News

Scarlett Johansson says a lot of her roles, including the ones in her best movies of the 2000s, revolved around desirability or the ‘male gaze.’ During a recent interview with The Times of London, the Marvel actress shared that it is “a different time for young women” in Hollywood.

She shared that the “messaging is different,” with women becoming role models and taking on powerful positions. Johansson shared that she was increasingly getting opportunities to “play women who don’t have to just be one thing or another.”

In her latest role, she plays a covert operation expert, Zora Bennett, in Jurassic World Rebirth. It happens to be one of those opportunities that Johansson talked about. However, this wasn’t the case for the actress for the longest time.

When she was younger, she was offered roles where she was hypers*xualized or objectified. These roles included some of her best works,...

In 2018, political journalist and writer Vanessa Schneider released Tu t’appelais Maria Schneider (My Cousin Maria Schneider), a deeply personal memoir exploring the turbulent life and career of her late cousin, actress Maria Schneider. Offering a window into the darker, somewhat socially accepted side of the film industry, the small tome looked at Maria’s struggles with fame, exploitation, and personal demons. Far from a straightforward rise to stardom, her story is one of resilience and shattered dreams—a poignant reflection on the cost of art and ambition. Fast-forward to the 2024 Cannes Film Festival (Cannes Premiere section), French filmmaker Jessica Palud revisits what the before, during and after consequences of the “Last Tango in Paris,” with Being Maria (the film was released by Kino Lorber in March).…...

Italian director Nanni Moretti has cast Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca in his next film, love story Succederà Questa Notte (It Will Happen Tonight), and is set to start filming this September.

The Palme d’Or winning director has adapted a book of short stories, Legami, by Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo. Moretti previously adapted a Nevo novel for his 2021 film Three Floors. He has collaborated with Federica Pontremoli and Valia Santella on the script. It marks his first feature since suffering a heart attack in April.

“We have intertwined some stories from the book to create a unique story,” said...

Our decision to declare Miami Vice this century’s greatest action film some eight years ago was neither made lightly nor received unanimously, but fortune favors the bold. Part and parcel of its canonization, Michael Mann’s classic streams on Criterion this July as part of Miami Neonoir, a set boasting Larry Clark’s Bully, the recently departed George Armitage’s Miami Blues, Out of Sight, Body Heat, and John Bailey’s lesser-seen China Moon. Series-wise, films about David Lynch, Picasso, and Basquiat fill out Portraits of Artists, while Summer Romances arrives just in time for you to imagine a better life than watching movies on your laptop.

July is a retrospective-heavy month: the recently restored, totally essential films of Jacques Rozier, works directed and shot by D.A. Pennebaker, shorts by Suzan Pitt, and Lino Brocka, Moustapha Alassane, Michael Haneke, and Hou Hsiao-hsien programs are complemented by an exposition of the Rolling Stones on film.

Palme d’Or-winning Italian director Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room, We Have a Pope) is teaming up with French star Louis Garrel (Little Women, The Dreamers) and Italian actress Jasmine Trinca (The Gunman) for his new film, the romantic drama Succederà questa notte (It Will Happen Tonight).

The feature, loosely based on the short story collection Hungry Heart (Lev Raev) by Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo, is set to begin shooting in Spain and Italy this fall. Moretti adapted Nevo’s novel Three Floors Up as the 2021 film Three Floors.

Trinca made her feature debut in Moretti’s The Son’s Room in 2001, but this will be their first collaboration since The Caiman in 2006. The Italian actress has been splitting her time between features, including Léa Todorov’s Maria Montessori and Ildikó Enyedi’s The Story of My Wife (2021), and TV work, appearing in acclaimed Italian series La Storia and The Art of Joy...

Exclusive: Neon is closing up a deal for rights to Natalie Portman-voiced animation Arco, which recently launched at the Cannes Film Festival.

French director Ugo Bienvenu’s animated feature, which has been described as “France’s answer to Studio Ghibli”, is about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.

Oscar winner Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

It’s another win for Neon, which has been voracious once again at Cannes, also acquiring The Secret Agent, It Was Just An Accident and Sirat, in addition to Sentimental Value, which they already had.

Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932. His...

Epsilon Film has closed deals for North America and multiple international territories for its family fantasy adventure “Robin and the Hoods,” which stars “Skyfall’s” Naomie Harris, “Game of Thrones” actor Gwendoline Christie, and Mark Williams, who was Arthur Weasley in the “Harry Potter” films.

