News

As the format continues to gain traction, here’s our regularly-updated list of upcoming 4K Ultra HD disc releases in the UK.

Sitting alongside our list of upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases (that you can find here), we’re also keeping a calendar for those who support the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc format. As we learn of new UK releases, we’ll add them to this list.

We have started adding shopping links too. We’d be obliged if you clicked on them, as it really helps us in our quest to make the Film Stories project of magazines, website and podcast profitable. We’re a 100% independent publisher, and we quite like drinking coffee. It’d be lovely to afford some more.

Without further ado, here are the titles we know about…

Out now

24th February: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 3 (Steelbook)

24th February: Crossing Delancey (Criterion)

24th February:...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Throughout Hollywood history, stars have signed on and then swapped out projects for something else and only realized they made the right or wrong call when the box office numbers came in. Vin Diesel, for example, was originally down to play Agent 47 in "Hitman," the film adapted from the popular video game franchise but turned it down. Most would say the "Fast and Furious" films dodged a bullet though, considering the movie received scathing reviews upon release and currently boasts a paltry 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even so, that's pretty generous next to the even bigger dumpster fire he starred in the following year instead.

Initially, Diesel was the top pick for the role of 47, the iconic assassin with a shaved head and a barcode on his neck who is employed by a mysterious organization. As one of the biggest...

Nora El Hourch’s Fiery Sisterhood is La Haine for the #MeToo Generation

Arriving like a molotov cocktail thrown through a plate glass window — or more accurately, like a hashtag gone viral — Nora El Hourch makes an unforgettable first impression with her fiery feature debut Sisterhood. Where La Haine became a cinematic, mid-90s touchstone with its gritty, unblinking depiction of France’s racial tensions, El Hourch’s picture may do the same for this generation as they take hold of the next wave of feminism and the #MeToo movement and pull it into the future.

The much better, and more provocative French title, Hlm Pussy, gives a better sense of the context of the picture’s electric charge.…...

Do you know which Vin Diesel movie is rated the highest on Rotten Tomatoes? It's 1999's "The Iron Giant," the timeless animated classic in which Diesel voices the titular 50-ft. tall metal-eating robot, who emerges as a strong emotional anchor in the narrative. In addition to featuring stellar voice work, the film is a beautiful, engaging tale about the everyday issues that plague us, all the way down to its highly emotional climax. But while "The Iron Giant" sits at a thoroughly deserved 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, let's shift our attention to the actor's lowest-rated film on the platform. No, it's not "The Last Witch Hunter" (although that is a strong contender for Diesel's worst movie). Rather, it's a sci-fi action flick that not only flopped at the box office, but whose theatrical cut was also disowned by its director. I'm talking about Mathieu Kassovitz's wildly convoluted, mind-bogglingly outlandish "Babylon A.D,...

The following contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" season 1, episode 4, "Can't Say I Remember No At Attlin."

"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" episode 4 once again brings Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) and his adolescent castaway crew to a new planet, where we meet just enough new faces that they get a chance to make an impact. One key figure on the episode's planet, At Achrann, is Troik clan member Hayna (Hala Finley), who soon gains respect for Neel (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith) and his anti-violence streak. While Finley has a good few projects on her acting CV, film fans might perk up their ears even more when they see her father, Troik leader General Strix. 

If Strix looks familiar, you've probably paid attention to international cinema in the 1990s and 2000s. The general with a penchant for training child soldiers is played by none other than actor and filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz,...

The melding of dance, music and cinematography isn’t new to us here at Dn. But there’s something about Director, Choreographer, and Dancer Or Schraiber’s choreography-led music video for Yemen Blues’ Prayers that feels completely refreshing and distinctive. The backdrop of a stark urban landscape with five performers engaging in fluid yet frantic dance gives echoes of West Side Story but there’s also a contemporary urgency at play too. It also surprises with a key stylistic choice which occurs towards the end of the video that renders the entire film in a new perspective. It’s just really evocative and a film we had to find out more about so we invited Schraiber to join us for a chat about everything from his prepared yet loose approach to choreography to the post-production decision to embrace jump cuts in order to mirror the frenzied rhythm of the song.

“The Big War,” one of Europe’s most ambitious feature projects brought to market at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is heading the AFM with some incredible new graphics for its CG animal cast.

