global Sales. “We...

[Editor’s Note: this list was originally published in March 2018. It has since been updated with new entries.]

It’s easy to think of the kind of stories that get told in the comic book world as just one genre or tone, but as seen below, graphic novels, comic strips, and other sequential art have offered up an incredible range of storytelling. And these stories have been inspiring great TV shows for years, even before superhero stories dominated the box office.

There were plenty of options that nearly made the list, like the WB’s “Smallville,” which squandered its early potential after running just a few seasons too long. Because one of the most exciting things about these stories is that there’s a rich variety to choose from.

With editorial contributions from Liz Shannon Miller, Ben Travers, and Hanh Nguyen.

25. “Jeremiah”

Based on the Belgian comics by Hermann Huppen and created by J. Michael Straczynski, this intriguing post-apocalyptic drama ran for two seasons on Showtime. The excellent...

In an odd quirk of distribution timing, this month has seen the arrival of no less than two imported, semi-comedic thrillers featuring decrepit apartment building invaded by giant spiders. Already playing U.S. theaters is the Australian “Sting,” which is fun, if formulaic. In a whole other class, however, is French “Infested,” a first feature by director Sebastien Vanicek following several impressive shorts. An instant minor genre classic, it is fun and then some — a conceptually unremarkable but resourceful, energetic, stylish and good-humored creature feature with above-average human character interest.

That achievement has been duly noted: Intended as a streaming premiere, “Vermines” (the original title) pleased its producer such that he apparently insisted on a home-turf theatrical release, despite the long delay that imposes on its launch in other formats under French law. It’s seen big-screen release in numerous nations since late last year, though in the U.S.

DeBose’s brilliant rookie astronaut navigates this moderately tense thriller about US and Russian crew fighting as Earth blazes below

At first, the crew on board the International Space Station (Iss) mistake the tiny dot of fire on Earth for a volcano. But look: there’s another, and another. In fact, these astronauts have got a bird’s eye view of a nuclear tit-for-tat between the Russian and American governments that by the end of the movie turns the planet into a great glowing ball of fire. But for the six-person crew – three Americans and three Russians – nuclear Armageddon is only the start of their problems.

A lowish-budget, slightly muted survival thriller – moderately tense, with too few ideas to qualify as actively cerebral – what the movie does have is a brilliant performance by West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose as biologist and rookie astronaut Kira. Like all the characters here,...

In “Boy Kills World,” Bill Skarsgård has burning eyes and model cheekbones, sinewy arms popping out of a dirty red athletic vest, and a feral pout that makes him look like Jean-Claude van Damme crossed with Lou Reed. He plays a deaf-mute avenger, known only as Boy, who kills people in insanely violent ways. Yet through it all, the character retains his innocence. He’s a wounded wild child in a man’s body.

Raised on a mountain by a martial-arts trainer called the Shaman (Yayan Ruhian), who may remind you, at first, of the Zen master in “Kill Bill: Volume 2,” Boy had his past taken away from him by a vicious totalitarian regime. During the Culling, an annual ritual where law and order is maintained by the state-sanctioned execution of criminals in the street, Boy saw his little sister, Mina (Quinn Copeland), executed right in front of him.

The actor’s feminist credentials, a wholehearted embrace of comedy and being one of the most memed actors on social media has seen Gosling’s auto-satirising alpha male become white-hot box office in 2024

In Hollywood, there are no accidents. Ryan Gosling’s role in stuntman pic The Fall Guy, hard on the heels of his show-stopping Oscars rendition of I’m Just Ken, is perfectly timed to confirm his ascension to the very top tier of stardom. Not only is it a four-quadrant entertainment turbo boost – covering all audience bases with action, romance, a legacy franchise for the oldies, John Wick-slick for the kids – it is shrink-wrapped to his public persona. His role as stunt veteran Colt Seavers, saving the skin of the idiot megastar he doubles for, caps off the stance Gosling has upheld on talkshows and memes over the last decade: stardom and celebrity as a delectable facade,...

