Exclusive: The new boss of My Brilliant Friend producer Wildside is on a mission to discover the next generation of Italian talent.
Detailing the Fremantle-backed producer’s strategy for the first time since taking over, Sonia Rovai said she will not depart from the genres that the Italian outfit specializes in but will instead attempt to shift the dial by unearthing young scribes and directors.
Rovai said she is slowly building up a development slate featuring these voices, with projects that she will likely produce herself.
“We need to push to find the Italian next generation,” she told Deadline at the AVPSummit in south Italy. “So we are selecting and working on new voices and young talent.”
Rovai is “investing time” in the endeavor, she said, visiting local theaters and reaching out to those who may have left Italy to find work in nations like the UK. “To find...
Detailing the Fremantle-backed producer’s strategy for the first time since taking over, Sonia Rovai said she will not depart from the genres that the Italian outfit specializes in but will instead attempt to shift the dial by unearthing young scribes and directors.
Rovai said she is slowly building up a development slate featuring these voices, with projects that she will likely produce herself.
“We need to push to find the Italian next generation,” she told Deadline at the AVPSummit in south Italy. “So we are selecting and working on new voices and young talent.”
Rovai is “investing time” in the endeavor, she said, visiting local theaters and reaching out to those who may have left Italy to find work in nations like the UK. “To find...
- 6/13/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
From Jekyll and Hyde to the Wolfman, to much more recent twists on atavistic transformations, the concept of shape-shifting has always been a popular one in fiction — with storytellers turning the dial up or down on the potential social commentary therein, according to taste and preference. In “Animale,” the closing film of this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week section, director Emma Benestan is rather more interested in the interpersonal dynamics navigated by 22-year-old female bull-runner Nejma (Oulaya Amamra) than in really savouring some promising horror implications. She gives Dr. Jekyll center stage, as it were, rather than getting too involved with Mr. Hyde.
Nejma works at a ranch in Camargue, France, where bulls are raised to compete in the arena for baying crowds of exhilarated spectators. It is a traditionally masculine environment: From the bulls to the men who wrangle them, the emphasis is on displays of physical strength and ferocity.
Nejma works at a ranch in Camargue, France, where bulls are raised to compete in the arena for baying crowds of exhilarated spectators. It is a traditionally masculine environment: From the bulls to the men who wrangle them, the emphasis is on displays of physical strength and ferocity.
- 5/23/2024
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
Italian media company Be Water, which is in Cannes for the first time, has announced its full roster of partners and scope of business activities comprising film, documentary and scripted TV production as well as theatrical film distribution, podcasts and live events.
While details of the company’s scripted productions are being kept under wraps, Be Water has announced the lineup of films they are releasing locally theatrically in collaboration with Italy’s Medusa, which is handling booking and billing. Besides “Oh, Canada,” the Be Water lineup includes Nicolas Cage horror-thriller “Longlegs,” directed by Osgood Perkin; Russian-American director Michael Lockshin’s “The Master and Margarita” with Claes Bang and August Diehl; and action family adventure “Jim Button and the Wild 13.”
The Rome-based shingle is operating with what is being described as a holistic approach to content production that is congenial to the digital age, which is certainly a novelty for Italy.
While details of the company’s scripted productions are being kept under wraps, Be Water has announced the lineup of films they are releasing locally theatrically in collaboration with Italy’s Medusa, which is handling booking and billing. Besides “Oh, Canada,” the Be Water lineup includes Nicolas Cage horror-thriller “Longlegs,” directed by Osgood Perkin; Russian-American director Michael Lockshin’s “The Master and Margarita” with Claes Bang and August Diehl; and action family adventure “Jim Button and the Wild 13.”
The Rome-based shingle is operating with what is being described as a holistic approach to content production that is congenial to the digital age, which is certainly a novelty for Italy.
- 5/13/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Descubre todos los detalles de la película. © Disney
Comienza el rodaje de “El Cautivo”, la nueva película de Alejandro Amenábar (“Los Otros”) que narra las vivencias y aventuras del joven Miguel de Cervantes durante su cautiverio en Argel.
La película se sitúa en el año 1575 cuando el joven Miguel de Cervantes, herido en combate naval, es capturado en alta mar por corsarios argelinos a su regreso a España. Consciente de que le espera una muerte cruel en Argel si no paga pronto su rescate, Miguel descubre un refugio inesperado en su pasión por contar historias. Sus fascinantes relatos devuelven la esperanza a sus compañeros de prisión y acaban atrayendo la atención de Hassan, el misterioso y temido Bajá de Argel, con quien empieza a desarrollar una extraña afinidad. A medida que crece el conflicto entre sus compañeros de prisión, Miguel, impulsado por su inquebrantable optimismo, comienza a idear un audaz plan de fuga.
Comienza el rodaje de “El Cautivo”, la nueva película de Alejandro Amenábar (“Los Otros”) que narra las vivencias y aventuras del joven Miguel de Cervantes durante su cautiverio en Argel.
La película se sitúa en el año 1575 cuando el joven Miguel de Cervantes, herido en combate naval, es capturado en alta mar por corsarios argelinos a su regreso a España. Consciente de que le espera una muerte cruel en Argel si no paga pronto su rescate, Miguel descubre un refugio inesperado en su pasión por contar historias. Sus fascinantes relatos devuelven la esperanza a sus compañeros de prisión y acaban atrayendo la atención de Hassan, el misterioso y temido Bajá de Argel, con quien empieza a desarrollar una extraña afinidad. A medida que crece el conflicto entre sus compañeros de prisión, Miguel, impulsado por su inquebrantable optimismo, comienza a idear un audaz plan de fuga.
- 5/6/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
Italian state broadcaster Rai is under heavy fire amid allegations that it censored a planned anti-fascist monologue by prominent writer Antonio Scurati, author of international bestseller “M: Son of the Century,” which reconstructs fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to power.
Scurati was meant to read his monologue – written to mark the country’s upcoming April 25 national holiday that celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism – on the talk show “Chesarà,” which aired on the broadcaster’s Rai 3 channel Saturday night.
Shortly before the show’s airtime, as the writer prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai informing him that his appearance had been canceled “for editorial reasons,” according to an internal Rai document published by leftist daily La Repubblica.
In protest against the sudden muzzling, “Chesarà” host Serena Bortone read out the monologue in full on the talk show herself. Scurati’s text has also...
Scurati was meant to read his monologue – written to mark the country’s upcoming April 25 national holiday that celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism – on the talk show “Chesarà,” which aired on the broadcaster’s Rai 3 channel Saturday night.
Shortly before the show’s airtime, as the writer prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai informing him that his appearance had been canceled “for editorial reasons,” according to an internal Rai document published by leftist daily La Repubblica.
In protest against the sudden muzzling, “Chesarà” host Serena Bortone read out the monologue in full on the talk show herself. Scurati’s text has also...
- 4/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
M-Appeal has closed distribution deals in key territories for “Sex,” which had its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section.
The film, the first part of the “Sex Dreams Love” trilogy by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has garnered attention for its thought-provoking exploration of sexuality and gender roles.
All rights for the film have been sold to Pyramide Distribution for France, JinJin Pictures for South Korea and Cinobo for Greece.
“Sex” follows two men in heterosexual marriages, who have an unexpected experience that challenges them to reconsider their understanding of sexuality, gender and identity. One has a sexual encounter with another man, without considering it either as an expression of homosexuality or infidelity and discusses it with his wife afterwards. The other finds himself in nocturnal dreams where he is seen as a woman, stirring confusion and leading him to question how much his personality is shaped by the gaze of others.
