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It’s New Music Friday, and the freezing cold won’t keep us from streaming some excellent new albums over the weekend.

Today marks the arrival of Sam Fender’s third album People Watching, which he worked on alongside The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel. There’s also a new album from Tate McRae, who has tons of momentum after the smash success of her 2023 song “Greedy.” Meanwhile, rising artists like Anxious, Anna Shoemaker, and The Murder Capital return with exciting full-length statements.

Here are eight new albums to stream today.

Abdomen — Yes, I Don’t Know

Abdomen are a Dutch power trio who come through with washed-out, angular indie rock. Today, they return with their sophomore effort, Yes, I Don’t Know. The new tunes are off-kilter and engaging, leaning hard on repetition and dynamics to foster an unpredictable and exciting tone.

Stream: Apple Music | Spotify | Amazon Music

Anna Shoemaker...

She has been acting since 1987, and over a nearly four-decade career, Juliette Lewis is known for playing a crazed murderer (Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers), a pastor’s daughter on the run from vampires (Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn) and a teen fending off a violent rapist (Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear). She’s also been a rock star in real life as the lead singer of Juliette Lewis and the Licks.

Now the 51-year-old actress is heading back to Park City to support two Sundance Film Festival selections that, even for her, are bold, head-turning roles: In art house auteur Amanda Kramer’s By Design she plays a chair — yes, a chair — and in Mark Anthony Green’s Opus she stars as a spicy journalist who joins a group to meet a pop icon at his compound when he mysteriously reappears after a three-decade absence.

The...

Exclusive: Don McKellar, co-creator of HBO’s Emmy-nominated miniseries The Sympathizer, has signed with Gersh for representation.

McKellar co-wrote and co-showran The Sympathizer miniseries, which aired earlier this year on HBO. The series stars Robert Downey Jr., who received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in which he played five different roles.

On the feature side, McKellar wrote and directed Last Night, which won the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. He also co-wrote Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, co-wrote and starred in Blindness and co-wrote and starred alongside Samuel L. Jackson in the Oscar-winning film The Red Violin.

Also a playwright, McKelley created the musical The Drowsy Chaperone, for which he won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

McKellar continues to be represented by Great North Artists Management and attorney Erik Hyman at Paul Hastings.

Mark Ruffalo has had an extensive movie career with a diverse range of performances, yet many of his standout roles go unnoticed. He is known for seamlessly transitioning between big-budget franchises like Marvel Cinema Universe's The Avengers and more independent works, consistently delivering compelling portrayals across various genres. While he is often associated with his high-profile roles, such as The Hulk, some of his best work can be found in lesser-known films where his nuanced approach is often overlooked.

Ruffalo's versatility and acting skills are apparent in roles that haven't received the same level of attention, from intense dramas to intriguing thrillers. Whether portraying flawed heroes, conflicted characters, or morally complex figures, Ruffalo's skill in embodying layered individuals has established him as one of the most talented actors of his generation. Often overshadowed by his more prominent work, these performances exhibit his range and commitment to the craft, unveiling works that merit more recognition.

I’ve been obsessed with apocalyptic fiction since I was a small boy, but young Luiz was always frustrated with the disproportionate amount of media that takes place months or even years after the end of the world instead of showing us the apocalypse as it happens. It was only years later that I understood the logistical difficulties in telling a believable yarn about a near-instant societal collapse, though I never stopped wishing for more stories that take place in the moments between our current world and whatever wasteland comes next.

Thankfully, there are a few brave filmmakers willing to take on the challenge of depicting the early days of humanity’s downfall. And with Michael Sarnoski’s A Quiet Place: Day One (which is now available on Digital outlets at home) proving that audiences are still hungry for this specific kind of apocalyptic thrill, we’ve decided to come...

The General Hospital storyline also hints at Sonny Corinthos, played by Maurice Benard, making a vow and a tragic car accident set to occur in the first week of June. Also, other rumors suggest an explosion at Jason Morgan’s (Steve Burton) coffee warehouse. This may leave someone blind on General Hospital.

Finn, played by Michael Easton, makes a promise after an apology. And a secret alliance could be revealed. Spinelli, portrayed by Bradford Anderson, might get arrested. And Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) is not happy about it. So, there is a lot happening on General Hospital and viewers can’t wait.

The casting news suggests that John J York is back on set as Mac Scorpio. Also, another female veteran has been put on contract. More information on this is coming soon. However, rumors also swirl about potential exits on General Hospital, including Kirsten Storms, Bradford Anderson.

Also there...

