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Someone needs to kick some sense into Warner Bros. when it comes to promoting their films, especially after the lackluster turnout for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The animated film from Peter Jackson’s acclaimed Middle-earth saga dropped a promising trailer a few months ago. The film has hit select overseas markets, including Spain, Mexico, and Brazil, but the reception has been underwhelming.

A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Credits: Warner Bros.

Fans are not happy about the studio’s attitude toward the project after reports suggest that the film only made $2 million on its debut. The events of the film are set 183 years before the original film trilogy and it explores the story of the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand, and his daughter Héra.

Fans Turn Against WB After They Fail To Promote The Lord of the Rings...

Colleen Zenk is known for her work on soaps, from As the World Turns to her more recent appearances on The Young and the Restless. The actress recently had to defend herself after receiving some insulting comments concerning her age on social media. Fans of Zenk also came to the star’s defense.

Colleen Zenk Went From Oakdale To Genoa City

Zenk got the role of Barbara Ryan in As the World Turns in 1978. Reportedly, the actress underwent 12 failed soap opera screen tests before landing the part, highlighting her determination.

Zenk was the fourth actress to play the part. However, she would go on to be the actress most associated with the role. She would end up continuing into the role well until 2010.

Colleen Zenk as Aunt Jordan on ‘The Young and the Restless’ – YouTube

In 2023, Zenk would make her return of the world of soap operas as Jordan Howard...

The Variety Faith and Spirituality in Entertainment Honors presented by the Coalition for Faith and Media will be celebrated Dec. 4. The honorees are individuals who are supporting the frequently underrepresented theme of faith in entertainment storytelling. This class of 2024 Visionary Awards presented by Cfam represents diverse portrayals of faith and spirituality that are broadly compelling and nuanced.

“Bob Marley: One Love”

Bob Marley’s fans have long been brought together by joyous songs, but his revolutionary ideas are sometimes overlooked because the music is so uplifting. His son Ziggy Marley says, “In order to better understand Bob’s message you have to look past the legend and see the human being, his struggles, emotionally, spiritually and physically.” The film “Bob Marley: One Love” does just that. It reminds us ofMarley’s courage in pursuit of his mission (dare we call it a vocation?), showing him performing days after an assassination attempt,...

Sports dramas of any kind demands an added level of physicality from their characters, something that Netflix’s latest Mma combat-based series, The Cage, exemplifies very well with its talented cast, who brought out the best from the narrative through their emphatic performances. Aside from this positive aspect, the series is going to attract a major number of combat sports nerds thanks to the number of cameo appearances by legendary Mma fighters, which almost made me think Dana White was going to pop up on the series at some point. Anyway, the inclusion of real-life stars brings a sense of realism into the narrative, and the fact that their appearances aren’t merely limited to blink-and-miss-it-type roles is an added bonus on top of everything.

Taylor Keita Played by Melvin Boomer

French breakdancer and actor Melvin Boomer has previously acted in the comedy drama movie Sage Homme and in the TV series World of Tomorrow,...

It’s September 2024, and Beyond the Gates is becoming increasingly real. The title transitioned from The Gates to Beyond the Gates. Three members of the cast were announced, two of whom Soap Hub placed on its Dream Casting Wish List for the first new soap created in 25 years. And Karla Mosley — who will play Dani Dupree on the one-hour CBS soap — posted from Atlanta and is excited about being a part of this journey.

Excitement is Building

CBS originally announced its plans to create the first soap opera in 25 years back in April. And there’s more news to come as the highly anticipated production builds up steam to its premiere in early 2025.

The Dream Casting List: The Actors

If you recall, we already dream-cast a list of the female actors we’d love to see when populating the residents of Btg. Many great male actors are out there whose impact would instantly be felt.

Can’t make it to Toronto International Film Festival next week? Have no fear, Kino Film Collection is here to make you feel less left out. Though the streamer won’t be offering the latest selections from this year’s festival, to celebrate the annual showcase, it has created a program of 87 films that have previously screened there and will be available throughout the month. Below you can find some of the selections with language provided by Kino.

“3 Faces”

Winner of the Best Screenplay Award and nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, “3 Faces” is Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s fourth feature since he was officially banned from filmmaking. Starring Behnaz Jafari as herself, Panahi’s film builds in narrative, thematic, and visual intricacy to put forth a grand expression of community and solidarity under the eye of oppression.

“Alps”

Before “The Favourite”, Academy...

Christian Petzold’s latest feature marks another collaboration with actress Paula Beer. It’s their fourth film together.

