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Toni Collette is an Oscar-nominated actress who has become a favorite of both the art house and mainstream crowd, ably hopping back-and-forth between small scale indie fare and big budget crowdpleasers. Let’s take a look back at 12 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1972 in Sydney, Australia, Collette came to the attentions of American audiences with a star-making turn in “Muriel’s Wedding” (1995), which brought her a Golden Globe nomination as Best Comedy/Musical Actress. She reaped her first Oscar bid in Best Supporting Actress just four years later for “The Sixth Sense” (1999), a supernatural horror flick that scared up massive box office receipts and critical acclaim.

In addition to her Oscar success, Collette earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), for which she won the SAG Awards prize for top ensemble. She contended once more at BAFTA for “About a Boy” (2002) and again...

Australian actress and comedian Rebel Wilson made her directorial debut with the musical film “The Deb,” which premiered at the closing night of the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday. Wilson both directed and starred in the movie. She explained her passion for musicals developed after watching a stage production as a teenager that helped her through dark times.

“The Deb” tells the story of two cousins from different backgrounds who both seek attention and discover themselves through their rural Australian high school’s upcoming debutante ball. Taylah Simpkins, played by Natalie Abbott, is an outcast who sees the ball as her chance to transform. Meanwhile, her city-dwelling cousin Maeve, played by Charlotte MacInnes, views the traditional event as outdated and looks to challenge social norms.

Inspired by classic Australian movies like “Muriel’s Wedding” and “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” Wilson said she wanted to create a...

Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson directed, produced and starred in The Deb, an Australian musical comedy that had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday night.

And Wilson, who was on hand for a post-screening Q&a at Roy Thomson Hall for TIFF’s closing night film, explained why her next directorial efforts will only be musicals. “When I was a teenager, it was a pretty dark time, and I got to see a musical at 14 years of age, because my dog auditioned for it,” she recalled.

The dog didn’t get the gig, but Wilson got hooked on musicals. “I saw these people dancing and singing on stage, they were so colorful and joyful, and that really helped me through my teenage years,” she added.

Wilson said she’s had two offers to direct musicals in the near future. “That’s why, if I’m directing more movies,...

With the goal of making a big-screen Australian musical in the vein of movies like Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert that made such an impression on her growing up, Rebel Wilson has in many ways measured up to the delights that made those films modern classics in The Deb, which just had its world premiere at the closing night of the Toronto Film Festival.

Overshadowed in the past few weeks by a public dispute between Wilson and the film’s producers that nearly derailed this premiere, that kind of negative energy should not cloud what, for much of its two-hour running time, is a toe-tapping, dazzling, fun and young musical entertainment with an exceptional cast in the kind of showcase that makes future stars. Wilson knows exactly what kind of entertainment she wants to serve up here, and for at least the first half...

Netflix is removing a Ton of hit titles in September and fans are going to want to thoroughly go through this list.

Each month, the streaming service removes various movies and TV shows for a variety of reasons. In September, they’ll be removing several CW hits including all five seasons of Jane the Virgin, Dune, all six seasons of How to Get Away with Murder, all three Fifty Shades movies (despite them just becoming available in June and July), the Divergent films, two Conjuring movies, and more.

Keep reading to see the full list of titles being removed…

Every title leaving Netflix in September 2024:

Leaving 9/3/24

Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop II

Leaving 9/5/24

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Seasons 1-4

iZombie: Seasons 1-5

Jane The Virgin: Seasons 1-5

Leaving 9/8/24

Cuties

Leaving 9/19/24

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Leaving 9/24/24

A Walk to Remember

Leaving 9/27/24

Force of Nature

Great News: Seasons 1-...

Comedian and actor Aisling Bea headlines the dark comedy drama film And Mrs, out in September. Here’s a trailer:

Since beginning her career as a stand-up comedian, Aisling Bea has made her mark on screens big and small. She put in a memorable performance as a contestant on series five of Taskmaster, and since 2021 she has written and starred in her own superb sitcom This Way Up, which is available to stream on Channel 4. She also found success in America, starring opposite Paul Rudd in sci-fi comedy drama Living With Yourself.

Bea is next set to headline the comedy drama film And Mrs, about a woman whose husband-to-be dies just before their wedding day. The synopsis, if you’d prefer a more official description, reads as follows:

A hilarious and heartfelt comedy drama about Gemma, a woman living in London whose American fiancé, Nathan, dies shortly before their wedding day.