Inspired by the iconic two-part graphic novel “La Bête Est Morte,” written by Edmond-François Calvo during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II and published just after the liberation of Paris, “The Big War” is helmed by “La Haine” director Mathieu Kassovitz and produced by leading French producer Aton Soumache, whose recent credits include Annecy winner “Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be” and Netflix’s mega-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”

Given that the original book has very little by way of narrative, longtime Tim Burton collaborator Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” was recruited to adapt the screenplay. Former Cannes Film Festival...

Exclusive: Vincent Cassel has built a reputation over his 30-year career for playing bad and good guys with a menacing, violent edge from Vinz in La Haine, to ruthless gangster Jacques Mesrine, or a tough-talking mercenary in the Apple TV+ series Liaison.

It is a surprise then to discover the French star in the role of the Greek mythology figure of Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, reimagined as a gentlemanly taxi driver, with charmingly accented but grammatically perfect English in The Opera!, which world premieres in the Rome Film Festival on Friday evening.

Based loosely on tragic love story Orpheus and Eurydice, Davide Livermore and creative director Paolo Gep Cucco’s original telling of the ancient legend mixes opera arias from Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Mozart, Vivaldi, Boito and Gluck with pop classics such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “The Power of Love.”

Cassel tops a cast also featuring Caterina Murino,...

In his previous collaboration with Romain Duris, “Our Struggles” director Guillaume Senez cast the Parisian star as a workaholic forced to spend a lot more time with his kids when their mother abruptly left home one day. Six years on, the pair have reunited to tell the opposite story of a father doing everything in his power to reunite with his daughter who’s been snatched away in another country.

If that conjures up memories of Liam Neeson growling into a phone, have no fear. The handiwork of “fellow French director, “Taken” director Pierre Morel is nowhere to be found. Instead, Senez takes a far more naturalistic approach to the streets of Tokyo, where a man named Jay (Duris) works as a driver for a private car service while searching for the daughter his ex wife stopped him from seeing nine years prior. As a French immigrant, Romain’s protagonist...

The Latin American premiere of Christopher Andrews’ TIFF selection Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and a screening of Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 modern classic La Haine feature in the 20th Monterrey International Film Festival line-up.

Running September 25-October 2, the festival in northern Mexico led by general manager Diana Cobos brings Cannes, Sundance and Berlin selections in its World Highlights strand, including the Latin American premieres of Piero Messina’s Another End starring Gael Garcia Bernal, and Sugercane by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat.

The festival includes the Monterrey Classics section with screenings of Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, Carlos Saura’s Cría Cuervos,...

Jenna Ortega has become one of the defining faces of modern television and film, especially among the younger generation. Her diverse roles and unique screen presence have catapulted her to stardom, with roles like Wednesday Adams and Astrid Deetz.

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Yet, despite her success in this niche genre, Ortega has revealed a surprising choice for her dream role. It’s of a historical figure who contrasts starkly with her previous performances, so there’s certainly more to the actress than she lets on.

Who is Jenna Ortega’s Dream Role? Jenna Ortega in Wednesday (2022)| Netflix

In an interview with Letterboxd, Jenna Ortega was asked about her four favorite movies, and much to everyone’s surprise, the young actress named some classics. Her preference for timeless and visually stunning films already reflects a taste for deeper, and more impactful narratives, which...

The Olympic host city is one of cinema’s favourite places, whether real or romanticised, in films ranging from Breathless to Ratatouille and La Haine

The Paris Olympics are being held at the very time of year when the City of Light is least desirable as a destination, as all those inhabitants who vacate the city in August for their summer getaways well know. Cole Porter might have recommended Paris when it sizzles, but when it sweats? An acquired taste. Sometimes the city is best enjoyed from a distance – via the Olympics coverage if you wish, or the surfeit of films that have made Paris a veritable capital of cinema.

Like any tourist, there’s no shame in starting with the obvious: Parisians may roll their eyes at the airbrushed Montmartre in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie (2001), but this gaudy romantic bonbon still has its winsome charms. It’s only a...

Principal photography has commenced on the Arab underworld thriller “Boomah” (“The Owl”), written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan and marking the Jordanian filmmaker’s second feature following his critically acclaimed “Daughters of Abdul Rahman.”

Previously announced in December, Rakeen Saad is set to play the titular role of the female thug Boomah. Saad rose to acclaim for her central roles in hit shows “The Giza Killer” and the Netflix original “Al Rawabi School for Girls,” and will next be seen as the lead in a new Netflix series production “Echoes of the Past” and “The Way of the Wind,” the biblical drama by Terrence Malick.

