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Proposed budget cuts to Finland’s national film and TV promotion and development agency Avek have been strongly criticised by figures from throughout the industry.

If the cuts go ahead, Avek will no longer be able to support the development and production of international co-productions and will be forced to significantly reduce its other activities including international promotion of Finnish films, said Avek director Ulla Simonen.

“The biggest effect will be on new talent, new ways of making audiovisual works and on documentary filmmakers,” said Simonen. ”We have taken on a completely new look at talent development. This cut will...

On Wednesday August 21 2024, Investigation Discovery broadcasts People Magazine Presents: Crimes Of The 2010s!

2012: The So-Cal Killer Season 1 Episode 3 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “People Magazine Presents: Crimes Of The 2010s,” titled “2012: The So-Cal Killer,” promises to delve into a dark chapter in southern California’s history. Set against the backdrop of early 2012, the episode explores a troubling series of events that saw a community gripped by fear. For two years, a serial killer has been targeting the homeless population, leaving many feeling vulnerable and unsafe.

As the story unfolds, a man finds himself in a troubling situation. He is accused of murdering his mother and brother, which adds a layer of complexity to the narrative. While grappling with this accusation, he begins to uncover connections between his family’s tragedy and the string of murders plaguing the area. This unexpected twist raises questions about justice and...

The Call of Duty franchise has been going strong over two decades. From the early beginnings on PC/Mac to the now global phenomenon on all major console platforms, everyone knows the first-person shooter series.

Throughout the countless story campaigns and multiplayer modes, the developers have dropped tiny easter eggs for fans to look out for. Some are simple to find while others tie-in story details.

There’s so many Call of Duty easter eggs but here’s 12 that you’ll want to find yourself.

#12: Headquarters Easter Eggs What’s this hammer in Call of Duty: WW2? Image Credit: Sledgehammer Games

WW2 introduced a social space called Headquarters. You can view daily/special orders but there’s also a few easter eggs in the area.

After climbing up to the roof of the main building, you’ll see a lonely hammer sitting on the ground. A subtle nod to...

High-profile members of the cast of 2012’s “The Avengers” reunited recently to record the movie’s dialogue in Lakota, the language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. The effort was spearheaded by activist actor Mark Ruffalo, who produced the 2022 documentary “Lakota Nation vs. United States.”

“This project came out of my relationship with the Lakota people,” Ruffalo explained. “And it was this fun thing that they wanted to do, where they wanted to take ‘The Avengers’ — this crazy idea — let’s do a Lakota dub of ‘The Avengers.'”

The project reunited Ruffalo with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans, who each rerecorded their character’s dialogue alongside Lakota actors who recorded dialogue for lower-profile characters.

“I’ve been hearing about the work they’ve been doing to revitalize the language,” Ruffalo continued. “You know, there’s not a lot of people left who could speak it.

Ang Lee who is known for his work on Marvel’s Hulk, directed 2012’s adventure drama film Life of Pi, based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel of the same name. The movie starred debutant Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Adil Hussain, and Gérard Depardieu in significant roles. The story follows two survivors of a shipwreck who are on a lifeboat stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days.

Upon its release, the movie received critical acclaim with an appreciation for Lee’s direction, screenplay, music, visual effects, and cinematography. The movie was nominated for eleven awards at the 85th annual Academy Awards and managed to win four out of them. Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards, a comment from a veteran cinematographer about Life of Pi has resurfaced on the Internet.

Life of Pi Christopher Doyle’s strong opinions on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi winning Best Cinematography...

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Feb 9-11)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Migration (Universal) £2.5m £6.7m 2 2. Argylle (Universal) £994,542 £3.7m 2 3. The Iron Claw (Lionsgate) £671,297 £754,153 1 4. All Of Us Strangers (Disney) £510,000 £3.8m 3 5. Peppa Pig’s Cinema Party (Trafalgar) £490,405 £490,405 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.26

Universal maintained a one-two at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as animation Migration held off Matthew Vaughn’s spy comedy Argylle.

Migration, from Minions creators Illumination, added £2.5m on its second session – a 31% drop. The film has £6.7m in total.

On its second weekend, Argylle dropped 43%, with £994,542 taking it to £3.7m – down on the usual level of Vaughn’s directorial output.

Award-winning artist Justin Anderson’s debut feature “Swimming Home” has its world premiere in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam. Variety has secured access to the first clip from the film.