Argentina’s Eo Media, led by CEO Ezequiel Olzanski, has teamed up with Nicolas Aznarez’s Uruguay-based El Camino Films (“Blindness”) to co-produce murder mystery “Punta Blanca” (a working title) with a stellar cast led by Natalia Oreiro, star of Disney’s “Santa Evita” and Prime Video’s “Iosi, the Regretful Spy.”

The six-episode limited series is created by up-and-coming writer-producer Joaquin Romero Vercellino and penned by writers behind the hit Argentine series streaming on Netflix, “El Marginal”: Silvina Olschansky and Guillermo Salmerón, as well as Alejandro Aimetta (“Maradona: Blessed Dream”). Eo Media will also handle international sales.

Described by the producers as a “thrilling whodunit that takes place in the glamorous coast of ‘90s Punta del Este, Uruguay,” it’s inspired by such pics as “Knives Out“ or “Murder on the Orient Express” “where the identity of the killer remains a mystery until the very end and includes...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the inaugural lineup for its Immersive Competition section, the first-ever selection of augmented and virtual reality works to screen at the austere French film fest.

The 8 competition titles and 6 out-of-competition screenings include works featuring such talents as Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Millie Bobby Brown, and Tahar Rahim. The lineup highlights cutting-edge VR and Ar techniques and includes location-based virtual reality, mixed reality experiences, projection mapping, and holographic works.

Introducing the new immersive section, Cannes said it hoped to “spotlight the next generation of international artists who are redefining storytelling and inventing new narrative-driven experiences that move beyond the traditional two-dimensional cinema screen.” The section is being organized with support from the French national film board, the Cnc. The immersive works will be presented at an exhibition space in the Cannes Cineum complex on the outskirts of the city and at the campus of Cannes’s Georges Méliès film school.

“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.”

So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War.

Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam. Framed as a confession to the people for whom he has ostensibly been spying, the narrator — who goes unnamed in the novel — chronicles the story of his journey to Southern California, where he joins the Vietnamese refugee community settling there and grapples with questions of loyalty and assimilation.

In a 2015 interview, Nguyen, who is a professor at the University of Southern California,...

Plot: John Sugar is an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.

Review: Detective stories and noir films are iconic genres in film and literature. Who doesn’t love a grizzled private eye who saves the girl and beds the femme fatale? From The Maltese Falcon to Chinatown, detectives have a long and storied history on screen. With the new series Sugar, Colin Farrell adds another great character to the list. A suave, calm, and skilled investigator, John Sugar is an idealized hero straight off the silver screen. And, like any number of great cinematic detectives, he has a weakness. Having seen the full eight episodes of Sugar, audiences will love or hate John Sugar’s weakness,...

‘Cuts deep… reminiscent of Cronenberg’s freaky ’80s masterpiece The Fly… delightfully provocative…’

★★★★

NME

‘Akin to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return… Thoughtful, poignant, confusing, funny, sexy, gross – it’s a lot… long live the new flesh’

Little White Lies

From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg – comes the critically acclaimed Crimes Of The Future in a brand-new Limited Edition Dual 4K/Blu-ray Box Set.

The 2022 sci-fi epic has been lauded as ‘provocatively feverish stuff from the dearly missed vintage annals of Cronenberg’ (Rogerbert.com), and bears the Canadian maestro’s hallmarks, delving into the depths of dystopia to bring audiences fresh iterations of horror and now Crimes of The Future is available now from the masters in the field Second Sight Films.

The box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features...

To celebrate the release of Crimes Of The Future releasing on Limited Edition 4K Uhd /Blu-Ray Box set & Standard Edition 4K/Uhd and Standard Edition Blu-Ray on 11th September 2023, we have a Limited Edition 4K Uhd /Blu-Ray Boxset to give away!

From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg, This box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features on both discs and is presented in a stunning rigid slipcase box with new artwork by Marko Manev. It comes complete with a 120-page book featuring new essays and includes a host of fantastic special features.

In the not-too-distant future, humanity has been forced to adapt to a synthetic environment and the human body has undergone new transformations and mutations. In a world where diseases and physical pain no longer exist, one man, Saul Tenser, has...

Infectious disease has been a concern of humankind ever since we first began cooperating in large settlements, so it makes sense that this horrific fact of life has also become the basis for many of our scary stories. And while Covid and the Black Plague are scary enough on their own, some stories rely on much stranger (and often absurd) diseases in order to terrify audiences – especially when horror movies are concerned.

