Variety

Procter & Gamble Aims to Make Bladder-Leak Conversations Part of NFL Chatter

Football games have long stood as a welcome place for beer commercials. Now Procter & Gamble hopes they will also become a great roost for discussions of an inevitable byproduct of liquid intake: ...

1 week ago

Brad Pitt Says AI Could Help More ‘Mid-Budget Films’ Get Made if It’s ‘Used as a Tool’: ‘Gonna Be a Very Interesting Experiment’

Brad Pitt is keeping an open mind about AI use in movies, saying that it could actually help more mid-budget projects get made. The Oscar-winning actor was asked his thoughts on the topic in a new Esq...

1 week ago

Jeremy Irons, Keke Palmer, Alan Cumming and More Attached to Projects Launching at Toronto Market

Jeremy Irons, Keke Palmer, Alan Cumming and other talent are attached to projects launching at the inaugural market at Toronto Intl. Film Festival, known as TIFF: The Market, which runs Sept. 10-16. T...

1 week ago

Locarno Open Doors: Talemwa Pius’ ‘A Vineyard for a Lobster’ and Mohammed Sheikh’s ‘Accept My Plea for a Burial’ Win Top Prizes at Festival’s Africa I...

Ugandan Talemwa Pius’ striking magic realist fable “A Vineyard for a Lobster” and “Accept My Plea for a Burial,” a Somalia set critique of ancient custom, emerged triumphant at Locarno’s 2026 Open Doo...

1 week ago

How Norway’s Øyafestivalen Became One of Europe’s Best Music Fests: Balancing Huge Headliners With Homegrown Artists, Prioritizing Gender Parity and M...

In a year without Glastonbury, music lovers have turned to other festivals in the U.K. and Europe to fill the void. There’s Primavera Sound in Barcelona, with its proximity to the beach and genre-dive...

1 week ago

Pippa Harris and James Wilson to Headline London Film Festival Industry Forum

The BFI London Film Festival has announced that two of the U.K.’s most acclaimed producers will lead the industry program at its upcoming 70th edition. Pippa Harris, who produced “Hamnet,” “1917” and ...

1 week ago

A Female Sniper Battles ISIS in First Teaser for Venice Title ‘No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman’ (EXCLUSIVE)

The fight against the Islamic State has been give the Hollywood-style revenge thriller treatment in Halkawt Mustafa’s “No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman,” as revealed by the film’s first teaser...

1 week ago

Latin Quarter Distribution Acquires World Rights to José Dell’Acqua Uruguayan Crime Thriller ‘Maltrato Animal’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Latin Quarter Distribution has acquired world sales rights to José Dell’Acqua’s Uruguayan crime thriller “Maltrato Animal” (“Animal Budget”). The deal was closed after a screening of “Maltrato Animal”...

1 week ago

Alessandra Sanguinetti on Her Dreamy, Grounded Directorial Debut ‘The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer’

In the Argentine Pampas, cousins Guillermina and Belinda cannot wait to grow up. When they are not swimming in the river and dancing through the long, breezy afternoons, they re-enact funeral ceremoni...

1 week ago

‘Brave New Love’ Review: Infidelity Isn’t the End in an Unusual, Open-Minded Marital Drama

“I would never fall in love if I was in a good relationship.” So says one participant in the women’s church group where Copenhagen-based wife and mother Kate (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) confesses tha...

1 week ago

Sadhguru, Graphic India Team on Animated Epic ‘Shiva: The Adiyogi’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Indian yogi and mystic Sadhguru is teaming with Graphic India on “Shiva: The Adiyogi,” an animated feature retelling the origin story of Hindu God Shiva as the first yogi. Sadhguru and Sharad Devaraja...

1 week ago

‘Primo Viaggio,’ Presented Last Year at Locarno’s Alliance 4 Development, Has Wrapped and Heading for Venice Gap-Financing Market (EXCLUSIVE)

Less than one year after the producers met at the Locarno Film Festival’s Alliance 4 Development co-development platform, “Primo Viaggio,” produced by Italy’s Sacher Film and France’s Halley Productio...

