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Andrew Ahn is nearing the end of the promotional road for his latest film The Wedding Banquet.

The hectic months-long swirl started with the world premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, and continued with showings at London’s BFI Flare Lgbtqia+ Film Festival, the Sonoma International Film Festival, a couple of Midwest fests (Minneapolis St. Paul and Wisconsin), the Miami Film Festival and a series of special spotlights and panel discussions at the Tribeca Festival in New York and Film Independent in Los Angeles. There was even a drag brunch and Gold House special event along the way.

But his newest appearance on behalf of the Bleecker Street title may have landed him the most frequent flier miles yet. Ahn touched down in the capital city of Valletta, Malta this week to present the film during the third annual Mediterrane Film Festival. The Wedding Banquet, Ahn’s reimagining...

Andrew Ahn has skyrocketed to fame in the last fifteen years. Since the premiere of his short, “Andy” in 2011 San Diego Asian Film Festival, he has appeared again and again as an indie darling on the film festival circuit – including Sundance-premiering independent feature “Spa Night” (2016), Berlin-premiering drama, “Driveways” (2019), gay Hulu romcom “Fire Island” (2022), and now, “The Wedding Banquet.” Ahn’s latest feature is a remake of Ang Lee‘s 1993 romantic comedy, though with a Korean American twist. It’s similarly packed with a star power akin to Ahn’s own: the cast is packed with other major stars, like Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, and Korean acting legend Youn Yuh-jung.

We had the opportunity to talk to Andrew Ahn over Zoom on the occasion of the film’s theatrical release this Friday. We talked about the nuances of trans-Pacific legacies with Ang Lee and Youn Yuh-jung, and the...

“Queer theory takes the joy out of being gay!” blurts Bowen Yang’s character Chris in one of several laugh-out-loud yet emotional moments in “The Wedding Banquet,” Korean American filmmaker Andrew Ahn’s fourth feature in just nine years. It’s a “reimagining” rather than a remake of Ang Lee’s beloved 1993 Asian American rom-com classic of the same name.

Chris, who has put his PhD on hold, passes his days as a birder. When his amiable, handsome Korean Mfa art student boyfriend Min (Han Gi-Chan) — in dire need of a green card to avoid being shuttled back to Korea and take rein of a chaebol managed by his astute grandmother played by Yuh-Jung Youn — proposes, Chris, though quite in love with Min, is petrified of committing. How can he, if he can’t commit to even a PhD? As his cousin (Bobo Le) sharply observes, Chris is merely interested...

“The Wedding Banquet” may not be the first—or second, or fifth—Ang Lee film that comes to mind upon mention of the Taiwanese legend’s name, but it’s certainly a significant one in his artistic journey. It was Lee’s first Oscar-nominated film, the first of two Lee films to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and also the first of his films to release theatrically in the United States.

This last point is pertinent because “The Wedding Banquet,” as the middle film in Lee’s “Father Knows Best” trilogy, is fundamentally tied to the cultural friction experienced by a Taiwanese-American reckoning with familial duty in a space that feels more like home than his homeland ever did. What may then seem sacrilegious—an American remake—is perhaps the ideal platform upon which to develop Lee’s blueprint for the modern day, if such a...

When filmmaker Andrew Ahn was eight, his mother rented Ang Lee’s 1993 film The Wedding Banquet from a video store owing to its status as an Asian film that white people were interested in. Unbeknownst to them, the titular wedding is but a front for a bisexual Taiwanese immigrant to get his green card and remain in America. The moment, something akin to an origin story, was also an awakening for a filmmaker who’d take particular interest in depicting the gay Asian-American experience on screen.

Released at a time when marriage is a significantly less static institution, Ahn’s remake, crafted in tandem with original co-writer James Schamus, also packs a subversive punch. In his reimagining of The Wedding Banquet, a quartet of queer friends living together in Seattle go all-in on an elaborate fake Korean wedding so Min (Han Gi-chan) can remain in America with boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang...

While our sprawling summer movie preview will arrive by the end of the month, we’ll first take a comprehensive look at the April releases to have on your radar. Featuring festival favorites from as far back as early last year finally getting a theatrical run to at least one studio tentpole that piques our interest, dive in below.

13. Magic Farm (Amalia Ulman; April 25)

While not quite delivering on the promise she showed in her first feature El Planeta, Amalia Ulman’s Magic Farm is a zany odyssey that finds the satire in Vice News-type journalism. Kent M. Wilhelm said in his Sundance review, “I was sold on the premise of satirizing opportunistic content creators who play dress-up as journalists, but weaving that into the storylines of the ensemble cast is no easy task for a sophomore feature. The plot gets lost; when it feels like there’s too much going on,...