The film, the first part of the “Sex Dreams Love” trilogy by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has garnered attention for its thought-provoking exploration of sexuality and gender roles.
All rights for the film have been sold to Pyramide Distribution for France, JinJin Pictures for South Korea and Cinobo for Greece.
“Sex” follows two men in heterosexual marriages, who have an unexpected experience that challenges them to reconsider their understanding of sexuality, gender and identity. One has a sexual encounter with another man, without considering it either as an expression of homosexuality or infidelity and discusses it with his wife afterwards. The other finds himself in nocturnal dreams where he is seen as a woman, stirring confusion and leading him to question how much his personality is shaped by the gaze of others.
- 2/20/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Twin directors Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, who are known to Berlin Film Festival audiences for stylishly gritty dramas “Boys Cry” and “Bad Tales,” are back with eclectic detective series “Dostoevskij,” premiering in the fest’s Berlinale Special section.
Set in the stark Roman hinterland, the six-episode show — produced by Sky Studios with Rome’s Paco Cinematografica — stars Filippo Timi as Enzo Vitello, a policeman whose mind is warped by an incident involving his daughter Ambra. He winds up on the trail of a ruthless serial killer, nicknamed Dostoevskij because of the letters full of gruesome details that he leaves at crime scenes. Haunted by the killer’s words, the cop embarks on a dangerous solo investigation, getting closer and closer to a disturbing existential truth.
“Dostoevskij,” which marks the D’Innocenzo brothers’ TV debut, stemmed from Sky Studios Italia chief Nils Hartmann asking them if they wanted to create a...
Set in the stark Roman hinterland, the six-episode show — produced by Sky Studios with Rome’s Paco Cinematografica — stars Filippo Timi as Enzo Vitello, a policeman whose mind is warped by an incident involving his daughter Ambra. He winds up on the trail of a ruthless serial killer, nicknamed Dostoevskij because of the letters full of gruesome details that he leaves at crime scenes. Haunted by the killer’s words, the cop embarks on a dangerous solo investigation, getting closer and closer to a disturbing existential truth.
“Dostoevskij,” which marks the D’Innocenzo brothers’ TV debut, stemmed from Sky Studios Italia chief Nils Hartmann asking them if they wanted to create a...
- 2/18/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Union of Italian Exporters Anica, which represents most of the country’s leading sales agents, has expressed concern about the launch of Rai Cinema’s new film sales operation.
Rai Cinema International Distribution makes its market debut at EFM this week with a slate of 10 films. It will handle new features, while existing TV and film sales distribution operation Rai Com will sell library titles.
In a statement issued exclusively to Screen, the Union noted its “concern about the entry into the market of a fully publicly funded operator” which it described as a “giant” compared to other Italian companies.
Rai Cinema International Distribution makes its market debut at EFM this week with a slate of 10 films. It will handle new features, while existing TV and film sales distribution operation Rai Com will sell library titles.
In a statement issued exclusively to Screen, the Union noted its “concern about the entry into the market of a fully publicly funded operator” which it described as a “giant” compared to other Italian companies.
- 2/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Goodfellas has acquired world sales rights for Emilio Estevez’s The Way: Chapter 2, reuniting the actor-director with the cast members of his original 2010 hit, father Martin Sheen, Yorick Van Wageningen and James Nesbitt.
The sequel revisits protagonist Tom (Sheen) a decade after his first pilgrimage on Spain’s El Camino de Santiago in the footsteps of his deceased son Daniel (Estevez), as he reconnects with his walking companions Joost (van Wageningen) and Jack (Nisbitt).
Now embedded with Doctors Without Borders in northern Nigeria, performing surgery in a war zone, Tom is sent a copy of Jack’s bestselling book based on their shared experience, in which a disturbing secret is revealed.
Enraged, he leaves to search for Jack and find answers to questions that have haunted him for a decade. His journey reunites him with Joost and leads them through Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels and France before returning to Spain and the Camino.
The sequel revisits protagonist Tom (Sheen) a decade after his first pilgrimage on Spain’s El Camino de Santiago in the footsteps of his deceased son Daniel (Estevez), as he reconnects with his walking companions Joost (van Wageningen) and Jack (Nisbitt).
Now embedded with Doctors Without Borders in northern Nigeria, performing surgery in a war zone, Tom is sent a copy of Jack’s bestselling book based on their shared experience, in which a disturbing secret is revealed.
Enraged, he leaves to search for Jack and find answers to questions that have haunted him for a decade. His journey reunites him with Joost and leads them through Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels and France before returning to Spain and the Camino.
- 2/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Sky Italia has dropped a deliciously dark first teaser for “Dostoevskij,” the TV series by twin directors Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, which will launch from the upcoming Berlin Film Festival in the Berlinale Special section.
The eclectic, six-episode detective drama set in the stark Roman hinterland stars Filippo Timi as Enzo Vitello, a detective whose mind is warped by a troubled past. He winds up on the blood trail of a ruthless serial killer, nicknamed Dostoevskij because of the letters full of gruesome details that he leaves at crime scenes.
Haunted by the killer’s words, the policeman embarks on a dangerous solo investigation, getting closer and closer to a disturbing existential truth.
The Italian duo’s stylishly gritty dramas “Boy’s Cry” and “Bad Tales” both previously launched from the Berlinale, while their most recent film, “America Latina,” bowed at Venice in 2022. “Dostoevskij” is their debut in the TV series sphere.
The eclectic, six-episode detective drama set in the stark Roman hinterland stars Filippo Timi as Enzo Vitello, a detective whose mind is warped by a troubled past. He winds up on the blood trail of a ruthless serial killer, nicknamed Dostoevskij because of the letters full of gruesome details that he leaves at crime scenes.
Haunted by the killer’s words, the policeman embarks on a dangerous solo investigation, getting closer and closer to a disturbing existential truth.
The Italian duo’s stylishly gritty dramas “Boy’s Cry” and “Bad Tales” both previously launched from the Berlinale, while their most recent film, “America Latina,” bowed at Venice in 2022. “Dostoevskij” is their debut in the TV series sphere.
- 2/6/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Principal photography is set to begin in April on “The Captive” (“El Cautivo”), the period adventure epic from Alejandro Amenábar, whose “The Sea Inside” won an Oscar for best foreign language film. Film Constellation has boarded worldwide sales, and will introduce the project to buyers at the European Film Market.
The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.
The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.
The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...
The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.
The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.
The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...
- 1/30/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has dropped a teaser trailer for “Supersex,” the series freely inspired by the real life of global porn star Rocco Siffredi, which will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and drop March 6 on the streamer.
“Every power is an enigma. It can give you light, or throw you into darkness. But every existence lived to its fullest always has a price to pay,” a voiceover says in the teaser as Siffredi is bombarded by fans and paparazzi.
The show looks at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world,” according to its official synopsis.
The hotly anticipated series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri, who is known for her feminist works.
At the center of “Supersex” – which is produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of...
“Every power is an enigma. It can give you light, or throw you into darkness. But every existence lived to its fullest always has a price to pay,” a voiceover says in the teaser as Siffredi is bombarded by fans and paparazzi.
The show looks at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world,” according to its official synopsis.
The hotly anticipated series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri, who is known for her feminist works.
At the center of “Supersex” – which is produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of...
