News

Turns out, when you’ve won Best Picture, most of the time, the only place you can go after that high is down.

Opening this weekend at the box office is “Mickey 17,” the first film from director Bong Joon Ho since his film won Best Picture for “Parasite” back in 2019. “Parasite” was something of a unicorn, an international film that crossed all borders and became a $259 million global commercial hit and an awards circuit sensation. Even with Robert Pattinson helping his cause, that’s going to be a tough benchmark to surpass. Warner Bros. is projecting a $40-50 million global opening weekend.

The difference this time is director Bong is working with a major studio, Warner Bros., rather than indie distributor Neon, and “Mickey 17” will open wide on 3,400 screens domestically, whereas “Parasite” at its peak only hit 2,000.

But when a director’s movie wins Best Picture, does their next one perform better?...

The Worst Person In The World producer Andrea Berentsen Ottmar and Carla Fotea of Romania’s microFILM are among 18 independent producers selected for the 34th edition of Ace Producers’ annual workshop programme.

The producers will attend three workshops throughout 2024 and 2025, developing the projects with which they applied. At the conclusion of the programme they will join the Ace Network.

Scroll down for the list of selected producers

Ottmar, producer at Norway’s Eye Eye Pictures, is participating with Stefan Faldbakken’s Slave. Ottmar is currently in production on Worst Person director Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, and produced Cannes 2024 title Armand.

After we reviewed the animated web series Lantern Blade at Fantasia we were kindly connected to the studio that made the series, Nice Boat Animation in China. Pleasantries were traded and the studio expressed their gratitude to receive some international press for their work, and we naturally offered to cover any current and future work for them down the road. To which they said, 'You know, we've got three more short films that you can look at'.   So here we are, introducing three more short films from Nice Boat Animation, The Bridge Trilogy: Bridge, Slave and Vaisravana. While Bridge and Slave are on the nose descriptions of each short, Vaisravana is a Buddhist deity, the protector of Buddhist Law. Where are our Buddhists at? ...

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

Saudi media and film production company Alamiya Filmed Entertainment (Afe) and Dubai-based Front Row Productions are joining forces on Saudi-Turkish road-trip comedy movie My Treat (Mahmool Makfool).

The feature, which is being billed as the first ever Saudi-Turkish, female-led action-comedy, will begin filming between the Saudi capital of Riyadh and the Turkish city of Istanbul in September.

The cast features Saudi stars Khairiyah Abu Laban, Nermin Mohsen, and Egyptian star Engy Wegdan.

My Treat follows the the comic misadventures of three passionate Turkish soap opera superfans on their journey from Riyadh to Istanbul.

Driven by their dream to meet their favorite Turkish actor, the trip takes an unexpected turn when they find themselves falsely accused of kidnapping the very star they idolize and entangled in their very own Turkish soap opera.

This week on the Pilot TV podcast we are diving into Apple TV+'s 60s Baltimore set drama Lady In The Lake with stars Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram, who sat down for a chat with our very own news editor Beth Webb [31:25 — 37:38 approx]. Then, back in the pod booth, James, Boyd, and Kay catch up on what they've been watching this week, including House Of The Dragon's latest episode (Spoiler Specials to follow!), Kit Harington's new play, The Acolyte's penultimate chapter, and Channel 4's Suspect, all before tackling this week's listener question: Which characters' comeuppances did we find ourselves cheering. Suffice it to say, spoilers abound for all the shows involved in the team's answers!

Elsewhere, in the news section this week the team tackle new trailers for Agatha All Along and Taika Waititi's new take on Time Bandits, Agatha Christie adaptation casting news, and a new documentary series about.

Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play. Not A Movie. A Play. is in fact a documentary self-portrait, at times providing a behind-the-scenes look at the workshopping of Harris’ provocative, Tony-nominated show. Harris––with a filmography that includes co-writing Zola, co-starring in The Sweet East, and producing Pet Shop Days––likely could have adapted Slave Play with the support of his film collaborators and may still very well do that one day. But this is not that film, or even that play.