The latest from Driveways and Fire Island director Andrew Ahn is The Wedding Banquet, a remake of the Ang Lee classic. The film brings together Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, Han Gi-chan, and Youn Yuh-jung, with a script co-written with James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced the original 1993 rom-com. Following its Sundance premiere and ahead of Bleecker Street’s spring release on April 18, a new trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “From Director Andrew Ahn comes a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating the disasters and delights of family expectations, queerness, and cultural identity. Angela and her partner Lee have been unlucky with their IVF treatments, but can’t afford to pay for another round. Meanwhile their friend Min, the closeted scion of a multinational corporate empire, has plenty of family money but a soon-to-expire student visa. When his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris rejects his proposal,...

Don’t call it a remake, it’s a reimagining. In the case of Andrew Ahn’s take on Ang Lee’s 1993 romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet,” that couldn’t be more true. For the “Driveways” filmmaker’s latest film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival before its upcoming spring release, reimagining, freshening up, and contemporizing the story of a young gay Taiwanese immigrant who lies to his parents about his romantic status and ends up falling into a green card marriage to a woman, was top of mind.

Ahn’s take on the film has some canny tweaks: Our star (Han Gi-chan) and his character are now Korean, while his eventual fake wife Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) is already in her own same-sex relationship with Lee (Lily Gladstone). There are plenty more updates to the story, but the personal touches the cast and crew brought to it seem particularly special.

It's common knowledge that our society has such a long way to go before truly, fully normalizing and accepting people of color and queer artists and narratives in the mainstream. Yet despite the continuing struggle, it's important to recognize just how far minorities in cinema have come, and how enduring these films continue to be. As evidence, filmmaker Andrew Ahn's remake of "The Wedding Banquet" just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and the movie marks a milestone of sorts in Poc and queer cinema. As Ahn told the premiere screening's audience, he first saw the 1993 Ang Lee version of "The Wedding Banquet" as a child thanks to his mother renting it one night during a trip to the video store, telling her son that she wanted to see the movie about Asian-Americans that all the white people were watching.

As Ahn confessed, viewing that film at a young age was a formative experience,...

In a world of seemingly endless remakes that play more as rote retreads than genuinely new explorations that can stand on their own, there is something special about a rare film like writer/director Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet” that emerges from the shadow of what came before. In a script he co-wrote with James Schamus, the filmmaker behind “Driveways” and “Fire Island” makes what is his most charming, compassionate and crowd-pleasing film yet. Throw in another stellar performance by the great Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), who has yet to miss in any role that she takes on, as well as an excellent ensemble that surrounds her and you’ve got a winning mix.

The story of the updated “Wedding Banquet” shifts the setting to Seattle where it introduces us to Lee (Gladstone) and her girlfriend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) as they try to have a child through IVF.

Ang Lee may be taking some time getting his next movie off the ground as his Bruce Lee biopic aims to finally start production this year, but first, one of his early classics is getting a modern update. The latest from Driveways and Fire Island director Andrew Ahn is The Wedding Banquet, which brings together Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, Han Gi-chan, and Youn Yuh-jung, with a script co-written with James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced the original 1993 rom-com. Following its Sundance premiere and ahead of Bleecker Street’s spring release on April 18, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “From Director Andrew Ahn comes a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating the disasters and delights of family expectations, queerness, and cultural identity. Angela and her partner Lee have been unlucky with their IVF treatments, but can’t afford to pay for another round.

When Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” was released back in 1993, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was still taking lives, marriage equality in the U.S. was decades away, and queer representation in media remained limited. It was, certainly, a different time. Considering the progress made since — while not forgetting the fight to protect it from perpetual attacks — Andrew Ahn’s consistently amusing and winningly sincere reimagining of the classic for a 2025 audience finds the LGBTQ community in a dramatically improved place. For starters, the characters in this new iteration can legally marry and become parents if they wish, which means conflict has to operate differently. The pressure of societal norms hasn’t entirely disappeared, but the interpersonal squabbles of the quartet here (rather than the trio in Lee’s film) take precedence.

After a second unsuccessful IVF treatment, Seattle lesbian couple Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) hit...

When Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” was released back in 1993, the AIDS epidemic was still taking lives, marriage equality in the U.S. was decades away and queer representation in media remained limited, even if strides had been made. It was certainly a different time. Considering the progress obtained since — while not forgetting the perpetual fight to protect LGBT community from incessant attacks — Andrew Ahn’s consistently amusing and winningly sincere reimagining of the classic for a 2025 audience finds the queer community in a dramatically improved place.

For starters, the characters in this new iteration can legally marry and become parents if they wish, which means conflict has to operate differently. The pressure of societal norms hasn’t entirely disappeared, but the interpersonal squabbles of the quartet here (rather than the trio in Lee’s film) take precedence.

After a second unsuccessful IVF treatment, Seattle lesbian couple Angela (Kelly Marie Tran...

Every January, the Sundance Film Festival transforms Park City into a hub for independent cinema, and 2025 is no exception. This year, the festival showcases 87 feature films, six episodic projects, and a robust collection of shorts, offering a mix of fresh voices and seasoned creators. With so much to explore, navigating the lineup can feel overwhelming, but we’re here to spotlight the most anticipated titles, some already previewed and others primed for discovery.

