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Canary Black is a spy action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel from a screenplay by Matthew Kennedy. The Prime Video film follows Avery Graves, an exceptional CIA agent whose husband is kidnapped by terrorists to blackmail her into stealing sensitive information that would betray her country. Canary Black stars Kate Beckinsale in the lead role with Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson, Saffron Burrows, Ben Miles, and Michael Brandon starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the explosive action, thrilling story, and compelling characters in Canary Black here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Salt (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Columbia Pictures

Salt is a spy action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer. The 2010 film follows Evelyn Salt, an exceptional CIA agent who is wrongfully accused of killing the Russian president.

There exists an alternate cinematic realm wherein Pierce Brosnan, having concluded his run on the briefly successful NBC action-drama "Remington Steele," inherited the role of James Bond from Roger Moore and likely guided the franchise through a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. It's possible he could've failed, but that would've been the fault of the production team led by Albert "Cubby" Broccoli. Because Brosnan was born to play Bond. Broccoli even said as much when he met the actor on the set of 1981's "For Your Eyes Only." Though I'm a huge Timothy Dalton supporter, I think versions of "The Living Daylights" and "License to Kill" tailored to Brosnan's more debonair persona would've been much bigger hits, and brought a quick resolution to the legal wrangling that hastened Dalton's departure.

Pierce Brosnan was the platonic ideal of a big-screen James Bond.

Alas, NBC boneheadedly misread the ratings uptick the due-to-be-cancelled...

Sigourney Weaver championed environmental conservation efforts in the Venice area, when receiving her honorary Golden Lion at the opening ceremony for the 81st edition of the city’s film festival.

“The true story of conservation is not a global one of doom and gloom,” said Weaver, having received the award from French actress Camille Cottin. “It is the story of people coming together to take care of their own homes, their own neighbourhoods. Citizens coming together to figure this out and doing everything they can to save their city.”

Weaver cited the Mose project, a system of gates built around...

Exclusive: Two years ago, Sigourney Weaver handed the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to the filmmaker Paul Schrader. As she explains to us in a rare sit-down, she didn’t imagine that two years later she would be receiving the same accolade.

Looking over her career is to be quickly reminded that there are few actresses working today who are more deserving. Between Alien, Ghostbusters and Avatar, Weaver has left an indelible mark on some of cinema’s most iconic sci-fi franchises. As Ellen Ripley, she represented a heroine unprecedented in the action and sci-fi genre up to that point.

But the three-time Oscar nominee is perhaps most worthy of the Venice award she will receive at the festival Wednesday for her remarkable range, and her ability in the words of Venice festival director Alberto Barbera to “side-step labels that sought to restrict her”: “She...

In Hollywood's eyes, before James Cameron became a household name for directing things like "The Terminator," "Titanic," and "Avatar," he was just another guy who had worked for low-budget producer Roger Corman and directed the little-seen stinker "Piranha II: The Spawning." Few people were paying much attention to Cameron at that point, but apparently, one industry veteran who had his eye on the up-and-coming filmmaker was legendary director Steven Spielberg.

During a tribute to Spielberg that took place at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles back in 2011, directors Michael Apted, J.J. Abrams, and James Cameron interviewed Spielberg in front of a sold-out crowd, and Cameron shared a story about a note Spielberg gave on Cameron's idea for what would become the 1986 sci-fi action classic "Aliens."

"I tried to get you started, you know," Spielberg told Cameron on stage, recalling that he offered Cameron the opportunity to direct...

The Joy for Pixar's summer smash-hit sequel Inside Out 2 continues! First, Kelsey Mann's follow-up to Pete Docter's beloved 2015 emotional odyssey bagged a record-breaking opening weekend at the box office, blitzing its way to a $295 million open as it became the Envy of its blockbuster peers. It didn't take long then for the film to become 2024's first billion dollar box office hit, allaying any Fear of flagging cinemagoing figures after a slow start to the summer. And now Pixar are really living the life of Riley (in more ways than one) as their emotional coming-of-age caper has just toppled 2019's Frozen II to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.

With a current total cume of $1.462 billion taken in just six weeks, Inside Out 2 now finds itself nestled between the continued adventures of Anna, Elsa, Olaf and co and high-octane action sequel Top Gun...

Divorce in the Black is a thriller drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry. The Prime Video film follows the story of Ava, a young woman as he leaves her abusive husband and goes back to her parents. When she meets the one true love of her life again, her ex-husband begins stalking her and now she has to do everything legal and illegal to get away from him. Divorce in the Black stars Meagan Good in the lead role with Cory Hardrict, Richard Lawson, Debbi Morgan, Shannon Wallace, Taylor Polidore, and Rakeem Laws starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the thrilling story and intense characters in Divorce in the Black, here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Enough (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Sony Pictures

Enough is a thriller drama film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan. Based on...