What emerges feels, with intent, like a DVD extra for much of the first act before flipping the script as Harris mirrors Slave Play’s third act and pulls back the curtain on the making of the documentary as he sits and edits with co-editor Pete Ohs. Ohs, of course, has some experience in this department, creating the maddeningly theatrical micro-budget feature Jethica with a tiny crew and a small cast.

There are very few people in modern entertainment who court controversy like writer, actor, and producer Jeremy O. Harris. The playwright burst onto the scene in 2018 with his groundbreaking and polarizing show “Slave Play.” Following two runs on Broadway, the play is currently set to begin a run in London’s West End later this month. However, in the new HBO documentary ‘Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.’, Harris takes a different look at the play, as well as himself. The film will debut on HBO and Max on Thursday, June 20 at 9 p.m. Et. If you want to see this unique look at the work of one of our most provocative artists, you can watch with a Subscription to Max.

How to Watch ‘Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.’ When: Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 9 p.m. Et TV: HBO Stream: Watch with a Subscription to Max. Sign Up $9.99+ / month Max.com About ‘Slave Play.

Director Sergio Martino (All the Colors of the Dark) combines a monster reptile with an all-star EuroCult cast for The Great Alligator, one of the most outrageously entertaining Italian Jungle Carnage movies of them all, now in Uhd for the first time ever. At the opening of a tropical resort, a photographer (Claudio Cassinelli of Slave of the Cannibal God), an anthropologist (Barbara Bach of The Spy Who Loved Me) and an arrogant hotelier (Mel Ferrer of Eaten Alive!) are besieged by hostile natives, obnoxious tourists and a gargantuan river beast that intends to devour them all. Romano Puppo (Robowar), Richard Johnson (Zombie), and Silvia Collatina (The House by the Cemetary) co-star in this “top ten killer alligator/crocodile movie” (JoBlo), co-written by George Eastman (Anthropophagous), Cesare Frugoni (Spider Labyrinth), and Ernesto Gastaldi (Almost Human), newly scanned in 4K from the original negative.

The Great Alligator is available on 4K...

Update: After “Homeland’s” David Harewood told The Guardian that actors should be able to “Black up” for roles, but warned “it’d better be fucking good,” the actor clarified in a statement to Variety, “I don’t support or condone Blackface. My own documentary on the subject can be found on the BBC website. It is a grotesque distortion of race and should always be condemned.”

Previously: Speaking to The Guardian, Harewood, who also serves as president of prestigious British drama school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, said: “We’re at this strange point in the profession where people go: ‘Oh, you can’t play that role because you’re not disabled, or you can’t play that because you’re not really from there.’ The name of the game is acting.”

He added, “Yes, we’ve got to be representative, but I do think we have to be careful.

Live from Mount Olympus, the award-winning podcast by the Onassis Foundation, Prx and the Team, for kids and families weaves timeless Greek myths created through the artistry of contemporary theater-makers and told through the imaginative power of audio, launches season four today.

The podcast is available free on-demand on all major podcast platforms. Tony-, Emmy-, and Grammy-Award winner André De Shields returns as Hermes, host of this “GodsPod,” to tell the story of an unlikely friendship between Zeus and the young Titan Prometheus, played by Ato Blankson-Wood. New episodes will drop every Tuesday for five episodes and will then resume with a different myth for part two in October 2024.

The first three seasons of this lively, engaging podcast have been downloaded more than a million times. Now, Live from Mount Olympus Prometheus brings listeners a fast-paced adventure about a god with an unusual gift. Though Prometheus can see the future,...

Horror novelist and Horrornews.net contributor William Burke has launched his new YouTube series, The Cult Movie Museum, offering fans a quick dive into a world of unique, amazing, but often forgotten films.