1 week ago

‘Letters From the Silenced Country,’ Documentary About Oppression in Belarus, Boarded by Filmotor Ahead of Venice Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

Filmotor has picked up world sales rights for “Letters From the Silenced Country” by Belarusian writer-director Andrei Kutsila, which has its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The partly ani...

1 week ago

Korea Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Bests ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

“The Odyssey” sailed to the top of the South Korean box office during the weekend of Aug. 7–9. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Christopher N...

1 week ago

Germany’s Patra Spanou Film Boards Rodrigo Plá’s ‘The Newcomers’ After World Premiere at Locarno’s Kids Screenings (EXCLUSIVE)

Düsseldorf, Germany-based Patra Spanou Film has picked up world sales rights to “The Newcomers” (“Los nuevos”), the latest film from Mexico’s Rodrigo Plá (“The Other Tom”) in his first venture into ki...

1 week ago

China Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Retains Crown as ‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East,’ ‘The Odyssey’ Surge in Previews

Sony’s blockbuster “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” held onto the top spot at the mainland China box office during the Aug. 7–9 weekend, pulling in RMB196.6 million ($28.9 million) in its second full frame...

1 week ago

John Oliver Takes Shots at Own Company’s DC Superhero Movies on ‘Last Week Tonight’

On Sunday’s edition of “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver aimed his ire at President Trump’s Department of Justice that has, under former Attorney General Pam Bondi, designate Attorney General Todd Blan...

1 week ago

Kiran Abbavaram’s Mythological Action-Fantasy for India’s Zee Studios Reveals Title as ‘Indraputra’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Kiran Abbavaram’s mythological action-fantasy for Zee Studios has revealed its title as “Indraputra,” with the pan-Indian project, directed by Srikanth Puppala, set to begin principal photography in O...

1 week ago

‘House of the Dragon’ Star James Norton on the Irony of Ormund’s [SPOILER], His ‘Oddly Intimate’ Dynamic With Roddy the Ruin and Why His Love for Daer...

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max. At last, Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is no more. And he’s just one of...

1 week ago

‘House of the Dragon’ Star Emma D’Arcy and Creator Ryan Condal on Rhaenyra-Daenerys Finale Connection and What All That Death Means for Season 4

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max. HBO’s “House of the Dragon” ended its third season Sunday with a bang, then a ...

1 week ago

‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Fallout’ and ‘Hacks’ Among Set Decorators Society of America TV Award Winners

“Widow’s Bay,” “Fallout,” “Hacks” and “Beef” are among the shows that took home top honors from the Set Decorators Society of America. This year’s SDSA Awards honor the best set decoration work from s...

1 week ago

Ben Jones, Actor Turned Politician Who Played Cooter Davenport in ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’ Dies at 84

Ben Jones, the actor turned politician best known for playing Cooter Davenport on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” died on Sunday from a heart attack, according to his wife Alma Viator. He was 84. Viator annou...

1 week ago

Phoebe Bridgers Sings about Love and Death and the Whole Damn Thing in ‘Lost Weekend,’ a Captivating Record Worth the Six-Year Wait: Album Review

If there’s anything Phoebe Bridgers knows how to do, it’s land a punch line. There are a lot of them in “Lost Weekend,” her first solo record in six years, and she doesn’t waste any time in getting to...

1 week ago

David Sackeroff, Emmy-Nominated ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Home Improvement’ Production Designer, Dies at 81

David Sackeroff, an Emmy-nominated production designer and art director known for his work on classic shows like “Seinfeld,” “Alf” and “Carol & Company”, died July 10 on Bainbridge Island, Wash. H...

1 week ago

Ariana Grande Debuts at No. 1 on Album Chart With ‘Petal,’ Earning Her Best First-Week Numbers in Seven Years

Ariana Grande has earned her seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with “Petal,” which bows in the top spot with 295,000 equivalent album units, her best opening-week figure this decade. “Pet...