Petzold will direct “Miroirs No. 3,” which just began production in Germany. The film centers on an aspiring pianist, Laura (Beer), whose life is upended when her boyfriend is killed in a car crash. Laura, who was also in the wreck, wanders into the house (and life) of a family of strangers who offer to take care of her. Their motivations turn out to not be as simple as they first appear.

Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, and Enno Trebs co-star.

Metrograph Pictures is distributing the feature in the U.S. The Match Factory negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling worldwide sales.

“We could not be more excited to be working on this film and collaborating with Christian Petzold, a truly incredible and one-of-a-kind filmmaker,” David Laub, head of Metrograph Pictures,...

Christian Petzold’s new drama Miroirs No. 3 has struck a North American distribution deal with Metrograph Pictures just ahead of its production start in Germany.

Marking the fourth feature collaboration for the renowned German filmmaker and actress Paula Beer, the film will be released next year. The Match Factory negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling worldwide sales.

Miroirs No. 3 centers on the aspiring pianist, Laura (Beer), whose life is upended when she is in a car crash with her boyfriend who is killed. Laura subsequently wanders into the house and life of a family of strangers, who offer to take care of her, but their motivations turn out to not be as simple as they first appear.

Also starring Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt and Enno Trebs, the film is produced by Schramm Film Koerner Weber Kaiser, in co-production with Zdf and Arte. Its financiers included Filmförderungsanstalt,...

The Joker has become a character in popular culture and every actor involved in his crafting for any adaptation has brought something unique to its performance. Be it Jack Nicleson’s gangster, Ceaser Romero’s clown, Heath Ledger’s terrorist, or Joaquin Phenoix’s lonely man, there have been few stand-out scenes that have defined the character’s live-action presence.

Jerome Valeska in Gotham || Credit: Fox

While Heath Ledger’s Joker is considered to be one of the best versions of the character in live-action, Cameron Monaghan has come close to rivaling what the former was able to do with the character. While Monaghan’s performance can be considered as more of an extroverted take on Ledger’s Joker, there is one scene from Gotham that might have cemented him as the next great Joker actor in Hollywood.

Jerome Valeska might not be The Joker, but he sure does give...

On Sunday August 4 2024, Oxygen broadcasts Snapped!

Barbara Pasa Season 34 Episode 5 Episode Summary

In this episode of “Snapped,” titled “Barbara Pasa,” the series delves into the gripping true story of a woman whose life takes a dark turn. This episode explores the events leading up to a shocking murder, revealing how Barbara Pasa went from an ordinary life to a headline-making case.

The episode features interviews with friends and family members who provide insight into Barbara’s personality and her relationships. They share their memories and thoughts, painting a picture of who she was before the tragedy unfolded. Law enforcement officials also contribute their perspectives, detailing the investigation that followed the crime and how they pieced together the evidence.

As the story unfolds, viewers will hear from attorneys involved in the case, offering a glimpse into the legal battles that ensued. The episode aims to provide a comprehensive look at the...

When asked recently what he thought should be the first question at CNN’s Joe Biden-Donald Trump presidential debate on Thursday, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos had a succinct answer: “Who won the last election?”

The moment speaks to how unusual this debate will be — and the challenge for moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

That has been apparent in recent days given the attacks coming from Trump and his allies, who have gone after Tapper and Bash as CNN figures who are biased against Maga. On Monday, the situation reached the point where the network issued a statement defending the two.

The pre-debate CNN bashing coming from Team Trump, though, is hardly a surprise, as he has lambasted the moderators in the past two election cycles.

More vexing for the moderators may be just what questions to ask, and how and when to ask them. The times demand...

Less than a month after his generally unnecessary Netflix adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full, David E. Kelley continues his visitations with the Ghosts of Literary Phenomena Past with Apple TV+’s eight-episode take on Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.

Presumed Innocent was released in 1987, and the twisty character study of Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor who finds himself on the other side of the justice system when he’s accused of murdering a former colleague, breathed new life into dramatic jurisprudence. It was a smash hit, as was Alan J. Pakula’s solid 1990 big-screen version, which kickstarted a tiny subgenre of Chicago-set films in which Harrison Ford either did or didn’t kill the woman he was sleeping with. Both the book and the film were accused of either misogyny or myopia in their treatment of their female characters; both were products of a moment at which...

Janis Paige, who racked up more than 100 film, TV and stage credits over six decades including The Pajama Game, Silk Stockings and Santa Barbara, died June 2 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 101.

Her friend Stuart Lambert told The Associated Press about Paige’s death.

