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Italian director Enrico Maria Artale wasn’t scared of referencing Jacques Audiard’s 2009 Oscar-nominated drama in his eight-episode series “A Prophet,” now premiering in Venice. But others were.

“Many French directors refused to do the series before they offered it to me. It was probably out of fear – they were afraid to touch something that was so famous and beautiful, and meaningful. Or maybe it was out of respect for the institution that is Jacques Audiard,” he says.

“For me, he’s always been a master – even before ‘The Prophet.’ I loved ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped.’ But I just thought it was a unique opportunity to work on something I’ve admired so much.”

Sold by Studiocanal and created by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit, the Canal+ Original Creation “A Prophet” – taking place contemporarily – sees Malik (Mamadou Sidibé), a young African immigrant, trying to survive in a French prison.

Netflix invested $200m in Thai content from 2021-2024, making significant contributions to the local creative economy, tourism and global recognition, according to its first impact report in the country.

The streaming giant created more than 20 original Thai shows and films, and employed more than 13,500 local cast and crew during the period, generating more than 750 million viewing hours on Netflix. In addition, more than 15 Thai originals have made it to Netflix’s global top 10 non-English list, including Mad Unicorn, Master Of The House and Hunger.

The impact report was unveiled at a media event in Bangkok today (August 20) where government officials,...

Netflix invested $200m in Thai content from 2021-2024, making significant contributions to the local creative economy, tourism and global recognition, according to its first impact report in the country.

The streaming giant created more than 20 original Thai shows and films, and employed more than 13,500 local cast and crew during the period, generating more than 750 million viewing hours on Netflix. In addition, more than 15 Thai originals have made it to Netflix’s global top 10 non-English list, including Mad Unicorn, Master Of The House and Hunger.

The impact report was unveiled at a media event in Bangkok today (August 20) where government officials,...

In his feature film debut, The Occupant, writer and director Hugo Keijzer tackles the world of science fiction. More specifically, he uses sci-fi to tell the story of a geologist’s desperate attempts to save her sister’s life. In honor of the film’s release, we have an exclusive clip to give you a taste of what’s to come in this sci-fi thriller.

In the new film:

Desperate to save her sister, Abby takes a dangerous job in the remote Georgian wilderness. Stranded in the mountains after her helicopter crashes, she finds hope through John, a mysterious helper radioing from nearby. As he guides her through the harsh conditions, Abby struggles to survive, and her grip on reality falters until she is faced with an impossible choice.

Watch our exclusive clip from the film that teases what caused that mysterious crash…

Ella Balinska (Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels), Rob Delaney...

Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping, the fifth installment in The Hunger Games saga and the second prequel after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, almost featured an older Haymitch Abernathy in the lead.

Speaking with David Levithan via Scholastic, she revealed toying with the idea of writing the novel through the voice of an older Haymitch, but eventually settled with his younger version:

I played around with it both ways, but I found that younger Haymitch speaks directly to the YA audience the best. An older person reflecting back on their youth or shifting into a child’s perspective is harder to pull off.

Familiar to fans as the mentor of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Haymitch leads the story exploring his younger days as part of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.

Haymitch’s Journey in the Second Quarter Quell Shaped The Hunger Games...

After several years of making short films, Hugo Keijzer has made his feature directorial debut with the survival thriller The Occupant – and we’re going to have the chance to see how the film has turned out very soon! Decal Releasing will be giving The Occupant a theatrical and VOD release in the United States on August 8th, and with that date just four weeks away, a trailer has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above.

The film had its premiere at the 2025 SXSW London Film Festival just last month, and the reactions that came out of its two screenings there were quite positive.

Keijzer wrote the screenplay with Philip Michael Howe, Roelof Jan Minneboo, and Xiao Tang, crafting a story that centers on Abby, a desperate geologist who takes a high-paying, high-risk mining job in the remote wilds of Northern Georgia to fund her sister’s experimental cancer treatment.

A plane crash survival movie reveals itself to be a science fiction thriller in The Occupant starring Ella Balinska (“Resident Evil”) and Rob Delaney (“Dying for Sex”), and it’s headed our way next month. Watch the official trailer for The Occupant below.

The film from director Hugo Keijzer hits theaters and Digital August 8 from Decal.

In The Occupant, “Desperate to save her sister, Abby (Ella Balinska) takes a dangerous job in the remote Georgian wilderness. Stranded in the mountains after her helicopter crashes, she finds hope through John (Rob Delaney), a mysterious helper radioing from nearby.

“As he guides her through the harsh conditions, Abby struggles to survive, and her grip on reality falters until she is faced with an impossible choice.”

