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Principal photography has wrapped on “Think of England,” a satirical WWII drama from BAFTA-nominated writer/director Richard Hawkins.

The newly-announced film is set in the run up to the Allied invasion of France, when two British film projects are commission at the very highest level. For one, Winston Churchill himself insists that Laurence Olivier immediately embark upon a lavish production of Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” securing for him a state-of-the-art, 3-strip Technicolour camera and all of the available film stock.

As the description goes, “Think of England” is the story of the other, following a small and very disparate group of people sent to a remote Orkney island beach and tasked with a top secret mission — the making of pornographic films for the boys at the front. “For who knows how long this war still has to run, and fighting morale — as we learned only too well from the last one — is everything,...

Edward Berger’s follow-up to All Quiet On The Western Front is Conclave – and here’s the trailer for the movie.

Off the back of the huge critical success of 2022’s All Quiet On The Western Front, director Edward Berger likely found himself with lots of options.

The director is certainly enjoying a bit of a moment, with some sources suggesting that he could be given the keys to the James Bond franchise next and tasked with successfully conceiving a new 007 to fill the rather large (and impeccably tasteful) shoes vacated by Daniel Craig.

Whether that comes to pass or not though, Berger’s next film to release will be Conclave, a papal drama set in the Vatican that centres around the secret process of selecting a new Pope after the death of the previous incumbent.

The filmmaker has drawn on some heavyweight talent for this adaptation. The source material is a Robert Harris book,...

Constantin Film and Big Light Productions has tapped Christian Schwochow, whose credits include “The Crown,” “Munich: The Edge of War” and “Bad Banks,” to direct its upcoming high-profile drama series “Nuremberg,” based on the Nuremberg Trials. The show will be written by Frank Spotnitz, whose credits include “The Man in the High Castle,” “Ransom” and “Leonardo.”

The series follows young survivors of World War II who go to work for Allied prosecutors trying Nazi criminals in Nuremberg, only to find their quest for justice undermined by secret efforts to build a new world order based on power, not principle.

Schwochow said: “The Nuremberg Trials marked a pivotal moment in human history, ushering in a new age of responsibility and justice. This is a story of humanity grappling with its deepest shadows. Its relevance has never been greater, and I am filled with a humble sense of duty to tell this story faithfully.

Somewhat mysterious and fearless, Oscar-winning British actor Jeremy Irons has played a host of different characters during his decades-long career, from Adrian Veidt in Damon Lindelof’s TV series “Watchmen,” to Rodolfo Gucci in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in “Munich: The Edge of War” and Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe films, including the latest “Justice League.” Reteaming with Palme d’Or winning Bille August for the third time, Irons will next play Abbé Faria, a noble and wise character, in the prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” starring opposite fellow British actor Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès. The premum limited series is distributed worldwide by Mediawan Rights, in cooperation with CAA (for North America).

Currently on the sprawling set of “Monte Cristo” in sun-drenched Malta, a cheerful Irons spoke to Variety about the timeliness of “Monte Cristo’s” story,...

Exclusive: Bombay Berlin Film Productions (Bbfp) has revealed that August Diehl has been cast to play the role of German Olympic athlete Otto Peltzer in upcoming biopic The Distant Near.

Polish-uk filmmaker Rafael Kapelinski is set to direct the project, which has been selected for the Co-production Market of India’s Film Bazaar, currently taking place in Goa (November 20-24). The screenplay is written by UK writer James Pout with support from the Nipkow program of Medienboard.

Peltzer had an extraordinary life – an Olympic middle distance runner and former world record holder, he was persecuted by the Nazis for being gay and spent time in Mauthausen concentration camp. On his release, he moved to India to avoid further persecution, later becoming a coach for the Indian athletics team and inspiring them to victory over a visiting German team.

Diehl’s credits include Phillip Noyce’s Salt, alongside Angelina Jolie, Terrence...

George MacKay is virtually unrecognizable in the erotic revenge thriller “Femme,” directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping. With slicked-back hair and a heavy-handed neck tattoo, the dashing, soft-spoken British actor, well known for his period roles, is transformed into the kind of East London gangster you’d go out of your way to avoid.

Part of what makes MacKay’s character, Preston, so menacing is the fact that he’s deeply closeted. When one night he’s teased in front of his friends by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett’s drag artist Jules — dressed up as Aphrodite Banks — he responds with violence so severe that it shatters Jules’ confidence to ever perform in drag again. The attack emboldens Jules to ensnare an unwitting Preston in an intense sexual relationship with the intention of outing him on the Internet.

It’s not only Jules’ character who trades in drag, explains MacKay.