During her long career, Paige toured with Bob Hope and danced onscreen with Fred Astaire, along with originating the Babe Williams role in The Pajama Game on Broadway in 1954. That same year she headlined It’s Always Jan, a CBS sitcom about the problems of single-parenthood during which she usually sang a song. It lasted a single season.

Born Donna Mae Tjaden on September 16, 1922, in Tacoma, Wa, she began singing in talent shows at a tender age and moved to Los Angeles after graduating high school.

Paige made her Broadway debut in 1951 opposite Jackie Cooper in the mystery comedy Remains to Be Seen but...

Some of The Beach Boys‘ hits made it all the way to No. 1, but the overwhelming majority did not. Some of their most important tunes got nowhere close. Here’s a look at five tunes that didn’t get as much love as they deserved.

1. ‘California Girls’

One of the best summer jams of all time, “California Girls,” only peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. While Mike Love’s lyrics are cute and sweet, the real star of the song is Brian Wilson’s production, especially the opening riff. Pop music has rarely been as complex or beautiful as the intro to “California Girls.”

The tune also helped cement California’s sun and fun image. Katy Perry nicked the title of this tune for her own track “California Gurls,” which reuses the line “I wish they all could be California girls.” While Perry’s song is great, it doesn’t compare to the original.

Meg Bennett has sadly died.

The Daytime Emmy winning actress, who performed as both a writer and actress on daytime soap operas The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and Santa Barbara, passed away at 75, her family confirmed, via THR.

Meg died April 11 after a battle with cancer.

She played Marty Maraschino for more than two years during the original Broadway run of Grease that debuted in 1972, and by 1974, began as the character Liza Walton on CBS’ Search for Tomorrow.

She joined The Young and the Restless in 1980 as Julia Newman, but when her character was being written off, she was asked by the show’s creator Bill Bell to stay as a writer.

Meg wrote for NBC’s Santa Barbara from 1991 to 1993 and played author Megan Richardson, and wrote for ABC’s General Hospital from 1993 to 2011 and played Allegra Montenegro.

She won the Daytime Emmy for her work on General Hospital.

German actress Nina Hoss (Phoenix, Tár, Barbara) has signed on to star in The Other Side, an upcoming adventure thriller from German director Mariko Minoguchi.

Hoss will play Hanna, a doctor who, during the midst of an epidemic, goes into self-isolation in the mountain wilderness to protect herself and others.

Best known for her many collaborations with German director Christian Petzold —including 2007’s Yella, 2012’s Barbara and 2014’s Phoenix — Hoss played Cate Blanchett’s wife in Todd Field’s Oscar-nominated Tár (2022) and had a recurring role as Astrid in seasons 5 and 6 of Showtime’s Emmy-winning series Homeland and in Amazon’s action series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. More recently, Hoss co-starred in Claire Burger’s coming-of-age romantic drama Langue Étrangère, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last month, and in Radu Jude’s freewheeling feminist satire Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, which...

Bradley Cooper did not take home an Oscar on Sunday for Maestro, but the loss was followed up with a winning cameo in the opening scene of the new episode of Abbot Elementary.

Cooper appeared as himself during the episode, popping up as a student’s show-and-tell project.

“Whenever I’m in Philly, you know the deli across the street? That’s my first stop,” Cooper, who is from the Philadelphia area in real life, says. “My dad used to always take me there. They have the best hoagies in the city.

After kicking off with a feisty press conference, the Berlin Film Festival got even more political as three groups of protesters descended on Potsdamer Platz before the start of opening night festivities.

The first saw around 50 members of the film industry walk the red carpet holding hands. The demonstrators then turned on their phone flashlights and chanted “defend democracy!” while the same phrase was displayed on the Palast’s big screen. The red carpet’s music was turned off for the occasion, and the demonstrators wore pins stating “movies unite, hate divides.” Berlinale organizers had planned this demonstration to highlight their decision to disinvite members of the far-right political party AfD.

Among the talent was Jonathan Berlin, Meret Becker, Luisa Gaffron, Pegah Ferydoni, Roshanak Khodabakhsh Anne Leppin, Jannis Niewöhner, Murali Perumal, Katja Riemann, Lavinia Wilson and Jessica Schwarz.

A group of demonstrators at Berlin Film Festival chant “defend democracy” ahead of tonight’s opening ceremony.

During a press conference on Thursday, Berlinale jury president Lupita Nyong’o responded to the festival inviting and then disinviting politicians from far-right group AfD to its opening ceremony.

“I’m a foreigner here. I don’t know the ins and outs of the political situation here,” Nyong’o said in response to a question asking if she would have attended the ceremony had the politicians still been invited. “I’m glad I don’t have to answer that question. I’m glad I don’t have to be in that position.”