Stuart Graham (Hunger) and Vanessa Ifediora (Rose’s War) also star.

The post ‘The Occupant’ Trailer – Ella Balinska & Rob Delaney Star in Sci-fi Survival Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!

New cast additions to the next The Hunger Games movie have just been unveiled. Lionsgate has revealed that eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close and Pose star Billy Porter have joined the star-studded ensemble of Sunrise on the Reaping.

As with previous casting announcements, Lionsgate revealed the news on the official Hunger GamesX account with some stylish reveal videos. Close has been tapped to play Drusilla Sickle, a Capitol chaperone for the District 12 tributes during the 50th Hunger Games. She is married to Magno Stift, the District 12 tributes' stylist for the 50th Hunger Games, who Porter will be playing in the prequel movie. Close and Porter's casting in Sunrise on the Reaping comes roughly a month after Kieran Culkin was announced to be portraying a young Caesar Flickerman in the movie, a role previously played by Stanley Tucci in the original Hunger Games film quadrilogy.

Drusilla Sickle.The Hunger Games: Sunrise...

Netflix’s long-awaited adaptation of the beloved video game series Splinter Cell has now debuted footage for fans – and the reception has been glowing. Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is an animated adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, and has been developed by Ubisoft Film & Television and animation studios Sun Creature and Fost. The series is directed by Guillaume Dousse and Félicien Colmet-Daage, and finds John Wick and Nobody's Derek Kolstad on board as head writer.

After being announced all the way back in 2020, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is now expected to land on the streamer this year, with Ubisoft execs recently showing several clips to eager fans at Annecy Animation Festival, who reportedly went "wild" over what they saw. As per a report by Deadline, the clips featured the series’ protagonist Sam Fisher, voiced by Ray Donovon , as he throws himself into epic fight scenes and car chases.

As...

Delighted Splinter Cell fans were shown a trio of clips from the upcoming animated Deathwatch series today at Annecy as Ubisoft execs gave them a peek into the making of the highly-anticipated Netflix adaptation.

The audience at a packed Salle Pierre Lamy were shown three clips featuring the first appearance of protagonist Sam Fisher, voiced by Liev Schreiber, an epic fight scene and a car chase.

The creative team talked the crowd through the various influences that have had such an impact on the TV version, which fast forwards Fisher’s story to 2025. One of Ubisoft’s flagship franchises, the hugely popular game series follows Fisher, the highly trained agent of a fictional black-ops sub-division within the Nsa, dubbed “Third Echelon”, as he overcomes his adversaries. Having first been announced in 2020, the Ubisoft series will air later this year on Netflix.

Director Guillaume Dousse said he approached the immense task...

After releasing Secrets of the Coven – the second of three Kingdoms game mode adventure modules for Darkest Dungeon II – earlier this month to PC and PlayStation, Red Hook Studios has brought the module to the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series. Along with adding a new Kingdoms quest, the free update adds a new enemy faction, new mechanics & items, as well as a number of community-requested Kingdoms features, including inn storage, item selling, and more.

“Secrets of the Coven is strikingly different to the initial Kingdoms offering, Hunger of the Beast Clan,” says Chris Bourassa, Red Hook Studios Creative Director. “The pacing, mechanics, and quest flow all have a remarkably distinct feel, to say nothing of the enemy faction itself. Our team has pushed into new and exciting territory with this one, and we’re eagerly awaiting our players reactions!”

For those that missed Aaron’s review of the new game mode,...

Leonardo DiCaprio Almost Played Hans Landa ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Quentin Tarantino delivered something sharp and unpredictable with Inglourious Basterds. After the blood-soaked frenzy of Kill Bill and the grindhouse style of Death Proof, this World War II tale felt like a shift, not only for himself, but to his fans as well.

The movie still had his signature energy, but there was more precision to it. A group of soldiers led by Aldo Raine slicing through the Nazi ranks, and a young Jewish woman named Shosanna setting fire to revenge using cinema itself sounds like Tarantino was having fun with history.

Leonardo DiCaprio Was Nearly Cast As Hans Landa

The 2009 Tarantino classic eventually became a hit, but the path to it wasn’t smooth. Tarantino spent years shaping the story, sometimes even thinking about turning it into a TV series. But, along the way, casting plans changed, and some of...

Elle Fanning is ready to volunteer as tribute for Lionsgate‘s Hunger Games prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. For what might be the most fitting casting yet, Fanning will play Effie Trinket in the latest installment of the Hunger Games film franchise. Elizabeth Banks played Effie in the original Hunger Games films, lighting up the screen whenever she’d smile through the pain and swish around in the latest Panem fashions.

