News

Legendary sound designer Ben Burtt, the man behind R2-D2’s beeps, the lightsaber swoosh and Wall-e’s electronic warble, will be honored at this year’s Locarno Film Festival with the Vision Award Ticinomoda, a prize dedicated to creatives whose work has extended the horizons of cinema.

A 12-time Oscar nominee, and four-time winner — he received special achievement Oscars for his sound work on the original Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Arc and won trophies for sound effects and sound editing work on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — Burtt has created a staggering number of sounds that, in the words of the Locarno festival “have since imprinted themselves on the minds of several generations of audiences and are still imitated in school playgrounds around the world today.”

Among his achievements are the croakily iconic “E.T. phone home” — a raspy voice...

French-Swiss actress Irène Jacob, best-known for her star-making turns in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and Three Colors: Red (1994), will be honored at this year’s Locarno Film Festival with the Leopard Club Award for her contribution to contemporary cinema.

The award ceremony will take place at Locarno’s Piazza Grande on the evening of Friday, Aug. 9 and be followed the next morning by a public conversation with Jacob at Forum @Spazio Cinema. The festival will screen Kieślowski’s Three Colors: Red in tribute.

“Irène Jacob is one of cinema’s most mysterious and sublime presences,” said Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro. “Her every performance manifests the elusive precision of a presence so completely identified with the film’s images as to become virtually part of the cinematography. Her skill in surrendering herself to the directors’ gaze and then, on the contrary, to vigorously embodying the character,...

French-Swiss film and theatre actor Irène Jacob, who has worked with many of Europe’s top directors, will be honoured by the Locarno Film Festival with its Leopard Club Award.

Jacob, who is originally from Switzerland, won the prestigious best actress prize at Cannes in 1991 for her part in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “The Double Life of Véronique.” Kieslowski also directed Jacob in “Three Colours: Red,” one of her best-known films, along with Louis Malle’s “Au revoir les enfants” which marked her debut.

Besides Kieslowski and Malle, Jacob has worked with multiple French and international auteurs, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders, Theo Angelopoulos, Agnieszka Holland, Paul Auster, Jonathan Nossiter and Hugh Hudson. She has also worked with Nadine Trintignant, Claude Lelouch, Serge Le Péron, Pascal Thomas, Riad Sattouf and Jacques Deray.

“Irène Jacob is one of cinema’s most mysterious and sublime presences. Her every performance manifests the elusive precision...

Tár writer/director Todd Field discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

You Only Live Twice (1967) – Dana Gould’s trailer commentary

Tár (2022)

Man With A Movie Camera (1929)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

The Big Parade (1925)

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

The Crowd (1928)

Star Wars (1977)

The Servant (1963)

Parasite (2019) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

The Three Musketeers (1973) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Figures In A Landscape (1970)

M (1931)

M (1951)

I Am Cuba (1964)

The Cranes Are Flying (1957) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Letter Never Sent (1960)

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

The Towering Inferno (1974) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

The Sting (1973)

The World of Henry Orient (1964) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Thelma And Louise (1991)

Murmur Of The Heart (1971)

The Silent World (1956)

Opening Night (1977)

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976) – Larry Karaszewski’s...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Bam

“Working Class Musicals” examines the most lavish expressions from a ground level, featuring Cherbourg, Chantal Akerman, West Side Story x2, and more.

Roxy Cinema

The series “Woman as Witch” offers 35mm prints of Johnny Guitar, Jennifer’s Body, and Woman in the Dunes.

Film Forum

“Loving Highsmith” begins with Purple Noon, Strangers on a Train, and The American Friend; Alain Resnias’ The War Is Over continues and Carnal Knowledge, restored, begins a run.

Japan Society

Kihachi Okamoto’s Kill! plays on 35mm this Friday.

Film at Lincoln Center

As the Three Colors: Red restoration continues, The Wiz has a free outdoor screening this Friday on Governor’s Island.

Paris Theater

Kurosawa’s Ran plays exclusively through the weekend.

Museum of the Moving Image

Streets of Fire, Licorice Pizza, Tron and Sleeping Beauty play on 70mm this weekend, while a series of zombie films screen.

