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Janet Planet.The image is tough to see until our eyes adjust: a girl, not yet a teenager, perched on the edge of a bed, alone, ensconced in darkness, her head bisected by the edge of the frame. She’s looking. Is it at something, or for something? She gets up, walks outside, the deafening susurrus of cicadas all around her. She makes a call on a payphone, announces herself as Lacy. “I’m gonna kill myself,” she deadpans into the receiver. A pause. “I said I’m gonna kill myself if you don’t come get me.” She hangs up.This is the first sequence of Janet Planet (2024), the first film by Annie Baker—and it immediately exhibits the qualities of her formidable work as a playwright: the curious quiet, the felt time, the mordant sense of humor. Like Kenneth Lonergan before her, Baker is a celebrated stage dramatist...

There’s never a shortage of hidden gems in the Sundance Film Festival’s short film program. (Last year’s lineup even featured former First Daughter Malia Obama’s directorial debut.) A scan of the selections for 2025 revealed one notable project that marks a new big-screen collaboration for a Hollywood couple: Oscar-winning filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan and Emmy-nominated Succession star J. Smith-Cameron.

Writer-director Alex Heller’s Debaters is a 10-minute short that will screen this week in Park City, Utah, when Sundance rolls out Jan. 23-Feb. 2. It premieres on day one, Jan. 23, as part of the Short Film Program 1 at Library Center Theatre. The film is set in a debate chamber where affluent high school students argue a bill on minimum wage in an effort to impress two working-class adult judges, played by Lonergan and Smith-Cameron. The judges sit in the back of a class observing the competition before eventually weighing...

Exclusive: Rory Culkin (Lords of Chaos) and Paris Jackson (Gringo) lead the cast of Skinemax, a comedy from writer-director Adam Sigal (Chariot), which has wrapped production in Budapest.

Examining the softcore porn industry of the early 1990s, the film follows Morgan Sands (Culkin), a failing indie film director, and his unlikely friendship with Jessie Hudson (Jackson), a popular adult film star.

Pic’s cast also includes Crispin Glover (Mr. K), Oliver Trevena (Plane), Will Peltz (Unfriended), Mark Boone Jr. (Memento), GaTa (Anyone But You), Jared P-Smith (FBI), Vladislav Lapidus (Dead Man’s Wire), Zac Coats (Crave), Sierra Nowak (Lucifer), and Maren Altman (If It Bleeds).

The film is produced by Jon Wroblewski and Christian Sosa of Roosevelt Film Lab, Trevena of Ollywood Media, and David Treatman of Grapevine Films. Exec producers include Dane and Elizabeth Fiori, Lars and Janice Letonoff, Michael Santos, Christian Sheedy, Dalas Lamberson, Maxwell Johnson of Grapevine, and Andre Champagne of Passcode.

Did Mark Ruffalo hide his brain tumor? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Back in 2000, just as You Can Count on Me was putting him on the map, Mark Ruffalo woke up from a dream that flipped his world upside down. The message? “You have a brain tumor.” It’s not exactly your average dream journal entry.

This wasn’t some passing nightmare. It felt like an urgent You need to do something right now kind of epiphany. So, Ruffalo trusted his gut and went straight to the doctor despite only dealing with what seemed like an ear infection. “I told the doctor, ‘This is going to sound crazy, but I had this dream that I have a brain tumor,’” he shared during his SmartLess podcast chat with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. Crazy? Maybe. But Ruffalo was right.

The scan revealed a mass behind his left ear—a golf-ball-sized one.

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You don't often see the great movies coming. Sure, some classics swagger their way into theaters (like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" did in 2023), but take a look at the vast majority of the movies on your favorites queue and you'll see titles that arrived with very little fanfare. Warner Bros. didn't expect "L.A. Confidential" to take off like it did, and Columbia Pictures was absolutely stunned when "The Shawshank Redemption" rebounded after a disappointing theatrical release to become one of the most beloved motion pictures in the history of the medium.

Then there's Universal and "Field of Dreams." Kevin Costner was a movie star in 1989 on the strength of "The Untouchables," "No Way Out" and "Bull Durham," but two of those three hits were adult-skewing entertainments that traded heavily on his sex appeal. "Field of Dreams" was ... really, what in...

Exclusive: Remember when geeky tween Jenna Rink was magically transformed into glamorous Jennifer Garner in the classic rom-com 13 Going on 30? That was two decades ago. Now that role’s being played by West End star Lucie Jones in a stage musical adapted from the beloved 2004 movie.

The show is headed for an out-of-town-tryout at the Manchester Opera House, where it will run for a limited season from September 21, 2025.