Effie Trinket is the escort for District 12 tributes and acts as an advisor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the original films (and novels). She chaperones the tributes to the Capitol and other events. She also acts as a stylist, ensuring her tributes stand out. After the Second Rebellion, she is the only living escort from the 74th and 75th Hunger Games.

Elle Fanning joins Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird,...

The Hunger Games alum Rachel Zegler had the most iconic reaction to the casting of President Snow in the upcoming Sunrise on the Reaping film. The prequel film, based on the book of the same name, focuses on Haymitch's experience at the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Set 40 years after the events of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesand 24 years before the first book in the original trilogy, the story features an older Coriolanus Snow, now president of Panem, prompting a much-speculated-about recast.

Reacting to the latest post from Lionsgate and the official Hunger GamesInstagram account, where it was announced that Ralph Fiennes would be playing President Snow in the new Hunger Games film, Zegler commented: "Not my movie ex being Voldemort."Her comment quickly took off across social media, with people immediately recognizing the sly callback to Lucy Gray, her character in Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,...

Night Edge Pictures and Thai-u.S. sales outfit Est N8 have unveiled the first looks at horror-thriller “Delivery Man,” starring Bhumibhat “Aim” Thavornsiri, Plearnpichaya “Junéi” Komalarajun and Ananda Everingham, to buyers at the Cannes Film Market.

The Bangkok-based Night Edge Pictures production follows a socially awkward, tech-savvy food delivery worker who develops a dangerous obsession with a female customer on his delivery route.

Thavornsiri, who recently swept Thai awards season with his performance in “In Youth We Trust” and has appeared in Netflix’s “Hunger” and “Doi Boy,” takes the lead role of Guy. Komalarajun, known for “Omg! Oh My Girl” and “Love Stuck,” portrays Sai, an architect who becomes Guy’s target in what the filmmakers describe as her most intense role to date.

Veteran actor Everingham, known for the “Khun Pan” trilogy and horror classic “Shutter,” rounds out the main cast.

“Delivery Man”

The film is written and...

After a raft of project announcements earlier this year, Netflix has offered a closer look at its 2025 film lineup from the Asia Pacific region at a special content showcase in Tokyo.

Netflix’s recent big-budget Hollywood film output has had its detractors, but the streamer’s Asian film production has been on something of a critical and cultural hot streak in the last few years, with the likes of Unlocked (Korea), The Call (Korea), Kill Boksoon (Korea), The Shadow Strays (Indonesia), Hunger (Thailand) and the just released Bullet Train Explosion (Japan) all breaking out of their home markets and finding a global audience, with one or two even topping the streamer’s worldwide charts.

Presented by Netflix’s top Apac executives from Japan, India, South Korea and Southeast Asia, the showcase proved to be an opportunity for the streamer to flex its regional muscle and show off a diverse slate of genre movies,...

This past March, author Suzanne Collins continued to delve into the "Hunger Games" universe by dropping the novel "Sunrise on the Reaping," a story that takes place about 24 years before the original "The Hunger Games" novel. It chronicles the tale of 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, showing how the character won the 50th Hunger Games (aka the Second Quarter Quell), putting him in line to become the mentor figure to Katniss Everdeen in the original trilogy of novels and the four initial "Hunger Games" movies. After the initial trilogy of Collins' novels, the book is the second consecutive prequel novel, following 2020's "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes."

In similar fashion to that latter novel being quickly adapted into a film version in 2023, "Sunrise on the Reaping" was tapped for the big screen treatment almost a full year before the book was even published, and regular "Hunger Games" director Francis Lawrence will...

Netflix is doubling down on Southeast Asian genre content with two zombie horror films that promise to reinvent the subgenre with distinctive local flavors, the company revealed during the ongoing Apac film showcase in Tokyo.

Malobika Banerji, senior director of content for Southeast Asia at Netflix, unveiled first looks at “The Elixir” from Indonesia and “Ziam” from Thailand, both slated for 2025 releases.

“The Elixir,” directed by acclaimed Indonesian horror auteur Kimo Stamboel, centers on a fractured family fighting to escape a zombie outbreak triggered by a traditional Javanese herbal elixir. The film stars Mikha Tambayong, Eva Celia, and Donny Damara, with Stamboel bringing his signature immaculate visual style and penchant for gore to the project.

Stamboel comes with horror credentials, including his work as part of The Mo Brothers directing duo and his recent box office success “Dancing Village: The Curse Begins,” which attracted over four million theatrical viewers.

For “Ziam,...