Red, White and Blue remain immersive and emotionally astute as a 4K restoration promises to bring new audiences into the fold

The first non-English-language film I ever saw in a cinema was Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Red, when it finally snuck into our local Johannesburg arthouse, some months after the critical hype from abroad had subsided.

It was, perhaps, an ambitious gamble by my parents, considering that I was 11 years old, and that none of us had seen the preceding two titles in Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy (receiving a 4K re-release in US cinemas this summer). But I was already serious about film, and my parents rightly reasoned that my horizons could then stand to be expanded: cue an unlikely family cinema outing to a pensive, melancholic study of the simultaneous human need for distance and connection, of aural voyeurism and ambiguous altruism, of lost dogs and missed chances and mass tragedy,...

The summer is known for big studio blockbusters, but for many fans of The Criterion Collection, releases are in store for something special in June as they’ve announced six additions are coming in glorious 4K Uhd.

Criterion presents a group of films that includes Joachim Trier’s charming Oscar contender, “The Worst Person in the World”; Hong Kong master Stanley Kwan’s romantic ghost story, “Rouge”; Ekwa Msangi’s remarkable debut feature debut, “Farewell Amor”; and “Shaft,” the blaxploitation action-hero classic from Gordon Parks that helped launched serious black-led action films, now on 4K Uhd.

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Shaft,’ ‘Pink Flamingos,’ ‘Worst Person In The World’ & More Titles In June at The Playlist.

It was a reunion of Nineties hip-hop heavyweights Saturday as Ja Rule, Lil’ Kim, Mase, Jadakiss and Lil’ Cease took to the stage at DJ Cassidy’s first-ever “Pass the Mic” live event, which closed out the 2022 Pegasus World Cup horse race in Miami.

Taking to the turntables inside the newly-opened Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park, Cassidy brought out each artist for a brief set of their greatest hits, taking his popular “Pass the Mic” YouTube series in front of a live audience for the first time.

Ma$e surprises...

My, my, my. How Farr we have come! I know, I know, it's terribly punny, but it's the season finale! I won't have another chance for Months.

By any measure, Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 10 is a solid landing for a season that took us into the Afterlife, backward and forwards in time, and then into the subconscious.

Admittedly, we still have no idea where that lone zombie were-butt has gone or what the alarm in the library does if you answer it in time, but with a Season 4 renewal in the bag, we can hope those answers will be forthcoming. Or Fourth-coming even? Okay, okay, I'll stop.

I've called this the Season of Rouge before, and I stick by that moniker since, as of Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 9, she'd managed to evolve from jaunty amnesiac to enthusiastic time detective to malfunctioning shape-shifter to unrepentant Beatrice Arnold.

Here, she makes...

There's a lot to be said for taking the time to build towards a season finale, and Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 9 is an excellent example of how multiple plot threads can entwine to create tension leading into the big climax.

In the aftermath of the Eternal Flagellation, we have a very different set of team members. Whether they are becoming less dysfunctional is debatable, but the team dynamic is most assuredly transformed significantly.

Rouge and Rita. The Brain and Mallah. Jane and Kay. Whether adversaries or allies, the pairings in and of themselves are microcosms of intense emotions and motivations.

I'm not sure what I expected of The Brain and Mallah, but finding them in a Boca Raton retirement community probably wasn't in my Top 10.

And while it sort of made sense for Rouge to have contacts to point her in the right direction, it borders on absurd that Vic...

The short life and brilliant career of Hong Kong singer, actress and social activist Anita Mui is celebrated in the middling biopic “Anita,” starring 31-year-old model Louise Wong in her film debut. This handsomely decorated and lushly filmed portrait nails the look and electric atmosphere in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry during its 1980s and ’90s heyday but only fitfully captures the sassy energy and fearless spirit that made Mui an adored figure who became known as the “Madonna of the East” and the “Daughter of Hong Kong.” Archival footage of Mui sprinkled throughout the film highlights the difference.

“Anita” joins a long list of productions about Mui (Miu Yim-fong), who died from cervical cancer in Dec. 2003 at the age of 40. Among these are the lengthy Chinese TV series “Anita Mui Fei” (2007) and “Dearest Anita” (2019), a fact-based drama inspired by members of the Mui Nation online fan club. This big-budget...