Ashley Judd has said that the overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction by New York Court of Appeals on Thursday was “institutional betrayal”.

“This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” Judd told a press conference of the 4-3 majority ruling by the court. “And our institutions betrayed survivors of male sexual violence.”

Judd, one of the first women to speak out against alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein in 2017, was in New York advocating at the United Nations in favour of eliminating all forms of harassment and male sexual violence in the world of work.

“I stand shoulder to...

“Spa Night” and “Fire Island” filmmaker Andrew Ahn is set to direct Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang in a new take on “The Wedding Banquet” that has been described as a “reimagination” of Ang Lee’s beloved 1993 film.

The new project, which was announced on Thursday by co-producers Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures and begins filming in May, is based on a new script by Ahn and frequent Lee collaborator James Schamus, who co-wrote the original film.

Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” won the Golden Bear at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival and helped cement his status as a notable figure in the global film community. The film stars Winston Chao as a gay Taiwanese man living in America who agrees to a marriage of convenience with a female friend, only to find his life complicated when his overbearing parents travel to America to plan his wedding banquet. The film...

A fundraiser launched Thursday for the crew member who remains hospitalized after the accident on set of the Amazon MGM Studios film “The Pickup” says the crew member is in the ICU with “extensive bodily injuries.”

A GoFundMe campaign launched by Sean Fisher identifies the injured crew member as Marvin Haven, a dolly grip who has worked in the industry for the past 26 years. His credits include “The Walking Dead,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Red Notice.” At this writing, the campaign has raised over $30,000 of its $100,000 goal.

The posting detailed Haven’s injuries as including “broken ribs, multiple fractures in his neck and back, a shattered scapula, punctured lung, and a skull fracture which will require facial reconstructive surgery.” Initial reports in the AP described some of the injuries to other crew members as being limited to bruises and broken bones.

“We are so grateful and blessed that our beloved friend is still alive,...

Jessica Lange spoke critically of present-day Hollywood during a recent interview with Vulture, saying “there should be a law against it” when the topic came up about Warner Bros. Discovery axing already-shot movies like “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs. Acme” for tax write-off purposes. This topic became a launching pad for some of Lange’s wider criticisms of today’s entertainment industry.

“We’re living in a corporate world and it certainly has rolled over into the film industry,” Lange said. “So much of the industry now is not about the creative process. Obviously, this is not across the board, but there are many instances where I feel like the artistic impulse is overwhelmed by the corporate profit motive. You look at some of the best films of the past year — what do they have in common? They’re not from America. My favorite was ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ How often...

Netflix has acquired The Thursday Murder Club which will star Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley.

The film is the latest to be produced under the film partnership between Netflix and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin which includes the upcoming Carry-On starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton.

Chris Columbus is set to write and direct The Thursday Murder Club based on Richard Osman’s crime novel about a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun but soon become entangled in a real murder. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is producing.

Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth,...

Uberto Pasolini’s “Nowhere Special” is delicately tinted by profound shades of imminent grief. As a 35-year-old, terminally ill single father in Northern Ireland, John (a quietly powerful James Norton) grieves his impending demise and the inevitable fact that he will vacate his four-year-old son Michael’s (Daniel Lamont) life permanently and prematurely. A Belfast window washer, John sees the reflections of his grief everywhere as he scrubs and shines surface after surface. In one scene, it’s the headstones on display in the window of a funeral parlor. In another, it’s a dad happily picking up his baby inside a restaurant. That’s just John’s every day on the other side of a glass facade, with stark glimpses into what’s coming and what he will soon lose.

Meanwhile, his often silent and always observant toddler Michael deals with his own share of grief, at an age...

This article contains major spoilers for "Challengers."

Given our Puritanical origins, Americans tend to have a strange relationship with the concept of kink. It's only within the last half-century or so that popular culture has allowed for the exploration and broadcast of what used to be taboo topics: Things as basic and human as the general act of sex, the proliferation of violence, and so on. Prior to that watershed time in American history, so much of life was hidden behind closed doors, causing the general public persona of the average citizen to be repressed or sublimated.