Jury member Christian Petzold, the German director of “Barbara” and “Phoenix,” had a different perspective.

“I think it’s not a problem to have five persons of the AfD in the audience,” he said. “We are no cowards. If you can’t stand five persons of the AfD as part of the audience, we will lose our fight.”

He later added,...

Stranger Things 5 Actor Gaten Matarazzo ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

Stranger Things 5 is one of the most popular web series on Netflix. The supernatural series has a fantastic ensemble cast consisting of Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, David Harbour, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke and Jamie Campbell Bower.

With every new season, the series keeps getting complicated and scarier. So far, we have witnessed the deaths of several fan favourites. Some of the characters killed on the show are Joseph Quinn’s Eddie, Sean Astin’s Bob, Dacre Montgomery’s Billy and Shannon Purser’s Barbara. However, actor Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson, believes that the series should have more deaths.

During the Megacon at Orlando, fans asked actors Finn Wolfhard and Gaten several questions. As tweeted by Cbr, one of the fans asked Gaten what changes he would bring to the show.

The Match Factory has secured the rights for Berlinale Competition title “Dying,” by German director Matthias Glasner. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

Glasner credits include Golden Bear nominees “Gnade” (2012) and “Der Freie Wille” (2006).

The ensemble cast is led by Lars Eidinger, and also includes Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.

“Dying” follows the very individual members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time. Lissy (Harfouch) is quietly happy about her demented husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) slowly wasting away in a home. But her new freedom is short-lived: Diabetes, cancer and kidney failure mean that she doesn’t have much time left either.

Son Tom (Eidinger), a conductor in his early 40s, is working on a composition called “Dying,” while at the same time being made the surrogate father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. Tom...

Shortly before Christmas 2016, Roger Waters visited his firstborn son, Harry, at his Santa Monica, California, home to deliver some rather bad news. Harry had spent the past 14 years playing keyboard and organ in his dad’s band, which included three extensive world tours, but Roger was making changes for his upcoming Us + Them tour. “I was fired,” Harry tells Rolling Stone. “It was pretty miserable.”

Harry claims he doesn’t know why his own father let him go. “I think he just wanted a change of blood, something new, something fresh,...

Marty Krofft, producer of shows like H.R. Pufnstuf, The Brady Bunch Hour, The Banana Splits and Land of the Lost, has died. He was 86.

Krofft, who produced many classic shows for children alongside his older brother Sid, died of kidney failure on Saturday in Los Angeles, his family announced.

After working on The Banana Splits, Krofft and his brother Sid, went on to create Saturday morning television programming geared toward kids. In 1969, the Krofft brothers began producing H.R. Pufnstuf which followed other shows like The Bugaloos (1970), Lidsville (1971), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973) and Land of the Lost (1974).

Other shows that Krofft produced alongside his brother included Far Out Space Nuts (1975), The Lost Saucer (1975), Donny & Marie (1976), The Krofft Supershow (1976), The Brady Bunch Hour (1977), Pink Lady and Jeff (1980), Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980), Pryor’s Place (1984), D.C. Follies (1987), Land of the Lost (1991), Mutt & Stuff (2015) and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters...

Phyllis Coates, who became television’s first Lois Lane when she was cast in the classic Adventures of Superman series starring George Reeves, died yesterday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills. She was 96.

Her death was announced by daughter Laura Press to our sister publication The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell in Wichita Falls, Texas, on January 15, 1927, Coates and her family later moved to Hollywood. Along with some vaudeville-style performances, Coates launched her showbix career as a chorus girl during the 1940s, often touring the the Uso. Later in the decade, she landed small roles in such pictures as Smart Girls Don’t Talk and My Foolish Heart (1949), and appeared in a series of “Joe McDoakes” comedy shorts as Alice MacDoakes.

In 1951, Coates was invited to audition for the role of Lois Lane in the low-budget...

In April, Depardieu was hit with a fresh batch of sexual misconduct allegations.

French actor Gerard Depardieu has broken his silence following rape charges and sexual misconduct accusations leveled against him.

In an open letter in French newspaper Le Figaro published on Sunday (Oct. 1) titled “I finally want to tell you my truth,” the actor asserted “Never, ever have I abused a woman” and “Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach”.

Depardieu wrote: “I can no longer consent to what I’ve been hearing, what I’ve been reading about myself for the past few months.

Few movies this year will be as quietly sizzling as German filmmaker Christian Petzold’s “Afire,” a novelistic and sophisticated character study that kindles inside a chamber piece, as languid as a relaxed summer day and as heartbreaking as the end of a short-lived summer love.