"That is the promise that I made!" Vertigo Releasing has unveiled an official trailer for an amusing romantic comedy film called And Mrs, from director Daniel Reisinger. Set for a UK release this fall after premiering at the 2024 Edinburgh Film Festival coming up in August (though no US release set yet). When a reluctant bride-to-be's fiance drops dead, she insists on marrying him anyway - vowing to overcome public opinion, the law of the land, and her loved one's objections. Apparently marrying someone posthumously is actually allowed in France, but not in the UK. Aisling Bea stars as Gemma, joined by Colin Hanks, Billie Lourd, Susan Wokoma, Harriet Walter, and Elizabeth McGovern. The director explains: "Gemma's quest to marry Nathan is about a good old-fashioned forever love - one that's beyond swiping right or left. And Mrs lets you laugh about love and grief like touchstone films, The Big Chill...

Earlier this summer we had to endure the misbegotten Summer Camp which was yet another attempt by Diane Keaton, joined by Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, to mix comedy and later-in-life drama in an older female bonding flick. Keaton had great success in the first film that announced this subgenre, 2018’s Book Club, which smartly matched four veteran actresses including Jane Fonda that led to a more mixed-results sequel set in Italy. Fonda also found real success in the subgenre with the entertaining 80 For Brady with Sally Field, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin along for the ride. Thus it seemed natural that other beloved female stars of a certain age would also want to jump on board in this game attempt to reverse Hollywood’s youth obsession and provide a little something-something for aging boomers everywhere.

The Fabulous Four is the latest to try out the formula, and at least...

Bleecker Street’s new comedy “The Fabulous Four” finds Bette Midler doing what she does best: broad comedy with a touch of poignancy peeking out from just beneath the surface.

It’s a quality that characterizes many of Midler’s most memorable performances in films like “The First Wives Club,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” and “That Old Feeling,” and according to Midler, it’s been part of her approach since the beginning.

“When I worked live, starting from the time I was 19, I was very much aware of the melancholy underneath certain kinds of scenes,” Midler told IndieWire in a recent interview. “There’s a musical term for it: contrapuntal. ‘Miss M’ is loud and boisterous on the outside, but there’s an undercurrent of despair because it’s very hard to be a human being.”

In “The Fabulous Four,” Midler plays a widow who surprises her friends...

Invention Studios has launched two film and television development programs in Australia and Kenya dedicated to supporting top local writers and creators and bringing their projects to the world market.

Repped by CAA, Invention Studios was founded by CEO Nicholas Weinstock, the well-established producer of hit series such as “Severance” and “Escape at Dannemora.”

“We are thrilled to be expanding our international work to find the greatest emerging creators capable of developing wildly original and world-class movies and shows,” said Weinstock. “The talent, smarts, and ambition of writers and directors in fast-rising markets like Australia and Kenya are obvious. We’re proud and excited to be building innovative launchpads to help those creators generate game-changing films and series that can take the world by surprise — and by storm.”

In Australia, Invention is launching a comedy incubator program devoted to furthering the Australian comedy tradition of classics like “Kath & Kim,...

Exclusive: UK sales outfit Sc Films International has acquired world rights to Australian comedy The Way, My Way and will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes market.

The pic is an adaptation of a memoir of the same name by author-filmmaker Bill Bennett. The book follows Bennett as he attempts to walk the Camino de Santiago — an 800km pilgrimage trail across the top of Spain. The story is described as the tale of “a man at a pivotal point in his life, searching for meaning, and finding himself on the walk.”

Bennett has written and directed the film, which stars Chris Haywood, and Jennifer Cluff (Kiss Or Kill). The film will be theatrically released by Maslow Film Distribution in Australia and New Zealand on May 16 and Sc Films will screen the film in Cannes.

“I’m delighted to be working...

New Zealand’s funniest export Jackie Van Beek returns to SXSW atop the cast of “Audrey,” an Australian dark comedy that is headed to SXSW.

Van Beek, whose 2018 “The Breaker Upperers,” was a previous SXSW hit, portrays a forgotten former soap star whose career and life have been derailed by motherhood and suburban boredom. But when an accident puts her 18-year-old child in a coma, the woman takes on her daughter’s identity and gets a second chance at the life she actually wanted.

Other cast also include: Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (“Puberty Blues,” “The Diplomat”), Josephine Blazier (“True History of the Kelly Gang”) and disability advocate and actress Hannah Diviney (“Latecomers”).

“What begins as a light, sex-fuelled comedy about family soon takes a twisted journey into horror as, like a classic Greek tragedy, our protagonists decide that the only way to find happiness is to destroy their firstborn,” says director Natalie Bailey.

Upcoming directing and producing projects are expanding Toni Collette’s creative horizons, according to the Australian actress speaking at Qumra this weekend.

She will soon star in A French Pursuit, a comedy feature directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Collette will produce the film through her Vocab Films company, alongside UK producer Christopher Simon’s New Sparta Films.

“Meeting the production team we’re working with in France, casting people – it’s stuff you don’t get to do as an actor, it’s incredibly satisfying,” said Collette, speaking in Doha where she gave a masterclass to emerging filmmakers and attending industry...