Just this past April, Garner joined fellow stars from the film — Mark Ruffalo, who played Matt Flamhaff, the boy next door who Jenna doesn’t realize holds a candle for her, and Judy Greer as Lucy Wyman, once her childhood nemesis and now an editing colleague at the fictional Poise magazine — for a 20th anniversary reunion on Zoom that spread far and wide on social media.

Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who wrote the film’s screenplay, have penned the musical’s book,...

In 2002, it was finally all coming together for Joaquin Phoenix. He was at long last being considered a leading man after two decades of ensemble parts, and was a year removed from earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination for "Gladiator." The U.S. Army satire "Buffalo Soldiers" could have been the film to fully transform him into a full-blown, top-of-the-poster star, but it wound up getting buried for the offense of poking fun at the military in the immediate wake of 9/11 (it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival the very week of the attacks). So, it couldn't help but feel like he was more actor than M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" needed for the role of Mel Gibson's brother.

Don't get me wrong! I'm thrilled Phoenix got the part if only for his terrified reaction to the alien video, a jump scare we get to share with him as...

After 17 years, Leire Martínez will no longer be the lead vocalist of La Oreja de Van Gogh. In a statement Monday, the Spanish band announced that the group had parted ways with Oreja de Van Gogh’s second singer.

“After 17 marvelous years filled with music and emotions we’ll never forget, we’d like to announce that the professional journeys of Leire and La Oreja de Van Gogh will go down different paths,” read the statement in Spanish. “The decision has been hard to make, but it comes after much...

Before Mark Ruffalo stepped into the ripped shorts of The Hulk, he began his career as a full-time character actor, with critics even drawing comparisons to Marlon Brando (see The New York Times). He plied his trade at the Stella Adler Conservatory and became known for thoughtful indies such as Joan Micklin Silver's "A Fish in the Bathtub" and supporting roles in prestige-directed titles like Ang Lee's "Ride with the Devil." However, it was his performance in Kenneth Lonergan's off-Broadway play "This Is Our Youth" that led to his breakout role in "You Can Count on Me" as Laura Linney's wayfaring brother. He thrived in very humanistic, emotionally-complex, and character-driven material. 

The positive attention Ruffalo received for "You Can Count on Me" allowed him to branch out into more mainstream projects such as "13 Going on 30," which has since become a romantic comedy classic. But...

Edward Norton still has the honor of starring in the only solo Hulk movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he is also one of the few actors to have their role replaced in the series that spans over 30 movies and 10 canonical shows. Ruffalo began his MCU journey a dozen years ago in the first Avengers blockbuster; where he “incredibly” captured the duality of Banner/Hulk better than any prior performer. Ruffalo managed to pull off the feat in a team-up event, whereas Norton, and a pre-mcu Eric Bana, had an entire feature dedicated to the hero.

Ruffalo immediately connected with audiences more than any of his predecessors, which raised the bar for how compelling this hero could be in live-action, while also rounding out the Avengers ensemble wonderfully. He gave the Marvel Cinematic Universe a big green hand to help lift the franchise to stratospheric heights. Without individual projects to focus on,...

Exclusive: Emmy-nominated Gaby Hoffmann, best known for her work on Amazon’s Transparent and HBO’s Girls, has signed with Gersh for representation in all areas.

Hoffmann earned three Emmy nominations, two for Supporting Actress on Transparent for her role as Ali Pfefferman, and a Guest Actress nomination for her performance as Adam’s erratic and mesmerizing sister Caroline on Girls. She was most recently seen in Abi Morgan’s Netflix drama series Eric and in Adam McKay’s Winning Time at HBO. She’ll next be seen starring in Netflix’s limited series Zero Day, opposite Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons and Robert DeNiro.

Her other notable credits include C’Mon, C’Mon opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Wild, Obvious Child, You Can Count On Me and 200 Cigarettes.

Also a director, Hoffmann has helmed episodes of Transparent and HBO’s Room 104.

Hoffmann continues to be repped by Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment and Peikoff Mahan Law Office.

Mark Ruffalo's film debut came in 1994, when he appeared as a seductive and possibly supernatural super-hunk named Christian who periodically appears to Tracy Wells in the horror sequel "Mirror Mirror II: Raven Dance." The producers, likely pleased with his performance also hired Ruffalo to play a brand-new role in "Mirror Mirror III: The Voyeur." In that film, he played a sexy moving truck worker named Joey. Ruffalo did not appear in "Mirror Mirror 4: Reflections."