The extraordinary Jonathan Ross discusses his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Kick-Ass (2010)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) – Dennis Cozzalio’s 2015 year-end list

The Woman in Black (2012)

Stardust (2007)

The Green Knight (2021) – Our podcast interview with director David Lowery, Dennis Cozzalio’s best-of-2021-so-far list

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

The Astro-Zombies (1968) – Dennis Cozzalio’s drive-in director list

The Corpse Grinders (1971) – Dennis Cozzalio’s drive-in director list

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Zombies (1964) – Dennis Cozzalio’s drive-in director list

Blood Feast (1963) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Wizard of Gore (1970)

Police Story (1985) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)

Re-Animator (1985) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

Society (1989)

Eraserhead (1977) – Karyn Kusama’s Blu-ray review

Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (1965) – Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Randy...

Irene Jacob (“Three Colours: Red”), a critically acclaimed film and theater actor, is set to preside over the Lumière Institute in Lyon, succeeding to Bertrand Tavernier, the revered French filmmaker who died in March.

Tavernier led the institution for nearly four decades and worked closely with Thierry Fremaux, the Lumière Institute’s managing director, and Cannes Film Festival’s general delegate, to host the annual Lumière festival, a star-studded celebration of heritage films and cinema masters. Lyon is actually the birthplace of the Cinematograph and its creators, the Lumiere brothers.

Kicking off on Oct. 9, the event’s 13th edition will pay homage to Tavernier with a special tribute on Oct. 10.

Jacob, who is originally from Switzerland, is the granddaughter of Maurice Jacob, a scientist and humanist who lived in Lyon all his life and has a street named after him in the city. A passionate film buff, Jacob has been...

Danny Burstein, after seven Tony Award nominations, finally took home the trophy tonight for best featured performance in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

While he said he hasn’t obsessed about winning the award, Burstein said he had grown tired of hearing about his bridesmaid status.

“Everywhere I go, people are telling me, ‘Susan Lucci!'” the actor laughed, referring to the All My Children star, who finally won a Daytime Emmy after 18 straight nominations. “I’m the Susan Lucci of the Tony Awards. And it gets old, lemme tell ya. So, I was hoping to get the monkey off my back just a little bit.”

Asked to describe the sensation of hearing his name called at the Winter Garden Theatre, he said, “The award itself feels a little surreal. I didn’t know what to expect. Of course you always want to win a little bit. And you know that...

Spoiler alert: We’re about to break down the Season 3 premiere of Doom Patrol. Haven’t watched yet? You know what to do.

Doom Patrol made an emotional, donkey-farting return to HBO Max on Thursday with the first three episodes of its long-awaited third season. (The remaining episodes will roll out weekly, leading up to the Season 3 finale on Thursday, Nov. 11.)

More from TVLineDoom Patrol Season 3: Michelle Gomez Introduces Madame Rouge, the Show's 'Disturbing' Yet 'Lovable' New AdditionPeacemaker EP: There Was No Line James Gunn Didn't Cross in Writing HBO Max's The Suicide Squad SpinoffThe Other Two EP Breaks...

Take a look at new images of actress Amanda Seyfried ("Mank") posing for French luxury perfumes and cosmetics group Lancôme, supporting their 2021 "L'Absolu Rouge" Campaign:

Seyfried started her career as a young model, then moved on to recurring roles on the soap operas "As the World Turns" and "All My Children".

In 2004, Seyfried made her film debut in the teen comedy "Mean Girls", with subsequent supporting roles in independent films, including "Nine Lives" (2005), the crime drama "Alpha Dog" (2006) and a recurring role in the Upn TV drama "Veronica Mars" (2004–2006).

Between 2006 and 2011, she starred on the HBO drama series "Big Love" and appeared in the 2008 musical feature film "Mamma Mia!".

Noted appearances include "Jennifer's Body" (2009), "Chloe" (2009), "Dear John" (2010), "Letters to Juliet" (2010), "Red Riding Hood" (2011) and "In Time" (2011).