“I wanted to create a guide for fans of eclectic films that was concise, useful and entertaining. Most of the shows I’ve seen on the YouTube platform are either too long, too sarcastic or just plain mean spirited. Plus, a thirty-minute review of a seventy-minute film is pure self-indulgence. I keep the episodes to around six minutes, so the viewer gets the information they need, while being entertained. Then they can track down the films and make their own choices.”

While The Cult Movie Museum features celebrated films like The Beyond and The Abominable Dr. Phibes, it also spotlights forgotten gems like Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural and The Flesh Eaters.

Research is one...

Sci-fi thriller Slave (Abed) by Mansour Assad and Raven Song by Mohamed Al Salman took the top prizes at the ninth edition of the Saudi Film Festival, running from May 4 to 12 in the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Slave (Abed) won the festival’s Golden Palm for best film, while Raven Song clinched the jury prize.

Mansour Assad’s Slave revolves around a couple who make a movie that results in anger and backlash from society. They are given the option of staying in the present or going back in time to rectify the action that enraged their community.

Slave also clinched best screenplay for Rulan Hasan and editing for Assad.

Raven Song follows a man who is wrongly diagnosed with a brain tumor after he starts having hallucinations. The film also walked away with Golden Palms for best cinematography and actor for Asim Al-Auad.

Read the Deadline...

Jenna Ortega has revealed that she initially rejected the offer of playing Wednesday Addams.

The 20-year-old actor stars in the hit show Wednesday, which has become one of Netflix’s most popular shows.

It ranks behind Stranger Things 4 as the streaming giant’s most-watched English-language series of all time.

Despite this, Ortega has revealed that she actually turned down multiple offers to star in her breakthrough role.

“I got the email, passed on it,” she told The Times, . “I had done so much TV in my life. All I’ve ever wanted to do is film…You have to prove yourself. It’s only in the last three or four years that I’ve been able to start going up for film.

“I was scared that by signing on to another television show it could prevent me from doing other jobs I really wanted and cared about.”

Ortega said the...

The long-awaited, pandemic-postponed 74th Annual Tony Awards will be a two-hour, streaming-only ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 26, available on ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ platform and followed immediately by a special two-hour CBS broadcast celebration of Broadway’s return.

The broadcast portion of the four-hour Broadway themed evening will include the live presentation of only three Tony Awards: Best Play, Best Revival of a Play and Best Musical. Though other winners will be celebrated throughout the broadcast, including performances from the three Tony-nominated Best Musical contenders, the awards ceremony itself will be livestreamed from an as-yet-unannounced Broadway venue at 7 p.m. Et/4 p.m. Pt exclusively on Paramount+.

The two-hour CBS broadcast special, The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!, beginning at 9 p.m. Et/6 p.m. Pt, is being described as a live concert event featuring Broadway entertainers and Tony Award winners performing “beloved classics” to “celebrate the joy and magic of live theatre.

The following recap, by the very definition of the word recap, contains major spoilers from The Mandalorian‘s Season 2 finale.

The Mandalorian sought to rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon’s clutches in the Disney+ hit’s Season 2 finale — and along the way, he got an unexpected helping hand.

More from TVLineGrantchester Recap: Will's Fate Rests in Geordie's HandsDermot Mulroney Teases Secret Invasion Prez's Revenge Quest, Reveals 'Deep Cut' Past TV Role Quentin Tarantino 'Loved'Ms. Marvel to Make Broadcast Debut on ABC Later This Summer

A gloved helping hand, from no less than Luke Skywalker himself.

Mando & Co.’s overall rescue plan unfurled pretty perfectly.

Blame the coronavirus for this year’s drastically reduced roster of eligible Tony Award nominees, and Tony nominators for overlooking at least a few possibilities. Even with only 18 Broadway productions in the running for a 2020 award, feelings were bound to be hurt.