Shout! Factory took the rights for the U.S. and Canada. Additional deals for the British production, which premiered as a Sky Original in the U.K. and Ireland, have been sealed with Korea (Bluelabel), Greece (Rosebud), former Yugoslavia (Investacommerce), Israel (Lev Films), Bulgaria (Pro Films) and Encore for inflight rights.

The film follows a spirited girl and her loyal group of friends — “the Hoods” — as they take on a ruthless property developer to protect their beloved play world, which they claim as their kingdom.

Epsilon describes “Robin and the Hoods” as a “feel-good film filled with humor, action and heart [that] offers a fresh and...

Stephen King‘s “Constant Readers” have read about the character Holly Gibney in the pages of his Bill Hodges trilogy, the novel The Outsider, the If It Bleeds short story from the collection of the same name, and his crime novel Holly. Holly is also at the heart of his next novel, Never Flinch, which is set to reach store shelves on May 27th – and with that date just one month away, King has sat down to read a passage from the novel on the Simon & Schuster Books YouTube channel. You can check it out in the embed at the bottom of this article. Before getting to the reading, King discusses his inspiration for writing this particular book and reveals that this is one of the rare King novels that was plotted out before he started writing it.

A few years ago, King told The Kingcast hosts, “I could...

When Joe Apollonio, the 33-year-old New York internet comic with a wild coif of reddish hair, names River Phoenix as one of his favorite actors, it all makes sense. They have a similar countercultural vibe — not to mention fashionably unkempt hairstyle — and a hunger to take on roles that scare them, and often put their own autobiography front and center.

“I get shit sometimes from my friends for not watching certain movies,” Apollonio told IndieWire at a brewery in Bryant Park (though Apollonio is five years sober). “I would say that I’m a huge fan of River Phoenix’s work and Gus Van Sant’s work. And then also movies that Michael Pitt’s been in the 2000s, like ‘The Dreamers.’ I would say those are the two actors that I look up to the most. Interestingly enough, they’re not comedians.”

Apollonio broke out from his long-running Instagram...

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal—bet you didn’t know that—is one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood. Most popular actors we see on screen today are tied down to particular types of roles that they play repeatedly. Say, Tom Cruise with his crazy adventures of flying a plane or jumping off a cliff, Keanu Reeves with heroic high-action roles, and Dwayne Johnson with charismatic, larger-than-life characters.

But this is not the case with Gyllenhaal; the actor and his versatility go hand in hand. Take, for example, the role of a former professional fighter, a war hero, a psychopath, and even a romantic—this man has done it all. He also has an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Brokeback Mountain. It’s safe to say that he is someone who thrives on taking big risks and pushing creative boundaries.

However, even a star of his...

Marshmallow, the upcoming horror film coming to theaters next month, just got an exciting new look. Collider is happy to partner with Hemlock Circle Productions to unveil a new sneak peek at Marshmallow, which shows Morgan (Kue Lawrence) coming into the cabin to warn Franklin (Maxwell Whittington-Cooper) and Rachel (Giorgia Whigham) that someone is inside his room. The two clearly don’t believe him, and then Lauri (Samantha Neyland Trumbo) and Kaszwar (Pierson Fode) stumble in and are accused of planting this story in his head. Marshmallow shows what happens when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real, and a group of campers discovers something that forces them to question their very existence. The film is coming to select theaters on April 11, and it promises to be one of the more intriguing horror movies of the year.

Marshmallow star Giorgia Whigham is best known for her role as Chrissy in Sierra Burgess is a Loser,...

Country in Focus: Spain at the Forefront, the European Film Market’s 2025 territory highlight, cuts two ways. TV will be spotlighted Feb. 17 in a Berlinale Series Market double-backed session, Spanish Thrillers, showcasing to works-in-progress titles, and Spanish Connection, where five projects are pitched to an industry audience.

For film, a Producers’ Showcase on Feb. 14 has 10 figures presenting their company and current projects at the Producers Hub. Another 10 producers form part of the Visitors Program at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.

For an analysis of what the companies and projects say about the current state of the Spanish film industry, please read the Spanish cinema Spotlight in Friday’s Variety print Daily. In the meantime, here’s a drill down on the 20 companies and key titles featured at Spain in Focus.

Producers Showcase

Alba Sotorra S.L., Alba Sotorra

Barcelona-based and now established as one of Spain’s leading and far-ranging international co-production practitioners,...

Exclusive: HanWay Films has expanded its classics library after being appointed to represent The Cohen Film Collection.