The film, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, centers on poet Joe (Christopher Abbott) and war photographer Isabel (Mackenzie Davis), whose marriage is dying when Kitti (Ariane Labed), a naked stranger found floating in the pool at their sunny holiday villa in Greece, is invited to stay. Oscar nominated Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki plays a significant role in the film as does emerging actor Freya Hannan-Mills.

In 2014, Anderson directed “Jumper,” a short inspired by Pasolini’s “Teorema,” about a man emerging from a pool and standing naked in the window during a family dinner. A friend saw the film and suggested that he read Levy’s novel. The book resonated with Anderson and he contacted Levy.

This article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon episode 1.

Watching a zombie series like The Walking Dead always requires some suspension of disbelief. As if the existence of reanimated corpses (which are hot now!) isn’t outlandish enough, there are also other nagging questions that inevitably come along with the depiction of any post-apocalyptic scenario.

We’ve heard them all before – questions like: Would people really get that violent? (Apparently not). Doesn’t gasoline go bad eventually? (Yep). Would we forget about Shakespeare? (Station Eleven says nay.)

Suffice it to say, Walking Dead viewers have gotten used to accepting post-apocalyptic fictional scenarios that likely wouldn’t bear out in a post-apocalyptic reality. In the first episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, however, the Twd Universe spinoff still introduces one storytelling element that’s pretty hard to believe. How do so many of the French folks who...

Exclusive: Veteran executive and producer Nina Wolarsky, who helped put Netflix on the original series map, has joined Plan B Entertainment as the company’s first ever President of Television.

The high profile hire signals a major television expansion following Mediawan’s acquisition of a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s Plan B last December.

Known for its formidable film portfolio, which includes three Best Picture nominees and one winner, 12 Years a Slave, Plan B had ventured into television with such projects as the Emmy-winning HBO movie The Normal Heart and the Emmy-nominated HBO movie Nightingale and Prime Video series The Underground Railroad.

The company telegraphed its growing ambitions in the TV space two years ago with the hire of Scott Free’s Carina Sposato and Netflix’s Ernest McNealey as Plan B’s first dedicated, senior-level TV executives. The duo will now be part of Wolarsky’s team.

Anne-Marie made her debut in India last month as she performed at the Vh1 Supersonic. She brought the curtains down of the three day music festival. She she was excited about meeting "the beautiful people, the food, the culture."

Anne-Marie, who has been nominated for ten Brit Awards and has also received a nomination for a Billboard Music Award, wants to visit the country again and would like to go to Goa.

"I would love to come back and visit Goa – everyone said it’s incredible."

She said that she "ate so much" during her maiden visit in the country.

"I had a mix of everything, I wanted to try as much as possible! Spicy, but incredible!" she added.

Anne and Diljit collaborated almost seven months ago for ‘Peaches’ and currently, it has over 1.4 million views on Youtube.

How did it happen?

"We met in London when he came over...

‘Namaste India’ is how English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie greeted her fans in the country as she made her debut at Vh1 Supersonic. The stage was decorated with life size teddy bears. Thousands of fans thronged around the venue to catch a glimpse of her.

As soon as she entered the stage, the crowd went into a frenzy as they cheered, screamed and whistled for her. She even received some gifts including flowers from her fans.

She set the stage ablaze with her chart buster hits such as ‘Friends’, ‘2012’ and ‘Rock a bye’.

What was most interesting to see was that in the sea of crowd only phone flashlights were visible as fans wanted to lock the moment of their favourite artiste performing in front of them live.

She went on the stage and greeted by saying: “Namaste India. How are you feeling, are you feeling good?”

After her performance, she...

If there's a large metropolitan city living on the edge of a water bank, chances are that Roland Emmerich has destroyed it. There's almost no section of the planet that the disaster connoisseur behind "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "2012" hasn't demolished for the sake of our entertainment. Although disaster movies have waned down since their rise in popularity, that doesn't mean Emmerich has slowed down one bit. Destroy Earth enough times and you seek a bigger target, so why not just go for the moon?

Last year's "Moonfall" follows Emmerich's cinematic conventions down to a tee, complete with the strained father/son relationship, comedic relief scientist, an all-star cast, and a buffet of destruction. The issue isn't that we've seen all of this before, but we've seen it done better by Emmerich himself, although /Film's Chris Evangelista seemed to have a great time according to his review.