Production company’s credits include Steve McQueen’s Small Axe and Netflix’s The Edge of War.

BBC Studios has taken a minority stake in Small Axe indie Turbine Studios, which is in production with Apple TV+ drama Constellation.

The indie, founded in 2020 by exec producers Andrew Eaton, Justin Thomson, Tracey Scoffield and David Tanner, already has the backing of Bron Media Corp, the US entertainment firm behind HBO’s Euphoria.

It is co-producing an eight-part psychological space thriller for Apple TV+ with Haut et Court TV. Constellation, written by Peter Harness, follows a woman who returns to Earth after a disaster in space.

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, has taken a minority investment in premium scripted indie production company Turbine Studios.

Turbine is the U.K-based company behind global hits such as “Small Axe” (BBC/Amazon), “Munich: The Edge of War” (Netflix) and writer-director Steve McQueen’s “Uprising.”

It was established only in 2020 by Andrew Eaton, Tracey Scoffield, Justin Thomson and David Tanner. But in its short history, Turbine has earned considerable number of awards: “Small Axe,” is the most BAFTA-nominated series ever. “Uprising” also won a BAFTA for best factual series.

Its latest project, “Constellation” is an eight-part conspiracy-based, psychological thriller for Apple TV+, written by Peter Harness and starring Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks.

The value of the transaction and most other details of the agreement were not disclosed. However, the deal includes the German based sister company Turbine Studios GmbH, which is a co-venture between Turbine Studios,...

BBC Studios has taken a minority stake in British scripted indie production Turbine Studios.

The indie is behind BBC and Prime Video series Small Axe (BBC/Amazon), Netflix’s Munich: The Edge of War and Steve McQueen’s Uprising.

BBC Studios investment is the latest in a series of deals for the BBC’s commercial arm in recent months. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.

Established in 2020 by Andrew Eaton, Tracey Scoffield, Justin Thomson and David Tanner, Turbine is best known for Small Axe, the Steve McQueen anthology series about Black British experience that became the most nominated BAFTA series ever.

The company’s latest project, Constellation, is an eight-part conspiracy-based, psychological thriller for Apple TV+ is written by Peter Harness and stars Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks.

Mark Linsey, Managing Director Scripted, BBC Studios, said:...

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BBC Studios, the commercial arm of U.K. public broadcaster BBC, has acquired a minority stake in British production firm Turbine Studios, the company behind the likes of anthology film series Small Axe (BBC/Amazon), movie Munich: The Edge of War (Netflix) and Steve McQueen’s documentary series Uprising.

Its latest project, Constellation, is an “eight-part conspiracy-based, psychological thriller” for Apple TV+, written by Peter Harness and starring Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Prometheus) and Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul).

Financial terms of the deal, unveiled on Wednesday, were not disclosed.

Turbine Studios was established in 2020 by Andrew Eaton, Tracey Scoffield, Justin Thomson and David Tanner who all have the title of founder and executive producer. “The team creates distinctive content that focuses on high-quality returning drama for both U.K. broadcasters and global streaming platforms, including the BBC,...

‘Drive My Car’, ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ among nominees.

The World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa) has unveiled the second and final wave of nominees for its 22nd edition, which takes place on October 22 in Ghent, Belgium.

Composers nominated for the Discovery award include Eiko Ishibashi for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car and Isobel Waller-Bridge for spy thriller Munich: The Edge Of War.

Also nominated is post-rock electronica band Son Lux, which worked on the score for Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Scroll down for the full list of nominations

Nainita Desai’s score for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible...

David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” opened for general audiences this weekend without exactly lighting up the box office, which no one expected it to do.

The filmography of Cronenberg has been one that has brought unadulterated respect from cinephiles, while never having the populist appeal to breakout into huge commercial translations or awards attention. While it’s never too late to become an Oscar darling, unless the King of Body Horror is going to make a drastic switch in style and genre, it would be criminal for him to have no industry acknowledgment as a prolific auteur. The honorary Oscar is the perfect tool for such a distinction.

Despite telling an ambitious allegory of art, autism, global warming, awards season, relationships and perhaps a dozen others that can be picked out upon multiple viewings, “Crimes of the Future” is far too cerebral for mainstream awards attention.

When the...

Leading arthouse sales company the Match Factory has acquired the rights to “Bachmann & Frisch,” a biopic about the radical Austrian writer and poet Ingeborg Bachmann, directed by Venice Golden Lion winner Margarethe von Trotta. The film stars Vicky Krieps — who appears in two Cannes Film Festival films this year, “Corsage” and “More Than Ever” — as the poet, and Ronald Zehrfeld as her partner, the Swiss writer Max Frisch.