Even the best directors can end up with a clunker now and then. Maybe they had a grand vision that was destroyed by studio interference, maybe their actors weren't up to snuff, or maybe things just didn't coalesce on screen the way they had imagined. There's no shame in swinging for the fences and missing. But there are a storied few directors out there who defy the odds and simply don't have a single bad film to their name. "Failure?" they ask. "Never heard of her."

Now, this isn't to say that all of their movies are on the same level of excellence -- that's just plain impossible. Even amongst these elite filmmakers, the quality of their efforts vary. But what we can say, in our humble opinion and with Rotten Tomatoes receipts to back us up, is that each and every director on this list may have made films...

Bruce Tobey has signed a new multiyear agreement with Lionsgate to continue as executive vp and general counsel through March 2028.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Lionsgate disclosed that as of April the exec will receive an annual base salary of $1,200,000 with a target annual bonus that’s 85 percent of his base salary.

He joined the studio in March 2023 and led a team preparing for the full separation of Lionsgate and Starz into standalone publicly-traded companies. Tobey will also continue serving as executive vp and general counsel of Lionsgate Studios, a post he filled in May 2024.

The John Wick and Hunger Games studio is set to complete a planned separation into two publicly traded companies ahead of a shareholders vote planned for April 23. The first, Lgec, will be renamed Starz Entertainment Corp., and the second will be called Lionsgate Studios Corp., in which the studio will hold an 87 percent stake.

There's a new The Hunger Games prequel coming up. Following the recent release of the fifth book in the franchise, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, an adaptation will follow late next year.

Sunrise on the Reaping will take place after the events of the previously released prequel novel and adaptation, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which came out in 2023, but before the original films and novels. It will follow fan-favorite character Haymitch Abernathy, whose adult version was played by Woody Harrelson in the original The Hunger Games films. Set to start production fairly soon, Nexus Point News claims Charlie Plummer is eyed to play the young Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping.

Charlie Plummer has been acting for over a decade and a half, and he has been in different critically acclaimed productions and worked with many critically acclaimed actors and directors. He appeared in Ridley Scott...

Fans are eagerly awaiting the news of who will play a young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Now, the franchise film producer has broken their silence about finding someone to fill the role previously played by Woody Harrelson. The latest entry inThe Hunger Gamesfranchise hit bookshelves on Mar. 18, 2025, and passionate fans are already speed-reading through the prequel story that follows Haymitch Abernathy and his road to victory in the 50th annual Hunger Games. A film adaptation is already well into development, with a release date set for Nov. 20, 2026, but still no casting has emerged.

Speaking with Variety, franchise producer Nina Jacobson spoke about the acting process for Haymitch. Part of the reason no decision has been made yet? "Because of this early manuscript not being published, we haven’t even been able to read actors for fear that sides could leak," said Jacobson. Jacobson said they...

Michael Fassbender details the most challenging scene for him to film in his new movie. The X-Men actor, best known for playing Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, in 20th Century Fox's X-Men saga, has a diverse career outside of superhero movies. He portrayed Bobby Sands in the historical drama Hunger, and has starred in Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. In the comedy space, Fassbender left a memorable performance as a coach of the American Samoa soccer team in Next Goal Wins.

In recent years, Fassbender has been deep in the thriller/spy genre. Following his journey portraying an assassin in David Fincher's 2023 film The Killer, the actor starred in the 2024 Paramount+/Showtime spy series The Agency, where he plays thecovert CIA agent Martian, who struggles to cut ties with an old flame after his mission has come to an end. Fassbender's new 2025 film further sees him in...

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes’true love first blossomed poetically on screen. Gosling often defines his performances through understatement, from a vintage heartthrob in The Notebook to a brooding protector in what this author thinks is the best film ever, Drive, while still featuring in blockbusters like the pink phenomenon, Barbie. Mendes, now happily embracing the beauty of motherhood and entrepreneurship, also dedicated herself to acting, delving into roles like the complicated mistress of Denzel Washington's character in Training Day to a cynical gossip columnist in Hitch, showing she also had the range to tackle both dramatic and comedic contexts.

However, there’s a strong case that their finest work came when they shared the screen in the same movie: Derek Cianfrance's 2012 morality tale The Place Beyond the Pines.The ambitious, multi-generational film brought the couple together off-screen while testing the actors with roles that demanded intensity. In this atmospheric exploration of family,...