- 1/15/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
321 films are in contention for this year’s Academy Awards, while 265 features are eligible in the best picture category, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday as it released its annual “reminder list” for members.
To be eligible in the general categories, films (meaning a runtime of more than 40 minutes) must open in a commercial theater in at least one of the following areas: Los Angeles County; the city of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023. Additionally, it must complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue.
To be eligible for the best picture category specifically, the movies must be eligible for the general entry and have “submitted a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry form.” Additionally, the film must meet two of the four standards required, in addition to the theatrical component.
To be eligible in the general categories, films (meaning a runtime of more than 40 minutes) must open in a commercial theater in at least one of the following areas: Los Angeles County; the city of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023. Additionally, it must complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue.
To be eligible for the best picture category specifically, the movies must be eligible for the general entry and have “submitted a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry form.” Additionally, the film must meet two of the four standards required, in addition to the theatrical component.
- 1/8/2024
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"The world is changing. Reforming. This is your moment." Another year, another Top 10. After watching more than 400 films throughout 2023 (always logging everything on my Letterboxd for anyone curious) it's time to share my final selection of My Top 10 Favorite Films of 2023. I try to watch as much as I can and give myself time to catch up with any extra films at the end of the year, but my favorites can come from anytime in 2023. I fell hard for all the major ones - Oppenheimer, Spider-Verse, Past Lives, Poor Things, and American Fiction. Before anyone asks about the ones missing: I'm not that big on Killers of the Flower Moon (it's good not great), I quite like Anatomy of a Fall but it didn't make the cut, Godland and The Eight Mountains are on last year's Top 10, Saltburn is bad (yeah it's meh), and Godzilla: Minus One is great also didn't make the cut.
- 1/5/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The British Academy has unveiled the results of the first round of voting across all 24 categories for the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, with a perhaps unsurprising trio of films at the top.
The cultural phenomenon that was “Barbenheimer” has continued to smash its way into awards season, with both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” named in 15 categories, including best film and director. But joining the two with 15 slots, making it a three-way tie going into the final nominations, is “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Last year, only “All Quiet on the Western Front” earned 15 longlist places, with the film going on to dominate the awards ceremony (and winning best film).
Further down, “Poor Things” was named in 14 categories, “Maestro” in 12 and “Saltburn” in 11, with “Saltburn” missing out on a best film slot. Other U.K. films fared well, with “The Zone of Interest” and “All of Us Strangers” named in 10 categories (including best film), “Wonka” in eight,...
The cultural phenomenon that was “Barbenheimer” has continued to smash its way into awards season, with both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” named in 15 categories, including best film and director. But joining the two with 15 slots, making it a three-way tie going into the final nominations, is “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Last year, only “All Quiet on the Western Front” earned 15 longlist places, with the film going on to dominate the awards ceremony (and winning best film).
Further down, “Poor Things” was named in 14 categories, “Maestro” in 12 and “Saltburn” in 11, with “Saltburn” missing out on a best film slot. Other U.K. films fared well, with “The Zone of Interest” and “All of Us Strangers” named in 10 categories (including best film), “Wonka” in eight,...
- 1/5/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
“Barbenheimer” keeps making a splash. The British Academy on Friday unveiled the longlists for its 2024 BAFTA Film Awards in all 24 categories, and Greta Gerwig’s pink juggernaut Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s biographical epic Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s Western crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon are leading the pack with 15 mentions each. They are followed by Yorgos Lanthimos’ black-comedy science fantasy Poor Things with 14.
Meanwhile, Maestro earned 12 longlists mentions, Saltburn 11, while The Zone of Interest and All of Us Strangers got 10 each.
Among the leading actors and actresses featuring on the longlists are such names as Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Sandra Hüller, Lily Gladstone, Annette Bening, Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Andrew Scott, Jeffrey Wright, Cillian Murphy, Paul Giamatti, Colman Domingo and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Hüller, who has drawn serious awards buzz for two movies, proved why on Friday. She features on the BAFTA longlists for leading actress for her work in Anatomy of a Fall,...
Meanwhile, Maestro earned 12 longlists mentions, Saltburn 11, while The Zone of Interest and All of Us Strangers got 10 each.
Among the leading actors and actresses featuring on the longlists are such names as Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Sandra Hüller, Lily Gladstone, Annette Bening, Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Andrew Scott, Jeffrey Wright, Cillian Murphy, Paul Giamatti, Colman Domingo and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Hüller, who has drawn serious awards buzz for two movies, proved why on Friday. She features on the BAFTA longlists for leading actress for her work in Anatomy of a Fall,...
- 1/5/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ tie for most spots with 15 each.
Bafta has unveiled the round two voting longlists for its 2024 film awards, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon leading with 15 longlist spots each.
Longlists have been released for all 24 categories, including best film, outstanding British film, and outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer, ahead of the nominations on January 18 and final awards ceremony on February 18.
Scroll down for the full longlists
Some 69 films have been selected across the 24 categories. An adjustment to...
Bafta has unveiled the round two voting longlists for its 2024 film awards, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon leading with 15 longlist spots each.
Longlists have been released for all 24 categories, including best film, outstanding British film, and outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer, ahead of the nominations on January 18 and final awards ceremony on February 18.
Scroll down for the full longlists
Some 69 films have been selected across the 24 categories. An adjustment to...
- 1/5/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The indie box office busted out this year, hitting is stride post-Covid with an eclectic string of releases that made a splash artistically and financially.
Independents and mini-majors saw $1.47 billion in box office receipts as of Dec. 27, up from $811.7 million in 2022, according to Comscore.
Focus Features had the biggest limited opening of the year with Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (gross $28 million). Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti ($17.9 million) drew older demos, picky, yes, but finally comfortable back in theaters. Ditto for MGM’s Air, a film Amazon originally slated to go directly to Prime Video, that hit a core 45+ audience and a $52 million cume.
A24’s Past Lives, the much-nominated first film by Celine Song, made $10.9 million and its low-budget horror Talk to Me cleared $48 million. Emma Seligman’s raunchy teen comedy Bottoms from MGM topped $12 million.
That led into a fall bonanza heading into awards season with Anatomy Of A Fall,...
Independents and mini-majors saw $1.47 billion in box office receipts as of Dec. 27, up from $811.7 million in 2022, according to Comscore.
Focus Features had the biggest limited opening of the year with Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (gross $28 million). Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti ($17.9 million) drew older demos, picky, yes, but finally comfortable back in theaters. Ditto for MGM’s Air, a film Amazon originally slated to go directly to Prime Video, that hit a core 45+ audience and a $52 million cume.
A24’s Past Lives, the much-nominated first film by Celine Song, made $10.9 million and its low-budget horror Talk to Me cleared $48 million. Emma Seligman’s raunchy teen comedy Bottoms from MGM topped $12 million.
That led into a fall bonanza heading into awards season with Anatomy Of A Fall,...
- 1/1/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
It is meaningful to me to be back here, compiling a list of ten for Dn, following a year off last year. Coming back I feel my list is different to what it may have been without the break, where my film watching, cinema-going and general cinephilia took new forms that are still revealing themselves. Some notes:
There is no inclusion of Enys Men or One Fine Morning, which for me are 2022 films and though released cinematically this year I wish to leave that year well and truly behind me. I’ve only included films where there is a trailer link so there’s no room for Nariman Massoumi’s poetic short doc Pouring Water on Troubled Oil, currently screening at festivals though criminally getting overlooked at many that should show it, John Akomfrah’s stunning installation Arcadia, at The Box in Plymouth until June 2024, or finally, Mark Jenkin’s...
