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There are two storylines at the center of Stanley Kwan‘s labyrinthine “Center Stage” (1991). The main one follows the life of Ruan Lingyu, a real-life actress who was perhaps China’s most celebrated film performer in the early 1930s. Ruan arguably became even more of a legend when she committed suicide at age 24, as her private life became the scandalmongering subject of tabloid gossip. The second storyline is set in 1991 and follows a film crew (shot in black and white) making a biopic about Ruan. They discuss her life, interview some of the surviving film crews who knew her (it sometimes feels like a documentary of Kwan documenting his own filmmaking), and eventually recreate Ruan’s life on their own soundstage.

Center Stage is screening at Five Flavours

Archival footage of the actual Ruan Lingyu in some of her extant films allows audiences to connect and compare the two eras and narrative levels.

Zoe Saldaña, the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, which was recorded in front of an audience at the Scad Savannah Film Festival, has been a screen actress for 25 years. She has been described as “the queen of the film franchise,” having starred in installments of the Avatar, Avengers, Guardians and Star Trek series. (She’s the only person ever to have been part of four films that grossed more than $2 billion.) But this year, with her performance as an attorney recruited to help a cartel leader with a top-secret mission in Jacques Audiard’s unconventional musical Emilia Pérez, she has reminded people that she’s also much more.

Those who have already seen Emilia Pérez have gone wild for it. It received an 11-minute standing ovation following its world premiere at May’s Cannes Film Festival, where the festival’s jury awarded Saldaña...

Around the time Zoe Saldaña turned 40, she had a realization: She’d lost touch with her inner artist — the “little brown girl from Queens” who had delivered a standout supporting turn in 2000’s ballet drama “Center Stage” while dreaming of becoming a leading lady. Those dreams had come true, yet she still doubted herself.

“There was a level of exhaustion that I felt because I was always putting up this front of overconfidence,” Saldaña says. “All of a sudden, I felt compelled to reassess myself and question whether or not what I have been creating and putting out there matches up to that confidence. And no, it didn’t.” So, she began examining the root cause. “Realizing that it was all stemming from insecurity — because I always felt like an imposter — was very overwhelming.”

Saldaña has starred in the three highest-grossing films of all time — 2009’s “Avatar” and its 2022 sequel “The Way of Water,...

Zoe Saldana is opening up about her “really bad experience” on the set of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, right at the beginning of her career.

The 46-year-old actress chatted about her career during a Screen Talks conversation at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival on Saturday (October 12) in London, England.

Zoe has her big screen debut in 2000′s Center Stage and she also appeared in 2002′s Crossroads and Drumline. Her next major movie was 2003′s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which she played Anamaria, a pirate who to confront Jack Sparrow for stealing her ship.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It was a big Disney studio machine, big cast, people doing accents. I barely had my SAG card. I was learning as I was going. I hung out with the camera department, asking the Dp: ‘What are you doing?’ That became my school.

Stephen King certainly knows a thing or two about horror. A master of the genre himself — as an author whose books are constantly adapted for both the big and small screen — King knows what makes a movie or TV show perfectly scary, suspenseful, or spooky. Last spring, he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) about one of his favorite recent projects, the horror series "From."

In May of 2023, King wrote about a show he apparently enjoyed quite a bit and got right to the point. "From: I'm three episodes in," the author began before getting into some specifics about the beginning of season 1. "Wonderful concept, beautifully handled. Is it possible these people are dead and don't know it? That spike through the head ... holy cow."

If you've never heard of "From," you're missing out — especially now that you know it's endorsed by King. The sci-fi horror hybrid, created by John Griffin,...

Let's put aside the film analysis for now. What we have here is merely a local TV news segment challenging the label of “documentary”, just good enough in quality as bonus on DVDs to encourage the purchase of a particular edition (as seen with the Criterion Edition of “Boat People”), usually finding its way soon after onto YouTube under Creative Commons licenses. No significant work on structuring or editing has been undertaken; the result is a compilation of Dv Cam footage, often with intrusive background sounds, along with archival materials and photographs, all patched together. That said, is the film worth viewing? Certainly, if you have an interest in Ann Hui or the English era of Hong Kong.

Check the interview with the director

Produced by Peggy Chiao as part of a Taiwanese series titled “Personal Memoir of Hong Kong” which includes contributions from Stanley Kwan among others, the project...

