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Sony Pictures Classics has acquired rights to James Vanderbilt’s thriller “Nuremberg,” starring Academy Award winners Rami Malek and Russell Crowe and Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon.

The film, from Walden Media and Bluestone Entertainment, will be released in theaters nationwide on Nov. 7, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials

Based on the book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai, “Nuremberg” chronicles the true story of the trials held by the Allies against the defeated Nazi regime in post-war Germany. Malek stars as American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Malek), who is tasked with determining whether Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes and finds himself in a “complex battle of wits” with Hermann Göring (Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man.

In addition to Malek, Crowe and Shannon, the film features an all-star ensemble cast, including Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien,...

Tom Quinn, founder and CEO of U.S. indie distribution and production house Neon, will be honored with the Game Changer Award at the Zurich Summit, which takes place on Sept. 27, running as part of the 21st Zurich Film Festival. Quinn’s slate includes Joachim Trier’s Cannes frontrunner “Sentimental Value.”

The award “pays tribute to excellence in the film business with a focus on leaders who cherish change and forward-thinking approaches in the business,” the festival said.

Neon, which Quinn set up in 2017, has – in just eight years – won 39 Academy Award nominations, 11 wins, including two best picture wins, and has grossed over $400 million at the box office.

Its films include Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which took home five Academy Awards including best picture, and was released in theaters to the highest per-screen average of 2024; as well as Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which won four Academy Awards, becoming the...

Exactly one week after the opening of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, there are at least three things that everyone here at the fest seems to agree on.

Firstly, in what is probably a reflection of these uncertain economic times (thanks, Trump), there has been a striking dearth of promotional fanfare along the Croisette, where tons of installations, stand-ups and stunts can usually be found. This year, it’s really just been luxury cars and, in front of the Carlton, a Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning display.

Secondly, there have been precious few announcements of high-profile acquisitions, which could be for the same reason, or because many of the hotly-anticipated films have thus far underwhelmed fest attendees, or perhaps because distributors, in a post-Emilia Pérez era, are taking a bit more time to vet potential partners before committing.

Thirdly, a year after a record number of films that premiered...

Scarlett Johansson has made a major splash in Cannes with her feature directorial debut “Eleanor the Great.” Competing in the Un Certain Regard competition, the film — starring June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Erin Kellyman — earned Johansson and her cast a five-minute standing ovation on Tuesday.

Johansson was escorted by her all-powerful agent and CEO of CAA, Bryan Lourd. Her husband, “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost, arrived solo and mingled with Sony Pictures Classics executives Tom Bernard and Michael Barker. Reigning best actor Oscar winner Adrien Brody and his partner Georgina Chapman also attended, chatting up Jost.

Introducing the film, Johansson said premiering it at Cannes is “really a dream come true.”

“When you make a film that’s an independent film like this, no one’s doing it for the money — surprise, surprise,” she continued. “Really, everyone that came together for this film came together because they loved the story,...

This week on “Screen Talk,” we take you behind the scenes of the goings-on at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, where we recorded on Day Two. Politics dominated the first press conferences with director Thierry Frémaux and the nine-member jury led by Juliette Binoche. They turned up for opening night as well, where Leonardo DiCaprio presented an honorary Palme d’Or to Robert De Niro, and Quentin Tarantino bounded onto the stage to declare the festival open. The opening night film “Leave One Day,” from French rookie Amélie Bonnin, a strictly local jukebox musical with the actors singing French pop hits of the ’80s, will not travel.

Later that night, DiCaprio attended the gala dinner with De Niro at the Palm Beach, where Anne enjoyed talking with “Anora” Oscar-winners Sean Baker and Samantha Quan, the hilarious Michael Covino (“Splitsville”), Amazon’s Scott Foundas, Michael Barker...

Toronto International Film Festival’s inaugural TIFF: The Market will take place from September 10-16, 2026. Eight members have been added to the global advisory committee.

TIFF announced the market in Cannes last year and said it would run concurrently with the festival, sparking immediate speculation over whether it would push back the dates to afford sales agents more time to package projects after Cannes and the summer break.

Screen understands TIFF brass gamed out pushing back the dates and stuck with the second-week slot after they decided a short delay would not have a material impact, and wanted the festival...

Exclusive: The Toronto International Film Festival’s new market has a name, dates, and eight new industry heavyweights joining the committee that will help bring it to life – all of which Deadline can reveal.

The Toronto team are here in Cannes pressing the flesh as plans for their new market, which kicks off in 2026, gather pace. TIFF: The Market – which will be its official name – will run September 10 through 16.