Cheryl is still famous enough not to need a surname. On the poster for 2:22 A Ghost Story, the spooky hit play in which the singer formerly known as Tweedy, Cole and Fernandez-Versini is about to make her West End debut, she is billed simply and definitively as “Cheryl”. The 39-year-old has been using the mononym for so long now – since her 2012 solo hit “Call My Name” – that she didn’t even think about it until she saw her name on the Lyric Theatre’s marquee. “I was like, I guess that’s what it is then,” she says in the warm Geordie accent familiar from her judge’s critiques on The X Factor.

She has maintained a low profile in recent years. In the late Noughties, when she juggled The X Factor with a hugely successful music career – first as a member of Girls Aloud and then as a...

Click here to read the full article.

This year, a handful of composers have the chance of being double nominated in the score category at the 2023 Oscars.

Composing duo and Nine Inch Nails band members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross could see two nominations this year, for United Artists’ Bones and All, directed by Luca Guadagnino, and Searchlight’s Empire of Light, from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. This won’t be the first time the pair landed two score noms: In 2020, they were recognized for Mank and the animated feature Soul (a collaboration with Jon Batiste), the latter winning in the category. It was their second win after they won in 2011 for The Social Network, their first collaboration on a film score.

Hildur Gudnadóttir, who won the Academy Award for best original score in 2019 for her work on Warner Bros.’ Joker, is back this year with the potential to score...

Hilary Mantel, the two-time Booker Prize-winning British novelist best known for the books “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” has died. She was 70.

Her death, which is believed to have been sudden, was confirmed by her publishers 4th Estate Books and HarperCollins U.K. on Friday afternoon local time.

In an identical statement posted on social media, 4th Estate Books and HarperCollins wrote: “We are heartbroken at the death of our beloved author, Dame Hilary Mantel, and our thoughts are with her friends and family, especially her husband, Gerald. This is a devastating loss and we can only be grateful she left us with such a magnificent body of work.”

Mantel is one of the U.K.’s most celebrated authors. Though she wrote more than a dozen books, she primarily found international acclaim in the last 15 years with her seminal Tudor drama “Wolf Hall” — which was turned into an award-winning BBC drama,...

Ten features selected for competitive strand championing bold visions.

Frances O’Connor’s feature directorial debut Emily will open 2022 Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Platform, the competitive section championing bold visions which also includes Hawa from French director Maïmouna Doucouré.

Emily charts the romantic life of Emily Brontë in the lead-up to her classic novel Wuthering Heights. Hawa, the follow-up to Doucouré’s 2020 Sundance and Berlin entry Cuties, centres on a teenage girl who sets off to get adopted by one of the most powerful women in the world.

The 10 Platform selections feature Subtraction from Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi, the...

Ukraine filmmaker and Cannes winner Sergei Loznitsa made headlines recently for writing an open letter condemning the European Film Academy’s initially lax response to the Ukraine war, and promptly dropped out of the organization. Later, the Academy announced it would exclude Russian films from consideration for its 2022 awards. He was later expelled from the Ukrainian Film Academy, with its leadership citing that “we have tirelessly called on the global film community to boycott Russian cinema. But Sergei Loznitsa publicly opposes this, thus denying the Russians’ collective responsibility for the war their country unleashed in Ukraine.”

Now, even as he stands in support of dissident Russian filmmakers, the director of films including 2012 Palme d’Or nominee “In the Fog” is getting a reconsideration in the West. His pitch-black 2018 satire “Donbass” won the Best Director in the Un Certain Regard category that year in Cannes, but hasn’t seen a U.

Disney+ on Wednesday morning suped up its slate of Marvel fare by adding 20 total seasons of TV, including Netflix’s inaugural street-level hero series, Daredevil, and the five that followed it, plus ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

None of the seven newcomers, though, landed in any of the Disney+ Marvel hub’s MCU rows — Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One through Four, or Marvel Cinematic Universe in Timeline Order — where they could have lived alongside the likes of WandaVision, Loki and even the Marvel One-Shot featurettes that were included as special features on the MCU films’ Blu-ray and digital releases.

Roland Emmerich’s latest film “Moonfall” failed to launch at the box office, bringing in just $10 million in North American theaters in its first weekend against a $140 million production budget; and even though distributor Lionsgate isn’t on the hook for that budget, it’s an example of how Emmerich’s brand of self-financed disaster epics might be another type of film that doesn’t work during a pandemic. Let’s start with the obvious: “Moonfall” didn’t get any sort of traction with audiences or critics, earning a Rotten Tomatoes score of 42% and a C+ on CinemaScore. While moviegoers haven’t wholly rejected films with an apocalyptic bent — look at the success of Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II” last year — the films that have enjoyed the most success recently have been more upbeat in their escapism.Granted, some films with bleaker outlooks such as Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up...

