film: Last News

Carolyn Giardina A trio of VFX Oscar nominees lead the feature competition nominations for the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards, which will be handed out Feb. 11 at the Beverly Hilton. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” leads with seven nominations, followed by Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” with six nominations, and Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man,” with four noms.

Kelsey Mann is the director behind the year’s top-grossing movie, Inside Out 2. At $1.7 billion worldwide, his sequel to the Oscar-winning 2015 Pixar toon not only outgrossed that one to become the biggest Pixar hit of all time but won wide critical acclaim for taking to new heights of imagination and invention the concept of all these various emotions operating inside a young girl’s head, anxiety being chief among them.

Jack Dunn Tom Cruise said there were times when he passed out from a lack of oxygen while filming airplane stunts for “Mission: Impossible.” “When you stick your face out [of an airplane], going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you’re not getting oxygen,” Cruise said in an interview with Empire. “So I had to train myself how to breathe.

Tony Roberts has sadly passed away.

Neon’s Anora, which since winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May has become one of the most praised and nominated movies of the year including six Oscar nominations, joined Deadline for its annual Contenders Film: The Nominees virtual showcase.

The awards season is winding down, the nominations are out and the final stretch of the race that concludes at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood with the 97th annual Oscars is on. That means it’s time for Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees, our annual virtual nominees showcase that kicks off this morning at 9 a.m. PT.

Woody Allen films including Annie Hall, has died at the age of 85.The news was confirmed by his daughter Nicole Burley to the New York Times on Saturday (February 8), who said he passed away from complications related to lung cancer.In a long and versatile career on stage and screen, Roberts became closely associated with Allen and often played the best friend of the writer/director. He appeared in a total of six of his feature films: Play It Again, Sam, Annie Hall, Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Hannah And Her Sisters and Radio Days.He was also nominated twice for a Tony Award for his work in theatre – first for his role in the 1968 musical How Now, Dow Jones, and then for the stage version of Play It Again, Sam, three years before he reprised his role of Dick Christie in the big screen version.David Anthony Roberts was born in New York on October 22, 1939 and raised in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

J. Kim Murphy It seems an old “Dog Man” can outearn new pics, as the DreamWorks Animation caper will lead the domestic box office for a second weekend in a row. Meanwhile, slasher “Heart Eyes” and Ke Huy Quan actioner “Love Hurts” are landing in second and third, respectively, turning in more tepid opening weekends.

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com This year’s slate of best international film Oscar nominees puts France, Brazil, Germany, Latvia and Denmark center stage for the upcoming Academy Awards. And with several of these films dealing with deep-rooted issues in their country from past to present, ranging from stories about censorship, military takeovers to ultimate redemption and hope in the face of senseless violence, there’s a lot connecting these selections despite their widely differing styles. And in the case of one animated film, an entirely different medium.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Diane Warren has never won an Oscar. But she has a lot of Oscar nominations. The songwriter just landed her 16th Oscar nomination in the original song category for “The Journey” from Tyler Perry’s Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight” performed by H.E.R.

Will Mellor teared up as he heard the testimony of a brave rape survivor who was duped into going out with a serving Met Police officer when she was 16.

Fresh off shooting Trigger Warning in the U.S., starring Jessica Alba, Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya quickly launched into completing her fifth feature film, independence epic This City is a Battlefield, which stars Chicco Jerikho, Ariel Tatum and Jerome Kurnia.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Alex Ross Perry revealed an unexpected inspiration for “Pavements,” his experimental musical biopic concert film about the American indie band Pavement: Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning epic “Dunkirk.” Speaking at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where he is screening both “Pavements” and “Videohaven,” the indie director called Nolan’s effort “one of the most structurally incredible, miraculous scripts ever written.” “This is a hundred-million-dollar World War II film that, to me, had to be my influence in making this documentary,” he continued. “It has three storylines: one that takes place over a week, one that takes place over a day, and one that takes place over an hour, and 80% of the way through the movie all of them converge at the same point at the same time. I had never seen anything like this done in a script before.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Lauded Japanese auteur Miike Takashi sat down for an in-conversation event with longtime collaborator and producer Misako Saka at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where he is also screening “Blazing Fists.” The duo discussed their partnership as well as the impact of the director’s work in Japanese and international cinema. On 1999’s “Audition,” Miike said he still believes the film to be “terribly violent” despite not having “set out to make a violent film.” “It became a violent movie as a result of the main character and working with actors who wanted to release this kind of feeling.

Veteran Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has been at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) for the international premiere of his new sports film Blazing Fists. He also featured in the festival’s ‘big talk’ this week alongside producer and frequent collaborator Misako Saka.

Ariana Grande and her beau Ethan Slater were the epitome of couple goals at the Critics Choice Awards, unfazed by comedian Chelsea Handler's playful tease about their romance.The jest came during Handler's side-splitting opening bit, "It's nice to see some of our most beloved child stars grown up and thriving. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande are all nominated.

Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa, nestled just outside the town of Crewe, offers a tranquil countryside retreat.The approach to the hotel is reminiscent of a grand arrival at a stately home in a Merchant Ivory film, with its majestic architecture exuding an air of regality.The mansion's history traces back to 1170, undergoing a rebuild in the 17th Century and further restoration and expansion in the 19th Century. Complementing the historic hall is a contemporary wing housing additional rooms, a restaurant and bar, event spaces, as well as a health club, spa and swimming pool.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor It is quite an interesting choice for the largest film festival in the Netherlands to close with a film that explicitly denounces the violence of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, but one can always expect interesting choices from the International Film Festival Rotterdam. This year’s closing film, Mouly Surya’s “This City Is a Battlefield,” takes place in Jakarta in 1946 as Nationalist leaders have declared independence but the city remains under Dutch control, with tensions escalating to bloody, violent clashes.

Golden, the movie musical based on the childhood of Pharrell Williams, has been scrapped in post-production.Originally titled Atlantis, the project was to be directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), with a theatrical release from Universal Pictures reportedly pegged for May 5. Its long list of stars included Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Janelle Monáe, Missy Elliott, Quinta Brunson, Anderson .Paak and Jaboukie Young-White.Back in November, Williams offered the first and only glimpse of the film in an interview with Empire, where he distinguished the film from Piece by Piece, the LEGO biopic of his life, directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville and complete with cameos from Daft Punk, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and more.“’Piece By Piece’ is about my life, whereas ‘Golden’ is about a neighborhood that I grew up in.

David Lynch‘s cause of death has been revealed.The beloved late director’s death was announced by his family on social media earlier this year (January 16) – he was aged 78. Lynch, who is celebrated for films like Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet and the iconic TV series Twin Peaks, revealed his emphysema diagnosis last year, which was caused by smoking for most of his life.

With today’s running business included, Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 has topped RMB 7B ($960.5M) in China, far and away setting a new record for the biggest gross ever by a film in a single market worldwide. In reaching the milestone, this animated sequel overtakes 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens which was long the title holder for highest gross in a single market, that being $936.7M from North America.