The pickup follows the international sales success for the Match Factory with Von Trotta’s “Hannah Arendt” in 2012. The company also represented Von Trotta’s “Forget About Nick” in 2017.

“Bachmann & Frisch” tells the story of the author’s life in Berlin, Zurich and Rome, her relationship with Frisch, her trip to Egypt and her radical texts and readings.

Also in the cast are Tobias Resch (“Breaking the Ice”), Basil Eidenbenz (“Denial”), Luna Wedler (“Je Suis Karl”) and Marc Limpach (“Munich: The Edge of War...

Directors James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte discuss the movies that inspired them while making The Big Conn.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Happiness (1998)

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Windy City Heat (2003)

Ocean’s 11 (1960)

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Bad Boys (1995)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Munich (2005)

Fargo (1996)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Delicatessen (1991)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

The Hole (2009) – Joe Dante’s U.S. trailer commentary, Joe Dante’s Italian trailer commentary, Joe Dante’s British trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Dial M For Murder (1954) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary

Jaws 3D (1983)

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)

U2 3D (2008)

The Pink Panther (1963) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Goodfellas (1990) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Children of Men (2006)

The Imposter (2012)

Other Notable Items

The Big Conn podcast (2022)

The Big Conn docuseries (2022)

Bronzeville...

The Playmaker Munich is launching sales in Cannes on the claustrophobic, real-time black comedy “Holy Shit!,” and have debuted the film’s international trailer. “Holy Shit!” will have its market premiere in Cannes on May 19.

Scriptwriter and director Lukas Rinker has “created an ultimate worst-case scenario that feels relatable yet unimaginable at the same time,” The Playmaker Munich said.

“Holy Shit!” won the Audience Award at its world premiere at the Hard:Line Film Festival this year, and was also shown at the Night Visions Film Festival and Fantaspoa, where it received an Honorable Mention for the “Best Blood (and Shit) Bath.”

In the film, architect Frank (Thomas Niehaus) regains consciousness in a locked portable toilet on a construction site where a detonation is being prepared. As he desperately tries to find ways of escaping this “prison” before potentially being blown to smithereens, he realizes who has put him in this...

Steven Spielberg after the turn of the 21st Century has a strange reputation. In an era where so many film fans are craving movies with sizable budgets that are made for adults, Spielberg is one of the few directors doing this on a consistent basis. "Munich," "Lincoln," "Bridge of Spies," and "The Post" are all the kinds of movies people claim they want, yet when Spielberg does it, they are sometimes thought of as old hat, old fashioned, or "dad movies." Look, just because he's not dealing with aliens and whip-wielding adventurers as often as he used to does not mean these movies are any...

The post Tom Hanks' Catch Me If You Can Casting Completely Changed The Story appeared first on /Film.

Following nominations for blockbusters “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), Steven Spielberg achieved his first Best Director Oscar win in for “Schindler’s List” (1993). Five years later, he nabbed a bookend trophy for “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and thus became the 17th of 21 double directing champs. Having since earned bids for “Munich” (2005) and “Lincoln” (2013), his category nomination total has now risen to eight with his new one for “West Side Story.” This gives him another shot at joining the exclusive club of triple Best Director award recipients, which, since 1960, has consisted of just three members: Frank Capra, John Ford (who later won a fourth time) and William Wyler.

See 2022 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories

Spielberg’s challengers in this year’s contest are Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) and...

The 2022 Oscar nominees for Best Director are Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”). Our odds currently show that Campion (3/1) is most likely to win, followed in order by Branagh (4/1), Spielberg (9/2), Anderson (9/2), and Hamaguchi (9/2).

All but Hamaguchi are previous directing nominees. Spielberg has already collected a pair of trophies for helming “Schindler’s List” (1994) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1999). His five other bids came for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1978), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1982), “E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1983), “Munich” (2006), and “Lincoln” (2013). His initial victory was against Campion on her first outing for “The Piano.” Branagh was recognized here in 1990 for “Henry V,” while Anderson has two past directing bids to his name for “There Will Be Blood” (2008) and “Phantom Thread” (2018).

All five of these contenders are nominated in at least one other category this year.

The films in contention for the 2022 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar are “Coda,” “Drive My Car,” “Dune,” “The Lost Daughter,” and “The Power of the Dog.” Our odds currently indicate that “The Power of the Dog” (17/5) will win the award, followed in order of likelihood by “Coda” (39/10), “The Lost Daughter” (4/1), “Drive My Car” (9/2), and “Dune” (9/2).

