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Few minds could be less masterly, you might think, than the stoner sponge between the ears of J.B. (Josh O’Connor), who, in Kelly Reichardt’s Cannes-closer The Mastermind, conceives a plan to steal four paintings from the art gallery that is the chief weekend haunt for his family. As his two sons run around its Civil War display, throwing paper darts and speculating on why otters exist, J.B. slips away to the room of paintings by Arthur Dove, an early abstractionist, checks out how they’re attached to the wall and pictures his future winnings. All he needs are a getaway car, a couple of accomplices to do the actual robbing — he can’t do it himself, being a gallery habitué recognized by security guards, should they happen to be awake — and, whoopee, they’re in the money.

Reichardt, who has carved out an indie niche with her brand of low-key,...

Jonah Hill is being eyed to star in and direct ‘Cut Off’.The ’21 Jump Street’ actor, 41, is in negotiations with Warner Bros. to lead the film both in front of and behind the camera, while also writing the script for the movie.The flick is said to be about two rich siblings who are cut off from their parents.While the project is in its early days, Deadline has reported the production has notched a $10 million California tax credit for what is expected to be a $49 million production, with ‘Cut Off’ planning to enter principal photography this summer.However, no release date or actors have been attached to ‘Cut Off’ yet.If Hill does helm ‘Cut Off’, it will make the picture his third feature film as a director, after he started his filmmaking journey with the 2018 comedy/drama ‘Mid90s’, and the upcoming ‘Outcome’ for Apple.‘Outcome’ - which stars Hill,...

Actor and filmmaker Jonah Hill will star and direct in the upcoming studio comedy Cut Off, expected to enter production later this year.

Jonah Hill has signed up to make Cut Off for Warner Bros, a studio comedy that is expected to begin production later this year after obtaining $10m worth of Californian tax credits. The project is in the fairly early stages of pre-production, having not yet assembled its cast. It marks the return of Hill to the director’s chair following Mid90s and Stultz.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is set to focus ‘on a pair of fraternal twins whose wealthy parents stop supporting them financially’ which sounds like a narrative conceit ripe for laughs. There’s no word as yet as to whether Hill will play both twins of if the film will be taking the Schwarzenegger/DeVito approach to casting.

Cut Off marks Hill...

The “Community” movie, Warner Bros. Picture’s “Cut Off” and an untitled flick from the Daniels are among the 51 films receiving 2025 production tax incentives through California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program.

The California Film Commission set the state record by awarding 51 films a collective $330 million in tax credits. The latest batch is expected to generate nearly $580 million in economic activity and employ over 6,490 cast and crew, as well as 37,000 background performers. Universal’s untitled Daniels project is expected to inject $106.8 million in production spending into the California economy, qualifying for $20.8 million in tax credits. The “Community” movie is expected to inject $16.3 million, earning a credit allocation of $3.3 million. “Cut Off” will bring an estimated $49.4 million into the California economy and receive $10 million in tax credits.

“The devastating wildfires in Southern California have presented unprecedented challenges for our film and television community, disrupting more than a dozen productions within...

Jonah Hill is stepping back into the spotlight, but this time he’s calling the shots behind the camera. Word is buzzing around Hollywood about his latest project with Warner Bros., a comedy that’s got some exciting talent attached. According to insider DanielRPK on his Patreon, Hill isn’t just directing—he’s also set to star in this one, which is already turning heads.

The movie, titled ‘Cut Off,’ dives into a story about two non-fraternal twins who’ve lived a cushy life thanks to their ultra-wealthy family. Things take a turn when they’re suddenly left to fend for themselves, forcing them to figure out the real world without a safety net. Hill will play one of the twins, bringing his signature humor to the role we’ve loved him for in films like ‘Superbad’ and ‘21 Jump Street.’

Jennifer Lawrence has been offered the part of the other twin,...

With increasing class disparity, the pervasion of hyper consumerism, and corporate control over every sphere of life, it’s no wonder that in art and literature, eat-the-rich has become a subgenre in itself. The existing inequality, the negligence of the so-called one percenters towards the plight of those in need, and the inevitable conflict between different strata of the economic hierarchy make for relatable, engrossing narratives. But the issue is, among the numerous movies released nowadays that deal with this particular topic, only a few actually manage to ask the right questions with an understanding perspective. Unfortunately, Netflix’s German drama, Delicious, isn’t one of those, and despite having the right intention to portray the ever-growing and persistent class divide, it ends up demonizing the oppressed class in the most weird way possible. The characterization feels largely derivative as well, and the narrative as a whole is very predictable.