While Sundance remains rooted in Park City, speculation grows about a potential move in 2027 to cities like Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, or Boulder. For now, Eugene Hernandez, Sundance’s director, and lead programmer Kim Yutani have highlighted buzzworthy films and sales titles destined to make waves. Competition entries will also be available online during the festival’s second week, expanding access beyond Utah.

The 2025 slate has something for everyone: gripping narratives, thought-provoking documentaries, and compelling episodic premieres.

Among our most-anticipated films of 2025 is the latest from Driveways and Fire Island director Andrew Ahn. His remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet brings together Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, Han Gi-chan, and Youn Yuh-jung, with a script co-written with James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced the original 1993 rom-com. Ahead of Bleecker Street’s 2025 release, the first set of images have arrived for the film we wouldn’t be surprised to see show up as part of the Sundance 2025 lineup.

Here’s the synopsis: “Angela (Tran) and her girlfriend, Lee (Gladstone), are trying to have a baby through IVF; their best friends, Chris (Yang) and his partner Min (Han Gi-chan), live in their guesthouse. While Angela and Lee struggle to decide whether to pay for another round of fertility treatments, Min faces pressure to go back to his native Korea to take over the family business.

Update: Bleecker Street has picked up the film for a 2025 release.

Following up Driveways and Fire Island, Andrew Ahn is nearing production on his next feature, a remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet. First confirmed to kick off production this May in Vancouver, The Cinemaholic reports the cast features Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung. James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced the original 1993 rom-com, returned to script with Ahn.

Here’s the synopsis: “The plot revolves around Min, whose marriage proposal is rejected by his boyfriend Chris (Yang). Min then convinces his best friend Angela (Marie Tran) to marry him for his green card and offers to pay for the IVF treatment of the latter’s partner, Liz (Gladstone), in return. Although Min and Angela plan a “subtle city hall elopement,” their lives are turned upside down when the former’s grandmother...

2023 edition of international finance forum adds episodic content to line-up.

Canadian 2Slgbtq+ film festival Inside Out has unveiled 11 projects to participate in this weekend’s seventh annual international finance forum, which is moving ahead after the end of the Hollywood strikes.

The two-day forum had been scheduled to run during Inside Out’s flagship festival in Toronto in May and now takes place from November 17-18.

The agenda includes in-person conversations and interactive panel discussions with queer filmmakers and producers, as well as one-on-one meetings with executives, and roundtable sessions on co-producing with Canada, and entertainment law and music rights.

It’s been quite a week for filmmaker Andrew Ahn.

On Wednesday, his Hulu film Fire Island earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Television Movie, and on Thursday night at the opening of Outfest he received the Lgbtqia+ festival’s Outfest Achievement Award, recognizing a body of work that includes Fire Island, Driveways (2019), and Spa Night (2016).

The festival called Ahn “a beloved member of the Outfest family” and “a champion of promoting diversity in the arts by mentoring youth filmmakers through programs like our OutSet program, among many others.”

“It’s cool,” Ahn told Deadline of the Outfest honor. “It feels a little early in my career. I legit tried to turn it down when [Outfest director of programming] Mike Dougherty emailed me about it, but they were very supportive and effusive that this was my time. I’m so thankful because Outfest was a big part of my coming of age as a filmmaker.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be launching 10 new scientific and technical investigations in 2023. The investigations will be completed by an Academy committee ahead of the upcoming Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 23, 2024.

Investigations currently underway cover the following areas: onboard remote driving apparatus; reusable cable-cutting devices for motion picture squibs; post-process depth of field software; mathematically lossless encoding of motion picture camera raw files; motor-stabilized motion picture camera support systems for hand/body-supported operation; interactive renderers that provide a representative approximation of final offline renders during post-production; volumetric surface reconstruction; pattern-based 3D clothing creation software; layerable hierarchical 3D scene description frameworks; and digital image processing film restoration software utilized for theatrical re-release and archival preservation.

Individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation that fall under the umbrella of any of these categories are welcomed by the Academy to submit their achievements for review. The...

This month sees the theatrical release of the documentary about Midnight Cowboy that made the festival circuit last year. At the same time, a new doc about another controversial gay-themed movie has its world premiere at Tribeca. Chasing Chasing Amy will also close next month’s Outfest in Los Angeles. This picture has a backstory as fascinating as the tale told in Kevin Smith’s 1997 romantic dramedy, Chasing Amy.

Filmmaker Sav Rodgers, a transgender man, recounts his own obsession with Kevin Smith’s movie, which played a crucial role in his coming out and later transitioning. Rodgers grew up in Kansas and, like many gay teenagers, felt like a freak and outsider in a conservative community. When he saw Chasing Amy on video, it was his first exposure to a proud lesbian character (played by Joey Lauren Adams), who eventually has a love affair with a male comic book artist...

