Olivia Newman: Last News

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Sally Field is in talks to star in “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” a film adaptation of the novel by Shelby Van Pelt. Netflix has acquired the project, which is in early stages of development. Olivia Newman, the filmmaker of last summer’s sleeper hit “Where the Crawdads Sing,” is directing the movie and co-writing the screenplay with John Whittington (“Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” “The Lego Batman Movie”).

Daisy Edgar-Jones picked up Locarno’s Leopard Club acting award Friday evening — the latest honour of her short career. Despite her early success, however, Edgar-Jones says she’s keen to reshape her career and shake her perception in the industry.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFor its 75th edition, Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival, long known as a global indie cinema temple, is looking to the future while repositioning itself as a forward-thinking hub for a wider range of movies, including studio and streamer titles, with broad audience appeal.“We believe that entertainment can be both serious and fun: I don’t see an opposing scenario where entertainment is only cheap, and seriousness is only extremely highbrow,” says the fest’s artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro.Now on his second edition at the fest’s helm, the Italian critic is putting his stamp on Locarno with a lineup that, along with straightforward auteur movies of various kinds, increasingly includes comedies and genre films.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWhen cinematographer Polly Morgan and director Olivia Newman were brought on to adapt Delia Owens’ bestselling novel, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” the story spoke to them on a natural level.The Sony Pictures film of the same name, in theaters July 15, tells the tale of Kya (Daisy Edgar- Jones), a young woman raising herself in the marshes of North Carolina in the 1950s. Her journey — and her relationship to nature in particular — resonated with Morgan (“A Quiet Place Part II,” “6 Balloons”).

Reese Witherspoon looked incredible on the red carpet on 11 July. Celebrating the upcoming release of Where The Crawdads Sing, Reese Witherspoon dazzled at the premiere.

Reese Witherspoon read Delia Owen's 2018 bestseller,, she knew she had to bring the story to the big screen.«I read this novel probably in one day, maybe two days, I just couldn't put it down,» the actress and producer says in ET's exclusive look at the set of the upcoming drama, which stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, the central figure in the story.  was first featured in Witherspoon's namesake book club before being adapted into a feature film by an all-female creative team, including director Olivia Newman and screenwriter Lucy Alibar.The book and film tell the tale of Kya's life as a girl who grew up alone in the swamplands of North Carolina before being thrust into the spotlight in a nearby town after a local football star turns up dead near her home.«You really don't know if she did it,» Witherspoon explains of the tumultuous story.

Marta Balaga Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its 75th edition, sticking to its promise of discovering new talent.A slew of debuting filmmakers will showcase their works, from Italy’s Nicola Prosatore with “Piano Piano” to Caterina Mona, focusing in “Semret” on an Eritrean single mother working at a Zurich hospital and dreaming of becoming a midwife.Thomas Hardiman’s U.K.’s proposition “Medusa Deluxe,” a murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition — boarded by New Europe Film Sales — is also bound to generate some excitement.“‘Medusa Deluxe’ is one of the coolest debuts of the year,” the company’s CEO Jan Naszewski enthused to Variety. “I’m sure it will rock the Piazza Grande and give the festival a great spark.”But Locarno will also bring in heavyweights, starting with a screening of the much-anticipated Brad Pitt vehicle “Bullet Train,” directed by “Atomic Blond” helmer David Leitch, and Olivia Newman’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” with Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn.Anna Gutto’s “Paradise Highway” packs star power as well, starring the likes of Morgan Freeman, “Captain America’s” Frank Grillo and Juliette Binoche, cast as a truck driver forced to smuggle illicit cargo to save her brother from a prison gang.In an interview with Variety earlier this year, the French actor described the role as a “worthwhile challenge.”“I never imagined I’d play a truck driver! I was drawn to incongruity and the prospect of embarking on a new adventure.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticTaylor Swift will release her new song, “Carolina,” a theme for the film “Where the Crawdads Sings,” tonight, she revealed on her social media this morning.The song arrives three weeks in advance of the release of “Where the Crawdads Sing,” due in theaters July 15.The coming drop was revealed in an image on the artist’s Instagram Story. She didn’t include any additional text about the tune, although it’s likely she would have more to say when the song arrives tonight.Hardcore fans already had a pretty good idea the tune would be arriving tonight.

Reese Witherspoon is stepping out to promote the new movie she’s producing!

EXCLUSIVE: Aisha Tyler (Fear the Walking Dead, Archer) has joined the cast of the Apple limited series The Last Thing He Told Me in a leading role.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) is set as the male lead opposite Jennifer Garner in Apple limited series The Last Thing He Told Me, based on Laura Dave’s bestselling novel. Angourie Rice also stars and Garner executive produces.

Bullet Train is on the move. Sony said today that its Brad Pitt action pic from Columbia Pictures is moving back two weeks from July 15 to July 29 — the slot that opened up with the Dwayne Johnson Marvel pic Black Adam moved to the fall.

Sometimes a novel is so popular that a film adaptation is almost a certainty. Whether or not those films respect the source material and become massive hits are a whole other discussion.