Avatar director, known for his advocacy of new technology, told interviewer generative AI performance puts ‘all human experience into a blender’

Avatar director James Cameron has called AI actors “horrifying” and said what generative AI technology creates is “an average”.

Cameron was speaking to CBS on Sunday Morning in the run-up to the release of the third Avatar film, subtitled Fire and Ash, and was asked about the pioneering technology he used in his film-making. After praising motion-capture performance as “a celebration of the actor-director moment”, Cameron expressed his disdain for artificial intelligence. “Go to the other end of the spectrum [from motion capture] and you’ve got generative AI, where they can make up a character.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Back to Buenos Aires after a 2024 edition in Uruguay, Ventana Sur Rio de la Plata 2025 looks set to command the biggest industry attendance of any film-tv market in Latin America, with accreditations standing at a bullish 2,400 and counting on Thursday. The final delegate head count could be near to 3,000.

“At this stage, registrations are excellent, slightly ahead of last year, which is a very positive sign with several hundred accredited participants coming from across Latin America and key international markets players and decision makers. Ventana Sur is definitely a central meeting point for business and project circulation in Latin America,” says the Cannes Marché du Film’s Guillaume Esmiol, Ventana Sur co-director.

“The decision to alternate between Uruguay and Argentina has generated renewed interest and widened the market’s influence across the Río de la Plata region,” he adds.

Delegates will find a new venue: central Buenos Aires’ Palacio Libertad,...

Mexican drama-thriller “On the Road” (En el Camino) has been acquired by Madman Entertainment for distribution in Australia and New Zealand, Peccadillo Pictures for U.K. and Ireland, and Edko Films in Hong Kong and Macau. The film, directed by David Pablos, premiered at Venice, where it won both the Horizons Award for best film and the Queer Lion for best movie in the festival with a LGBT theme.

M-Appeal is handling international sales, and will attend Ventana Sur, where it expects to close additional deals.

“On the Road” was previously acquired by Strand Releasing (North America), Filmware (Taiwan), I Wonder Pictures (Italy), Festival Films (Spain), Salzgeber, and will see distribution across Latin America with Cinépolis. Several of these distributors – including Filmware, Festival Films and Salzgeber – are preparing theatrical releases.

“On the Road,” which stars Victor Miguel Prieto and Osvaldo Sánchez, weaves a delicate love story into the structure of a thriller,...

Scarlett Johansson has defended her ongoing support for Woody Allen, who has been disavowed by much of the film industry over sexual abuse allegations made by his stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow.

The actress — who has starred in three movies directed by Allen in “Match Point,” “Scoop” and “Vicky Christina Barcelona” — is one of few names to have publicly stood by the filmmaker over the claims, first made in 1992 and brought up again in the wake of the #MeToo movement, claims that Allen has consistently denied and have been investigated and dismissed by New York authorities.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, Johansson said: “I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work him anytime.”

In a new interview in The Daily Telegraph, the Marvel star addressed any potential backlash to her support, saying it was “hard to know” whether she had experienced any fallout in both her professional or personal life.

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) kicks off its fifth edition on Thursday (December 4) with Rowan Athale’s Giantabout British-Yemeni boxing champion Prince Naseem Hamed.

The film, which portrays the relationship between Hamed, played by Egyptian-British actor Amir El Masry, and his Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, played by Pierce Brosnan, neatly sums what the festival is about, says Shivani Pandya Malhotra, managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

“It is a perfect representation for what we’re trying to deliver to the world – stories from our part of the world, told internationally, about a person who is loved in the region,...

If we're talking about the funniest comedies of the 2000s, we're not talking about "White Chicks." If we're talking about the funniest Wayans brothers comedies, we're not talking about "White Chicks." If we're talking about funny movies in general, we're not talking about "White Chicks."

But if we're talking about isolated funny scenes in very bad Wayans brothers comedies, you can go straight to Terry Crews wrecking a dance floor in "White Chicks." Two years before this scene, Crews, a former professional football player, swung in out of nowhere to swipe scenes in lousy movies like "Friday After Next" (as Damon "Triple O.G." Pearly) and the limp Jamie Kennedy vehicle...

The gay Bdsm biker romance won best film at the Bifas, tying with Iraq war drama Warfare for most awards on four each

Gay Bdsm biker romance Pillion took the top prize at the British independent film awards (Bifas), which were announced on Sunday at a ceremony in London. Pillion also tied with real-time Iraq war drama Warfare for most awards on four, with all the latter’s wins having been previously announced.

Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’s novel Box Hill, also picked up best debut screenwriter for its director Harry Lighton, as well as best costume and hair and makeup design. The film premiered at the Cannes film...

Indonesia’s film pipeline is surging into 2026 with a slate that spans prestige literary adaptations, bold auteur dramas, family tentpoles, genre breakouts and long-awaited franchise extensions. Talent from across the region anchor an eclectic lineup backed by a widening network of producers and international partners.

Chosen by Variety in conjunction with the Jaff Market, this year’s hot picks, presented alphabetically, spotlight 12 Indonesian titles set to define the country’s 2026 slate.

Children of Heaven

Director: Hanung Bramantyo

Producer: Manoj Punjabi

Production Company: MD Pictures

Cast: Jared Ali, Humaira Jahra, Andri Mashadi, Faradina Mufti, Slamet Rahardjo, Oki Rengga, Muhadkly Acho, Reza Nagin, Benidictus, Dodit Mulyanto, Lolox, Varen Arianda, Rr Astagina Jyoti

A poverty-stricken brother and sister navigate daily life on the outskirts of Semarang after a single pair of shoes goes missing, triggering a cycle of shame, secrecy and resilience. A remake of Majid Majidi’s iconic Iranian classic, the Indonesian...

Indonesian director Yosep Anggi Noen has wrapped filming on The Sea Speaks His Name (Laut Bercerita), a political drama starring Reza Rahadian and Dian Sastrowardoyo, which will mark the debut feature of new production outfit Pal8 Pictures.

The upcoming film was teased at Jaff Market today (November 1) at an event attended by director Yosep, the main cast, producer Gita Fara and representatives from Pal8 alongside other backers. A first look can be seen above.

The feature is based on a 2017 novel by Leila S. Chudori, which has been reprinted more than 120 times with around 700,000 book sold and estimated readers of 1.4 million.

Screenis running this regularly updated page with the latest film festival and market dates from across the world.

To submit details of or alter your festival dates, pleasecontact us herewith the name, dates, country and website for the event.

Ongoing

French Film Festival, UK - November 6-December 11

Leeds Palestinian Film Festival, UK - November 21-December 6

Singapore International Film Festival, Singapore - November 26-December 7

African Diaspora International Film Festival, US - November 28-December 14

Marrakech International Film Festival, Morocco - November 28-December 6

Jaff Market, Indonesia - November 29-December 1

Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival, Indonesia - November 29-December 6

December

Asia TV Forum & Market, Singapore...

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Arnold Schwarzenegger may be a widely beloved actor, but he's not one widely recognized for his acting skills. It's not lost on many viewers that his most iconic role is one where he plays a stoic, unfeeling robot, even if he did bring a surprising amount of subtle emotion to the role. 

The good news was that Schwarzenegger was always pretty aware of this shortcoming, which is why he went to one of the greats to work on it. As chronicled in the 1989 book "Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films," Schwarzenegger asked his "Conan the Barbarian" co-star James Earl Jones...

Two years after he explored how former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein evaded capture following his ousting from power in the 2023 documentary “Hiding Saddam Hussein,” Kurdish/Norwegian filmmaker Halkawt Mustafa is delving back into Iraq’s recent history.

“No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman,” now in post-production, leaps forward a decade from the fall of Saddam and to the rise of the Islamic State. This time a drama, the feature follows a Kurdish-Norwegian female sniper who returns to the battlefield she once escaped, driven by vengeance and by the desperate hope of rescuing her younger sister, still imprisoned by Isis in Mosul. Rising Kurdish star Avan Jamal (“The Exam”) plays the lead, while Norwegian actor Thorbjørn Harr also stars.

“This is a poetic portrait of a woman warrior who refused to bow to darkness,” Mustafa told Variety.

The story is rooted in the filmmaker’s own encounters with...

Razaaq Adoti writes and stars in this scrappy gangland action romp, mixing Nollywood energy with bloody set pieces and a dash of 80s-style grit

You have to respect an action film that has its protagonist stagger out of the intensive-care ward into an open-air street market in a backless hospital gown, his tackle whacking conspicuously against the fabric. Star Razaaq Adoti can’t blame his agent, as it was the actor himself who scripted this Nigeria-set revenge thriller, in which his former special forces soldier makes a Jack Carter-like return to wreak havoc on the mean streets of Lagos.