Actress Toni Collette discussed her journey from a working-class neighborhood in northwest Sydney to Hollywood star in a masterclass at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent and project development event on Friday.

The Oscar-nominated Muriel’s Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, Knives Out and Unbelievable acting star is among six top cinema professionals attending Qumra, alongside directors Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan and Jim Sheridan as well as sound editor and designer Martin Hernández.

Colette said she had been drawn to performance from an early age, firstly through musical theatre and tap dance.

“My father said I came out of the womb with jazz hands towards the light,” she joked.

Looking back on her early career, Collette recalled how she had dropped out of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art Nida after being offered the part of Sonya in a 1992 stage production of Uncle Vanya by Neil Armfield.

This...

Star-crossed lovers, hopeless romantics, or just unlucky in love. Valentine’s Day films are not just about head-over-heels happy endings. That would be a bit on the boring side. The films that have captivated the romantic genre are the ones about heartache, bad timing, yearning and the strong forces that keep true lovers apart.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Rick and Ilsa, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, from Casablanca, and Chow Mo-wan & Su Li-zhen from In the Mood For Love all have to overcome their hearts’ desire as forces they can’t control keep them apart as time and fate lead to their ultimate betrayal.

Related: Deadline’s 50 Classic Holiday Movies Gallery: From ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ And ‘A Christmas Story’ To ‘Die Hard’ And ‘The Holiday’

As we tangoed and groaned our way out of the 80s with Dirty Dancing and When Harry Met Sally, the...

Newen Connect has signed a pact with international sales company The Yellow Affair to have the company handle global distribution for independent films produced by Newen Studios.

Newen Studios and Yellow Affair are already related though Anagram, which is label of Newen and a shareholder Yellow Affair, along with Visiorex, Helsinki-filmi and Marianna Films. Newen, meanwhile, is owned by France’s leading commercial network group. The European banner handles co-production, co-financing and international sales through its commercial arm, Newen Connect.

Unveiled during the Goteborg Film Festival, the three-year deal will see Newen Connect continue handling mainstream titles and French movies, while The Yellow Affair will focus on indie pics produced by Newen Studios’ international labels under the new brand The Yellow Affair by Newen Connect.

The inaugural roster of the new label include Constanze Klaue’s “Punching the World,” produced by Denmark’s Nimbus and Germany’s Flare Films, based...

Exclusive: Superstore star Ben Feldman will lead Australian comedy crime caper Population 11.

Lionsgate, streamer Stan and Phil Lloyd and Trent O’Donnell from No Activity producer Jungle Entertainment have teamed for the 12-part series ahead of a March 14 launch in Australia.

The series, which Jungle produces Entertainment in association with Factor 30 Films, has been quietly shooting in Western Australia’s Kimberley Region. We’ve now got full cast details, a trailer (see below) and first-look images.

Based on true events, the series is based around a man, Hugo, who goes missing from a tiny outback town of only 12 residents. His son, Andy Pruden (Feldman), a suburban Ohio bank teller, has journeyed across the world to visit and is alarmed when he discovers he is missing. Andy teams with another outsider Cassie (Perry Mooney) on a quest to find his father, and the pair find themselves in increasing danger as they...

Ridley Scott’s career is marked first and foremost by its sheer prolificness. There are very few directors of any age who work frequently enough to have two films coming out the same year. Scott’s done it three times in 2001, 2017, and 2021; and those later two times were when he was past the age of 80.

Since he made his debut with the swashbuckling period drama “The Duellists” in 1977, Scott has been a steady, constant presence at the cinema. His longest break has been two four-year gaps between releases — “1492: Conquest for Paradise” and “White Squall” from 1992 to 1996 and “The Martian” and “All the Money in the World” and “The Last Duel” from 2017 to 2021, the latter gap widened by the pandemic. More frequently, Scott only goes two or even just one year before dropping a new film, resulting in an impressively robust 28 filmography.

What’s even more notable about Scott’s...

Best-selling Australian novel, Runt” is to be adapted as a feature movie that will begin shooting from next month. Studiocanal is handling international rights sales and local distribution in Australia and New Zealand.

The story is a heartfelt, contemporary Australian tale, set in the country town of Upson Downs, where eleven-year-old Annie Shearer and her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt, try to save their family farm by competing in the Agility Course Grand Championships at the prestigious Krumpets Dog Show in London.

The book was released in 2022 and won a clean sweep of the major Australian literary awards including the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s book of the year for young readers, book of the year for younger children at the Australian Book Industry Awards, and overall book of the year at the Australian Indie Book Awards.

The movie is adapted for the screen by...