“Boomah” — now shooting in Jordan — reunites Saad with Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida who will play the role of her best friend and confidant Anoud. Arida will next appear in “Laura H,” a Dutch TV series based on the bestseller by journalist Thomas Rueb. Rounding...

The cast of upcoming Arab crime thriller Boomah has been revealed as director Zaid Abu Hamdan begins filming in Jordan.

As previously reported, the title role is to be played by Rakeen Saad, star of Netflix hit AlRawabi School For Girls and who will next be seen in Netflix series Echoes Of The Past and Terrence Malick’s biblical drama The Way Of The Wind.

Boomah will see Saad reunite with Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida, who will play the role of her best friend and confidant Anoud. Arida will next be seen in Dutch TV series Laura H.

Rounding out the cast are Majd Eid,...

Zaid Abu Hamdan has begun principal photography in Jordan on new film Boomah which is being positioned as an Arab world thriller with a similar gritty edge as City of God, Gomorrah and La Haine.

Boomah marks Jordanian director Abu Hamdan’s second feature after his critically acclaimed female focused drama Daughters of Abdul Rahman.

The Giza Killer and Al Rawabi School For Girls actress Rakeen Saad stars in the titular role of a female thug, who goes by the name of Boomah. The actress is also soon to be seen as the lead in new Netflix series production Echoes of the Past, as well as in Terrence Malick’s biblical drama The Way of the Wind.

She will be joined by Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida in the role of Boomah’s best friend and confidant Anoud. Rounding out the cast are Majd Eid, Nabil Al Raee and Hanan Al Hilo, who previously starred in Daughters of Abdul Rahman.

The new film is billed as an “expansive crime thriller” set against the backdrop of Jordan’s underworld. Protagonist Boomah is notorious and knife-savvy female gang member who becomes embroiled in a power struggle between street thugs and religious extremists while battling the traumas of her harrowing orphaned past.

The film is produced by Front Row Productions with Ahmad Abu Koush and director Abu Hamdan’s Jordan-based Bounce Productions.

Also on board is Amman-based production company Bayt Al Shawareb, which worked on 2014 Oscar-nominated film Theeb and the 2023 Cannes Critics’ Week breakout Inshallah a Boy.

A joint venture between Mena distributors Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, Front Row Productions’ previous credits include Netflix originals Perfect Strangers, The Sandcastle, starring Nadine Labaki and Ziad Bakri, and the upcoming Cliffhanger reboot.

“We’re proud to be a part of this project, supporting Jordanian and Levantine talent during this extremely difficult and trying period, with so much risk inherent in cinema and arts coming out of this region,” said Front Row Productions partners Gianluca Chakra and Mario Jr. Haddad.

“Zaid is an outstanding young and ambitious director with a very bright future ahead, a true visionary and difference-maker. His understanding of the nuances of Jordanian street culture is exceptional,” they added.

“We are concentrating on a script and storytelling that transcends borders and nationality while looking to break the limits of background and identity to bring Boomah to a wide Arab audience and beyond. We see Boomah positioned as a film with Arab and international appeal, as a crime thriller reminiscent of great underworld juggernaut works like City of God, Gomorrah, La Haine and others.”...

Seemingly from out of nowhere, actor turned director Gilles Lellouche throws a Molotov Flanby into the Competition with only his second feature, a terrific and unexpectedly potent piece of genre filmmaking that could, to avoid spoilers, be described as a kind of mash-up of Badlands and La Haine, as if directed by Walter Hill. Throw in a little Eurocrime, from the likes of Fernando Di Leo and late-period Jean-Pierre Melville, and you’re getting close to what Lellouche has achieved here, a romantic banlieue opera that delivers all the gritty, vicarious thrills of the now-standard post-Goodfellas gangster movie but also burrows into issues of class and gender in refreshingly unpredictable ways.

It arrives as a movie seemingly made by committee, since the film is based on an Irish novel — Jackie Love Johnser Ok? by Neville Thompson — and features contributions by fellow filmmakers Ahmed Hamidi and Audrey Diwan. It quickly...

Kinology has boarded international sales to “The Big War,” an epic €30-million live action-cgi characters hybrid movie which will mark the directorial comeback of “La Haine” filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz.

The ambitious feature is adapted from “La Bête Est Morte,” an iconic two-part graphic novel illustrated by Edmond Calvo during War World 2 in Nazi-Occupied France and published after the country was liberated.