Zion (Adoti) has made the US his home after being...

Tom Stoppard, the playwright and Oscar-winning screenwriter ofShakespeare In Love, has died aged 88.

The Czech-born UK writer’s credits also included co-writing Brazil with director Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown, for which he was nominated for an Oscar in 1986, adapting John le Carre‘s novel The Russia House for Fred Schepisi’s1990 film and adapting Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina for Joe Wright’s 2012 feature.

Stoppard received five Tony awards for his plays and won the Oscar and Golden Globe awards in 1999 for John Madden’s Shakespeare In Love.

He was also known in Hollywood as a script doctor,...

The latest in our series of writers highlighting their favourite comfort rewatches is a look back at Joe Dante’s raucously rule-defying sequel

“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” Some sage advice from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At face value, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. However, in a weird way, it’s also pretty solid life advice.

A disaffected Portuguese Ngo worker dallies with a drag queen as he wrestles with white man’s privilege in Pedro Pinho’s intelligent drama

‘What disgusts me the most are good men,” says a Bissau-Guinean sex worker to Sérgio (Sérgio Coragem), a Portuguese environmental engineer working for an Ngo on a road construction project in the country. He’s struggling to perform, as if his private life is letting slip some fundamental doubt about his role in Africa.

There’s a good dose of self-flagellation about western paternalism and hypocrisy in Pedro Pinho’s fifth feature, but it’s smart enough to know that this hand-wringing, extended over three hours,...

The actor himself has promised to accept all future cameos as the beloved claw-gremlin, but this will only wear out his superpowers

There was once a time when Hugh Jackman Wolverine cameos made a sort of sense. Bursting out of a cell in full Weapon X gear, massacring half a bunker, then vanishing, in 2016’s otherwise pretty forgettable X-Men: Apocalypse. Telling potential recruitment team Magneto and Professor X to, er, go fuck themselves while propping up a bar in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. Even popping up via archived footage from X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2018’s Deadpool 2. These were cameos we could accept: quick, self-contained sideshows that understood the sacred...

Indonesia’s screen industry is entering what a new Jaff Market–Cinepoint study calls a “decisive new phase,” with local films driving attendance, investor confidence rising, and the market outperforming its Southeast Asian peers.

The Film Industry Report 2025 positions the country as both the region’s fastest-growing theatrical market and one of the most dynamic globally.

According to the report, admissions for Indonesian films hit 82 million in 2024 and are projected to surpass 100 million within five years, while annual output is on track to reach 200 theatrical titles by 2028. Local productions commanded 65% of the national box office in 2024, with the top 10 Indonesian titles attracting 33.5 million admissions — far ahead of imported films’ 20.1 million.

The study notes that Indonesia’s box office rebounded faster than most international markets after the pandemic: receipts surged from below $75 million in 2020 to $392 million in 2024, overtaking Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand. Globally, Indonesia ranked ninth in both cinema admissions...

Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” dominated the Korean box office over the Nov. 28–30 weekend, opening to a commanding $10.8 million from 1.62 million admissions across 2,382 screens, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council.

Including previews, the film has already amassed $13.7 million. The strong start gives the film a massive 78.97% share of the entire market.

Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” held second place with $953,242, pushing its cumulative total to $5.4 million after two weeks on release.

Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” ranked third with $798,161, lifting its running total to $8.07 million.

Japanese title “Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc” placed fourth, earning $283,888 for a $23.9 million cume.

In fifth, Japanese drama “Kokuho” grossed $181,097, reaching $738,696 after 11 days in theaters.

Award-winning South Korean drama “The World of Love” followed in sixth with $77,373, taking its total to $1.01 million.

Long-running hit “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle...

“The New Yorker at 100” is a nimble and infectious documentary, one that brings off a trick more challenging than it looks. In just 96 minutes, the film, directed by Marshall Curry and narrated by Julianne Moore, lays out the fabled history of The New Yorker. It colors in the magazine’s larger cultural significance. It gives us a close-up, between-the-lines portrait of how The New Yorker gets put together each week, presenting us with the creation of its 100th anniversary issue (which came out this past February) as a template for what happens on a more regular basis.

And it folds all of this into the enticing story of the magazine’s vibe and aesthetic: the way its commitment to truth and beauty are flip sides of the same coin, and how its manner of looking at the world, while up-to-the-minute and fully alive, is slyly rooted in the analog sanity of an earlier time.