The Williams family have stars in their eyes in the latest episode of Bounce’s Mind Your Business. In “Center Stage,” famous playwright Ivory Hill hosts a production of “Lucille’s,” but an unexpected accident leaves Ivory unable to continue, forcing the family to make a quick decision about who will step into her shoes. With the […]

Mind Your Business: Center Stage...

Lionsgate is set to give the thriller Clear Cut, which stars Clive Standen of the Taken TV series, Tom Welling (Smallville), Stephen Dorff (Blade), and Alec Baldwin (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), a theatrical, digital, and VOD release on July 19th – and with that date just a few weeks away, a trailer for the film has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Brian Skiba directed Clear Cut (formerly known as Cold Deck) from a screenplay by Joe Perruccio, who earns his first feature writing credit on this film. The Hollywood Reporter let us know that the story centers on Jack (Standen), who tries to leave his past behind him when he starts a logging job but finds that a team of criminals with a score to settle are out to kill him.

Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives), Lucy Martin (Vikings), Lochlyn Munro (Freddy vs. Jason), Chelsey Reist...

by Mehdi Achouche

There are two storylines at the center of Stanley Kwan's labyrinthine “Center Stage” (1991). The main one follows the life of Ruan Lingyu, a real-life actress who was perhaps China's most celebrated film performer in the early 1930s. Ruan arguably became even more of a legend when she committed suicide at age 24, as her private life became the scandalmongering subject of tabloid gossip. The second storyline is set in 1991 and follows a film crew (shot in black and white) making a biopic about Ruan. They discuss her life, interview some of the surviving film crews who knew her (it sometimes feels like a documentary of Kwan documenting his own filmmaking), and eventually recreate Ruan's life on their own soundstage.

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Archival footage of the actual Ruan Lingyu in some of her extant films allows audiences to connect and compare...

The Hong Kong-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme has selected two Hong Kong-Japan co-productions by seasoned producers Stanley Kwan and Shunsuke Koga as its first winning projects.

All The Things We Have Done Wrong That Led Us To This, produced by Kwan, and 38.83, produced by Koga, will each receive a grant of up to $1.1m (Hk$9m) to support their production. The announcement was made at the Hong Kong Night during the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.

All The Things… is to be directed by Japan’s Daishi Matsunaga, whose LGBTQ+ romance drama Egoist played in competition at Tokyo in 2022 and...

It’s been almost exactly 35 years since the Indigo Girls first broke out with their eponymous second album, yet the Power of Two continues to thrive still, especially on the screen. “Barbie” recently pointed us “in a crooked line” with Margot Robbie’s rendition of “Closer to Fine”, while last year’s Sundance doc, titled “It’s Only Life After All“, brought us up close and personal with the duo themselves.

Following those movie tributes now comes another, in the form of “Glitter & Doom,” a jukebox musical that celebrates the enduring legacy that Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have crafted through their raw, passionate, and deeply personal brand of queer folk rock. But does the movie live up to their legendary talents or is it doomed to go the way of a film like “Yesterday“?

Glitter (Alex Diaz) is an improbably named Ivy League graduate who dreams of cartwheeling his...

Has there been a greater bait-and-switch in recent memory than "Magic Mike"? The trailers for director Steven Soderbergh's 2012 dramedy -- itself loosely based on star Channing Tatum's real-life experiences as an "exotic dancer" -- promised to deliver a whole lot of male stripper shenanigans for a fun Friday night of frivolity. The actual film, on the other hand, was a far more sobering look at not just the reality of what life is like as a professional stripper but also the economic hardships faced by working-class individuals like Tatum's Michael "Magic Mike" Lane in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis. In his defense, Soderbergh likened the film to a Robert Altman joint ahead of its release, so you can't exactly accuse him personally of trojan-horsing anyone.

The second "Magic Mike" film, "Magic Mike Xxl," hewed closer to what audiences expected from the first movie. Helmed by Soderbergh's longtime assistant director Gregory Jacobs,...

Barton Cowperthwaite has revealed that he has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

On Friday, (November 10), the 31-year-old Tiny Pretty Things actor took to Instagram to reveal that he had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor and will soon undergo surgery to have it removed.

Keep reading to find out more…

“So…. Yesterday I was diagnosed with at least a stage 2 Glioma. It is a fairly decent sized brain tumor. The tumor’s cells originate in the brain, so it’s not spread from a cancer anywhere else in the body,” Barton wrote on Instagram along with a selfie from the hospital and a few photos of his brain scans.