After living through nearly two years of a pandemic that won’t end, Americans, as it turns out, were in desperate need of a laugh.

That may explain why Paramount’s go-for-broke action comedy “Jackass Forever” triumphed at the domestic box office while Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “Moonfall” turned into an epic disaster.

“Jackass Forever,” the fourth installment in the ongoing saga of projectiles to the groin, collected $23.5 million from 3,604 North American locations in its debut, landing on the higher end of expectations. The latest “Jackass,” starring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o, Wee Man and other daredevils from MTV days, had been widely expected to win the weekend, but its victory is still surprising and impressive because it has been some time since a pure comedy has claimed the top spot on box office charts. In catapulting to first place, “Jackass Forever” finally took down reigning champion “Spider-Man: No Way Home,...

After a quiet January that saw one horror sequel and the same holiday releases putter out over several weeks, the domestic box office finally has a new leader. Paramount Pictures’ “Jackass Forever” is projected to earn $20.7 million in its opening, stunting on the weekend’s other wide release, “Moonfall.”

“Jackass Forever” earned $9.6 million on Friday across 3,604 locations. The document-of-bodily-harm-cum-heartwarming-reunion is landing near the top of its box office estimates, which projected the movie to take in around $15 million to $20 million in its opening weekend.

“Jackass Forever” sees the return of stuntmen Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o, Wee Man and many other MTV comrades, rounding up the old gang and consigning them to another gauntlet of painful pranks and good fun. Franchise director Jeff Tremaine also returns to helm the entry. Since the film only cost around $10 million to produce, opening day profits have practically put it in the black already.

The reception...

With much of the country bracing for or digging out from a nasty winter storm, two new releases are hoping to provide so much sizzle that moviegoers will brave the ice and snow to hit up their local multiplexes.

In one corner: Lionsgate’s “Moonfall,” a disaster epic from Roland Emmerich, one of the most successful purveyors of cinematic destruction. In the other: Paramount’s “Jackass Forever,” the latest entry in the long-running series in which Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o and Wee Man risk life, limb and nether regions in the service of comedy. “Jackass Forever” scored a stronger Thursday previews showing, netting $1.7 million. The film, which cost a mere $10 million to produce, is expected to $15 million to $20 million from 3,590 North American theaters in its debut.

As for “Moonfall,” which carries a far larger $140 million budget (lunar mayhem doesn’t come cheap), the disaster epic earned $700,000 in previews. It is projected...

Over the course of his almost four-decade career, Roland Emmerich is a filmmaker who has become synonymous with big-budget, CG-infused epics whose screenplays often challenge the laws of space and time. Few moviegoers who saw “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012” or even “White House Down” thought they were anything more than overblown extravaganza and a nice escape from the monotony of the real world. Frankly, isn’t that why many of us go to the movies in the first place?

Continue reading ‘Moonfall’ Review: Roland Emmerich Directs His Most Preposterous Spectacle Yet at The Playlist.

One small step for actors, one giant leap for critics’ pans.

Film reviewers rushed to Twitter following a press screening of “Moonfall,” the latest space-set film. Halle Berry stars as a NASA executive who is forced to team up with a man from her past (Patrick Wilson) and a conspiracy theorist (John Bradley) to save the world after the Moon is knocked out of orbit and threatens to destroy the Earth.

Roland Emmerich directed the film, which also stars Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, and Donald Sutherland.

While “Moonfall” premieres in theaters on February 4, Lionsgate already released the opening five minutes of the film online last month. A press screening also caused waves in the film stratosphere with critics panning the outrageous premise of the movie.

Uproxx senior entertainment writer Mike Ryan tweeted, “There’s graffiti that says ‘fuck the moon,'” before adding in a Twitter thread, “Moonfall is the greatest movie in cinematic history.

Will this be the weekend that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is dethroned at the box office once and for all?

Paramount’s go-for-broke action comedy “Jackass Forever” and director Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “Moonfall” certainly hope that’s the case. After an excruciatingly slow January at the movies, one that let “Spider-Man” tower over the competition for weeks, the two nationwide releases will try their hand at getting audiences to multiplexes.

“Jackass Forever,” the fourth installment in the ongoing saga of projectiles to the groin, appears to have the best shot at taking down “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which has spent six of the last seven weeks at No. 1. The latest “Jackass” adventure is expected to bring in $15 million to $20 million from 3,590 North American theaters in its debut. “Moonfall” is targeting a start that’s closer to $10 million or $12 million from 3,400 venues.