Through static compositions and observational detail, the documentary explores how Laos’s visitors and residents inhabit the same spaces in very different ways

Shot in Laos, Kimi Takesue’s idiosyncratic documentary gazes upon sights and vistas that would not be out of place on travel postcards. Minimal in its camera movements, the film looks at glimmering golden temples, waterfalls cascading down silver rocks, and processions of monks moving through lush landscapes. It also shows what is absent from glossy brochures, namely the intrusion of tourists. The disruption to the local rhythm of life is at once visual and aural: we see throngs of wandering visitors, their casual clothes of shorts...

“Zootopia 2” stormed the China box office over the Nov. 28–30 frame, opening to RMB1.538 billion ($216.6 million) across its first two days and reaching RMB1.922 billion ($270.7 million) through Sunday, according to Artisan Gateway.

With previews included, the Walt Disney sequel has amassed an estimated $272 million — one of the most explosive launches in the market’s history.

The debut ranks as the sixth-highest opening of all time in China among all films, and the second-biggest for a non-local title behind “Avengers: Endgame.” It is also the highest animated opening ever in China for a non-local release. After just five days, “Zootopia 2” has become the highest-grossing non-local animated film of all time in the market, and the highest-grossing imported film since “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). It is already the fourth-highest animated film ever released in China, local or foreign, and has overtaken the lifetime $236 million total of the original “Zootopia.” The first film was beloved in China,...

The makers of upcoming biographical drama “V. Shantaram” have unveiled the first look of Siddhant Chaturvedi as the legendary Indian filmmaker.

The announcement poster introduces Chaturvedi in the title role of V. Shantaram, the auteur long celebrated as a visionary of Indian cinema. The film chronicles Shantaram’s remarkable journey from the silent era through the advent of sound and color, showcasing his evolution as one of India’s most influential filmmakers.

V. Shantaram, born Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre in 1901, was a pioneering force in Indian cinema whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He founded two major film studios — Prabhat Film Company in 1929 and Rajkamal Kalamandir in 1942 — and directed the first Marathi-language talkie, “Ayodhyecha Raja,” in 1932. His films, including classics like “Duniya Na Mane” (1937), “Do Aankhen Barah Haath” (1957), “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje” (1955) and “Navrang” (1959) were celebrated for their technical innovations and progressive social themes addressing issues like communal harmony, dowry, and prisoner rehabilitation.

T-Series and Jp Films have unveiled the first look of Diljit Dosanjh from “Border 2,” revealing the film will expand its scope to include the Indian Air Force alongside ground forces.

The poster shows Dosanjh in a fighter jet cockpit, portraying an Indian Air Force officer. The image marks a significant expansion of the franchise’s narrative scope, signaling that aerial combat will feature prominently alongside traditional battlefield sequences.

Set in 1971, the original “Border” (1997) was headlined by Sunny Deol, and took place along the border region of Longewala, where a small battalion of Indian soldiers fought a large Pakistani strike force. It is considered a landmark Indian war film.

“Border 2” is directed by Anurag Singh who previously helmed Akshay Kumar-starring “Kesari” (2019), based on the Battle of Saragarhi in which an army of 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000 Afghans in 1897.

The film reunites Dosanjh with Singh, with whom he has collaborated...

Eddie Cahyono, whose 2014 drama “Siti” won the Piala Citra for best film at the Indonesian Film Festival, has his latest work “My Mother” selected for the Jaff Future Project as a work-in-progress, about a widow who wants to meet her daughter sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for murdering her employer.

The Indonesia production, directed by Cahyono and produced by Tika Bravani, Eddie Cahyono and Isabelle Glachant through production companies Anp Talenta Media, Memorieslight Pictures, Yasa Buana Film, Knockonwood.inc and Sasha & Co Production, is among 10 Asia-Pacific titles selected for the Jaff Future Project at this year’s Jaff Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

“My Mother” follows a widow attempting to reunite with her daughter who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for murdering her employer. However, the daughter refuses to see her mother, having never forgiven her for past betrayals.

The project stems from a deeply personal memory for Cahyono.

Indonesian filmmaker Ismail Basbeth’s psychological horror feature “The Most Mysterious Man” (local title: “Raib”) has landed co-financing from Malaysia’s Phoenix Films Sdn Bhd, with the deal finalized during Jaff Market 2025.

