News

Grammy-nominated musician and actress Janelle Monáe(Moonlight, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) will portray the real-life con artist Tanya Smith in an upcoming heist film by Universal Pictures (per Variety). The crime thriller will be an adaptation of Smith’s riveting 2024 memoir Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million. Monáe is also slated to serve as an executive producer on the project via her production company, Wondaland Pictures.

Senior Vice President of Production Development, Ryan Jones, and the Director of Development for Universal Pictures, Tony Ducret, are spearheading the heist thriller. The con artist's memoir not only represents a fascinating story, but an intriguing character study, in which Tanya Smith’s wildly creative and intellectual mind would ultimately enable her to rip off the United States banking world for $40 million!

The future con artist was only 15 years old when...

Actress and singer Janelle Monáe is set to star in and produce the Universal Pictures adaptation of Tanya Smith’s heist memoir Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million.

Monáe will produce the project about an unsuspecting woman who hatches a clever white-collar scheme that manipulates the U.S. banking system out of millions through Wondaland Pictures’ first look deal with Universal, with Smith to executive produce.

When the FBI finally cornered Smith, they refused to believe a black woman could be the architect of sophisticated financial crimes, as they smugly asserted “these are not the kind of crimes black people are smart enough to commit,” according to a synopsis from the producers. For her financial wrongdoing as detailed in her memoir, Smith completed a harsh prison sentence, but today has become an advocate for prison reform, racial justice and economic equality.

Janelle Monáe briefly pauses a Zoom interview with The Hollywood Reporter to get up out of a chair and allow the camera to capture a better view of an essential piece of her ensemble — a black T-shirt featuring her face and text that reads “Monáe Manor: From the Mad Mind of Janelle Monáe.”

The merch promotes a new activation at Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, a spooky maze on the grounds of Griffith Park where the 10-time Grammy Award-nominee has been spotted in recent weeks making killer cameos alongside the Hayride’s resident “scare actors,” sometimes with a chainsaw in hand. It’s just one piece of the Halloween pie that Monáe has added to her schedule in 2024 as she continues her ascent as the newest “HalloQueen” in town. And it’s all a dream come true for the native Kansan.

“I’ve dreamt of having my own haunted house experience for many,...

Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, begins as a Cinderella story. Frida (Naomi Ackie) is waitressing at a glitzy private event when a footwear malfunction sends her tumbling into the burly arms of charismatic tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). Kneeling at her feet like a perfect Prince Charming, he snaps off the heel of her one unbroken shoe to provide her with a matching pair. A few hours, several flirtatious smiles, and a great many drinks later, Slater asks Frida to join him and his friends on his private island.

Blink Twice, which was originally titled Pussy Island, feels like the latest attempt to rebottle the lightning of Jordan’s Get Out. From Antebellum to The Menu, They Cloned Tyrone to Don’t Worry Darling, lots of movies have tried to replicate its formula—exploring inequality through high-concept thrillers with plots that hinge on a major twist. None...

Janelle Monáe has been added to the ever-growing cast of Pharrell Williams’ currently untitled musical project at Universal.

Monáe joins the previously announced cast of Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry and Missy Elliott on the project.

Said to be a coming-of-age musical set in Virginia Beach in the summer of 1977, inspired by Atlantis Apartments, Williams’ childhood neighbourhood. Bailey will co-star opposite Kelvin Harrison Jr. and join Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph in the feature.

Also in news – Ed Harris & Margaret Qualley join cast of thriller ‘Huntington’

Michel Gondry is set to direct the project based on a script by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson.

Williams and Mimi Valdés will produce through i am Other and Gil Netter will produce through Gil Netter Productions.

Monáe’s film credits include ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Lady and the Tramp,’ ‘Harriet,’ ‘The Glorias’ and ‘Antebellum and ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery...

Janelle Monáe is set to join the cast of Universal Pictures’ untitled Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry musical project.

The singer and actor joins Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry and Missy Elliott in the film.

The project is described as a coming-of-age musical set during the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach, inspired by the Atlantis Apartments, Williams’ childhood neighborhood.

Gondry is set to direct the project based on a script by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson.

Williams and Mimi Valdés will produce through i am Other and Gil Netter will produce through Gil Netter Productions.

Universal’s Senior VP of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Production Development Christine Sun will oversee the project for the studio.

Monáe’s film credits include “Moonlight,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “Harriet,” “The Glorias” and “Antebellum.”

For her role in 2017’s “Hidden Figures,...