1 week ago

‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ Cinematographer, Editor and Star Jack Haven Break Down Little Death’s Bloody One-Take Dance

When “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” director Jane Schoenbrun described their vision for the bloody one-take sequence in which Little Death (Jack Haven) massacres an entire summer camp — all se...

1 week ago

The Blockbuster Mentality Is Back, Baby!

The suits of Hollywood are used to big numbers. That’s how they roll. But the record-setting opening weekend of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” isn’t something that happens every day, or every year — more...

1 week ago

‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ to Open Real Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Location in 2027

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” and New Jersey entertainment and retail center American Dream announced that they will open a real-life Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location in East Rutherford, N.J., in 2027. Bas...

1 week ago

Florian Hoffmann’s U.N. Compound Drama ‘Yazz’ Takes Main Alliance 4 Development Prizes at Locarno Pro Awards

Florian Hoffmann’s “Yazz,” about a teenager growing up in a UN compound in the Central African Republic, celebrated two major wins at this year’s Locarno Pro Awards for the Alliance 4 Development co-d...

1 week ago

What’s It Going to Take for Steve Carell to Finally Win an Emmy?

What does Steve Carell have to do for Emmy voters to take notice? In recent years, he’s died in car accidents twice (Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” and Netflix’s “Four Seasons”), been a billionaire wit...

1 week ago

Olivia Wilde Calls ‘The Invite’ the ‘Most Incredible’ Experience of Her Life: ‘It Was the Highlight of My Career’

Olivia Wilde brought “The Invite” to Locarno. “I’m in shock. This is overwhelming and exciting,” she told the audience at Piazza Grande, which reportedly has one of the world’s largest cinema screens....

1 week ago

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Becomes Second-Fastest Movie to Hit $1 Billion Overseas, Powers to $1.67 Billion Globally

Spidey keeps climbing… and climbing… and climbing at the box office. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has amassed a heroic $1.67 billion after just 12 days in theaters, including $1.01 billion internationa...

1 week ago

Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Flies to Third-Biggest Second Weekend of All Time With $145 Million

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is continuing its unparalleled box office run, scoring another $145 million domestically during its second weekend in theaters. Just to put those stratospheric ticket sales...

1 week ago

Protest at the Locarno Film Festival Remembers 60,000 Names of the Dead of Gaza

Locarno became the latest film festival to see protests at the continuing situation in Gaza and Palestine’s Occupied Territories. While music from the Campari Lounge boomed into the evening, approxima...

1 week ago

David Ellison Is Promising Theater Owners Contractual Guarantees for Paramount-Warner Bros. 30-Film Annual Slate. But What if Moviegoers Don’t Care?

There’s no question that David Ellison, the doggedly ambitious CEO of Paramount Skydance, loves movies and filmmaking. In making his case for Paramount’s eye-poppingly pricey megadeal to merge with Wa...

1 week ago

Locarno Sufi Trance Doc ‘As Light as Air’ Director Umair Bilal on Surrendering to a Pakistani Shrine Town: ‘I Became Part of Its Rhythm’

Umair Bilal spent months in Sehwan, Pakistan, trying to direct a documentary. Then he gave up. “Every time I tried to impose that logic onto Sehwan, it felt like I was working against the place rather...

1 week ago

‘Our Time Will Come’ Review: Two Orphans Journey to Accra to Find Their Kin in an Emotionally Absorbing Ghanaian Drama

Elements of “Oliver Twist” are given a West African update in “Our Time Will Come,” an atmospheric and emotionally absorbing feature debut from writer-director Amartei Armar, who thankfully cares too ...

1 week ago

‘Donkey Princess’ Review: A Princess Escapes the Kingdom, but Not the Patriarchy, in an Inventive, Shape-Shifting Fairytale

Chilean duo Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña made a dream nightmare debut with “The Wolf House,” a stop-motion fantasy that turned heads both with its wholly original design — incorporating claymatio...