Despite starring in the "Mirror Mirror" movies, as well as the gore flick "The Dentist," Ruffalo had a pretty varied early career. He appeared in the '60s-set coming-of-age drama "There Goes My Baby" in 1994, the indie comedy "Safe Men" in 1998, and the Oscar Bait biopic "54" that same year. He worked with Ang Lee in 1999's "Ride with the Devil," but exploded into the pop consciousness with his memorable performance in Kenneth Lonergan...

Exclusive: Emmy-nominated Gaby Hoffmann, best known for her work on Amazon’s Transparent and HBO’s Girls, has signed with Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment for management.

Hoffman earned three Emmy nominations, two for Supporting Actress on Transparent for her role as Ali Pfefferrman, and a Guest Actress nomination for her performance as Adam’s erratic and mesmerizing sister Caroline on Girls. She currently can be seen starring as the distraught mother of a missing son in Netflix’s praised limited series Eric opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

Hoffmann got her start as a child actor, landing scene-stealing roles with filmmakers such as John Hughes and Nora Ephron. Early credits include features Uncle Buck, Sleepless in Seattle and Field of Dreams.

Hoffmann’s other recent notable credits include indie features C’mon C’mon; Wild; Obvious Child; You Can Count On Me; 200 Cigarettes; and for TV, Adam McKay’s Winning Time at HBO. Upcoming, she...

More names have been added to New York City’s most exclusive guest list. Black Rabbit, the upcoming limited series set in New York’s nightlife scene, will star and be executive produced by Jason Bateman and Jude Law.

Bateman will also direct the first two episodes, and Laura Linney will direct the third and fourth episodes in a behind-the-scenes reunion with her Ozark co-star.

Read on to step behind the velvet rope and learn more about the cast and characters of Black Rabbit.

Black Rabbit centers on some serious sibling drama: When the owner of a New York City hotspot (Law) allows his chaotic brother (Bateman) back in his life, he opens the door to escalating dangers that threaten to bring down everything he’s built.

Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Zach Baylin (King Richard) and Kate Susman,...

While Mark Ruffalo is now a bonafide veteran in Hollywood, there was a time when he struggled to gain fame as an actor. Ruffalo’s journey into acting began unexpectedly during his twelfth-grade year when he walked through the theatre department at his Virginia Beach high school.

His family had relocated from Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he was enrolled in a Catholic school. Dealing with undiagnosed dyslexia, his classmates used to laugh at him as he struggled to read aloud.

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner in the MCU

Ruffalo began pursuing acting at 19 but couldn’t make ends meet until he was 27. The Hollywood star went to many auditions but kept getting turned down.

He survived on apples and loaves of bread, riding a $200 Honda motorbike through all sorts of weather conditions to make it to auditions. It wasn’t easy for him, but he had a guardian angel who sent...

Mark Ruffalo has taken a turn. “I’m so sick of being so well-behaved,” he says. “I just want to take the ship as close to the reef as I can without actually crashing it. And maybe I’ll crash it too. I don’t give a sh*t anymore.”

It’s fair to say that prior to his Poor Things role, Ruffalo’s credits are littered with likeable men: Jen Garner’s lovely best friend Matt in 13 Going on 30; the right-side-of-justice Inspector Toschi in Zodiac; real-life environmental activist Rob Bilott in Dark Waters; the abuse-exposing journalist Mike Rezendes in Spotlight… Even his Marvel franchise Hulk is deeply loveable. That’s not to say Ruffalo’s work has been remotely one-note—the man has been Oscar-nominated four times—but there’s a quality of sincerity that lends itself to the full-hearted men he has played.

So, it was hard...

It’s not news that the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a key stop on the awards trail. Every year, Executive Director Roger Durling pulls a starry lineup and Oscar wranglers make sure their clients make the most of the 2,000-seat Arlington Theatre red carpet tributes and panels.

The new trend? Multiple presenters, and thus even bigger star power. Bradley Cooper had both costar Carey Mulligan and friend Brad Pitt pay him tribute last Thursday, while on Friday Robert Downey Jr. drew both his old school chum Rob Lowe and “Oppenheimer” costar Cillian Murphy.

Saturday brought the producer and International panels along with the annual Virtuosos show hosted by TCM’s Dave Karger, who hawked his glossy new Oscar book published by TCM, “50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins,” including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Hudson, Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep, and more. And Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”) flirted charmingly with both Karger,...

After four consecutive years covering the Sundance Film Festival, January 2024 was a good time for a break. That said, the attention and interest in the numerous films submitted to the festival, as well as the emergence of new stars in front of and behind the screen, remained intact. Suncoast was one of the better received movies, and Nico Parker (The Last of Us) won the Breakthrough Performance award, so expectations were higher than usual, although once again, I started watching without knowing anything about the narrative.

