Movie News

Bill Murray is stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While promoting his role in Wes Anderson’s latest film “The French Dispatch,” the 71-year-old Murray said in an Oct. 26 interview published by German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (or Faz) that he recently shot a role on Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” — or, at least, he all but said that.

Murray was asked about working multiple times with directors like Anderson, Sofia Coppola and Jim Jarmusch, and whether that means if it’s important for him to work with filmmakers he knows and likes.

By way of answering, Murray said, “You know, recently I made a Marvel movie,” before immediately seeming to regret the disclosure: “I probably won’t tell you, but never mind,” he added.

Still, Murray pressed on, explaining that despite the Marvel Cinematic Universe not really being his normal thing, he was wooed to join the movie by director Peyton Reed.

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in Edgar Wright’s new “Last Night in Soho,” but it wasn’t the first time they could have worked together. “I had read the ‘Baby Driver’ script’ and auditioned for it,” Taylor-Joy told me Monday at the “Last Night in Soho” premiere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “I was a really really big fan of his.”

“I do remember that,” Wright said. “But I’m glad we did this instead.”

Wright first approached Taylor-Joy about “Last Night in Soho” roughly six years ago, shortly after seeing her breakout performance in Robert Eggers’ Sundance hit “The Witch.” “He was a judge at Sundance and I was really starstruck,” Taylor-Joy said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my god, Edgar Wright wants to talk to me!’ …I don’t think he was planning on telling me what the story was about but we got along so well, he was like,

“Cowboy Bebop” helped popularize anime in the United States and is remembered as one of the greatest shows in the medium’s history. So, expectations are understandably high for Netflix’s impending live-action television adaptation of the iconic show. The streaming giant unveiled the trailer for its “Cowboy Bebop” series on Tuesday, which you can watch below. “Cowboy Bebop” has a release date of November 19.

Netflix’s synopsis reads: “‘Cowboy Bebop’ is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka ‘cowboys,’ all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them.”

The

Rejoice! Shinichiro Watanabe's acclaimed anime series "Cowboy Bebop" is getting a live-action adaptation, and Netflix has just dropped the trailer. The noir space western series stars John Cho as Spike Spiegel. Along with Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, the trio of bounty hunters are what Netflix describes as "long on style and perpetually short on cash."

The show explores the crew's interstellar exploits over 10 episodes and is expected to air its first episode on the streaming service November 19. It's developed by showrunner André Nemec and written by Christopher Yost. Nemec and Jeff Pinkner are series creators,...

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In 2016, Kelly Grimsley was vacationing in Los Angeles when she was invited to lunch with a family friend. The lunch turned out to be a pitch meeting for an investment in an independent film, and Grimsley ended up putting in $250,000 to get it made.

Grimsley would later sue the producers — Ryan Smith and Allen Cheney — claiming they had improperly embezzled $40,000, some of which went to pay a personal credit card bill and health insurance premiums.

The suit portrays Smith, 36, and Cheney, 33, as being in well over their heads, ultimately having to be rescued by Cheney’s father, the CEO of a local bank. The complaint describes the pair as “fledgling film producers with virtually no creative or business achievements in the film industry.”

Smith and Cheney are in the spotlight because they were also a producer and executive producer, respectively, on “Rust,” the Alec Baldwin film that shut down production after the cinematographer,

Westbrook Inc., the entertainment company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has ended talks to sell to a new media venture backed by Blackstone Group and executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, sources tell Variety.

The two parties began discussions in mid-September, Variety previously reported, with the former Walt Disney Co. honchos looking to scoop up the 2-year-old company behind the streaming series “Red Table Talk” and the forthcoming Oscar contender “King Richard.”

The sales talks ceased this week, two individuals familiar with the parties said. Sources noted it was possible that both sides could reevaluate and return to the table in the future. It’s unclear what halted the transaction, though one insider noted the difficulty in calculating a valuation for Westbrook — a company in its relative infancy that’s also led by two superstars and has credits including the Netflix hit “Cobra Kai.” A different source

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An epic, generation-spanning saga about defeating fascism is timeless, which is why “Star Wars” has inspired devoted fans of all ages. And the Disney marketing team is highly skilled, which is why the company has made sure that those legions of fans can purchase pretty much any item they’d ever need — from cookware to clothing and everything in between — emblazoned with logos, characters, and other “Star Wars” iconography.