1 week ago

Naseeruddin Shah, Gurvinder Singh Turn a Village’s Real Grief Into Locarno Competition Title ‘Rehmat’: ‘It’s Important That These Films Get Made’

The family living in the house that “Rehmat” uses as Rashid Ali’s ancestral home lost a son to a drug overdose shortly after Indian filmmaker Gurvinder Singh and his crew first met them. Singh tells V...

1 week ago

Mahesh Babu’s Look in S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘Varanasi’ Unveiled

Two new character stills of Mahesh Babu from S.S. Rajamouli’s “Varanasi” were released Sunday to mark the actor’s birthday, showing his character Rudhra on location in Africa. The film’s story spans t...

1 week ago

Whitney Houston Gets Her Own Barbie, Recreating Iconic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Look

Whitney Houston is ready to dance with somebody — in Barbieland. Mattel is honoring the late pop icon with a new Barbie Signature doll inspired by Houston’s colorful look from the 1987 music video for...

1 week ago

Gina Prince-Bythewood Discusses the Worldbuilding of ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ and Praises Author Tomi Adeyemi as a ‘Genius’

For the opening night of the 24th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), “Children of Blood and Bone” director Gina Prince-Bythewood and star Thuso Mbedu shared never-before...

1 week ago

Andrew Lloyd Webber Is ‘Gutted’ on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Closing Night: Producing on Broadway Is ‘Unsustainable’

Ahead of tonight’s final “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” show, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is speaking out about how producing on Broadway has become “unsustainable.” “I’m gutted that the wonderful Broadwa...

1 week ago

Warner Bros. Uses AI Dog Podcast to Promote ‘The End of Oak Street’: ‘Ewan McGregor Was Excellent With Treats’

Warner Bros. has teamed with the AI dog podcast “DogPack” to promote its upcoming sci-fi action film “The End of Oak Street.” The 90-second podcast clip, hosted by an AI golden retriever named Goldie ...

1 week ago

Perez Hilton ‘Will Require Surgery’ After Live Stream Incident, Family Demands Media ‘Cease Photographing Perez’s Children’

Perez Hilton’s family released a statement on Saturday updating fans about the blogger’s health after he appeared to commit self-harm during a TikTok livestream. “Perez’s condition remains serious but...

1 week ago

‘Abbott Elementary’ Stars Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger: ‘We’ve Lost Too Many People’

As “Abbott Elementary” gears up for Season 6 production in just a few short weeks, stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James and Luke Tennie are reflecting on turbulent changes in the industry — from the ...

1 week ago

‘Heated Rivalry’ Author Brushes Off Negativity Surrounding Season 2 Casting

“Game Changer” author Rachel Reid is unbothered by the early critics of the “Heated Rivalry’s” upcoming second season. On Friday, it was revealed that Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie are joining t...

1 week ago

Morrissey Cancels Las Vegas Residency Days Before Showtime Due to ‘Unforeseen Logistical Issues’

Morrissey has canceled his four-date Las Vegas residency at The Wynn just a week before showtime, Rolling Stone reports. The musician cited “unforeseen logistical issues” as the reason for the sudden ...

1 week ago

L.A. Jazz Festival, Which Was Supposed to Feature John Legend, Janelle Monáe and Hundreds More, Canceled at the Last Minute

The inaugural LA Jazz Fest, set for Aug. 7 to 23 and promising major events including a two-day concert at Dockweiler Beach with stars like John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Parliament/Funkadelic and Raphae...

1 week ago

Anthony Michael Hall Says John Hughes Wanted a ‘Breakfast Club’ Sequel Where the Original Cast Is ‘In Their 30s’

“The Breakfast Club” star Anthony Michael Hall said during a recent appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” that director John Hughes wanted a sequel in which the group of troubled teens reunites as adult...

1 week ago