TIFF: The Market has also added eight new members to its Advisory Committee: Moses Babatope, Founder & CEO, Nile Media Entertainment Group; Michael Barker, Co-President and Co-Founder, Sony Pictures Classics; Arianna Bocco, Head of Global Distribution, Mubi; Janet Brown, President, Global Content Sales, BBC Studios; Diana Bustamante Escobar, Producer; Jeongin Hong, CEO, Megabox; Laura Michalchyshyn, Cco & Co-President, Content Production, Blue Ant Studios; and Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP, Immersive Content at Lucasfilm & Ilm.

They join previously announced members Niv Fichman, Vincent Maraval, Jérôme Paillard,...

Tarak Ben Ammar, the legendary producer and distributor, said his life may have turned out very differently if a Variety reporter named Hank Werba hadn’t written about his efforts to convince filmmakers to make their movies in Tunisia.

It was that decades-old article, in which Ben Ammar pitched the North African nation as “peaceful” and “inexpensive” place to make films, that caught the attention of George Lucas, who decided to shoot parts of “Star Wars” in the country.

“[Variety] believed in this young man that was selling nonsense and dreams,” Ben Ammar said, while accepting the International Achievement in Film Award at Variety‘s annual Welcome to Cannes Party, hosted in partnership with the Gotham Film & Media Institute.

Entertainment industry movers and shakers gathered at the Majestic Hotel, Salon Croisette to celebrate Ben Ammar’s many achievements and kick off the festival in style. Guests included Sony Pictures Classics...

Cannes opening night can be hit or miss, but lately, festival director Thierry Frémaux has used the occasion to import Hollywood luminaries like Meryl Streep, tributed by Juliette Binoche last year. (The French star returned in 2025 to preside over the Competition jury.) This year, Frémaux scored big as Leonardo DiCaprio showed up to present a tearful Robert De Niro with his honorary Palme d’Or. He was rewarded with a warm hug.

“It is a great honor to recognize someone who, for me and so many actors, has always been the archetype of who we look up to,” said DiCaprio. “That is Robert De Niro. It’s not just the roles he plays. He inspired actors to treat the craft not as performance but as physical transformation.”

DiCaprio recalled screaming during his “tough” audition for “This Boy’s Life” to break through, and that De Niro recommended him, thus launching his...

For years, the Cannes Film Festival has been synonymous with glamour, prestige and cinematic artistry, with more than a few awards season darlings debuting there. But over the last decade, as Oscar hopefuls increasingly shifted their debuts to Venice, Telluride and Toronto, Cannes saw its influence on awards season diminish.

That’s no longer the case. In the last three years, Oscar best picture contenders (as well as international feature nominees) emerged from its lineup — most notably Palme d’Or winners “Triangle of Sadness” (2022) and “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023). At this year’s Oscars, Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Anora” took best pic, director and actress, while Oscar nominees “Flow,” which won for animated feature, “The Substance,” “The Apprentice” and “Emilia Pérez,” with Zoe Saldaña taking home best supporting actress (she and her co-stars collectively won acting kudos at Cannes as well), all launched on the Croisette.

‘Sentimental Value’

In...

Andrew Karpen always seemed to be in motion. At festivals like Cannes or Toronto, I’d see him racing down the street, greeting filmmakers or fellow executives with a booming, “Hey, buddy!”

At parties, he’d come up behind me, grab my shoulders and give them a shake like a Little League coach trying to loosen up a player before a game. It was his way of getting me to cast off my congenital stiffness.

And he’d enter the restaurant for one of our lunches like he’d been shot out of a cannon, peppering me with questions about my life before we even sat down and ribbing me for failing to see the latest film he was releasing. “I know you hate to leave your apartment, but would it kill you to see one of my movies?” he would joke.

Andrew was so full of irrepressible energy that...

The American Film Institute paid tribute to Francis Ford Coppola on Saturday with its 50th Life Achievement Award.

Performers like Elle Fanning and Andy Garcia; fellow filmmakers like Ron Howard, Spike Lee and George Lucas; as well as top brass such as Michael Barker and Ted Sarandos, among many others, were in attendance to celebrate the Godfather director during a gala at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist – one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit,” said Kathleen Kennedy, Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees. “AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”

Related: Francis Ford Coppola’s Career In Photos, From ‘Apocalypse Now’ To ‘The Godfather’

The Life Achievement Award is AFI’s highest esteem for a career in film.

“Severance” star John Turturro and Sony’s Tom Rothman will receive honors at the Museum of Moving Image’s annual benefit night, the Spring Moving Image Awards, on June 9.

The awards will be presented at the Sumner M. Redstone Theater, and a dinner will be held in the Hearst Lobby at the Queens, N.Y. museum.

Turturro returned to Season 2 of the Apple TV+ series “Severance” as Irving, an employee at the enigmatic Lumon company. He also appeared last year in the Pedro Almodóvar film “The Room Next Door” as Damian, a confidant to Julianne Moore’s character. Turturro won an Emmy in 2004 for his performance in the series, “Monk.”