While America is certainly not alone when it comes to rabidly enjoying sports — whether participating directly or merely observing them being played — it feels like our culture uses the pastimes as one of several outlets with which to get in touch with our baser, more primal selves. If football is a stand-in for...

Luca Guadagnino’s tennis relationship drama “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) opens Friday amidst chatter that it represents the rarest of films — a wide-release American sex sizzler, an erotically charged story with young actors with sexual impulses central to its plot.

The marketing forebears for “Challengers” are akin to movies that we’ve not seen in a long time like “Carnal Knowledge,” “Body Heat,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “Fatal Attraction.” These films, where sex can be sweaty and dangerous, were elevated by big stars who dared to play off their images. Other examples include Kevin Costner (“No Way Out”), Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver (“The Year of Living Dangerously”), Jane Fonda (“Klute”), and Warren Beatty.

In the “Challengers” press tour, Zendaya (also a producer here) — with six of her previous seven live-action theatrical releases having domestic grosses of $100 million or more — took pains to dispel...

Unless you've been living under a rock recently, you're aware that movie theaters have been in a tough spot for nearly half a decade now, if not longer. Various factors have contributed to this, of course -- everything from the Covid-19 pandemic to the economy itself contributing to higher prices for a night out at the movies (especially for a family). Yet perhaps the biggest point of contention for those not fully inducted into the church of moviegoing is that old chestnut coined by Jean-Paul Sartre: Hell is other people.

Due to being at the tail end of several decades' worth of manufacturers and big box stores pushing home theater technology, the average living room theater setup tends to rival most generic movie theater screens in terms of picture and sound quality, with the convenience of the setup already being in one's home, away from loud talking randos and teens on their bright smartphones,...

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2024 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 13 to June 24, with the official Emmy nominations announced Wednesday, July 17. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 15 and ends the night of August 26. The 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 15, and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

The Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category has gotten extra starry this year, with “Only Murders in the Building” and “Palm Royale” alone adding several Oscar winners to the mix. Now, star power actually does not factor too much into the decisions on who to nominate, because campaigns for those stars can sometimes still treat TV like the slums,...

In step with Infrared’s goal of building a dynamic supplier of mid-budget mainstream genre titles with franchise potential, Drew Simon has hit the ground running at the FilmNation-owned production label.

Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with principal photography on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a...

In step with the goal of building a dynamic supplier of mid-budget mainstream genre titles with franchise potential, Drew Simon has hit the ground running at the FilmNation-owned production label.

Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with production on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a bank executive...

Emily Blunt seems staunchly opposed to algorithms making any decisions in Hollywood. Ahead of the release of her summer tentpole “The Fall Guy,” the Oscar nominee joined co-star Ryan Gosling for a Vanity Fair Italy cover story in which she expressed frustration over algorithm-driven decision making. Blunt pointed to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” as the kind of gamble that an algorithm or data-crunching practices would probably advise not to make, given it’s a biopic with an R rating and a three-hour runtime that features no action scenes.

“Some new things frustrate me: algorithms, for example,” Blunt said. “I hate that fucking word, excuse the expletive! How can it be associated with art and content? How can we let it determine what will be successful and what will not?”

“Let me explain with an example,” she continued. “I was in a three-hour film about a physicist, which had the that...

Come on guys, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” wasn’t that bad.

According to a March 11, 2024 CableTV.com poll of 1,000 U.S. streaming users, nearly one in four (24 percent to be exact) believe Netflix has gotten worse over the past year. The silver lining is that Netflix is still the most favored streamer overall: a third (33 percent) of the respondents say they would still pick Netflix over any other service, and only 22 percent said they have a “negative opinion” of the streaming leader. In non-survey-land, Netflix just keeps on growing: by the end of March it had 270 million global paid subscribers.

On the flip side, only 3 percent of the survey’s participants would choose Apple TV+ for their first pick; 47 percent of Americans have a negative view of Apple’s SVOD service. Maybe they just really, really want “Severance” to come back already with its second season (but probably not). We surely do.