El galardón a la actriz estadounidense se entregará durante el festival, que se celebra del 28 de agosto al 7 de septiembre.

La icónica actriz estadounidense y tres veces nominada al Oscar Sigourney Weaver será galardonada con el León de Oro honórifico a toda una carrera en la 81ª edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de Venecia, que se celebra 28 de agosto al 7 de septiembre.

Al conocer la noticia, la actriz, Sigourney Weaver, ha dicho: «Es un verdadero honor para mí recibir el León de Oro a la Trayectoria Profesional de la Biennale di Venezia. Recibir este premio es un privilegio que comparto con todos los cineastas y colaboradores con los que he trabajado a lo largo de los años. Acepto con orgullo este premio en reconocimiento a todos los que han contribuido a dar vida a estas películas.»

La decisión del galardón a la actriz fue tomada por el Consejo de la Biennale di Venezia,...

Die US-Schauspielerin wird im Rahmen der 81. Mostra in Venedig mit dem Goldenen Löwen für ihr Lebenswerk ausgezeichnet.

Sigourney Weaver wird von der Mostra in Venedig für ihr Lebenswerk geehrt (Credit: La Biennale di Venezia)

Sigourney Weaver wird im Rahmen der 81. Mostra in Venedig (28. August bis 7. September) mit dem Goldenen Löwen für ihr Lebenswerk ausgezeichnet. Das gab die Mostra heute bekannt.

„Eine Schauspielerin vom Kaliber einer Sigourney Weaver hat nur wenige Konkurrenten. Gestärkt durch ihre fundierte Theaterausbildung, eroberte sie das große Kinopublikum mit ‚Alien‘ unter der Regie von Ridley Scott und wurde bald zu einer Symbolfigur der 1980er Jahre. Im Laufe dieses Jahrzehnts prägte sie das Bild einer Heldin, wie es sie im Genre des Actionfilms noch nie gegeben hatte, und die es mit den männlichen Vorbildern, die bis dahin die Epos- und Abenteuerfilme dominiert hatten, aufnehmen konnte. Die Schauspielerin gab sich nicht damit zufrieden, den Weg für starke weibliche Darstellerinnen geebnet zu haben,...

Three-time Oscar-nominated actor Sigourney Weaver will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

Weaver said, “To be gifted this award is a privilege I share with all the filmmakers and collaborators I have worked with throughout the years. I proudly accept this award in celebration of all who have helped bring these films to life.”

Venice’s director Alberto Barbera, whose mandate was just renewed, said, “An actress of the caliber of Sigourney Weaver has few rivals. Strengthened by her significant theatrical training, she won over the great film-going public with ‘Alien,’ directed by Ridley Scott, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the 1980s.”

“During the course of that decade, she forged the image of a heroine unprecedented in the action film genre, able to victoriously rival the male models who, up to that point, had dominated epic and adventure movies. Not satisfied...

Sigourney Weaver has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the upcoming Venice International Film Festival.

Venice chief Alberto Barbera called the thrice Academy Award-nominated Alien star “an actress with few rivals.”

“Strengthened by her significant theatrical training, she won over the great film-going public with Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the 1980s,” he added. “As an authentic collaborator, rather than simply a malleable instrument in the hands of a director, she has contributed to the success of movies by James Cameron, Paul Schrader, Peter Weir, Michael Apted, Roman Polanski, Ivan Reitman, Mike Nichols, Ang Lee, and many others, each time imposing the mark of a complex personality — at times contradictory but always authentic — onto her own charismatic presence. Endowed with a remarkable temperament, able to move with delicacy yet without fragility, she has created the image of a woman who is self-assured and determined,...

While Nick Kroll’s eight-season-long coming-of-age animated comedy “Big Mouth” may be approaching finality, the writer and voice actor behind over 70 characters on the show doesn’t believe there aren’t more stories to tell. In a similar way to how Michael Apted’s “Up” series or even the recent “Inside Out 2” handles how one grows into an adult, Kroll thinks it makes sense for “Big Mouth” to follow its characters throughout life as well.

“The beauty of telling stories about kids who are evolving is that it never gets tired,” Kroll said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “And you’re always finding new elements, new stories to tell and new emotions for those kids … because the show itself does not stand still, it makes it more gratifying to perform.”

Though the show skews towards the crass, part of its magic is in how incredibly accurate...

Exclusive: Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories has teamed with producer Monica Saunders-Weinberg to adapt Fiona McIntosh’s novel The Pearl Thief as a feature film. One Life screenwriter Nick Drake is attached to write.

