News

French-Danish actor and director Niels Arestrup, best known to international audiences for playing a Corsican crime boss in Jacques Audiard’s Cannes Grand Prix, Oscar-nominated A Prophet, has died at the age of 75.

His wife, actress and writer Isabelle Le Nouvel, announced the news, saying Arestrup had died on Sunday (December 1) following “a courageous battle against illness” at their home outside of Paris.

Arestrup won best supporting actor César awards for his 2009 A Prophet performance and for playing the petty gangster father in Audiard’s 2005 BAFTA-winning The Beat That My Heart Skipped. He earned a third César award for Bertrand Tavernier...

Niels Arestrup, the French-Danish actor and muse to Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard who appeared in international features including Steven Spielberg’s War Horse and Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, has died. He was 75.

Arestrup’s wife, Isabelle Le Nouvel, confirmed his death to Agence France-Presse on Sunday, saying he died “at the end of a courageous fight against illness.”

Arestrup will forever be linked to Audiard and his performances in the filmmaker’s The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) — playing the criminal father to Romain Duris’ would-be concert pianist — and A Prophet (2009), in which he embodies a terrifying Corsican mob boss who runs his operation from within prison.

Arestrup won best supporting acting César awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscar, for both roles, and the performances solidified his image as an onscreen villain with a piercing blue gaze who is barely holding back the violence within.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will make its global streaming debut on Friday, December 6, exclusively on Max. The film will debut on HBO linear on Saturday, December 7, at 6:10 p.m. Et.

Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award–winning film Beetlejuice.

An American Sign Language (Asl) version of the hit film will also be available to stream on Max in the U.S. and Europe, along with a Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras) version in Brazil. Produced by the Max Accessibility Team in partnership with Deluxe (Asl) and Iguale (Libras), the Asl version of the film is performed by Sophia Morales, a Deaf individual who gained popularity through her engaging Asl interpretations of popular songs on social media.

The Libras version is performed by Andrey Baptista. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in Asl and Libras...

The career trajectory of character actor extraordinaire Willem Dafoe is one of the more unusual among contemporary Hollywood stars. From his early days of being routinely cast as a heavy, Dafoe worked his way through the system thanks to the sheer force of his talent, finally being cast as leads, often portraying in detail such real-life figures as actor Max Schreck, artist Vincent Van Gogh and even Jesus Christ.

Among Dafoe’s early bad guy roles were as biker gang leaders in both Kathryn Bigelow‘s “The Loveless” and Walter Hill‘s “Streets of Fire.” But his performance as kindly Sgt. Elias in Oliver Stone‘s “Platoon” changed all that, resulting in his first Academy Award nomination. Three more Oscar nominations followed, and Dafoe has also earned three Golden Globe nominations and four noms from the Screen Actors Guild.

In 2024, he brought three more great performances to life with “Kinds of Kindness,...

While you wait for Terrifier 3 to bring Art the Clown and his over-the-top mayhem back to theaters on October 11, seven other brand new horror movies have released at home today.

Here’s all the new horror released on Tuesday, October 8, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and the long-awaited sequel is now available on Digital at home after releasing in theaters last month.

You can rent the film for $19.99 or purchase it for $24.99.

On November 19, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be available to own on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD from online and physical retailers. It will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek,...

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and the long-awaited sequel is headed home. The film debuts for purchase and rental ahead of Halloween.

On October 8, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be available for Premium Digital Ownership at home and for 48-hour rental via PVOD on participating digital platforms where you purchase or rent movies, including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and more.

On November 19, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be available to own on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD from online and physical retailers. It will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers. On November 1, an American Sign Language (Asl) version of the film will also be available at digital retailers.

Premium Digital Ownership, 4K Uhd and Blu-ray contain the following special features:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Commentary by director Tim Burton The Juice is Loose! The Making of...

Studio Ghibli’s film The Boy and The Heron is available to rent and buy on digital from 16th September; on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray, and DVD from 23rd September; and with a limited edition Steelbook available from 7th October. To celebrate we are giving away a 4K Uhd set with some very cute merch including: Stackable Warawa figurines, Roly poly Heron + Warawara and Theatrical Quad to one lucky winner!