Seven of the eight individuals included in this year’s lineup are category newcomers, with Eric Roth (“Dune”) standing alone as the only veteran. He succeeded on his first outing as the writer of “Forrest Gump” (1995) and has since picked up bids for “The Insider” (2000), “Munich” (2006), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2009), and “A Star Is Born” (2019). He shares this bid with first-time writing nominees Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve.

Roth’s half dozen nominations make him one of the three most-recognized adaptive writers alongside John Huston and only one step behind Billy Wilder. He may...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar and Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. The eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and is subject to change.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Oscars Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Oscars Hub

Revisit the prediction archive of the 2021 season The Archive

Link to television awards is atTHE Emmys Hub

2022 Oscars Predictions:

Best Supporting Actor

Updated: March 24, 2022

Awards Prediction Commentary:

Troy Kotsur, supporting actor nominee for “Coda,” is...

When someone has just returned to this mortal plane after scaling Mt. Everest, it is perhaps premature to ask them which vast rock they would like to climb next. Yet that’s exactly what we feel obliged to do following news over the weekend that Steven Spielberg—Hollywood’s own veritable Edmund Hillary—is done with musicals after West Side Story.

The revelation came via Variety, which reported about Spielberg attending the PGA Awards Breakfast on Saturday. There, the director and producer had nothing but lovely things to say about his experience of adapting West Side Story to the screen. His efforts have resulted in the musical receiving some of the best reviews in Spielberg’s 21st century career, as well as netting him his eighth nomination for Best Director at the Academy Awards. Nevertheless, Spielberg took the opportunity to say that he was done directing musicals after his first...

Exclusive: Fresh from his Oscar nomination, Belfast star Ciarán Hinds is joining Netflix spy drama series Treason.

Hinds, who scored a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film, will star alongside Olga Kurylenko, Oona Chaplin and Charlie Cox in the six-part series, which comes from Oscar-nominated Bridge of Spies screenwriter Matt Charman.

The drama follows Adam Lawrence, trained and groomed by MI6, whose career seems set. But when the past catches up with him in the form of Kara, a Russian spy with whom he shares a complicated past, he is forced to question everything and everyone in his life. A triangular relationship forms between Kara, Adam and his wife, Maddy; three people who are trying to expose one another’s secrets, navigate political and diplomatic relationships, whilst hanging onto their personal lives and those they love most.

2022 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders

He plays Sir Martin Angelis,...

Many believe the supporting actor Oscar race has been whittled down to two contenders: critical favourite Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of The Dog”) and SAG champ Troy Kotsur (“Coda”). And while the precursor results this year largely point toward that conclusion, there are a multitude of factors that point to the BAFTA winner not being either Smit-McPhee nor Kotsur but rather Ciaran Hinds (3rd in our combined odds) for the Focus Features crowd pleaser “Belfast.” Here are 5 reasons why you should be predicting Hinds to pull off the mighty upset this Sunday.

In other precursors where Hinds has been nominated (Critics’ Choice and Golden Globes), he’s had to compete with his “Belfast” co-star Jamie Dornan. BAFTA is the first in which Hinds doesn’t have to vie against Dornan and this will benefit him greatly. All of the passion for “Belfast” will now be channeled directly towards Ciaran’s name,...

Belfast native Ciarán Hinds finally received the recognition he’s deserved with an Oscar nomination for his role in the Focus Features picture “Belfast.” Hinds’ career has spanned over 120 films and television series, but he tells Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast that knew when he began to read writer and director Kenneth Branagh’s script for “Belfast” that he wanted to be a part of it.

On this episode, Hinds talks about the impressive career that has seen him share the screen with the likes of Andrew Garfield and Daniel Day-Lewis and working under the guidance of master filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Spielberg, whom he reunited with at this year’s Oscar nominees luncheon.

He also discusses what it was like to work with an outstanding cast that included Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan and the young Jude Hill. Finally, he discusses the movement for the release of the “Snyder Cut,...

If any other filmmaker achieved eight Oscar nominations for Best Director across six decades, it might sound like a fluke. For Steven Spielberg, it’s destiny.

No director in history has been so closely associated with juggling the commercial and artistic potential of the medium. Even as he remains an underdog this year with his “West Side Story” nomination (which is Jane Campion’s to lose for “The Power of the Dog”), Spielberg’s latest opportunity speaks to his unique capacity to make audience-friendly movies that his Academy brethren embrace as embodying filmmaking at its finest. He’s a crowdpleaser with big ideas whose entire oeuvre chases the mainstream concept of “movie magic” as a mission statement.

However, a closer look at the spectrum of Best Director nominations he has received over the years tells a deeper story, and tracks the efforts of a filmmaker whose desire to make audience-friendly...