The library of Cohen Media Group’s founder, Charles S. Cohen, comprises more than one hundred restored classic titles spanning from the silent era to the present day, including The Buster Keaton Collection and The Merchant Ivory Collection.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and Cohen Media Group is the owner of HanWay, having acquired the company in 2022.

Late last year Charles Cohen’s media group hit choppy waters when the company was forced to sell multiple assets including British arthouse exhibitor and distributor Curzon to Fortress Investment Group. The company was acquired in a foreclosure auction involving multiple Cohen assets, including the Landmark cinema chain. Fortress had lent Cohen $534M but sued him last year for default. Cohen acquired Curzon in late 2019 amid a buying spree by the U.S. real estate developer.

Plot: A washed-up boxer (Michael Pitt) prepares for the biggest match of his career – his first in ten years – while trying to patch up the various frayed relationships in his life.

Review: Day of the Fight marks actor Michael Pitt’s (billed here as Michael C. Pitt) first leading role in many years. A former heartthrob best known for The Dreamers, the American remake of Funny Games, and his role on Boardwalk Empire, he recently turned up in the underrated Benicio del Toro film Reptile but otherwise has been out of the spotlight for years. If you google his name, you can see that he had to deal with some personal issues we’re not going to dredge up here, but suffice it to say that Day of the Fight offers him a strong star vehicle that could help him make a comeback if the right people see it.

The...

Stephen King's best book of the 2020s was released earlier in 2024, but one of the prolific author's upcoming stories is poised to be even better. Since his first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, Stephen King's best books have been consistently acclaimed as they cover a wide range of genres and topics. Carrie,The Shining, and It are standout horror novels that have received iconic adaptations that further solidified them as staples of popular culture. King has proven just as adept at writing the multi-genre Dark Tower books and the inspiring novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption."

His works in the past decade have continued to be compelling, including the story of The Institute, which is being adapted into a television series, and the novella "The Life of Chuck," whose movie adaptation won the People's Choice Award at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Kings next book is confirmed to...

Stephen King‘s “Constant Readers” have read about the character Holly Gibney in the pages of his Bill Hodges trilogy, the novel The Outsider, the If It Bleeds short story from the collection of the same name, and his crime novel Holly. Now, Entertainment Weekly has revealed that Holly is also at the heart of his next novel, Never Flinch, which is set to reach store shelves on May 27, 2025.

A couple of years ago, King told The Kingcast hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler, “I could never let Holly Gibney go from the Mr. Mercedes books. I mean, she was supposed to be a walk-on character and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart.” Obviously, Holly still has his heart. He had mentioned last year that he was working on another Holly Gibney book, but at that time he was calling it We Think Not. He...

French singer-writer-composer Charles Dumont, who is best known for co-writing Édith Piaf classic Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, has died at the age of 95 after a long illness.

Dumont, who was born in the French city of Cahors in 1929, developed an early passion for jazz and trained first to be a trumpet player at the Toulouse Music Conservatory.

He moved to Paris after Word War Two, where he continued his music career but had to abandon the trumpet after an operation on his tonsils. He then pivoted to the piano and composition writing.

Throughout the 1950s, Dumont continued to work in music while staying financially afloat with odd jobs. It was during this period that he met lyricist and long-time collaborator Michel Vaucaire, and the pair co-wrote Non, Je Regrette Rien in 1956.

According to Dumont’s own account, Piaf iconic connection to Non, Je Regrette Rien nearly did not happen after the singing star,...

“The Dreamers,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Casablanca,” “Notorious,” hell, even “Titanic” — cinema loves a love triangle, and Justin Kuritzkes wrote the definitive one of 2024 with his script for Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers.”

That film put Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor in a psychosexual frenzy and turned tennis into a sweaty, propulsive metaphor for the games people play to get each other into and out of bed. Kuritzkes is back in Guadagnino land with his script for “Queer,” an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novella about an expat’s heartache in Mexico City.

While that film, out November 27 from A24, isn’t explicitly a love triangle, you could argue that drugs and alcohol form one point in a triad between Lee (Daniel Craig) and elusive army vet twink Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) as they keep trying to make a romantic connection work. Including a trip to the South American jungle looking for ayahuasca,...

Scarlett Johansson collaborated with Woody Allen for the third time in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The film tells the story of Vicky and Cristina, played by Rebecca Hall and Johansson, who get entangled with Javier Bardem’s Juan. The film had some intimate scenes involving Johansson, Bardem, and Penélope Cruz.