And with so many viral scares out there, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six of the strangest infection horror flicks for your viewing pleasure. After all, it might do horror fans some good to remember that things could still have been much worse after living through a very real pandemic.

Naturally, the films on this list aren’t the only strange viral horror flicks out there, so don’t forget to comment below...

“The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu,” a multi-generational comedy starring “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Lisa Lu, is set for a March 17 premiere at the Laemmle Theater in North Hollywood, following the film’s acquisition by Freestyle Digital Media. The coming-of-age story will then have a one-week theatrical run.

Reflective of the feature’s expansive crew of female filmmakers, “The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu” is centered around the challenges of mother-daughter relationships. The film follows Emma (Rochelle Ying), an introverted teenager, on a road-trip up the California coast after her grandmother, Lily (Lu), asks for help breaking out of her nursing home. Along the way, Emma begins to obtain a better understanding of her immigrant mother and their complicated relationship.

Director Anna Chi reunited with screenwriter Donald Martin to pen the project, who she collaborated with on 2008’s “Dim Sum Funeral.” Lu is no stranger to working with Chi either, having appeared...

Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts announced today that Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles will become its next Marion Knott Distinguished Artist.

Meirelles follows Asghar Farhadi (A Separation), Dodge’s most recent Distinguished Artist. He’ll spend three full days on campus (March 14-16) helping graduates and undergraduates develop story ideas, while also discussing production, casting, and analyzing rough cuts of their films. Additionally, he’ll take part in a live Q&a open to the entire Chapman community.

“I still vividly remember the shock and wonder of seeing City of God for the first time,” said Dodge College Dean Stephen Galloway. “It changed my — and everyone else’s — views on the possibilities of film. Having Fernando here will be a life-changing experience for all of us.”

This continues a relationship between Chapman and Meirelles that began last year when the...

It’s last call for a number of great movies leaving HBO and HBO Max in March. Fortunately, the month is also packed with new movies and shows, but if you were planning to revisit any of the films below, now’s your chance.

The good news is you won’t have to squeeze in any binge-watching – there are no series leaving HBO Max this month, just films. Expiring titles of note include Sam Raimi’s definitive horror films “The Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2,” Wes Anderson’s charming coming-of-age romance “Moonrise Kingdom,” the Charlize Theron-led dramedy “Tully,” Judd Apatow’s “The King of Staten Island” starring Pete Davidson, and the musical drama “Dreamgirls,” starring Jennifer Hudson in the role that earned her the Oscar.

There are also several comedy favorites expiring in March, including both “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey,...

As coronavirus cases continue to decline across the U.S. and President Joe Biden vows to disperse 200 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses by his 100th day in office, Hollywood is inching closer to reopening.

Entertainment is among the industries most crippled by the pandemic. Nationwide lockdowns forced the shutdowns of television and film productions, delayed movie premieres, shifted release strategies and closed movie theaters.

California is set to fully reopen its economy on June 15 if vaccinations remain widely available and hospitalizations continue to stabilize. It will relinquish the four-tiered, color-coded system that has guided the state’s reopening process during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, California allows indoor concerts, theater performances and other gatherings as of April 15. Attendees have to either show a negative Covid-19 test result or proof of full vaccination. Three counties in northern California can hold concerts and other indoor events at 75% of capacity.

Los Angeles and Orange moved...

Principal photography scheduled to commence in August in Athens, Greece,

In a tantalising package, David Cronenberg will direct Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart in sci-fi Crimes Of The Future, Neon and Serendipity Point Films announced on Thursday (April 29).

Crimes Of The Future is based on Cronenberg’s first original screenplay since eXistenZ in 1999 and sees the Canadian auteur return to his familiar sci-fi stomping ground. “I have unfinished business with the future,” he said.

Neon will distribute in the US and MK2 | Mile End will release in Canada, with Rocket Science handling international sales.

Principal photography is scheduled...

• Vulture Marcia Gay Harden answers all the questions about her awesome Oscar win for Pollock on its 20th anniversary

• Mnpp Josh O'Connor to make a queer horror film with Francis Lee

• Deadline very interesting (if way too complimentary) report on dubbing films into other languages. Daniel Brühl is among the top actors who dub their own performances into multiple languages rather than letting other actors do it and change the performance. It helps that he's fluent in multiple languages of course.

More after the jump including Pose, Regé-Jean Page, Killers of the Moon, a new adaptation of Blindness, and recent showbiz deaths...

New York theater is tiptoeing its way through the dark with tonight’s Off Broadway opening of the actor-free technological and storytelling marvel Blindness, a sound-and-light excursion into the dystopian hellscape of Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago’s great allegory of humanity in lockdown.