We here at JoBlo.com love us some Michael Fassbender. From Hunger to Inglourious Basterds to 12 Years a Slave to pretty much any of his upcoming projects, the man is one of the finest actors of his generation. But it’s not like he lands every role he wants. He has been open about inadvertently sabotaging his own audition for James Bond by pushing Daniel Craig instead of himself, but he’s missed out on major parts in worse ways than that.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Michael Fassbender remembered trying to land the role of Max Rockatansky for George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road. But it went about as bad as it could, with the actor remembering it was straight-up awful. For starters, he was late to meet with Miller by nearly an hour. Frazzled, he said he didn’t have his bearings when he did...

Known for his contributions to the documentary medium with epic portraits like “The Vietnam War” and “Baseball,” Ken Burns took to the Criterion Closet recently to express his appreciation for narrative cinema and how, for him, “becoming a filmmaker was born in tragedy.” Burns shared that his mother passed from cancer when he was only 11 and soon after, his father introduced him to cinema as a way of coping.

“My dad, who had never cried before in his life — not during her illness, not when she died, not at her impossibly sad funeral — would let me stay up late and watch films,” Burns said, “He’d take me out to the Cinema Guild in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and we’d look at films together of all sorts. And I got my education there and decided to become a filmmaker when he showed me one night Sir Carol Reed’s ‘Odd Man Out...

Thai production outfit Night Edge Pictures has locked in its lead cast for the upcoming horror-thriller “Delivery Man,” with Bhumibhat Thavornsiri, Plearnpichaya Komalarajun, and Ananda Everingham joining the project, it was unveiled during Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM).

The deal was orchestrated by U.S.-Thai film global sales, production, and finance company Est N8’s team of Tenten Wei, Sophie Shi, and Cathy Ni, adding to their growing slate of Asian content which includes MD Pictures’ “Sorop,” December’s box office leader “Hutang Nyawa,” and the Fantasia best director award-winning Korean action film “Mash Ville.”

“Delivery Man,” which blends Korean cinema’s suspenseful pacing with Thailand’s signature storytelling approach, delves into the dark underbelly of stalker culture. The project comes from the directing duo Ornusa Donsawai and Pun Homchuen, who co-wrote the script with Kongkiat Komesiri.

Thavornsiri (known as Aim) takes the lead as Guy, a socially...

Actress, singer, songwriter Ella Bleu Travolta, the daughter of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, poses for the 2025 issue of “Hunger” magazine, wearing Chanel, photographed by Andrew Yee:

“Acting is the first thing that I knew I wanted to try to do,” Travolta said.

“But the only opportunity I get to act is when I’m auditioning or have an actual project going on. It’s not much of a one person process creatively.”

“I’ve always loved singing, but I didn’t think I could write a song. I just had less confidence in that.”

“I’d be doing something random, like walking or driving, and a melody or a few lyrics would pop into my head and I’d record it on a voice memo.Then I’d sit down with a ukulele and start playing chords and make it more into a song…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

The first trailer for Marvel Studios' "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" just dropped, kicking off Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The highly-anticipated trailer offers us a glimpse of the film's 1960s retro-futurist setting, in which Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are seen navigating several superhero-related challenges. These four do-gooders are not just allies working together but something akin to a family, and each one of them has undergone a life-altering transformation after a certain incident that is alluded to for a few seconds. Before the trailer dives into the team's superhero shenanigans, however, we are treated to a sweet moment between Ben/The Thing and the humanoid experimental robot H.E.R.B.I.E, who are seen cooking dinner together at the Baxter Building.

While we do not see Reed in action or using...

For months, fans of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games franchise have been highly anticipating the release of her new prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping. Scheduled for release on March 18, 2025, Sunrise on the Reaping will revolve around the events of the 50th Hunger Games—also known as the Second Quarter Quell. A Quarter Quell is different from a typical Hunger Games year, as the quarter-century anniversary of the Capital's defeat of the district's often features particularly cruel or challenging twists—this time demanding double the amount of tributes.

Fans of the Hunger Games novels know that the 50th Quarter Quell is in fact the year that Katniss' mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, won his games—but his victory is a tragic one. Catching Fire gives readers a glimpse into Haymitch's games, but the first true look into Haymitch's story can be seen in the Sunrise on the Reaping excerpt published in People Magazine.

Despite being pushed to a December 2025 release, things appear to be slowly picking up for Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Spotted by Eurogamer, several fan accounts on X have snapped images of the sign for the infamous pizzeria, as well as merchandise stands for a scene in the film.

The X account Fnaf Movie Updates recently posted images of the pizzeria, which appears to be a little worse for wear, given the brush that’s surrounding the building.