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2024 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 13 to June 24, with the official Emmy nominations announced Wednesday, July 17. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 15 and ends the night of August 26. The 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 15, and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

The last few years have seen the Emmy category for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series become pretty myopic. At one point four out of eight of the nomination slots were taken by “Ted Lasso” stars, with Brett Goldstein being the winner that year, and the following. In the case of that Apple TV+ series though, it...

It's time for another Zack Snyder slow-motion extravaganza! Snyder's big sci-fi sequel "Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver" is now on Netflix, and the reactions ... well, they ain't great, folks. The first film, subtitled "A Child of Fire," didn't fare much better — it's currently sitting at 21% on Rotten Tomatoes. But what about Part Two? Sadly, it seems to be doing even worse than the original flick. As of this writing, "Rebel Moon – Part Two" has a terrible 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. And if you're thinking, "Well, that's just the critics! What are regular people saying about the movie?", you should also know that the film's audience score is a less-than-great 52%. In short, people don't seem to like what Snyder is offering here. Snyder has always had a tenuous relationship with critics, but this seems to be one of his worst-reviewed films to date. Even his cartoon owl movie has...

Even though the warlord Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) master plan to rule Japan is revealed by the end of “Shogun,” audiences who want to see more of how he shapes what will become the Edo Period aren’t alone. Co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo’s approach to the structure of the miniseries opened up a lot of doors that could be extremely tempting to walk through.

That’s because the “Shogun” writing team thought of each episode not as a set of steps towards a single climax punctuated by arbitrary cliffhangers. It was important to the “Shogun” team that every episode of the series stood on its own as a story that pushes its characters in some important way — not unlike a short story.

“I’m so drawn to the short story. There’s something about the art of the short story that feels difficult and worthy of the difficulty,...

It may not have been his plan, but Russell Crowe is capitalizing on the return of the iconic “The Exorcist” franchise with separate standalone religious horror films “The Exorcism,” out June 7, and 2023’s “The Pope’s Exorcist.”

Crowe leads Joshua John Miller’s “The Exorcism” as an actor facing demons — maybe literal ones. Consider it a meta twist: The film centers on Anthony Miller (Crowe), a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.

The buzzy cast includes Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Josh Warren, Adrian Pasdar, and Tracey Bonner.

Director Miller co-wrote the script with M.A. Fortin. “The Exorcism” marks Miller and Fortin’s second feature, after the 2015 horror comedy “The Final Girls.” They also co-created the...

It’s been well over a year since news first broke that Disney was moving forward with “The Princess Diaries 3.” Anne Hathaway can’t reveal any details, but she did assure fans in a recent V magazine interview that development continues on the long-anticipated sequel, and the intention remains to get it off the ground.

“We’re in a good place,” Hathaway said. “That’s all I can say. There’s nothing to announce yet. But we’re in a good place.”

Hathaway would return as down-to-earth royal Mia Thermopolis in “The Princess Diaries 3.” It appears to be the sequel she is most interested in seeing through, as she doesn’t see a feasible way to bring another one of her popular classics, “The Devil Wears Prada,” back to life.

“Probably not,” Hathaway answered when asked about making a “Prada” sequel. “We all love each other and if somebody could...

One of the biggest kids series on the planet is coming to the big screen. DreamWorks Animation is in the works on “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” and has set it for release on September 26, 2025 from Universal Pictures.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse” is the DreamWorks mixed media series for preschoolers that airs on Netflix and, according to Nielsen, was the most-streamed series that’s original to streaming in 2023. Each episode follows a girl named Gabby unboxing a surprise before jumping into a fantastical animated world of adorable cats living inside Gabby’s dollhouse.

Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, who created the series, are executive producing the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” movie. Ryan Crego, who earned a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for his TV feature “Arlo the Alligator Boy,” is directing the film.

In the new film, Gabby heads out on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco.

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2024 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 13 to June 24, with the official Emmy nominations announced Wednesday, July 17. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 15 and ends the night of August 26. The 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 15, and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

If there is one category that will give voters a lot of difficulty in deciding which nominee to choose, it’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. “Abbott Elementary” creator/star Quinta Brunson, “Hacks” star Jean Smart, and “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri have all won Emmys for their performances within the past two TV seasons. For...