Six hours into Kevin Costner’s unfussy and digestible Horizon: An American Saga, it does feel like some crucial oversights have been made. Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2, which Costner shot back-to-back with Chapter 1 for a combined budget of $100 million, around $38M of came from Costner’s coffers, exists in...

Modern Western films in the 2010s are critical of the genre's flaws and push boundaries. The Beguiled and The Salvation offer unique takes on the Western genre, exploring new territory. Films like Bone Tomahawk and Meek's Cutoff challenge traditional Western narratives and highlight diverse perspectives.

The Western movies that premiered in the 2010s are some of the most interesting and special, despite so few audience members having seen the films. As the Western genre moves into the contemporary era, fans most familiar with Westerns are keenly aware of the problems and attributes that accompany these films. When I watch classic Western movies, I'm not afraid to critique them, as being a fan of something means being aware of its flaws. Recent Westerns share this love and similarly look back at their legacy with a critical eye.

While some audiences might think of the Coen Brothers when contemplating the modern Western,...

A few weeks ago, as The Sweet East started gracing theatres across the States, Reverse Shot ran a sprawling conversation between critic K. Austin Collins and critic-turned-screenwriter Nick Pinkerton. It’s a delightful exchange I can’t recommend enough, both for all it has to uncover about Sean Price Williams’ film––which Pinkerton wrote and which, in my book, was one of last year’s finest––but also for what it sponges of our depressingly shortsighted, quid-pro-quo relationship with the films we watch, what we expect to receive in return for the time we invest in them. “If I wanted to say something,” Pinkerton reflects on the okay-but-what’s-the-message response Sweet East routinely encountered in the months since its Cannes premiere, “I would open my mouth and the words would come out. That’s not what one makes a movie for. You make a movie to go beyond the expression of simple concepts.

Exclusive:f David Laub, a longtime distribution executive at A24, is joining Metrograph to build a new slate of theatrical releases as head of Metrograph Pictures, a label that’s been focused mainly on restorations of classic films.

Laub will consider American independent, international and documentary features, both finished films and earlier stage projects to potentially provide financing. The company is aiming to get to 10 releases a year.

“We are excited to work with a wide range of films and filmmakers, and be a robust new presence in the distribution landscape,” said Laub, who will hit the ground for Metrograph at the upcoming Berlinale and European Film Market next week.

It’s not an easy time for indie film distribution. Metrograph in is announcement said the industry “in dire need of fresh thinking and inventive distribution options.”

Laub will report to and work closely with Metrograph CEO Christian Grass, who joined...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

From an industry standpoint, 2023 was eventful. We witnessed concurrent strikes, widespread film festival upheaval, Universal besting Disney at the box office, and much more. (I recommend Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast to keep up with this side of town.) On the indie biz side, this was a year in which I saw two small films succeed utilizing a method I long thought dead (or at least on life support): that being good old-fashioned four-walling. Al Warren’s Dogleg and Case Esparros’ The Absence of Milk in the Mouths of the Lost both captured the momentum of cross-country film touring with in-person Q&As. Distributor Utopia has mounted a similar touring strategy for Sean Price Williams’ directorial debut The Sweet East.

When it comes to the films themselves,...

Art can be taken in (or, from a more mercenary point of view, consumed) as something abstract, enlightening, subtextual, subversive, thought-provoking, transcendental. The actual making of it, however, depends on a very specific inspiration-to-perspiration ratio. Showing Up is all about putting the work into artwork, what it takes to marshal the blood, sweat, and tears to produce something personally expressive and profoundly moving. Or even something pretentious and self-involved and elitist to a fault — those sculptures and paintings and, yes, motion pictures can’t all be masterpieces. Anything creative requires labor,...

The Old West was just as populated by strong females as men as seen in the Two Sinners and a Mule trailer. The film stars Chantelle Albers and Hannah James as courtesans Alice and Nora who find themselves driven out of their town by the religious locals and stumble across wounded bounty hunter Elden Gallup, who they nurse back to health in exchange for splitting the bounty on a murderous bandit. Alongside Albers and James, the cast for Two Sinners and a Mule includes Cam Gigadent, Buck Taylor, Cord Newman, David Midthunder, and Luce Rains.

With just over two weeks remaining until it arrives, Screen Rant is proud to exclusively present the Two Sinners and a Mule trailer. The trailer offers the first look at the upcoming Western thriller, which presents a feminine twist on the genre as it focuses on two ladies of pleasure who team up with a...

Production has got underway in Germany and Poland on “Oderbruch,” a major thriller series produced by Paramount Global’s CBS Studios, Syrreal Entertainment and Ard Degeto, part of German public broadcast group Ard.