Pitched as a “”Paddington” meets ‘Saving Private Ryan,'” “The Big War” is a true passion project for Kassovitz who bought rights to “La Bête est Morte” nearly two decades ago and has now joined forces with well-respected animation producer Aton Soumache, whose credits range from literary adaptations such as the Cesar-winning “The Little Prince” to the global smash-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”

Kassovitz and Soumache have assembled a dream team for “The Big War,” including Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare before Christmas,...

Mathieu Kassovitz, whose last film was the 2011 French action-drama Rebellion, is returning behind the camera thirteen years later. According to Deadline, Kassovitz will be taking on a passion project — a film titled The Big War. The Big War will be an English-language film that aims to showcase a hybrid of live-action and animation. The script will reportedly be written by The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson. Kassovitz explains, “This is a project I’ve been working on for twenty years.”

Kassovitz is also known for working in front of the camera as an actor on projects such as Amélie and Munich and the hit TV series Le Bureau Des Legendes. He expounds on his new upcoming film, “It is inspired by cult French graphic novel La Bete Est Morte, which was written during the Second World War. It reimagines that war as enacted by animals.

Exclusive: La Haine filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz is returning to the director’s chair to make English-language passion project The Big War, which will mark the first movie he has helmed in 13 years.

“This is a project I’ve been working on for twenty years,” Kassovitz explained about the live action-animation hybrid project, which he has scripted with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands scribe Caroline Thompson.

“It is inspired by cult French graphic novel La Bete Est Morte, which was written during the Second World War,” says the Frenchman, also known for starring in movies including Amélie and Munich and hit TV series Le Bureau Des Legendes. “It reimagines that war as enacted by animals. The Nazis are the wolves who go after the ‘vermin’ — the rabbits — who represent the war’s victims. The story focuses on two rabbits who go after their family who have been...

French cinema revolutionized film history with groundbreaking masterpieces like Breathless and The 400 Blows. Iconic directors like Godard and Truffaut paved the way for modern classics with the French New Wave movement. From Bresson's realism to Tati's slapstick to Chabrol's suspense, French films offer an innovative and diverse cinematic experience.

From Breathless to The 400 Blows to Au Hasard Balthazar, there are some groundbreaking French masterpieces that every movie lover around the world should watch. France is responsible for some of the most influential revolutions in film history. Robert Bresson created a new kind of cinematic realism with his restrained, ascetic shooting style. Jacques Tati pioneered his own brand of filmed slapstick, and those timeless sight gags are still just as funny today. Claude Chabrol’s Hitchcockian suspense thrillers and Éric Rohmer’s naturalistic, semi-improvised comedies reimagined familiar genres and styles with a whole new way of approaching a story on film.

The Criterion Collection reaches out to encompass more radical works of cinema in April 2024, led by Mathieu Kassovitz's completely unsettling La Haine (1995); the seminal Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), described by Criterion as "a hypnotic parable of societal collapse from auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky;" the remarkable I Am Cuba (1964) from director Mikhail Kalatozov; Nancy Savoca's under-appreciated Dogfight, starring Lili Taylor and River Phoenix; and Peter Weir's dreamy and mysterious Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), available in 4K. La Haine, Werckmeister Harmonies, and I Am Cuba are also being issued in 4K, so it's a splendid time for world cinema fans to dust off their wallets and indulge. (I say that knowing that April 15 is also looming as an important date...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The episode of Best Horror Movie You Never Saw covering Gothika was Written and Edited by Paul Bookstaber, Narrated by Kier Gomes, Produced by John Fallon and Tyler Nichols, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Back in the late 90’s, early 2000s the horror genre was in that weird phase of encapsulating what it truly wanted to be. Hot off the heels of Scream, horror movies focused much more on the teenage angst, and lifestyle. But there comes a time when some hidden gems make their way to the silver screen that branch off the beaten path with a more adult-themed tale, drenched in psychological/mental horror. What if one day you’re living your average life, working your 9-5, and suddenly black, out only to wake up, institutionalized and accused of committing a crime you can’t seem to remember doing? In 2003, director Mathieu Kassovitz gave us a True...

We made it to 2024! Or, rather, we've almost made it at the time of writing. It's been a long year wherein a historical dual strike that was prompted (and then unnecessarily prolonged) by studio greed brought the film and TV industry to a grinding halt for months. But all that's behind us now, and it's time for a fresh start. Even Netflix is turning over a new leaf by making viewership data available for just about every title on the platform. Well, sort of. It's still Netflix, so, of course, its newfound transparency comes with an asterisk or two.