The unhurried, romantic undertones of “Afire” are elements we came to expect from Petzold’s recent cinema, through the likes of “Barbara,” “Phoenix,” “Transit,” and “Undine” where affecting melancholy runs freely and cinematically alongside a dose of tragedy. This vibe is more or less the atmosphere of “Afire,” which follows two friends—Thomas Schubert’s grumpily petty novelist Leon and Langston Uibel’s chipper photographer/artist Felix—as they head to Felix’s family summer home by the Baltic coast for a seaside break, and maybe for some inspiration and light work on the side.

You could be forgiven to think you’re perhaps...

Afire.Paula Beer has said that she wants to avoid any clear overlaps with her personal life as she’s preparing a character. To her credit, there’s something about her acting that eschews biographical readings: she invites us into the present as her characters are experiencing it. Beer, who was born in Mainz, Germany, has been acting since she was a child; she was 14 when she stepped onto the set of her first movie, Chris Kraus’s The Poll Diaries (2010). Just a few years later, she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for her turn as a young widow in François Ozon’s World War I drama Frantz (2016)—a performance that showed how, even in the framework of a fairly traditional romantic drama, Beer could hint subtly at her character’s interiority beyond what was on the page.From there, it was a quick jump to the cycle of films...

Christian Petzold’s Silver Bear winner “Afire” has received a new trailer.

The drama follows writer Leon (Thomas Schubert) and photographer Felix (Langston Uibel) who are surprised by a mysterious young woman named Nadja (Paula Beer) staying as a guest at Felix’s family’s holiday home by the Baltic Sea.

Nadja distracts Leon from finishing his latest novel and, with brutal honesty, forces him to confront his caustic temperament and self-absorption. As Nadja and Leon grow closer, an encroaching forest fire threatens the group. Meanwhile, tensions escalate when a handsome lifeguard and Leon’s tight-lipped book editor also arrive.

The movie stars Thomas Schubet, Paula Beer, Enno Trebs, Langston Uibel and Matthias Brandt.

“Afire” won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in February, where it also garnered solid reviews. The film is being released Stateside by Sideshow and Janus Films — which also released “Drive My Car...

Exclusive: Nina Hoss (Tár) and Nicholas Pinnock (For Life) have closed deals to join the new film Hedda from MGM’s Orion Pictures. While details as to their roles haven’t been disclosed, they join an ensemble that also includes Tessa Thompson, Callum Turner and Eve Hewson, as previously announced.

An epic reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play Hedda Gabler, Hedda will be directed by Nia DaCosta, who also wrote the script. Pic’s producers are Plan B, DaCosta, Gabrielle Nadig, and Thompson via Viva Maude. Michael Constable will exec produce alongside Kishori Rajan for Viva Maude.

Hoss most recently starred opposite Cate Blanchett in Todd Field’s Academy Award-nominated drama Tár, garnering the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s Virtuoso Award for her turn as concertmaster Sharon, along with nominations at the Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and London Critics Circle Film Awards. The actress...

Maxime Rappaz’s debut film “Let Me Go,” which plays in the Cannes Acid sidebar, has been sold to Brazil and Taiwan. The film stars Cannes regular Jeanne Balibar in the lead role as a fiftysomething woman torn between her family commitments and pursuing her own desires.

Every Tuesday, a neighbor takes care of Claudine’s son while she goes to a mountain hotel to meet men passing through. When one of them decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life.

Imovision has acquired all rights for Brazil, and will release the film in cinemas after a Brazilian festival premiere. “The mise en scène is excellent and Jeanne Balibar is extraordinary,” Jean-Thomas Bernardini, president of Imovision, commented.

Andrews Film has acquired all rights for Taiwan, where the film joins a distribution slate including “Aftersun,” “One Fine Morning’ and “Drive My Car.

Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has released the trailer (below) for Swiss director Maxime Rappaz’s debut feature “Let Me Go,” which will open the Cannes Acid sidebar on Wednesday.

Set in a remote town in the Swiss mountains, the film features French actress Jeanne Balibar in the lead role. She plays the character of Claudine, a mother who has devoted her life to taking care of her son, sacrificing her own needs and desires. An unexpected love affair causes Claudine’s carefully controlled world to unravel, “reviving in her an intense thirst for freedom and, at the same time, a painful questioning about her future,” Rappaz says.

M-Appeal, who are celebrating their 15th birthday this year, are representing a Cannes Acid title for the second year in a row, following the success of “99 Moons” last year.

Maren Kroymann, managing director of M-Appeal, says: “Both films, although very different, center on female desire,...