With (masked) audience members scattered in socially distanced, arranged-just-so pairs of seats across the otherwise empty floor of the Daryl Roth Theatre, Saramago’s thriller, adapted for this Donmar Warehouse production by Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and directed by Walter Meierjohann, slides up beside you like a whisper and, when necessary, a scream.

The hyper-realistic story-soundscape is relayed through what must be the most effective noise-canceling headphones this side of NASA. The play is not so much narrated as performed by Olivier Award winning actress Juliet Stevenson, who guides the listening audience – a significant portion of the...

Fresh off the long-awaited arrival of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (a.k.a. the fabled Snyder Cut), HBO Max has no need to appease fandom culture in April 2021. But the streaming service is gonna do it anyway!

The most notable new release for HBO Max this month is the HBO series The Nevers. This show, created by Joss Whedon, is set in a 19th century steampunk London and finds a sizable portion of the population (predominantly women) having been “Touched” by mysterious paranormal powers. There’s an interesting bit of irony at play here, as HBO Max is following up the Snyder Cut with a show created by his original Justice League replacement. Or at least there could have been an interesting bit of irony here, if Whedon had not bowed out from the show and been enthusiastically left out of the marketing material by HBO.

Read more Movies...

Greek dramedy Apples was one of the buzz films of last year’s depleted festival circuit, debuting in Venice where it opened the festival’s Horizons section. It’s now Greece’s entry into this year’s International Feature Oscar race.

Six years in the making, the prescient movie is set amidst a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia and follows a middle-aged man who finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities.

Director Christos Nikou, who was snapped up for representation by CAA earlier this summer, was inspired by the allegorical novels Blindness and 1984, and the movies of Charlie Kaufman, as well as his own personal loss, when developing the timely project.

“I have always been fascinated by movies that create new worlds. The Truman Show is the film that made me want to be a filmmaker,” Nikou says during his film...

Exclusive: Venice Film Festival hit Apples has scored more European distribution deals for Paris-based Alpha Violet.

Deals have closed with Lucky Red (Italy), Filmfreak (Netherlands), Fivia McF (Ex-Yugoslavia), New Horizon (Poland) and Filmladen (Austria).

Andrea Occhipinti, CEO, Lucky Red told us: “We were very impressed by Apples. It’s a strong and original film. We are happy to have a new author with Lucky Red; Christos Nikou will certainly make his way onto the international scene.”

The Greek dramedy, which was six years in the making, has already sold to Curzon for the UK and Ireland, Madman for Australia and Feelgood for Greece. CAA is repping U.S.

Also playing today in Toronto’s TIFF Selects program today, the film is set amidst a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia and follows a middle-aged man who finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities.

Oscar-nominated “City of God” DoP Cesar Charlone, who went on to direct “3%,” South America’s first Netflix series, is set to co-direct and serve as cinematographer on “Graf Spee,” a six-part human drama evolving during the most memorable of World War II naval battles, the Battle of the River Plate.

Based on real events and taking place over what its producers describe as “seven days of honor, love and hell,” “Graf Spee” will be one of 12 scripted series projects pitched in the main CoPro Series category at the 4th Conecta Fiction, the Europe-Latin America TV co-production set to take place over Sept. 2-3 in Pamplona, Spain.

Charlone, whose cinematography credits also take in Fernando Meirelles’ “The Constant Gardener,” “Blindness” and “The Two Popes,” will direct the first three episodes of “Graf Spee.” Directing the remainder is Andrés Varela, CEO of Uruguay’s Coral Cine, producers of “Graf Spee” with Gretha Media,...

Saban Films has released the trailer for Most Wanted. This is the latest from director Daniel Roby and stars comedian Jim Gaffigan alongside Josh Hartnett. The movie tells the real-life story of journalist Victor Malarek who unraveled a twisted drug deal that conspired to have the wrong man sentenced to 100 years in a Thai prison. As the trailer reveals, the story seems to make for something of an intense ride with high stakes.

The trailer kicks off with Josh Hartnett, who is playing Victor, investigating what is referred to as "Operation Goliath." Hartnett plays a little bit of hardball before receiving a warning that he shouldn't be printing anything about the case in question, which he chooses to ignore. We see that he is met with a great deal of resistance at every turn, yet determination takes over and the story is pursued anyway.

That seems to put a target on his back.