Showing Up star Hong Chau couldn’t imagine shooting another film directly after the emotional roller-coaster of The Whale, but she’s grateful that Kelly Reichardt persisted, anyway.

In Reichardt’s newest film that revolves around the Portland art scene, the Oscar-nominated Chau plays Jo, an accomplished, extroverted artist whose celebrated installations have made her the pride and joy of Oregon College of Art and Craft. Michelle Williams’ Lizzy, who helps her mother (Maryann Plunkett) run the school, is a former classmate of Jo’s and now lives in her shadow as both an artist and as her tenant. Lizzy, being more a low-key sculptor, is the polar opposite of Jo in that she’s quite introverted, but she’s actually the character who Chau could identify with most.

“That’s what’s so funny. I’m totally more of a Lizzy than I am a Jo,” Chau tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Darren Aronofsky's 2022 film "The Whale" has been described as "problematic" by many of its critics. "Problematic" is a word that is more or less the same as "offensive," only amended with smaller, positive qualities lurking therein. Overall, the film's treatment of obesity is badly handled, and its themes are misguided; it's clearly a story of depression and homophobia, but Aronofsky seems to think it's about obesity. Perhaps there is a great, compassionate version of "The Whale" in a parallel universe somewhere, but we certainly didn't get it in ours. 

The above-mentioned positive qualities come from the film's performances. Brendan Fraser won an Academy Award for playing the self-hating writing teacher Charlie, and Hong Chau was nominated for her role as Liz, Charlie's nurse and one of his only friends. Indeed, Liz is the only person in Charlie's life that seems to like him, including Charlie. Chau's performance lends...

Last year, four out of the five nominees for the Best TV Movie Emmy had their only nomination in that one category including the eventual winner, “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.” The only nominee to get recognized in another category was “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas,” which scored a bid for Best Choreography for a Scripted Series. Hulu’s raunchy gay rom-com “Fire Island” will be looking to see if it can get into more than one category this year and there’s a solid chance it will nab multiple Emmy nominations.

A promising sign the film could get into the Best TV Movie category was its recent nomination at the Producer’s Guild of America Awards for Best Streamed or Televised Movie. There is much overlap between the voting memberships of the PGA and the TV academy, with two of last year’s guild nominees — “Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” and “Oslo...

I have been tracking producer Sol Bondy since 2016 when co-production The Happiest Day in the Life of Ölli Mäki won the Un Certain Regard Grand Prize and the European Film Award for Best Debut. He and Fred Burle have been developing The Girl from Köln (aka Köln 75) with writer-director Ido Fluk, the filmmaker behind 2016 Tribeca selection The Ticket since 2019. "This project has been very close to our hearts in the last few years and we're very excited with the way it's been shaped so far," said Bondy, a Variety Producer to Watch in 2018. "It's been such a joy working with Ido on this exciting story and we're thrilled to have put an amazing team together," added Burle, Brazilian born producer who was just made a partner in One Two Films, alongside co-founders Sol Bondy and Christoph Lange. Burle joined One Two in January 2017, having graduated from the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) the previous year. He has previously worked as a film critic, at The Match Factory, and as curator of the inaugural dffb film festival. One Two Films has produced and co-produced award-winning films such as Holy Spider (Read my blog about it here), Vadim Perelman's Persian Lessons (Read my blog about it here), Jennifer Fox's Sundance breakout The Tale, Isabel Coixet's The Bookshop and Juho Kuosmanen's The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.Other titles in the pipeline include Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson's dark comedy Northern Comfort, which premieres in SXSW later this month, Annemarie Jacir's survival drama The Oblivion Theory, Sarah Arnold's debut feature Wild Encounters and Michiel ten Horn's romantic comedy Any Other Night. In Berlin this year it was announced that Bankside would be The Girl from Köln's international sales agent and was launching sales. Alamode Film already has German-speaking territories and is a coproducer, who have very recently secured funding through the Fff, the local fund in Bavaria. It is in early pre-production and will shoot this year in Poland and Germany. The Girl from Köln tells the little-known story of Vera Brandes, who, in 1975, at the age of 17, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett, which became the top-selling jazz solo album of all time. With Polish Film Institute backing, Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska (Ida, Cold War) of Extreme Emotions is co-producing along with Annegret Weitkämper-Krug of Germany's Gretchenfilm (Seneca). Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Oren Moverman (Love & Mercy, Bad Education) serves as executive producer. Moverman also produced Fluk's previous feature, The Ticket. The Tale writer-director Jennifer Fox also serves as executive producer. Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green executive produce for Bankside. It stars Mala Emde (Skin Deep, And Tomorrow the Entire World) in the lead role, alongside John Magaro (Past Lives) as Jarrett. Magaro was also in Cannes last year with Kelly Reichardt's competition title Showing Up.Other cast attached include Alexander Scheer (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush), Ulrich Tukur (The Life of Others), Susanne Wolff (Sisi & I, Styx), Jördis Triebel (Dark), Jan Bülow (Lindenberg) and Marie-Lou Sellem (Tar, Exit Marrakesh). The NYU-graduate Fluk was dubbed "a talent to watch" by Variety following his feature debut Never Too Late, the first crowd-sourced Israeli film ever made. His American debut, the Tribeca competition selection, The Ticket, starred Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman. Upcoming projects include 24 Hours in June, a retelling of the final day in the life of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union, to be produced by Academy Award winner James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain) and Joe Pirro (Driveways). Fluk is repped by Amotz Zakai, Amy Schiffman, and Kegan Schell at Echo Lake Entertainment. He is also created the recently-announced HBO series Empty Mansions for Fremantle with director Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour) attached to direct the pilot. "From the moment I heard Vera's story, about how as a high school teenager she organized one of the greatest concerts in history, I knew her story had to be told," said Fluk. "We were immediately exhilarated by Vera Brandes' remarkable female empowerment story. Her strength, courage and sheer belief in herself and the music of Keith Jarrett will entertain and inspire audiences around the world," added Kelliher.