There is no inclusion of Enys Men or One Fine Morning, which for me are 2022 films and though released cinematically this year I wish to leave that year well and truly behind me. I’ve only included films where there is a trailer link so there’s no room for Nariman Massoumi’s poetic short doc Pouring Water on Troubled Oil, currently screening at festivals though criminally getting overlooked at many that should show it, John Akomfrah’s stunning installation Arcadia, at The Box in Plymouth until June 2024, or finally, Mark Jenkin’s...
- 12/29/2023
- by Neil Fox
- Directors Notes
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
I love going to the movies every year, but I really loved going to the movies this year. I saw Knock at the Cabin in Providence, I saw May December in Tallinn. I saw Enys Men in a small theater at Village East where it felt like everyone in the audience turned against the film but me. Somehow I liked Equalizer 3 despite loathing the other two. The worst movie I saw in theaters was Fast X, which I watched on an edible that put me to sleep during a set piece. I missed out on seeing Magic Mike’s Last Dance with some friends who wound up running into Christopher Nolan going to see Skinamarink. I loved breaking Yom Kippur fast during The Beast (out next year—I...
I love going to the movies every year, but I really loved going to the movies this year. I saw Knock at the Cabin in Providence, I saw May December in Tallinn. I saw Enys Men in a small theater at Village East where it felt like everyone in the audience turned against the film but me. Somehow I liked Equalizer 3 despite loathing the other two. The worst movie I saw in theaters was Fast X, which I watched on an edible that put me to sleep during a set piece. I missed out on seeing Magic Mike’s Last Dance with some friends who wound up running into Christopher Nolan going to see Skinamarink. I loved breaking Yom Kippur fast during The Beast (out next year—I...
- 12/28/2023
- by Fran Hoepfner
- The Film Stage
Netflix has dropped its first key art and several new images for Supersex, the hotly anticipated biographical series on Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi.
Alessandro Borghi, star of Netflix’s mafia drama series Suburra and 2022 Cannes jury prize winner The Eight Mountains, plays Rocco in the fictionalized take on the porn actor’s life. The seven-episode series — created and written by Francesca Manieri, Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle-owned The Apartment and Matteo Rovere for Banijay’s Groenlandia — will bow on Netflix worldwide March 6, 2024. Rovere, Francesco Carrozzini and Francesca Mazzoleni are directing.
Netflix has said the series is “freely inspired” by Siffredi’s life and career, as well as from direct testimony from Siffredi. Supersex plans to tell the soup-to-nuts story of Rocco from his childhood and family origins through his “relationship with love” that led him to pursue a career in porn.
Jasmine Trinca plays Lucia, a fictional female character who...
Alessandro Borghi, star of Netflix’s mafia drama series Suburra and 2022 Cannes jury prize winner The Eight Mountains, plays Rocco in the fictionalized take on the porn actor’s life. The seven-episode series — created and written by Francesca Manieri, Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle-owned The Apartment and Matteo Rovere for Banijay’s Groenlandia — will bow on Netflix worldwide March 6, 2024. Rovere, Francesco Carrozzini and Francesca Mazzoleni are directing.
Netflix has said the series is “freely inspired” by Siffredi’s life and career, as well as from direct testimony from Siffredi. Supersex plans to tell the soup-to-nuts story of Rocco from his childhood and family origins through his “relationship with love” that led him to pursue a career in porn.
Jasmine Trinca plays Lucia, a fictional female character who...
- 12/15/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has set a March 6 premiere date for “Supersex,” the series freely inspired by the real life of global porn star Rocco Siffredi, who has more than 1,500 hardcore films to his name.
The series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri who is known to be a militant feminist. It is described in promotional materials as a profound story that runs through Siffredi’s life since childhood and looks at his family, “his relationship with love” and how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”
“Supersex” directors are Matteo Rovere (“Romulus”), Francesco Carrozzini (“The Hanging Sun”) and Francesca Mazzoleni (“Punta Sacra”).
At the center of “Supersex” – which is being produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of the Banijay group – are unknown aspects of the Italian porn star, who...
The series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri who is known to be a militant feminist. It is described in promotional materials as a profound story that runs through Siffredi’s life since childhood and looks at his family, “his relationship with love” and how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”
“Supersex” directors are Matteo Rovere (“Romulus”), Francesco Carrozzini (“The Hanging Sun”) and Francesca Mazzoleni (“Punta Sacra”).
At the center of “Supersex” – which is being produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of the Banijay group – are unknown aspects of the Italian porn star, who...
- 12/15/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This majestic tale about a Danish priest’s mission to build a parish on the Icelandic coast is a powerful reminder of man’s relationship with nature
• More on the best films of 2023
• More on the best culture of 2023
Like The Eight Mountains (No 11 on this year’s UK list/No 12 on the US list), Godland is predicated on the construction of a haven in the wilderness – this time, a church on the 19th-century Icelandic coast. Unlike its spiritual sibling in the 2023 film lineup, though, nature is no comfort here, rather an Old Testament-like chastisement in waiting for man’s ambition and hubris. There’s a lot more frightening Herzogian immensity and admonishment here than home-on-the-range John Ford cosiness and sentiment. Nor does director Hlynur Pálmason let himself off the hook: given Lucas, the Danish priest missioned to build a parish, is a photographer, then art’s worth in...
• More on the best films of 2023
• More on the best culture of 2023
Like The Eight Mountains (No 11 on this year’s UK list/No 12 on the US list), Godland is predicated on the construction of a haven in the wilderness – this time, a church on the 19th-century Icelandic coast. Unlike its spiritual sibling in the 2023 film lineup, though, nature is no comfort here, rather an Old Testament-like chastisement in waiting for man’s ambition and hubris. There’s a lot more frightening Herzogian immensity and admonishment here than home-on-the-range John Ford cosiness and sentiment. Nor does director Hlynur Pálmason let himself off the hook: given Lucas, the Danish priest missioned to build a parish, is a photographer, then art’s worth in...
- 12/15/2023
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As our year-end coverage continues, we must pay dues. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Jomo Fray)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt slows down the cycle of life. The camera rests on hands, on backs, on people connected through touch, sound, and smell. There isn’t any rush, any intention to leave these moments. Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray find beauty, grace, and life in two people holding hands, dancing, skinning a fish, and the trees passing while a family drives down the road. The film doesn’t just feel like a...
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Jomo Fray)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt slows down the cycle of life. The camera rests on hands, on backs, on people connected through touch, sound, and smell. There isn’t any rush, any intention to leave these moments. Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray find beauty, grace, and life in two people holding hands, dancing, skinning a fish, and the trees passing while a family drives down the road. The film doesn’t just feel like a...
- 12/6/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
“20.000 especies de abejas”, “La sociedad de la nieve”, “Saben Aquell” y “Cerrar los Ojos” encabezan las nominaciones a los premios Goya 2024.
El pasado jueves se anunciaron los nominados de la próxima edición de los prestigiosos Premios Goya, el destacado evento anual que celebra lo mejor del cine español. La gala de los Goya 2024 se celebrará el 10 de febrero en Valladolid, con la actriz y cantante Ana Belén y por Los Javis como presentadores. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
20.000 especies de abejas
Cerrar los ojos
La sociedad de la nieve
Saben aquell
Un amor
Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Víctor Erice, Cerrar los ojos
Elena Martín, Creatura
J.A. Bayona, La sociedad de la nieve
David Trueba, Saben aquell
Isabel Coixet, Un amor
Mejor PELÍCULA Europea
Aftersun (Reino Unido)
Anatomía de una caída (Francia)
Las ocho montañas (Italia)
Safe Place (Croacia)
Sala de profesores...