Other roles included "Gone" (2012), "Les Misérables" (2012) and "Lovelace" (2013) and "Mank" (2020).

Click the images to enlarge...

Natalie Mendoza, a star of the BBC One drama series Hotel Babylon and The Descent horror film franchise, has been cast in the lead role of Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical, filling the vacancy left when the Tony-nominated Karen Olivo resigned in April over what she perceived as industry silence regarding the workplace harassment and abuse claims levied against theater producer Scott Rudin.

(Rudin had no involvement in Moulin Rouge!)

With the casting of Mendoza, announced today by producers Carmen Pavlovic and Bill Damaschke, the full Moulin Rouge! cast is in place for the resumption of performances on Friday, September 24, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The musical originally opened on July 25, 2019, but performances were suspended in March 2020 when Broadway went dark due to the Covid pandemic shutdown.

Mendoza joins a principal cast that also includes Aaron Tveit, Danny Burstein, Sahr Ngaujah, Tam Mutu, Ricky Rojas and Robyn Hurder.

The...

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...

After taking a break to present an erotic ghost story with “Rouge”, Stanley Kwan returned to his favorite theme of exploring the mentality of women, this time transferring the setting to another massive megalopolis, New York.

The story revolves around three women hailing from the three separate regions of ‘Greater China’. Lee Fung-jiau is from Hong Kong, and a closeted lesbian who runs a Chinese restaurant in New York and also dabbles in real estate. Wang Hsiung-ping is from Taiwan, and has come to New York to become an actress, spending much of her time and money on acting lessons. She is also living with an American artist, in an apartment they rent from Fung-jiau, who, as the movie begins, kicks them out for not paying the rent, despite their protests regarding art being above money, in a rather ironic comment. Zhaohong comes from mainland China and...

David Byrne’s American Utopia, the theatrical concert performance that played a limited engagement on Broadway to great acclaim and full houses for five months in 2019 and 2020, and months ago announced a 2021 return, has found its venue: Utopia will begin performances at Jujamcyn’s St. James Theatre on the previously announced Friday, Sept. 17.

Byrne will return to Broadway with his original American Utopia band fully intact: Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan and Bobby Wooten III.

“It is with great pleasure that finally, after a year+ like no other, I can announce that our show is coming back to Broadway,” Byrne said. “You who kept the faith, who held on to your tickets, well, you knew this would happen eventually! September 17 – remount previews begin.

“We’re moving to the St. James Theatre – just down 44th Street from the Hudson,...

The summer of 2001 was the summer of Moulin Rouge! Though, in reality, the film never placed higher than fourth at the U.S. box office, it had amazing word of mouth, which led to the movie getting good play throughout the summer, not to mention eight Academy Award nominations. Of course, it didn’t hurt that […]

The post How Nicole Kidman Made ‘Diamonds’ Sparkle In ‘Moulin Rouge!’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

A promise made between leading Asian film producer Bill Kong and the late Canto-pop super star Anita Mui will soon be fulfilled. Kong’s Edko Films has finally completed production of “Anita,” its long-awaited biopic of the legendary singer-actress who died 18 years ago.

Recalling a meeting with Mui in 2003, Kong said the beloved Hong Kong icon hoped to make a film that could leave a legacy for future generations. “Director Zhang Yimou and I then designed a role for her in ‘House of Flying Daggers’ (2004). But we could not make her dream come true because she passed,” Kong said in a statement. Mui died of cervical cancer on December 30, 2003.

Kong recalled their decades long friendship and said he has never forgotten their promise. “We met a long time ago. Back then Edko Films was still a small company while Mui was already a super star. But she still helped us...

It was 20 years ago this month that Moulin Rouge! made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival on its way to becoming a worldwide sensation. Director Baz Luhrmann’s tour-de-force was a mix of styles, genres, and eras, and it definitely kept star Nicole Kidman on her toes. To prepare for the role, Kidman told […]

The post ‘Moulin Rouge’ Found Ways To Throw Nicole Kidman For A Loop appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Having a movie that revolves around a tragic love story whose actual protagonists and Hong Kong cinema legends tragically died 15 years later have deemed “Rouge” a legendary film. Apart from its non-cinematic significance, “Rouge” was an international and local success, winning six awards in from Hong Kong festival and a plethora of others in festivals all over the world.