As of this writing, Greta Gerwig's new satire "Barbie" is poised to rake in close to $100 million in its opening weekend, making it a bone fide hit. Because it is opening alongside the equally hyped Christopher Nolan biopic "Oppenheimer" and the less-ballyhooed but well-reviewed horror film "Cobweb," the summer of 2023 is beginning to resemble the diversity of the 1990s. One might recall the weeks in 1995 when "The Brady Bunch Movie" was playing in theaters at the same time as "Outbreak," "Muriel's Wedding," and John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness." Aesthetic diversity is back, baby.

Prior to "Barbie," Gerwig directed the semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama "Lady Bird" and the awards darling "Little Women." With "Barbie," Gerwig has moved solidly into the realm of "commercially proven," leading to a well-moneyed Netflix offer for the director to make two new "Chronicles of Narnia" movies. Despite how 1995 everything feels, no one seems...

Rebel Wilson is setting her eye on the director’s chair.

The actress is set to make her directorial debut with a screen adaptation of the hit musical The Deb.

The film will be a joint production between Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions and award-winning Australian producer Bunya Productions.

Read More: Rebel Wilson Shares New Photos Of Baby Daughter In Adorable Mother’s Day Post

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A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)

“’The Deb’ is my type of movie — full of humour, full of heart, and uniquely Australian but with universal themes. It came out of my scholarship program at the non-profit Australian Theatre for Young People, a program that I’m very proud of and has had incredible success. If there was ever a movie I was going to direct, it would be this one,” said the actress. “This project is just so special and original.

Rebel Wilson is set to direct her first feature, The Deb, a musical set in Australia “that brings the bush into the city.”

The Deb was written by Hannah Reilly and Meg Washington based on a stage show that Wilson championed when it premiered at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People (Atyp) in 2022. Wilson revealed that she also will co-star in the film and told us that two songs not used in the stage production will be featured in the film.

Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik and Gregor Cameron are producing through their company Unigram (Tetris) and sister company AI Film.

Shooting on locations in Sydney and rural New South Wales starting in September, The Deb will be produced in partnership with Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions and award-winning Australian producer Bunya Productions. Danny Cohen executive...

Rebel Wilson is getting behind the camera and has lined up her first feature as director.

The Deb, in which Wilson will also co-star, will be a musical comedy set in rural Australia, produced by Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik, and Gregor Cameron via their company Unigram (Tetris) and sister company AI Film (I, Tonya, Hacksaw Ridge).

Adapted from of the original hit musical of the same name — which debuted to critical acclaim in Australia — The Deb will be produced in partnership with Rebel Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions (Senior Year, The Hustle) and award-winning Australian producer Bunya Productions (The Drover’s Wife, Mystery Road). Danny Cohen executive produces on behalf of Blavatnik’s Access Entertainment.

Originally premiering at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People (Atyp) in 2022, The Deb stage production was written by Hannah Reilly (Sheilas, Growing up Gracefully) and includes original songs from singer-songwriter Meg Washington (The Beach...

Rebel Wilson is directing her first feature film with musical comedy “The Deb,” a big-screen adaptation of an Australian musical set in the outback.

The film is produced by Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik, and Gregor Cameron via their company Unigram, which recently produced Apple TV+ movie “Tetris,” and sister outfit AI Film. The project was launched around the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, at a private event aboard billionaire investor Blavatnik’s yacht, where cast members from the Aussie musical performed a number of songs on the vessel’s upper deck.

Blavatnik, sporting a baseball cap with branding for the movie, introduced the singers, making it clear to the intimate gathering aboard his three-floor yacht that he was an enthusiastic backer of the project and, indeed, Wilson.

Variety caught up on the boat with the “Pitch Perfect” star, who also has a role in the film. “Because I’ve been...

Actress Rebel Wilson is set to make her directorial debut with an adaptation of the Australian musical of “The Deb” for Unigram, AI Film and Access Entertainment.

“The Deb,” according to the official synopsis, tells the story of “lovable farm-girl and high school outcast Taylah Simpkins, who is certain the upcoming Debutante Ball, ‘the Deb,’ is her one chance to redefine herself. When her cynical city cousin Maeve is exiled to Taylah’s drought-stricken town Dunburn, she thinks the ball is a ‘heteronormative shit-show’ and immediately disrupts the status quo. In their search for the spotlight, Taylah and Maeve dig deep to find self-acceptance — and a date to the Deb.”

The musical originally premiered at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People (Atyp) in 2022, written by Hannah Reilly. It includes original songs from singer-songwriter Meg Washington.

“’The Deb’ is my type of movie — full of humour, full of heart, and...

Mafia Mamma is a film directed by Catherine Hardwicke starring the “almost” always great Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci, and this time, as great and wonderful as they are, they don’t manage to save a comedy with jokes that don’t end up being funny.

Bad start for a comedy, don’t you think?

Mafia Mamma Movie Review

Mafia Mamma is a parody crime thriller that without wanting to go anywhere and aware of this circumstance, limits itself to overflow with clichés (it was obvious), to drop more or less funny jokes and that relies on the two stars’ performances (especially Toni Collette’s) to save the movie from sinking.