Despite scoring acclaim in the prior film, The Whale star Hong Chau is sharing some candid thoughts on her Oscar nomination following the infamous box office flop, Downsizing. Before starring in Brendan Fraser's comeback film, Chau finally gained some traction in the acting world with her role in the Matt Damon-led Downsizing as Vietnamese political dissident Ngoc Lan Tran. While the depiction of the character's thick accent and broken English saw some division, Chau ultimately was considered the standout star of the otherwise lackluster film and garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, losing to I, Tonya's Allison Janney.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Hong Chau reflected on her Oscar nomination for The Whale and her feelings towards it. The star admitted to feeling strangely, especially when comparing it to what many thought would be her breakout project, the sci-fi dramedy Downsizing, which she...

It’s more than prosthetics. More than the comeback. Brendan Fraser’s work as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” is a profound performance for the ages. The A-list star that brought us “The Mummy” and “Encino Man” goes above and beyond the calling of an actor, showcasing the vulnerability of a broken, 600-pound man. Like Aronofsky’s resurrection of Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (2008), Fraser delivers one of the best performances of the year. “The Whale” will surely land him an Oscar nomination for best actor.

The drama is a stark, dour examination of regret and addiction, wrapped into the script written by Samuel D. Hunter, who adapts his play of the same name. Distributed by A24, “The Whale” tells the story of Charlie, an obese gay man who reconnects with his estranged 17-year-old daughter Ellie (played by Sadie Sink) after leaving her and her mother for his younger male lover.

This review of “Fire Island” was first published on May 23, 2022.

Jane Austen is cited just seconds into “Fire Island” — and a character later quotes everyone’s favorite “Emma” adaptation, “Clueless” — and this sparkling tale of star-crossed love affairs on a beach vacation treats “romantic” and “comedy” with equal importance. The fact that its entanglements, misunderstandings, and reconciliations occur among an almost entirely all-male cast serves merely to put a new meaning to the “Pride” in “Pride and Prejudice.”

First-time screenwriter Joel Kim Booster establishes a world in which smartphones and written correspondence can co-exist and where two unlikely partners can find each other by virtue of being the only two people for miles around who want to talk about literature. For all the hook-up apps, Charli Xcx remixes, and six-pack abs on display, “Fire Island” is still the kind of movie where arguing about the short fiction of Alice Munro counts as foreplay.

Over the last few years Andrew Ahn has cemented himself as one of the most promising talents in American independent cinema. His first feature, the underrated Spa Night, was an incredibly moving and personal look into a closeted Korean-American man’s struggles with his sexuality and the duty he feels towards his family. Ahn’s empathetic sensibilities were further amplified by his follow-up Driveways, which offered a blend of personal and communal specificity. He’s proven his skills as a quiet dramatist, able to convey the burdens and tragedies of life without pivoting over into melodramatic flourishes—a naturalistic world-building reminiscent of Patrick Wang and Kelly Reichardt, though with a gentler, somewhat simpler touch.

This makes Fire Island, his third feature, a particularly interesting pivot. Instead of being another quietly emotional character piece he’s delivered a joyous romantic comedy, filled to the brim with bright colors, broad comedic beats,...

Though Jane Austen only wrote one of them, there are actually a few truths universally acknowledged: That a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife, and girls just wanna have fun. To the elite group of authors of pithy maxims, Jane Austen and Cyndi Lauper, we may add a third ingenious scribe: Joel Kim Booster.

The stand-up comedian makes a splashy debut as both a formidable literary force and an appealing leading man in “Fire Island,” his first feature film as screenwriter, and hopefully the first of many. Though the vision was all Booster’s, the love that went into “Fire Island” emanates from every player.

A true ensemble piece, the movie is filled with the joy and camaraderie of that cheesiest of queer epithets — chosen family. But under the Day-Glo sheen of the carless beach town filled with glistening shirtless queers,...

While queer comedians have been the hottest thing in stand-up for the last decade, it’s no secret that Hollywood is always the last one to get the joke.