Horror movies are the perfect place to explore our fears in the safety of our own homes. So it stands to reason that since we’re all stuck self-isolating in our own homes we should want to explore our abject terror of the Covid-19 virus driving ordinarily sane people to stockpile booze and toilet paper outside.

Perhaps it’s a fascination with the movies that predicted how a pandemic would play out that put Steven Soderberg’s Contagion in the top ten most rented list on iTunes. Maybe it’s watching characters you can relate to dealing with a brand new disease in a story that’s ultimately fiction that has landed Outbreak in the Netflix top ten.

It’s not surprising we suddenly seem to have an appetite for infection and quarantine movies, so here are some of the best ones and where you can stream them from home.

We’re not saying this is inspired by recent events that fill us with terror and insomnia, but we are saying that if you happen to relate to that feeling, here’s a list of very cathartic movies about virus outbreaks to get you through it. Whether you want realism, fantasy, horror, or maybe computer stuff, we have you covered. Feel free to take a personal day and not leave the house while you watch.

And, before you ask: This whole gallery could have been nothing but zombie movies, so we decided to limit things to just Zombie movies that make the disease aspect front and center.

“Cabin Fever” (2002) – Eli Roth’s directorial debut follows a group of recent college graduates who become infected with a flesh eating virus during a camping trip. It was remade in 2016 but neither version makes camping look any more appealing.

“Outbreak” (1995) – When a new...

Don Kaye Nov 27, 2019

The annual Hollywood film festival offers a rich mix of studio contenders, indie discoveries and international gems.

Last week heralded the arrival of AFI Fest, the annual film festival presented by the American Film Institute that combines major studio and independent releases, festival favorites, and noteworthy new films in an eight-day blitz at the famous Tcl Chinese Theatre complex in Hollywood.

More than 125 films screened at this year’s event, and festival organizers proudly proclaimed that more than 51 percent of 2019’s titles were directed by women. In a world where just an estimated 14 percent of the year’s top-grossing films will have women behind the camera, that is a considerable movement in the right direction--especially given the quality of the films that we saw.

With such an intense schedule packed into a little more than a week, Den of Geek managed to get a taste of some...

In tackling “The Two Popes,” Fernando Meirelles was excited by the challenge of directing a film that consisted largely of conversations between two holy men. “The dialogue was very nice when I read it,” he recalls of Anthony McCarten‘s script, adapted from his own stage play. But he soon realized that a movie with “two guys talking” about “religion and the church” was in danger of being “very boring.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Meirelles above.

See Anthony McCarten Interview: ‘The Two Popes’ screenwriter

The Netflix release is about the transition of power between the conservative Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and the more liberal Pope Francis I (Jonathan Pryce). During many intense conversations the two men try to forge an alliance to benefit the Catholic Church into the future. But for Meirelles, the question was “how to make this cinematic, interesting and even entertaining.”

He decided “to make it very intimate.

Despite persistent backlash dating up to and throughout its release, Todd Phillips’ “Joker” isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s almost redundant at this point to rehash the numerous takedowns levied upon the movie. It’s a celebration of violence! It will incite incels! Horrid acts of cruelty are committed against women and other innocent people! No matter, because the movie, having now crossed the $1 billion box-office mark, which is unheard of for an R-rated film, is here to stay.

“Joker” cinematographer Lawrence Sher took the top prize at this weekend’s EnergaCamerimage festival in Torun, Poland, on Saturday. For his gritty lensing of early 1980s New York in a DC origin story that finds Joaquin Phoenix manically turning into the iconic Batman nemesis, Sher won the Golden Frog. This cinematography prize has gone to such films as “The Fortress,” “On Body and Soul,” “Lion,” “Carol,” “Leviathan,” and “Ida,...

Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce star as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis in the new trailer for The Two Popes. The film arrives in theaters in limited release on November 27th ahead of Netflix premiere on December 20th.

The Two Popes follows Cardinal Bergoglio – the future Pope Francis – meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 to request retirement. Instead, what follows is the Pope facing down his harshest critic in a series of meetings to determine the faith of the Catholic Church.

“Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress,...

With Netflix only recently announcing it would give Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic “The Irishman” a nearly four-week exclusive theatrical release before it becomes available to stream, Hollywood is watching closely as the streamer continues to hone its distribution strategy, especially for awards contenders. The growing heavyweight recently confirmed it would give nine other fall movies a similar theaters-first rollout, and of the nine, only “The Two Popes” is receiving the same nearly four-week theatrical as “The Irishman.” Netflix recently released the first trailer for the religious drama, and it could spell Oscar campaigns for lead actors Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce.