Suncoast tells the story of Doris (Parker), a shy teenager with complicated family issues. Her brother has brain cancer, so any day could be his last, while her mother, Kristine (Laura Linney), directs all her attention to her son, leading to a gradual distance from Doris. Filmmaker Laura Chinn takes basic coming-of-age formulas and transforms them into a carefully written, mesmerizing study of numerous...

Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo went down memory lane and recalled his humble beginnings when he was waiting tables and had to travel everywhere by his budget motorbike that he would fix himself whenever it broke down.

“I couldn’t afford a car. I had a $250 1974 Honda XR250 that I could personally work on when it broke down that was the only way I could get around LA. I was living in a closet for $200. My whole nut was about $300 a month,” he said on the “SmartLess” podcast.

On the years it took him to get a foot in the door in Hollywood, he said: “It was a very slow progression. There’s really no reason that I should have tried as long as I did because that was from 18 to 28.”

Ruffalo was fired from the play that would have supposedly launched his career.

He recalled: “All I know is my...

Mark Ruffalo cemented himself in Hollywood with his role in 2000′s You Can Count on Me. However, it turns out that he wasn’t the first choice for the part.

During a recent podcast appearance, the 56-year-old Poor Things actor revealed that he was “literally begging” director Kenneth Lonergan for a chance to audition for the role.

However, at the time there was another actor that had been offered the part. Mark revealed the star that he was competing with and how he managed to get his way.

Keep reading to find out more…

While on the Smartless podcast, Mark explained that Ethan Hawke had been offered the part. However, he didn’t want to accept it.

Mark recalled the conversation with Ethan, with him saying, “I just did this other thing that’s basically the same character, so it’s good, bro – it’s not for me right now...

Mark Ruffalo’s breakout role in Kenneth Lonergan’s “You Can Count on Me” almost didn’t happen.

In a Monday interview with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett on their “Smartless” podcast, the “Poor Things” Oscar nominee recalled “literally begging” the celebrated playwright and filmmaker for the role of Terry in the 2000 feature – even though it was initially offered to Ethan Hawke.

Ruffalo had previously worked on Lonergan’s blockbuster Broadway production of “This Is Our Youth” in 1996 with costars Missy Yager and Josh Hamilton, so he had a leg to stand on when demanding an audition with Lonergan for his debut feature film.

Retelling the incident on “Smartless,” Ruffalo said that he was out to lunch in New York City with Lonergan when they ran into Ethan Hawke, who was apparently in the running for the lead role in “You Can Count on Me.” Ruffalo said it...

The 2010 San Diego Comic-Con was not the biggest gathering in the event's history, but in terms of its importance as a movie marketing event, this was the freakin' year. The gargantuan, hangar-sized Hall H, christened in 2004 as the home for star-studded studio panels, was packed on both peak days as major stars and filmmakers shilled the next two years' most anticipated genre titles. Friday was all about "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which, with all its major stars present, turned into a shriek-filled presentation as deafening as The Beatles' 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

And then there was Saturday.

Warner Bros. kicked off the Hall H festivities with a buzzy panel that could've matched the "Twilight" delirium had the main Harry Potter trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint showed up for the "Deathly Hallows: Part I" preview. The day threatened to descend into chaos when a...

December 2003. Twenty years ago. It was a special time for moviegoers. That’s because it was the first holiday season in which “Love Actually” could actually be part of one’s Christmas time festivities. (Richard Curtis‘ ensemble romantic comedy was still playing to healthy crowds in cinemas.)

While the film would not figure into that year’s Academy Awards race, the cast did feature a handful of past Oscar contenders — and a few winners. Sho which “Love Actually” cast member will be next to earn an Oscar nomination?

The most noticeable of those winners was Emma Thompson, 1992’s Best Actress for “Howards End.” She tried (unsuccessfully) for acting awards three more times, including for 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility.” For penning that script, she accepted the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for superbly adapting the classic novel by Jane Austen.

The other “Love Actually” cast member with an Oscar in their possession was Billy Bob Thornton,...

On a recent episode of "Hot Ones," actor Mark Rufflao was invited on to discuss his career while chocking down incredibly spicy hot wings. Sean Evans, the show's host, read a film synopsis to Ruffalo and asked if he could identify the title. Evans read a synopsis for a 1994 film called "Mirror Mirror II: Raven Dance," a straight-to-video horror film put out by the beloved B-movie studio Image Entertainment. Ruffalo, of course, could indeed identify the movie. "That's 'Mirror Mirror,'" he said. "That was probably my first movie." Indeed it was. 