As the likes of Kate McKinnon, Billy Eichner, and Bowen Yang ascended from New York’s musty improv theaters to the casts of “Saturday Night Live” and Disney remakes, the last decade has brought a remarkable shift in not only queer visibility but something far more substantial — queer influence. Queer TV shows like “The Other Two,” “Search Party,” and “Schitt’s Creek” reflect this sea change, but so far movies have been much slower on the uptake.

That all changes this year, with the release of two mainstream comedy movies from gay writers who also star in their projects. While Eichner’s major studio rom-com “Bros” is set to hit theaters in September, Joel Kim Booster’s “Fire Island” opens Pride month...

Berlin-based One Two Films, in Cannes this week with Ali Abbasi’s competition title “Holy Spider,” is prepping a new feature from writer-director Ido Fluk, the filmmaker behind 2016 Tribeca selection “The Ticket.”

“Köln 75” tells the true story of Vera Brandes, who, in 1975 and at the age of 17, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett, which became the top-selling jazz solo album of all time. It stars Mala Emde (“And Tomorrow the Entire World”) in the lead role, alongside John Magaro (“First Cow”) as Jarrett. Magaro is also in Cannes with Kelly Reichardt’s competition title “Showing Up.”

Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska of Extreme Emotions will co-produce, with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Oren Moverman serving as executive producer. Moverman also produced Fluk’s previous feature, “The Ticket.”

Other cast attached include Alexander Scheer (“Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush”), Ulrich Tukur (“The Life of Others”), Susanne Wolff...

On Monday, Hulu released the first official trailer for their upcoming queer romantic comedy film “Fire Island,” directed by Andrew Ahn, who previously directed the 2019 film “Driveways.”

“Fire Island” was written by Joel Kim Booster who also stars in the film as Noah. A modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” is, according to Hulu, “an unapologetic, modern-day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen’s classic ‘Pride and Prejudice’ the story centers around two best friends (Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang) who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends.”

The film stars Booster, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, and Nick Adams. It was produced by John Hodges, Brooke Posch, and Tony Hernandez under the Jax Media banner.

Hulu has released the first trailer for the new queer rom-com “Fire Island,” starring Joel Kim Booster and “Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang.

A modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” focuses on two gay best friends, Noah (Booster) and Howie (Yang), who take a trip to the Pines, a hamlet on New York’s Fire Island that’s a hotspot for queer culture. Over the course of their vacation, they party with friends and develop flirtations with two other, significantly wealthier vacationers, Will (Conrad Ricamora) and Charlie (James Scully). The film also features Yang’s longtime “Las Culturistas” podcast co-host Matt Rogers, Margaret Cho, Nick Adams, Tomás Matos and Torian Miller in supporting roles.

Variety broke the news of the film in June last year. Booster wrote the script for the film, which is directed by Andrew Ahn, the filmmaker behind critically...

The Sundance Institute has announced the 13 writers selected for its 2022 Screenwriters Intensive.

Now in its 10th year, the Screenwriters Intensive is an annual two-day workshop that invites emerging creatives from historically marginalized backgrounds to develop their first full-length feature film scripts under the guidance of the Institute’s Feature Film Program. The workshop is led by Michelle Satter, the founding senior director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, as well as Ilyse McKimmie, the deputy director of the Feature Film Program.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing together such a dynamic and memorable group of storytellers developing work with bold vision and unique, necessary perspectives,” McKimmie said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our creative and strategic support of them as they develop their debut features, and we’re excited to welcome them into the vibrant community of Sundance artists.”

The fellows selected for this year are:

Marissa Chibás,...

“Saturday Night Live” actor Bowen Yang and stand-up comedian Joel Kim Booster will star in a modern romantic comedy called “Fire Island” set at Searchlight Pictures.

Andrew Ahn, the director behind the acclaimed indie “Driveways,” is directing the “unapologetic” feature that’s inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

“Fire Island” is set in the iconic Fire Island Pines and centers around two best friends who set out to have a legendary week-long summer vacation at the gay mecca with the help of cheap rosé and a cadre of eclectic friends.

Booster also wrote the original screenplay. Filming will begin this summer in both New York City and Fire Island. Searchlight will release the film as a Hulu Original in the U.S. and on Star through Disney+ internationally.

Jax Media, the team behind “Russian Doll” and “Search Party,” is producing the film, with John Hodges, Brooke Posch and Tony Hernandez serving as producers.

Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster are set to star in “Fire Island,” a romantic comedy from “Spa Night” director Andrew Ahn.

Described as a modern day take on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” the film will center on two best friends embarking on a weeklong vacation to Fire Island — the historic gay escape off the southern shore of Long Island — with the help of cheap rosé and a cadre of eclectic friends.

The project is set up at Searchlight, and will release exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. Globally, the film will stream on Disney Plus under the Star brand.