“Jackass Forever” cost a mere $10 million to produce,...

In making “Moonfall,” his latest world-destroying sci-fi epic, Roland Emmerich once again tapped talent from his native Germany to bring his apocalyptic visions to life.

“Moonfall” follows two former astronauts and a brilliant but discredited scientist, played by Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry and John Bradley, who team up on a mission to save the planet after the moon is knocked out of its orbit and begins hurling toward Earth, creating catastrophic environmental devastation in the process.

Of the four VFX companies that worked on the film’s massive action sequences, two originated in Germany, Scanline VFX and Pixomondo, while the others, Dneg and Framestore, are British.

Scanline, which is being taken over by Netflix, has been a regular partner for Emmerich since the 2009 disaster film “2012.” That project coincided with Scanline’s arrival in Hollywood, says Stephan Trojansky, the company’s president and senior visual-effects supervisor.

Scanline had also just made...

Jonshel Alexander, who played a supporting role in the 2012 Oscar-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild, was killed in a weekend shooting in her native Louisiana. She was 22-years old. Authorities said Alexander and a man were shot inside a vehicle Saturday in New Orleans, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The […]

The post Jonshel Alexander, ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’ Child Actor, Killed In New Orleans At 22 appeared first on uInterview.

Exclusive: CAA has signed veteran writer-executive producer Heather Zuhlke for representation in all areas.

Zuhlke is currently a writer-executive producer on season two of Starz’s new hit drama, Bmf. From EPs Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Randy Huggins, Bmf is inspired by the true story of two brothers who rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in this country.

Prior to Bmf, Zuhlke was under a two-year deal at Starz, where she was the showrunner of Intercepted, a gritty behind-the-scenes look at the NFL told from the wives’ point of view. Under her deal, she was also a co-executive producer on the John Wick spin-off, The Continental.

Previously, Zuhlke was co-executive producer on Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story and co-executive producer for three seasons on Starz’s hit crime drama Power.

She...

Today brings something fun for fans of disaster movies, as we have new images from director Roland Emmerich's "Moonfall." Emmerich, the man behind "Independence Day" and "2012," is no stranger to such large-scale disaster filmmaking. In this case he appears to have truly outdone himself, bringing the moon on a collision course with Earth, with Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson along for the ride. 

If you want to know what a fight between the Earth and the moon looks like, check out these new stills from "Moonfall:"

We previously got a teaser trailer for the flick, which was precisely what one...

The post New Moonfall Images Feature Cool Spacesuits, Hot Movie Stars, Moons Falling appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: FX is developing The Bobby Love Story, a one-hour drama starring and executive produced by Octavia Spencer, from writer Shalisha Francis-Feusner (Seven Seconds), Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street Productions and ABC Signature, where Spencer and her Orit Entertainment and Washington and Simpson Street are under deals.

Written and executive produced by Francis-Feusner, who also serves as showrunner, The Bobby Love Story is a dramatic true account of an escaped convict, Bobby Love, and his wife of 35+ years, Cheryl Love, who never knew his secret. Bobby Love and Cheryl Love serve as executive producers alongside Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner.

The Loves’ story was featured in a 2020 multi-part series on Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York blog where it went viral and led to a 10-way bidding war for the rights.

As a Black child in the Jim Crow South, Bobby Love found himself in legal trouble before his 14th birthday.

(Welcome to ...And More, our no-frills, zero B.S. guide to when and where you can watch upcoming movies and shows, and everything else you could possibly stand to know.)

After delivering several world-ending blockbusters in the form of "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "2012," director Roland Emmerich is back at it again with a new epic disaster movie called "Moonfall." In case you couldn't tell from the title, the movie is about the moon falling towards Earth and the terrible consequences that come with it. It's like "Armageddon" amped up to a million, and you're not gonna wanna miss a thing when this baby comes flying into theaters....

The post Moonfall: Release Date, Cast, and More appeared first on /Film.

As usual, Gaspar Noe kept us waiting. The director’s latest film, Vortex, was the last film to arrive in the projection rooms and the last to play in any of the official sections (the newly-created Cannes Premiere sidebar), the final gasp of a film festival that made it over the finish line wheezing and exhausted but triumphant.

It also started 50 minutes late, after Bill Murray refused to leave the stage from the preceding musical event screening. So it was nearly midnight when Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux announced there had only been 70 positive Covid tests throughout the festival – meaning movie theaters are, after all, safe spaces – and then introduced the attending celebrities, who included Tilda Swinton and Asia Argento as well the unlikely stars of Vortex, Italian horror director Dario Argento and nouvelle vague legend Francoise LeBrun. And, of course, Noe himself.