The agreement was signed at the Indonesian Ministry of Culture Booth by Ruang Basbeth Bercerita, the media and publishing company founded by Ismail Basbeth and producer Lyza Anggraheni. The project marks the first fully original concept from Ismail Basbeth developed from inception under the duo’s producer-director partnership.

“The Most Mysterious Man” follows a craftsman devoted to his wife and three children whose life unravels when he returns home to find another family living in his house and his loved ones missing. As he searches for answers, no one in his village recognizes him despite his lifelong residence there, sending him spiraling into paranoia and violence.

Anggraheni developed the story alongside the director over seven months at Busan Asian Film School.

Luhki Herwanayogi, whose short film “On Friday Noon” screened at Locarno Film Festival Open Doors in 2020 and who received the 2021 Locarno Open Doors Award, has his feature debut “Our Son” selected for the Jaff Future Project as a work-in-progress, about two childless married couples who raise a son from an illicit affair between the households.

The Indonesia production, directed by Herwanayogi and produced by Iqbal Mohammad Hamdan through production company Catchlight Pictures alongside Qun Films, is among 10 Asia-Pacific titles selected for the Jaff Future Project at this year’s Jaff Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The project won the Purin Award for best project from Southeast Asia at Busan Asian Film School Pitching Project in 2019.

“Our Son” follows Lita, a 27-year-old bank employee who reunites with her ex-lover Sandi, a 29-year-old furniture entrepreneur, after years of separation. Their relationship becomes close again when Lita asks Sandi to furnish her new home.

Chris C.F’s observational documentary “Aluk,” which follows three generations of a family in Tana Toraja, Indonesia over seven years as they reckon with the loss of their patriarch and their community’s uncertain future, is selected for the Jaff Future Project as a work-in-progress.

The Australia-Indonesia co-production, directed by Chris C.F and produced by Sam Hewison and Wahyu Al Mardhani through production company Cut By Dog Production, is among 10 Asia-Pacific titles selected for the Jaff Future Project at this year’s Jaff Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

“Aluk” follows four members of a Tana Toraja family: Ne’ Minda, the grandfather; Ma’ Adel, the mother; Pong Kenny, the uncle; and Marsel, the son. The film traces Marsel’s childhood over seven years, as his grandfather reveals his ancestors’ way of life — Aluk To Dolo, one grounded in the maintenance of environmental equilibrium.

Ne’ Minda demonstrates how these practices inform the...

Netanya Yemima, whose short film “The Most Handsome Fish on Earth” premiered at the 20th Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival last year, has her feature directorial debut “To My Dearest, My Dear…” selected for the Jaff Future Project, a time-travel drama about a dying father who leaps into the future to meet the daughter he’ll never live to see.

The Indonesia production, directed by Yemima and produced by Bela Nabila and Bayu Arief, is among 10 Asia-Pacific titles selected for the Jaff Future Project at this year’s Jaff Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The project previously participated in Jakarta Film Week Producers Lab 2024 and Platform Busan 2025.

“To My Dearest, My Dear…” follows Adam, a soon-to-be father diagnosed with cancer in 2008 who braces for the end. Until one day, he discovers a way to travel through time. Seizing the chance, he leaps into the future to meet Nadia, the daughter he never lived to see.

Praveen Morchhale’s latest feature “White Snow” follows a mother’s arduous trek through Kashmir’s Himalayan peaks to screen her son’s banned film, marking the director’s continued exploration of artistic suppression and human resilience.

The Urdu-language drama, produced by Barefoot Pictures with co-production from France’s Woooz Pictures and associate producers from Germany and Canada, made its world premiere at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival before screening at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. The film is currently playing at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival, of which the industry component is the Jaff Market.

“White Snow” centers on Fatima, whose filmmaker son Amir sees his work banned after its first community screening following complaints from religious authorities. The film’s transgression: depicting post-partum blood after childbirth. When Amir is arrested on charges of attempting to create social unrest, Fatima embarks on a perilous journey...

Matta Cinema Production and Ruang Basbeth Bercerita have commenced principal photography on “My Own Last Supper,” a Chinese-Indonesian family drama helmed by Ismail Basbeth, whose previous feature “Sara” had its world premiere at Busan in 2023.

The feature, introduced at Busan’s Asian Content & Film Market in September, kicked off its 15-day shoot on Nov. 27 during the ongoing Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival and Jaff Market.