Jax Media (“Russian Doll”) is producing the project. Ahn will direct from an original feature script by Booster. Shooting will commence this August on Fire Island and in New York City. John Hodges, Brooke Posch and Tony Hernandez will serve as producers for Jax, with Chan Phung...

One of the great American filmmakers is filling out the cast of her next film. After it was announced the Kelly Reichardt would be reteaming with longtime collaborator Michelle Williams and her First Cow star John Magaro for her new film Showing Up, the rest of the ensemble has been unveiled.

Deadline reports André Benjamin aka André 3000, recently seen in High Life, is continuing to rack up his arthouse cred, alongside Hong Chau, who gave a stellar supporting turn in Driveways last year, Judd Hirsch, Maryann Plunkett, Heather Lawless, Amanda Plummer, and past Reichardt collaborators Larry Fessenden and James Le Gros. The A24 production begins shooting shortly in Portland.

Written by Reichardt and longtime collaborator Jon Raymond, Showing Up has been described as “a vibrant and sharply funny portrait of an artist on the verge of a career-changing exhibition. As she navigates family, friends, and colleagues in the lead up to her show,...

Jeff Hiller (Nightcap), Mary Catherine Garrison (Veep), Danny McCarthy (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) and Mike Hagerty (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) are set as series regulars and Murray Hill (Shortbus) and Jon Hudson Odom (Lovecraft Country) have been tapped for recurring roles in Somebody Somewhere, a comedy starring and executive produced by Patti Cake$ star Bridget Everett. The comedy comes from Hannah Bos (HBO’s High Maintenance), Paul Thureen (Driveways), Carolyn Strauss (HBO’s Chernobyl), Patricia Breen (HBO’s Betty) and The Mighty Mint/Duplass Brothers Productions. The seven-episode series is currently in production in Chicagoland.

Created by Bos and Thureen, Somebody Somewhere is inspired by the life of comedian and singer Everett and is set in her native Kansas. Sam (Everett) is a true Kansan on the surface, but beneath it all, struggles to fit the hometown mold. As she grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is Sam’s saving grace...

Exclusive: New York-based firm FilmRise has picked up global distribution rights to drama Broken Diamonds, starring Tony and Grammy-winner Benjamin Platt (Dear Evan Hansen), Lola Kirke (Mozart In The Jungle) and Yvette Nicole Brown (Community).

Produced by La La Land and Sicario backers Black Label Media, the film will get its world premiere tomorrow at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Pitch Perfect and Dear Evan Hansen star Platt plays a twenty-something writer who, in the wake of his father’s death, sees his dream of moving to Paris put on hold when he must temporarily take care of his mentally ill sister. Above, we can reveal an image from the film.

Written by Steve Waverly, the movie is based on his true-life story about taking care of his older sister who suffers from schizophrenia. Director is Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray).

FilmRise will handle all broadcast and digital distribution, both domestically and internationally.

FX’s upcoming docuseries about the fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights in America, “Pride,” has set its full director slate and lined up a May premiere date at the cable network.

The six-part series, which will begin with the 1950s and work forward through the decades, will see six LGBTQ+ directors explore stories ranging from the FBI surveillance of homosexuals during the 1950s Lavender Scare to the “Culture Wars” of the 1990s and beyond. Civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, writer Audre Lord and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Lester Hunt are among those interviewed for the series.

Directors include Tom Kalin (“Swoon”), Andrew Ahn (“Driveways”), Cheryl Dunye (“The Watermelon Woman”), Anthony Caronna and Alex Smith (“Susanne Bartsch: On Top”), Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) and Ro Haber (“Pose”).

The series will premiere with its first three episodes airing back-to-back on May 14. The second half of the series will air the following week...

Although he occasionally uses a broad brush dipped in primary colors while fashioning his admiring portrait of Bob Zellner, the grandson of a Ku Klux Klansman who improbably evolved into a civil rights activist during the early 1960s, filmmaker Barry Alexander Brown shrewdly and intelligently avoids most of the “white savior” clichés common to such scenarios in “Son of the South.” Based on Zellner’s memoir “The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement,” and available starting Feb. 5 in limited theatrical runs and on digital platforms, Brown’s well-crafted and period-persuasive biopic strikes a dramatically sound and emotionally satisfying balance between the moral awakening of its white protagonist and his relationships with sometimes encouraging, sometimes skeptical Black leaders and foot soldiers.

The movie’s opening minutes indicate just how dangerous it could be for a white Southerner to be viewed as a “race traitor” in the days of segregation,...

The number of films available to Oscar voters in a screening room devoted to the Best Picture category hit the 200 mark on Wednesday, which means that $2.5 million has entered the Academy coffers from films paying $12,500 each to be represented in the screening room.

The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”

Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.