“The only course of treatment for something like this is brain surgery,” Barton continued. “Docs so far have been confident that they’ll be able to remove most of the tumor, and that after a successful operation, and some rehab,...

Sorry, Stranger Things fans, but Millie Bobby Brown is more than ready to leave Hawkins, Ind. behind.

In a newly published interview with Glamour Magazine (that was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike began), Brown said that she was prepared to bid her character Eleven farewell. “When you’re ready, you’re like, ‘All right, let’s do this. Let’s tackle this last senior year. Let’s get out of here,'” she said. “Stranger Things takes up a lot of time to film and it’s preventing me from creating stories that I’m passionate about. So I’m ready to say,...

All that glitters certainly isn’t gold, as “Glitter” cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson knows all too well. During a recent interview, Simpson told IndieWire that the newfound cult fandom around Mariah Carey’s 2001 film debut is staggering, as “Glitter” is “one of the 10 worst movies.” The “Center Stage” and “Under the Tuscan Sun” director of photography looked back on the feature that was released September 21, 2001 — after its soundtrack came out on 9/11.

In the film, Carey stars as a young singer who overcomes an abusive childhood to reach stardom alongside a toxic boyfriend. “Glitter” was directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and cleared $5.3 million at the global box office against a $22 million budget. Carey developed the story behind “Glitter” with “What’s Love Got to Do with It” screenwriter Kate Lanier and playwright Cheryl L. West. Padma Lakshmi, Eric Benét, Max Bessley, Terence Howard, and Da Brat also starred.

In November 2018, a Carey fan-led hashtag...

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On is back at it with a new group of soon-to-be married or broken up pairings.

In a new Season 2 trailer, which you can check out above, tensions are running high as each couple decides the future of their relationship. And if we’re going by the dramatic sound bite in the sneak peek, one duo might be in for a huge surprise.

More from TVLineStranger Things: [Spoiler] Will Take 'Center Stage' in Season 5Heartstopper Season 2 Went Way Out on a Limb: Did the Gamble Pay Off?Sweet Magnolias Star Addresses Finale's Biggest Dangling...

Before we get started, I should probably mention in the interest of full disclosure that I am a Heartstopper superfan. It is my happy place. My family has watched Season 1 more times than we can count and can quote almost all of it verbatim. Yet I went into Season 2 with as much trepidation as Charlie Spring did Harry Greene’s birthday blowout.

Related Stories Performers of the Week: Kit Connor and Joe Locke Taylor Swift’s Heartstopper Connection Revealed at Last Stranger Things: [Spoiler] Will Take ‘Center Stage’ in Season 5

Though I tried to avoid spoilers from series creator Alice Oseman’s graphic novels,...

For the people of my generation (I am 42 btw) Ruan Lingyu will be mostly known as the focus of Stanley Kwan's masterpiece, “Center Stage”. Patrick Galvan, however, although starting from the same point, delved intently in the life and career of the silent movies star, coming up with a book that presents both, as much the history of China and the Shanghai movie industry in the 20th century, in one of the most entertaining film history books ever to fall in my hands.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The presentation of her life, which obviously is worthy of a movie itself, begins with Ruan Fenggen's (the name she was born with) childhood in intense poverty, with her father dying when she was young and her mother bringing her up by working as a housemaid. It was this job of hers that led...

It’s a new month, and Hulu subscribers are getting a slew of new movies and TV shows to enjoy.

June 1 is jam-packed with more than 30 titles that have landed on the streamer, including the seventh and final season of Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar,” the Jack Nicholson-led film “Hoffa,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” and the entire “Twilight” franchise.

Mixing in a little of the old with new come goodies from 2023, like “Flamin’ Hot,” which tells the story of Mexican migrant Richard Montanez who came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos while working as a janitor at Frito Lay. The film lands on Hulu June 9.

Ending June with a bang will the be second season of “The Bear,” (June 22), Season 20 of “The Bachelorette” (June 27) and the sixth and final season of “Grown-ish.”

Here’s everything you can expect to hit Hulu this June.

Also Read:

The Best Free Movie Streaming Sites,...

This Barbie is part film programmer.

Hari Nef makes history at Mubi with the Hand-Picked by Hari Nef curated series, the first of its kind for the streaming and distribution platform.