Let’s start with the good news: The list of nominees for the 74th Annual Tony Awards is a solid one, with no noticeable contenders – at least to my eye – sneaking in due to the decreased competition. Good luck to voters parsing their choices for one castmate over another – Sea Wall/A Life‘s Jake Gyllenhaal or Tom Sturridge? Slave Play‘s Ato Blankson-Wood or James Cusati-Moyer, and Chalia La Tour or Annie McNamara? Jagged Little Pill‘s Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding or Lauren Patten?

Of course we’ll never know how the list would be different if Six, West Side Story...

In an unprecedented year for the Broadway community, the Tony Awards just gifted theatre fans with a reason to celebrate: Jeremy O. Harris’ audacious and brilliant “Slave Play” now holds the record for the most play nominations in a single season with a whopping dozen.

That eclipses by one the benchmark set by the 2018 revival of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” which scored 11 bids including Best Revival, Director (Marianne Elliott), Actor (Andrew Garfield), Featured Actor (Nathan Lane), two in Featured Actress, Original Score, and Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designs. “Angels” took home three trophies for Revival, Garfield, and Lane.

See the complete list of 2020 Tony Awards nominees

“Slave Play” leap-frogged “Angels in America” in part because of its impressive showing in the acting categories. From its all-around sensational ensemble five reaped bids: Lead Actress (Joaquina Kalukango), two Featured Actors and two Featured Actresses. Its strongest competitor, “The Inheritance,...

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” just won three Golden Globes, more than any other film: Best Film Comedy/Musical, Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Screenplay (Quentin Tarantino). Those happen to be the exact three awards that “Green Book” won last year. Normally I’d look at something like that as a coincidence, but “Green Book” won that exact same trifecta at the Oscars, and it’s a trio of wins that have become surprisingly common in recent years.

“Green Book” won those three Globes, and it also won those three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) and Best Original Screenplay.

SEEGolden Globes: Complete list of winners in all 25 races

Before that “Moonlight” (2016) won in the same three fields: Picture — supporting acting and writing — when it claimed the top prize, Best Supporting Actor (Ali won for that too) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney...

Exclusive: James Cusati-Moyer, currently starring in Broadway’s Slave Play after originating his role in the sold-out Off Broadway production, is now a Paradigm client.

In Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, Cusati-Moyer plays Dustin, an actor in an interracial relationship who refuses to identify as caucasian, though others are all too eager to do so for him. He originated the role at the New York Theatre Workshop staging, and is now on Broadway through the show’s run ending Jan. 19, 2020.

Cusati-Moyer’s often comic performance has been singled out by many critics. He made his Broadway debut in Trip Cullman’s Tony-nominated revival of Six Degrees of Separation alongside Allison Janney. Other theater credits include Terrence McNally’s Fire and Air at Classic Stage Company and ‘Romeo’ in Westport Country Playhouse’s Romeo and Juliet.

Television credits include appearances on Fox’s Prodigal Son, Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,...

A raft of newcomers and previewers on Broadway’s box office roster kept the industry tally afloat last week, with a total of 29 productions reporting a combined weekly gross of $29,092,571. That’s a 12% jump over the previous week, with total attendance rising a commensurate 13% to 253,685.

The figure loses a bit of sparkle, though, when the roster count is considered – the 29 shows were four more than the previous week’s 25. Most of the newcomers just haven’t caught fire yet, nearly all of the buzzed-about previewers, from The Great Society to Slave Play, grossing well below their potentials.

But keep in mind, with the exception of Freestyle Love Supreme at the Booth, all of the newcomers are non-musicals; no one’s expecting Hadestown welcomes. So on that note, and in order of opening nights:

Derren Brown: Secret, the ecstatically reviewed evening of illusion and trickery, opened at the Cort Theatre last night,...

Beware and tread lightly, as Satan has once again erupted from the bowels of Hell to let loose another firestorm of insidious worship, gratuitous nudity and gore! Well, we’re in the ‘70s and he never really left anyway; the box office was very kind to the Horned One in that decade, and Vinegar Syndrome has polished up another one for a sparkling Blu-ray release, Satan’s Slave (1976).