Rothman is the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group. In his position, he has overseen films such as “Little Women,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Rothman is also the...

Exclusive: Miles Madison is Mikey Madison’s twin brother, and the way he describes it they were “born at the same time.”

Family lore, says Miles, is that they had a cesarean birth “and we were plucked out” simultaneously to prevent arguments about who’s older.

And does that work? Miles winks and says that on his birth certificate he’s listed one minute ahead of his Oscar-winning sibling.

The Madison clan is undoubtedly proud of Mikey. And I loved seeing how intuitively protective they are of her. They wanted to give her space to just simply breathe and take in the enormity of what happened Sunday night to the 25-year-old, who will be 26 on March 25.

They all sat in a sort of luxurious sunken sofa pit created for the Vanity Fair Oscars 2025 party. Intermingled with Mikey’s family were members of the Anora entourage; the film’s multiple Oscar-winning...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored its newest class of winners during Hollywood’s biggest night on Sunday at the 2025 Oscars. Cameras captured the most dazzling moments during the Academy Awards as it aired on ABC and streamed on Hulu, but The Hollywood Reporter was inside the Dolby Theatre to catch all the moments that you may have missed during the 2025 Oscars.

Halle Berry and Adrien Brody Re-Create Their Infamous 2003 Oscars Kiss

Twenty-two years ago, Adrien Brody became the youngest best actor Oscar winner at 29 for his role of Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist. However, his reaction to the win further cemented the moment in Oscars history when he embraced Halle Berry — who won the title of best actress the year prior in 2002 — and dipped her into a kiss. Now, at the 2025 Oscars, Brody and Berry re-created their infamous kiss behind-the-scenes on the carpet before the ceremony commenced.

Exclusive: Shirley MacLaine wailed during her acceptance speech when she won her Oscar back in 1984 for Terms of Endearment, “I’m gonna cry because this show has been as long as my career!”

Spare a thought for three of this year’s Best Actress nominees, Demi Moore, Karla Sofia Gascón and Mickey Madison, because for them, awards season has been running since last May when their movies, The Substance, Emilia Pérez and Anora, respectively, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.

“It’s been nearly a year,” Moore tells me helpfully, when we meet at the annual Charles Finch/Chanel pre-Oscars soirée in the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Her face is a genuine picture of joy, that’s the word. “I am joyful,” she smiles.

“My mind and spirit is great,” Moore continues. “But my body says, ‘F— you.'”

In a phrase, Moore encapsulates a sentiment I...

Led Zeppelin on Imax, Parthenope by Paolo Sorrentino and Armand starring Renate Reinsve, both Cannes premieres, and Barry Koeghan in Irish drama Bring Them Down headline an interesting specialty weekend.

Sony Pictures Classics debuts Bernard MacMahon’s hybrid docu concert film Becoming Led Zeppelin exclusively in Imax at 369 locations this week, opening wide next week on over 1,000 screens. Powered by never-before-seen footage, performances and music, the film is billed as an experiential cinematic odyssey exploring Led Zeppelin‘s creative, musical, and personal origin story. It’s told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

An early version premiered at the Venice Film Festival back in 2021 as a work in progress to a 10-minute standing ovation. It subsequently incorporated a brand-new sound mix, newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members (including home movies and family photos), and exclusive interviews with Jimmy Page,...

When the 2025 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, awards-watchers expected to see the titles “Emilia Pérez,” “Conclave” and “Wicked” in the lineup. But the gripping, humane Brazilian drama “I’m Still Here” was a surprise inclusion on the Best Picture list.

Pundits had expected the film to show up in the Best International Feature and potentially Best Actress (Fernanda Torres) categories, both of which it did, but the Academy members – 9,905 voters at last count – also supported the film across all branches to score a coveted Best Picture nomination.

“The Academy members have always gravitated to high quality work,” Michael Barker, co-president of the film’s distributor Sony Pictures Classics, told TheWrap. “Obviously, we knew that this film was high-quality and we knew that if we got enough Academy members to see it, we were going to have a shot.”

He added, “That strategy started a long time ago, and (fellow co-president...

Walter Salles-directed I’m Still Here caps weeks of packed screenings after a Best Actress Golden Globe win by star Fernanda Torres with a theatrical release from Sony Pictures Classics on five screens in New York and LA. The distributor’s The Room Next Door jumps from 44 screens to over 850, the widest release of a Pedro Almodovar film.

Mubi is out with documentary Grand Theft Hamlet, A24’s Colman Domingo-starring Sing Sing is back at 500+ theaters, Bleecker Street’s Hard Truths by Mike Leigh, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, expands to 120 screens.