The “Barbie” and “And Just Like That” actress selected Todd Haynes’ “Safe” and “Velvet Goldmine,” Alex Ross Perry’s “Listen Up Philip,” the fashion documentary “Martin Margiela: In His Own Words,” Jean-Luc Godard’s “La Chinoise,” the coming-of-age day-in-the-life “The African Desperate,” Maurice Pialata’s “Loulou” with Isabelle Huppert, Robert Greene’s “Actress,” Shirley Clarke’s documentary “Portrait of Jason,” and cult classic “Center Stage” from the Mubi vault for the inaugural program.

Check out Nef’s full selection, ready to stream, here.

“I was thinking about what resonates with me in film, and it starts with ideas of spectacle, performance, and queerness,” Nef said in a press statement. “I love films about performers, and the confrontation that happens between a person,...

Season 2 of last summer’s hit breakout series “The Bear” is set to premiere on Hulu on Thursday, June 22. After a tumultuous return to his family’s hole-in-the-wall Chicago restaurant, chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and his staff transform the greasy sandwich joint into a first-class dining experience after he discovers the slush fund his brother left behind. Despite having the extra money to make his dreams a reality, the future proves to be both a personal and professional challenge for Carmy and the crew.

Watch the trailer for Season 2 of “The Bear”:

Beginning on June 14, the new series continuation of the beloved film “The Full Monty” arrives on Hulu. It’s 25 years later and the men and women of Sheffield, England, are in reboot mode, navigating life and family. The original 1997 movie focused on a group of down-on-their-luck, blue-collar men who put on a strip show to make ends meet.

Elizabeth Hubbard, who appeared 14 times on Broadway and had long runs as Dr. Althea Davis and the cutthroat Lucinda Walsh on the daytime soap operas The Doctors and As the World Turns, respectively, has died. She was 89.

Hubbard died Saturday of cancer at her home in Roxbury, Connecticut, her son, Jeremy Bennett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

On the big screen, Hubbard played the gynecologist girlfriend of Gene Hackman’s character in I Never Sang for My Father (1970) and appeared in The Bell Jar (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Cold River (1982) and Center Stage (2000).

She portrayed Dr. Althea on NBC’s The Doctors from 1964-82 and the manipulating mogul Lucinda on CBS’ As the World Turns from 1984 until the show’s conclusion in September 2010. (Lucinda and Larry Bryggman’s John Dixon headed off to Amsterdam at the end.)

“I’ve been so lucky playing Lucinda — a character who could do anything,” she told TV Guide in 2010. “She could lie,...

One of the most memorable faces on daytime TV has died.

Elizabeth Hubbard, best known for her work on As the World Turns, passed away over the weekend.

She was 89.

Hubbard's son Jeremy Bennett shared the sad news via Facebook.

"I'm sorry to say with a broken heart my mom passed over the weekend," he wrote.

"Thank you for being an unmovable rock that guided me through life."

"I will try to honor your memory as long as I live."

Hubbard was a daytime TV staple, scoring 11 Daytime Emmy nominations throughout her impressive career.

Most of those nominations stemmed from her work on As the World Turns in the role of Lucinda Walsh.

The actress appeared in the show from 1984 until 2010.

She also worked on the NBC soap The Doctors as Dr. Althea Davis.

Hubbard appeared on that show from 1964 until 1969 before returning for two more stints before the show...

Actress Elizabeth Hubbard, an 11-time Daytime Emmy nominee known for her work on As the World Turns, has passed away at the age of 89.

Hubbard’s son, Jeremy Bennett, shared the sad news in a Facebook post on Monday: “I’m sorry to say with a broken heart mi mum passed over the weekend,” he wrote. “Thank you for being an unmovable rock that guided me through life. I will try to honour your memory for as long as I live.”

More from TVLineMarnie Schulenburg, Who Played Alison on As the World Turns, Dead at 37Atwt Vet Kathryn Hays Dead...

The drama about two sisters is from first-time feature director Sasha Chuk.

Hong Kong project Fly Me To The Moon won five awards at the closing of this year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.

The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Sasha Chuk and is produced by Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan, whose films as a director include Venice 2005 title Everlasting Regret, Cannes 2001 film Lan Yu and Berlin competition titles Center Stage, The Island Tales, Hold You Tight and Red Rose White Rose.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Fly Me To The Moon was among...

Looking for an actor with impressive box-office credentials? Look no further than Zoe Saldana. In fact, you might say that no actor can match the box office power of Saldana. That’s because she’s the only actor in history to have starred in four movies that have crossed the $2 billion mark at the box office. It’s an astonishing achievement, and it speaks to the incredible talent and versatility of this amazing actress.