The two heavyweights play Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, respectively, in this intimate look at a historic turning point in the Catholic Church. From the trailer, the drama appears to be a two-hander revolving around conversations between the two men who would come to symbolize the tension...

Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Claire Denis's Bastards (2013) is showing April 14 – May 13, 2019 in the United States.Claire Denis' Bastards has often been referred to as an exploration of power, money, and depravity, or as an allegory for late capitalism. The figure of Edouard Laporte (Michel Subor)—an ironclad businessman whom neither the police nor the law courts seem to have any interest in investigating—stands here as the personification of a corrupt economic system, the ultimate devil onto whom it is easy to project our high-profile tycoons and shady politicians. This may indeed be the soil—the given—in which Bastards is rooted, but it can also cloud our vision as to what the film ultimately unfolds.Blindness is a major theme in Claire Denis's Bastards. Marco (Vincent Lindon), a naval captain, returns to Paris after the suicide of his brother-in-law and the...

Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die,” a star-studded zombie film that finds Bill Murray, Chloe Sevigny, Adam Driver and Tilda Swinton facing off against a horde of the undead, is set to kick off the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, Variety has learned.

The movie, Jarmusch’s third with indie studio Focus Features, unfolds in the peaceful town of Centerville, which suddenly finds itself under attack by zombies. Murray, Driver and Sevigny play the small-town sheriff’s deputies battling the reincarnated corpses breaking out from their graves. Jarmusch also wrote the script for the dark comedy, which will be the first film to screen at this year’s Cannes in competition for the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize.

The film will debut in theaters in France on the same day as its Cannes screening, with Focus releasing it in the U.S. exactly one month later,...

Kelly Hu is set to star in Becoming Ginger Rogers, an indie film, which is being directed by Anna Chi. The romantic comedy is based on the memoir Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO by New York publicist Patrice Tanaka. In the wake of 9/11 and faced with a personal crisis involving her beloved Afghani husband, the Hawaiian-born Tanaka turned to ballroom dancing as an escape. Against all odds she became a sensation on the competitive circuit, rediscovering her true self in the process. Beverly Kopf and Gary Goldstein optioned the novel and will pen the screenplay. Hu, who recently was seen in The Orville on Fox, is repped by Buchwald and Mainstay Entertainment. Chi is repped by Summit Talent & Literary Agency.

Courtney Gains, who...

When it comes to the movie “Jaws,” there’s a myth so often repeated that hardly anyone stops to question it anymore: The story goes that because Spielberg couldn’t get his giant mechanical shark to work, he was forced to shoot around it, resulting in a more effective film. That’s true up to a point. Sharks are scary, and the mere suggestion of one — coupled with the sight of a giant fin slicing through water, menacing p.o.v. shots, and the most menacing score ever written — is certainly more frightening than the sight of a malfunctioning rubber dummy. But there are countless examples, from Freddy Krueger to the clown from “It,” of horror-movie nightmares that are terrifying precisely because we do see them.

And then there’s “Bird Box,” a not-inexpensive Netflix thriller which pushes things to the other extreme, conjuring some kind of deadly phenomenon the...

Chin Han remembers the days when he had to hang up his costumes backstage at the end of a play, before his transition to Hollywood introduced him to costume designers and dressers. The thespian spent much of his early acting career in Singapore, performing in theatrical shows like Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” It wasn’t until a friend recommended him for a film role in the 1990s that he moved out to Los Angeles, launching a TV and film career that has spanned projects ranging from superhero blockbuster “The Dark Knight” to disaster pic “2012” and biomedical drama “Contagion.” In his latest role, he stars alongside Dwayne Johnson as architect Zhao Long Zhi in the CGI spectacle “Skyscraper,” which hit theaters July 13.

Chin Han received his first mention in Variety on Aug. 15, 1997, when production began on his first Hollywood film, “Blindness,” in which he played Daniel Hong.

What was the transition to Hollywood like?...

Just a month after Rosario Dawson entered talks to play Dr. Celia Reyes in 20th Century Fox's The New Mutants, the actress has backed out of the role, with Alice Braga stepping in to replace her. No reason for Rosario Dawson's departure was given, but with production slated to begin next month in Boston, it's easy to see why a replacement was found so quickly. It hasn't been confirmed how many other roles still need to be filled as we get closer and closer to production getting under way.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on this casting update, with Alice Braga joining an ensemble that already includes a talented cast of youngsters. Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams plays Wolfsbane, with Split star Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, 13 Reasons Why star Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton as Cannonball and The Originals star Blu Hunt as Mirage.