The script is based on the homonymous novel by Lilian Lee, and unfolds in two periods. The first one takes place during 1934, when we are introduced to Fleur, a high-class, extremely popular courtesan and Chan Chen-pang, a rich playboy who frequented the opium dens of Hong Kong at the time. The two meet and soon fall in love, but his family objects to the affair. In their desperation, the two lovers decide to commit suicide and meet again in the afterlife.

The second period takes place 50 years later, when a disgruntled Fleur,...

Ramin Bahrani, Oscar-nominated writer/director of The White Tiger, discusses a few of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The White Tiger (2021)

Man Push Cart (2005)

Chop Shop (2007)

99 Homes (2015)

The Boys From Fengkuei (1983)

The Time To Live And The Time To Die (1985)

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976)

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

La Terra Trema (1948)

Umberto D (1952)

Where Is The Friend’s Home? (1987)

Nomadland (2020)

The Runner (1984)

Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989)

A Moment Of Innocence a.k.a. Bread And Flower Pot (1996)

The House Is Black (1963)

The Conversation (1974)

Mean Streets (1973)

Nashville (1975)

Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)

The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

Paris, Texas (1984)

Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)

Vagabond (1985)

Luzzu (2021)

Bait (2019)

Sweet Sixteen (2002)

Abigail’s Party (1977)

Meantime (1983)

Fish Tank (2009)

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Malcolm X (1992)

Nothing But A Man (1964)

Goodbye Solo (2008)

The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973)

Dekalog (1989)

The Double Life Of Veronique...

Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and Simon Helberg star in Annette, a musical romance featuring an original soundtrack by Sparks and directed by French filmmaker Leos Carax (Holy Motors) in his English-language debut. The movie received its first trailer on Monday when it was announced that it will open the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Set in contemporary Los Angeles, Annette tells the story of Henry (Driver), a stand-up comedian, and Ann (Cotillard), an internationally renowned singer. When the couple welcomes the birth of their first daughter, they discover that the girl has...

Among the Oscar nominations surprises every year is the Best Director lineup. Remember when Steven Spielberg (“The Color Purple”), Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”) and Ben Affleck (“Argo”) all won at the Directors Guild of America Awards but were snubbed by the directors branch of the academy. This year DGA nominee Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) was likewise left off the list of Oscar contenders. He was replaced by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg for his superb “Another Round,” which also picked up a bid for Best International Feature. He joins a long roster of Best Director nominees for films other than in English.

The academy first embraced international filmmakers in the 1960s. Italian auteur Federico Fellini was nominated for his 1961 classic “La Dolce Vita.” He contended again two years later for “8 1/2.” He reaped two more bids for “Fellini Satyricon” (1970) and “Amarcord’ (1975).

Predict the 2021 Oscars winners through...

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...

HBO Max will invite celebrity couples to be Tattletales, with a revival of the classic game show to be hosted and executive-produced by author/restaurateur Ayesha Curry and her NBA All-Star husband Stephen Curry.

The original Tattletales premiered 46 years ago and was hosted by Daytime Emmy winner Bert Convy, who also occasionally competed (with his wife Anne).

More from TVLineThe Flight Attendant Season 2 Scheduled for Spring 2022 ArrivalGeneration Premiere Recap: When Sex and Snapchat Collide -- Grade It!Doom Patrol: Michelle Gomez Joins Season 3 as Madame Rouge

The new Fremantle production will invite three celebrity couples to join the Currys on...

“Doom Patrol” has cast “The Flight Attendant” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” alum Michelle Gomez, HBO Max announced on Wednesday.

The actress will join the upcoming third season as a series regular, playing Madame Rouge. The character is described as “a complicated and electrifying eccentric who arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission… if only she could remember it.”

The DC Comics version of Madame Rouge was created by Arnold Drake and first appeared in “Doom Patrol” back in the 1960s. The character is a French stage actress who becomes a master of disguise for the Brotherhood of Evil.