Berlin sales agency M-Appeal has come on board to handle world sales for “Let Me Go” (“Laissez-Moi”), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, which will world premiere as the opening film of the Cannes Acid sidebar.

Set in a Swiss mountain village, “Let Me Go” follows Claudine, a dedicated mother whose life revolves around her son. Every Tuesday, according to her careful schedule, she goes to a nearby mountain hotel to meet men who are passing through. When she meets Michael and he decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life.

French actress Jeanne Balibar stars in the lead role of Claudine, an elegant woman in her early 50s, who, although living a traditional life, pursues her desires in an unconventional way. She unexpectedly finds a romantic connection with Michael (Thomas Sarbacher).

A regular on the Croisette and...

TV series A League Of Their Own, What We Do In The Shadows and the film Bros were among the recipients of the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles last night.

Hosted by comedian and actress Margaret Cho, the ceremony saw awards handed out in 15 of a total 33 categories, with remaining winners for select categories to be announced at GLAAD’s New York Ceremony on Saturday, May 13. Hulu, the awards’ official streaming partner, will stream the Los Angeles event on Wednesday, April 12.

Special award winners last night included Christina Aguilera, who received the Advocate for Change Award, introduced by Club Q shooting survivor, Michael Anderson; Bad Bunny, who accepted the Vanguard Award, presented by Ricky Martin; and Jeremy Pope, recipient of the Stephen F. Kolzak Award presented by Gabrielle Union.

Accepting his award, Pope said, “As we continue to build and fight in the...

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights for German director Christian Petzold’s new film Afire, following its award-winning world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

The work was feted with Berlin’s Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize on Sunday evening (Feb 25) by an international jury led by Kristen Stewart.

The comedy-drama revolves around four very different young people who are thrown together unexpectedly in a remote holiday home by the Baltic Sea.

In the rainless, heat of the summer, sparks begin to fly among the group as the parched forests surrounding the house also start to ignite.

News of the acquisition comes hot on the heels of the announcement by Sideshow and Janus Films on Tuesday that they had taken North American rights for the Mexican competition title Tótem.

The New York-based distribution partners said of Afire: “Christian Petzold has consistently been one of the most thrilling and surprising filmmakers.

A cottage in the woods: isolated, idyllic and unavoidably reminiscent of some half-forgotten fairy tale. Unfortunately, Leon (Thomas Schubert) is not a country person. When his friend Felix’s car breaks down on the forest road on the way to the family holiday house where they both plan to work in peace and quiet, all Leon can hear are unnerving crackles in the undergrowth. Wild boar. Leon is definitely not a wild boar kind of guy.

The car will have to stay where it is. Felix (Langston Uibel) knows a shortcut through the woods. When they reach the house, however, they find it obviously already occupied by someone else. Someone who leaves dirty dishes and food on every available surface. Flies! Leon is a writer. He doesn’t do boar; he doesn’t do flies. The interloper evidently is a woman; Felix’s mother forgot to tell them about her.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-ca) officially entered the U.S. Senate race to succeed Dianne Feinstein, who is not seeking another term.

Lee joins a Democratic field that includes two colleagues, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter.

“I’ve never backed down from what’s right,” Lee said in her announcement. “And I never will. Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who delivers real change.”

In her campaign video, Lee recalled growing up in segregation, of having an abortion “in a back alley when they all were illegal, and of becoming a homeless single mom. “They didn’t want to hear my voice or anyone who wasn’t like them, but by the grace of God, I didn’t let that stop me,” Lee said in the video.

Lee, first elected to the House in 1998, was the subject of a 2021 documentary, Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power.

Her campaign video also highlights...

"Why is she worried?" "Because of the forest fires." The Match Factory has revealed the first promo trailer for the German romantic drama Afire, the latest movie made by acclaimed German filmmaker Christian Petzold. He is best known for his films Jerichow, Barbara, Phoenix, Transit, and Undine previously, and his latest is also premiering at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival starting this week (hence the new trailer). Afire, also known as Roter Himmel (or Red Sky) in Germany, is about a group of friends staying at a holiday home by the Baltic Sea where emotions run high as the parched forest around them catches fire. It's obviously a love story about Paula Beer, as it seems every single guy in this trailer is madly in love with her. Natürlich. The main cast also includes Thomas Schubert, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs, and Matthias Brandt. Another earnest romantic film about the power of love from Petzold.

Todd Field’s TÁR is a powerful character study about one woman whose immoral behavior soon catches up with her and derails her entire career. It features an exciting ensemble of talented actors and actresses, whose layered performances build upon Field’s rich script and forge a story that’s both a dark satire and a cautious warning against the world’s increasing reliance on cancel culture. Although the story clearly follows one character, it’s the people around her that really bring TÁR to life.