The high-profile cast for Universal Pictures’ forthcoming musical from Michel Gondry and Pharrell Williams has just been kicked up an octave with the addition of Janelle Monáe.

Monáe has signed on to join the cast of the coming-of-age period feature that is currently untitled. The film’s previously confirmed castmembers include Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry and Missy Elliott.

The project is set in Virginia Beach during the summer of 1977 and inspired by Atlantis Apartments, the neighborhood where Williams grew up. Gondry directs the musical from a script by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson.

Producers include Williams and Mimi Valdés for I Am Other, alongside Gil Netter for Gil Netter Productions. Overseeing the movie for Universal are senior vp of production development Ryan Jones and director of production development Christine Sun.

Monáe’s previous film credits include Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Antebellum,...

Exclusive: CAA has signed Robert O’Hara, the New York-based playwright and director of Jeremy O. Harris’ Tony-nominated Slave Play.

O’Hara, whose production of Jelly’s Last Jam ran at New York City Center Encores! in February, has also directed his own plays, including Mankind, Bootycandy, and Insurrection: Holding History. His other plays include This Fire This Time, The Etiquette of Vigilance, Antebellum, and Zombie: The American.

In addition to Slave Play, his other world premiere directing credits include Nikkole Salter and Danai Gurira’s In The Continuum, Tarell McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays Part II, Colman Domingo’s Wild With Happy, and Kirsten Childs’ Bella: An American Tall Tale. He has received the NAACP Best Play and Best Director Awards, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, two Obie Awards, and the Herb Alpert Award.

O’Hara is next set to direct the feature adaptation of his play Barbecue starring Colman Domingo,...

In the early days of January, Universal Pictures closed the first major Hollywood deal of 2024 by pre-emptively purchasing the short story package Long Lost, with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners producing alongside Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon of Genre Pictures, as well as Scott Glassgold of Ground Control Entertainment. Colin Bannon, who previously wrote and directed the 2009 comedy Love Conquers Paul, is on board to write the screenplay adaptation of his own 50 page short story, which is said to be “in the vein of What Lies Beneath and Rosemary’s Baby“. Now Deadline reports that Universal has scored another Colin Bannon deal, pre-emptively purchasing his short story thriller package Don’t Look, with Janelle Monáe in talks to star and M3GAN, Malignant, and The Nun 2 writer Akela Cooper writing the screenplay, based on an unpublished Bannon short story.

How does the maker of a little-seen indie from 15 years ago land deals like this?...

Slow-burn horror movies can be impactful, but some take it too far, depriving the story of meaningful stakes. "Speak No Evil" borrows from "Funny Games," but its bleak and unoriginal satire leaves viewers unimpressed. "Antebellum" is too bleak and predictable, forcing viewers to endure unnecessary violence before a predictable reveal.

While a lot of horror movies are dark, some entries in the genre make their stories so brutally bleak that they end up feeling ironically unscary. It isn’t easy to get the tonal balance right when making a horror movie. Horror movies are designed to scare audiences, but a movie that aims to be relentlessly terrifying from start to finish is likely to feel more exhausting than legitimately scary. Less is often more when it comes to scares, and sometimes slow-burn horror movies can prove more impactful than their more aggressive counterparts despite the efficacy of a well-timed jump scare.

It’s a fairly packed month on Hulu this February thanks to the addition of some interesting TV shows from FX and ABC. While the streamer’s own original content is somewhat limited – Life + Beth is returning for season 2 – you can also catch the new series of Feud this month. The new installment in Ryan Murphy’s juicy anthology show is based on the bestseller Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer, and tells the story of Truman Capote’s betrayal and fall-out with New York’s most glamorous socialites. The cast is absolutely stacked, with Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny and Calista Flockhart all swearing delicious revenge on Tom Hollander’s Capote.

Also via Hulu in February comes the third season of Abbott Elementary, along with new episodes of The Connors, The Good Doctor, Will Trent,...

Knives Out 3 is set to be filmed later this year, with Daniel Craig returning as detective Benoit Blanc. Details of the plot are unknown, but it is expected to be a murder mystery with an A-list ensemble cast. Rian Johnson is excited to take a new direction creatively and not replicate the previous movies.

The third movie in director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out saga will reportedly film this year, according to a new report by Deadline. According to the report, Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman have chosen Katie McNeill to become a producer at their independent studio T-Street Productions, with the studio now gearing up to shoot Knives Out 3, which will see Daniel Craig return as private detective Benoit Blanc.

As per the report, Johnson will film Knives Out 3 for Netflix “later this year,” with the project ser to once again be written and directed by...