The West Side Story song “I Feel Pretty” is one of the most popular pieces of the American songbook. Over the decades, it’s been played at birthday parties, weddings, and even in Adam Sandler movies. Yet it’s no secret that the song has its share of critics, chief among them being its late great lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who for decades would sheepishly admit he was embarrassed by the song. In the most recent Broadway revival of the Leonard Bernstein and Sondheim musical, iconoclast stage director Ivo van Hove even cut “I Feel Pretty” altogether (much to Sondheim’s delight).

As it turns out, Steven Spielberg almost did the same in last year’s enchanting big screen reimagining of West Side Story starring Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, and an Oscar nominated Ariana DeBose. And if it were not for the efforts of screenwriter and playwright Tony Kushner, one of...

Adapting Frank Herbert's sprawling sci-fi saga, "Dune," is nothing short of a Herculean task, and Denis Villeneuve succeeded in doing the same with the help of screenwriter Eric Roth. Roth is a major player in the screenwriting arena, having adapted numerous books for the screen, including "Forrest Gump," "The Insider," and "Munich." In a recent interview with IndieWire, Roth spoke about how he scrapped his opening to Villeneuve's "Dune," which had Biblical connotations, and mostly had to be removed due to budgetary/thematic reasons.

Roth explains how he was never a sci-fi aficionado, but had read the book when he was a young boy, enjoying...

The post Dune Screenwriter Eric Roth Talks About His Scrapped Opening to the Movie appeared first on /Film.

When Denis Villeneuve developed “Dune” he turned to Eric Roth to adapt Frank Herbert’s sprawling 1965 saga. Roth had already scored five Oscar nominations for adapting books for the screen, including one win for Robert Zemeckis’ Best Picture-winner “Forrest Gump.” Roth’s other Oscar adaptations include collaborations with directors David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), Michael Mann (“The Insider”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”), and Steven Spielberg (“Munich”).

Roth was not a sci-fi aficionado who adored the Herbert novel, but he saw what Villeneuve could do with it. In a wide-ranging Zoom conversation, Roth and I talked about the agony of being rewritten and his misreading of the power of Netflix when Fincher made his groundbreaking series “House of Cards.”

We also discussed his joyous collaboration with another septuagenarian, Martin Scorsese, turning David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,...

When Denis Villeneuve developed “Dune” he turned to Eric Roth to adapt Frank Herbert’s sprawling 1965 saga. Roth had already scored five Oscar nominations for adapting books for the screen, including one win for Robert Zemeckis’ Best Picture-winner “Forrest Gump.” Roth’s other Oscar adaptations include collaborations with directors David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), Michael Mann (“The Insider”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”), and Steven Spielberg (“Munich”).

Roth was not a sci-fi aficionado who adored the Herbert novel, but he saw what Villeneuve could do with it. In a wide-ranging Zoom conversation, Roth and I talked about the agony of being rewritten and his misreading of the power of Netflix when Fincher made his groundbreaking series “House of Cards.”

We also discussed his joyous collaboration with another septuagenarian, Martin Scorsese, turning David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,...

Exclusive: Oliver Trevena has signed on to star alongside Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev in the action-thriller, The Bricklayer, which is heading into production in Europe next month.

In the film from director Renny Harlin, based on the novel by Noah Boyd, someone is blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it look like the agency is responsible. As the world begins to unite against the U.S., the CIA must lure its most brilliant – and rebellious – operative out of retirement, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy.

Hanna Weg and Matt Johnson penned the script. G-Base’s Alan Siegel, Butler and Danielle Robinson are producing with Eclectic Pictures’ Heidi Jo Markel, and Millennium Media’s Jeffrey Greenstein, Les Weldon, Jonathan Yunger, Yariv Lerner and Rob Van Norden. Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson and Tanner Mobley from Millennium are serving as exec producers.

Twenty-eight years ago, Steven Spielberg (“Schindler’s List’) and Jane Campion (“The Piano”) were the favorites in the Best Director race at the Oscars. Spielberg won for the first time back then with Campion picking up the original screenplay Academy Award. And now they are facing off again.

Spielberg is nominated as Best Director for the eighth time for his remake of the musical “West Side Story” and Campion is up for her Western “The Power of the Dog.” Two of the other contenders for Best Director — Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) — are previous nominees (it’s been a long -and record breaking-32 years between Branagh’s bids). The fifth nominee is an Oscar rookie, Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi for “Drive My Car.”

Take a read of the Best Director Oscar nominees biographies and then make your prediction as to who will prevail on March 27.

Paul Thomas Anderson,...

The Oscars returned to a hard slate of 10 Best Picture nominees this year, but ironically, for the first time in the preferential ballot era, none of the Best Actress Oscar nominees are in a Best Picture nominee.

Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) made the final five on Tuesday, but none of their films are in the top 10. The Best Picture nominees were “Belfast,” “Coda,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story.”

The last time none of the Best Actress nominees were in a Best Picture nominee was 16 years ago, when the main category was still a field of five. Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for “Walk the Line” over Judi Dench (“Mrs. Henderson Presents”), Felicity Huffman...

When Steven Spielberg directs a movie, the chances are good the finished work will land among the year’s Best Picture nominees — and that was proven once again on Tuesday morning as Spielberg’s “West Side Story” landed among the 2022 Oscars Best Picture nominees.

Including his breakout blockbuster “Jaws,” Spielberg has now directed 12 Best Picture nominees: “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “The Color Purple,” “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Munich,” “War Horse,” “Lincoln,” “Bridge of Spies,” “The Post,” and “West Side Story.” Of those 12 films, only “Schindler’s List” won the Oscar for Best Picture.

As an individual nominee, Spielberg has received a record 11 Best Picture nominations — for all of the above films except “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and also Clint Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima,” which counted Spielberg as a producer.

Directing 12 Best Picture nominees in his career puts Spielberg in rarified air.

Some fun casting news for a Friday afternoon. Two directors will be on the set of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming family drama, “The Fabelmans,” but only one of them will be behind it. Variety reveals that surrealist filmmaker David Lynch has joined the cast that already includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Gabriel Labelle, and Julia Butters.

Read More: ‘The Fabelman’s & The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022

“The Fabelmans” is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama film co-written by Spielberg and his “West Side Story” screenwriter Tony Kushner (who also wrote “Munich”).

Continue reading David Lynch Joins Cast Of Steven Spielberg’s Family Film ‘The Fabelmans’ at The Playlist.

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama “The Fabelmans” just got a new twist in its casting. Variety reports that Oscar-winning “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” filmmaker David Lynch has joined the cast of the ensemble drama in a top-secret, closely guarded role. Lynch is no stranger to being in front of the camera, as he has starred in many of his own projects, including as loud-talking FBI agent Gordon Cole in the original “Twin Peaks” and its revival, “The Return,” and he also starred in the prequel film “Fire Walk with Me.” He also lent his voice to “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken.”

Lynch joins a cast that already includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” breakout Julia Butters, and rising star Gabriel Labelle. The movie is written by Spielberg with Tony Kushner, who most recently penned the screenplay for Spielberg’s Oscar contender “West Side Story.

David Lynch has joined the cast of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming drama “The Fabelmans,” Variety has learned. His role remains a closely guarded secret.

“The Fabelmans” will mark the first collaboration between Lynch and Spielberg, both seminal directorial talents that emerged in the 1970’s. Lynch has accumulated a celebrated body of work over the course of his filmmaking career, drawing acclaim for directing films such as “Mulholland Drive,” “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet,” “The Straight Story” and “Lost Highway.” His 1980 historical drama “The Elephant Man” received eight Oscar nominations, including one for Lynch’s directing, while his crime romance “Wild at Heart” won the Palme d’Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Lynch received Oscar nominations for best director for “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive.” His most recent feature, “Inland Empire,” was released in 2006, inspiring praise from critics groups.

Lynch is also one of the minds behind the television series “Twin Peaks,...

Olympic competition has long been fertile ground for filmmakers across the world. Both documentary and feature film directors have centred their visions around the world’s largest sporting event, focusing their storytelling eye on the whirlwind of human sporting excellence. The inherent drama of the Olympic events draws enormous crowds and competitors from the four corners of the world, to share the spectacle of human excellence under the most breathtaking conditions.

While some filmmakers strive to capture the essence of the games, such as Kon Ichikawa’s triumphant three hour celebration of the 1964 games in Tokyo Olympiad, others seek to use the event as backdrop for the more human stories. Recent films such as Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie the Eagle, Craig Gillespie’s I,Tonya, Bennett Miller’s bleak and weighty Foxcatcher and even Steven Spielberg, whose 2005 film Munich stands alongside Kevin Macdonald’s gripping One Day in September, chronicled...

Kenneth Wannberg, composer and Emmy-winning music editor who worked on nearly half of all John Williams’ films dating back to the late 1960s, died Jan. 27 at his home in Florence, Oregon. He was 91.

Wannberg was best known as Williams’ music editor, working closely with the composer on more than 50 of his films. He assisted Williams throughout the scoring process, from providing detailed descriptions of sequences to be scored to more technical aspects such as trimming or modifying music during the last stages of post-production.