With the premieres of “Love,” “Stranger Things,” and “Luke Cage,” Netflix is having quite a busy year for original series, but soon they will debut their first Brazilian original production “3%.” Created by Pedro Aguilera and directed and executive produced by Cesar Charlone (“City of God”), “3%” follows a dystopian future Brazil in which the surviving population resides in the Inland, a place that lacks basic resources. But at the age of 20, everyone is given a chance to apply for the Process, which allows 3% of applicants to live in the glorious Mar Alto. The cast includes Joao Miguel (“Xingu”), Bianca Comparator (“Pure Beauty”), Zeze Motta (“Chica da Silva”), Mel Fronckowiak (“Rebelde”), and more.Watch the teaser trailer for the series below.

Read More: ’13th’ Review: Ava DuVernay’s Netflix Documentary Is the Most Relevant Movie of the Year — Nyff

Based off a 2011 web series also created by Pedro Aguilera, , “3%” marks the first Netflix series to be filmed,...

The 2016 Summer Olympics kick off tonight in Rio de Janeiro with the Opening Ceremony. Per tradition, the Opening Ceremony will feature the famous Parade Of Nations, where the different competing countries enter the arena, as well as a theatrical production that aims to introduce the world to the culture, music and traditions of the host nation. This year, acclaimed Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles is handling directing duties for the ceremony, which should make cinephiles especially excited.

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Meirelles is best known for the foreign film classic “City of God.” Released in 2002, the film is a violent drama about organized crime in the ghettoes of Rio, famously narrowing in on the battle between drug dealer Li’l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The drama picked up four Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, a rare feat for a foreign-language movie.

Working together for the first time since their collaboration in Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness, Award-winning actors Gael García Bernal (Babel, Motorcycle Diaries) and Alice Braga (I Am Legend, City of God) star in Ardor, a visually sumptuous adventure about a mysterious man who emerges from the Argentinian rainforest to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a poor farmer.

Written and directed by Pablo Fendrik (Blood Appears, The Mugger), the film’s magical realism, jungle setting and social context put a fresh, contemporary twist on the western genre.

When fires sweep through the rainforest near their property along the Parana River, a poor tobacco-farming family goes on high alert. The head of the family, João, (Chico Díaz) correctly suspects the fire is a result of slash-and-burn tactics by ruthless land-grabbers intent on acquiring the farm he shares with his lovely daughter, Vânia (Braga), and her partner, Jara (Lautaro Vilo)

Help arrives in the...

Exclusive: Afghan War film Hyena Road is understood to be among a band of Canadian films in the frame to open the 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

Jean-Marc Valleé’s Demolition, Atom Egoyan’s Remember and Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys are also regarded as strong contenders, if ready in time, for the prestigious berth.

While a Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) spokesperson said it ran against policy to comment on speculation prior to the programme announcement and there is no mandate for a Canadian film to open the festival, Canadian industry insiders are feeling bullish that a home-grown film will fly the flag.

And with more than three months to go before the 40th edition begins on September 10, speculation is already mounting that Hyena Road could become the opening night selection, which would mark the second time a film directed by Paul Gross has done so after his First World War drama...

Exclusive: Afghan War film Hyena Road is understood to be among a band of Canadian films in the frame to open the 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

Jean-Marc Valleé’s Demolition, Atom Egoyan’s Remember and Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys are also regarded as strong contenders, if ready in time, for the prestigious berth.

While a Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) spokesperson said it ran against policy to comment on speculation prior to the programme announcement and there is no mandate for a Canadian film to open the festival, Canadian industry insiders are feeling bullish that a home-grown film will fly the flag.

And with more than three months to go before the 40th edition begins on September 10, speculation is already mounting that Hyena Road could become the opening night selection, which would mark the second time a film directed by Paul Gross has done so after his First World War drama...

Exclusive: Afghan War film Hyena Road is understood to be among a band of Canadian films in the frame to open the 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

Jean-Marc Valleé’s Demolition, Atom Egoyan’s Remember and Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys are also regarded as strong contenders, if ready in time, for the prestigious berth.

While a Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) spokesperson said it ran against policy to comment on speculation prior to the programme announcement and there is no mandate for a Canadian film to open the festival, Canadian industry insiders are feeling bullish that a home-grown film will fly the flag.

And with more than three months to go before the 40th edition begins on September 10, speculation is already mounting that Hyena Road could become the opening night selection, which would mark the second time a film directed by Paul Gross has done so after his Wwi drama [link=tt...