This film was Norman J. Warren’s first horror outing after helming a couple of nudie flicks in the late ‘60s; a sign of the times, a lot of directors entered through the green door before seeking the slightly more reputable terror genre. Of the Warren’s I’ve seen (which is admittedly few), Satan’s Slave is the most accomplished and controlled, and a welcome addition to the coven of Satanic horror.

Let’s meet Catherine Yorke (Candace Glendenning – The Flesh...

Tanith Glynn-Maloney (Photo credit: Dylan River)

Tanith Glynn-Maloney has joined Bunya Productions in the third Indigenous producer placement for the production company owned by David Jowsey, Ivan Sen and Greer Simpkin.

Tanith, who produced She Who Must Be Loved, Erica Glynn’s biopic of Freda Glynn which had its international premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, will spend a year working across Bunya’s film and TV slate.

The placement is funded by Screen Australia’s Indigenous Screen Business Fund, which aims to help build business capacity within the Indigenous screen production sector.

Her appointment follows Gillian Moody’s placement last year. Gillian went on to produce Black Divaz for Sbs.

Mitch Stanley, who produced the documentary Servant or Slave , was also part of the Screen Australia Indigenous Producer Placement program. He has joined the Bunya Talent Hub and is developing and producing a slate of Indigenous-led projects.

Will Guillermo del Toro win best director on Sunday? Will DoP Roger Deakins finally lay his hands on the prize? Follow Sunday’s 90th annual Academy Awards live here.

The first award of the night at the 90th annual Academy Awards has gone to Sam Rockwell for best actor in a supporting role for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Show host Jimmy Kimmel, in his second consecutive year in the role, kicked off the evening with a reference to last year’s best picture mix-up, before referencing the Hollywood sex scandal and speaking in favour of change.

“This year when you hear your name called,...

Will Guillermo del Toro win best director on Sunday? Will DoP Roger Deakins finally lay his hands on the prize? Follow Sunday’s 90th annual Academy Awards live here.

Fox Searchlight’s The Shape Of Water heads into the 90th annual Academy Awards on Sunday (March 4) with 13 nominations and is the clear front-runner. However there could well be triumphs along the way for Focus Features, Universal and Neon with the likes of Darkest Hour, Get Out and I, Tonya all in play, as well as Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Another tumultuous year for Hollywood has brought the...

Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army Captain (Christian Bale), who after stern resistance, reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico, to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow (Rosamund Pike), whose family was murdered on the plains. Together, they must join forces to overcome the punishing landscape, hostile Comanche and vicious outliers that they encounter along the way. Hostiles is directed by Scott Cooper (Black Mass, Out of the Furnace, Crazy Heart) and produced by John Lesher (Black Mass, Birdman, Fury) and Ken Kao (The Nice Guys, Knight of Cups). The film stars: Christian Bale (The Big Short, American Hustle, The Dark Knight) Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Jack Reacher), Wes Studi (Avatar, Heat, Geronimo), Adam Beach (Suicide Squad,...

Enter here for your chance to win a pair of passes to an advance screening of the new film, Hostiles, starring Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike.

For your chance to receive a pair of complimentary passes to see the new film Hostiles at the AMC Livonia Theater on Tuesday, January 4th at 7:00Pm, just look for the “Enter the Contest” box further down on this page. But hurry because there are a limited number of passes available and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

About The Film

Hostiles: Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army Captain (Christian Bale), who after stern resistance, reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico, to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals...

New films on Screenbase this week include the directorial debuts of Michael Lennox and Rachel Tunnard, Terry Jones’ economics doc and Chris Crow’s The Lighthouse.

Boardwalk Empire star Stephen Graham leads the cast of Michael Lennox’s feature debut A Patch of Fog, beginning principal photography in Northern Ireland next week.

The Fyzz Facility production follows a celebrated novelist and TV personality who finds his reputation on the line when his life invaded by a lonely security guard who catches him shoplifting.