Torres of I’m Still Here is the daughter of Brazilian icon Fernanda Montenegro who was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Salles’ breakout film Central Station. Earlier this month, Torres dedicated her Golden Globe to her mother, saying, “She was here 25 years ago and this is like proof that art can endure through life.” Her speech was a hit,...

If you had any doubt that the awards season was in full swing, Sunday night’s 15th Annual Governors Awards ceremony answered it.

If you are, or in any way think you might have a shot at an Oscar nomination this year, and were in Los Angeles, it is most likely I might have run into you last night at Ovation’s Ray Dolby Ballroom where this jam packed ceremony saluting this year’s honorary Oscar recipients took place. In fact, just the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ PR team’s tip sheet was two pages of 207 single spaced names who were expected to attend (and by my count did) show up, not just to honor the deserving winners of the evening, but also perhaps to be in this place which is packed with Oscar voters who might be reminded to see your movie, if they haven’t done so already.

Hollywood may be synonymous with moviemaking, but Los Angeles has historically been fickle about supporting a major film festival. AFI Fest, which will unfurl the red carpet for opening night on Wednesday, hopes to certify its status as the city’s landmark festival, especially after seeing an encouraging growth in presales this fall. On the first day of availability, advanced tickets showed a spike of 200% over last year’s edition, per American Film Institute president Bob Gazzale.

“I hate to say it, but the question abounds: ‘Are people still going to the movies?’ Yet our passes are sold out,” Gazzale tells Variety. “It says something about the terrific programming team, because they’re finding films of interest. That’s naturally going to attract an audience, no matter what city we’re in.”

Strong programming hasn’t always guaranteed sustained support for local fests, though. The once-popular L.A. Film Festival...

CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner, Mediawan Pictures Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben will be among the industry executives participating in the 10th Zurich Summit this weekend.

Dubbed by organizer the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) as “the Davos of the film industry”, in reference to the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, the event will gather more than 100 top film professionals from North American and Europe at the city’s luxury Dolder Grand hotel.

Over the course of Saturday, they will discuss key issues including AI, monetization of indie films, financing, distribution, representation, and the awards season.

As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.

Sutherland, a long-time supporter of the meeting,...

CAA’s Roeg Sutherland is set to be honored with the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions within the film industry.

The co-Head of CAA’s Media Finance department as well as its International Film Group, will be presented with the award during the festival’s industry-focused Zurich Summit, which takes place in October within the framework of the 20th Zurich Film Festival (Zff).

As part of the recognition, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner will host the Game Changer Award recipient conversation, in which he will speak with Sutherland about his journey.

“Roeg is a passionate cinephile and industry leader, who has not only discovered, but also nurtured and developed the careers of countless artists. In the past several years, he has secured financing and sold some of the most important and critically acclaimed films, both domestic and international,” commented Zff Artistic Director Christian Jungen.

‘Kneecap’, the name of the Irish hip hop group, and the music biopic about — and starring — the groundbreaking trio, opens today on 700+ screens, following up a U.S. tour last fall and leading into another one.

The hybrid documentary, which was a buzzy Sundance title when Sony Pictures Classics nabbed it, recently swept the Galway Film Fleadh and was named Ireland’s Oscar International Feature submission.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, it features group members — Naoise Ó Cairealláin “Móglaí Bap”; Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh “Mo Chara”; and JJ Ó Dochartaigh “Dj Provaí” as themselves, but it’s scripted, and actors, including Michael Fassbender, play their younger selves and family members. With Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best and Simone Kirby.

The film follows Belfast schoolteacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed “low-life scum” Naoise and Liam Og. When they come together as three, the needle drops on...

Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee

Ang Lee was pulling his hair out. He was in preproduction in China on his ambitious martial arts movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when a silent investor pulled out. “It was the toughest movie I’d ever tried to make,” recalls Lee, who thought it was all over. But Columbia came to the rescue, thanks to a new initiative to assist local-language filmmaking in foreign markets. Gareth Wigan, a widely respected Sony exec, became involved, as did Barbara Robinson, who lived in Hong Kong and headed up Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, and was asked to meet with Lee in Taiwan. A coalition came together, including Columbia, China Film Co-Production Corp., Good Machine International, Edko Films and Zoom Hunt Productions. Michael Barker and Tom Bernard’s Sony Pictures Classics signed on to distribute Crouching Tiger domestically, while Columbia International handled international territories...

The work of filmmaker Andrew De Zen has populated Dn’s pages for many years. He’s a filmmaker we keep coming back to because of his ability to tie together impactful imagery with emotionally driven storytelling. His latest short Let This Feeling Go is another example of this, an experimental dance short about a young woman who is primed to explode after she bottles up her emotions. As we follow her across her daily life, the music of Nina Simone is used to build an underlying tension that culminates in a powerful and cathartic expressive dance-driven finale. With the film now online, Dn caught up with De Zen once again to learn about the journey he went on with Let This Feeling Go, the decision to capture the film on large format 65mm film, and his inherent desire to steer away from the explicit and towards the abstract.