Slave narratives felt like horror stories long before "Antebellum" combined its Civil War setting with the themes of a story like "Get Out." But the makers of the 2020 film do want to make one thing clear: While "Antebellum" certainly doesn't shy away from the horrors of the era, it's not actually a slave movie.

That may feel counterintuitive for a film that seems to revel in its gruesome setting. With its first act, "Antebellum" answers an age-old, horrifying hypothetical: "What if the South won the Civil War?" It drops us face-first into what could be a parallel reality, one where white supremacy reigns. It'd be easy to write "Antebellum" off as a slave movie based solely on what's happening on the surface — but a closer look reveals a handful of anachronisms sprinkled throughout the Antebellum-set film. Slaves bear tattoos and nose piercings; the spirituals they sing while picking cotton...

After three years shrouded in secrecy, They Cloned Tyrone is finally ready to face the world. The outrageous comedy-thriller hits Netflix on July 14, and it stars Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, and Teyonah Parris as an oddball trio who uncover a government conspiracy. First-time director Juel Taylor (Creed II) co-wrote the screenplay alongside Tony Rettenmaier, and the premise is an excellent setup for paranoia-filled fun.

They Cloned Tyrone follows a Fontaine (Boyega), Slick Charles (Foxx), and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) as they stumble upon an underground lab run by a shady government agency. Soon enough, the hustler, pimp, and sex worker learn that people in their neighborhood are being experimented on in a race-based horror scenario with echoes of Get Out and Antebellum. If the stellar leading cast weren't enough of a draw, the movie also includes a number of top-tier talent in its ensemble, including Kiefer Sutherland (Rabbit Hole), David Alan Grier...

The last few years have been good ones for African American horror, with a number of new talents making a big impression. Alongside the mainstream successes of Jordan Peele have been independent works like Bad Hair, Antebellum and Death Ranch, all speaking to previously neglected audiences. Still, there’s a long way to go to achieve a proportionate presence in genre cinema, so it’s good to see a contribution from Chris Chalk, whose talent as an actor made him a standout in the likes of Gotham, Detroit and Godzilla Vs. Kong. Unfortunately, whilst his direction is effective and the acting is good all round, the script falls short of the mark.

Chalk plays Chance, whom we see in the opening scene exchanging wedding vows with Grace (Kd Chalk). A year later, they’re preparing to move to another state where Grace has got a job. She’s written a successful.

Warning: This post contains minor spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

The cast of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a veritable who's who of Hollywood stars, and is jam-packed with recognizable names in nearly every role. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion moves the franchise to Greece and follows detective Benoit Blanc as his invitation to a billionaire's murder mystery party turns into a very real whodunit. Just as whip-smart as Johnson's first Knives Out, Glass Onion is not only a gripping mystery but also offers clever lampooning of the movie's over-the-top luxury class.

Continuing many of the thematic trends established in 2019's Knives Out, Glass Onion pushed things even further as the satire took center stage, and it was handsomely praised by critics for its clever writing. Johnson earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Glass Onion proved...

Jamie Foxx and John Boyega uncover a government conspiracy in They Cloned Tyrone's outrageous trailer. Directed and co-written by Juel Taylor, the upcoming comedy-thriller centers on street hustler Fontaine (Boyega), local pimp Slick Charles (Foxx), and sex worker Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) as they discover an underground lab where an unknown government agency preys on the local Black neighborhood with nefarious experiments. Rounding out the cast are 24's Kiefer Sutherland, In Living Color's David Alan Grier, White Men Can't Jump's (2023) J. Alphonse Nicholson, and The Good Fight's Tamberla Perry.

Netflix's They Cloned Tyrone trailer features Foxx and Boyega uncovering a terrifying government conspiracy.

After witnessing a strange abduction in his neighborhood, Fontaine partners with Slick Charles and Yo-Yo to unravel a Twilight Zone-style plot. Filled with laughs, intrigue, and action, They Cloned Tyrone's trailer teases one of Netflix's biggest comedies of the summer.

What to...

Don’t have plans for the weekend? Sign up for Sling TV to enjoy a limited-time deal that allows you to stream the FX Movie Channel’s library of current and classic films ranging from Jordan Peele’s Us to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies.

What Is Sling TV’s Fxm Free Preview Offer?

Through Tuesday, May 30 (so act fast!), Sling TV is granting new subscribers free access to Fxm for one week. (The channel is normally accessed through a $6 add-on.) With Fxm, you can stream movies including 27 Dresses, Hidden Figures, Jojo Rabbit, Alien Covenant, Date Night, On the Basis of Sex,...