The Pearl Thief is billed as a sweeping, epic story love and betrayal set between 1939 and the early 1960s. Saunders-Weinberg acquired the rights and took the project to Nine Perfect Strangers maker Made Up Stories, which then attached Drake to the project.

Synopsis reads: “The stakes are high in this gripping novel set between the city of Prague and its snowy woodlands on the cusp of World War II, and later in the streets of Paris, London, and the heather-covered moors of Yorkshire in 1963.”

The plot will follow Katerina, a museum curator determined to overcome the trauma of her past and avenge the pain inflicted upon those she loved and those she’ll never know.

Ray Chan, longtime production designer on some of Marvel’s biggest films died this week, according to a statement from Marvel Studios.

Chan was best known for his work on billion-dollar Marvel blockbusters such as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as well as the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine.

But he also worked with directors such as Ridley Scott, Michael Apted, Alfonso Cuarón, Ed Zwick, James Mangold and Antoine Fuqua, and on films as diverse as National Treasure, Nanny McPhee, Children of Men, Blood Diamond, Robin Hood, Knight and Day and Dungeons and Dragons.

He was nominated for an Art Director’s Guild Award five times, winning in 2015 and 2020 for Guardians of the Galaxy and Endgame, respectively.

“Ray was first and foremost a good friend to everyone at Marvel Studios. He was a talented collaborator who brought creativity and attention to detail to every frame of every movie he worked on,...

While annual attendees warning newcomers to strap in for a long night ahead is a tradition at the Directors Guild of America Awards, the 2024 show seemed to move pretty steadily without a hitch.

Taking place on Saturday, February 11 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the golden medallions mostly went to expected winners like Theatrical Feature Film going to “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan, Michael Apted First-Time Theatrical Feature Film going to “Past Lives” director Celine Song, and Comedy Series going to “The Bear” showrunner/director Christopher Storer for the cameo-packed Season 2 episode “The Fishes.”

However, before those awards were given out, director Lesli Linka Glatter used her President’s Welcome to address an elephant in the room. “This year, members need that connection over our shared craft even more now. Because the last year was so fucking challenging,” she said, with unscripted emphasis. Though the Directors Guild did not strike...

For over four years now, "The Office" stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey have been revisiting episodes of the popular sitcom on their enthusiastic rewatch podcast, "Office Ladies." This week, former episode director (and "Breaking Bad" star) Bryan Cranston stopped by the show (via Entertainment Weekly) and finally said what everyone's probably been thinking: there should be a "The Office" movie.

"Let's say that there's not a reboot series, but what if there was a movie?" Cranston spitballed when chatting with Kinsey and Fischer about his own time on the long-running series. If you don't remember the actor from "The Office," it's because he wasn't actually on screen; instead, he served as the man behind the camera for season 9's pie stand field trip episode "Work Bus." When reminiscing about the show, Cranston broached the topic of a sequel film that would check in on the Dunder Mifflin staff, pitching...

“Much Ado About Dying,” Simon Chamber’s documentary about elderly care that won the best directing award at IDFA in 2022, has been acquired by First Run Features for the U.S. and Canada.

The feature, produced by Soilsiú Films and Tiffin Films, will have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ahead of a national theatrical release set to launch at New York’s Film Forum on March 15.

Chambers’ third feature-length documentary, “Much Ado About Dying” deals with the issue of caring for elderly and dying relatives. Producers describe the film as “poignant and moving, but also hilariously funny,” following Chambers as he get very close to his dying uncle, a retired gay actor who still wants to perform “King Lear” before it’s too late. The director’s previous films, “Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears” and “Cowboys in India,” both toured the festival...

On Wednesday, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced its film nominations for the 2024 DGA Awards.

Nominees include Greta Gerwig (Barbie), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Alexander Payne (The Holdovers) and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon). In the first-time director category, Cord Jefferson (American Fiction), Manuela Martelli (Chile ’76), Noora Niasari (Shayda), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand and One) and Celine Song (Past Lives) received nominations.

This is Scorsese’s 11th DGA nomination in the same category — he won for The Departed in 2007. Only Steven Spielberg has received more, with 13. Nolan now has five under his belt, with no wins so far. Payne was nominated twice before but didn’t win the award either year. Gerwig, whose nomination is the 13th time a woman has been nominated in the category, received a nod in 2018 for Lady Bird.

Last year, female directors were notably shut out from the nominations,...