What...

When I talked to German writer-director Tom Tykwer and his “Run Lola Run” star Franka Potente on Zoom recently, Tykwer and I remembered our interview 25 years ago when Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) released the movie the first time. (Not that I could find that interview online.) It became a word-of-mouth hit all over the world, scoring $22.9 million worldwide. “It was one of our top movies,” said SPC co-president Michael Barker on the phone. “Our goal has been to find movies that stand the test of time. It was one of the first movies with English subtitles that the younger generation turned out for.”

“Run Lola Run” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 before opening in the U.S. in early 1999. Now, SPC has orchestrated a 4K restoration coming to 250 theaters on June 7, following the success with younger audiences of such recent classic reissues as A24’s “Stop Making Sense” and SPC’s “Amelie.

Over 8,400 short films were submitted for the 2nd annual Sony Future Filmmaker Awards in Los Angeles, but only six filmmakers walked away with a win Thursday night.

148 countries were represented at the event held at the Cary Grant Theatre on the Sony Pictures Studios lot, with films competing in six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Environment, Animation, Student and Future Format.

Created by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the black tie affair hosted by “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Denny Directo was preceded by a week-long industry immersion program and workshops with established Hollywood executives.

Winners were selected by a group of industry experts — including Sony Pictures Classics cofounders/co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, and cinematographers Rob Hardy and Kate Reid, with Unjoo Moon and Robert

Primes selecting the initial longlist. Director Justin Chadwick chaired both selection processes.

2nd Annual Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, winners

Ultimately, the winners were Katie Blair, Olawunmi Hassan & Adaobi Samson,...

The Museum of the Moving Image will honor Rosie Perez, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz and former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan at its 2024 Spring Moving Image Awards benefit, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

The Oscar- and Emmy-nominated Perez, whose credits include Do The Right Thing and 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump, recently appeared in the second season of Showtime’s Your Honor and HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Perez has been an activist for a number of causes, with President Obama appointing her in 2010 to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (Pacha).

“Rosie Perez has had a remarkable career, from her breakthrough role in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing to her critically acclaimed work in Peter Weir’s Fearless and other memorable performances,” Momi board of trustees chairman Michael Barker said in a statement. “She is an iconic New Yorker,...

Tom Rothman, the Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, wined and dined a select few at a splendidly swish soirée Friday at Mamo Michelangelo in Antibes, hosted by Charles Finch as part of his annual Filmmakers Dinner honoring 100 years of Columbia Pictures, and there was something he said about why movies matter that has stuck with me.

Hours earlier, Rothman had introduced a gloriously restored print of Charles Vidor’s 1946 movie Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth as the eponymous nightclub temptress and Glenn Ford as the hardboiled gambler from her past.

They hate each other, but as we all know, that’s often a prelude on the road to love both in real and reel life.

Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024 Photos

Vidor also uses the vocabulary of dance to signal Gilda’s emotional temperature.

The great choreographer Jack Cole, who later coached Marilyn Monroe on her moves in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,...

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures, the municipality of Cannes is presenting a free photographic exhibition titled “Lighting the Way: From the Torch Lady to Leading Ladies.” The exhibit was inaugurated Friday by Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch, who was introduced by Cannes Deputy Mayor Thomas de Pariente on the newly refurbished Cours Félix Faure.

Also in attendance were Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire co-writer and producer Jason Reitman as well as Sony Pictures Classics chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.

Related: Sony’s Tom Rothman Fetes Columbia Pictures Centennial, Talks Quentin Tarantino, Streaming & How To Bring Young Audiences Back To Movie Theaters

Among the photos (scroll through our exclusive gallery below) are snaps highlighting legendary actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond including Katherine Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Claudette Colbert, Ann-Margret, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Julia Roberts, Michelle Yeoh and Rita Hayworth. A restored version of...

Sony Pictures Classics’ Wicked Little Letters grossed an estimated $1.5+ million in a big second week expansion for the R-rated British period comedy to 1,000 screens from five. The Thea Sharrock-directed film starring Olivia Colman (also a producer) and Jessie Buckley, no. 8 at the domestic weekend box office, has a $1.6+ million cume.

Colman and Buckley have been out actively promoting the film, based on an actual scandal, about a police investigation into the anonymous author of crude letters sent to the residents of a British seaside town.

The number is on the high end of SPC’s expectations, and the Sunday estimate may be conservative.

Audiences for Wicked Little Letters are 60% female, 40% male, with a range of women age 30-plus, unusual for a period film as they skew older. It’s playing especially well in major cities and college towns but also popping in smaller markets like Seattle. Word of mouths is terrific,...

Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker – which was pulled from TIFF in 2022 over “rights issues” — starts a theatrical debut today at the IFC Center, moving to LA’s Landmark’s Nuart next weekend and expanding thereafter with about 85 booking so far — a nice outcome for the mixed-media coming-of-age dark superhero parody that “had gone into into hibernation mode” until Outfest LA Film Festival, said Frank Jaffe, whose distribution company Altered Innocence acquired it then. It’s U.S premiere garnered a Special Mention in the North American Narrative Feature Competition.

Co-written by Drew and Bri LeRose, the film is a reimagining the origin story of iconic Batman villain The Joker, starring Drew as painfully unfunny aspiring clown and closeted trans girl grappling with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City’s sole comedy program, in a world where comedy has been outlawed. She...

Creo has announced the jury for the 2024 Sony Future Filmmaker Awards.

Director Justin Chadwick serves as chair for the second year in a row. He is joined on the jury by Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, co-founders and co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics; cinematographer Rob Hardy ASC, Bsc; cinematographer Kate Reid Bsc; cinematographer Robert Primes ASC; and Australian filmmaker Unjoo Moon.

Chadwick said, “It is such a pleasure to return as Chair of this new prestigious panel of decorated creatives. Last year, we brought to the forefront 30 exceptionally talented filmmakers from across the world, each of whom had the unique chance to access the inner workings of the industry in Los Angeles, opening doors to career-launching opportunities. From my own experience, the art of the short film is by no means one to be underestimated, and I look forward to discovering more brilliant, talented individuals through this upcoming selection.”

In...

The 96th Academy Awards ceremony should be known as the Cannes Oscars, argues Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux.

He’s got a point.

Frémaux sipped a cocktail at the Charles Finch and Chanel Annual Pre-Oscar Dinner in the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and ticked off Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest as films that played and won the top prizes at last May’s festival.

Michael Barker, Sony Picture Classics co-chair, helped Frémaux out by adding in Martin Scorsese’s The Killers of the Flower Moon, which also premiered on the Croisette.

“Here we are in March, and the top winners at last year’s Cannes are still in the conversation, and are here at the Oscars,” says Frémaux, giving himself a pat on the back.

Related: Oscar Week 2024 Parties & Events List: The List

He adds that...

Sandra Hüller (a Best Actress nominee) and Christian Friedel, stars of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — nominated for Best Picture, Best International Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Screenplay — are familiar with Shakespeare’s famous verse from Hamlet: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players …” That’s because both thespians have been playing the Danish prince on stages around Germany for years.

Due to Germany’s repertory system in city and state theaters, an actor can revisit an assortment of plays time after time over a number of years.

Friedel tells me that he first played the Dane in 2012. It’s a sort of rock star Hamlet performed with his band, Woods of Birnam. “It can take years until the piece is really finished,” he explains.

He adds that “It changes as you’re getting older,” an experience he feels with movies as well.

Ahead of touching down at the Berlin Film Festival, Black Bear manager Philip Westgren shared with THR about why the shutdown Templehof airport is a must-see stop and where you can escape the festival frenzy for a nice steam.

What’s your state of mind heading into the European Film Market?

I like this year’s lineup which, next to more established names, contains a number of younger global filmmakers with interesting looking films. Strong voices will always find a way to break through and Berlin is still one of the places where that magic happens.

What’s your favorite, only-in-Berlin moment from festivals/markets past?

Running into Michael Barker at the Berlin airport the day after I began working with [The Teacher’s Lounge director] Ilker Çatak. When I brought up Ilker and his film The Teachers’ Lounge, Michael’s eyes knowingly lit up and he said, “Now there’s a director to get into business with.

Cannes rejected it. The Oscars ignored it. But “Amélie” lives on, as everyone’s favorite crème-brulee-cracking, stone-skipping Montmartre mischief-maker and romantic go-between is back in theaters come Valentine’s Day, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

“Amélie,” directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and written by the French filmmaker with Guillaume Laurant, remains one of the 21st-century arthouse’s most imaginative confections, the rare film perhaps more misunderstood now than it was when it came out in 2001. Make no mistake that “Amélie” was huge then. There was the box office, the awards, the infectious swells of composer Yann Tiersen’s music in the air (at least in my headphones), and then came the imitators. I remember in college a close friend had a poster of the film pinned to her dorm room wall, a bemused Audrey Tautou upright in bed flanked by framed pictures of an Elizabeth-collared dog and a white-feathered fowl, and...