Exclusive: Afghan War film Hyena Road is understood to be among a band of Canadian films in the frame to open the 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

Jean-Marc Valleé’s Demolition, Atom Egoyan’s Remember and Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys are also regarded as strong contenders, if ready in time, for the prestigious berth.

While a Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) spokesperson said it ran against policy to comment on speculation prior to the programme announcement and there is no mandate for a Canadian film to open the festival, Canadian industry insiders are feeling bullish that a home-grown film will fly the flag.

And with more than three months to go before the 40th edition begins on September 10, speculation is already mounting that Hyena Road could become the opening night selection, which would mark the second time a film directed by Paul Gross has done so after his Wwi drama [link=tt...

Fortissimo Films has acquired international rights to Canadian filmmaker Stephen Dunn’s directorial debut Closet Monster.

Currently in post-production, the English-language coming-of-age drama follows a creative and imaginative teenager who has spent years destabilised by his dysfunctional parents, unsure of his sexuality and haunted by horrific images of a childhood trauma.

Connor Jessup (Falling Skies, Blackbird) plays the teenager. The film also features a talking hamster voiced by Isabella Rossellini.

The film was produced by Rhombus Media (The Red Violin, Blindness) and Best Boy Entertainment with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador Film Development Corporation and The Harold Greenberg Fund and Rogers Telefund. Canadian distribution will be handled by Elevation Pictures.

Dunn’s short films have won awards at festivals including Toronto and Tribeca. In 2015, his short film series Pop-Up Porno created a sensation at Sundance.

The deal for international rights was finalised by Fortissimo Films’ chairman Michael J. Werner and producers Fraser Ash and Kevin Krikst...

Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney on the Red Carpet Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney Oscars photo Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre at (almost) the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in downtown Hollywood. Ruffalo was a 2011 Best Supporting Actor nominee for his role as a chauvinistic male slob who disrupts the family life of a lesbian couple in Lisa Cholodenko's Best Picture contender The Kids Are All Right. The dramatic comedy co-stars Best Actress nominee Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, and Mia Wasikowska. This was Ruffalo's first Academy Award nomination. As it turned out, The Kids Are All Right didn't win a single statuette on Sunday night. But at the 2011 Spirit Awards held the day before, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg's screenplay was chosen as the best of the year among independent films.

Filmmaker David Gelb has doesn't seem like the most likely candidate for a low budget horror. Previously his work has mostly been in the documentary realm, whether putting the camera on rock band The Hold Steady ("A Positive Rage"), chronicling the making of Fernando Meirelles' "Blindness" ("Vision Of Blindness"), or taking audiences into the realm of one of the food world's culinary masters ("Jiro Dreams Of Sushi"). But here he is, ready to bring scares with a starry cast in "The Lazarus Effect," and the first trailer has arrived. Starring Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, and Donald Glover, the story follows a research team who accidentally kill a colleague during their experiments in mapping the brain. When they reanimate her, well, they don't get what they bargained for. “The reason I love to do low-budget movies is you can try different things… have creative freedom and experiment, like our characters,...

The whole year, I have been looking for The Oscar season frontrunner for Best Actress. I was hoping Shailene Woodley from "The Fault in Our Stars" would squeak in, but now, the lovely, talented, and ultra-sweet Julianne Moore is the one to beat!

Her double whammy performances for "Map to the Stars" and "Still Alice" solidify that notion. And just this morning, the Palm Springs International Film Festival just called her The best actress of the year! Moore will be receiving the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, at the festival's Awards Gala.

I can't wait! I will be on the red carpet to chat it up with the fantastic Miss Moore! She will be joining the equally talented Eddie Redmayne from "The Theory of Everything" at the gala where the actor is set to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor.

Here's the full press release from the Psiff:

Palm Springs,...

Julianne Moore might be the hottest actress in the Oscar race this year, and most voters haven’t even seen her film yet. This four-time Oscar nominee and Emmy winner for Game Change is considered overdue for a win. Still Alice, in which she plays a victim of early-onset Alzheimer’s, offers her a great opportunity to finally take home that statuette, and today the Palm Springs International Film Festival announced that she will receive the Actress prize at this year’s gala on January 3. Eddie Redmayne was previously announced for the fest’s Actor prize, and both are considered front-runners in the Oscar race, so Psiff is just jumping on the bandwagon.

Every precursor award a contender can get just makes them seem more inevitable for the final win. Moore certainly is deserving, and it is looking like her year. In May, she won the Best Actress prize at...