Janelle Monae is back! Five years following her critically acclaimed and Album of the Year Grammy-nominated “Dirty Computer,” she’s releasing “The Age of Pleasure” on June 9. It’s her fourth studio album and was preceded by a pair of singles, “Float” and “Lipstick Lover.” But will it finally win her her long-awaited first Grammy? Watch her “Lipstick Lover” video above, and make or update your Grammy predictions here.

SEEBillboard Hot 100: Every #1 song of 2023

Perhaps surprisingly, Monae has yet to actually win a Grammy despite eight nominations spanning the last 15 years. Her debut studio album “The ArchAndroid” earned her a bid for Best Contemporary R&b Album, but she lost that prize to Usher‘s “Raymond v. Raymond.” She then collaborated with Fun on their breakthrough hit “We Are Young,” earning bids for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, but the only award that song...

Exclusive: Following the success of their Academy Award-winning Warner Bros drama King Richard, based on their own life stories, tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams have teamed with Oscar-nominated Tár producer Alexandra Milchan to develop En Garde, a new feature to be adapted for the screen and directed by the duo known as Bush Renz (Antebellum).

The forthcoming film is based on the New York Times bestselling book Black Brother, Black Brother by award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, which was published by Little, Brown in 2020. It tells the story of two bi-racial brothers — one white-presenting; the other, Black — who must navigate the unforgiving social constructs and institutions of an elite Connecticut prep high school. When the darker-skinned brother’s future is threatened by his arch-nemesis, he seeks out the counsel of an Olympic fencing champion to beat him at his own game.

Venus Williams will be joined as a producer...

A slow-motion panic attack in movie form, “The Young Wife” swirls around the hopes and doubts of a young woman (a radiant Kiersey Clemons) on the day of her “non-wedding.” It’s not a moment of matrimony, nor is it quite a commitment ceremony, but instead a day-long party, a celebration of the love between Celestina and her wishy-washy boyfriend River (Leon Bridges), who’s hours late. Set 10 years in the future and imbued with an ineffably otherworldly glow that almost makes you feel like you’ve been planted on another planet, “The Young Wife” is , and one with plenty of spiky characters and admirable visuals to pluck from.

The director is Tayarisha Poe, who made waves at Sundance in 2019 for her confidently directed feature debut “Selah and the Spades,” a deftly choreographed ensemble piece about the underground factions of a fictional boarding school. Here, with “The Young Wife,” Poe...

Jena Malone is on a mission to find a murderer in God’s house.

The “Neon Demon” star plays atheist Grace, who travels to Scotland after her brother kills himself in a nunnery for new horror film “Consecration.” However, Grace’s brother, who was a priest, is also the suspect in a murder investigation, and Grace starts to believe that he in fact was killed and did not take his own life. Once at the monastery, Grace uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own past.

Janet Suzman portrays a mother superior nun who seems to be protecting supernatural secrets in the horror film. Danny Huston is the lead investigator on the head-scratching case.

Thoren Ferguson and Will Keen also star in the film, directed by Christopher Smith. Smith also co-wrote “Consecration” along with producer Laurie Cook. The film is additionally produced by Jason Newmark, Xavier Marchand, Casey Herbert,...

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a crowd-pleasing, laugh-filled whodunit with a packed ensemble. The Rian Johnson sequel features a returning Daniel Craig as Southern gentleman detective Benoit Blanc, and this time he’s joined by fellow A-listers like Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista, as well as rising stars like Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jessica Henwick. The Netflix film begins streaming just in time for the holidays, but many fans have already watched the mystery unfold during the film’s short theatrical run in November.

The overwhelmingly positive feedback for Glass Onion singled out the heavy-hitting ensemble, but particularly heaped praise upon Janelle Monáe as Cassandra “Andi” Brand, a mysterious character whose presence is crucial to the film’s plot. No spoilers here, but Monáe delivers a finely tuned, layered performance that suggests the musician-turned-actress is continuing to level-up in front of the camera. If...

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Janelle Monáe is set to receive the SeeHer Award at the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards, which will be held at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Jan. 17.

Monáe, who received a past Critics Choice Awards nomination for best supporting actress in the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, is also nominated this year for a best supporting actress for her performance in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Her other acting credits include Lionsgate’s Antebellum, Focus Features’ Harriet, Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, Amazon’s Homecoming and A24’s Oscar-winning film Moonlight. In 2018, Monáe’s album Dirty Computer was also nominated for two Grammy Awards for album of the year and best music video.