The critically-acclaimed film was the first new work from Hayao Miyazaki in ten years, following his 2013 feature, The Wind Rises, and was a decade in the making. The beautiful, hand-drawn, original story was written and directed by Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, the film features a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. The theme song for the film “Spinning Globe” was written and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.

The English language dubbed version...

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award winning Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was the opening film at this year’s Venice Film Festival and the sequel had a four minute standing ovation.

“There are so few opportunities to be in something that you can say is 100% original and unique,” said Keaton, who joked about his character’s evolution.

“I think my character has matured,” Keaton said. “As suave and sensitive as he was in the first, I think he’s even more so in this one.”

The early reviews are raving about the movie.

Deadline writes: “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is not clunky. Yes, there are plenty of animation joins that haven’t been smoothed over by CGI. Some of the props look like tat Burton bought in a flea market. But it also has a proper plot,...

In what is shaping up to be a rather thin awards season, could a small but formidable film, written and directed by a filmmaker with three Oscar winners in his family, find its way into contention?

That’s what Falling Forward Films is betting on in acquiring the U.S. distribution rights for Jack Huston’s impressive directorial debut Day of the Fight, a black-and-white indie about a once-renowned boxer — played by Huston’s former Boardwalk Empire costar Michael C. Pitt — as he takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he was released from prison.

Indeed, the upstart distributor has already begun mounting an awards campaign for the film, which also stars Nicolette Robinson, Ron Perlman, John Magaro, Anatol Yusef, Steve Buscemi (another Boardwalk Empire alum) and — coming out of retirement to make a brief but shattering appearance — Oscar winner Joe Pesci.

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice. Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time...

Watch the New Trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: "Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms,...

The juice is loose as the latest Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer rises from the grave to share new footage from one of 2024’s most anticipated films. Few sequels hitting screens in 2024 hold as much cache and expectation as the long-gestating follow-up to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic, Beetlejuice. Opening weekend for this movie is likely to blow the box office away, and from looking at today’s trailer, Burton is pulling out all the stops to make sure Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lives up to the legacy of the original.

Today’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer gives us a broader look at the upcoming film, with Jenna Ortega’s disaffected teen attitude on display, Burton’s signature set designs looking more elaborate than ever, and Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice giving audiences plenty of reasons to remember why he’s the Ghost with the Most. The new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer includes tons of new footage, almost...

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the official trailer and poster for the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice movie, which will open in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024, nationwide and internationally beginning September 4.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material, and brief drug use.

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic, and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.

With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time before someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his brand of mayhem. Oscar-nominated Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,...

In a highly anticipated reveal, the official trailer for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic, has finally premiered. Fans of the original film, which starred Michael Keaton as the mischievous ghost Beetlejuice, have been eagerly waiting for a follow-up for over three decades. The trailer promises a thrilling return to the whimsical and macabre world that made the first movie a beloved classic.

Michael Keaton reprises his role as the titular character, bringing back his iconic, eccentric charm. Alongside him, Winona Ryder returns as Lydia Deetz, now a grown woman who still harbors her fascination with the supernatural. The trailer hints at Lydia’s deepened connection to the spirit world and her continued entanglement with Beetlejuice’s antics. Also returning is two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut,...

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice. Check out the new trailer that just dropped today and see the film in theaters on September 6.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the...

It’s showtime! In an official trailer of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice released Thursday, Michael Keaton returns as the undead bogeyman in a sequel to the 1988 film. Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) and Catherine O’Hara (Schitt‘s Creek, Corpse Bride) reprise their roles as Lydia Deetz and Delia Deetz, respectively, with Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) starring as Lydia’s rebellious daughter, Astrid.

When three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River, following a family tragedy, Lydia (Ryder) remains haunted by Beetlejuice’s manic aura. Soon Lydia’s teenage daughter,...

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the official Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer and character posters. The anticipated film is scheduled to open in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024, nationwide and internationally beginning September 4.

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic, and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.

With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time before someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his own brand of mayhem.