Fair Play is an erotical thriller film written and directed by Chloe Domont. The Netflix film revolves around the relationship of Emily and Luke, which begins to deteriorate after an unexpected promotion at work. Fair Play stars Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich in the lead roles and if you loved Domont’s directorial debut here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Damage (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Majestic Films International

Synopsis: Dr. Stephen Fleming (Jeremy Irons) is a British cabinet minister, who lives a pleasant life with his wife Ingrid (Miranda Richardson) and young daughter Sally (Gemma Clarke). At a party one evening he meets his son’s fiancé Anna (Juliet Binoche), who he is instantly attracted to. They embark on an affair behind their partners backs, gradually becoming more adventurous in their secret meetings. They are eventually discovered, and must deal with the damage. Based on the novel by Josephine Hart.

NewFest has announced its full lineup for the 35th milestone anniversary year of its annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival. The announcement was made today by NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.

The 2023 special 35th anniversary edition of NewFest’s flagship festival will remain hybrid and take place from October 12 – 22 in theaters within New York, and virtually throughout the United States on NewFest’s on-demand platform through October 24. The festival’s in-person premieres will take place in Manhattan at Sva Theatre and The LGBT Community Center, and in Brooklyn at Nitehawk Prospect Park and The Brooklyn Academy of Music (Bam).

“Sharing LGBTQ+ stories in a space designed specifically for queer audiences is, in a word, magical,” said Executive Director David Hatkoff. “For 35 years – starting at the height of the AIDS crisis and continuing through today’s essential fight for trans rights – NewFest has provided...

Nicholas Hitchon, whose life was chronicled in the celebrated British Up documentary films from a precocious age 7 in 1964 to 63 in the 2019 installment, died of throat cancer July 23 in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a university professor. He was 65.

His death was only recently announced on the University of Wisconsin’s website. Hitchon had revealed his cancer battle in the most recent film in the series, 63 Up.

According to the university post, William Nicholas “Nick” Hitchon was a member of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, having joined the faculty in 1982. He had earned his PhD in engineering science the previous year from Oxford University.

But for generations of viewers and fans of the beloved Up series, Hitchon might forever be remembered as the little boy from a farming family in Littondale, England, who, when asked on camera in Seven Up! if he had a girlfriend,...

If you ever happen across Tommy Lee Jones in a public setting, should you find yourself sharing an elevator with him or spot him across the room in a restaurant, do yourself a favor and leave him be. If you're at all adept at reading body language, you should realize fairly quickly that the man is a walking "do not disturb" sign. Should you try to engage, know that he will swiftly and bluntly shut you down. Whatever bond you feel you've formed with Jones, it doesn't extend beyond the movie theater or your television screen. Not for him.

If you ever get the opportunity to interview Tommy Lee Jones, prepare. Do your research, write your very specific questions down well in advance and do not deviate. If you ask good, thoughtful questions, you'll get a good interview. Do not try to have a conversation. If your inquiries ramble or,...

Robert Schmidt, the film editor whose decades-long collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis on classics such as Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away, Contact and all three Back to the Future films won him two Oscars, has died, Deadline has confirmed. He was 86.

Schmidt’s two Best Film Editing Oscars came for Roger Rabbit (1988) and Forrest Gump (1994). His other collaborations with Zemeckis included Death Becomes Her (1992) and What Lies Beneath (2000).

“Arthur Schmidt was incredibly talented and a joy to work with,” Zemeckis said in a statement to Deadline. “He was a true gentleman and I am honored to have known him and to have created what we did together.”

Schmidt had a distinguished career beyond that artistic partnership.

He edited films directed by Michael Mann, Taylor Hackford, Michael Apted, Mike Nichols, Barry Sonnenfeld and many others.

In addition to his Oscars, Schmidt won Ace Eddies for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl...

Arthur Schmidt, 2-time Academy Award-winning editor and longtime collaborator of Robert Zemeckis, died this past Saturday at the age of 86, his brother Ron announced.

Schmidt’s four-decade career includes some of the biggest films of the late 20th Century, including Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future” trilogy, “Contact” and “Cast Away.” He also received his two Oscars for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and “Forrest Gump,” the latter of which won Best Picture.

Born in Los Angeles, Schmidt’s career followed in the footsteps of his father, Arthur P. Schmidt, who also had a decorated editing career with films like “Ace in the Hole,” “Sabrina,” “Some Like It Hot,” and Billy Wilder’s legendary noir “Sunset Boulevard.”

The younger Schmidt’s career didn’t start until after his father’s death in 1965, working as an apprentice and assistant editor throughout the 1970s including on films like “Jaws 2.” His big breakthrough came...

Arthur Schmidt, the two-time Oscar-winning film editor who collaborated with director Robert Zemeckis on 10 films, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and the Back to the Future trilogy, has died. He was 86.

