Variety

The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge awarded prizes in several categories at a Thursday event on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City. The Disability Film Challenge is celebrating 11 years of advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. Presenters and attendees included “Ricky Stanicky” writer, producer and director Peter Farrelly, comedian […]

Be For Films has acquired international sales rights to “Mothers Don’t” (“Las madres no”) directed by celebrated Spanish filmmaker Mar Coll. The film marks her third directorial outing following “Three Days with the Family“ and “We All Want What’s Best for Her.” The movie tells the story of María, a young writer who has just […]

“The Last of Us” star Bella Ramsey will take on the role of one of the U.K.’s most mysterious and infamous modern day figures in “Girl Next Door” from writer/director Bruce Goodison (“Leave to Remain”). The film — which Celsius Entertainment has acquired world sales rights to and will launch in Cannes — is set to tell […]

Uncork’d Entertainment has pre-bought multi-territory rights to upcoming Argentinian-produced action-horror film “Eyes of the Abyss” ahead of its showcase in Cannes next week. Uncork’d has picked up the film, which is currently in post-production, for North America, the U.K. and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is planning a release in the final quarter of […]

After the well-received “Joyland” in 2022 and “In Flames” last year, Pakistan is debuting a central hub at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The Pakistan Crescent Collective, set up by Modoxy Media, will represent the country’s official presence at the festival, with a mission to “discover and nurture the next generation of talent, preserve […]

Tanja Meissner, a seasoned film executive with a long track record in international sales, has been appointed as the director of Berlinale Pro and the European Film Market (EFM). Meissner replaces Dennis Ruh, who stepped down after this year’s edition of the EFM. The role has been reshaped and Meissner will be part of Berlinale […]

Kii Muneyuki, a former head of production at Japan’s Toei, is launching K2 Pictures, a company that aims to upend Japanese filmmaking practices. Its debut slate, with films by Kore-eda Hirokazu, Iwai Shunji and Nishikawa Miwa, will be unveiled in Cannes next week. A key part of the new company’s strategy is the establishment of […]

History? They just made some. A long anticipated sequel to the hit 2023 romantic comedy “Red, White & Royal Blue” is officially in development at Amazon MGM Studios, with stars Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez set to return. Matthew López, who co-wrote and directed the first film, is returning to write the screenplay with […]

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” marks composer John Paesano’s first foray into the Apes franchise. Following in the footsteps of Jerry Goldsmith (“Planet of the Apes”), Michael Giacchino (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) and others, he knew he’d have big shoes to fill. The first thing he thought about was the […]

"The Last Stop in Yuma County," a real-time, single-location crime thriller set at a gas-food-lodging stop in sunbaked Arizona, is what you might call an exercise in Tarantino knockoff nostalgia.