Scarlett Johansson in Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Credits: Mediapro/Wild Bunch

Johansson opened up about the film in an old interview, talking about the notion that this film was Allen’s steamiest film. Steamiest or not, the film was Allen’s one of the highest-grossing films at the time. Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the film won the Golden Globe for Best Film – Musical or Comedy.

Scarlett Johansson Attributes The Steaminess In Vicky Cristina Barcelona To One Thing Javier Bardem and Scarlett Johansson in Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Credits: Mediapro/Wild Bunch

Woody Allen‘s Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a PG-13 film,...

Actress Eva Green poses for Chapter II of the Roger Vivier “Express” campaign, in a new short film, directed by Andrea Danese and Nicolangelo Gelormini, for the fashion brand credited with handbags and the creation of the modern day ‘stiletto’ heel, declaring “…to wear dreams on one’s feet is to begin to give a reality to one’s dreams…” :

About her ongoing film career, Green said "...there are simply not enough good roles for women, and for the last 20 years it has been so male-dominated and continues to be so."

The French actress and model started her career in theater before making her film debut in 2003 in Bernardo Bertolucci's controversial "The Dreamers".

She achieved international recognition when she appeared in Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) and portrayed 'Vesper Lynd' in the 'James Bond' film "Casino Royale" (2006).

In 2006, Green was awarded the 'BAFTA' Rising Star Award.

Challengers is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and the $94 million sports movie starring Zendaya is one of the year's best new releases, making it a must-watch. Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino's new sports romance film follows a love triangle of tennis players over the course of several years in their lives, examining their power dynamics at work on and off the court. The spicy drama earned immediate critical and audience acclaim, with an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes, praising the Challengers cast for their performances and intense chemistry.

Luca Guadagnino's films have consistently been met with divisive responses, and Challengers' 73% audience score is no different. In this instance, the critics are worth listening to, especially for fans of the director or any of the actors involved, all of whom are at their best. It's Zendaya's first major movie star role outside of her franchise appearances, and...

An ethereal beauty like no other, Eva Green has scooped up multiple roles in innumerable star-studded projects and never once ceased to leave viewers baffled with her tremendous emotional complexity. After starting her acting career through theatre, she debuted in Hollywood in 2003 and didn’t take long to become one of the most sought-after actresses of all time.

Eva Green in Casino Royale. | Credits: Sony Pictures.

Also renowned for playing a Bond Girl in 2006’s Casino Royale, she didn’t hesitate to bare herself to star as the peerless spy’s love interest even though it was only the beginning of her career. This was because, before this film, Green starred in The Dreamers, which had her pulling some risky moves with her co-star to calm her nerves before shooting an intimate scene.

Eva Green Took Some Real Risks While Shooting The Dreamers

When she got cast in Casino Royale...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Roxy Cinema

Fidelio, our four-film program with Chapo Trap House’s Movie Mindset, begins this Saturday with Eyes Wide Shut on 35mm, which plays again on Sunday.

Museum of the Moving Image

70mm prints of 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia screen.

Film at Lincoln Center

A retrospective of Mexican popular cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s continues and a new restoration of Shinji Sōmai’s Moving opens.

Film Forum

A career-spanning Jean-Pierre Melville retrospective continues, as do restorations of Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams and Seven Samurai.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by James Benning, Robert Bresson, and Jean Eustache screen in “Verbatim“; films by James Broughton play in “Essential Cinema.”

Bam

Claire Denis’ monumental No Fear, No Die and Mapantsula continue screening in new restorations.

Museum of Modern Art

“Silent Movie Week 2024” begins

IFC Center

“Defamed to Acclaimed” brings films by the Wachowskis,...

You Like It Darker features compelling stories with one standout novella that leaves intriguing questions. "The Dreamers" novella from King's collection is disturbing, mysterious, and lacks answers. "The Dreamers" would benefit from a follow-up that can explore its potential as a unique and terrifying world.

Stephen Kings You Like It Darker offers some interesting short stories, but theres one that needs a follow-up after all the questions it left. The King of Horror continues sharing his unique world of scares, monsters (human and supernatural), supernatural events, and more, and among his latest publications is You Like It Darker. The book is a collection of seven short stories and five novellas, all of them with different settings, characters, and themes, and some scarier than others.

You Like It Darker was announced in late 2023 and published in May 2024, and, unsurprisingly, it has been a hit with readers and fans of Stephen King.