Gomez’s casting comes ahead of the third season of “Doom Patrol,” which will be the first to premiere as an HBO Max exclusive. The series was moved to HBO Max last year along with several other DC Universe originals, including the animated “Harley Quinn” and the flagship “Titans” series.

On this day, March 6th, in showbiz history...

1853 La Traviata, Verdi's popular opera premieres in Venice. Have you ever seen the 1982 film version by Franco Zeffirelli? My parents took us, if I recall correctly. I wasn't sure what was going on but I remember it being quite beautiful. Oscar voters thought so too nominating in 'the Moulin Rouge! categories' (Costume Design + Art Direction) ...

The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF45) will present ten restored Chinese-language classics to celebrate the filmmakers’ creativity that remains influential to this day.

Spanning from the silent era to Hong Kong’s New Wave, this selection represents a cross-section of some of the most iconic work by generations of forward-thinking Chinese filmmakers who were never afraid to challenge the conventions.

Demonstrating cinematic artistry in startling modernity, Wu Yonggang’s “The Goddess” (1934) is a silent masterpiece that immortalised Chinese cinema’s goddess, Ruan Lingyu, who embodied the dichotomy of women’s roles in her exquisitely crafted performance. Funded by the KT Wong Foundation, this newly-restored version also features a sweeping orchestral score with Shanghainese folk music. Celebrated filmmaker Sang Hu heralded China’s first colour feature with “New Year’s Sacrifice” (1956), transforming literary giant Lu Xun’s sardonic tale into a cinematic triumph of socialist realism. Shanghai International Film...

The curtain’s inching up on the Tony Awards: A ceremony will be held on an as-yet-undetermined date in coordination with Broadway’s eventual reopening, but voters will finally be able to make their selections beginning March 1, Tony organizers tell Deadline.

Nominees for the 74th Annual Tony Awards were announced last October, with the 18 eligible productions reflecting the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season (the count usually numbers in the 30s). The 2020 Tony ceremony and CBS broadcast had originally been set for June 7 at New York’s Radio City Musical Hall, but of course was scuttled due to the Covid shutdown.

The voting period will run from March 1 to March 15. Although Broadway remains officially closed until June, most insiders don’t expect any stagings before fall at the earliest, with timing contingent on widespread Covid-19 vaccinations.

The March 12 theater closure preceded the official end of the Broadway season and the traditional late-April/early-May announcement of nominees,...

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...

Musical stars and international artists Annie Lennox, Melissa Etheridge, Cam, Citizen Queen, Hayley Orrantia, Yuna, K3 Sisters Band, Gem and Renaissance Youth Center Choir will perform at a concert to raise money for Covid-19 relief at WrapWomen’s 2020 Power Women Summit on Thursday, December 10.

Viewers can access the performance by registering for the Power Women Summit at wrapwomen.com. The concert will livestream for free at 5 pm Pt on the site as well as related social channels for a global audience.

All musicians are donating their performances in honor of those most affected economically by the pandemic. The WrapWomen Foundation is donating on their behalf to the Hire Her Back Fund, which provides grants to women and marginalized people in the screen industries whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the pandemic. Viewers are invited to donate to the fund as well. The fund is run by entertainment industry non-profit Women in Film.

The season 29 finale of “Dancing with the Stars” was Monday night, November 23, and it all came down to four celebs: “Bachelorette” star Kaitlyn Bristowe, actress Justina Machado, rapper Nelly and “Catfish” host Nev Schulman. So which of them earned the judges’ scores and viewer votes they needed to become the next Mirror Ball champion? Scroll down for our live blog with all the minute-by-minute developments and our running commentary throughout the night.

There were two rounds of dances tonight to decide the ultimate victor. In the first round the celebs reprised their favorite dance from the season, but with new creative elements: Bristowe’s Argentine tango to Britney Spears‘s “Toxic,” Machado’s cha cha to “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, Nelly’s samba to “Rhythm of the Night” be DeBarge, and Schulman’s paso doble to “Black Swan.”

See‘Dancing with the Stars’: Top 15 Best Pro Dancers Ever

Then...