According to the Critics Choice Association, the SeeHer Award honors a woman who advocates for gender equality, portrays characters with authenticity, defies stereotypes and pushes boundaries. Recently,...

Photo Credit: Jheyda Mcgarrell The Critics Choice Association (Cca) has announced that artist and actor Janelle Monáe will receive the seventh annual SeeHer Award at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards. The honor will be presented to her at the star-studded Critics Choice Awards gala hosted by Chelsea Handler, which will broadcast Live on The CW on Sunday, January 15 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm Et (delayed Pt – check local listings). The SeeHer Award honors a woman who advocates for gender equality, portrays characters with authenticity, defies stereotypes and pushes boundaries. SeeHer is the leading global movement for accurate portrayals of women and girls in media. A global collective of marketers, media organizations and industry influencers, SeeHer is committed to creating gender-bias-free advertising and media. Previous award recipients are Viola Davis (2017), Gal Gadot (2018), Claire Foy (2019), Kristen Bell (2020), Zendaya (2021), and Halle Berry (2022). Janelle Monáe is an eight-time Grammy®-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, performer and actor.

Add another honor to Janelle Monáe’s 2022 resume. The “Glass Onion” star is set to receive the SeeHer Award at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards in January.

Monae is the second star announced as an honorary award winner from the Critics Choice Association, following Jeff Bridges, who will take home the group’s lifetime achievement award.

The SeeHer Award “honors a woman who advocates for gender equality, portrays characters with authenticity, defies stereotypes and pushes boundaries,” Deadline reported. Previous recipients include Viola Davis, Gal Gadot, Claire Foy, Kristen Bell, Zendaya, and Halle Berry last year.

The 2023 Critics Choice Awards will take place on January 15, 2023 live from Los Angeles with Chelsea Handler set as host. The ceremony will air live on the East Coast on The CW (the show is tape-delayed for West Coast viewers).

Monáe plays a key role in Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Other recent credits include “Antebellum,...

Janelle Monáe has been set to receive the Critics Choice Association’s SeeHer Award, an honor that will be bestowed next month during the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards. She joins Jeff Bridges, who earlier this month was tapped to receive the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.

The SeeHer Award, in its seventh year, honors a woman who advocates for gender equality, portrays characters with authenticity, defies stereotypes and pushes boundaries. Previous recipients include Viola Davis, Gal Gadot, Claire Foy, Kristen Bell, Zendaya and Halle Berry last year.

Chelsea Handler hosts this year’s Critics Choice ceremony, set for January 15 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. It will air on the CW live on the East Coast and tape-delayed on the West Coast.

Monáe, an eight-time Grammy nominee, is part of the ensemble cast of Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Her recent...

Exclusive: Filmmaker David E. Talbert and his wife and producing partner Lyn Sisson-Talbert have appointed veteran entertainment exec Jim Miller as Head of Film at their production company Golden Alchemy Entertainment, at the same time bringing on Tessie Goodrich as Vice President of Development.

Golden Alchemy’s new hirings follow the Talberts’ signing of a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix for Talbert to write and direct and for the company to produce event films for the streamer. The Talberts closed the deal last year following the success of their Netflix film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, which marked the streamer’s first-ever original live-action musical. The duo produced the movie, with David also directing from his own script.

“Through our partnership with Netflix and with the help of Jim and Tessie, we’re thankful for the opportunity to continue to put fantasy and feel-good entertainment into the world,” said the Talberts in a joint statement.

It’s not a bad miracle that Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror spectacle is finally available to watch at home, with Nope now on VOD rental streaming platforms with never-before-seen deleted scenes.

Nope, written and directed by Peele was one of the must-see movies this summer, and marks the filmmaker’s third feature film, following his hits Get Out and Us. In addition to his previous two horror classics, Peele also co-wrote the Candyman reboot and served as producer on Lovecraft Country, The Twilight Zone reboot, and the time-travel thriller Antebellum.

Robert Aramayo had no idea when he first auditioned for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” that the role he was vying for was Elrond, one of the most revered and crucial characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga of Middle-earth. Hugo Weaving played Elrond in Peter Jackson’s trilogies of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” and as a kid, Aramayo had been captivated by the films. So when “The Rings of Power” co-showrunner J.D. Payne told him that he’d been cast to play Elrond as a (relatively) young man, the now 29-year-old actor couldn’t believe it.

“I had one of those moments where everything in your body feels like you’re on electricity,” he tells Variety. “I was shocked and surprised and felt really, really honored that they will consider me for him.”