When New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael wrote a long and heated rave of Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris after its premiere in 1972, she stated, among other things, that “this is a movie people will be arguing about for as long as there are movies.”

Kael may have been overdoing it when she stressed Last Tango‘s monumental importance, claiming it was a “movie breakthrough” and that it “altered the face of the art form.” But in terms of people arguing years later about the film’s legacy, she was spot-on.

Case in point: Being Maria, a new biopic of tormented French actress Maria Schneider, who at age 19 starred opposite Marlon Brando in the Bertolucci movie — a feat that launched her career as a promising new international actress while destroying her life at the same time.

The reasons for this are well known, and resurfaced over the past...

Stephen King may be known for epic novels like It and The Stand, but many Constant Readers first met the Master of Horror through his short fiction. Beginning with the iconic 1978 collection Night Shift, the best-selling author has been dazzling us for decades with short stories overflowing with sickening gore, fantastical creatures, meticulous violence, and transcendent joy. King follows suit in You Like It Darker, a jaw-dropping collection of twelve terrifying tales, five of them previously unpublished. Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker,” the outstanding tome dives head-first into the brutal randomness of pain and destruction – a “lullaby for suffering” only King can deliver.

The collection kicks off with “Two Talented Bastids,” a poignant story about an elderly author and his less talented son. Laird Carmody is a small-town Mainer who prizes his quiet life among the locals – a thinly veiled reference to King himself. The sprawling...

Exclusive: Natalie Portman has joined the voice cast for French director Ugo Bienvenu’s upcoming animated feature Arco about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.

Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932.

His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home.

Arco

Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books.

The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.

They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.

The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).

Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the eight jurors who will be joining jury president Greta Gerwig for the event’s 2024 edition (May 14-25).

They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.

The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.

Leading French production-distribution outfit Le Pacte has boarded the upcoming 2D animated feature project “Conference of the Birds,” which will be spotlighted at the Marché du Film’s Animation Day during this year’s Cannes Festival.

In addition to co-producing, Le Pacte will handle French distribution and serve as international sales agent on the film, part of the five-title Annecy Showcase at the Animation Day. Confirmed voice cast members include Golshifteh Farahani and Louis Garrel.

“Conference of the Birds” is an updated adaptation of Farid al-Din Attar’s 900-year-old Persian poem of the same name. The film centers on a flock of birds who are the sole survivors of a man-made natural disaster. Leading the avian gang is Hod-Hod, a young adventurous hoopoe who sets off on a quest to meet the legendary bird Simorgh, rumored to hold the key to solving all the birds’ problems.

According to the filmmakers,...

Before teaming up with director Luca Guadagnino on Challengers, Zendaya sought advice from Dune co-star Timothée Chalamet, who starred in Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name in 2017.

“He said wonderful things,” Zendaya told The Hollywood Reporter at the Los Angeles premiere of Challengers on Tuesday. “Luca is brilliant and I’ve wanted to work with Luca for a very long time and this just seemed like the absolute perfect thing. When we first met about the script he had such a keen, deep understanding of the characters from the beginning and a clearer idea of the kind of movie he wanted to create. And the script was brilliant, [writer] Justin Kuritzkes is so talented and I’m so happy for him. So it all made sense.”

Zendaya reveals if Timothée Chalamet gave her any tips on working with director Luca Guadagnino and tells THR how she has wanted to work...

One needn't do a very deep internet search to find news outlets doing some adolescent tittering about the threesome scene in Luca Guadagnino's new love-triangle sports drama "Challengers." I am disappointed to report that the scene in question is not a threesome, but a brief three-way make-out session that lasts maybe 90 seconds. It's no more salacious than one might see at the average screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Anyone who has watched "Y tu Mamá También" or "The Dreamers" has already enjoyed more sexual intensity.

The brief makeout, however, more or less cements long-standing romantic and sexual chemistry for the three involved. "Challengers" is about struggling through your 20s, using the echoes of your adolescence to form lasting bonds that, with enough time, ferment into resentment. Each of the male leads will, at some point, say a version of the line "He's not really in love with you,...

Jedi galore. A dark, murderous mystery plot. A Wookiee with a lightsaber. Star Wars is back with a series like no other – get ready for The Acolyte, exploring a brand new era of the galaxy, 100 years before The Phantom Menace. The new issue of Empire takes a world-exclusive deep dive into the show with creator Leslye Headland and her sprawling ensemble cast – and you can pick it up on newsstands from Thursday 11 April.