Oscar-nominated Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as...

Exclusive: Meryl Streep says that a meeting is “imminent” where she’ll hear about the proposals for her to return for a third helping of Mamma Mia!

The acting legend, honored with an Honorary Palme d’Or at an emotional presentation Tuesday night during the Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony the Grand Théâtre Lumière, confirmed that “of course, I want to do it,” but first she wants to hear how producer Judy Craymer has resolved the issue of how Streep’s character Donna Sheridan can return for MM3 when it was revealed during the during the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again that Donna had died.

Will there be some sort of resurrection, I wondered. “I don’t know how they’re going to do it. They have an idea. I haven’t heard it yet but it’s in [my diary] and I’m going to hear about it pretty soon,...

Sandra Hüller, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Anatomy of a Fall,” and four-time Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”) are set to co-star in Kent Jones’ “Late Fame,” reteaming “May December” co-screenwriter Samy Burch and producer Killer Films.

One of the hottest packages set for a Cannes Launch, “Late Fame” has been boarded by MK2 Films which is hot off an Oscar win for “Anatomy of a Fall” and will represent worldwide sales outside of North America. WME Independent, UTA Independent Film Group and Cinetic Media will co-represent North American rights. Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon will serve as producers for Killer Films (“Past Lives,” “May December”). The film will start shooting in NYC in the fall.

“Late Fame” “tells the story of Ed Saxberger (Dafoe), who wrote a book of poetry a long time ago that no one ever cared about. When a group of young artists rediscover his work,...

Heatseeking filmmaker Olmo Schnabel has signed for representation with WME, and with Black Bear for management.

Schnabel’s breakout directorial effort “Pet Shop Days” played both the Venice International Film Festival and SXSW this cycle, scoring distribution from Utopia for a 2024 theatrical release. Starring Jack Irv, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe and Peter Sarsgaard, the film tells of a drug lord scion on the run from his powerful family. Slumming it in New York in a haze of sex and drugs, he seduces an equally lost young man and pulls him into the city’s underbelly.

The provocative debut also hit festivals in Chicago, Montclair, Morelia, Santa Barbara and Sarasota. Schnabel was also awarded the Leffest Lisboa Film Festival’s Tap Revelation Award.

Schnabel just wrapped “In the Hand of Dante” for production shop Twin, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler and Gal Gadot. The film is a...

Franchise animation Kung Fu Panda 4 and creature clash Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire lead a bumper weekend of 16 new films at the UK-Ireland box office.

Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 has the biggest opening of the weekend in 715 sites – a significant jump for the series, after 2008’s Kung Fu Panda (448) and sequels in 2011 (514) and 2016 (585), all through Paramount.

Conversely, the total grosses of each film have dropped, with the first title making £20.4m, followed by £17m and £14.2m for the sequels. All of these were pre-pandemic; number four will look to cross the £10m mark before challenging any of those totals.

Not every good film is necessarily a good time, and vice versa. On the latter front, see “Mothers’ Instinct,” a 1960s-set suburban psychodrama too silly to secure our belief and too reserved to pass muster as go-for-broke camp — but still compulsive enough, twisty enough and finally berserk enough to keep us hooked through all its tonal and narrative lane-changing. As a pair of model homemakers and next-door neighbors whose close friendship is severely undone by sudden tragedy, even stars Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain don’t always seem to be making entirely the same movie: Hathaway’s sly, high-gloss vamping points to a more brittly amusing one than Chastain’s earnest emotional commitment, turning their characters’ escalating picket-fence battle into a compelling tussle for the soul of the script itself. One wins, and not predictably so.

First-time feature director Benoît Delhomme, however, doesn’t have much command over this strange,...

From the depths of anticipation, the moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived — the release of the Beetlejuice trailer! Fans of the iconic supernatural comedy can now feast their eyes on a sneak peek of what’s in store for the upcoming film.

Unveiling the Spooky Spectacle

Uncork the thrill as the Beetlejuice trailer offers a tantalizing glimpse into the eerie world of the afterlife. Packed with spine-tingling visuals and tantalizing hints, this preview sets the stage for a rollercoaster ride of laughter, fright, and nostalgia. Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon...