Staying on the positive beat, things aren't slowing down on the Netflix front in January. In fact, after a 12-month period that saw the streamer releasing a veritable treasure trove of notable animated features, international films, and star-studded projects (be sure and peruse through the /Film team's ranking of the 12 best...

For years now, Daniel Kaluuya has been an incredible screen presence – bringing his considerable acting talent to the likes of :a[Get Out]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/get-2-review/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, :a[Nope]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/nope/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, :a[Widows]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/widows-review/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, :a[Queen & Slim]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/queen-slim/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, and :a[Judas And The Black Messiah]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/judas-and-the-black-messiah/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}. Oh, and a certain seismic behemoth by the name of :a[Black Panther]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/black-panther-review-2/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}. Next up, he’s moving behind the camera, making his directorial debut – alongside co-director Kibwe Tavares – with The Kitchen.

Sibling rivalries are as ancient as Cain and Abel. Cinema has seen so many stories where two brothers go against each other, where one is supposedly the bad brother and the other is the good. Recently, there has been a spin on this good vs. bad narrative. What if both brothers are bad and they go against each other? Budak Flat is essentially the story of two brothers, but the main character is the building where the two brothers live, hence the title Budak Flat. The film has allegedly been co-directed by four directors, but there is a unity to the jumpy nature of the film, and it doesn’t feel like multiple visions have tried to jumble up the film. The fidgety camera work, evoking the magic from the film La Haine, helps tell this bloody story in a gripping manner.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?...

Each decade of cinema has pushed the industry forward with advancements in storytelling, technology, and the expansion of different genres. The 1920s saw silent films become king, with classics such as Nosferatu setting the groundwork for the horror genre for decades to come. Moving forward to the '30s, musicals shot to the pinnacle of film, with Westerns then taking over in the two decades after. The introduction of surround sound in the '70s allowed films like Jaws and Star Wars to be the groundbreaking cinema titans that they were, and then the '80s came out with iconic films that defined an entire generation.

By the 1990s, the film industry had become very similar to what we recognize today. Compared to the periods before this decade, the '90s saw a rise in technological development that allowed filmmakers to tell their stories through groundbreaking visuals as well as dialogue.

Exclusive: Mathieu Kassovitz has quit the Paris Has Fallen television series citing creative differences. He has been replaced by Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab.

Deadline can reveal the casting switch as StudioCanal has released first-look images from the series, which is based on Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise and is shooting in London and Paris.

The eight-part drama is made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.

Kassovitz, best known for his 1995 film La Haine, is recovering from a motorbike accident last month, though his departure from Paris Has Fallen was for creative reasons. In his place, Jallab will play Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of a terror group led by villain Jacob.

Vincent works with MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya...

French filmmaker Ladj Ly has returned to his home turf of Paris with Les Indésirables, a searing portrait of police violence and political injustice in angry suburbs that has a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this week.

On Saturday, Ly told a TIFF panel that little has changed for the better for the marginalized communities depicted in his follow-up to Les Misérables, which earned the Jury Prize in Cannes. “There’s absolutely no political volition to make anything better,” Ly said during an informal conversation with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Roxborough, which was presented as part of the Visionaries series.

“The problems that touched the suburbs have now extended to the rest of France,” Ly added, as he pointed to the police crackdown of Yellow Vests protests countrywide against economic injustice, which included grassroots protests earlier this year against pension reforms.

“The police have a free pass to kill Blacks and Arabs,...

French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz is “worrying” condition after a motorcycle accident in Paris yesterday. Kassovitz, 56, was preparing for a role in an upcoming film when he was “very seriously injured,” according to French media.

The actor was taken to a hospital in Kremlin-Bicêtre, according to authorities in Essonne. His injuries include head trauma and a fractured pelvis. Le Parisien reported that Kassovitz was on a motorcycle training course, and that one of his daughters was on a motorcycle behind him with an instructor and witnessed the accident.

Kassovitz...

Actor famous for Amélie, The Bureau and La Haine, which he also wrote and directed, reportedly in a ‘worrying’ condition

The French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz is in a “worrying” condition after a motorbike accident in greater Paris on Sunday, authorities say.

The 56-year-old, who is best known for his 1995 film La Haine and his role in the 2001 film Amélie, was on a motorcycle training course at the time, a police source told Agence France-Presse.

Actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz has been in a serious motorcycle accident, a representative for Kassovitz confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

The La Haine filmmaker was driving along the Autodrome de Montlhéry, a motor racing circuit south of Paris, French news channel CNews and international news agency Afp reported Sunday. Kassovitz’s condition is said to be “worrying.”

Kassovitz was transported to the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital, a source told the news outlets, after doing a motorcycle course on the circuit, a police source told Afp.

The director originally broke out in the industry in 1995 with La Haine, a French film that follows three men in the 24 hours after a violent riot takes place on the outskirts of Paris. The project, which Kassovitz also stars in and wrote, is regarded as an influential story that portrays racism and police violence in France.

“La Haine” is a French phrase that translates to “Hatred...

French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz has been seriously injured in a motorbike accident on the Montlhéry circuit outside Paris, according to French media reports.

French news channel Bfmtv said the actor had been taken to the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital in Paris. It said that according to the actor’s entourage, his life was not in danger.

Kassovitz broke out at home and internationally in 1995 for La Haine, which is still regarded as one of the seminal works tackling racism and police violence in France.

He won Best Director in Cannes in 1995 for the film, which also went on to win the French César for Best Film.

Other directorial credits include Crimson Rivers (2000) and Gothika (2003), starring Halle Berry and Penélope Cruz.

More recent credits have include episodes of the hit spy thriller series The Bureau, in which he also starred. His other notable acting credits include Amélie as well Birthday Girl,...

"It's not the same as coming in and being inspired." They got Nolan! Wow! Dive into movie geek heaven in this latest offering of the "Vidéo Club" series made by Konbini exploring an old video store in Paris with famous filmmakers. We've posted videos of Brad Pitt and Terry Gilliam and M. Night Shyamalan and Wes Anderson already in this classic video store. This time they got to bring in director Christopher Nolan to visit with his lead actor Cillian Murphy from Oppenheimer while they were in Paris on their promo tour (before the strike a few weeks ago). Nolan makes me want to watch Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (aka Correspondent 17 in French), The Hill starring Sean Connery, and Nagisa Ôshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and he also chats about how Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse had a big influence on his Joker. Murphy talks about working with Ken Loach,...

Christopher Nolan is one of the most acclaimed and influential filmmakers of our time. His movies are known for their complex narratives, stunning visuals, and innovative use of sound and music. But what are the movies that inspire and influence him? In this article, we will explore some of the films that Nolan has recommended or praised in various interviews and podcasts. Whether you are a fan of his work or just curious about his cinematic tastes, this article will help you discover some great movies that you may not have seen before.

There Will Be Blood (2007) There will be Blood Source : Mubi

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this epic drama tells the story of a ruthless oil tycoon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his conflict with a charismatic preacher (Paul Dano) in early 20th century California. Nolan said that this is “an excellent film” and “Paul’s best”, referring to the director.

Some have been forced to temporarily close as protests target private and commercial properties.

French exhibitors were forced to close some multiplexes around the country over the weekend as violent riots sparked by the fatal shooting of a 17-year old boy by a police officer in Nanterre on June 27, saw commercial properties and public buildings, including cinemas, set ablaze.

Ugc closed its multiplex cinemas in Paris suburbs Rosny and Créteil starting on Friday night and both Pathe and Ugc closed theatres over the weekend from 18.00 in some regions to after 21.00 in others.

In Cergy, a north-western suburb of Paris, rioters...

Exclusive: Here’s a splashy European project to end the week: Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen film franchise is getting the television treatment, with filming set to get underway at the end of the month.

Respected French filmmaker and actor Mathieu Kassovitz will lead the cast of Paris Has Fallen, which will be made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.

Howard Overman, the creator of BAFTA-winning series Misfits, is writing Paris Has Fallen. Oded Ruskin is directing having previously worked on series including Hulu’s No Man’s Land. Shooting will commence on May 30 in London and Paris.

Paris Is Fallen is set up at Canal+ in France; Zdf in Germany; Canal+ International in Poland and Africa; and M7 in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. StudioCanal is preparing...

Exclusive: Filming is to begin on May 8 in Toronto on David Cronenberg’s next movie, The Shrouds, which will star Vincent Cassel (La Haine), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), and Guy Pearce (Memento).

Kruger has replaced Léa Seydoux on the project (as first noted by blog World Of Reel). Cassel, star of Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method, has been aboard since the project was first revealed last summer.