With “Vortex,” the controversial Argentinian who usually focuses his Cannes premieres on sex,...

Rising star Shaina West will take the title role in “Jade,” an upcoming action-thriller that sets Mickey Rourke as an adversary and Mark Dacascos as a former FBI ally. The film is the feature debut of stuntman-turned producer and director James Bamford.

Hong Kong-, Paris- and Los Angeles-based All Rights Entertainment will handle rights sales and present the film to buyers at the upcoming pre-Cannes virtual market and at the Cannes Market.

“Jade” presents the story of a woman who comes between a powerful businessman and a gang leader in their search for a hard drive that could damage the operations of Interpol. Despite grieving for the sister she accidentally killed, the woman is required to use her unique set of skills to retrieve the drive and protect her brother’s unborn child being carried by another woman.

Bamford worked for eight years at Warner Bros Television in stunt and...

Few auteurs today have as consistent a track record as German director Christian Petzold, whose enviable output is on display on Mubi this month, hooked to the national release on over 50 screens of his ninth feature, “Undine,” out now from IFC Films. It’s the filmmaker’s second film starring the “Transit” duo of Franz Rogowski and Paula Beer, who won the 2020 Berlin Silver Bear as well as the European Film Award for Best Actress. This time, Petzold twists an ancient mermaid myth into a visually stunning and romantic ecological message movie. After the Berlinale, “Undine” played well in theaters in Germany just under the wire before Covid created a global lockdown.

On a recent IndieWire Zoom from his book-filled office apartment in Berlin, where Petzold completed two pandemic scripts and went on a movie-watching spree as he recovered from Covid-19, he shared some views about how to make entertaining...

Few auteurs today have as consistent a track record as German director Christian Petzold, whose enviable output is on display on Mubi this month, hooked to the national release on over 50 screens of his ninth feature, “Undine,” out now from IFC Films. It’s the filmmaker’s second film starring the “Transit” duo of Franz Rogowski and Paula Beer, who won the 2020 Berlin Silver Bear as well as the European Film Award for Best Actress. This time, Petzold twists an ancient mermaid myth into a visually stunning and romantic ecological message movie. After the Berlinale, “Undine” played well in theaters in Germany just under the wire before Covid created a global lockdown.

On a recent IndieWire Zoom from his book-filled office apartment in Berlin, where Petzold completed two pandemic scripts and went on a movie-watching spree as he recovered from Covid-19, he shared some views about how to make entertaining...

Ecuador’s Cineática Films has boarded “Slay the Dragon” (“Matar el Dragon”) the third directorial outing by Chilean helmer-producer Roberto Doveris of Niña Niño Films, whose producing credits include Venice 2019 Queer Lion winner, “The Prince.”

“Slay the Dragon” is among the 17 feature films in development that have participated at Sanfic Industria’s Santiago Lab: Fiction.

Doveris and Cineatica’s Gabriela Calvache met way back at the 2013 Cartagena Film Festival and reconnected at the 2019 Sanfic, which led to this alliance, said Doveris. Chile’s Peso Pluma (“Vida de Familia,” 2017) also co-produces.

“There are two things that prompted me to co-produce ‘Slay the Dragon’: The first is its director, Roberto Doveris, whom I admire as an artist and also love as a human being. The second reason is the story and the genre of the script,” said Calvache, who wrote, directed and produced her first feature “La Mala Noche,” Ecuador’s...

HBO’s feature documentary Tina is an intimate overview of Tina Turner, the person behind the musical icon. It is also a final statement, as the singer is moving on from the performance part of her life. The documentary tells Tina’s story the way the singer wanted it told: honestly.

Some of Turner’s musical highpoints are skipped, like her scene-stealing role as the Acid Queen in Tommy or her appearance on the bulk of Frank Zappa’s Overnight Sensation. But the story of her early rise to fame, and the oppressive influence her musical mentor, husband and onstage partner Ike Turner had on her personal and professional life is deftly explored. As is her fight for independence, recording the monumental Phil Spector production “River Deep, Mountain High,” and her 1980s global resurgence.

Tina was directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, whose sports documentary, Undefeated, won the 2012...

Exclusive: Three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee has been lauded with the Légion d’honneur (The Legion of Honor), France’s highest order of merit.