It was back to business as usual at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood, as this year’s strike-postponed Governors Awards finally unfolded January 9. With preparations for the March 10 Oscars under way with a new set of producers (and an hour earlier start time), the Governors Awards honored Mel Brooks, Angela Bassett, editor Carol Littleton, and Sundance veteran Michelle Satter while giving Oscar contenders a chance to work a room packed with AMPAS voters.

These awards used to be presented at the Oscars ceremony, but they demanded 45 minutes of screen time. Now it makes do with a montage of the Governors Awards presentation.

The Governors Awards usually take place in November and function as a black-tie starting gun to Oscar season. It also provides the Academy with a revenue-generating event as studios buy tables and pack them with that year’s Oscar-bound talent. The delay didn’t impact that energy.

The pioneering French-Iranian producer and sales agent leaves behind a long-lasting legacy

Pioneering producer and celebrated Celluloid Dreams founder Hengameh Panahi died on November 5 following a long illness, sending shockwaves of sadness throughout the international film community and leaving a long-lasting legacy of both championing auteur cinema and shaking up the status quo in her wake.

The revered French-Iranian industry executive was known for finding and following emerging directors and accompanying their films to festival glory and international acclaim. Her career spanned four decades and more than 800 films.

She worked alongside iconic directors from across the globe including Jacques Audiard,...

As a young boy growing up in Budapest, a town that would come to be known as “Hollywood on the Danube,” Béla Bunyik dreamed of being in the pictures. “I fell in love with movies in Hungary back in the ’50s,” Bunyik tells Variety. “When I was 12 years old, I started to work as an extra in a few movies…. In 1953, I spent a whole summer with a bunch of kids and some of the best Hungarian actors at the time.”

He recalls being picked up after school by talent scouts and cutting his teeth on the sets of films like Viktor Gertler’s 1954 adventure-comedy “Me and My Grandfather.” “Seeing how a movie was done was very exciting for me and I was sad when the summer ended, and the film was shut,” he says. But those formative years sparked a lifelong obsession. “I got hooked.”

Bunyik would later emigrate to the U.

The Hollywood Reporter thanks the following 322 members of the global film community — listed alphabetically — for taking the time to cast a ballot to help us determine the 100 greatest film books of all time.

Seth Abramovitch

The Hollywood Reporter journalist/It Happened in Hollywood podcast host

Jo Addy

Soho House group film and entertainment director

Casey Affleck

Oscar-winning actor

Rutanya Alda

Author/actress

Stephanie Allain

Filmmaker

Victoria Alonso

Filmmaker/executive

Tony Angellotti

Publicist

Bonnie Arnold

Filmmaker/executive

Miguel Arteta

Filmmaker

Chris Auer

Filmmaker/film professor

John Badham

Filmmaker/film professor

Amy Baer

Executive

Matt Baer

Filmmaker

Lindsey Bahr

Journalist

Ramin Bahrani

Oscar-nominated filmmaker

Cameron Bailey

Toronto International Film Festival CEO/former film critic

John Bailey

Cinematographer/former Academy president

Bela Bajaria

Executive

Sean Baker

Filmmaker

Alec Baldwin

Oscar-nominated actor/author

Tino Balio

Author/film professor

Jeffrey Barbakow

Executive

Michael Barker

Executive

Mike Barnes

The Hollywood Reporter journalist

Jeanine Basinger

Author/film...

Leonine Studios founder and CEO Fred Kogel has said he does not expect his Germany-focused content group to expand much more in the near future, after four years of rapid and continuous growth.

The veteran film and TV exec was talking about the journey around the creation of Leonine Studios in 2019 in an onstage conversation with CAA Media Finance Co-head Benjamin Kramer at the Zurich Film Festival’s finance and industry-focused Zurich Summit on Saturday.

Kogel will be feted with the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award on Sunday, following in the footsteps of Pamela Abdy, Patrick Wachsberger as well as Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.

“There are many companies who drop by Leonine at the moment who say: ‘Can we be interesting for you in the German market?’,” said the veteran exec.

“There are always two questions for us: ‘Who is the talent and what kind of programs they do,...

Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan’s 40-year relationship with the Toronto International Film Festival helped put his movies on the map in Hollywood.

But that impressive trajectory out of Toronto of iconic Egoyan dramas like Next of Kin, Family Viewing, The Adjuster, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter and Guest of Honor — often psychodramas about families shattered by death, loss and betrayal, as parents and children grow apart — got off to an inauspicious start in 1982 with an early short film that screened from a sidewalk outside the Uptown Theatre on Yonge Street.

“It was the ultimate act of chutzpah,” Egoyan recalls of joining fellow rag-tag filmmaker Bruce McDonald, both of whom had shorts rejected by Toronto fest programmers that year, when a feature by a close friend did get an invite.