The 'Five Nights At Freddy's 2' pizzeria sign has been revealed!#FNAFMovie #Fnaf pic.twitter.com/xOkBVGlrhS

— Fnaf Movie Updates (@FNAFMovieUpdate) January 10, 2025

Things get even more interesting from another account, this time from katfanf, taken from Reddit. Not only do these photos show merchandise stands for what appears to be a scene from the film, but another post from the same account also shows decorations for a “Fazfest” scene.

Martial arts legend Sammo Hung has been tapped as jury president for the 18th Asian Film Awards, while South Korean supernatural thriller “Exhuma” and Hong Kong action pic “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” dominate the nominations.

South Korean supernatural thriller “Exhuma,” helmed by director Jang Jae-hyun and marking the return of veteran actor Choi Min-sik, leads with 11 nods including best film, director, actor and actress. The film weaves elements of feng shui and traditional shamanism in its story of an ominous grave investigation.

Hong Kong action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” follows with nine nominations. Based on Yuyi’s “City of Darkness” novel and set in the 1980s Kowloon Walled City, the film is competing for best film, supporting actor and multiple technical awards.

Soi Cheang’s Hong Kong action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” follows with nine nominations. Based on Yuyi’s “City of Darkness...

Hunger Games fans were surprised earlier this year with the news that not only is there a new prequel novel coming in 2025, but that a film adaptation will quickly follow in 2026. Titled Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest chapter in author Suzanne Collins' epic tale is set to explore the 50th Hunger Games, and focuses heavily on the character of Haymitch Abernathy, who was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original films. Now, Sunrise on the Reaping director Francis Lawrence is discussing some of the biggest challenges he’s facing when it comes to casting the right person for the job.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Lawrence compared the experience of casting a young Abernathy to a similar challenge he faced when casting a younger version of the late Donald Sutherland’s Coriolanus Snow for Songbirds and Snakes - a role that ultimately went to Tom Blyth. He said the challenge is...

Follow the journey of a boy and his mother separated by war in this Apple TV+ exclusive.

Oscar-winner Steve McQueen is out with his latest film, this time a World War II epic called “Blitz.” This gripping historical drama is told through the eyes of George, a nine-year-old boy (Elliott Heffernan) separated from his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), during the Blitz. While George braves the chaos of war to return to London and get back to his mom, Rita fights desperately to find her missing son. With a stunning premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and a buzzy reception at the New York Film Festival, “Blitz” is one film you don’t want to miss. You can watch it on Apple TV+ when it premieres on Friday, Nov. 22.

How to watch ‘Blitz’ When: Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 Where: Apple TV+ Stream: Watch with a subscription to Apple TV+. 7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month apple.

Apple's historical war drama film Blitz has an impressive cast led by 4-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan. Blitz follows the story of a mother and son searching for each other in war-torn London. Written and directed by Steve McQueen, Blitz has received mostly positive reviews after it had its world premiere as the opening film at the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2024. The film was released in select theaters on November 1, 2024 and received an exclusive streaming release on Apple TV+ on November 22, 2024. Blitz currently has a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 81%.

Blitz is already considered one of Saoirse Ronan's best movies. The official logline of Blitz reads, "The stories of a group of Londoners during the German bombing campaign of the British capital during World War II" (via IMDb). Blitz marks the feature film debut of rising British actor Elliott Heffernan, who was discovered in a...

Plot: During the WW2 bombing of Britain, a young mother (Saoirse Ronan) sends her young son, Georgie (Elliott Heffernan), off to the countryside for his own safety. Angry at being separated from his mother and used to being taunted for his mixed-race heritage, he jumps off the train to the countryside and embarks on an odyssey through a bombed-out London to reunite with his family.

Review: Blitz wasn’t what I expected from director Steve McQueen. One of the most potent directors in the business, Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Widows and Small Axe were all dazzlingly well-directed, but there was nothing in any of them which made me think McQueen had a family film in him. Blitz, which carries a PG-13 rating, is his most accessible film to date, with it a soft-hearted journey through London which sometimes feels almost Spielbergian. While it’s not as good as...

British artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen is tired of being defined by other people. Since he broke out with 2008’s Irish prison drama “Hunger” — along with Michael Fassbender — each film has been completely different from the last. “Shame” (2011) was a provocative portrait of a sex addict (Fassbender), while Best Picture winner “12 Years a Slave” (2013) turned Lupita Nyong’o into an Oscar-winning star and grossed $187.7 million worldwide. “Widows” (2018) was a less successful foray into an American genre picture. And back in Britain, his 2020 “Small Axe” limited TV series and 2023 documentary “Occupied City” earned raves.

“I don’t even try to be in my own box,” he told IndieWire during a Los Angeles interview. “My mother always told me, ‘Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.’ Someone blow the dust off of cinema because I don’t want to be stuffy. I want it to be entertaining in a...