Graham will star alongside Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), Arsher Ali (Four Lions) and Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones).

Producers are Robert Jones (The Usual Suspects), Wayne Marc Godfrey (Cake) and David Gilbery (Bone Tomahawk) for The Fyzz Facility with backing from The Fyzz Facility, Northern Ireland Screen and the BFI.

Tunnard’s feature debut

Principal photography has wrapped on UK comedy How To Live Yours starring Jodie Whittaker.

The film, about...

This week is the lightest in recent memory with only four (barely) notable horror releases. Synapse Films' 100th release, Robert Young’s classic Vampire Circus, will be gracing our screens and so will Dear Mr. Gacy, the adaptation of The Last Victim, the memoirs of Jason Moss, who corresponded with serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Read on to see what the other two are.

Vampire Circus (1972)

Directed by Robert Young

Starring David Prowse, Robert Tayman, Anthony Higgins, Thorley Walters

A little girl is brutally slain by a vampire in a tiny 19th century Austrian village. Seeking revenge, the townspeople invade the foreboding castle of Count Mitterhaus and kill him for the crime. As the Count falls, he curses the villagers and vows that their children will all die so that he may someday return to life. 15 years later, as the village is ravaged by the plague, a traveling circus...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Gasland" (2010)

Directed by Josh Fox

Released by New Video Group

"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"

Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg

Released by Mpi Home Video

"Exit Through the Gift Shop" (2010)

Directed by Banksy

Released by Oscilloscope Laboratories

If you haven't caught up on the year's best documentaries in time to fill out your top 10 list, three of them will be hitting DVD shelves this week, beginning with Josh Fox's Sundance award-winning "Gasland," an exploration of the "hydraulic fracturing" going on in own backyard, a type of drilling that has spread to 34 states in the U.S. and has left a host of reservoirs of toxic waste and frequent gas explosions along the way. For something less serious, but equally compelling, there is also Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," which follows the...

by Ed Sum

2/5

Director: Darryn W. Welch.

Writer: Brett Goldstein.

Often, one is a slave to the most basic of desires. Sex, drugs and adultery is one way to sum this film up, but for Darryn Welch's movie simply titled Slave (from Lightning Entertainment), it bears other meanings. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and that's the message this film tries to convey. Sadly, the message doesn't get picked up unless one goes through multiple watchings of this DVD release, and afterwards, one spends time thinking about just what went on?

The plot seems simple enough. The attractive girlfriend, Georgie (Natassia Malthe) wants to meet David Dunsmore's (Sam Page) paternal side of the family. She wonders how David will turn out when he's old and grey, and gets more than she bargained for. While Page’s performance is adequate in this film, Michael Maxwell's role as the father,...

Lightning EntertainmentLightning Entertainment and Phase 4 Films will deliver another shocker December 14th. The film is called Slave and the plotline follows a shady Arabian businessman, who is building a modern day harem. Slave is reportedly based on "actual events" (Lightning), but from some initial research there is no way to confirm this. However, the film's DVD artwork has been released and is seen left. As well, there is an external trailer available for this Instinctive Film (Night Train) production. Have a look at all the details here, until a review is published on this title in a couple weeks.

The synopsis for Slave is here:

"When David’s (Sam Page) fiancé Georgie (Natassia Malthe) is kidnapped whilst on a vacation in Spain, she becomes the trophy of a dangerous and masochistic psychopath known as the White Arab (David Gant). She has been taken to The Boat, a floating pleasure palace...

Elton John's Honky Château is a rich, warm, satisfying album that stands head and shoulders above the morass of current releases and has now succeeded in toppling the Stones from the top spot on the charts in only three weeks. Musically more varied, emotionally less contrived, lyrically more lucid than Tumbleweed Connection, Château rivals Elton John as his best work to date and evidences growth at every possible level.

The core of Tumbleweed was lyricist Bernie Taupin's confused evocation of the American past, especially the Civil War epoch.