Field’s movie was met with widespread acclaim, and although TÁR’s critical reception was better than most audiences’, it’s been rewarded heavily across industry awards. The film received six nominations at the 2023 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. There’s clearly something about TÁR that’s resonating with audiences across the world. It’s filled with dark, dry...

18 titles selected for competition, including films by Christian Petzold, Emily Atef, Margarethe Von Trotta and Philippe Garrel.

The 18-strong Competition line-up for the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival has been announced by festival heads Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek.

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New films from Christian Petzold, Margarethe Von Trotte, Emily Atef and Lila Avilés are among those selected. Some 15 of the 18 titles are world premieres, with international premieres for Celine Song’s Past Lives after debuting to strong reviews at Sundance; Makoto Shinkai’s animation Suzume, released in Japan last November; and Australia’s The Survival Of Kindness by Rolf de Heer,...

The gauzy blues and burnt oranges that make up the complementary color palette of Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight” stand in stark contrast to one another, highlighting their differences while contributing to a sense of visual harmony. Orange safety vests pop against a bright blue sky, cobalt ink is written into a tangerine notebook, and a rust-colored 1978 AMC Pacer streaks through the blue-gray light of dawn. By definition, complementary colors are directly opposite one another on the color wheel, and when combined, cancel each other out to make white or black. In Amalric’s carefully constructed vision of a mother’s complicated separation from her family, two complementary and opposing versions of reality coexist alongside one another like puzzle pieces, working together to tell a single story.

The narrative threads seem connected at first, but as the film plays out they slowly begin to unravel. Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) is married with two children,...

Mathieu Amalric on the coat worn by Shirley Knight in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People and the one on Vicky Krieps: “That’s the reference. I told that to Caroline Spieth, the costume person.”

Mathieu Amalric’s terrific Hold Me Tight (Serre Moi Fort), based on the play Je Reviens De Loin by Claudine Galéa, shot by Christophe Beaucarne and starring Vicky Krieps and Arieh Worthalter was a highlight of the 74th Cannes Film Festival and New York’s 27th edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. In the first instalment with Mathieu we discussed his films on John Zorn, thoughts on Robert Musil, Thomas Bernhard, Jerry Lewis, and going to Rome to film with Nanni Moretti Il Sol Dell'avvenire.

Mathieu Amalric (Je Reviens De Loin by Claudine Galéa) with Anne-Katrin Titze on Vicky Krieps as Clarisse: “As you said, she does the film. Her character is the projectionist,...

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Country Music Hall of Famer and Grammy winner Barbara Mandrell retired from music more than two decades ago, but the Grand Ole Opry still feels like home to her.

Mandrell, 73, made a rare public appearance on Saturday night at the Opry to celebrate her 50th anniversary of being an Opry member.

“Here we are at home again,” Mandrell told The Associated Press in an interview backstage at the Opry House before the long-running radio and TV program. “Fifty years. Not everybody gets that blessing.”

Born in Texas and raised in California, Mandrell was just 23 when she became a member in July of 1972. But she was already a seasoned entertainer by the time she came to Nashville, after her teenage years were spent playing steel guitar and appearing regularly on the California-based country TV show “Town Hall Party.”

Over her decades-long career, the actor,...

Producer Charles Band discusses a few of his favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

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

Citizen Kane (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Puppet Master (1989)

Dollman (1991)

Trancers (1984)

Corona Zombies (2020)

Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle of Death (1989)

Frankenstein (1931) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Wolf Man (1941) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Alex Kirschenbaum’s Wolf Man power rankings

I Bury The Living (1958) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

Face of Fire (1959)

Hercules (1958)

The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (1958) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

Jason And The Argonauts (1963) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary

King Kong (1933)

King Kong (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Peli’s trailer commentary

Star Wars (1977)

The Omega Man (1971)

Castle Freak (1995)

Tourist Trap (1979) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary

Laserblast (1978)

Crash!

Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight,” an engrossing family drama starring “Phantom Thread” actor Vicky Krieps. Co-produced and sold by Gaumont, the movie world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Adapted from Claudine Galea’s stage play, “Hold Me Tight” follows Clarisse (Krieps), a mother who has abandoned her family for mysterious reasons and is coping with great emotional upheaval. The movie alternates between Clarisse’s adventures on the road and scenes of her husband Marc (Arieh Worthalter) struggling to care for their children at home.

Laetitia Gonzalez and Yaël Fogiel at Les Films du Poisson produced the movie with Gaumont, Arte France Cinéma and Lupa Film serving as co-producers.