It isn’t Aramayo’s first experience playing...

If the mostly by-the-numbers plot of “The Invitation,” and its eventual ridiculous twist, is tolerable at all, it’s due to the effortless effervescence that star Nathalie Emmanuel lends to this modern-day horror with gothic embellishments, as a mix-raced woman barely getting by in NYC who gets to live a British royal fantasy until it turns into a literal bloody mess.

Invoking “Twilight” and “Beauty and the Beast” with watered-down hints of “Crimson Peak,” the new feature from director Jessica M. Thompson (“The Light of the Moon”) opens with a suicide scene that insinuates the timelessness of its story. It’s here that its efforts to misdirect the audience about the type of supernatural entity we are dealing with begin.

In a more recognizable present, Evie (Emmanuel), a ceramics artist that stays afloat through catering jobs, takes a DNA test that connects her with a (white) cousin in England, Oliver...

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Very few, if any, actors have sprinted out of the blocks like Jena Malone.

After debuting in a Michael Jackson music video, the Nevada native starred in directorial debuts for Anjelica Huston and Goldie Hawn, shared the screen with Jeff Bridges and Frances McDormand, played a young Jodie Foster, got caught between Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, did a period piece with Glenn Close, got weird with Jake Gyllenhaal in a cult classic, played a ferry girl for Anthony Minghella, charmed an emo Hayden Christensen, snagged an ensemble part in a starry indie with Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and tested the convictions of Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin.

And she did it all by her 18th birthday.

Malone has continued working at a breakneck pace over the years, eventually graduating to franchise fare (The Hunger Games, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice...

There’s something above the clouds in the final trailer for Nope, director Jordan Peele’s upcoming “pop nightmare” arriving July 22.

Previous previews have teased the extraterrestrial horror mysteriously hovering over a horse ranch, and in this new, three-minute clip, fans get a taste of the UFOs tormenting and abducting citizens and tourists of the California desert town, as well as the attempts by ranch owners (played by Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya) to catch the entities on video.

“This may be an opportunity. I’m talking rich and famous for life,...

Exclusive: Marque Richardson has been cast as a series regular opposite Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo in the Onyx Collective comedy series Unprisoned, which will be streamed exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.

Created and executive produced by Tracy McMillan, the series, inspired by her life, is about a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom (Washington) whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad (Lindo) gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.

Richardson plays Mal, the caseworker at the group home from which Eddie (Lindo) has been released after sixteen years in prison.

Yvette Lee Bowser serves as executive producer and showrunner. Joy Gorman Wettels will executive produce with Anonymous Content. Jen Braeden is also an executive producer. The series is produced by ABC Signature.

Richardson recently stared in the Netflix series Dear White People,...

“House of Gucci” and “Boardwalk Empire” star Jack Huston has joined AMC’s “Mayfair Witches” TV adaptation.

Based on Rice’s “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” trilogy, AMC’s “Mayfair Witches” focuses on intuitive young neurosurgeon Dr. Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario ) who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.

Huston will be playing the role of Lasher, described as one of “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” author Anne Rice’s “most mysterious and sensual characters — a powerful, shape-shifting entity who has been bound to the Mayfair witches for hundreds of years.”

He joins previously announced series regulars, including Daddario, as exclusively reported by Variety, Harry Hamlin (Cortland Mayfair) and Tongayi Chirisa (Ciprien).

“Mayfair Witches” is written and executive produced by showrunner Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford.

Janelle Monaé will put her acting skills to the test once again in a new TV series honoring Josephine Baker's life. The eight-time Grammy-nominated artist and SAG Award winner is set to portray the iconic entertainer and civil rights activist in a forthcoming project from A24 titled "De La Resistance." Monáe will produce the new series under their Wondaland banner.

Deadline reports that the drama series will focus on Baker's glamorous, world-renowned entertainment career and her role as a French World War II spy. It's currently being fought over by multiple streamers vying to debut the special project. At this time, the series does not have a set release date.

Before news of the TV series broke, Monáe befittingly modeled her 2022 Met Gala look after Baker. They paid homage to the famous figure by wearing a black 1920s-inspired gown embellished with jewels as a nod to the icon's lavish style.

Exclusive: Jack Huston (House of Gucci) has signed on to star alongside Isabelle Fuhrman and Don Johnson in Andy Tennant’s thriller Unit 234, which is currently in production in the Cayman Islands.