El pasado jueves se anunciaron los nominados de la próxima edición de los prestigiosos Premios Goya, el destacado evento anual que celebra lo mejor del cine español. La gala de los Goya 2024 se celebrará el 10 de febrero en Valladolid, con la actriz y cantante Ana Belén y por Los Javis como presentadores. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
20.000 especies de abejas
Cerrar los ojos
La sociedad de la nieve
Saben aquell
Un amor
Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Víctor Erice, Cerrar los ojos
Elena Martín, Creatura
J.A. Bayona, La sociedad de la nieve
David Trueba, Saben aquell
Isabel Coixet, Un amor
Mejor PELÍCULA Europea
Aftersun (Reino Unido)
Anatomía de una caída (Francia)
Las ocho montañas (Italia)
Safe Place (Croacia)
Sala de profesores...
- 12/2/2023
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
The Society Of The Snow has garnered 13 nominations, followed by Close Your Eyes and Jokes & Cigarettes with 11.
Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s 20,000 Species Of Bees leads the nominations for Spain’s prestigious Goya awards, which will be presented on February 10, 2024.
20,000 Species Of Bees premiered in competition at Berlin, going on to win the Silver Bear for best performance for Sofía Otero, playing an eight-year-old girl who spends a summer working in the Basque Country’s beehives while exploring her identity.
The film scored 15 nominations, including best film, best director and four nods in the acting categories.
Ja Bayona’s...
Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s 20,000 Species Of Bees leads the nominations for Spain’s prestigious Goya awards, which will be presented on February 10, 2024.
20,000 Species Of Bees premiered in competition at Berlin, going on to win the Silver Bear for best performance for Sofía Otero, playing an eight-year-old girl who spends a summer working in the Basque Country’s beehives while exploring her identity.
The film scored 15 nominations, including best film, best director and four nods in the acting categories.
Ja Bayona’s...
- 11/30/2023
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
The holidays are upon us, so whether you looking for film-related gifts or simply want to pick up some of the finest the year had to offer in the category for yourself, we have a gift guide for you. Including must-have books on filmmaking, the best from the Criterion Collection and more home-video picks, subscriptions, magazines, music, and more, dive in below.
Giveaways
In celebration of our holiday gift guide, we’ll be doing a number of giveaways! First up, we’re giving away My First Movie Vol. 2, a three-part ‘lil cinephile series by Cory Everett and illustrator Julie Olivi, featuring My First Spaghetti Western, My First Yakuza Movie, and My First Hollywood Musical.
Enter on Instagram (for My First Yakuza Movie), Twitter (for My First Hollywood Musical), and/or Facebook (for My First Spaghetti Western) by Sunday, November 26 at 11:59pm Et. Those that enter on all three platforms...
Giveaways
In celebration of our holiday gift guide, we’ll be doing a number of giveaways! First up, we’re giving away My First Movie Vol. 2, a three-part ‘lil cinephile series by Cory Everett and illustrator Julie Olivi, featuring My First Spaghetti Western, My First Yakuza Movie, and My First Hollywood Musical.
Enter on Instagram (for My First Yakuza Movie), Twitter (for My First Hollywood Musical), and/or Facebook (for My First Spaghetti Western) by Sunday, November 26 at 11:59pm Et. Those that enter on all three platforms...
- 11/20/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
SAG-AFTRA may still be on strike, but studios are, nevertheless, pushing their Oscar contenders to garner the adequate (and allowed) attention they need to land nominations.
One of the main methods is getting industry voters out to screenings and making films available on the Academy Screening Room and BAFTA screening platforms. With the two significant organizations banning physical DVD screeners, voting members rely on the respective digital viewing portals to catch up on some of this year’s contenders vying for awards consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
The Academy performs a heavy vetting process for each film that chooses to submit for consideration. Historically, over 300 movies are in the running for best picture consideration, with more films joining the fray over the next several months. Distributors are the ultimate decision-makers of when a movie is placed in the Academy Screening Room for viewing.
One of the main methods is getting industry voters out to screenings and making films available on the Academy Screening Room and BAFTA screening platforms. With the two significant organizations banning physical DVD screeners, voting members rely on the respective digital viewing portals to catch up on some of this year’s contenders vying for awards consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
The Academy performs a heavy vetting process for each film that chooses to submit for consideration. Historically, over 300 movies are in the running for best picture consideration, with more films joining the fray over the next several months. Distributors are the ultimate decision-makers of when a movie is placed in the Academy Screening Room for viewing.
- 10/17/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Hans Herbots, the original director, stood down because of scheduling conflicts.
Romanian filmmaker Teodora Mihai, whose La Civil screened in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2021, will direct the feature Heysel 85, about the Heysal Stadium disaster in which 39 people died at the European football final in 1985. She takes over from original director Hans Herbots who has dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.
The project is being produced by Belgian production outfit Menuetto Films; co-founder Hans Everaert pitched the project this week at Connext, the platform where new film and TV work from Flanders and Brussels is presented to the International industry.
Romanian filmmaker Teodora Mihai, whose La Civil screened in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2021, will direct the feature Heysel 85, about the Heysal Stadium disaster in which 39 people died at the European football final in 1985. She takes over from original director Hans Herbots who has dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.
The project is being produced by Belgian production outfit Menuetto Films; co-founder Hans Everaert pitched the project this week at Connext, the platform where new film and TV work from Flanders and Brussels is presented to the International industry.
- 10/10/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Netflix on Tuesday unveiled four new Italian originals – two feature films and two series – that confirm its continued investment in Italy as local subscribers grow. The new projects also bolster the fact that the bulk of the streamer’s Italian productions are not high end and have a primarily local focus.
During a Rome presentation Eleonora Andreatta – affectionately known as Tinny – who is Netflix’s VP of Italian originals, said that Netflix remains “committed to our investment in Italy and Italian stories with conviction, continuing our long-term commitment to the country and its creative community.”
Andreatta, who owing to having caught Covid-19 was speaking remotely to the packed room, described Netflix’s lineup as being characterised by “Authentic stories, able to speak to the present [and] about the present and [which can] emotionally touch the audience on issues closest to the lives they live.”
According to data released last month by Italy’s...
During a Rome presentation Eleonora Andreatta – affectionately known as Tinny – who is Netflix’s VP of Italian originals, said that Netflix remains “committed to our investment in Italy and Italian stories with conviction, continuing our long-term commitment to the country and its creative community.”
Andreatta, who owing to having caught Covid-19 was speaking remotely to the packed room, described Netflix’s lineup as being characterised by “Authentic stories, able to speak to the present [and] about the present and [which can] emotionally touch the audience on issues closest to the lives they live.”
According to data released last month by Italy’s...
- 9/19/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian producer and Lido habitué Mario Gianani is at the Venice Film Festival this year with Saverio Costanzo’s drama Finally Dawn which world premieres in Competition on Friday.
The head of Fremantle-owned film and TV production company Wildside has worked with Costanzo for two decades, producing all his work, from feature directorial debut Private to his more recent series In Treatment and the HBO hit My Brilliant Friend.