For now, take a sneak peek inside the issue and see what’s in store…

The Acolyte

An even longer time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there were Jedi everywhere – and an unseen enemy in the shadows. Empire delves into an all new era of Star Wars with The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland, speaking to the likes of Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Rebecca Henderson, Joonas Suotamo, Manny Jacinto, and...

Stand-up comic Jerrod Carmichael has been feuding with industry veteran Dave Chappelle again over his past remarks. The Emmy Award-winning comic had previously criticized Chappelle over his anti-trans jokes in his Netflix special The Closer. The special had come under fire due to the remarks and had prompted widespread criticisms.

Carmichael, who came out as gay in his HBO special Rothaniel, spoke about how Chappelle had made comments on his special as well, which had received accolades and praises from fans. Carmichael mentioned that Chappelle was not happy with his criticism and had expected him to publicly apologize.

Jerrod Carmichael On Dave Chappelle’s Anti-Trans Jokes Jerrod Carmichael in a still from Rothaniel

Jerrod Carmichael took the world by storm when his brave comedy special Rothaniel was released. The HBO special saw him come out as gay publicly for the first time and received multiple accolades. The show also won...

Bernardo Bertolucci's films were ahead of their time, as evidenced by the reviews and ratings they got from censorship boards. Two of the most controversial films by the late director are The Last Tango in Paris, starring Marlon Brando, and The Dreamers. The latter launched the careers of its stars Eva Green, Michael Pitt, and Louis Garrel. The Dreamers premiered 20 years ago and for its anniversary, the film is getting its first 4K release with some extra material according to IndieWire. Included in this 2-disc release is the original Nc-17 cut, and over 3 hours of bonus material. The materials include extensive featurettes about the making of the film and the story it is based on. There will be commentary from Bertolucci, Gilbert Adair, the writer, and Jeremy Thomas, the producer. Additionally, interviews with Bertolucci, Green, Pitt, Garrel, Thomas, and Adair will be present along with behind-the-scenes footage of the film's production.

Bernardo Bertolucci’s Nc-17 masterpiece “The Dreamers” is receiving a 4K restoration re-release to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The film made history as the first Fox Searchlight Nc-17 theatrical release in 2004, with then-president Peter Rice comparing “The Dreamers” to Bertolucci’s other infamously controversial film, “Last Tango in Paris.”

Bertolucci said at the time that “The Dreamers” being released stateside in its original cut was a relief, adding, “After all, an orgasm is better than a bomb.”

“The Dreamers” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2003 and had its U.S. debut at Sundance 2004. Future Bond cast member Eva Green made her credited big screen debut (after a bit part in “The Piano Teacher”) with the erotic psychological drama following a trio of cinephile students in 1968 Paris during the riots. Michael Pitt and Louis Garrel co-starred alongside Green.

The newly-restored version of the feature does not yet have a U.

Restored in 4K for its 20th anniversary last year, Bernardo Bertolucci’s penultimate feature The Dreamers is now arriving on a new 4K Uhd disc this summer. Marking Eva Green’s first film role, the romantic drama set during the 1968 Paris student riots also stars Michael Pitt and Louis Garrel. While a U.S. release has not been unveiled yet, the region-free 4K Uhd set featuring the restoration completed by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna under the supervision of director of photography, Fabio Cianchetti, will debut in the UK on May 13.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Dreamers is set in Paris, Spring of 1968: the city is beginning to emerge from hibernation and an obscure spirit of social and political renewal is in the air. Yet Théo, his twin sister Isabelle and Matthew, an American student they have befriended, think only of immersing themselves in another, addictive form of hibernation: moviegoing at the Cinémathèque Française.

Icon Film has released a brand new trailer for the 4K restoration of Bernardo Bertolucci’s modern classic ‘The Dreamers’.

When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew, an American student, to stay with them in their Parisian apartment, what begins as a casual friendship transforms into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off-limits, and anything is possible…

From Academy Award-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci, the original cut of modern classic The Dreamers has been remastered for its 20th anniversary in stunning 4K. The restoration was completed by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna under the supervision of director of photography, Fabio Cianchetti.

Set against the tumultuous background of the ’68 Paris student riots, experience this unforgettable love letter to cinema and the French New Wave like never before. Starring Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel (Little Women), and BAFTA winner Eva Green in her daring cinematic debut.

Also in trailers – Teaser trailer...