Schmidt died Saturday of an unknown cause at his home in Santa Barbara, his brother Ron Schmidt told The Hollywood Reporter.

The second-generation film editor also cut three Mike Nichols features — The Fortune (1975), The Birdcage (1996) and Primary Colors (1998) — and two helmed by Michael Apted — Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), for which he received his first Oscar nom, and Firstborn (1984).

His résumé over four decades included work on Marathon Man (1976), Jaws 2 (1978), Ruthless People (1986), Beaches (1988), The Rocketeer (1991), The Last of the Mohicans (1992) and Congo (1995), and he was brought in for three months to help tidy up the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 2003.

Schmidt received his Academy Awards in 1989 for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and in 1995 for Forrest Gump,...

In the 1997 sleeper hit comedy The Full Monty, six unemployed men in a dying English steel town attempt to make some cash by putting on a show where they will dance and strip for the local women. In the new FX sequel series, Gaz (Robert Carlyle), Dave (Mark Addy), and the rest of the group are in many ways more desperate. But they’re also too old and slow to reprise their greatest hit. When a stranger pressures them to do the dance again for the first time in 26 years,...

Editor’s Note: The below blog piece originally ran in January. Sam Now is screening tonight, Thursday, April 6, in Los Angeles at the Glendale Laemmle and in New York tomorrow, Friday, April 7 at the Village East. See showtimes on the film’s website.

***

Film Independent Fellow Reed Harkness began to lay the groundwork for his acclaimed 2022 documentary Sam Now way back in 1997. His intent then, as an 18-year-old, was merely to document some adventures with his 11-year-old half-brother Sam on Super 8mm footage. Little did he know that 25 years later he’d have an entire nonfiction feature, starring Sam and other members of his family, let alone one racking up awards on the film festival circuit.

In order to fully realize his vision, Reed teamed up with childhood friend Jason Reid in 2015 to serve as editor/producer and participated in the Film Independent Fast Track program in 2020 and the Documentary...

How long does a documentary need to be? Frederick Wiseman frequently goes long, and Oscar-winning “Oj: Made in America” ran nearly eight hours. Lately, with “Bill Russell: Legend” and “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker,” streamers have embraced the “two-part documentary” — a fancy term for what used to be called a miniseries. So, while there are no limits on how much longer docs can get, it’s refreshing to see a compelling subject covered in 40 minutes or less, and doubly rewarding to realize that four of the five packaged in ShortsTV’s “2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary” found audiences on their own merits, even without theatrical distribution.

The only one you can’t see for free is Jay Rosenblatt’s charming “How Do You Measure a Year?,” a 29-minute assembly of home-movie footage. Every year, Rosenblatt sat his daughter Ella down on her birthday and peppered her with questions,...

Los Angeles, Feb 19 (Ians) The top prize at the recently concluded Directors Guild of America awards – that of the Best Theatrical Feature was bagged by ‘The Daniels’ – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo behind the sci-fi comedy ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

‘The Daniels’ became the third directing duo ever to win, reports ‘Variety’.

‘The Daniels’ beat out Steven Spielberg, who holds the record for the most nominations and wins, at 13 and three, respectively.

Spielberg was gunning for his fourth trophy, for the semi-autobiographical ‘The Fabelmans’.

“This has been an incredible year for our little film that somehow keeps going,” Kwan said, quoted by ‘Variety’.

This was the first DGA Award nomination for the filmmakers. The DGA boasts a voting body of around 19,000 members. Over its 75-year history, the DGA Awards has been the most reliable barometer for the Oscars’ best director prize.

Only eight DGA winners have failed...

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have been named the best theatrical-film directors of 2022 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” by the Directors Guild of America, which presented its 75th annual DGA Awards on Saturday night in Beverly Hills.

The two directors, who go by the name The Daniels, won for the freewheeling film, topping Steven Spielberg for “The Fabelmans,” Martin McDonagh for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Todd Field for “Tar” and Joseph Kosinski for “Top Gun: Maverick.” They are only the third directing team to win the DGA Award, after the Coen brothers for “No Country for Old Men” and Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for “West Side Story.”

Spielberg, who is both the most-nominated and winningest film director in DGA history with 13 nominations and three wins, was the sentimental favorite going into the show, but “Everything Everywhere” has proven to be a surprisingly potent awards contender. The DGA win...

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — a.k.a. the Daniels — the duo behind the sci-fi comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America’s DGA awards on Saturday night. They became the third directing duo ever to win.

The Daniels beat out Steven Spielberg, who holds the record for the most nominations and wins, at 13 and three, respectively. Spielberg was gunning for his fourth trophy, for the semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans.”