He music-edited the first six “Star Wars” films, the first three “Indiana Jones” films and such other landmark Williams scores as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

During his 50-year career in films, Wannberg worked with many other composers including Bernard Herrmann (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”), Jerry Goldsmith (“The Mephisto Waltz”), Michael Convertino...

According to Gold Derby predictions, “West Side Story” will receive 10 Oscar nominations on the morning of February 8, 2022 (see below). 20th Century Studios’ remake of the 1957 Broadway musical and the 1961 feature film is dominating the current awards season, winning three Golden Globes, earning multiple Critics Choice bids and contending at 10 different guilds. Can the movie from director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner go all the way and win Best Picture?

SEERachel Zegler (‘West Side Story’) missed SAG, but ‘there’s a place’ for her at the Oscars

Our Oscar racetrack odds are based on the combined forecasts of 7,800+ Gold Derby readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting last year’s nominations, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years, and the mass of Users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.

Upwards of 85 new films will launch (or have already arrived) on Netflix this year. A few movies made their grand debuts in January, and quite a few more are set to launch at the beginning of this month, but the streaming service is touting its 2022 slate with new movies every week and a robust lineup of actors and filmmakers.

Standout tiles include Shawn Levy’s time-traveling tale, “The Adam Project,” with a cast led by Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldaña, as well as a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” starring Dakota Johnson and Henry Golding. Regina King will embody trailblazing politician Shirley Chisholm in a biopic titled “Shirley.” Stop-motion and horror maestros Henry Selick and Jordan Peele are teaming up for the animated pic “Wendell & Wild.” “The Gray Man” stars both Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in a CIA/spy/global manhunt film alongside Ana de Armas.

Looking for a spy story with a twist? Check these out on Netflix. I Want Historical Intrigue… Munich: The Edge of War In a tense film based on Richard Harris’ 2017 page-turner, by-the-book Brit Hugh Legat (George MacKay) accompanies his boss, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons), to the 1938 Munich conference for peace talks with Hitler. But Hugh’s old Oxford pal, German diplomat Paul von Hartmann (Jannis Niewöhner), has evidence that his leader’s motive is control of Europe, and he secretly feeds the intel to Hugh. “It’s a story,” says Niewöhner, “about finding the right way to fight for the right cause.” Available now I Want Sci-Fi Action… In From the Cold Ex–Russian spy turned single New Jersey mom Jenny Franklin is forced out of retirement to stop an assassination. Over eight episodes, Jenny brutally fights and, thanks to a Kgb experiment when she was a young intelligence officer,...

Jeremy Irons has experienced a decades-long acting career in Hollywood. Over those years, he’s been in a number of excellent films. And obviously, you can’t work in the industry over that long of a period of time without acting in a few stinkers, also. According to Irons, one of those films is definitely Joss Whedon’s 2017 cut of “Justice League.”

Speaking to Variety, while promoting his new film, “Munich: The Edge of War,” Jeremy Irons took the time to talk about “Justice League” and admit that he hasn’t yet seen “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” which was released in last year, despite playing Batman’s butler, Alfred, in the feature.

Continue reading Jeremy Irons Hasn’t Seen ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ But Says “It Couldn’t Have Been Worse” Than Joss Whedon’s Version at The Playlist.

Neville Chamberlain has endured a savage historical appraisement. He’s the prime minister who failed to stand up to Hitler. The politician who didn’t understand the existential threat posed by the fascist leader and his Nazi ideology. The man who bundled things so spectacularly with his policy of appeasement that Europe plunged into devastating conflict that cost millions of lives.

But “Munich: The Edge of War,” an adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel, presents a far more sympathetic portrait of Chamberlain, and it’s one that hasn’t been sitting all that well with some historians and critics. As played by Jeremy Irons, Chamberlain is so scarred by the carnage of World War I that he will do anything to prevent more violence, even if that means allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a section of western Czechoslovakia that proved to be only the first stop in Hitler’s unquenchable territorial ambitions.

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release the critically acclaimed thriller The Dry on DVD and Blu-ray on January 18, 2022. IFC Films released The Dry in theaters, on Digital Rental & VOD on May 21, 2021.

Here’s the trailer:

The Dry is directed by Robert Connolly (Balibo, Paper Planes) and co-written by Harry Cripps (“Supernova”) andRobert Connolly based on the book by Jane Harper. The film stars Eric Bana (Munich, The Other Boleyn Girl), Genevieve O’Reilly (Star Wars franchise), Keir O’Donnell (American Sniper) and John Polson (The Boys). Rlje Films will release The Dry on DVD for an Srp of $27.97 and on Blu-ray for an Srp of $28.96.