From her breakout role in “Center Stage” to her iconic portrayal of Neytiri in “Avatar,” Saldana has made a name for herself as one of the most versatile and talented actresses in Hollywood. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of her most memorable performances, examining both her acting skills and the critical reception of each film. Whether you’re a diehard fan of Saldana or you’re just starting to explore her work,...

Fifteen additional work-in-progress films are set to join the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) that takes place next month alongside the FilMart rights market. They join 28 previously announced in-development projects.

The 21st edition of Haf runs March 13-15 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will be the first physical, in-person edition of the project event since 2019. All the work-in-progress projects will take part in a public pitching session on the first day.

The work-in-progress selection skews heavily towards Chinese language titles, with three originating in Hong Kong and the majority of the others from mainland China.

Leading names attached to the selected work-in-progress titles include producers Stanley Kwan (“Centre Stage”), Mai Meksawan (“Manta Ray”) and Ram Krishna Pokharel (“The Red Phallus”). Emerging and established actors including Fish Liew, Austin Lin, Ma Chih-Hsiang, Matsuda Ryuhei, Wang Xuebing, Wu Kang-Ren, and Zu Feng grace various projects.

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ actor John Barrowman has cancelled his upcoming UK tour saying that slow ticket sales have made it unviable. The actor, 55, known for roles in popular TV shows such as ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Arrow’, was due to embark on a tour next year following the release of his album ‘Centre Stage’, ‘The Mirror’ reports.

The album was released last month and features some of his “personal favourites” from musical theatre, with John having performed in the West End and on Broadway himself.

He has just announced that his upcoming UK tour will no longer go ahead. He said there’s been “slow” ticket sales in some areas and that increased costs have made the tour unviable.

According to ‘The Mirror’, Barrowman shared the news on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, saying, “It is with huge regret that we have decided to cancel the UK tour.

“Unfortunately, tickets sales in...

Zoe Saldaña is many things, including the 10th highest-grossing actor of all time, thanks to starring roles in Star Trek, Avatar, and Guardians of the Galaxy. She is a fluent speaker of the Italian language, like her character Amy in the new Netflix weepie From Scratch. She is also, although you may not realise it, 44 years old.

Amy, when we meet her, is in her early-to-mid twenties and has just arrived in Florence. She’s enrolled in an art programme that her overbearing father frets will distract her from finishing a law degree. His fears are well-founded, it turns out. The painterly slant of the Italian light plus the romantic attention of a young Sicilian chef called Lino prove infinitely more interesting than law books.

At first, I was confused when the chyron read “Fall 2000” and Saldaña appeared in a twee matching cami-and-cardigan set. On screen, she calls her sister...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Center Stage (Stanley Kwan)

Following her breakout with Jackie Chan in Police Story and before her iconic roles in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Olivier Assayas, Maggie Cheung delivered one of the best performances of her career in Stanley Kwan’s lush, definitive, and boldly conceived biopic Center Stage, also known as Actress. Now gorgeously restored in 4K from the original negative, and approved by Kwan himself, the film follows Cheung as iconic silent film star Ruan Lingyu, who committed suicide at the age of 24 in 1935 after a tumultuous private life that was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids—and began to mirror the melodramas that brought her fame. With Cheung receiving the Best Actress award at Berlinale, the film...

Before she became the queen of modern sci-fi franchises, I knew Zoe Saldaña for her feature film debut in "Center Stage." Released in 2000, the movie takes place at the fictional American Ballet Academy, a place where the only thing more intense and over-the-top than the dance classes is the Drama™ percolating behind closed doors. It's a gloriously soapy, contrived film full of marvelous dance routines, some of which allow Saldaña to show off her real-life skills from training in ballet when she was younger.

Saldaña's background in dance would come to serve her well in her many action-heavy movie roles, not least of which was that of the Na'vi warrior Neytiri in "Avatar." James Cameron's 2009 mega-blockbuster came out the same year Saldaña played Nyota Uhura in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," both of which combined to cement her as a star five years prior to her turn as Gamora in "Guardians of the Galaxy.

As a young dancer growing up in North Carolina, “West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose did not have a plethora of pop culture role models from whom she could draw inspiration. “There is an abundance of examples of white lived experiences. There just weren’t many with my specific lived experience,” said DeBose, who identifies as Afro-Latina. “There weren’t a ton of examples that I could look to, to see myself reflected in the work.”