And no matter how great he or she could be, no actor can save a bad script nor, dare we say, a bad editing at the level of rhythm. Thus, Mafia Mamma is sometimes placed in almost separate scenes without a common nexus that,...

When Toni Collette read the script for “Mafia Mama,” her reaction was swift and enthusiastic: “Oh yeah! I gotta do this one!”

It’s no big surprise as to why the Oscar-nominated actress thought that. The story follows an Italian woman with low self-esteem, who is overlooked and mistreated by misogynistic men in her life – from her cheating husband to the cavalcade of chauvinists at work – but gets her life on track when she becomes a mafia “godmother.” The movie has it all — it’s fast-paced action, it’s laugh-out-loud funny and it’s brutally violent in places. The gruesome moments are such an antithesis to the funny ones that those extremes become that much more powerful.

“Oh my God. It’s such an uplifting, feel-good, empowering, unusual, very unique, hilarious romp,” Collette told TheWrap, adding that the film is “wet your pants funny.”

Also Read:

Toni Collette Considers Whacking...

They’re the new, and very fashionable, requirement on every film and TV production set, and recognised for helping particularly young actors navigate sex scenes without fear, but intimacy coordinators aren’t for everyone, it appears.

Toni Collette has revealed she feels happier working on intimate scenes without one, and has on occasion asked them to leave the set.

Collette, who stars in The Power, coming to Prime Video on March 31, told the London Times newspaper:

“I think it’s only been a couple of times where they’ve been brought in, and I have very much trusted and felt at ease with the people I was working with. It just felt like those people who were brought in to make me feel more at ease were actually making me feel more anxious. They weren’t helping, so I asked them to leave.”

Collette has enjoyed a solid three-decade career...

Toni Collette is an Australian actress and musician who has been widely acclaimed for her performances in both dramatic and comedic roles. She began her acting career in the early 1990s on the Australian television show “Police Rescue.” She then went on to appear in a variety of theater productions, such as “The Boys,” “Cosi,” “Velvet Goldmine” and “Muriel’s Wedding,” before making her U.S. film debut with “Emma”. Her impressive body of work includes memorable roles in cult classics like “The Sixth Sense,” dark comedies such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and critically-acclaimed turns in dramas such as “United States of Tara” and “Hereditary”. In addition to her acting ability, Collette is also known for her singing skills, having recorded two albums with fellow bandmate Glenn Richards. She has won numerous accolades throughout her career including Golden Globe Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, Aacta Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Exclusive: Film and TV distribution division Newen Connect has announced the promotion of Alice Damiani to SVP International Film Sales on the eve of the Berlinale’s European Film Market.

Damiani takes over from Sabine Chemaly, who has been head of film sales at TF1 Studio, and then Newen Connect, since 2012.

Newen Connect was created in 2020 in the wake of TF1’s acquisition of French production giant Newen Studios, out of the fusion of their distribution divisions Newen Distribution, TF1 Studio and Reel One International.

Damiani’s promotion is part of an ongoing restructuring and expansion of the resulting division by CEO Rodolphe Buet, which also saw Leona Connell being upped to Chief Commercial Officer last September, in a role giving her oversight of international and French markets for both film and TV.

In her new role, Damiani will take on responsibility for identifying and championing new cinema projects from...

A spiritual kissing cousin of such compellingly campy ’90s Aussie-produced extravaganzas as “Strictly Ballroom” and “Muriel’s Wedding,” director Gracie Otto’s “Seriously Red” disarms and delights as a sensationally spirited concoction that neatly balances unfettered outrageousness and unabashed sentimentality. The beating heart of the entire enterprise is Krew Boylan. As screenwriter, she has created a terrific role for herself. As star, she proves absolutely fearless while illuminating every aspect of a sometimes exhilarating, sometimes exasperating, always endearing protagonist. She works a singularly impressive type of movie magic while simultaneously driving the movie over the top and anchoring the borderline-fantastical narrative in something resembling reality.

Boylan stars as Raylene Delaney, better known as Red, a socially awkward small-town New South Wales realtor with, as she herself admits, “an impulse control problem.” To put it mildly. A fanatically passionate fan of Dolly Parton, she decks herself out as her idol for a company gathering,...

Despite the best cameo efforts of Dannii Minogue, Krew Boylan’s passion project is too frantic and narcissistic to convince

This Australian movie is a colourful comedy of romance and finding yourself, and it’s clearly a personal project for its writer-star Krew Boylan. I sat down to it hoping for something like Muriel’s Wedding, the film that first introduced us to Toni Collette but unfortunately, there’s something a bit frantic and narcissistic about it: a film that doesn’t quite convince you to care enough about its characters or what they care about.