They are back together for a new period piece set against the backdrop of the 1950s heydays of Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
Italian newcomer Rebecca Antonaci plays a young extra on a swords and sandals production who is swept up by its stars and taken on a memorable, life-changing night across Rome’s high society hotspots.
Antonaci is joined in the cast by Lily James as a capricious, magnetic and self-obsessed acting diva, Willem Dafoe, as a U.S. expat Rome art gallerist,...
The head of Fremantle-owned film and TV production company Wildside has worked with Costanzo for two decades, producing all his work, from feature directorial debut Private to his more recent series In Treatment and the HBO hit My Brilliant Friend.
They are back together for a new period piece set against the backdrop of the 1950s heydays of Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
Italian newcomer Rebecca Antonaci plays a young extra on a swords and sandals production who is swept up by its stars and taken on a memorable, life-changing night across Rome’s high society hotspots.
Antonaci is joined in the cast by Lily James as a capricious, magnetic and self-obsessed acting diva, Willem Dafoe, as a U.S. expat Rome art gallerist,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
This is a rare week of heavy hitters in the world of streaming, with a few movies that could factor into the fast-approaching Oscar race making their digital debuts. First up is one of Sundance’s big breakouts, a mature love story that managed to gross a decent $10.8 million at the box office.
The contender to watch this week: “Past Lives“
One of summer’s breakout indies, A24’s “Past Lives” could be a legitimate contender in the Best Original Screenplay field. It certainly accelerated the career of first-time filmmaker Celine Song, a noted playwright who wrote for the Prime Video fantasy series “The Wheel of Time.” Song cast the great Greta Lee to portray a New York-based writer who reunites with her long-lost childhood love (Teo Yoo) as an adult. “Past Lives” is sweet and swoony without sinking into clichés that would weigh down a lesser film. It’s...
The contender to watch this week: “Past Lives“
One of summer’s breakout indies, A24’s “Past Lives” could be a legitimate contender in the Best Original Screenplay field. It certainly accelerated the career of first-time filmmaker Celine Song, a noted playwright who wrote for the Prime Video fantasy series “The Wheel of Time.” Song cast the great Greta Lee to portray a New York-based writer who reunites with her long-lost childhood love (Teo Yoo) as an adult. “Past Lives” is sweet and swoony without sinking into clichés that would weigh down a lesser film. It’s...
- 8/26/2023
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
Being an independent producer was never easy. But these days, it’s near impossible. Even before the dual writers and actors strikes, changes in the international film and TV market had made life tough for the indies. Old models of art house moviemaking have been ravaged by a combination of decline in the specialty box office, the collapse of ancillary revenue for home entertainment and TV licensing, and the more recent pullback by streaming companies, who have begun to back fewer, and more mainstream, movies.
But one indie production company has gone from making just a handful of movies a year to dozens, finding a way to turn the turbulent new reality into a business model for making cutting-edge art house cinema that, shockingly, can actually turn a profit. It’s the company behind five of the most hotly anticipated titles at the Venice Film Festival this year: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things,...
But one indie production company has gone from making just a handful of movies a year to dozens, finding a way to turn the turbulent new reality into a business model for making cutting-edge art house cinema that, shockingly, can actually turn a profit. It’s the company behind five of the most hotly anticipated titles at the Venice Film Festival this year: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things,...
- 8/25/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation (Youssef Chebbi)
Realized with a formally exacting chilliness, Youssef Chebbi’s slow-burning noir concerns police officers investigating the mysteries behind corpses who have died from immolation. While the nebulous, metaphor-heavy script leaves much to be desired, Chebbi’s Cannes, TIFF, and Nd/Nf selection excels at conjuring an atmosphere of dread and isolation amidst a derelict apartment complex.
Where to Stream: VOD
Carpet Cowboys (Emily MacKenzie and Noah Collier)
The tiny city of Dalton, Georgia, has left a large footprint in the daily lives of millions who most wouldn’t have stopped for a second to consider. Well, it’s probably more appropriate to say that millions have left large footprints in Dalton’s biggest export: this city...
Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation (Youssef Chebbi)
Realized with a formally exacting chilliness, Youssef Chebbi’s slow-burning noir concerns police officers investigating the mysteries behind corpses who have died from immolation. While the nebulous, metaphor-heavy script leaves much to be desired, Chebbi’s Cannes, TIFF, and Nd/Nf selection excels at conjuring an atmosphere of dread and isolation amidst a derelict apartment complex.
Where to Stream: VOD
Carpet Cowboys (Emily MacKenzie and Noah Collier)
The tiny city of Dalton, Georgia, has left a large footprint in the daily lives of millions who most wouldn’t have stopped for a second to consider. Well, it’s probably more appropriate to say that millions have left large footprints in Dalton’s biggest export: this city...
- 8/25/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"Yes, we want to build this house really for real at this altitude. Yes, we really want go on a glacier." They went to any length to make this film feel real, and authentic, and it's all the better for it. One of my favorite films of 2022 (and 2023) is called The Eight Mountains, an Italian drama about two friends who grew up in the mountains. I have been raving about it since the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, seeing it again at another festival in late 2022, following its release in spring of 2023. Co-directed by Belgian filmmakers Felix van Groeningen & Charlotte Vandermeersch (who are also married), the film is a remarkable look at how massively powerful mountains are in shaping the lives of humans. I get all emotional just thinking about it, as I'm a huge mountain nerd myself. I was lucky to get time to interview Felix & Charlotte earlier in 2023 - I'd...
- 8/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Few American filmmakers of the last 40 years await a major rediscovery like Hal Hartley, whose traces in modern movies are either too-minor or entirely unknown. Thus it’s cause for celebration that the Criterion Channel are soon launching a major retrospective: 13 features (which constitutes all but My America) and 17 shorts, a sui generis style and persistent vision running across 30 years. Expect your Halloween party to be aswim in Henry Fool costumes.
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Indie distributor Variance Films has snapped up North American rights to the period drama Amerikatsi, written and directed by and starring Michael A. Goorjian, slating it for an exclusive theatrical release in New York and L.A. on Friday, September 8, with a national rollout to follow.
Shot in Armenia by People of Ar Productions, Amerikatsi centers on Charlie (Goorjian), who returns to the country in 1948 — decades after fleeing to the U.S. as a child, due to persecution by the Ottoman Empire. What he finds in doing so is a country crushed under Soviet rule. And after being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window — the home of a prison guard. As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the man’s, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its passionate people.
Shot in Armenia by People of Ar Productions, Amerikatsi centers on Charlie (Goorjian), who returns to the country in 1948 — decades after fleeing to the U.S. as a child, due to persecution by the Ottoman Empire. What he finds in doing so is a country crushed under Soviet rule. And after being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window — the home of a prison guard. As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the man’s, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its passionate people.
- 8/8/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The live-action remake made a total of £6.9m including bank holiday Monday
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 19-May 21)Total gross to date Week 1. The Little Mermaid (Disney) £5m £5m 1 2. Fast X (Universal) £2.2m £10.9m 2 3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £1.6m £32.3m 4 4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £290,897 £52.4 8 5. Hypnotic (Warner Bros) £187,503 £238,150 1
Disney’s The Little Mermaid topped the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening with just under £5m.
The live-action remake took in another £1.9m on bank holiday Monday to bring its total to £6.9m. Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid opened in 732 locations...