Steve McQueen

The director of Blitz talks us through the choices he made to create his dreamlike love letter to wartime London

1 — Don’t look back

None of my films have been similar to any other film, from Occupied City to Hunger to Small Axe to Shame. I mean, they are all very, very, very different. And that’s not just because I want to be different, it’s because the subject matter asks for it to be like that. It’s all about subject matter, and then making work that can enhance what I want to talk about. With Blitz, I wanted to look through a child’s perspective. Like a Brothers Grimm fairytale, it’s very dark, but it’s almost like a dream — and I think that seeing these things through a child’s perspective is what gives it a dreamlike quality. Because I’m putting you...

Judy Greer, who stars in the upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, shares insight into the film's dark themes. Based on Kings 1979 novel, The Long Walk is a dystopian thriller following 100 teenage boys forced into a brutal endurance competition: walking U.S. Highway 1, facing the threat of soldiers if they fall behind. Directed by Hunger Games veteran Francis Lawrence, the adaptation stars young talents Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson in lead roles, supported by an ensemble cast with Halloweens Greer and Star Wars icon Mark Hamill. A release date has yet to be announced.

In an interview with Collider, Greer spoke about her experience on the set of The Long Walk and the adaptations faithfulness to Kings novel. She further related the impact of watching young actors on set, noting how refreshing it was to work alongside the young men whose performances enhance the grim storyline. Read the full quote here:

Yeah,...

Michael Fassbender has been considered one of the best actors of his generation ever since his breakout in the early 2010s, and has managed to work alongside such acclaimed directors as Ridley Scott, Derek Cianfrance, Steven McQueen, David Cronenberg, Steven Soderbergh, and Quentin Tarantino among others. Although there was concern that Fassbenders career may have been in decline due to the more negative reception to the later installments in the Alien and X-Men franchises that he starred in, 2023 brought him back to the forefront of popular culture with the Netflix thriller The Killer and the light-hearted sports comedy Next Goal Wins. However, Fassbender has reached an even greater height this year with the award-winning biopic Kneecap, in which he plays a supporting role. While the film has been getting great reviews since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Kneecap draws in elements from Fassbenders underrated films Hunger and Frank.

Enda Walsh may not be a household name, but he should be. Hes one of Irelands most prolific and celebrated living playwrights, with original productions including Ballyturk, The Walworth Farce, and Mistermam. Movie buffs may know him for adapting the Irish films Once and Sing Street for the stage. He co-wrote the Irish historical drama Hunger with Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen. What some people may not know is that Walsh was instrumental in the launch of Cillian Murphys career. Walsh wrote the play Disco Pigs, which Murphy starred in on a world tour in the late 90s. This gave way to one of Murphys earliest screen performances in the film adaptation of the play in 2001. Since then, the actor and writer have reunited several times for the stage and have become close friends and creative partners.

Few auteur filmmakers can tear through a viewers skin and grasp at their heart like writer-director Steve McQueen. After telling profoundly personal and UK-centric stories like Hunger and Shame, McQueen took home the Best Picture Oscar for his uniquely American tragedy, 12 Years A Slave. Now, the director is back on his home turf to share an intense tapestry of the human condition by way of London in World War II in his new feature, Blitz.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will take readers back into the world of Panem, and the book could restore a series staple that The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes skipped. Set to come out in March 2025, the new Hunger Games book will follow Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' and Peeta's mentor who participates in the second-ever Quarter Quell. This is one of the bloodiest Hunger Games tournaments in Panem's history, and that's not to mention the tragic losses Haymitch faces after surviving the arena.

Sunrise on the Reaping is poised to be a heartbreaking narrative and the trailer for the upcoming prequel suggests it could be a return to form for Suzanne Collins. Her first three Hunger Games books drive home their themes using a storytelling device that helps immerse readers in Katniss' struggle: a first-person perspective. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes moves away from this, opting for...

BritBox Signs UK Programs From Sphere Abacus

Best-of-British streamer BritBox has bought a package of programs from Sphere Abacus, the UK-based sales house making its debut at MIPCOM in its current guise. Package contains Travels With Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet from Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media. Suchet is currently on the ground with Sphere Abacus in Cannes, as our report earlier today noted. Also acquired by BritBox are Jon and Lucy’s Odd Couples, The Murder of Sandra Rivett, Breaking Dad: Britain’s Unlikeliest Drug Dealer, Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Poirot and Miss Marple (aka Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Suspense), Diana: The Interview That Shook the World and Susan Hill’s The Small Hand: A Ghost Story (1 x 94’) produced by Awesome and Two Rivers Media. BritBox takes rights for the U.S. and Canada.