Red, played by Boylan, is a young woman who is employed in an estate agent’s office and pretty hopeless at the job because, in her goofy and adorable way, her real passion is Dolly Parton: imitating her, studying her and obsessing over her. She’s also a bit self-conscious about being redheaded and flat-chested.

The Berlin Film Festival has revealed a raft of titles across strands and also 33 film projects vying for coin at the coproduction market.

Selections for the topical Perspektive Deutsches Kino strand from emerging German talent include “Seven Winters in Tehran” by Steffi Niederzoll, “Elaha” by Milena Aboyan, “Ararat” by Engin Kundag, “The Kidnapping of the Bride” by Sophia Mocorrea, Fabian Stumm’s “Bones and Names,” “Long Long Kiss” by Lukas Röder, Tanja Egen’s “On Mothers and Daughters,” “Ash Wednesday,” by João Pedro Prado and Bárbara Santos, “Nuclear Nomads” by Kilian Armando Friedrich and Tizian Stromp Zargari and “Lonely Oaks” by Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl and Jens Mühlhoff.

All the selected films in the strand will compete for the Heiner Carow Prize and the Compass-Perspektive-Award, both of which are endowed with €5,000.

A 4K restoration of David Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch” will open the Berlinale Classics section, which also includes Oliver Schmitz’ “Mapantsula,...

Toni Collette shared an eerie Instagram post on Thursday after announcing she was splitting from husband David Galafassi after nearly 20 years of marriage.

The actress posted a photo of a dark tree stood alone in a field, with no caption.

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A post shared by Toni Collette (@toni_collette_official)

Fans immediately offered well wishes to Collette, clearly knowing that this is a tough time for her.

One person posted: “I’m sorry. I went through this exact same thing. You are a great actress remembered through history – and a great person. ”

Read More: Toni Collette’s Past Catches Up With Her In ‘Pieces Of Her’

Another added, “You are beautiful and wonderful, btw. I’ve been a fan since ‘Muriel’s Wedding’, that way also my foray into Abba so thank you also for that lol. I hope you’re ok, you seem like a strong woman.

“Top Gun: Maverick” isn’t the only noteworthy new title streaming on Paramount+ in December. While the wait for the Tom Cruise blockbuster’s streaming debut has been long, plenty will be happy to throw on the acclaimed sequel just in time for the holidays when “Maverick” starts streaming on Dec. 22.

But in addition to “Top Gun,” December also brings the premiere of a new “Snow Day” movie and the next Taylor Sheridan show in the “Yellowstone” universe, “1923” starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Check out a full list of what’s new on Paramount+ in December below.

Also Read:

How Ryan Tedder Secretly Taped ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to Write the Hit ‘I Ain’t Worried’ Originals, Exclusives and Premieres

12/1: Bose

12/6: The Check Up with Dr. David Agus premiere

12/6: Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22 premiere

12/13: Sampled premiere

12/15: The Game Season 2 premiere

12/16: Snow Day premiere

12/18:...

As one of the most virtuosic and respected actresses in Hollywood, Toni Collette has earned the right to speak her mind. From her iconic comedic debut in “Muriel’s Wedding” to her Oscar-nominated turn in “The Sixth Sense” to her hair-raising performance in “Hereditary,” it’s clear she knows how to navigate show business. And while she recognizes that many people and situations may require intimacy coordinators, she prefers to work unencumbered.

“I have to say, in a couple of scenes and different various jobs, I have been offered an intimacy coordinator,” Collette said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “But I have felt so connected and safe with my creative partners that the intimacy coordinator felt like they were encroaching upon the process, and I’ve denied them access to the actual scene because I didn’t feel like I needed them.”

Collette’s most recent project that hired an...

“We need more Dollys in the world,” is the message of this raucous but hugely enjoyable comedy, which, at the same time, reminds us that there is—and can only be—one Dolly Parton. The 76-year-old country legend is having quite a moment at SXSW this year, arriving at the festival with a concert to promote her new album (and novel) Run, Rose, Run and her online Nft project Dollyverse, while riding a wave of public goodwill after her philanthropic support of the Covid vaccine with a $1 million donation.

Surprisingly, despite its subject’s bona fides as an all-time American icon, Seriously Red hails from Australia, the country that gave us Strictly Ballroom (1992) and The Sapphires (2012). The residual influence of both films can be felt here, but the template has to be P.J. Hogan’s seminal Muriel’s Wedding, which made a star of Toni Collette in 1994. Directed by Gracie Otto,...

Contains spoilers for Pieces of Her episodes one to four

Netflix’s thriller Pieces of Her is based on a novel by the aptly named best selling author Karin Slaughter. Though it’s set in America, the whole of the series was shot in Australia with the majority of filming taking place in 2021, and many of the cast are Antipodeans and Brits as well as Americans.