Now you can win the Win the Blu-ray of The Dry. We Are Movie Geeks has three to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie starring Eric Bana is (I’d say Chopper. It’s so easy!

Two more war film are about to hit our screens, and while we can’t seem to wean ourselves off them, the best capture a complex reality

Are you British and reading this piece at the age of 94? If so, as you will know, you may actually have fought in the second world war. Widen the metric to anyone born by the end of the conflict, and the demographic swells: 76 and up. Even so, the greater part of the country could only know the era through parents, grandparents or grandparents’ parents. Yet January has still begun with two new depictions of wartime Blighty. Such is British film. Whatever year the calendar says it is, the nation’s cinema is always here to put an arm a little too tightly around your shoulder and pull you into a fusty back room to look at its Airfix Lancaster Bombers.

The first of the new films,...

Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” continued its reign at the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office for the third weekend in a row with £6.05 million ($8.2 million). The film now has a total of £69.8 million ($94.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

Disney prequel “The King’s Man” bowed strongly in second position with £3.4 million. “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” released by eOne, collected £778,802 in third place and now has a total of £5.9 million after four weekends.

In its second weekend, “The Matrix Resurrections” took £760,427 in fourth position and now has a total of £5.2 million. Rounding off the top five was Disney release, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” with £397,792. The film has collected £5.08 million after four weekends.

After being snubbed at the Academy Awards’ international feature category, Julia Ducournau’s Cannes winner “Titane” was released by Altitude and collected £121,920 in ninth position in its debut weekend.

Reliance Entertainment’s Bollywood cricket epic “’83,...

Sony Pictures Entertainment follows its release of Parallel Mothers last week with Jockey in three theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Friday in a specialty market crowded by holdovers and wide releases, and amid a Covid-19 surge that’s particularly tough on art houses. The frame isn’t ideal for new specialty fare in any case, but gets it on the board for a January rollout ahead of Oscar nominations.

SPC acquired Jockey out of Sundance where it won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury award for star Clifton Collins Jr. as an aging rider trying to win one last championship race. The directorial debut of Clint Bentley will expand nationwide following its exclusive debut. The Oscar hopeful (87% Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics’ score) was one of Deadline critic Todd McCarthy’s top ten picks of the year. See his review here.

Collins plays Jackson Silvan,...

Holiday movie season is upon us — though the release schedule has never been more confusing, with some blockbusters heading directly to streaming, others in theaters only and various independent films mixing up strategies between theaters, streaming and VOD releases.

It’s a quiet week for new releases, with only a couple fresh titles hitting theaters — including Sundance award winner “Jockey” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” now on Netflix — though the following guide also features coverage of such Oscar contenders as “West Side Story,” “Nightmare Alley” and “Parallel Mothers.”

Here’s a rundown of the films opening this week that Variety has covered, along with information on where you can watch them. Find more movies and TV shows to stream here.

New Releases for the Week of Dec. 31 Exclusively in Theaters

Jockey (Clint Bentley) Critic’S Pick

Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

Where to Find It: In theaters

“Jockey” gives...

There’s much talk of the proverbial British stiff upper lip in “Munich: The Edge of War,” as that dignified reserve mutates into damaging caution in matters of politics, days away from the start of the Second World War. In the film’s opening scene, a German Oxford student criticizes his host country as being “distant from feeling,” but if there’s some truth to his observation, this British-German co-production largely takes the same aloof tack. Immersively crafted but never emotionally involving, director Christian Schwochow’s handsome imagining of underground attempts to prevent war during the 1938 Munich conference flip-flops between the perspectives of George MacKay’s English political aide and Jannis Niewöhner’s German turncoat, spreading its sympathies between them.

The resulting historical drama is unavoidably sapped of tension by our knowledge of precisely what happened next, though it’s gripping enough on an in-the-moment basis. Based on a novel...

Whippersnapper Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) has built a significant lead in our Oscar odds for Best Supporting Actor, but the actors ranked second and third pose a major threat. Ciaran Hinds (“Belfast”) and Troy Kotsur (“Coda”) are the kinds of veteran character actors who often get their due in the category, and they also play the kind of role that has been celebrated on multiple occasions: dear old dad.

SEETroy Kotsur (‘Coda’) on newfound awards success: ‘I never thought that would happen to me’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Hinds plays Jamie Dornan‘s kindly father and Jude Hill‘s doting grandfather in Kenneth Branagh‘s semiautobiographical film about growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. We currently rank him second with 11/2 odds, with three of the Expert journalists we’ve surveyed betting on him to win: Clayton Davis (Variety), Erik Davis (Fandango), and Sasha Stone (Awards Daily). Thus far he...