The narrative centers on Encek, a 76-year-old widower who convenes his children for a final dinner, unveiling concealed memoirs of love, loss and generational wounds before choosing the sea as his reunion place with his deceased wife. The story examines the pursuit of life and identity through the lens of a Chinese-Indonesian family across three pivotal periods: the 1960s, 1970s and 1998, addressing unresolved national trauma and historical violence through intimate personal narratives.

The production is employing a realistic approach with detailed artistic elements to authentically recreate...

[Editor’s note: The following review contains spoilers for “The Chair Company” Season 1 Episode 8, “Minnie Mouse coming back wasn’t on my bingo card” — the Season 1 finale.]

“Ron’s actually got it all figured out.”

So says Fisher Robay CEO Jeff Levjman (Lou Diamond Phillips) over drinks with his out-of-town friend Grego (Timothy Smallwood) and nearly out-of-work employee Ron Trosper (Tim Robinson). In a sense, it’s the opening Ron’s been waiting for. After shoving Jeff at the job site, Ron’s been on the outs with his boss and colleagues. In fact, unbeknownst to Ron, Jeff may be the last person at the office who still wants him to keep working there.

But instead of humbly thanking Jeff and using the acknowledgement to transition into getting his safe, well-paying position back, Ron takes the statement for what it is: a backhanded compliment — and a challenge.

“Ron, he’s content with a nice, simple life,” Jeff continues. “He...

Virtue Asia has partnered with Goldfinch International to establish V47 Entertainment, a new studio that will create branded entertainment content for distribution across Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Singapore-based studio plans to develop feature films, television series, short-form digital content and other entertainment formats that integrate brand partnerships at the development stage. Goldfinch International handles the Global South financing and production operations for Goldfinch Group, which is headquartered in the U.K.

The studio’s operations will touch multiple sectors of the entertainment industry, including music, gaming, film, television, live events and digital creator content.

Several projects are already moving through development ahead of a formal slate announcement planned for the first quarter of 2026. The initial lineup encompasses two documentary series, a live event series, a short-form microdrama, a competition format and an animated series.

Looking beyond its first development cycle, V47 has outlined plans for a...

Professor Charles Xavier is more than just a formidable mutant telepath. He's an activist who founded the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, which serves as a home for young mutants while also providing them the opportunity to hone their abilities. His complicated dynamic with Magneto partially stems from his assimilationist tendencies, which clash with Magneto's more assertive, often violent brand of mutant pride. While Professor X has undergone several iterations across countless comics, his activism has always been an integral part of his character, even when his morality has leaned towards grey areas.

This key character trait is the sole reason why Patrick Stewart, who primarily portrayed Professor X in...

Let's not beat around the bush: The "Star Wars" homework packet has grown gargantuan since Disney rebooted the canon. While fans of the old Expanded Universe mourned its relegation, there was an appeal for more casual fans. Finally, a universe that had become rather cumbersome to get into was getting a fresh start.

A decade later, though, we're back at the same problem, and there is no single bigger unit in the "Catch Up On 'Star Wars'" curriculum than the animated shows. Eight-episode Disney+ series are pretty easy to digest as they come, but the backlog of animated stories — which have become increasingly central to the overriding franchise lore since...

The Jokers Films has acquired French distribution rights to Barunson E&a’s “The World of Love,” the top-grossing independent Korean film at the 2025 local box office.

The acquisition deal was negotiated between Manuel Chiche, founder of The Jokers Films and head of Asian acquisitions, and Sylvie Kim, head of international business at Barunson E&a.

The feature surpassed 150,000 admissions in Korea as of Nov. 30.

Directed by Yoon Ga-eun, acclaimed for “The World of Us” (Berlinale 2016) and “The House of Us” (BFI London 2019), the drama centers on 17-year-old Lee Jooin (Seo Su-bin), an unpredictable high school student whose angry outburst creates ripple effects throughout her world.

The title has gained traction on the festival circuit, world premiering at Toronto’s Platform competition and collecting jury and audience awards at Pingyao International Film Festival’s Crouching Tigers section, along with the Fipresci Award at the Warsaw Film Festival. The film recently played at...

China’s theatrical market is losing younger audiences while Vietnam emerges as a breakout territory for pan-Asian content, according to industry executives speaking at the Jaff Market.

Eric Lin, general manager of international content at Alibaba’s Damai Entertainment, revealed that Chinese audiences under 24 now represent only 15% of total moviegoers, down from 38% before the pandemic. “We’re losing half of them in five or six years,” Lin said, noting that core frequent audiences have shifted to the 30-49 age bracket. While the year saw “Ne Zha 2” generate more that $2 billion at the box office, the market struggles to retain younger demographics competing with short-form vertical content Aka microdramas.