Feeling a prized Toronto fest berth just beyond their fingertips, years before becoming inescapable fixtures on the TIFF red carpet, Egoyan and...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris unveiled his new documentary The Pigeon Tunnel – about the spy-turned-novelist David Cornwell, aka John le Carré – at the Telluride Film Festival on Friday. Audience buzz afterwards ranked it among Morris’s best work, a canon that includes the classics The Thin Blue Line and Gates of Heaven.

Morris said it took years for The Pigeon Tunnel to be completed. But during a Q&a, he referenced a different endeavor that apparently isn’t fated to come together – a nascent documentary project on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The controversial figure who guided American foreign policy during the Nixon and Ford administrations recently reached the century mark.

Henry Kissinger celebrates his 100th birthday in Bavaria, June 20, 2023.

“Someone wanted me to interview quite recently, on the occasion of his hundredth birthday, Henry Kissinger,” Morris told the audience at the Chuck Jones Theater in Mountain Village. “And as my wife has pointed out,...

“It’s hard to get here,” said Telluride Executive Director Julie Huntsinger at the opening day press conference. “So we should really knock your socks off. The mayor wants to talk to us now, and I have nothing for you except stop the price gouging!”

After lengthy negotiations with the unions and hard-won interim waivers for some of the indie films showing this year, Telluride launched on August 31 with a festival brunch packed with filmmakers on a balmy mountaintop. There were fewer stars than usual, but there was plenty of talent on hand. Jon Batiste, freed from late-night television, came to Telluride with his wife Suleika Jaouad, ahead of a performance in concert with Matt Heineman’s documentary “American Symphony,” which is seeking a distributor.

Sony Pictures Classics’ co-president Michael Barker was reunited with German actress Sandra Hüller (“Toni Erdmann”), who is here with two Cannes hits, “The Zone of Interest...

CatVideoFest, which is just what it sounds like, joined notable indie debuts and festival favorites Shortcomings and Passages, the re-release of Shiva Baby and juggernaut Talk To Me in another weekend of varied specialty fare, both new and holding over. Indies are helping drive a buoyant box office. They’re also waiting for the Barbenheimer tsunami to recede as bit as these unusual blockbusters vacuum up the arthouse/adult audiences.

Sony Pictures Classics said Sundance favorite Shortcomings by Randall Park grossed an estimated $316.4k at a 404 locations. Written by Adrian Tomine, the comedy stars Justin Min as Ben, a struggling filmmaker in Berkeley, California, along with Ally Maki and Sherry Cola. Spe co-president Michael Barker said the edgy romcom is attracting a young and diverse audience and word of mouth is strong.

Hollywood strikes, which prohibit promotion by actors, have made opening films more complicated, although Barker said the thesps...

Leonine’s Fred Kogel To Be Feted In Zurich

Leonine CEO Fred Kogel is to receive the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award, which has previously gone to executives including Pamela Abdy, Patrick Wachsberger, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. The Leonine boss will accept the award during the Zurich Summit industry conference on Sunday, October 1. Prior to setting up German studio Leonine, Kogel served as Head of Entertainment at Zdf and Managing Director of SAT1, where he was responsible for the station’s merger into ProSiebenSat.1 Media Ag. He was CEO of Constantin Film Ag from 2003 – 2009, working on Oscar nominees including Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex. “Fred Kogel has built Leonine from the ground up, a new entertainment company for the digital age that brings together the most exciting artists and successful producers, allowing them to focus on their core strengths while the studio takes care of services such as Hr,...

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York (before the SAG-AFTRA strike was called), including red carpets for Barbie, Mission: Impossible and Theater Camp.

Barbie premiere

Greta Gerwig joined stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Michael Cera and Kate McKinnon, as well as soundtrack artists Billie Eilish, Finneas, Dua Lipa and Nicki Minaj, at the Barbie world premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday.

America Ferrera, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling Greta Gerwig Finneas and Billie Eilish Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig, Simu Liu and Hari Nef

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One premiere

Tom Cruise brought Mission: Impossible 7 to New York on Monday, alongside co-stars Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Cary Elwes, Henry Czerny,...

Michael J. Fox’s family was by his side on a very big night.

On Tuesday, the “Back to the Future” star was in New York to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Spring Moving Image Awards.

Read More: Michael J. Fox Shares Which Roles Have Meant The Most To Him

By his side, posing together on the red carpet, were his wife, Tracy Pollan, and their twin daughters, Schuyler and Aquinnah.

In a statement announcing the award last month, the Museum of the Moving Image co-chairmen Ivan Lustig and Michael Barker said, “We are honored to present the MoMI Lifetime Achievement Award to the legendary Michael J. Fox, a great artist and inspiring human being, at our Spring 2023 Moving Image Awards benefit event.”

They added, “His many contributions in film and television for over four decades have been memorable and meaningful and exemplary for so many who come through our Museum’s doors.