One movie that did make an impact on her was “Center Stage,” the beloved cult classic from 2000 about twenty-something dancers competing in a cut-throat New York City ballet school. Making her big-screen debut, Zoe Saldaña played one of those dancers, a rebellious Boston girl destined for prima ballerina stardom. “Seeing a beautiful melanated queen doing ballet and doing it beautifully, doing it well — that was very influential on my childhood,” DeBose, 31, told TheWrap. “(Saldaña...

Zoe Saldaña revealed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that her former management team “discouraged” her from using her real name once she landed her first major acting role in the 2000 teen drama “Center Stage.” The actor stressed that her team was not trying to be malicious at the time. Saldaña starred in the Nicholas Hytner-directed drama as Eva Rodriguez, a smart aleck dancer from Boston. The “Center Stage” ensemble cast also included Amanda Schull, Susan May Pratt, Peter Gallagher, Donna Murphy and Ethan Stiefel.

“When I did [2000 film] ‘Center Stage,’ I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name,” Saldaña said, “but their intention was never for me to stop being who I was. They celebrated who I was. But my manager at the time was a former singer and a ballroom performer, and she did change her name as well, when she...

Zoe Saldaña revealed that her stage name could have been very different, thanks to being “discouraged” by her former manager to use her real moniker.

The “Guardians of the Galaxy” star told Entertainment Weekly’s Bold School that early in her career, she was told to change her name.

“When I did [2000 film] ‘Center Stage,’ I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name,” Saldaña said, before adding, “but their intention was never for me to stop being who I was. They celebrated who I was.”

Saldaña continued, “But my manager at the time was a former singer and a ballroom performer, and she did change her name as well, when she was a teenager back in the ’60s, I believe. And she said it’s what everybody does. That was her doing the best that she wanted for me, but I still knew that I liked my name.

As Zoe Saldana's character said in Center Stage, "I'm not dancing for them anymore. I'm dancing for me." And that was the attitude the actress embraced for her big screen debut as Eva Rodriguez in the 2000 ballet film—even after getting some questionable career advice. "When I did Center Stage, I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name," Saldana, 43, told Entertainment Weekly in an on-camera interview posted March 11. "But their intention was never for me to stop being who I am. They celebrated who I was." She continued, "My manager at the time was a former singer and a ballroom...

March 2022 is a great month for blonde women with cold, dead stares on Hulu.

With its list of new releases for March 2022, Hulu is highlighting two major original series ripped straight from the headlines. The first is The Dropout, which premieres on March 3. This show stars Amanda Seyfried (taking over from the previously cast Kate McKinnon) as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. This story about high-level corporate fraud is truly wild, enough so to accommodate several books, podcasts, and even an upcoming film starring Jennifer Lawrence. Hulu is certainly hoping its version is the definitive one.

Read more TV Pam & Tommy Will Make You Hate Everyone But Pam By Alec Bojalad Movies Why The Princess Bride Is a Perfect Fantasy Movie By David Crow

The Dropout‘s spiritual counterpart will be The Girl From Plainville, which premieres on March 29. This is another story you might be familiar with. If not, just...

The summer movie season may be winding down but Amazon Prime still has a hit or two up its sleeve in August 2021.

Amazon’s list new arrivals this month is highlighted by Evangelion:3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon A Time. That may be a mouthful of a name but it’s a big deal in the anime world. The streamer nagged exclusive rights to the final film in the Neon Genesis Evangelion film franchise known as “Rebuild of Evangelion”. With the future of the franchise up in the air, this could be the last chance in awhile for anime fans worldwide to catch some mecha action.

Read more TV Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’s Success And Why Anime Will Never Be the Same By Ruel Butler Movies How Lord of the Rings Helm’s Deep Anime Film Could Expand Rohan’s History By Joseph Baxter

August 2021 brings some other original films of note to Amazon as well.

Film aficionados will want to keep an eye on Amazon Prime Video in August, as the streaming giant is set to debut two Cannes Film Festival premieres: “Val,” a new documentary about Val Kilmer that uses archival footage shot by the actor himself, and “Annette,” Leos Carax award-winning musical (it won best director at Cannes) starring Adam Driver and Maron Cotillard and featuring music by Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks.