Maïwenn is holding court when it comes to the viral coverage of working with Johnny Depp on “Jeanne du Barry.”

Maïwenn recently told The Independent that it was “difficult” to work with Depp because the crew was “scared” and “afraid” of the actor in part due to his “different kind of humor and we didn’t know if he was going to be on time, or if he was going to be Ok to say his lines.”

“Jeanne du Barry” marks Depp’s return to the big screen following his highly-publicized court case against ex-wife Amber Heard. However, Depp has shrugged off the label of “Jeanne du Barry” as his comeback film.

Now, actress/director Maïwenn is calling out The Independent for manufacturing “controversy” about her comments regarding Depp, saying that the outlet took her statement to have a “malicious” tone and out of context.

“When I made a remark about Johnny being ‘scary,...

Gkids and European animation distributor Anime Ltd. have acquired global rights to Naoko Yamada’s new film “The Colors Within.” Gkids has acquired the film for North America, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, while Anime Ltd. has acquired the film for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and all of Europe.

“We have long admired Naoko Yamada and her ability to create dazzling, emotional stories out of the everyday concerns of teenagers,” said Gkids president David Jesteadt. “’The Colors Within’ is her most beautiful film yet, and we are proud to partner with our friends at Anime Ltd. on another soon to be classic from Science Saru and Story inc., who are responsible for some of the best anime productions of this new century.”

According to an official logline, “The Colors Within” follows “a high school student with the ability to see the ‘colors’ of others. Colors of bliss, excitement and serenity,...

Harvey Weinstein was already effectively serving a life sentence when he was flown to Los Angeles to face his second trial on rape and sexual assault charges.

That second conviction is now the only thing keeping him in prison, after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his original verdict in a 4-3 ruling on Thursday.

The court’s ruling could now be used to bolster the appeal in California, which, if successful, could set the former Hollywood producer free.

“At the time the jury was deciding the evidence in California, they were working under the assumption and the belief that he had properly been convicted in New York,” said Jennifer Bonjean, the attorney who is handling Weinstein’s California appeal. “Now we know that’s not true.”

The Los Angeles jury was informed of Weinstein’s earlier conviction during the trial, and it also came up during jury selection.

Zendaya may be an Emmy-winning actress and executive producer, but she’s biding time before stepping behind the camera as a director.

The “Challengers” actress and executive producer told the New York Times that she is still “learning” that craft from auteurs like Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”) and Luca Guadagnino (“Challengers”). Villeneuve and Guadagnino think she’s ready today.

“I’m overly conscious of everything else around me,” Zendaya told the New York Times, speaking to a general hyperawareness. Guadagnino jumped in: “Because Z is a director. I told you many times, and I repeat it now to The Times.”

Zendaya revealed in 2022 that she was slated to direct “Euphoria” Season 2 Episode 6 but decided to wait until the now-delayed Season 3. She told the New York Times that she still is not “quite confident enough to step into directing” even two years later, though.

“I love being on set because...

No one sets out to be an object of obsession.

On Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” when Martha (Jessica Gunning) enters the pub where down-and-out comedian Donny Dunn (show creator and writer Richard Gadd) works, she is looking downcast, like she’s trying to disappear. One simple cup of tea opens her up. It’s an act of kindness (or pity), but that’s all it takes for Donny to become her new fixation. Her interest in him unfolds in a montage of colorful outfits, badly applied pink lipstick and lies. She sends him tens of thousands of emails, ranging from the randy (“myy curtains r waitinfro yu they r readyy”) to the ranting (“i just had an egg”). She follows him home and sits outside his window for hours, pretends to be a hot-shot lawyer with politicians’ names in her phone and to own a penthouse in Belsize Park. Martha...