Warner Bros. has debuted a teaser trailer for the highly anticipated sequel from Tim Burton, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’.

Michael Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the...

More than 35 years after moviegoers were first introduced to the bio-exorcist in the pinstriped suit, the "ghost with the most" (Michael Keaton) returns (along with other familiar faces) in the teaser trailer for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that takes us back to the Deetz family home in Winter River for more mischievously macabre mayhem ahead of the new film's September 6th theatrical release via Warner Bros.

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a...

Beetlejuice is back! Warner Bros. Pictures has shared a first look at the anticipated sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will open in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024, nationwide and internationally beginning September 4.

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.

With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time before someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his own brand of mayhem.

Oscar-nominated Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder as...

Hayao Miyazaki’s cerebral fantasy film The Boy and the Heron is flying onto Max in the United States after winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar at this year’s awards ceremony. In addition to bringing Miyazaki’s latest breath-taking animated feature to the streaming platform, Warner Bros. Discovery is entering a multiyear pact with GKids to extend Max’s exclusive U.S. film streaming rights for Studio Ghibli.

Per the new deal, Max will be the future home of The Boy and the Heron, with a premiere date to be announced later this year. The agreement also secures exclusivity on Max for other films in Studio Ghibli’s library, including Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso, and more.

“Our subscribers are always looking for unique stories, and we are happy to continue to offer these award-winning, critically acclaimed films and to add ‘The Boy and the Heron...

Last year, Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for “The Whale,” which also won Best Makeup and Hairstyling for artists Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Annemarie Bradley. This is a combination of Oscar categories that have popped up several times over the years. But could it happen again this year? Well, theoretically, yes.

The brilliant makeup artist Kazu Hiro, also known as Kazuhiro Tsuji, turned Bradley Cooper into Leonard Bernstein in Netflix’s “Maestro.” Kazu Hiro landed himself an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling alongside Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell. Meanwhile, Cooper is nominated for Best Actor.

Along with “The Whale,” several other movies have done well with this pair of Oscar categories. In 2018, “Darkest Hour” won Best Actor for Gary Oldman and Hiro won Best Makeup and Hairstyling alongside David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick. In 2014, “Dallas Buyers Club” won both awards, too, with Matthew McConaughey winning for acting...

Martin Scorsese will soon be seen on the big screen, and he won’t be playing himself.

The master director, who is being feted with Berlin Film Festival’s honorary Golden Bear on Tuesday night, has a small but powerful role playing an elderly sage who influences Dante Alighieri while he is writing “The Divine Comedy” in Julian Schnabel’s upcoming crime mystery “In the Hands of Dante.”

Though Scorsese has cameoed in many of his movies and occasionally performed in films by other directors – he played Vincent van Gogh in a segment of Akira Kurosawa’s 1990 film “Dreams” and also performed as voice talent as the loan shark pufferfish in “Shark Tale” – this role is likely to be among his meatiest.

“He is extraordinary in the film,” Schnabel tells Variety, calling Scorsese’s part “a brilliant, important role” and adding: “You can’t take your eyes off him.”

Two...

Exclusive: UTA has signed acclaimed actor Rupert Friend for representation in all areas.

Up next, Friend will be seen in buzzy New Line thriller Companion opposite Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, and Lukas Gage, as well as Michel Franco’s Dreams alongside Jessica Chastain and Lucio Castro, 2Am’s After This Death, and Pierre Morel’s Canary Black opposite Kate Beckinsale.

Most recently, he was seen at Sundance in The American Society of Magical Negroes, an acclaimed satire from writer-director Kobi Libii, which hits theaters via Focus Features on March 15.

Previously, Friend starred in the shorts The Swan and Ratcatcher, based on short stories by Roald Dahl, which Wes Anderson directed for Netflix. As a favorite of the filmmaker’s, Friend has also taken on prominent roles in his recent films Asteroid City and The French Dispatch.

Other notable film credits for the actor include The Death of Stalin, A Simple Favor,...