Following Cannes, the movie went on to play at Rotterdam and Busan, as well as earned a pair of Cesar nominations for Krieps and best adapted screenplay for Amalric. Krieps...

The Seville European Film Festival, a key gateway into Spain for recent European movies, celebrates its 18th edition honoring German-Spanish actor-director Daniel Brühl.

Confronting film’s post-covid recovery challenges, the festival is also strengthening its commitment to the industry.

Seville, which runs Nov. 5-13, will grant Brühl the City of Seville 2021 award and screen the Spanish premiere of his directorial debut, Beta-sold comedy thriller “Next Door,” as part of the festival’s Official Section.

French actress Emmanuelle Béart (“8 Women”) will also receive a City of Seville 2020 award as she was unable to travel to last year’s edition due to pandemic restrictions.

Seville’s figures – 225 films, 90 Spanish premieres, six competitive sections, more than 500 guests and around thirty parallel activities – confirm the event’s solidity and projection as a major cultural gathering in Spain and a reference for the European industry.

As part of the festival’s industry growth, Seville...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDario Argento's Dark GlassesFollowing his appearance in Gaspar Noé's Vortex, Dario Argento returns to directing with Dark Glasses, his first feature since Dracula 3D (2012). Starring Asia Argento and Andrea Zhang, the thriller follows a serial killer, a blind sex worker, and a 10-year-old Chinese boy in Rome's Chinese community. John Woo is also set to make a return to Hollywood with Silent Night, a "no dialogue" action film about a father (played by Joel Kinnaman) who seeks to avenge his son's death. Film Labs, a "worldwide network of artist-run film laboratories," now has a new website! The website includes more than 500 films made at artist-run film labs from Vancouver to South Korea, as well as technical resources and distribution information. Dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, and filmmaker Wakefield Poole has died. A pioneer of the gay pornography industry,...

7 Prisoners had been expceted to fly the flag.

In an unexpected move the Brazilian Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts has selected Aly Muritiba’s Private Desert (Deserto Particular) over Alexandre Moratto’s 7 Prisoners as its submission for the 2022 Academy Awards.

Private Desert premiered in Venice Giornate Degli Autori where it won the Bnl People’s Choice Award. Antonio Saboia stars as a police officer who is kicked off the force for violent behaviour and sets off in search of his online love.

The film shot in Sobradinho, Juazeiro, Bahia, and Curitiba and is produced by Grafo Audiovisual and Fado Filmes.

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” which opened in theaters along with HBO Max, bested the second weekend of theatrical exclusive “A Quiet Place Part II.” There’s positive signs in the results for both films as well as the #3 title, “Cruella,” but signs are mixed in the broader picture.

Theaters in the U.S./Canada (the latter still mostly shut down) took in around $69 million this weekend, a sum that represents 42 percent of the gross for the first June weekend of 2019. Similarly, Memorial Day weekend 2021 represented 45 percent the same period in 2019. Theaters have every reason to expect further improvement, and no one expects short-term parity, but viability will require hockey-stick growth.

This “Conjuring” is the eighth film in an eight-year-old franchise that includes three “Annabelle” titles, “The Nun,” and “The Curse of La Llorona.” It opened with parallel streaming, and faced off another major title in a similar genre.

Memorial Day weekend gave us proof that audiences are ready to return to the cinemas, as long as there is strong enough content to draw them in. With an overall weekend haul of $80.6 million, over 85% of which came from A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella, the domestic box office saw its best weekend since March 2020. While a repeat of the holiday weekend’s numbers is unlikely, AQP2 will battle it out with this week’s major newcomer, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, to lead another weekend that shows the business continues on its road to recovery.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the third proper Conjuring film, with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning as the demonologist couple, and it is the eighth film overall in the Conjuring universe. The series’ top opener was The Nun with $53.8 million, followed by the first two...

Mubi has unveiled their lineup for next month, featuring the exclusive streaming premiere of Frederick Wiseman’s masterful documentary City Hall, the late Monte Hellman’s final film Road to Nowhere, a trio of works by Stephen Cone, two films by Alain Resnais, the multi-month series Sex, Truth, and Videotape: French Feminist Activism, and Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant.

As a special addition in addition to the regular programming listed below, the new restoration of Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris will be available as a free presentation celebrating Juneteenth, from June 18-19. Timed with the release of his latest gem Undine, a Christian Petzold retrospective continues with his earlier, essential films Yella, Barbara, Ostwärts, and The Warm Money.

Check out the lineup below, with links to reviews where available, and get 30 days of Mubi for free here. One can also check back for our new streaming picks every Friday here.