What a busy morning! Not only did the National Board of Review announce its winners, the Film Independent Spirit Awards revealed their nominees. It was quite the precursor day, to say the least! Nbr gave their top prize to Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, while the Spirit Awards were led by Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always. The former snubbed Promising Young Woman as a film, while citing Carey Mulligan in Best Actress, while the latter gave it three nominations, though also snubbing it in Best Feature. Among completely shut out titles, for one reason or another, we have The Father and News of the World. How much does this mean? Well, it remains to be seen, but it’s certainly good news for those titles cited, while at least a slight concern for those left out in the cold. Read on for all of the nominees and winners…...

Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona named best foreign language film.

UK stars Riz Ahmed and Carey Mulligan have won top acting awards for Sound Of Metal and Promising Young Woman as the National Board of Review (Nbr) announced its 2020 winners.

Spike Lee was named best director and Da 5 Bloods best film in Tuesday’s (January 26) announcement.

Minari, which earlier in the day picked up six Spirit Award nominations, earned Youn Yuh-jung the best supporting actress gong, and Lee Isaac Chung best screenplay.

Jayro Bustamente’s Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona was named best foreign language film.

Chadwick Boseman...

Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona named best foreign language film.

British stars Riz Ahmed and Carey Mulligan won top acting awards for Sound Of Metal and Promising Young Woman as the National Board of Review (Nbr) announced its 2020 winners.

Spike Lee was named best director and Da 5 Bloods best film in Tuesday’s (January 26) announcement.

Minari, which earlier in the day picked up six Spirit Award nominations, earned Youn Yuh-jung the best supporting actress gong, and Lee Isaac Chung best screenplay.

Jayro Bustamente’s Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona was named best foreign language film.

Chadwick Boseman...

Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona named best foreign language film.

British stars Riz Ahmed and Carey Mulligan won top acting awards for Sound Of Metal Promising Young Woman as the National Board of Review announced its 2020 winners.

Spike Lee was named best director and Da 5 Bloods best film in Tuesday’s (January 26) announcement.

Minari, which earlier in the day picked up six Spirit Award nominations, earned Youn Yuh-jung the best supporting actress gong, and Lee Isaac Chung best screenplay. Jayro Bustamente’s Guatemalan Oscar submission title La Llorona was named best foreign language film.

Chadwick Boseman is posthumously...

The National Board of Review (Nbr) is often one of the first groups to announce its picks for the best films and performances of the year, but the 2020-21 awards season is a season like no other. At this point in the awards season, the Gotham Awards have already declared “Nomadland” the best film of the year, while the NYFCC went with “First Cow” and Lafca chose Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology series. The Nbr went with ‘Da 5 Bloods’ for 2021. The organization is made up of a group of film enthusiasts, industry professionals, academics, and filmmakers.

Last year, the National Board of Review honored Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” with its top prize for Best Film. The gangster drama went on to score 10 Academy Award nominations. Nearly every Nbr winner for Best Film this decade has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, including “The Post,” “Manchester by the Sea,...

The National Board of Review selected Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods as its best film of 2020 on Tuesday, handing the Netflix drama three honors overall in its annual voting of the year’s best in movies. Lee won best director, and the film also took the ensemble award.

Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored with with Nbr Icon Award. He featured in Da 5 Bloods in one of his final roles alongside a cast that included Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis and Jonathan Majors. The pic centers on a close-knit group of Vietnam veterans who return to find the remains of their fallen squad leader and the buried treasure they hid there.

“Da 5 Bloods is not only a unique portrait of the experience and lingering trauma of Black Vietnam War veterans, but also a moving story of enduring friendship, a suspenseful jungle treasure hunt, and...

A crippling year for theatrical exhibition, the pandemic-forced shutdowns meant most films weren’t available for viewing in their ideal presentation. However, through the invention and proliferation of Virtual Cinemas as well as festivals going online, it meant more people could get access to films they otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do so for some time. And with nearly all blockbusters delayed to 2021 or beyond, it meant the more nimble ecosystem of independent and foreign film got the spotlight. Which is to say, there were a few bright points in an otherwise bleak cinematic landscape. So, as we look to hopefully a more promising year, it’s my hope exhibition can survive alongside this more accessible virtual world.

Looking back at the 2020 new releases, there’s a number of films that narrowly missed my top 15, including Dick Johnson Is Dead, The Assistant, Bacurau, Boys State, Minari, Mangrove,...

When Brian Dennehy died this past April at the age of 81, the “Everyman” character actor of extraordinary complexity left behind memorable performances in such films as 1979’s “10,” 1982’s “First Blood,” 1985’s “Cocoon” and “Silverado” and 1990 “Presumed Innocent,” countless TV appearances and gut wrenching, Tony Award-winning turns as Willy Loman in the 1999 revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and as James Tyrone in the 2000 revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

“He was a towering, fearless actor taking on the greatest dramatic roles of the 20th century,” Robert Falls, artistic director of the Goodman Theater in Chicago, told the New York Times. “There were mountains that had to be climbed, and he no problem throwing himself into climbing them.”

Dennehy was nominated for six Emmys including for his terrifying performance as serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the 1992 miniseries “To Catch a Killer” and won...