“This has been an incredible year for our little film that somehow keeps going,” Kwan said. This was the first DGA Award nomination for the filmmakers.

The DGA boasts a voting body of around 19,000 members. Over its 75-year history, the DGA Awards has been the most reliable barometer for the Oscars’ best director prize. Only eight DGA winners have failed to walk away with the Academy Award, most recently Sam Mendes (“1917...

For the residents of El Eco, the rural hamlet that gives Tatiana Huezo’s new film its name, life and death are inseparable — not in an abstract sense, but in the here and now, the day-to-day. Animals must be herded and cared for and sometimes slaughtered, crops planted and harvested, and schoolchildren are often right on the frontline with their parents, watching, learning, doing. Taking it all in, they’re smart and inquisitive, kids at their most unself-conscious and open, and with Ernesto Pardo’s extraordinary camerawork holding them close, you might find it hard to let them go. You might wish that Huezo would perhaps return for a follow-up, a Mexico-set spin on Michael Apted’s indelible Seven Up films.

After delving into narrative for the first time with Prayers for the Stolen, the Mexican-Salvadoran filmmaker returns to her nonfiction roots with this intimately observed exploration of tough and tender realities.

In the abysmal landscape of short film distribution, documentaries have had the easiest time translating to streaming and internet consumption. Often overlapping with hard-hitting video journalism, documentary shorts appeal to establishment news outlets like The New Yorker and The New York Times, and both outlets have funded numerous short documentaries over the last decade.

In its effort to earn industry clout by wracking up Oscar nominations, Netflix joined the fray, and its two nominations for Best Documentary Short this year are by far the most accessible.

This year’s nominees lean far lighter than in most years, which is somewhat surprising seeing as the terrible news just keeps piling up. Perhaps voters needed a little levity this year, or perhaps filmmakers themselves are seeking out more uplifting stories.

From saving baby elephants in India to a shocking tale of a changed perspective, the films in this category offer more than...

Jeff Vlaming, the very hirable TV writer, producer and story editor who worked on 41 shows — including The X-Files, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Hannibal and The 100 — across three decades, has died. He was 63.

A specialist in science fiction, Vlaming died Jan. 30 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena after he was diagnosed with cancer in early 2021, his brother, Jonathan Vlaming, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Vlaming most recently served as a writer and executive producer for the final three seasons (2018-20) of The CW’s The 100 and as an exec producer and writer on NBC’s Debris in 2021.

In 2009-10, he was a writer and exec producer on Fox’s Fringe in 2009-10; he and showrunner J.H. Wyman penned what many fans consider the series’ preeminent episode, “White Tulip.”

The Minnesota native also was a supervising producer and writer on The CW’s Reaper from 2007-09 and a...

Pressman died in Los Angeles on January 17.

Edward R. Pressman, the eminent independent producer of Wall Street, American Psycho and The Crow, has died aged 79.

The US producer died in Los Angeles on January 17. A statement said he “passed away peacefully surrounded by friends, family and members of the Pressman Film company”.

Producing more than 90 features over 50 years, Pressman was known for fostering renowned director-driven titles. Some of his best-known films include Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant, Terrence Malick’s Badlands, John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian, and Mary Harron’s American Psycho.

He had most...

Martin Campbell's 1995 film "GoldenEye," the first James Bond film to star Pierce Brosnan, was about 007's place in a post-Cold War world, a world where international espionage suddenly took on a very different shape. The plot of the movie involved leftover Soviet war satellites and leftover resentments. "GoldenEye" looked back over the previous three decades and found that quite a mess had been left behind. James Bond had to face the fact that his suavity and action hero capabilities, while cool, didn't necessarily help the world politically in the long run. 007 did not singlehandedly end the Cold War. But "GoldenEye" is no downer, presenting these conflicts with the usual action panache, dazzling charm, and periodic goofiness (there is a villainess named Xenia Onatopp) that marks the series. It's one of the best James Bond movies. 

In one of the film's lighter scenes, Bond has a meeting with an ex-Kgb-member-turned-Russian-gangster named Valentin Zukovsky,...

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Loretta Lynn has died at age 90.

The country music star passed away at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee per the Associated Press. Lynn’s memoir and life story was previously adapted into the Oscar-winning 1980 film “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” directed by Michael Apted and starring Sissy Spacek as Lynn.

Deemed as one of the best musical biopics, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” starred Spacek as Lynn, with Tommy Lee Jones as her husband Doolittle Lynn. Beverly D’Angelo played Patsy Cline. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Spacek won the Best Actress Oscar.