Vietnam has established itself as a crucial territory for Asian films, with Phong Duong, business director at Mockingbird Pictures, presenting market data showing Vietnamese title “Red Rain” generated more than $27 million, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in the territory.

Worldwide box office: November 28-30

Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1 Zootopia 2(Disney) $497.2m $556.4m $400.4m $400.4m 52 2 Wicked: For Good (Universal) $92.2m $393.3m $29.4m $122.8m 79 3 Now You See Me: Now You Don’t(various) $23.1m $187m $16.1m $137.3m 86 4 Tere Ishk Mein (various) $7.6m $7.6m $7.4m $7.4m 16 5 Predator: Badlands(Disney) $7.2m $173.7m $2.4m $88.7m 53 6 The Running Man(Paramount) $6.8m $60.6m $3.1m $26.3m 65 7 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle(various) $6m $767.1m $6m $633m 6 8 Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution(various) $4.6m $23.1m $4.6m $23.1m 41 9 Resurrection(various) $3.4m $25.1m $3.4m $25.1m 4 10 Eternity (various)

$3.2m $5.3m $55,000 $55,000 6

Credit: Comscore.

Stephen King and heavy metal just make sense together. The famous author's subject matter spread of brutal horror, epic fantasy, and authoritarianism all fit perfectly into the leather-clad, guitar-shredding, shock-and-awe stylings of the metal genre, and the association was only bolstered by both King's work and the metal genre exploding in popularity around the same time in the late 1970s and early '80s.

The connection is particularly natural in the case of "The Stand," King's first dive into the epic fantasy genre in 1978 ahead of his "Dark Tower" series. A massive success in its day, "The Stand" has remained one of King's most popular and influential works, right alongside books like "The Shining,...

The 2025 British Independent Film Awards concluded with the surprisingly tender queer Bdsm biker romance “Pillion” topping the night’s winners’ list, with four wins for the Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård vehicle: Best British Independent Film, Best Debut Screenwriter to writer/director Harry Lighton, Best Costume Design to Grace Snell, and Best Make-Up & Hair Design to Diandra Ferreira.

Though it was ultimately not nominated in any Best Film categories, fellow A24 release “Warfare” also fared well at the awards ceremony, with four wins itself for Best Ensemble Performance, Best Editing, Best Effects, and Best Sound. Stars Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, and Charles Melton were all present to accept their award at the ceremony, which took place November 30 at the Roundhouse in London.

Other films to win several awards include Focus Features musical comedy “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” TIFF premiere “I Swear,” Jennifer Lawrence-starrer “Die My Love,...

“Pillion,” the kinky Bdsm rom-com in which Alexander Skarsgard’s strapping biker takes Harry Melling’s timid wallflower as his new submissive, has won the top honor at the British Independent Film Awards.

The debut feature of writer/director Harry Lighton, “Pillion” — which bowed in Cannes earlier this year and is due for release in the U.S. with A24 — also won best debut screenwriter. These join the film’s previously announced craft wins for best costume design and best make up and hair design.

Held on Sunday at London’s Roundhouse, the awards ceremony brought together the the film world in the U.K. and abroad. Among the guests presenters were Carey Mulligan, Stephen Merchant, Ruth Wilson, Celia Imrie and Billy Crudup.

Having led the pack of nominations with nods in 11 categories, Akinola Davies Jr’s Nigeria-set “My Father’s Shadow” — another Cannes-bowing directorial debut and, like “Pillion,” produced by...

Billy Bob Thornton came to acting a little later than one might have expected. He had already graduated from college and was working as an asphalt spreader, having dropped out of a psychology program that he decided wasn't for him. It wasn't until the mid-1980s, when he was approaching 30, that Thornton moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting as a career. His first professional screen role was a small part in a "Deliverance" knock-off called "Hunter's Blood," released in 1986.

By 1996, though, Thornton was frustrated. He had been struggling for a decade, but he didn't have a project he could really call his own. He began developing a character named Karl,...