Since the establishment of the Academy Awards in 1929, exactly 60 films have achieved lone lead male acting nominations, meaning they were each recognized in the Best Actor category and nowhere else. The last such instance occurred in 2023 and involved “Aftersun” star Paul Mescal, who, at 26, stood out as the youngest member of a lineup consisting only of first-time Oscar contenders. Although his low-budget movie had a strong shot at an original screenplay bid and was viewed as a serious Best Picture candidate, it ended up getting no love outside the acting branch.

Before Mescal was recognized, his category hadn’t seen a lone nominee since Willem Dafoe earned his first lead bid for “At Eternity’s Gate” in 2019. This was the ninth time that four or more years separated consecutive Best Actor loners, with the single largest gap having spread between Cary Grant and Clifton Webb. Such nominations appear to be becoming less common in this category,...

When it comes to lone acting Oscar nominations, the category with the fewest examples is Best Supporting Actor. After two consecutive years of there being no new additions to that subgroup, Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) became its 54th member in 2023 after having been largely ignored by other awards bodies over the preceding weeks. He directly followed Tom Hanks, who is the only other entrant from the last five years.

Within the last decade, this club has only grown by seven, with those who preceded Hanks and Henry being Robert Duvall, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, and Christopher Plummer. 2018 marked the fifth instance of two men accomplishing the feat at once, thus tying the category’s record for most bids of this kind in a single year. Contextually, the corresponding Best Supporting Actress record is three, while that of both lead categories is four.

As it happens, the Best Supporting...

This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page.

cast and crew of “Poor Things” teased Mark Ruffalo about replacing him with Oscar Isaac — even bringing the other actor to set one day.

Despite having two Oscar nominations and starring in blockbusters such as “Avengers: Endgame,” Ruffalo sometimes grapples with imposter syndrome. The actor admitted this during a recent conversation with his “Poor Things” peers — director Yorgos Lanthimos, writer Tony McNamara and fellow cast members Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Yousef.

Ruffalo was offered the role of rakish attorney Duncan Wedderburn and recalled how he was sent the script. “I thought it was pretty amazing,” he noted. “But I doubted my ability to do it, to be honest with you. I was scared of it. Even to...

The 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards gave us our first true surprises of this year’s awards season. Since it is the first major kudos with five-nominee slots in each category, there was a number of snubs in the acting categories, one of whom was Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall,” in a sea of exclusions that included Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”), Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”), Greta Lee (“Past Lives”), Fantasia Barrino (“The Color Purple”), Rosamund Pike (“Saltburn”), America Ferrera (“Barbie”), and the trio of actors from “May December”: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.

But fear not, they all still have hope yet for receiving recognition from the academy, particularly Hüller, who is the only performance from an international film in the bunch. She plays Sandra Voyter in Justine Triet‘s award-winning film, a woman who tries to...

Willem Dafoe has a face made for film. When the sixty-something actor appears on screen, his prominent cheekbones, wide eyes, and toothy grin are difficult to take your gaze off. Combined with his slender frame and his raspy, gravely, deep voice, the actor’s portrayal of Jesus Christ allegedly prompted Sergio Leone to opine “This is not the face of our Lord, this is the face of Satan!”

Dafoe hasn’t played Satan at all over the course of his career, but he’s certainly played his share of villains, bringing his signature menace to dozens of cinematic crooks and psychopaths. After his first lead role, in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1982 biker drama “The Loveless,” his early parts were largely antagonists to the lead heroes, such as the alluring but frightening criminals in “Streets of Fire” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” The part that arguably brought him the most widespread,...

Exclusive: Ben Whishaw will reunite with director Ira Sachs to shoot an “intimate” movie about photo artist Peter Hujar.

Until his death from AIDS in 1987, Hujar was a leading figure in the group of artists, musicians, writers, and performers at the forefront of Manhattan’s downtown cultural scene.

The untitled film follows Passages, the acclaimed picture Sachs shot in Paris with Whishaw and Franz Rogowski.

Passages has been enjoying awards season attention with Rogowski bagging the best actor prize from the New York Film Critics Circle — in fact I just saw him the other night at an event for the picture out here in Los Angeles.