But beyond the Prime Video originals, the Amazon library content added to the service next month is vast and impressive. Among the major movies coming to Prime Video include “Aliens,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Jaws,” “Moneyball,” and “Predator.” Meanwhile, IMDb TV, the free service that users can access without a corresponding Amazon Prime subscription, will host “Apollo 13,” “La La Land,” and “Ghostbusters” among many other big titles.

Here’s everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in August...

Gong Li heads the jury of the international competition, which also includes Nadine Labaki, Renny Harlin and Leste Chen.

Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff), which is scheduled to take place in a physical format next month (August 14-21), has unveiled the line-up for its international competition section, the Tiantan Awards.

The 15-title selection includes Russian co-production Conference, which won best director and actress at last year’s Cairo film festival; Rotterdam Youth Jury Award winner Night Of The Kings; Indian director Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show; and Cannes 2020 Label entry Slalom, directed by Charlene Favier (see full list below...

New York City’s Metrograph has today announced the launch of the Metrograph TV App, designed to allow its members nationwide access to all Metrograph live streams and on-demand programming directly via their TV remote. The Metrograph TV App is available starting today at no cost on Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku, with an Android TV launch coming soon.

Like most other NYC theaters, the Metrograph closed its doors in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but is now readying for a September re-opening. The two-screen theater, located on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side, has yet to announce its full release plans as other NYC-area theaters continue to reopen, but today’s launch of the app makes it clear that a digital component will be part of its plans moving forward.

“Metrograph’s digital expansion this past year has brought our programming to a nationwide audience, and...

New Delhi, May 27 (Ians) Video conferencing platform Zoom on Thursday announced that it has unveiled two new features on Apple's latest iPad Pro models -- support for Apple's Center Stage and expanded Gallery View.

The new features will help users better participate in calls, potentially stave off video fatigue, and better connect over Zoom, the company said in a statement.

Center Stage, new to Apple's 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, uses the ultrawide front camera and Machine Learning (Ml) to keep users in the frame as they move, allowing them to go hands-free or move about during a video call.

With support for Center Stage, users can participate more naturally in Zoom video calls, the company said.

They do not have to worry whether they're out of frame during a workout, teaching a class or celebrating with friends and family over Zoom, it added.

Center Stage support is...

Exclusive: Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers) is set as a lead opposite Harold Perrineau in From, Epix’s contemporary sci-fi horror series, created by John Griffin (Crater). The series is produced by Midnight Radio, the producing team of Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, as well as Joe & Anthony Russo’s Agbo.

From unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.

Bailey plays Jim Matthews, who, along with his wife, is struggling in the aftermath of a personal tragedy and suddenly finds himself and his family trapped in the town.

Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens, the sheriff whose Draconian rules have held the fragile town together,...

From growing up as a film buff to becoming one of Hong Kong’s most iconic film directors, Stanley Kwan is known as a filmmaker who stays true to himself. That has earned him a 13-title retrospective screening series at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival.

From his 1985 directorial debut “Women” to two of his most celebrated features “Center Stage” (1992) and “Rouge” (1987), Kwan is known for his sharp eyes and lyrical portrayal of the female psyche against the backdrop of societal changes at a certain space and time. His films may not be the biggest box office hits, but he has no regrets.

“People say that I make ‘female films,’ ‘gay films.’ But they are just labels given by others. I believe in what I do,” Kwan said in a media interview in 2020.

Kwan recalled that he was often asked back in the days why he made films like...

Following her breakout with Jackie Chan in Police Story and before her iconic roles in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Olivier Assayas, Maggie Cheung delivered one of the best performances of her career in Stanley Kwan’s lush, definitive, and boldly conceived biopic Center Stage, also known as Actress. Now gorgeously restored in 4K from the original negative, and approved by Kwan himself, it’ll arrive next month via Film Movement Classics, and we’re pleased to present the exclusive trailer premiere.

The film follows Cheung as iconic silent film star Ruan Lingyu, who committed suicide at the age of 24 in 1935 after a tumultuous private life that was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids—and began to mirror the melodramas that brought her fame. With Cheung receiving the Best Actress award at Berlinale, the film also mixes in interviews dissecting acting and fame, while also interspersing actual footage from Ruan Lingyu’s films.

The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF45) will honour Stanley Kwan as this year’s Filmmaker-in-Focus.

Scheduled to take place from 1 to 12 April, HKIFF45 will celebrate Kwan’s remarkable career with a retrospective of 13 of his seminal works to coincide with a commemorative book’s publication. Kwan will also attend a Face-to-Face session on 5 April to share his insights on films, art, and life with the public.