28 seasons in, "South Park" feels like it'll go on forever. Logically, we know there must eventually be a finale, but it's hard to imagine that day ever arriving. In a 2018 interview with IGN, showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker offered their prediction for what the show's final episode will look like:

"I think it's going to end with a fizzle, for sure," Parker said. "I think it's just going to end with some dud, and we're gonna go, 'F*** this, man,' and walk away. ... Yeah, we've thought that for 18 years. We're like, 'Okay, well, they're going to cancel us, for sure!' We've been waiting to get canceled for 18 f***ing years.

With the advancement of CGI, action movie climaxes have become more varied. Characters can spew laser beams and send meteors flying toward one another. Characters perform superhuman feats of courage, and when done well, it can be incredibly exciting to watch. However, even with all CGI can do, it's amazing the amount of tension that can be developed when you have a few guys with squibs in close quarters engaging in an epic shootout to the death.

From the westerns of old to modern action flicks fully embracing the art of gun fu, there's nothing like a cinematic shootout to get the blood pumping. It's not just mindless spectacle, either.

This article contains spoilers for "Zootopia 2." Proceed at your own risk!

The long-awaited return to the House of Mouse's billion-dollar anthropomorphic franchise, "Zootopia 2," is a refreshing reminder of what Disney Animation is capable of, and an all-time great Disney sequel. The story feels a bit more mature this time around, but the pun-filled comedy that audiences loved in the first film is even more prominently on display here. At one point, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) sits at home and aimlessly scrolls through a streaming service like Disney+, and the posters are all clear references to famous works. There's the musical "Ham-ilton," the action thriller "Die Hero: Die Herder,...

“Zootopia 2” stuffed the box office competition over Thanksgiving.

Disney’s animated sequel, a buddy-cop comedy about anthropomorphic animals, debuted to $156 million in North America and $400 million overseas, delivering a stunning $556 million global tally. The family film, which opened on Wednesday, cemented several records, including the fourth-biggest worldwide debut in box office history, as well as the largest global launch of all time for an animated film.

“The incredible response to ‘Zootopia 2’ reflects both its worldwide appeal and the remarkable work of our filmmakers and cast,” says Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. “It’s a proud moment for Disney Animation and all of us at Disney, not to mention a great way to start the holiday season.”

“Zootopia 2” is turbocharging the box office, which has been majorly struggling since the summer. This was the second consecutive weekend that movie theaters were booked and busy after “Wicked: For Good...

No matter how many Stephen King movie adaptations will see the light of day — and God knows there have been plenty over the years, and they don't seem to stop coming either — I doubt any will be as true to the author's voice, sensibility, and style as Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" was in 1986. You simply can't replicate how perfectly everything came together in that film (from the actors to the locations to the music) in a way that not only ended up capturing King's novella impeccably but actually improved on it. I'd go as far as to say that the movie is better at telling that story.

The...

It must have been a truly surreal and exciting experience to attend the premiere of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." Not only was the film unlike any comedy yet released, but it also starred a true one-of-a-kind in Jim Carrey, who at the time was known only for being a part of the sketch show "In Living Color." For comedians David Alan Grier and Chris Rock, however, their experience at the "Ace Ventura" premiere was more about supporting their friend than anything else, as neither was particularly convinced that the movie was going to make any money.

Carrey was a relative unknown before 1994. That year, however, he fronted two now beloved...

Safe to say James Cameron will never cast Tilly Norwood in a movie.

During a recent interview with CBS’ Sunday Morning, the director of “The Terminator” explained that even before the invention of generative AI, some Hollywood insiders thought he would use computer graphics to replace actors as he was developing the first “Avatar” film in 2005.

He recalled, “For years, there was this sense that, ‘Oh, they’re doing something strange with computers and they’re replacing actors,’ when in fact, once you really drill down and you see what we’re doing, it’s a celebration of the actor-director moment.”

Cameron said now that generative AI is invading the industry, the idea that the technology could substitute for a performer is “horrifying.”

“Now, go to the other end of the spectrum, and you’ve got generative AI, where they can make up a character,” Cameron added. “They can make up an actor.

Harry Lighton’s Pillion was the biggest winner at the 2025 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) with four prizes, including best British independent film.

Comedians Lou Sanders and Harriet Kemsley hosted the ceremony, which took place at London’s Roundhouse.

Pillion follows the unconventional relationship between a Bdsm biker, played by Alexander Skarsgard, and a timid traffic warden, played by Harry Melling. Lighton also walked away with the best debut screenwriter award, with four wins in total including two previously announced craft prizes, for costume design and make-up and hair design.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

During his debut screenwriter prize speech,...