It’s a twisty tale of a mother who carries out an act of bravery which suddenly exposes her to a world she had long since left behind, and a daughter who discovers she really doesn’t know her mum at all. Pay attention! But in case you’re distracted by the niggling sense of ‘where do a recognise them from?’ we’re here to remind you.

Pieces of Her. Toni Collette as Laura Oliver in episode 105 of Pieces of Her. Cr. Mark Rogers...

You think you’ve got mother-daughter problems – but no! Aimless 30-year-old Andy Oliver (Bella Heathcoate), who shelved her New York dreams to return to small-town Georgia to nurse her mother, Laura Oliver (Toni Collette), through breast cancer, appears at first to have the usual issues. Post-op Laura pushes her daughter to leave the nest again and become an autonomous adult, and mopey stuck-in-a-rut aspiring artist Andy resists. Par for the course.

What upends it all? To celebrate Andy’s 30th birthday, Laura takes her out to lunch and a new round of nagging when all hell breaks loose. In a bravura set piece that recalls the crazy museum bombing that launches Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” a spurned boyfriend enters the mall restaurant, shoots his ex-girlfriend who’s leaving him for med school and keeps firing. Blood simple, he targets Andy, who’s wearing her police uniform from her night job answering 911 calls.

If you’re looking for something to watch on HBO Max this month, you may want to prioritize the following titles that are leaving the streaming service throughout February. Below, we’ve assembled a complete list of everything leaving HBO Max in February, which ranges from Oscar-winning blockbusters to stone-cold classics to delightful comedies.

Noteworthy films leaving HBO Max this month include “Dunkirk,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Amistad,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Independence Day,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “The Goonies,” “Joker” and “The Lego Batman Movie.” It’s also last call for DC films “Wonder Woman,” “Aquaman,” “Birds of Prey” and “Suicide Squad.”

The end of February will also mark the departure of a number of documentary series that aired on CNN, including “The Bush Years,” “The Seventies,” “The Eighties,” ”The Nineties,” ”The Movies” and ”The Story of Late Night.”

Check out the full list of everything leaving HBO Max in February 2022 below.

When the 2022 Grammy nominations were announced late last month, many people were surprised to see Abba’s first song in nearly 40 years, “I Still Have Faith in You,” as a nominee for Record of the Year.

They shouldn’t have been: Abba are one of the most popular, influential and successful groups in the history of the world. While often dismissed as a kitschy pop act during their 1970s-early ‘80s heyday, their image and at-times goofy lyrics camouflaged their indelible, deceptively sophisticated and complex songwriting and arrangements. Yet their reputation and respect grew exponentially in the years after they announced a hiatus in 1983, as their music proved deeply enduring and the world caught up with its sophistication, particularly via strategic placements in film and TV, especially the 1994 film “Muriel’s Wedding” and the Abba-themed “Mamma Mia!” musical and film.

Yet Abba’s hiatus went on for so long that journalists grew...

In the Aquarius Films and ABC drama Savage River, Jocelyn Moorhouse was offered the kind of mini-series she’d love to watch herself.

The Dressmaker director is an enthusiastic binge watcher of crime mysteries and Scandi-noir – particularly those with great female characters – so the Katherine Langford-led series was right up her alley.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ve always wanted to do one of these, and here it is.’ It’s dark, brooding and really well plotted,” she tells If.

Now three weeks into pre-production, Savage River was officially announced as part of the ABC’s upfronts today. Production will begin early next year in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Langford plays Miki Anderson, a young woman who returns to her hometown in rural Victoria after eight years in prison.

She’s determined to finally move on with her life, getting a job in the local meatworks, but the...

Palace Cinemas national programming director Kim Petalas will step down from his role in late December after some 30 years with the company.

However, while he is leaving to spend more time with his family, he will continue to advise the exhibitor in his semi-retirement.

Of his decision, the industry veteran – also the director of the British Film Festival – tells If: “I felt that it was time, after such a long innings, to allow somebody else to come in with some fresh ideas, and for me to assist and help out wherever I can.

“It’s hard to leave an industry and in particular, an organisation, that I just love so much. I’ll do anything in the background to assist Palace moving forward.”

Petalas has always had an “incredible passion” for film, and started at Palace developing the group booking business, before stepping into the programming director role some 28 years ago.

Unlike most of the kids in his class, 16-year-old Jamie New knows what he wants to be when he grows up: a drag queen. And unlike most of the fabulous aspiring female impersonators who’ve strutted on-screen before him, he has surprisingly few obstacles in his way. Jamie has an understanding mom, a supportive best friend and a school full of closed-minded students who don’t take much to come around, which makes this glittery big-screen adaptation of 2017’s well-liked West End tuner an unusually festive affair. “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” is to queer teens what “High School Musical” was to, well, their more closeted peers: an upbeat, be-yourself pep rally for self-questioning young adult audiences.