The previously announced drama stars Karoline Schuch (“Dark Woods”), Felix Kramer (“Dogs of Berlin”) and Lucas Gregorowicz and is a tale which begins with the discovery of multiple murder victims in a remote area near the German-Polish border.

The eight-part series is directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer and Christian Alvart. Series creator and head writer Arend Remmers developed the series concept with Kolmerer.

Siegfried Kamml, Christian Alvart and Timm Oberwelland from Syrreal serve as producers. The executives overseeing the project are: Christoph Pellander, editor-in-chief of Ard Degeto; Sebastian Lückel, head of acquisitions and co-productions at Ard Degeto; Patrick Noel Simon, commissioning editor at Ard Degeto; and Meghan Lyvers, senior VP of international co-productions and development at CBS Studios.

Now with the month of June pretty much in our rearview, it’s time to look forward to a new month of VOD and Digital releases headed our way throughout the month of July. There’s a lot of great content coming out over the next few weeks, so even though most movie theaters won’t be open, you’ll still have plenty of stuff to keep you entertained from the comfort of your own home.

Some of the highlights for July’s Digital and VOD releases include Homewrecker and Belzebuth on July 7th (the latter had previously been streaming exclusively on Shudder until now), The Beach House on July 9th, Relic on July 10th (this debut from Natalie Erika James was one of my favorite films out of Sundance 2020), the cult classic Rad, which has several digital release dates in July, Joko Anwar’s Impetigore on July 23rd (another...

‘Happy Times’ will be released by Artsploitation Films in Q1 2020.

M-Appeal has closed North American deals on two of the most prominent titles on its virtual Marché slate.

The Berlin-based sales outfit confirmed that Artsploitation Films has acquired Michael Mayer’s Happy Times, a horror comedy set over the course of a Shabbat dinner in a luxurious Hollywood mansion. Mixing satire and genre elements, the film stars Israeli actor Michael Aloni (Shtisel) and Stéfi Celma.

Happy Times is produced by Mayer, Paola Porrini Bisson and Tomer Almagor. Executive producers are Gabrielle Almagor, Richard Bisson and Erri De Luca. Artsploitation plans...

In his latest Arrow Video Frightfest preview podcasts, host Stuart Wright talks Cut Off (aka Abgeschnitten) with director Christian Alvart.

A massive success at FrightFest 2005 was the serial killer thriller Antibodies which put director Christian Alvart firmly on the rising star map. Since then Alvart has become one of Germany’s most commercially viable directors and he returns to his triumphant roots with this compelling, gripping and twisted blockbuster adaptation of the worldwide best selling novel set in the world of Forensic Pathology. Coroner Paul Herzfeld finds a capsule buried deep in the head of a heavily mutilated corpse, containing a phone number and single word: the name of his daughter. And soon the nerve-jangling suspense never stops….

Catch Cut Off (aka Abgeschnitten) at Arrow Video Frightfest

22th to 26th August 2019

Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7Na.

Programme listings and film details www.frightfest.co.uk/2019films/index.html...

Christian Alvart’s Berlin-based Syrreal Entertainment enters agreement with Jiabo Culture.

Producer-director Christian Alvart’s Berlin-based production company Syrreal Entertainment has entered a working partnership with the Chinese production house Jiabo Culture to produce the $20m fantasy adventure film Fox Mission as the first of a slate of joint projects.

Steeped in Chinese mythology, the fantasy fairytale will be directed by Alvart at locations in Beijing and Berlin from this autumn.

Canadian executive producer May He, who will be liaising between the German and Chinese production partners on the project, pointed out that fantasy action films have “great potential“ in China and said that having Alvart on board as director for the Chinese story increased the probability of international success.

The partnership on Fox Mission is the latest of a number of alliances sealed between Germany and China in recent weeks following the announcement in April that Sam Raimi and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck had received backing...

New Roy Andersson feature About Endlessness also gets backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

Terrence Malick is lining up WWII drama Radegund (aka Jägerstätter), about the life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II who was executed by the Nazis in 1943 aged 36.

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI declared Jägerstätter a martyr and he was beatified by the Catholic Church.

Set to play Jägerstätter is August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds, The Counterfeiters), while Valerie Pachner (Jack) is also due to join.

The project was announced by the German funding body the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which is backing it with €400,000.

The drama is reportedly set to shoot at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany, this summer and marks Malick’s return to the WWII era following acclaimed 1998 title The Thin Red Line.

The title Radegund refers to the Thuringian princess and Frankish queen from the 6th century who found protection under the Church after fleeing her marriage when her husband had her...