Beta Sets Globo Co-Pro ‘Discipline

Germany’s Beta Film and Brazilian...

Love Is Blind just opened its famous pods for the seventh season on Netflix, but some fans are still hungover from Season 1 of the UK version, which premiered in August. Part of it is due to hosts, Matt and Emma Willis, who fans called a "refreshing change" compared to Nick and Vanessa Lachey.

The Willis' and Lachey's share similar backgrounds pre-reality TV: both Nick and Matt rose to fame in boy bands while their wives are both model-turned-tv personalities. Both are likable couples who have shared their imperfect marriage journeys to inspire the hopeful singles of the franchise. But fans think the UK hosts are more "dignified" than their US counterparts.

Love Is Blind UK's Matt And Emma Willis Avoid Unnecessary Drama in Reunions

via: Instar

Many fans praised Matt and Emma for the way they asked questions during the reunion episode. "In the UK version, I just saw...

The Hulk is easily one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe, yet even he is no match for the likes of Galactus, who wields power that even someone as incredibly strong as the Hulk couldnt even comprehend. However, even though the Hulk wouldnt stand a chance against Galactus, the same cannot be said for Hulks best friend, who proved to be the one hero powerful enough to actually beat Galactus solo.

In the four-part miniseries Hunger by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Leonard Kirk, a rift is created between Earth-616 and Earth-1610 aka the original Ultimate Universe. The Avengers inadvertently tore a hole through time and space during the events of Age of Ultron, creating this massive rift connecting the two universes - and Galactus uses it to enter the Ultimate Universe.

Once in the Ultimate Universe, Galactus merges with his own variant, Gah Lak Tus, and makes the hive-mind android swarm his Herald.

Widows, the 2018 crime/thriller by director Steve McQueen, puts its female characters in the spotlight, as four women are forced to work together to clear the debt left behind by their deceased husbands' criminal activities. As well as an awesome premise, the movie stars a kick-ass cast, with Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo making up the titular group of heroines. But despite everything working in its favor, Steve McQueen was frustrated with the studio's lack of support towards the movie's feminist message, and wished the film's marketing was handled very differently.

Appearing at a Q&a at the London Film Festival (attended by MovieWeb), Steve McQueen recalled the frustrating marketing for Widows. The director didn't dive into all the specifics, but discussed the movie's poster. "Just look at the poster," McQueen said. It would be safe to assume that the poster for Widows would feature, well,...

It’s strange to discover that “Blitz” is the most anonymous movie that Steve McQueen has made thus far, as this pseudo-Dickensian epic — the story of a half-Grenadian boy’s quest to reunite with his guilt-ridden single mother (Saoirse Ronan) after she evacuates him out of London in the fall of 1940 — would appear to be an ideal showcase for his singular vision as a filmmaker.

Drawn towards subjects that allow him to interrogate and expand upon historical notions of resilience, the “Hunger” director has frequently returned to portraits of life during wartime over the course of his career as both a visual artist and commercial auteur. This one, set at the height of the stiff upper lip spirit that McQueen is eager to question for its cracks, offers such a natural canvas for his favorite subject that it can seem like he’s spent the last 20 years waiting for the budget to paint on it.

With his new World War II drama Blitz, uncompromising filmmaker Steve McQueen is once more tackling weighty, vital material. He tells us about his ongoing mission to break new ground…

Here’s what you need to know about Steve McQueen, as a man and as a filmmaker: he will not waste your time. Not with false modesty, nor with empty boasting. Not by suffering fools or flattering royalty. This is sometimes mistaken for brusqueness. It isn’t. It’s a guarantee that when a single shot of a priest conversing with a prisoner lasts 17 minutes and 11 seconds (as in 2008 feature debut Hunger), or when his 2023 Holocaust documentary Occupied City takes four hours and 26 minutes (not including interval), every moment is necessary and accounted for.

It’s this disciplined focus on what McQueen emphatically calls “the work... The W-O-R-K” which has enabled the 54-year-old to frequently...

Steve McQueen said he prefers a collaborative style of filmmaking, saying that “being a director is not about being an arsehole”.

“Once you have a situation where everyone’s together – I’ll take a good idea from anybody,” said UK filmmaker McQueen, at a Screen Talk ahead of the world premiere of his new film Blitz, opening the 68th BFI London Film Festival this evening.

“A director is not about being an arsehole. A director is about listening and feeling and smelling and tasting…There are too many arseholes, trust me,” said the director, who did not name names.

This...