News

Totoro is making his way back onto the big screen.

As part of Gkids and Fathom Entertainment’s Studio Ghibli Fest, “My Neighbor Totoro” will be re-released in theaters across the country July 19-23. Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 film follows sisters Satsuki and Mei, who relocate to a country home alongside their father to be close to their hospitalized mother. As the two children explore the countryside, they stumble upon creatures, including forest spirit Totoro.

Screenings will include both English dubbed and Japanese versions. Audience members can stick around after the film ends for a “Creating the Characters” bonus featurette that will include Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki.

This year’s Studio Ghibli Fest consists of an eight-film lineup, including “The Boy and the Heron” (the first time the film returns to theaters after its 2023 release).

Tickets for “My Neighbor Totoro” are available at GhibliFest.com. July 19, 20 and 23 are...

Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison have shared a new, revamped version their 2015 song, “Gods of Rock N Roll.”

The original “God of Rock N Roll” was released 10 years ago on Morrison’s 2015 solo album, God Shaped Hole, while this one is set to appear on his forthcoming album, The Morrison Project. The 2025 take features vocals from Osbourne, as well as backing from a 61-piece orchestra, and extra guitars from Steve Stevens (who’s also been playing guitar with Idol alongside Morrison for years).

Speaking with Kerrang! about the track,...

Good Deed Entertainment’s genre label Cranked Up Films has acquired U.S. rights to American Badger, an action film written and directed by and starring stunt veteran Kirk Caouette. It is set for a digital and VOD release on June 15.

Caouette plays a hitman known as Badger, the nickname that came from his wife, who died 4451 days ago. Since her passing he has been living the life of a recluse, operating in the shadows. But all that is about to change with his latest assignment: Make friends with a sex worker named Velvet (Andrea Stefancikova) and extract information about the inner workings of an Albanian gang she works for. An unlikely romance follows until Badger’s handler tells him that it is time to take down the syndicate — and the first person he must kill is Velvet.

“Right away we took to the complex,...

Exclusive: The 27th annual Austin Film Festival (Aff) has unveiled their first wave of programming for its virtual edition for the fest which takes place October 22-29.

In addition to panels, the writers-driven fest will feature the world premiere of Anne Rapp’s Horton Foote: The Road to Home, which puts the spotlight on the work of the titular Oscar-winning screenwriter of the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Aff will also feature world premieres from second-round writers through the Festival’s Screenplay competitions, including The Catch from first-time director Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer as well as Paper Tiger, which also marks the directorial debut of Paul Kowalski. Khaled Ridgeway will also debut the Texas Premiere of his film Death of a Telemarketer starring Larmorne Morris, Haley Joel Osment, and Jackie Earle Haley.

Aff will spotlight Texas filmmakers with the North-American premiere of Blinders, directed by former Terrence Malick...

In today’s film news roundup, Neil Young’s “Mountaintop” is coming, AMC replaces its CFO, Bob Weinstein is starting anew, and Ed Begley, Jr. and David Koechner join “Reboot Camp.”

Music Documentary

Abramorama is partnering with Shakey Pictures and Reprise / Warner Records to release the Neil Young documentary “Mountaintop.”

The movie, which chronicles the making of Young and Crazy Horse’s studio album “Colorado,” will open in North America on Oct. 22 and in Europe and South American on Nov. 8. Young produced using his pseudonym Bernard Shakey, marking his 13th collaboration with Abramorama dating back to “Greendale,” and Jonathan Demme’s trilogy.

Abramorama CEO Richard Abramowitz said, ”The only thing better than working on a Bernard Shakey film is working on another Bernard Shakey film. Providing fans around the world with the opportunity to see how Neil and the band put it all together is a particularly rare and exciting experience.

Bailee Madison (Hallmark’s The Good Witch), Kevin Quinn (Adventures in Babysitting), Sherri Shepherd (Ride Along 2) and David Koechner (Anchorman) has been tapped to star in A Week Away, a musical film which is being directed by Roman White. The pic follows Will Hawkins (Quinn), a troubled teenager whose recent run-in with the law puts him at an important crossroads; go to juvenile hall or attend a Christian summer camp. At first a fish-out-of-water, Will eventually opens his heart and discovers a love and sense of belonging in the last place he expected to find it. Newcomers Jahbril Cook, Kat Conner Sterling, and Iain Tucker will co-star as filming is currently underway in Tennesse with a theatrical release aimed for 2020. Steve Barnett, Alan Powell, and Gabriel Vasquez are producing. Vicky Patel financed the film and will serve as its executive producer. Madison is an associate producer.

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Koechner is also...

I wish I could take credit for that “perverted phone poetry” line you see in the headline, but that’s actually from the official synopsis for Ivo Raza’s serial killer flick “JarRing”. And that’s “jarring”, not “jar ring”. Or maybe it’s both. I’m actually not sure. Anyway, the trailer you’ll find nestled below certainly paints an intriguing picture, which is good, really, because a man cannot live on perverted phone poetry alone. I wish. That official synopsis? You’ll find it right here: JarRing follows four friends who accidentally discover a phone number with the most bizarre messages. After calling for their daily dose of perverted phone poetry, two of them disappear. Inspired by true events, JarRing is the story of a serial killer who was never caught, and a serial caller whose remains were never found. Like the irresistible siren song of Homer’s Odyssey,...

Another indie feature that's readying itself for its premiere is Ivo Raza's JarRing, and we've got the info and a myriad of other goodies from the flick for you!

Extended Synopsis

If a serial killer wrote poetry, how would it sound? If you accidentally dialed a wrong number and got the following message, would you call again?

Everyone wears the mask of sanity simply because it is part of their vanity. They say it’s ill to kill. But who are they? Put to death. Deprive of life. Rule out. Delete, erase. Ah, you have no clue. No money, no power, no pull. I veto your bill. I thwart your finale. I dress to kill. I’m on top of my game. You can’t. You can’t. You just simply can’t. Distinguish my name. Extinguish my flame. So I asked Jack and he had to rip. Ed had no gain.

Writer-director Ivo Raza's Jarring is set to make its premiere at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival on Friday, June 11 at 7pm and we have a synopsis and some pics to share in anticipation of this debut. Four friends who discover a phone number with bizarre voice messages which turn out to be recorded by a serial killer. After calling the number for their daily dose of perverted poetry, the two young females, Ariana and Randi, disappear. This prompts the two protagonists, Theo and Sean, into a search for their missing friends. Their quest leads them outside their comfort zone of lavish Miami living and into the dark world of after-hours Homestead, a sleepy, rural community in Florida.s Deep South, they encounter strange new locales and individuals while being...