The Taiwanese born-American filmmaker was honored for his global contribution to culture and received the honor from the French Ambassador to Taiwan at a private ceremony.

“This order is the highest civil and military order of the French republic and is awarded not only for artists but for people who have made significant achievements in many different fields. In the case of Mr. Ang Lee we are talking about his global contribution to the world of culture. The decoration has been awarded by our former President along with the diploma that comes with it,“ said David Kibler, Head of Cultural Affairs at the French Office in Taipei.

Previous filmmaker honorees include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford.

Lee was previously awarded...

Actor Eddie Hassell, best known for his roles in the 2010 Oscar-nominated film “The Kids Are All Right” and the NBC TV show “Surface,” has died after being shot in Texas, Hassell’s manager tells Variety. He was 30.

According to his representative, Hassell was shot Sunday morning in what appears to be a carjacking, although the incident is still being investigated. It is unclear where in Texas the crime took place.

Hassell was born on July 16, 1990 in Corsicana, Texas. He held several small roles throughout the 2000s and 2010s, most notably as Clay in the 2010 film “The Kids Are All Right,” also starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. “The Kids Are All Right” earned a best picture nod at the 2011 Oscars. He also played Phil Nance on NBC’s sci-fi series “Surface,” acting alongside Leighton Meester and Lake Bell.

Hassell made appearances on television shows such as Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,...

Popular Tamil cinema actor Vijay Sethupathi (“96”) is set to star as iconic Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in upcoming biopic “800.”

With 800 wickets in test match cricket and 534 in one day internationals, Muralitharan is the bowler with world records for the highest number of wickets in both versions of the sport. He retired in 2011 and is currently the mentor for the Sun Risers Hyderabad franchise in the Indian Premier League tournament, helping them to win the championship in 2016.

M.S. Sripathy (“Kanimozhi”) has co-written the film alongside acclaimed novelist Shehan Karunatilaka, author of “Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew,” that won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize, and will direct.

The film will follow Muralitharan’s childhood playing cricket amidst sectarian violence in Sri Lanka, and how he evolved from being an excitable pace bowler into a difficult to play spinner. It will go on to reveal how, after being falsely labeled a cheat,...

Legion M, the fan-owned entertainment company, announced its seventh round of fundraising and said it plans to allocate cash to Covid-19 affected businesses as a rewards program for investors.

Partner companies that will benefit include Alamo Drafthouse, Entertainment Earth and International Screenwriters’ Association. The re-allocated funds would have typically been spent on digital advertising over six weeks.

Legion M, launched in 2016, said it has raised $10 million from more than 25,000 investors — individuals who are interested in crowdfunding entertainment. Upcoming projects it’s involved with include Archenemy starring Joe Manganiello, alien sci-fi comedy Save Yourselves! and Girl With No Name (in development). The company uses equity crowdfunding laws enabled by the 2012 federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups (Jobs) Act.

“As the nation begins to emerge from months of quarantine, it is so important for us to give back to our friends and allies in the entertainment community who need it most during these challenging times,...

Animation powerhouse Pixar has unveiled its next feature, Italy-set Luca, to be directed by Enrico Casarosa, writer and director of the studio's 2012 Academy Award-nominated animated short La Luna.

Walt Disney said Luca, which will be produced by Andrea Warren (Lava, Cars 3), is set to open in U.S. theaters on June 18, 2021. Set on the Italian Riviera, the animated feature will be a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides.

Pixar added the titular Luca will share his adventures with a newfound best friend, a ...

This Marvel Cinematic Universe theory fixes a massive plot hole in the 2012 Avengers movie.

“Nick Fury was working behind the scenes to bring his superhero team together long before the first Avengers movie. 2012’s The Avengers finally realized that dream, but the the superhero team’s mission to save New York from alien invaders didn’t get that much support from S.H.I.E.L.D. The government organization actually wanted to nuke the entire city, including the Avengers themselves.”

Read more at Inverse.

One of the most entertaining dynamics in The Office is between Michael Scott and Toby Flenderson. A fan has a theory as to why Michael hates Toby so much.

“NBC’s hit workplace comedy The Office has spawned its fair share of fan theories, including one that suggests Michael Scott was actually a genius and another which teases the idea that Dunder Mifflin employees...

For a perennial toddler who’s only ever taken a few baby steps, Maggie Simpson really gets around, and is very popular. In spite of all the ribbing the parent company took from the long running animated comedy, Disney+ set a playdate with The Simpsons. The animated short film “Maggie Simpson in ‘Playdate with Destiny’” will stream globally on the service starting Friday, April 10. The announcement was made by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening with a special handwritten note, with no cursives.