French icon Cassel will play Karsh, an innovative businessman and grieving widower, who builds a novel device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud. This burial tool installed at his own state-of-the-art – though controversial cemetery allows him and his clients to watch their specific departed loved one decompose in real time. Karsh’s revolutionary business is on the verge of breaking into the international mainstream when several graves within his cemetery are vandalized and nearly destroyed, including that of his wife.

Exclusive: Screen greats Samuel L. Jackson and Vincent Cassel have been set to lead cast in action thriller Damaged, about a Chicago detective who goes to Scotland after an emerging serial killer’s crimes match those that he investigated five years earlier, one of which was the crime scene of his murdered girlfriend.

Related Story Warner Bros. Wins Fevered Weekend Auction For T.J. Newman Novel ‘Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421;’ Deal Reaches $1.5M Against $3M Related Story John David Washington Talks About His Connection To 'The Piano Lesson', Differences He Discovered Between Film And Theater, And His Upcoming Project With Gareth Edwards – The Deadline Q&a Related Story Samuel L. Jackson Weighs In On Quentin Tarantino's Anti-Marvel Comments

Supporting cast includes Kate Dickie (The Witch), Gianni Capaldi (A Day to Die) and John Hannah (The Mummy) with direction from Terry McDonagh, whose credits include episodes of Killing Eve,...

It might be obvious to say, but a film getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make it good.

In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.

It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.

For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.

This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).

This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...

It might be obvious to say, but a film getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make it good.

In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.

It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.

For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.

This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).

This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...

Vincent Cassel, the chameleon of French cinema, is not one for analysing his characters. In fact, he hates the very idea. When we meet over video chat, he mentions Michel Simon, the “wonderful French actor from the Thirties and Forties” who starred in classics like Boudu Saved from Drowning and L’Atalante. “When suddenly coming across an actor that would discuss the character and talk, he would go, ‘Ah, another intelligent actor.’ And that wasn’t a compliment! Because you don’t have to be smart to be an actor. You have to be able to let yourself go.”

Now 56, the wiry, scruffily handsome Cassel has been doing exactly that for his entire career, ever since he shocked audiences as the combustible Vinz in 1995’s Parisian riots drama La Haine. Since then, he’s never been afraid of courting controversy, notably in Gaspar Noé’s still-shocking 2002 rape-revenge drama Irréversible, one of...

It might sound obvious, but getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make a film good.

In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.

While it’s easy to assume that certain films don’t get nominated because they’re not what voters of the Oscars would usually go for, there have been a lot of surprises in the past.

For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.

This means films like DC’s Suicide Squad may have been mauled by the critics, but will still get recognised by the Academy (it went on to win), which is ridiculous when you consider classics such as The Good, the Bad and...

It might sound obvious, but getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make a film good.

In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.

While it’s easy to assume that certain films don’t get nominated because they’re not what voters of the Oscars would usually go for, there have been a lot of surprises in the past.

For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.

This means films like DC’s Suicide Squad may have been mauled by the critics, but will still get recognised by the Academy (it went on to win), which is ridiculous when you consider classics such as The Good, the Bad and...

"Star Wars" has some of the coolest villains in blockbuster cinema, characters whose mere silhouettes instantly evoke strong emotions and memories. From Darth Vader's imposing armor to the Emperor's deathly force lightning, and from Jango Fett's jet pack to General Grievous' frightening four lightsabers, no two villains are the same.

Then there's Darth Maul, a character that engraved himself in the minds of fans from the moment he stepped onto the screen in 1999's "The Phantom Menace." A red, horned devil who not only moved faster and with more style than any "Star Wars" villain before him, Darth Maul brought about the concept of a dual-bladed lightsaber. (Grievous wouldn't show up until six years later.) On top of all that, Maul managed to fight two Jedi at the same time and kill one of them.

Even his death was as spectacular as the franchise had ever got. Anyone can...

Filmmaker Kenneth Karlstadt has conjured a chaotic coming of age story, “Kids In Crime,” for Norway’s TV2. The writer-director grew the project out from his well received short, “The Hunger,” into eight short episodes.

It’s a format hoped to attract younger audiences aged 16-22, who are surrounded by many alternative forms of entertainment through social media, games, and streamers. It is unclear how well this strategy worked, but the show proved to be one of 2022’s most successful shows for TV2, according to Brede Havland, producer for Einar Film Drama. It has also been nominated for the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize 2023.