In the film penned by Derek Steiner, a lone employee at a remote storage facility (Fuhrman) discovers an unconscious man locked inside Unit 234, chained to a gurney and missing a kidney. She must then fight to survive a ruthless gang, dead set on retrieving their precious cargo…at any cost.

Blythe Frank, Hadeel Reda, Lee Dreyfuss and Productivity Media’s William Santor and Doug Murray are producing, with Johnson, Colleen Camp and Radiant Films International founder Mimi Steinbauer serving as executive producers. Radiant is launching international sales of the film at the upcoming Cannes Marché du Film.

Huston recently starred alongside Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, Jared Leto and more in Ridley Scott’s Oscar-nominated drama...

What the Dormouse Said: Linden Squanders a Significant Subject in Earnest, Flat Rendering

“If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won’t save it,” wrote noted English professor Thomas C. Foster. The same can be said for any compelling narrative ‘inspired by true events,’ which unfortunately is the nagging issue with Alice, the directorial debut from Krystin Ver Linden, whose titular protagonist is a slave on a Georgia plantation eventually realizing it’s 1973 after a moment of extreme violence forces her to flee beyond the tree line.

Considering the recent discovery of a contemporary migrant slave plantation at the end of 2021, not to mention the resonance of this material with 2020’s searing horror thriller Antebellum, this was Linden’s game to lose.…...

South Korean cinema audiences turned out to see “The Batman” but little else over the weekend. That activity put “The Batman” firmly on top of the weekend box office chart, but it left overall business at deeply depressed levels.

“The Batman” earned $2.01 million between Friday and Sunday according to data from the Kobis data service operated by the Koran Film Council (Kofic). Over its full five-day opening period since Wednesday the film earned $4.24 million. That included the year’s biggest opening day (Wednesday) when the film sold over 190,000 tickets.

Over the weekend proper “The Batman” enjoyed a 67% market share, which points to a nationwide weekend aggregate of just $3.02 million, one of the slowest weekends of 2022.

The cinema business in Korea continues to be held back by extreme caution in response to high coronavirus infections, strong competition from streaming video and a dearth of local films arriving in cinemas. On Monday,...

“Uncharted” held on to the top spot at the South Korean box office for the second successive weekend, a weekend that was the quietest this year for Korean cinemas.

The Tom Holland-starring “Uncharted” grossed $1.05 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That was earned from 1,238 screens and represented 38% of the nationwide revenue aggregate. “Uncharted” now has a $4.77 million cumulative after two weekends.

Recently-published financial reports show that Korean cinema chains continued to lose vast amounts of money over the last year. And, while “Uncharted” and “The Batman” were recently cited by cinema operator Cj-cgv as offering hope for a 2022 revival, that has not happened yet. With just $2.79 million earned by all films across the entire country, the Feb. 25-27 weekend total was weaker than at any point this year.

Korean box office activity enjoyed a recent...

Jordan Peele has revealed the first trailer for the writer-director’s latest “horror epic” Nope, out July 22.

After scaring audiences with bodysnatchers in Get Out and doppelgängers in Us, Peele focuses on otherworldly terrors in his latest film, as something mysterious in the sky haunts the only black-owned Hollywood horse ranch.

Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya reunites with Peele in Nope, which also stars Keke Palmer an Steven Yuen as “residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery,” Universal Pictures said of Nope,...

When Krystin Ver Linden's "Alice" hit Sundance last month, it garnered immediate comparisons to the poorly received 2020 movie "Antebellum." Both follow enslaved Black women who suddenly realize they aren't actually living in pre-Emancipation Proclamation times, but the post-civil rights era. Now, "Alice" has a trailer, and it seems to be working hard to distinguish itself from similar shock value fare.

The trailer opens with plantation imagery as Johnny Lee Miller's character, Paul, calls the state of Georgia "our God-given land." He's a slave owner, and we see him beat one person and hold another's face as the slave tries not to pull away in fear. Then...

The post Alice Trailer: Keke Palmer Makes a Life-Altering Discovery appeared first on /Film.

Alice, the debut feature of writer-director Krystin Ver Linden, has a major pacing problem. Based on true accounts, it concerns Alice (Keke Palmer), a woman enslaved on a Georgia plantation who one day escapes and finds she’s actually living in 1973, more than 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a startling discovery, one that unsurprisingly drew more than a few comparisons to 2020’s Antebellum, a maligned horror-tinged feature with a similar setup.