The holiday season is quickly approaching, so why not get a head start on your shopping list? While these items make perfect gifts for the “Star Wars” fans in your life, it’s totally okay if the “Star Wars” fan in your life is yourself.

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One of the most memorable scenes from James Gunn’s “Suicide Squad” comes almost exactly an hour into the film, as Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn goes on a murderous rampage through a Corto Maltese mansion, where she’s jailed for killing the country’s dictator (and short-lived lover).

Putting her anti-hero skills to use, she breaks free from her shackles by picking a lock with her feet before enthusiastically killing every guard that stands in her way. As animated flowers and hearts spill out from wounds where there should be blood, and a cunning smile takes over her face where there should be distress, viewers are reminded why Quinn is, and always will be,

Warning: This interview contains spoilers for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."

Weta had 350 artists working on Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." Most of their work was done on the third act, including the fight between the Great Protector and Dweller in Darkness, the battle between Shang-Chi and Xu Wenwu, and the action involving the Ten Rings. Even with two large scale dragons going at it in the sky, it was the rings, according to Weta Digital's visual effects supervisor, Sean Walker, that provided great difficulty. 

Walker is a well-seasoned pro in the...

The post Shang-Chi VFX Supervisor on Creating Dragons, The Rings, and The Mountain of Souls [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Google the name Duncan Idaho and you’ll get entire articles devoted to fans joking, mocking, and celebrating the character name following the release of Denis Villeneuve’ “Dune” in theaters and on HBO Max. It appears everyone has an opinion on the name Duncan Idaho. The character, played by Jason Momoa in Villeneuve’s movie, is the swordmaster of House Atreides and an essential mentor figure to the protagonist Paul (Timothee Chalamet). Villeneuve got asked about Duncan Idaho’s name in an interview with Vulture, and the director was quick to explain the meaning behind Duncan Idaho’s name and why that makes it so cool.

“Personally, I deeply love it,” Villeneuve said of the name. “I love that Frank Herbert gives hints of Earth culture. You have links with the Catholic religion, or Middle Eastern cultural elements. They are hints that these people were coming from Earth, and then they expanded into the galaxy.

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

"The Batman" budget might be relatively small

Warner Bros. responds to Ruby Rose's "Batwoman" claims

A new "Spider-Man: No Way Home" trailer may be coming soon

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" game is finally here, and the reviews are good

All that and more!

The post Superhero Bits: Guardians of the Galaxy Video Game Reviews Are In, The Batman Budget & More appeared first on /Film.

Gold House launched an upcoming project titled the Future Gold Film Fellowship — in partnership with Netflix and Tribeca Studios in an effort to amplify Api directors and their stories.

Selected by Tribeca Studios and industry leaders including: Aneesh Chaganty, Jon M. Chu, Destin Daniel Cretton, Christopher Kahunahana, Daniel Dae Kim, Alice Wu, Janet Yang and Nina Yang Bongiovi — three Asian and Pacific Islander directors will each receive a production grant to make a scripted short film. The directors will also receive full production support from Tribeca.

For more information, visit here.

Halle Berry Returns To the American Black Film Festival As Ambassador

Oscar-winner Halle Berry will return to the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) as ambassador ahead of its 25th anniversary on the organization’s custom-built platform ABFF Play on Nov. 3-28.

Berry, who was the festival’s first recipient of the ABFF Rising Star award in 1997, will be returning

Mort Sahl, a trailblazing political satirist whose biting wit and uncompromising intellect broadened the world of conventional standup comedy, died Tuesday in Mill Valley, Calif. He was 94.

The New York Times confirmed his death with his friend, Lucy Mercer.

In 1953, when Sahl first appeared at the Hungry i, a San Francisco folk singer’s hangout, he was an unknown with little stage experience. But his rapid-fire monologues about politics, social trends and fads quickly earned him the nickname “Rebel Without a Pause.”

“The three great geniuses of the period were Nichols and May, Jonathan Winters and Mort Sahl,” Woody Allen told New York magazine in 2008. Allen credited Sahl’s intellectual brand of humor for getting him into comedy. “He was the best thing I ever saw,” Allen said in another interview. “He totally restructured comedy. He changed the rhythm of the jokes.”