Jessica Palud’s showbiz drama “Being Maria” reframes the short career and tragic life of “Last Tango in Paris” star Maria Schneider in a post-#MeToo light. “Happening” breakout Anamaria Vartolomei plays Schneider, while Matt Dillon takes on the role of her co-star Marlon Brando. Orange Studio is handling international sales.

Currently in post-production and aiming for a festival premiere later this year, the film in part tracks the controversial production and wrenching fallout of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 masterpiece — a landmark that made Schneider an icon while locking her into a sexualized image she never could escape. Palud’s sophomore feature also marks a fitting echo for the Gallic auteur, who kicked off her professional life on the set of Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers.”

Stepping into Brando’s shoes gave Dillon a unique task, not least because the French-language film required the actor to work in an unfamiliar tongue. “I thought to myself,...

Saltburn and The Dreamers are films that present a world of sexual mystery and people living in isolating situations, surrounded by excess and forbidden romance. Saltburn follows the story of Oliver, a new student at Oxford who ingratiates himself into the wealthy Catton family, using their excesses to his advantage. The Dreamers delves into the lives of an American student in Paris and French twins, exploring their charged and erotic relationship against the backdrop of a student uprising. Both films leave viewers captivated, unable to look away from the car wrecks of their characters' lives.

Every few years, we see films enter the arena that bring a strange sense of people living in a completely different and often isolated world from our own. The wealthy in their mansions surrounded by wealth, or the bohemians locked in their dreams. This is the case with 2023's Saltburn and 2003's The Dreamers.

The...

Jeremy Thomas on Martin Scorsese giving gravitas to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger films: “I mean, The Red Shoes, unbelievable! Of course they’re period, Blimp, very period. And Black Narcissus, which I recently saw restored in a square in Bologna with thousands of people.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

In the third instalment with producer Jeremy Thomas we discuss Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing leading to a conversation with David Cronenberg wanting to film William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch; Cronenberg’s adaptation of Jg Ballard’s Crash and the author’s reaction; Martin Scorsese reintroducing us to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpieces, which include The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, and Black Narcissus.

Jeremy Thomas on David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch by William Burroughs: “It’s magnificent, original work.”

The Cohen Media Group and Posteritati at their gallery hosted a reception for Jeremy...

A year and a half ago, legendary literary master of horror Stephen King mentioned that he was writing a novella called Rattlesnakes, which he referred to as a sequel to his 1981 novel Cujo (buy it Here), which was turned into a movie (watch the movie Here) that King thought should have earned star Dee Wallace an Academy Award. Although the events of Cujo are referenced in other King stories, it has never gotten a direct follow-up – which makes sense, since it’s about a rabid St. Bernard dog that doesn’t survive past the final pages. But now Entertainment Weekly has revealed exactly how Rattlesnakes is connected to Cujo: the lead character happens to be Vic Trenton, whose wife Donna and son Tad were the characters trapped in a car by the rabid St. Bernard. They have also revealed that Rattlesnakes is going to be one of the twelve...

We told you last year that Stephen King was writing a new short story set in the world of his classic horror novel Cujo, and now we know that you can expect to read it in early 2024.

The short story, which is titled Rattlesnakes, will debut in Stephen King’s You Like It Darker, a brand new collection of 12 short stories being released on May 21, 2024!

Entertainment Weekly details this afternoon that Rattlesnakes tells the tale of “a grieving widower [who] travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance — with major strings attached.” You can find an excerpt from the story over on EW now.

The website’s exclusive excerpt from Rattlesnakes reveals that the new short story centers on Vic Trenton, the husband of Donna and the father of Tad in the classic tale of Cujo!

You Like It Darker will also feature the following King stories…

“Two...

There have been many attempts to adapt Alexandre Dumas’ beloved swash-buckling story to the big screen. From Disney’s The Three Musketeers to Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers to the D’Artagnan solo story, The Musketeer, Alexandre Dumas’ tale has been told again and again. However, Samuel-Goldwyn Films and Pathé are attempting to tell the story with a faithful adaptation that will take two movies to convey. The new trailer for the French historical epic, The Three Musketeers: Part I – D’Artagnan, has now been unveiled.

The official synopsis from Samuel-Goldwyn Films and Pathé reads,

“In the first entry, D’Artagnan, a spirited young Gascon, is left for dead after trying to save a young woman from being kidnapped. When he arrives in Paris, he tries to find his attackers. He is unaware that his quest will lead him to the heart of a real war where the future of France is at stake.