While the proximity of a quite similar film has led some to besmirch Alice, the comparison actually does Ver Linden’s film a few favors. Antebellum’s use of these very real horrors as a Village-style gotcha twist cheapens the pain that film is poking at for mere shock value. Ver Linden doesn’t have any interest in playing the same kind of game with her audience. While Alice‘s first act puts in Mystery Box clues...

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‘The American Dream and...

2022 was supposed to be different: The return of the physical component of the Sundance Film Festival, with requirements such as fully boosted attendees and regular testing, was meant to return. But after omicron’s surge, the festival is now entering its second straight year as strictly a virtual affair. Nevertheless, from year to year, there’s always a difference at Sundance. It’s the films. And in this case, films directed by Black creators.

We’ve combed through this year’s lineup to select 10 exciting long-form works directed by Black folks, most making their feature debuts, which compose a diverse assortment of stories that survey academia, policing, systematic bias, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonialist themes from a uniquely Black perspective. Here are the exciting Black-helmed projects, from incisive docuseries to adventurous feature films, to look out for at this year’s Sundance.

Curious about how to re-create the magic of Sundance at home?...

As the New Year kicks off for Lionsgate, the studio has bolstered its Motion Picture Group production team with a series of hires and promotions.

Renewing his contract as EVP is James Myers who’ll take on an expanded strategic management role within the department alongside his growing slate of movies. His recent movie include videogame feature adaptation Borderlands starring Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black; the Nicolas Cage satire The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent; the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding; White Bird: A Wonder Story, a companion film to the 2017 hit and About My Father, which stars comedian Sebastian Maniscalco alongside screen legend Robert De Niro.

Returning to Lionsgate as EVP of Production is Brady Fujikawa, who recently served as Bron Studios head of development. During his previous time at Lionsgate, Fujikawa was also behind some of the studio’s upcoming...

Lionsgate has bulked up the motion picture group’s development and production teams with several new hires and promotions.

“We have an exceptionally talented and versatile development and production team. They have ramped up 16 films since the pandemic began. As we expand our department we are promoting from within, while also hiring some familiar faces and recognizing the outstanding contributions and dedication of our incredible team,” Erin Westerman, Lionsgate’s president of production said in a statement.

See the new hires and promotions below:

James Myers has renewed his contract with the studio as executive VP and will expand his strategic management role within the department. His most recent projects include “Borderlands, a video game adaptation starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black; “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” featuring Nicolas Cage in the role of Nicolas Cage; and “Shotgun Wedding” with Jennifer Lopez.

Brady Fujikawa...

Ava DuVernay and her Array Releasing company are putting out a brand-new 4K restoration of legendary Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima's "Sankofa," a groundbreaking 1993 film set around the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the powerful resistance of a group of enslaved Africans in the American South. The re-release is landing on Netflix this coming Friday, September 24, as the streamer has put out all of Array's releases since 2016. If the mise en scène rings familiar to you, it could be because the recent Janelle Monáe horror movie "Antebellum" took a page or 10 from "Sankofa," which along with...

The post Sankofa Trailer: Ava Duvernay Spearheads a 4K Restoration of a Lost Classic for Netflix appeared first on /Film.

Image of Parker Bright protesting Dana Schutz painting at the 78th Whitney Biennale“I was taught in American history books that Africa had no history, and neither did I. That I was a savage about whom the less said, the better.” —James Baldwin At the 78th Whitney Biennale, American artist Dana Schutz’s painting Open Casket conjured up controversy within the art world. The piece abstractly depicted the mangled body of fourteen year old Emmit Till after he had been tortured and lynched by two white men. Black non-binary activist and artist Parker Bright served as the catalyst for some of the important commentary in response to the work. Adorning a shirt with the words “Black Death Spectacle” scrawled across its back, they stood in front of Schutz’s painting blocking it from view. This act of protest sent waves across the art world and forced onlookers to evaluate what...

Lionsgate has promoted Marisa Liston to President of Worldwide Marketing of their motion picture group.

Liston has been leading the studio’s marketing department since March, and she’ll oversee all aspects of global for the studio’s movies across all their life cycles, from theatrical through home entertainment as well as the marketing for day-and-date releases and catalogue titles.

Liston joined Lionsgate in 2019 as EVP Earned Media and Communications for the motion picture group. She was key in one of Lionsgate’s best-ever years at the box office in 2019, developing PR campaigns behind such films as John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Knives Out, Angel Has Fallen, Rambo, and Bombshell, among others. Since then, the studio launched several films during the pandemic, including Antebellum, Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar, both of which premiered on Premium VOD; and more recently, in her interim role, Liston led the campaigns for Spiral: From the Book of Saw...