A modest French cousin to Erin Brockovich and Todd Haynes’ recent Dark Waters, Red Soil (Rouge) once again pits a tireless underdog against the forces of corporate greed and looming environmental catastrophe. The hook this time is that the underdog, played by the talented Zita Hanrot (Fatima), is fighting too close to home, with her own father a longtime worker at the factory that’s been dangerously polluting their region.

The second feature from actor turned filmmaker Farid Bentoumi (Good Luck Algeria), this well-played if somewhat familiar drama works best when it gives Hanrot and co-star Sami Bouajila the chance to go tête-à-tête as ...

A modest French cousin to Erin Brockovich and Todd Haynes’ recent Dark Waters, Red Soil (Rouge) once again pits a tireless underdog against the forces of corporate greed and looming environmental catastrophe. The hook this time is that the underdog, played by the talented Zita Hanrot (Fatima), is fighting too close to home, with her own father a longtime worker at the factory that’s been dangerously polluting their region.

The second feature from actor turned filmmaker Farid Bentoumi (Good Luck Algeria), this well-played if somewhat familiar drama works best when it gives Hanrot and co-star Sami Bouajila the chance to go tête-à-tête as ...

One of the rare festivals to be hosting physical edition in the coronavirus era, the Deauville American Film Festival is set to world premiere 10 anticipated movies that are part of Cannes’s 2020 Official Selection.

The Deauville roster of Cannes pics was curated by the Normandy-set festival’s artistic director Bruno Barde out of the 56 films selected by Cannes’ director Thierry Fremaux.

These include many prestige French films, notably Maïwenn’s “Adn,” Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar’s “A Good Man,” Lucas Belvaux’s “Home Front,” Bruno Podalydès’ “French Tech,” Charlène Favier’s “Slalom,” alongside Farid Bentoumi’s “Rouge,” Ludovic & Zoran Boukherma’s “Teddy” and Farid Bentoumi’s “Red Soil.”

Other non-u.S. pics from Cannes set for Deauville include Francis Lee’s British film “Ammonite” and Yeon Sang-ho’s South Korean movie “Peninsula.” The only American movie of the pack, Jonathan Nossiter’s “Last Words,” will play in competition.

“A town, beaches, views?...

Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, a look at some award-winning movies. If you are reading outside, please keep your mask on. Intense laughter can really send those Covid germs a-flying.

There are still more than six months until the next Academy Awards show, if there is a next one. The way things are going, February is like that car in the rear view mirror – closer than it looks. Hopefully, a vaccine against Covid-19 will be developed before we lose another 650,000 people from this planet. Yay, Pfizer! Said no one ever. That’s right, this pandemic has brought us to that – cheering Big Pharma.

Amadeus was a big hit and an award magnet in 1984, sort of a curious time for a movie about a classical composer. The Cars, Prince and Wham were...

Summer of 85The Festival de Cannes has announced 56 films selected for their 2020 Festival, scheduled to have taken place between May 12—23 and cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Films with the official Cannes 2020 label set for a theatrical release before spring 2021 will receive additional support from the Festival when theaters reopen. Films that were predicted to play at the festival and not included in the Cannes 2020 Official Selection—including Leos Carax's Annette, Mia Hansen-Løve's Bergman Island, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria—may premiere elsewhere, while, as previously announced, Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta has delayed its premiere to summer 2021.Official SELECTIONThe French Dispatch (Wes Anderson)Passion Simple (Danielle Arbid)Josep (Aurel)Au Crépuscule (Sharunas Bartas)Les hommes (Lucas Belvaux)Rouge (Farid Bentoumi)Here We Are (Nir Bergman)Teddy (Ludovic & Zoran Boukherma)Un triomphe (Emmanuel Courcol)9 jours à Raqqa (Xavier de Lauzanne)Soul (Pete Docter)Vaurien (Peter Dourountzis)Slalom (Charlène Favier)The Real...

The show is going on for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, even though by now in a normal year we would have known which film would succeed Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” as the new Palme d’Or winner. The original 2020 festival was scheduled to run May 12-23 but was canceled in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Cannes is living on this year as festival president Pierre Lescure and general delegate Thierry Frémaux are announcing the 56 films that made the cut for the 2020 Official Selection. Selected films will be branded with an official Cannes 2020 label that they can take to additional festivals later this year and use when they open in theaters.