Pre-pandemic, the feel-good musical was snapped up by Fox for big-screen release, where it would have followed in the footsteps of the studio’s “Love, Simon” — a second unapologetically gay, refreshingly nonjudgmental coming-out and...

Hugo Weaving heads the diverse cast of “Love Me,” a romantic drama series that is now in production in Melbourne, Australia.

The show explores modern love as experienced by different family members at different stages of life. It is adapted from the Swedish series “Älska Mig,” created by Josephine Bornebusch.

To be presented as a six-part series with 43-minute episodes, the show is directed by celebrated Australian director Emma Freeman with lead writer Alison Bell, and writers Leon Ford, Adele Vuko and Blake Ayshford.

“Love Me” is a Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia production in association with Aquarius Films for the Foxtel Group’s streaming service Binge. Major production investment came from Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria.

Binge is an SVOD service launched in May last year by Foxtel, the News Corp. Australia and Telstra-owned pay-tv service in Australia. It offers on-demand and live entertainment across the lifestyle,...

Do not adjust your WiFi settings. No, you are not experiencing a severe case of Deja Streaming-vu. HBO Max’s list of new releases for May 2021 are indeed highlighted by two very recent WarnerMedia hits.

For starters, Tenet finally makes its long-awaited HBO Max this month. Mark your calendars as May 1 is the day that you can finally watch Christopher Nolan’s latest cerebral thriller. Of course, Tenet already had its theatrical release, but obviously that was not really an option for many of us. In addition to Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984 makes its triumphant return to HBO Max this month on May 13. The Wonder Woman sequel already premiered on HBO Max this past December, now it’s getting a second run on the streamer.

In terms of newer originals, May is relatively light for HBO Max. The Jean Smart-starring comedy Hacks premieres on May 13. The latest Adventure Time...

Toni Collette will star alongside Colin Firth in the HBO Max limited series “The Staircase,” Variety has learned.

The eight-episode series is based on the docuseries of the same name as well as various books and reports about the case of Michael Peterson (Firth), who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen (Collette), in 2001. He claimed she died after falling down the stairs at their home, but police suspected he bludgeoned her to death and staged the scene to look like an accident.

Collette is one of the most celebrated actresses working today, with numerous critically-acclaimed performances in both film and television. In TV, she most recently starred in the Netflix series “Unbelievable” and will also star in the streamer’s upcoming drama “Pieces of Her.” She won an Emmy in 2009 for her starring role in the Showtime series “United States of Tara,” while she picked up a Golden Globe...

Kaleidoscope Entertainment has revealed the first trailer for the British comedy ‘Me, Myself & Di’, and it’s our pleasure to debut it for you today.

Following in the tradition of much-loved movies like Muriel’s Wedding and Bridesmaids, it’s a gritty yet heartfelt romcom about finding true love, with a colourful cast of characters and familiar stars from the big and small screens.

When Bridget Jones-type Janet wins the trip of a lifetime to a holiday park in Rhyl, she’s convinced by her best friend to pretend to be the opposite of who she actually is in the hope of finding love. But it’s only when she becomes herself again that Janet gets anywhere close to her happy ever after.

The film stars a very British cast of Katy Clayton, James Lance, Lucy Pinder, Will Mellor, Tyger Drew-Honey, Larry Lamb, Wim Snape and more.

Also in trailers...

As predicted, Roadshow’s The Dry has crossed the $20 million mark.

This means the Robert Connolly film, based on Jane Harper’s best selling novel, is now the 14th highest grossing Australian film of all time, surpassing titles such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel’s Wedding and The Dish (not adjusting for inflation).

And the mystery drama is likely to still have life in it, with star and producer Eric Bana doing a set of Q&As screenings this week.

“The astounding success of The Dry confirms what Roadshow has always known, that there will always be an appetite for quality Australian productions which can without a doubt rival their Hollywood counterparts at the box office,” said Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman.

“We will continue working with local industry and our partners in exhibition to deliver these crowd favourites to the big screen.”

Now 12 weeks in release,...

Toni Collette will make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Lily King’s “Writers and Lovers.”

The novel, a best-seller when it was released last year, tells the story of Casey Peabody, an underemployed, aspiring writer in 1990’s Boston whose world is rocked by a recent love affair and her mother’s sudden death. After she falls for two very different men at the same time, life gets complicated.

Topic Studios, the producer of “Spotlight” and “The Mauritanian,” will back the project. Collette will write the screenplay with Nick Payne (“The Crown”). The actress will also produce under her Vocab Films banner alongside Susannah Grant (“Unbelievable”) and Sarah Timberman; for Topic Studios, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller will executive produce.

“I have been wanting to direct for quite some time but have been a bit busy with my day job,” Collette said in a statement. “l...