“Greetings, Friends! Earlier this year we made a nifty little short film called ‘Maggie Simpson in Playdate with Destiny.’” Groening posted to Instagram. “The response was so gratifying we wanted everyone to see it at home. So here ya go – stream it starting April 10th on Disney+!”

“Maggie Simpson in ‘Playdate with Destiny’” was originally shown in movie theatres before Disney and Pixar’s computer-animated urban fantasy flick Onward.

The Independent Film & Television Alliance has filed a complaint to the U.S. Trade Representative, calling for the U.S. government to keep China on its Priority Watch List and to monitor China under Section 306 of the Trade Act.

The Ifta lobby group, which represents American and international independent film companies, argues that China is making it harder than ever for U.S. independents to secure meaningful release for their films in the Middle Kingdom. That is despite China now being a $9 billion theatrical market.

Contacted by Variety, Ifta offered no additional comment.

Ifta data shows that only 13 Us indie films were released in China last year, and that they grossed an aggregate $115 million last year. It said that was “an all-time low,” representing just 1.3% of Chinese box office, and down from 5.6% in 2010.

China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, agreeing a system of open markets and specified exceptions to that principle.

Exclusive: Pixomondo, the VFX firm responsible for the dragons in Game of Thrones, has come on board the Roland Emmerich-produced feature film adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

The company, which also won an Academy Award for its work on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, is joining the project alongside German film fund Hessenfilm. Pixomondo will be responsible for the visual effects and character animations in this English-language adaptation of the famous opera, while Hessenfilm will be supporting the project with a subsidy of €350,000.

The story is set in today’s Europe; when 17-year old Tim Walker is sent from London to the Austrian alps, to start his singing scholarship at the legendary Mozart boarding school, he discovers a century old forgotten passageway into the fantastic world of The Magic Flute.

The project is currently in pre-production with plans to begin shooting in late summer 2020.

Midway and Independence Day...

Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972; age: 45) is an American actress and writer. Her role in the 2000 comedy film The Whole Nine Yards brought her wide recognition. She then went on to play secondary roles in the films Saving Silverman (2001), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Identity (2003), Syriana (2005), The Ex (2006), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) and 2012 (2009). Peet has also appeared in the 1999 […]

Source: uInterview

The post Amanda Peet Bio: In Her Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos appeared first on uInterview.

It's unfair to say that Roland Emmerich destroys the world in all of his movies ... he just destroys it in most of them.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the German maestro of blockbuster destruction, the man who blew up every national monument in 'Independence Day,' froze over the northern hemisphere in 'The Day After Tomorrow' and killed just about every human being on the face of the planet in '2012,' will be making himself another alien invasion movie. But what makes 'The Zone,' the name of this top-secret new project, so special?

Maybe it has something to with the fact that 'The Zone' will be a "found footage" film in the vein of 'Cloverfield' and cost less than $5 million. Maybe. Just maybe.

A small-budgeted science fiction movie is nothing new (the upcoming 'Skyline' was made for similar...

The end-of-the-world drama "2012," from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, debuted at the top of all three home video charts the week ending March 7, the first release in nearly a month with a boxoffice pedigree of more than $100 million.

The disaster flick, which earned $166.1 million in theaters, trounced fellow newcomer "Where the Wild Things Are," from Warner -- not surprising, given the family fantasy's lower boxoffice gross of $73.4 million.

On the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert Sales chart, "Wild Things" finished at No. 2, although it sold just 44.4% as many discs as "2012." On the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc charts, the two new releases finished in the same order, although "Wild Things" sold just 30% as many Blu-ray Discs as "2012."

"2012" generated 41% of its first-week sales from the Blu-ray Disc version, while for the "Wild Things," the Blu-ray share was just 28%.

On Home Media Magazine's rental chart for the week, "Where the Wild Things Are" debuted at No.

Well, it sounded like an intriguing idea at the time: ABC decided to pass on developing a small screen version of the apocalyptic film 2012, a drama series that would have depicted the disaster's aftermath. Future production costs may have been a factor in ABC's decision, though the status of the network's other high-concept genre shows (FlashForward, V) could have played a role, too. Both shows struggled in the ratings last fall and have yet to receive a second season pickup. A spokeswoman for ABC declined to comment. Last November, 2012 executive producer Mark Gordon, who was on board to produce the TV show,...