Whishaw, Rogowski and the film are in contention for prizes at the Independent Spirit Awards. Whishaw’s also on the BAFTA Best Supporting actor longlist for Passages.

Ira Sachs, Adele Exarchopoulos, Ben Whishaw and Franz Rogowski of ‘Passages’ at the Deadline Studio

And he...

Sometimes, a cinematographer works enough with an actor that when they’re set to do their directorial debut, that actor is in. That seems to be the case with “Mother’s Instinct,” the directorial debut of well-renowned French Dp Benoît Delhomme. Known for films like Anton Corbijn’s “A Most Wanted Man” and Julian Schnabel’s “At Eternity’s Gate,” he’s also worked with Jessica Chastain a few times on “Lawless,” “Wild Salome,” and some photography work he did for Terrence Malick’s “Tree Of Life.” So perhaps the favor extends to starring in “Mother’s Instinct,” Delhomme’s directorial debut, which will arrive later this year via Neon.

Continue reading ‘Mother’s Instinct’ Trailer: Anne Hathaway & Jessica Chastain’s Anticipated Psychological Thriller Is “Coming Soon” via Studio Canal UK at The Playlist.

Following the arrival of Godzilla Minus One in theaters, Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli‘s latest masterstroke, The Boy and the Heron, is already flying high at the December box office! Analysts say The Boy and the Heron could soar to the number one spot this weekend after earning $2.39M in Thursday previews, with a chance to collect $10M+ over the next few days.

This trend is an excellent look for films stomping out of Japan and into domestic theaters. Godzilla Minus One roared last weekend with $2.1M in previews before going nuclear with $4.7M on Friday and a 3-day total of $11.4M across 2,308 theaters. Meanwhile, The Boy and the Heron opened on 1,774 screens across the United States and Canada, expanding to 2,205 markets this weekend.

Here’s a plot synopsis for The Boy and the Heron. If you want to go into the film blind, do not read it!

After...

However Jessica Chastain and her jury could be relied on for glamour.

The opening night of this year’s Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) on Friday (November 24) night was a low-key affair in keeping with Fifm’s aim of foregoing parties and lavish red carpets in favour of a deeper cultural experience.

A few attendees even wore jeans and sneakers, an unorthodox mode of attire for any red-carpet event. But these are unusual times following the devastating earthquake in Morocco in Septemberr and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The “red carpet” for the evening was tucked away in a side room of the Palais des Congrès,...

After skipping Venice due to the actors’ strike, a busy Willem Dafoe is back on the festival trail, attending the 20th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival with his wife, filmmaker and actor Giada Colagrande. He spoke to Variety about his ties to Morocco, why he’s “happy to be promoting and starting to work again” now that the strike is over, and his role in Tim Burton’s upcoming “Beetlejuice 2.”

How does it feel to be back in Marrakech?

I’m happy to be back. Morocco for me is “The Last Temptation of Christ,” a film that was a beautiful experience. And I loved shooting it because it demanded a lot of me and it was really full on. And it was very in the nature of Morocco. And we were working with an incredible Moroccan crew. So that’s my association. I’ve always heard Marrakech was...

This year’s Marrakech International Film Festival opened with a testament to art.

Two months after a devastating earthquake, and in light of the ever-more heart-wrenching news coming out of the Middle East, the film showcase kicked off with a humanist rallying cry voiced by jury president Jessica Chastain.

“In the weeks leading up to the festival, we were not sure that we would even be able to be here,” Chastain said at the Marrakech opening ceremony on Friday. “The world we share is shattered and divided. And so I have immense gratitude… [that] throughout history, art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change.”

Indeed, now celebrating its 20th edition, the Moroccan event has always sought to shine a celebratory light, emphasizing art and international communion, especially in dark times. Upon taking the stage on Friday, Chastain echoed those overarching sentiments.

Jessica Chastain, resplendent in a shimmering silver tasseled jump suit, championed the power of art to bring about positive change at the opening night of the Marrakech Film Festival on Friday evening.