The Official Selection at Cannes usually includes the following sections: Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Special Screenings, and Midnight Screenings. The Palme d’Or contenders premiere in the Competition category. Last year’s Cannes Competition section...

Cannes Film Festival will not take place this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the official selection has still been unveiled. While no distinct sections were revealed, Thierry Frémaux and Pierre Lescure took the stage of an empty theater to share the 50-plus films that were accepted to screen at the festival. While those Cannes world premieres will not happen in person or digitally, these films will be able to show the prestigious laurels as they head to other festivals this fall and beyond–except Venice Film Festival, who have said they will not be part of their event.

“This Selection is here, and it’s a beautiful one,” Frémaux said. “Even though movie theatres have been shut for three months – for the first time since the invention of film screening by the Lumière Brothers on December 28, 1895 – this Selection reflects that cinema is more alive than ever. It remains unique,...

Discerning television viewers are right to be skeptical about the idea of adapting the sci-fi film Snowpiercer for the small screen, but once they see the depth of emotion and heart-pounding action of the ten episode series that begins on TNT at 9pm Et on May 17th, their cynicism will disappear. This is not just an attempt to capitalize on original screenwriter Bong Joon Ho’s popularity after he won the Oscar for Parasite, nor does the series seek to recreate the same plot twists and shocking reveals of the 2013 movie. Although the idea of a world-circling train as a method of surviving a frozen apocalypse is still fairly outlandish, accepting the premise at face value opens up a world of possibilities for exploring class conflicts, life-or-death survival scenarios, and hidden conspiracies that create a most compelling drama.

It doesn’t hurt that Snowpiercer features top-notch performances from Tony winner...

As the world watches the devastating wildfires unfold in Australia, everyone at Moulin Rouge The Musical on Broadway is heartbroken. The production's roots in Australia run deep the film was made in Australia, brought to life by the great Australian artists Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, and Nicole Kidman. The musical was brought to the stage by Australian-based producers Carmen Pavlovic, Gerry Ryan and their production company, Global Creatures. The Broadway musical features Australian actors in the cast.

As the world watches the devastating wildfires unfold in Australia, everyone at Moulin Rouge The Musical on Broadway is heartbroken. The production's roots in Australia run deep the film was made in Australia, brought to life by the great Australian artists Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, and Nicole Kidman. The musical was brought to the stage by Australian-based producers Carmen Pavlovic, Gerry Ryan and their production company, Global Creatures. The Broadway musical features Australian actors in the cast.

Cannes' 1994 jury president, Clint Eastwood, remarked that the experience of seeing 23 films in one week made him "want to cut 20 minutes out of all my movies." Luckily for Quentin Tarantino — whose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premieres in competition at this year's fest — one of the films that Eastwood and his jury liked was Pulp Fiction.

While many thought the Palme d'Or would go to Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors: Red, it went instead to Pulp Fiction. "It was a democratic decision," said Eastwood after the choice was announced. "People ...

Cannes' 1994 jury president, Clint Eastwood, remarked that the experience of seeing 23 films in one week made him "want to cut 20 minutes out of all my movies." Luckily for Quentin Tarantino — whose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premieres in competition at this year's fest — one of the films that Eastwood and his jury liked was Pulp Fiction.

While many thought the Palme d'Or would go to Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors: Red, it went instead to Pulp Fiction. "It was a democratic decision," said Eastwood after the choice was announced. "People ...

On the morning when the Oscar nominations were announced in 1987, I got a call from David Lynch who said he was astounded that he’d been nominated for directing “Blue Velvet” and equally astounded that I had predicted his nomination in the Los Angeles Times the day before.

“How did you know?” he asked.

The answer, of course, is that I didn’t know. I’d just played an educated hunch. Though he hadn’t been nominated by the DGA, it figured that despite its graphic, inscrutable content, “Blue Velvet’s” daring originality would set well with his peers in the academy.

The academy’s relatively small directors’ branch, unlike the broader-based Directors Guild, had a history of finding room on its ballot for work outside the mainstream that its members appreciated.

The year before, the academy had nominated two of them, Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran” and Hector Babenco’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,...