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 19-May 21)Total gross to date Week 1. The Little Mermaid (Disney) £5m £5m 1 2. Fast X (Universal) £2.2m £10.9m 2 3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £1.6m £32.3m 4 4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £290,897 £52.4 8 5. Hypnotic (Warner Bros) £187,503 £238,150 1
Disney’s The Little Mermaid topped the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening with just under £5m.
The live-action remake took in another £1.9m on bank holiday Monday to bring its total to £6.9m. Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid opened in 732 locations...
- 5/30/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Film scores £9,001 average from 644 sites.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (May 19-May 21) Total gross to date Week 1. Fast X (Universal) £5.9m £5.9m 1 2. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £2.8m £28.9m 3 3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £541,284 £51.8m 7 4. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate)
£287,209 £327,169 1 5. Beau Is Afraid (Sony) £202,254 £231,370 1
Universal’s action blockbuster Fast X took the chequered flag at the UK-Ireland box office with a £5.9m start – down on the previous five films from the car racing franchise.
The film took over £2m on both Friday and Saturday with over £1.5m on Sunday, with a location average of £9,001 across the full weekend.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (May 19-May 21) Total gross to date Week 1. Fast X (Universal) £5.9m £5.9m 1 2. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £2.8m £28.9m 3 3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £541,284 £51.8m 7 4. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate)
£287,209 £327,169 1 5. Beau Is Afraid (Sony) £202,254 £231,370 1
Universal’s action blockbuster Fast X took the chequered flag at the UK-Ireland box office with a £5.9m start – down on the previous five films from the car racing franchise.
The film took over £2m on both Friday and Saturday with over £1.5m on Sunday, with a location average of £9,001 across the full weekend.
- 5/22/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Cannes is the birthplace for any number of future Best International Feature Film Oscar nominees, like last year’s Grand Prize winner “Close,” or winners like 2021 Competition entry “Drive My Car.” This year’s possibilities include the UK’s rapturously received German-language from UK filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest;” Argentina’s Un Certain Regard entry “The Delinquents,” a three-hour existential heist movie picked up by Mubi; or Japan’s “Monster,” the latest film from Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose “Shoplifters” scored both the Palme d’Or and an Oscar nomination. However, before they can be nominated they must be submitted — and that, as Academy members well know, is the rub.
The demand for reform boils down to this: Too often the decision of Oscar submissions belongs to decision-makers instead of filmmakers, and that can lead to some… frustrating choices. Last year India did not submit “Rrr” and Italy declined to...
The demand for reform boils down to this: Too often the decision of Oscar submissions belongs to decision-makers instead of filmmakers, and that can lead to some… frustrating choices. Last year India did not submit “Rrr” and Italy declined to...
- 5/19/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Cinema Italiano is on a roll, as reflected by the fact that this year Italy has scored three Cannes competition slots.
Despite the persisting sore spot that sees the country still lagging behind other European territories in terms of post-pandemic box office returns, Italy “continues to produce and invest heavily in film and is overcoming the crisis,” noted Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux after announcing the lineup.
The robust Croisette contingent marks the second time in 20 years that Italy lands three Cannes competition berths. Though the trio of selected directors — Marco Bellocchio, Nanni Moretti and Alice Rohrwacher — are all Cannes regulars “they represent three different generations of auteurs,” said Paolo Del Brocco, chief of state broadcaster Rai’s Rai Cinema arm that co-produced all three titles. And each of these films, he went on to point out, displays “very different ideas and cinematic visions.”
Moretti is back on the Croisette...
Despite the persisting sore spot that sees the country still lagging behind other European territories in terms of post-pandemic box office returns, Italy “continues to produce and invest heavily in film and is overcoming the crisis,” noted Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux after announcing the lineup.
The robust Croisette contingent marks the second time in 20 years that Italy lands three Cannes competition berths. Though the trio of selected directors — Marco Bellocchio, Nanni Moretti and Alice Rohrwacher — are all Cannes regulars “they represent three different generations of auteurs,” said Paolo Del Brocco, chief of state broadcaster Rai’s Rai Cinema arm that co-produced all three titles. And each of these films, he went on to point out, displays “very different ideas and cinematic visions.”
Moretti is back on the Croisette...
- 5/18/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The film will be released in cinemas by Universal Pictures International in France in 2024.
Other Angle Pictures has partnered with Universal Pictures International France and Focus Features to board Reda Kateb’s debut feature On the Edge (Sur Un Fil) and will kick off sales in Cannes for the title that will be released in cinemas by Universal Pictures International in France in 2024.
Kateb is a familiar face on French screens, nominated for the 2018 and 2020 Best Actor Cesars and winner of the Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for Hippocrate. He currently stars in Elias Belkeddar’s Cannes Midnight Screening title The King of Algiers...
Other Angle Pictures has partnered with Universal Pictures International France and Focus Features to board Reda Kateb’s debut feature On the Edge (Sur Un Fil) and will kick off sales in Cannes for the title that will be released in cinemas by Universal Pictures International in France in 2024.
Kateb is a familiar face on French screens, nominated for the 2018 and 2020 Best Actor Cesars and winner of the Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for Hippocrate. He currently stars in Elias Belkeddar’s Cannes Midnight Screening title The King of Algiers...
- 5/16/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
‘The Eight Mountains’ scores best average of new titles.
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 5-May 7)Total gross to date Week 1. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £5.3m £24m 2 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £853,412 £51.1m 6 3. Book Club: The Next Chapter (Universal) £299,169 £299,169 1 4. Evil Dead Rise (Studiocanal) £258,167 £5m 4 5. Eurovision - Grand Final Live (CinemaLive) £235,465 £235,465 1
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.25
Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 comfortably held the UK-Ireland box office lead on its second weekend, as live-streamed screenings of Saturday’s Eurovision final broke into the top five titles for the weekend.
Guardians Vol. 3 added £5.3m to reach...
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 5-May 7)Total gross to date Week 1. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £5.3m £24m 2 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £853,412 £51.1m 6 3. Book Club: The Next Chapter (Universal) £299,169 £299,169 1 4. Evil Dead Rise (Studiocanal) £258,167 £5m 4 5. Eurovision - Grand Final Live (CinemaLive) £235,465 £235,465 1
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.25
Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 comfortably held the UK-Ireland box office lead on its second weekend, as live-streamed screenings of Saturday’s Eurovision final broke into the top five titles for the weekend.
Guardians Vol. 3 added £5.3m to reach...
- 5/15/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
In a rare weekend with fewer new studio wide releases, IFC Films had a one-two punch at the box office with Matt Johnson’s film BlackBerry grossing $473k nationwide in 450 theaters, for a U.S. per theater average of $1.05k and cracking the top ten on Friday. It will gross an estimated $740k in North America this weekend, with Elevation Pictures handling Canada.
This is the End’s Jay Baruchel is Mike Lazaridus, the brains behind BlackBerry with his laid back best friend and co-founder Douglas Fregin, played by Johnson. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton is Jim Balsillie, the aggressive executive who catapulted the device to global domination for decades until is was abruptly unseated by the iPhone in 2007.
Premiering in Berlin and SXSW, certified Fresh at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s based on the book Losing the Signal by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.
The...
This is the End’s Jay Baruchel is Mike Lazaridus, the brains behind BlackBerry with his laid back best friend and co-founder Douglas Fregin, played by Johnson. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton is Jim Balsillie, the aggressive executive who catapulted the device to global domination for decades until is was abruptly unseated by the iPhone in 2007.