For superhero fans of a certain age, there was nothing quite like waking up early on Saturday mornings to tune in for a new episode of "X-Men: The Animated Series." With fast-paced soap opera storytelling, snappy one-liners, and the most radical animation style on TV, "X-Men: The Animated Series" was the perfect gateway to get kids hooked on all things Marvel. 

Now, over 25 years since the original series went off the air, Marvel and Disney+ have continued the saga with "X-Men '97," a series so good that it's already being hailed as one of the best new shows of the year. What makes "X-Men '97" such a triumph is not just its perfectly executed nostalgia, but because the show has evolved to relate to the sensibilities of our 2024 world, without becoming anachronistic in the process. While the shocking genocide of Genosha in episode 5 is based on Grant Morrison's "E...

Rejoice, casual moviegoers and other normal people who don't spend every waking moment watching superhero movies! Remember when the #ItsAllConnected branding campaign of the Marvel Cinematic Universe popularized the idea of everyone putting in dozens (if not hundreds) of hours of homework in order to watch the next installment? Which meant we were soon inundated with a rising tide of crossover movies -- some of which weren't even in the same continuity or part of the same franchise, like Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire's respective Peter Parkers teaming up in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" -- that only made sense if audiences had watched several other movies beforehand? Well, one loudmouthed mercenary with a habit of breaking the fourth wall might just shatter that annoying little trend in a big way later this year.

Everyone and their mother knows that "Deadpool & Wolverine" stands as Marvel's major big-screen...

Surprise reversal of producer’s New York conviction led to anger from stars and accusers, including Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino

Hollywood has reacted with shock to the news that the disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction has been overturned by a New York court.

The fallen movie mogul was sentenced to 23 years in 2020 for two sex crimes, a decision that a court of appeals has now called the result of an unfair trial.

Anne Hathaway just might be returning to Genovia.

After “Princess Diaries 3” was confirmed in 2022, Hathaway recently told V magazine that development is “in a good place” at the moment.

“We’re in a good place,” Hathaway said. “That’s all I can say. There’s nothing to announce yet. But we’re in a good place.”

Disney announced a third feature installment with a script being penned by Aadrita Mukerji (“Supergirl”), with original “Princess Diaries” veteran Debra Martin Chase set to produce and “The Other Woman” screenwriter Melissa Stack executive producing. The third film will serve as a continuation of the original film series as a sequel to the 2001 and 2004 movies starring Hathaway and Julie Andrews. However, no casting news was shared at the time if either actress would reprise their respective roles.

Hathaway, who stars in and produces romantic drama “The Idea of You,” added that “Princess Diaries” was...

The heartrending hook behind “Unsung Hero” isn’t solely discovering how one tight knit family birthed two chart-topping contemporary Christian musical acts, although that is an interesting draw. It’s not necessarily learning how the Aussie expats survived a slew of hardships through togetherness and fortitude. The fascinating angle it adopts is similar to the way Steven Spielberg explored a tumultuous time in his childhood with “The Fablemans,” as Joel Smallbone (who co-wrote and directed with Richard L. Ramsey) also engages with family history, portraying his father grappling with financial and personal crises. The co-directors re-contextualize character-building circumstances, crafting a soul-stirring testament to the power of family and faith in the process.

David Smallbone (Joel Smallbone) is at the top of his game in early 1991. He’s got a great support system at work as one of Australia’s top Christian artist concert promoters, luring in such performers as the heavy metal hair band Stryper.

French director Laurent Cantet, whose films include Human Resources, Heading South, The Workshop and his Palme d’Or-winning The Class, died today at the age of 63. With this sad news we are reposting Brandon Harris’s interview with Cantet about The Class from our Spring, 2008 print edition. — Editor Starting with 1999’s Human Resources, Laurent Cantet has quickly built an international reputation as France’s most socially engaged narrative filmmaker, crafting films that highlight the ever lingering issues of race and class in both France and, as in the case of his 2006 film Heading South, its former colony of Haiti. With […]

The post “We Wanted To Show a Teacher with All His Weaknesses, Who Doesn’t Know Everything, Who Sometimes Makes Big Mistakes…”: Laurent Cantet on The Class first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.