“I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” singer Lynn was later inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and is survived by her sister and fellow country star Crystal Gayle. Lynn formerly suffered a stroke in 2017, which ended her touring career after collaborating with Jack White of The White...

Loretta Lynn, the country music icon who groundbreaking songs dealt candidly with poverty, women’s struggles and, in the great song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” her own life, died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She was 90.

Her death was announced by her family. In a statement, Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the statement reads.

Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

One of the greatest female singer-songwriters in country music history – arguable the greatest, certainly the most influential – Lynn chronicled her life and struggles over the course of a 60-year career, both in song and in the 1976 autobiography that became a hit 1980 movie — both titled Coal Miner’s Daughter — that earned Sissy Spacek...

Last Thursday, a stone’s throw from the former headquarters of Larry Flynt’s Hustler empire, a trove of thirsty teenage influencers, A-listers such as Dustin Hoffman and rock stars including Muse’s Matt Bellamy were queueing up to walk the red carpet at a movie premiere.

This wasn’t, however, the latest Marvel launch or an Oscar-bait opening. It was the re-release of a 13-year-old music documentary about a previously relatively unknown heavy metal band from Canada.

Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, a tale of hope and heavy metal, has been having quite the encore.

The film, directed by Sacha Gervasi, has been re-released by Utopia for a new generation of kids that seem willing to get in the pit for its heartwarming message: never give up.

‘Railway Children,’ Anvil, Abigail Disney & ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ – Specialty Preview

“It’s chaotic magic,” Gervasi tells Deadline the morning...

When director Brett Morgen began his acclaimed David Bowie documentary, “Moonage Daydream” (Neon), he had no idea where the journey would take him. His goals were rather narrow: “I was hoping to create a theme park ride [in IMAX] around my favorite musical artist, something that would be intimate and sublime and experiential,” he told IndieWire.

“But the film became something much deeper and richer, which I didn’t expect to encounter,” he added, “because prior to starting the film, I only listened to David’s music — I hadn’t really listened to his interviews. So the film became more life affirming than I anticipated.”

It became a kaleidoscopic, mind-blowing journey about the chameleon of rock, built around Bowie as narrator (culled from pre-existing material), performer, and philosopher about the transience of life and the promise of the new millennium. The ambitious doc is interspersed with concert footage, interviews, music, Stan Brakhage-inspired animation,...

As a young writer, Lawrence Kasdan made a name for himself scripting three of the most beloved cinematic spectacles of all time: “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Return of the Jedi.” When he moved into the director’s chair, however, his best work tended toward modestly scaled humanist dramas and comedies like “The Big Chill,” “The Accidental Tourist,” and “Grand Canyon,” films more concerned with asking deep philosophical questions about how we live our lives (and why) than with pyrotechnics or heightened acts of heroism.

With his latest work, the six-part Disney+ documentary series “Light & Magic,” Kasdan has reconciled the two sides of his filmmaking sensibility to tell a sweeping story of spectacular technology through a personal lens. The show follows the evolution of the most influential special effects house in the history of cinema, Industrial Light & Magic, through an expertly assembled combination of...

This gentle film by three directors, including Alice Rohrwacher, explores social inequality, the pandemic and climate change fears of young people

This thoughtful documentary from a trio of Italian directors feels cut from the same cloth as Michael Apted’s long-running TV docuseries Up. Its three film-makers – the best known of them is Alice Rohrwacher, who made Happy as Lazzaro and The Wonders – travelled around Italy, top to toe, interviewing teenagers. Their film gives gentle insights into Italian society, finding subtle and complex things to say about class and wealth inequality.

At first, the directors’ stiff formal questions stump some of the young people. In answer to “What is the future to you?”, a group of trainee beauticians collapse into embarrassed giggles. Eventually they fall into a heated debate about whether it’s important or not for women to be financially independent from their husbands. There is a poignant moment...

Dolby-Exclusive Nope Poster: "Oscar® winner Jordan Peele disrupted and redefined modern horror with Get Out and then Us. Now, he reimagines the summer movie with a new pop nightmare: the expansive horror epic, Nope.

The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya, who is joined by Keke Palmer and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

Nope, which co-stars Michael Wincott and Brandon Perea, is written and directed by Jordan Peele and is produced by Ian Cooper and Jordan Peele for Monkeypaw Productions. The film will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide."

Genre: Horror Epic

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea

Written and Directed by: Jordan Peele

Producers: Ian Cooper, Jordan Peele

Nope – Only in Theaters 7.22.22

Purchase tickets at Dolby Cinema here: http://dolbylabs.co/Nope.

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Bram Stoker...

It’s every youngster’s ambition to discover a door that leads to a fantastic and remarkable place. Imagine passing through your wardrobe and ending up in Narnia’s fantasy world.