Premiering in Berlin and SXSW, certified Fresh at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s based on the book Losing the Signal by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.
The...
- 5/14/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony looks for ‘Love Again’, with Celine Dion’s first on-screen role.
Universal comedy sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter leads the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting its story in 612 cinemas.
Directed by Bill Holderman and written by Holderman and Erin Simms, the film follows four best friends who take their book club to Italy for the girls trip they never had.
It is a sequel to 2018’s Book Club, also directed by Holderman, which Paramount released and which opened to £721,512 in 519 cinemas at a £1,390 average. The film finished on a £4.2m cume; The Next Chapter...
Universal comedy sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter leads the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting its story in 612 cinemas.
Directed by Bill Holderman and written by Holderman and Erin Simms, the film follows four best friends who take their book club to Italy for the girls trip they never had.
It is a sequel to 2018’s Book Club, also directed by Holderman, which Paramount released and which opened to £721,512 in 519 cinemas at a £1,390 average. The film finished on a £4.2m cume; The Next Chapter...
- 5/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
At once epic and intimate, Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s The Eight Mountains spans several decades, but isn’t about any grand historic figures or events. Instead, it tells the story of two boys whose friendship fades as they become men, only for their bond to revive as life unpredictably marches on. The film is a beautiful work not only for its stunning outdoor cinematography (make an effort to see it in a cinema), but for its ability to capture the magic, regret, love and befuddlement that emerge as we grow older.
The film is framed as the memories of an Italian man named Pietro (Luca Marinelli), who recounts his relationship with his friend Bruno (Alessandro Borghi). The narrator begins during childhood, when his family leave the city for annual summer vacations in a dying mountain village in the Alps. Every other family with a child had already abandoned the town,...
The film is framed as the memories of an Italian man named Pietro (Luca Marinelli), who recounts his relationship with his friend Bruno (Alessandro Borghi). The narrator begins during childhood, when his family leave the city for annual summer vacations in a dying mountain village in the Alps. Every other family with a child had already abandoned the town,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Jeremy Mathews
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s Italian-language drama The Eight Mountains and veteran Marco Bellocchio’s Exterior Night topped the 68th edition of Italy’s David di Donatello Awards on Wednesday evening.
The Eight Mountains won best film as well as best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.
Based on the novel of the same name by Paolo Cognetti, it stars Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi as two men from different backgrounds who form a life-long bond during summers spent together as children in a remote mountain village.
The film world premiered in Competition at Cannes last year where it co-won the Jury Prize. Read the Deadline review here.
It is the second time in the history of the awards that a film by non-Italian directors has clinched the best film prize.
The last time was in 1971 when the Dino de Laurentiis-produced epic Waterloo by Russian director Sergei Bonderchuk,...
The Eight Mountains won best film as well as best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.
Based on the novel of the same name by Paolo Cognetti, it stars Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi as two men from different backgrounds who form a life-long bond during summers spent together as children in a remote mountain village.
The film world premiered in Competition at Cannes last year where it co-won the Jury Prize. Read the Deadline review here.
It is the second time in the history of the awards that a film by non-Italian directors has clinched the best film prize.
The last time was in 1971 when the Dino de Laurentiis-produced epic Waterloo by Russian director Sergei Bonderchuk,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch took to Italy’s beautiful Aosta Valley to make their transcendental movie about male friendship – but couldn’t avoid their own personal issues
“You’re out of focus!” I’ve just logged in to Zoom to talk to Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, and they’re laughing already. “Like in Deconstructing Harry, you know that film?” says Vandermeersch I flap around, fiddling with my webcam, but nothing will correct the me-shaped smear on the screen. Like Robin Williams in the Woody Allen film, blurred outside of the cameras even when he goes home, I feel a flush of existential humiliation creeping up.
I could use a long stay in Van Groeningen and Vandermeersch’s transcendentally clarifying new film The Eight Mountains. A parable of the forking paths of two childhood friends – urbanite Pietro (Lupo Barbiero) and shepherd kid Bruno (Cristiano Sassella...
“You’re out of focus!” I’ve just logged in to Zoom to talk to Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, and they’re laughing already. “Like in Deconstructing Harry, you know that film?” says Vandermeersch I flap around, fiddling with my webcam, but nothing will correct the me-shaped smear on the screen. Like Robin Williams in the Woody Allen film, blurred outside of the cameras even when he goes home, I feel a flush of existential humiliation creeping up.
I could use a long stay in Van Groeningen and Vandermeersch’s transcendentally clarifying new film The Eight Mountains. A parable of the forking paths of two childhood friends – urbanite Pietro (Lupo Barbiero) and shepherd kid Bruno (Cristiano Sassella...
- 5/11/2023
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
“The Eight Mountains,” Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s Italian-language drama about friendship, mountains and growing up, scored the top prize at Italy’s 68th David di Donatello Awards.
Besides winning best picture, the film also scooped statuettes for best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.
Given that the directors are not Italian, it was a particularly significant victory for “Mountains,” which was praised as “quietly magnificent” by Variety critic Jessica Kiang. The film, which is currently playing well on the U.S. arthouse circuit, tracks the decades-long friendship between two Italian boys named Pietro and Bruno — one from the city, the other a shepherd boy from the Alps.
“It’s pretty incredible,” commented a visibly moved Van Groeningen. “Two Belgians who win this prize in Italy for an Italian movie.” “Thank you for this declaration of love,” added Vandermeersch, his partner in life. “We love Italy very much.
Besides winning best picture, the film also scooped statuettes for best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.
Given that the directors are not Italian, it was a particularly significant victory for “Mountains,” which was praised as “quietly magnificent” by Variety critic Jessica Kiang. The film, which is currently playing well on the U.S. arthouse circuit, tracks the decades-long friendship between two Italian boys named Pietro and Bruno — one from the city, the other a shepherd boy from the Alps.
“It’s pretty incredible,” commented a visibly moved Van Groeningen. “Two Belgians who win this prize in Italy for an Italian movie.” “Thank you for this declaration of love,” added Vandermeersch, his partner in life. “We love Italy very much.
- 5/10/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” ruled the U.K. and Ireland box office with a £12 million ($15.2 million) opening, according to numbers released by Comscore.
The latest Marvel Studios release debuted at Number 1 with an 72% market share, according to Disney, and had the biggest three-day opening weekend of 2023.
In its fifth weekend, Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” collected £1.3 million in second place for a total of £49 million. In third position, in its third weekend, Studiocanal’s “Evil Dead Rise” earned £493,732 for a total of £4.4 million.
In fourth place, in its second weekend, eOne’s “The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry” collected £336,519 for a total of £2 million. Rounding off the top five was Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which took in £195,298 in its seventh weekend and now has a total of £17 million.
There were two debuts in the top 10. Rbe’s Punjabi-language film “Jodi,” headlined by...
The latest Marvel Studios release debuted at Number 1 with an 72% market share, according to Disney, and had the biggest three-day opening weekend of 2023.
In its fifth weekend, Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” collected £1.3 million in second place for a total of £49 million. In third position, in its third weekend, Studiocanal’s “Evil Dead Rise” earned £493,732 for a total of £4.4 million.
In fourth place, in its second weekend, eOne’s “The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry” collected £336,519 for a total of £2 million. Rounding off the top five was Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which took in £195,298 in its seventh weekend and now has a total of £17 million.
There were two debuts in the top 10. Rbe’s Punjabi-language film “Jodi,” headlined by...
- 5/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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