The actress is the attending the Moroccan film festival as the president of the jury.

She was joined on stage by jury members Iranian Holy Spider actress Zar Amir, Call My Agent! star Camille Cottin, Australian actor and director Joel Edgerton, UK director Joanna Hogg, U.S. director Dee Rees and Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh and actor Alexander Skarsgård.

“Throughout history art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and effecting positive change,” she said.

Citing the words of renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead on the power of “a small group of thoughtful committed citizens” to change the world, Chastain called on all those in the theatre to embrace the arts.

“I...

Indie and art film producer Jon Kilik, unlike many, remains hopeful for the personal, mid-budget movie for grown-ups. “Those are the films directors love to make and audiences still love,” says Kilik, being feted this week at Poland’s Camerimage cinematography festival for work of special visual sensitivity.

Having flown in from a shoot in Rome, Kilik confesses he still loves being on set after a career spanning four decades, including work with Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jim Jarmusch and Oliver Stone.

His latest project filming in Europe, “In the Hand of Dante,” starring Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac in a metaphorical journey through hell to paradise, is characteristic of Kilik’s lifelong passion for bringing challenging works of literature and art to the screen.

And he’s proven time and again that such films have an audience and are economically viable, he points out, if handled...

Julian Schnabel is in Italy on the set of his star-studded crime mystery “In the Hand of Dante,” for which he and Louise Kugelberg, his wife and close creative collaborator, have been narratively and literally criss-crossing between the 14th and 21st centuries in locations including Sicily, Venice, Verona and Rome.

Besides the film’s previously announced leads — Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Gerard Butler — “Hand of Dante” will also see British musician and actor Benjamin Clementine (“Dune”) playing a quintessentially demonic character who seesaws between past and present. Clementine also contributes to the film’s score. Other A-list recruits comprise John Malkovich, Al Pacino and Louis Cancelmi (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) who plays both a present-day hitman named Lefty and nobleman Guido da Polenta, who was Dante’s benefactor.

Julian Schnabel, speaking to Variety on a spectacular Rome set – a palatial villa on a hill overlooking the...

Elysian Film Group has debuted the full trailer for filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s return to filmmaking after 10 years, ‘The Boy and the Heron.’

A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. Their death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

The English language dubbed version of the film will feature the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh. Luca Padovan joins the cast as Mahito Maki, and Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori, and Dan Stevens are featured as the Parakeets.

Also in trailers – “They are going to turn everyone into nuggets…” Full trailer lands for ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’

The film will be released...

Another one of those titles that felt more than ready for a 2023 drop, that could be plopped a bit anywhere next year — we guess it depends on how they want to push the Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway two-hander. After being a cinematographer dating back to The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) and then films such as The Proposition (2005) and At Eternity’s Gate (2018), Benoît Delhomme switched hats for this debut film. Mother’s Instinct based on Barbara Abel’s novel “Derrière la Haine” and went into production in June of last year in NYC. Josh Charles and Anders Danielsen Lie also star.…...

The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 10 cinema figures who will participate in its In Conversation With program at its 20th edition running from November 24 to December 2.

They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.

Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).

Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...

Elysian Film Group has debuted a teaser trailer for filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s return to filmmaking after 10 years, ‘The Boy and the Heron.’

A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. Their death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

The English language dubbed version of the film will feature the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh. Luca Padovan joins the cast as Mahito Maki, and Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori, and Dan Stevens are featured as the Parakeets.

Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

The film will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on Boxing Day,...

Gkids, the acclaimed producer and distributor of award-winning animation from around the globe, has released the English-language trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, coming to theaters nationwide beginning on December 8. The epic fantasy adventure made its international premiere as part of the Opening Night Gala of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival, garnering rave reviews from crowds lucky enough to experience Miyazak’s latest animated marvel for the first time.

Courtesy of Gkids’ official press release for The Boy and the Heron:

The English language dubbed version of the film will feature the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh. Luca Padovan joins the cast as Mahito Maki, and Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori, and Dan Stevens are featured as the Parakeets. Gkids handled casting and produced the English version in close consultation with Studio Ghibli,...