An impactful new offering, “Kids In Crime” presents Karlstadt’s nose for rebellious but tight narratives and a set of teenage characters hoping to live with the volume turned high. Set in 2001, the show follows the three teenagers Tommy, Pål and Monica, played by newcomers Kristian Repshus,...

Are streamers killing indie cinema, or could Netflix be a lifeline for ground-breaking filmmaking? There are solid arguments for both sides, but David Cronenberg firmly believes that streaming services are the future. He knows that streaming has changed the way we watch movies, for better or worse, and has chosen to embrace this change rather than reject it. In fact, the writer-director's upcoming film "The Shrouds" was originally written as a Netflix series.

"The Shrouds" is set to star Vincent Cassel alongside Léa Seydoux. Seydoux starred in Cronenberg's 2022 film "Crimes of the Future" and has appeared in Bond movies and Wes Anderson movies alike. Cassel had his breakout role in the contemporary cult classic "La Haine" and has gone on to star in "Ocean's 12" and "Black Swan." He also collaborated with Cronenberg on "Eastern Promises" and "A Dangerous Method."

Cassel will star as a businessman who invents a device...

Netflix has acquired the global rights outside of Norway to the hard-hitting Norwegian crime series “Gangs of Oslo” (“Blodsbrødre”), produced by Monday Scripted for Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster TV2, Variety has learned exclusively.

The six-part series is created and directed by Ole Endresen, co-writer of Netflix’s first Original series “Lilyhammer” and “Young Wallander.” Monday Productions’ CEO Lasse Hallberg who served as executive producer with Steven van Zandt on “Lilyhammer,” holds a similar role on “Gangs of Oslo,” produced by Cecilie Tiderman. Sajid Malik is co-producing.

TV2 Norway’s head of drama Alice Sommer said that following the show’s premiere on the broadcaster’ own VOD service TV2 Play on Jan.19, and an exclusive six-month hold back period for the Nordic territory, “Gangs of Oslo” will also be available to Netflix customers in Norway. The U.S. streamer is set to premiere the show in the rest of the world in the coming months.

While fans will never stop debating the power ranking of Marvel's gods, Thanos settled any true disagreement with a single image. The Mad Titan is the most ambitious being in the galaxy, doing whatever it takes to expand his understanding of a universe he ultimately hungers to destroy. Thanos has traveled through time, become reality itself, and sought out the foundations of the cosmos in his search for knowledge, giving him a unique understanding of the most powerful beings in existence.

In Thanos Annual #1, an early version of the powerful villain is contacted by his future self. This future Thanos has just come into possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, and the Time Stone has informed him that despite his new omnipotence, he'll soon be stripped of this power. Desiring to use the time well, the Thanos of Infinity Gauntlet sends versions of himself out through time to answer the great questions of the cosmos.

Ben Affleck's abandoned solo Batman movie gets imagined in a new fan poster made in the style of The Batman. Affleck originally joined the former Dceu as Batman in 2013, becoming the latest actor to portray the actor in live-action following Christian Bale. Affleck would go on to play Batman in 3 DC movies so far - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League - while also returning for reshoots for Zack Snyder's Justice League. Affleck's solo Batman film was announced in 2016, but never materialized and was later turned into Matt Reeves' The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson.

Artist Rahal Nejraoui shared a fan poster on Instagram for Affleck's lost Batman movie, taking inspiration from the recent The Batman film. Affleck's Batman looms over villains and heroes such as Jared Leto's Joker and Leslie Grace's Barbara Gordon from the also-canceled Batgirl movie. Check out the...

The special three-episode second season of Max Original I Hate Suzie Too debuts Thursday, December 22 on HBO Max. Called a “masterclass” by Vanity Fair and a “vital” narrative by Rolling Stone, the first season of the British dramedy is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

Synopsis: Child star turned actress Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper) has a new agent, new PR and a new job – dancing for likes on “Dance Crazee,” a reality TV competition that has the Saturday night audience hooked. Having lost everyone that matters to her, Suzie returns to her first love – the public. Battling ex-husband Cob (Daniel Ings) with the help of best friend Naomi (Leila Farzad), Suzie must try to keep life as stable as possible for her young son Frank (Matthew Jordan-Caws), all whilst staying on ‘Dance Crazee’ long enough to finance her new role as single mom and ex-wife. In this three-part anti-Christmas Christmas special,...