In 2011, his live 1955 recording “Mort Sahl at Sunset

"Den of Thieves," which is kind of like "Heat" if it were directed by Axe Body Spray instead of Michael Mann, rules. Sure, it doesn't have an original thought in its head. But it's also a movie that understands what it is: a dirtbag knock-off of much better movies. And because of that knowledge, "Den of Thieves" knows how to have fun with its premise, which involves a group of crude cops going up against a group of crude thieves. B-movie king Gerard Butler is the leader of the cops, a character named "Big Nick" O'Brien, someone who is prone to eating donuts directly off...

The post Den of Thieves 2 Begins Shooting Next Year, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Confirms appeared first on /Film.

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After 25 years in the game, Nintendo 64 hasn’t lost its luster among gamers who crave the nostalgia of one of Nintendo’s most recognizable consoles. Despite going out of production in 2002, these collectible consoles are still available online.

Named for its 64-bit processing unit, the Nintendo 64 debuted in Japan in July 1996, and in the U.S. that September. The console was originally designed to compete with Sega Saturn by offering a new generation of 3D graphics. Besides pioneering 3D gaming, N64 was one of the first gaming consoles to have four controller ports and one of the last to use cartridges. Furthermore, N64 introduced a new school of gaming controllers with capabilities and

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

No category of movie inspires passionate devotion quite like the horror genre. Although “Star Wars” groupies and superhero buffs might give them a run for their money, serious horror fans let their love of monsters, slashers, aliens and demons inform virtually every aspect of their lives. Part of that unmatched intensity is due to the vast history of the genre itself. While Lucas’s “Star Wars” and Richard Donner’s “Superman” kickstarted their fandoms in the late 1970s, horror’s filmic roots stretch back to the silent classics of the early 1900s, meaning there are literally countless titles for fans to discuss, debate, collect and obsess over.

The problem is, when you’re

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees announced Tuesday that it has reached a deal on the Area Standards Agreement, the contract that governs film and TV production in places like Georgia, Louisiana and New Mexico.

The announcement sets the table for a nationwide ratification vote on both the Area Standards Agreement and the Basic Agreement, which together cover 60,000 film and TV crew members. That vote has not been scheduled, but should take place within a few weeks.

IATSE reached a deal on the Basic Agreement on Oct. 16, which averted a nationwide strike that would have begun two days later. The deal includes a 54-hour weekend rest period, as well as 3% annual raises and increased meal penalties.

Many members have rallied against the deal online, however, saying it does not go far enough to protect workers from long production days with few breaks.

The Basic Agreement applies to 40,000 workers in 13 West Coast locals,

Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" is a triumph that's been decades in the making. Published in 1965 and long considered unfilmable by its many fans, Jodorowsky's unhinged, acid-fueled first attempt to create a movie landscape inspired by what he thought of the novel changed the future of science fiction at the cost of an unrealized film. Villeneuve's vision is the third complete attempt to interpret "Dune" for audiences (Part Two has just been confirmed), and the first to successfully trim it into something beautiful and awe-inspiring, with a sleek plot for new fans to ably follow.

With a cast of dozens to hundreds of characters, Villeneuve keeps the focus on a slight...

The post The Best Characters in Dune Ranked appeared first on /Film.

In his documentary essay “Desire Lines,” currently in development and presented at Ji.hlava New Visions Forum: U.S. Docs, Chicago-born Jules Rosskam blows the lid off an “open secret” among transgender men: the fact that after coming out, many of them develop an attraction for other men.

“This idea is the driving force of the film. Everyone jokes about it but no one is really talking about it,” Rosskam tells Variety. Now 42, he came out as trans in his early twenties.

“At that time, in North America, trans people were subjected to the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, which required you to be straight. You would be asked who you were attracted to because, God forbid, we create a queer person by letting someone transition. It was dangerous to be open about your desire and that narrative has remained in the community,” he argues.

Interweaving performed scenarios with interviews and observational footage,

Ryan Gosling's "Wolfman" movie is not dead – it just has a new director.

Deadline reports that Derek Cianfrance, who directed last year's HBO Mark Ruffalo-led drama series "I Know This Much is True," is currently in talks to step behind the camera and take over for original director Leigh Whannell ("Upgrade"), who left the movie over scheduling conflicts. Universal and Blumhouse are overseeing this new iteration of the classic Universal Monsters character, and it certainly sounds like Cianfrance is enthusiastic about making this happen. Here's what the filmmaker had to say:

"Horror movies were my first love — my entry into what cinema was capable of narratively,...

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