Because at some time, everyone has dreamed or considered the possibility of discovering a fantastic realm, every “Chronicle of Narnia” movie was able to connect with its audience so strongly.

You might be wondering in what order to watch these Narnia movies! If that’s the case, you’ve come to the correct spot. So we’ve compiled all Narnia movies in order of their release dates, from first to last.

20 Best Disney Movies For Toddlers

You may be aware that there was supposed to be a fourth, but it never came to pass. So we’ll get into it later. So please keep reading to discover your answer to which Narnia movies come first; we have listed the...

Fred Ward, a prolific actor best known for roles in The Right Stuff, Tremors, Miami Blues, True Detective and many others, died May 8. He was 79.

His death was announced by his publicist. No cause or place of death was disclosed.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Ward, a San Diego native, began his professional career with small roles in 1970s episodic television before making a strong impression in his breakthrough film Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill and released in 1981. Two years later, he’d star as astronaut Gus Grissom in the hit film The Right Stuff.

Featured roles would quickly follow, including in such films as Silkwood, Swing Shift, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors, Henry & June, the Robert Altman movies The Player and Short Cuts Errol Morris’ The Dark Wind and Michael Apted’s Thunderheart. He starred in and exec-produced the 1990 film Miami Blues, directed by...

The award ceremony is set to take place at the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent.

US film composer and jazz artist Mark Isham will be this year’s guest of honour at the 22nd World Soundtrack Awards on October 22.

The awards ceremony will be held as part of the Film Fest Ghent taking place at the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent, Belgium.

Isham’s most notable credits include Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break, Shaka King’s Judas And The Black Messiah, Paul Haggis’ Crash and Michael Apted’s Nell. He was Golden Globe-nominated for the latter.

He is...

By Lee Pfeiffer

With Russia currently warming up to the idea of a new Cold War, I thought it might be relevant to look back on the 1983 crime thriller "Gorky Park". The film was based on Martin Cruz Smith's international bestseller and was unique in its day because it centered on subterfuge within the Soviet law enforcement system and was set primarily in Moscow. Director Michael Apted had hoped to be the first major Hollywood studio production to shoot within the Soviet Union but unsurprisingly he was turned down due to the fact that the story dealt with systemic corruption throughout every layer of the government. Apted settled for the next best thing, shooting in Finland and Sweden, both of which make convincing substitutes for the Ussr. Transforming the lengthy, complex novel to a screenplay could have been no easy task, even for acclaimed screenwriter Dennis Potter ("Pennies from Heaven...

William Hurt, an Oscar winner for Kiss of the Spider Woman who often played a quiet intellectual in his early acting roles but later took more strident turns in science fiction and Marvel films, died today, a week before his 72nd birthday.

William Hurt’s son, Will, posted today that his father has died. It was announced in May 2018 that the elder Hurt had terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.

William Hurt Remembered As A Giant Talent By His Peers In The Acting Community

“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday,” his son wrote. “He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

Hurt had three consecutive Best Actor Academy Award nominations in the mid-1980s for Kiss of the Spider Woman...

Seymour Wishman, a longtime producer, writer, legal expert and president of First Run Features, died on Jan. 29 at a family home in Bridgewater, Conn., his daughter Samantha confirmed to Variety. He was 79.

Over the past 38 years, Wishman had served as president of First Run Features. During his time at the N.Y.-based independent film distribution company, Wishman brought Michael Apted’s “28 Up” (and later the entire “Up” series) to the United States and helped Ross McElwee finish and release “Sherman’s March” — as well as McElwee’s other films, including “Bright Leaves” and “Six O’Clock News.” Wishman also released Spike Lee’s “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads” (the director’s first feature film and his graduate school thesis), Cheryl Dunye’s “The Watermelon Woman,” Jan Svankmajer’s “Alice” and many other independent pictures.

On the production side, Seymour co-directed and produced “Sex & Justice,” a documentary on...

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is an institution in his home country of Denmark, but became known to international audiences (at least those paying attention to arthouse releases) in 1997 with the concentration camp-set queer drama "Bent." A few years later, he would be seen in Michael Apted's thriller "Enigma," about the making of the famous code-cracking enigma machines made during the WWII, as well as Ridley Scott's intense Iraq War actioner "Black Hawk Down." Coster-Waldau would work with Scott again in 2005 with "Kingdom of Heaven," and soon began appearing in numerous big-budget American productions such as Joseph Kosinski's sci-fi thriller...

The post Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on A Taste of Hunger, A Chef's Passion, and The Joys of Peeling [Interview] appeared first on /Film.