“Stanley is an auteur, and we are proud to acknowledge his unique and indelible contributions towards Hong Kong cinema,” enthused Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Executive Director Albert Lee. “He has developed a highly personal aesthetic style in his portray of the female psyche while capturing the nuanced transformation of the city and the era. Stanley has set benchmarks for LGBTQ films in Chinese-language cinema with his exploration of gender and sexuality issues.”

In a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years,...

Hong Kong auteur Stanley Kwan will be featured as the filmmaker-in-focus at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It will run a retrospective screening of 13 Kwan-directed films, including the director’s cut of “Center Stage.”

“[Kwan] has developed a highly personal aesthetic style in his [portrayal] of the female psyche while capturing the nuanced transformation of the city and the era,” said Albert Lee, executive director of the Hkiff Society, in a statement.

On staff at Television Broadcasts until 1979, before becoming an assistant director to New Wave filmmakers Ann Hui and Patrick Tam, Kwan has a career spanning more than 40 years. The retrospective retraces the steps of Kwan’s cinematic journey starting from his 1985 directorial debut “Women.” Starring Chow Yun-fat and Cora Miao, the drama earned 10 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards including best film and best director.

Kwan quickly established himself as a director with a niche in female sensibilities...

After watching episode four of Emily in Paris, do you just have that nagging notion you've seen rich hotelier Randy Zimmer before? Emily courts him (and his incredible suit) at an art exhibition for Savoir, the French marketing company she works at, and presents a perfect elevator pitch for creating a signature scent. In between the Champagne, Chanel bags, romance, and modern art, we were already feeling a bit woozy - but not exactly knowing where we had seen the actor that plays Randy? That was killing us. Eion Bailey is not just a total heartthrob, but has acted in roles we would have never guessed. And when we figured it out, well, we were shook.

So where have you seen Eion Bailey before?

Eion Bailey is an American actor who has been formally acting since 1997, starring in almost 50 different roles in TV shows and movies throughout his career. So,...

“Center Stage” stars Zoe Saldana, Amanda Schull, Sascha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel reunited 20 years after the film’s debut to discuss the cultural touchstone and life-changing ballet film. Between port de bras and pas de trois references and stories about driving Harleys across fancy stages, the cast took this moment to reflect on larger issues of representation and diversity in the ballet community.

Joining together to raise funds for the American Ballet Theatre’s Crisis Relief Fund, a charity that provides aid for dancers, production crews, musicians, ballet staff and faculty impacted by cancellations from Covid-19, the cast shared behind-the-scenes stories and fun memories. But then the conversation turned more serious with a thoughtful breakdown about how “Center Stage” helped dispel stereotypes for male dancers and how much work the ballet community still needs to do for better representation.

Over the years, Schull revealed that she is often approached by...

A 27-year-old Tyra Banks was elated when she landed the role of Zoe, the no-nonsense bartender in “Coyote Ugly.” Although there weren’t high expectations for the movie, which starred a cast of mostly unknowns who play rowdy dancers at a seedy bar, the movie became a sleeper summer hit for Touchstone Pictures, grossing $60 million domestically on a $45 million budget. The female-led cast — including Piper Perabo — were featured on billboards and posters and the soundtrack went multi-platinum, with the help of LeAnn Rimes and songwriter Diane Warren.

Now, Banks tells Variety that she’s been lobbying for years for a sequel. “I’ve had a passion to do a sequel to ‘Coyote Ugly’ for some time now. I’ve even reached out to [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer and the team and the original writer and they’ve had some jam sessions on what it could possibly be,” Banks says. “I feel like...

Netflix is ending the summer with its most interesting and unpredictable slate of the season, as the streamer is set to roll out an uncommonly deep and diverse roster of acquisitions and Originals; most of these movies have yet to screen in the United States (and some haven’t been shown anywhere), but odds are at least a few of them will prove to be diamonds in the rough. Netflix’s biggest Original of the month — the Jamie Foxx vehicle “Project Power” — definitely has the potential to spice up the dog days. Ditto “All Together Now,” another sweet and low-key music drama from “Hearts Beat Loud” director Brett Haley; this one stars Auli’i Cravalho, Fred Armisen, and Carol Burnett. There’s a Malin Åkerman comedy called “The Sleepover,” an Indonesian caper called “Crazy Awesome Teachers” (worth checking out based on the title alone), and the “Center Stage”-esque “Work It,...