Jeremy Thomas (who Tilda Swinton compares to a pirate and William Blake) on Jim Jarmusch: “There’s no more American independent hero than him. He and Sara Driver have been my friends for years, decades.”

In the second instalment with the free-thinking producer and pirate of the high seas (Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki), Jeremy Thomas, we discuss the filming of Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, his “favourite actor” John Hurt, his “very good buddy” Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston and “the great” Mia Wasikowska, and Anton Yelchin “who was such a sweetie”. We also touch upon the opening night of Jeremy Thomas Presents at the Quad Cinema with Jeremy and the Stealing Beauty author Susan Minot, doing a Q&a following the screening of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers.

Jim Jarmusch with Tilda Swinton, whom Jeremy Thomas calls “an incredible woman.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Jim...

For a few beautiful years in the early 2000s, Michael Pitt’s spine-chilling blue eyes wreaked havoc in world cinema, from Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” to Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games.” Then, due to quite a few controversies, the actor stepped away from the limelight, taking on smaller projects here and there and leaving an abyssal gap in the industry: a blue-eyed menace whose presence in any given film immediately signaled some form of psychological torture.

Many have tried their hand at filling this gap, from the sprawling Skarsgårds to Dane DeHaan, but no one has come as close to it as Caleb Landry Jones.

Continue reading ‘Dogman’ Review: Luc Besson’s Freakish Canine Fable Is Rotten To The Bone [Venice] at The Playlist.

Love is a complex and multifaceted emotion that can blossom in the most unexpected places and circumstances. Throughout cinematic history, filmmakers have explored the boundaries of romantic relationships, pushing the envelope to portray unconventional and unusual love stories. Some of them are mainstream comedies, and others represent real dramas, but they are united by the common cause of showing the audience that the world of love, romance, and dating is unique, convoluted, often complex, and not as easy or ethereal as we sometimes think of it. Many famous directors tried their hand in this field and succeeded, including Jim Jarmusch, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Spike Jonze to name a few. From dark vampire romance to polyamory to kinky relationships, here are six movies that delve into the realm of unique and unconventional love.

The Dreamers (2003): Exploring Intimacy and Polyamory amidst Turmoil Credit – Fox Searchlight Pictures

This captivating movie is set...

Actor Jack Huston says two creative sparks convinced him to make his feature directing debut with boxing drama Day of the Fight. The first concerned the premise; the second, his star.

“Several years ago, I was watching Stanley Kubrick’s first film, a documentary short he shot in 1951, also called Day of the Fight,” Huston says. The film famously follows the great Irish American boxer Walter Cartier over the course of an ordinary day as he prepares for a 10 p.m. title bout.

“It’s this amazing glimpse into the real life of a boxer,” Huston explains. “He eats breakfast, he goes to church, he visits his twin brother, he goes around town — and it’s all leading up to a big prize fight. I remember thinking, ‘What a wonderful premise for a deeper narrative to develop.’ As we follow our boxer through his day and meet the people in his world,...

From the Nc-17 ménage à trois of Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” to James Spader having intercourse with Rosanna Arquette’s leg wound in David Cronenberg’s “Crash,” producer Jeremy Thomas loves a controversy onscreen.

Cinema raconteur Mark Cousins pays homage to the Oscar-winning producer in his 2021 Cannes Classics selection, “The Storms of Jeremy Thomas.” The film follows Cousins on Thomas’ annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival — literally, the producer drove for decades from England to the fest — and a five-day road movie through France. Together, they remember Thomas’ most acclaimed and provocative films as a producer, from his Oscar-winning “The Last Emperor” to “Crash” and its scandalous opening at the festival in 1996, Nicolas Roeg’s “Bad Timing,” Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo,” plus Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch,” Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast,” and Terry Gilliam’s reviled child abuse fairy tale, “Tideland.”

The film includes Thomas’ stories of movie stars like Marlon Brando,...

The next book we’ll be seeing from Stephen King is Holly, which is set to reach store shelves on September 5th (you can pre-order a copy Here) and centers on the Holly Gibney character that King has previously written about in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, The Outsider, and the If It Bleeds story contained in the short story collection of the same name. Now, during an interview with the Talking Scared podcast, King has revealed three more projects that he’s working on or thinking about working on: another short story collection, another Holly Gibney story, and possibly a third book in the Talisman series he started with the late Peter Straub.

King told Talking Scared (with thanks to The Guardian for the transcription) that the short story collection is called You Like It Darker and is expected to be published sometime in 2024. The book has a page count...