Ruffalo pointed out that there was "Mirror, Mirror" and then there was "Mirror Mirror II: Raven Dance," which had a "Penthouse pornstar" as the lead actress and Billy Drago as the male lead. He noted that he played "the series actor sidekick." He joked that he had established a brand with the "Mirror Mirror" movies, sarcastically imitating...

All the Light We Cannot See is a drama series created by Steven Knight, directed by Shawn Levy, and based on the novel by Anthony Doerr.

Prepare your hearts to beat to the rhythm of one of the most sentimental series you can watch on television. “All the Light We Cannot See” is a spectacular production set in the final days of World War II during the German occupation of Paris, in which a blind girl broadcasts a radio program and helps the French resistance win the war. Meanwhile, the Germans search for her, some driven by sentiment and others for different reasons.

The series showcases stunning imagery, such as the breathtaking aerial shots, and boasts solid execution and writing.

However, be warned if you’re not a fan of sentimental stories, because this series delves deeply into the realm of emotions.

All the Light We Cannot See Synopsis

Marie-Laure,...

Mark Ruffalo is an actor that has made a name for himself in Hollywood with his diverse roles on both stage and screen.

He has starred in blockbuster films such as The Avengers and Zodiac, and in critically-acclaimed indies like The Kids Are All Right and Foxcatcher. He has won multiple awards, including a Tony Award for his performance in the play A View from the Bridge.

In this article, we’ll take a look at Mark Ruffalo’s journey from stage to screen success. We’ll discuss his training, his early roles on stage and television, and how he became one of today’s most sought-after actors. We’ll also explore how he has used his success to further environmental causes that are close to his heart.

Mark Ruffalo’s Humble Beginnings Mark Ruffalo. Depostiphotos

You may know Mark Ruffalo as the actor whose portrayal of the Incredible Hulk...

Josh Lucas plays a younger version of Yellowstone's John Dutton on the hit Paramount series, but here's a guide to his many other film and television credits. Lucas is the son of an ER doctor and a midwife. Instead of following his parents into medicine, the young Lucas decided to become an actor. Amid rumors of Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone, there's been heavy speculation regarding the future of Lucas' role as the young version of Costner's character.

Indeed, though Lucas has had a long career prior to the Taylor Sheridan flagship show, he is mostly known today as the actor who plays young John Dutton. Apart from his resemblance to the Hollywood legend, Josh Lucas' performance in Yellowstone cements him as the only other actor who can actually do justice to playing the iconic rancher. While it remains unclear whether Costner is leaving Yellowstone or not, no such rumors have hounded Lucas,...

Image Source: Getty / Jamie McCarthy

Kieran Culkin is opening up about growing up with his massive and famous family in New York City. Kieran, who stars as Roman Roy on "Succession," is one of seven kids shared by Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup. The pair never married, though their split in the 1990s and ensuing custody battle became tabloid fodder because Kieran's brother Macaulay had become very famous after starring in 1990's "Home Alone" franchise. Kieran revealed in an interview with Esquire published March 27 that his dad - an actor himself - had all seven try to be actors, though only Macaulay (who his siblings call Mack), Kieran, and Rory pursued it seriously.

The family grew up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, and Kieran says that even though he was just a kid himself, he felt bad for the way fame affected Macaulay's life. "Poor f*cking guy," he told Esquire of his brother.

New York-based investment firm Mep Capital, which previously acquired the library of Lotus Entertainment, is launching West Side Pictures, a new independent rights management banner.

Along with Lotus Entertainment, Mep also recently acquired the distribution rights to over 500 films and TV shows previously owned by Kew Media, including “Line of Duty,” “Thank You For Smoking” and “Jack Taylor” and “Rules of Engagement.”

Now boasting a library comprising more than 800 movies, TV series and documentaries, Mep Capital has signed deals with Magnolia and Abacus Media Rights to handle the distribution of these titles in the U.S. and internationally, across streamers and TV channels.

West Side Pictures will also own and manage ongoing debt and equity participations positions in the late Roger Michell’s “Blackbird” and The Jim Henson Company’s “Portable Door,” among a dozen of productions funded by Mep Capital.

Prior acquisitions consolidated in West Side Pictures include the...

Even after two Critics Choice, two Golden Globe, three Emmy and three individual Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, Laura Linney‘s ledger remains empty when it comes to hardware for her turn as Wendy Byrde on “Ozark.” The actor is long overdue for recognition of her work on the Netflix series and only has one more chance to attain it: at the 29th SAG Awards, where she is up for Best TV Drama Actress for its fourth and final installment.

Also shortlisted alongside her “Ozark” cast members this year, Linney now has 11 career SAG Awards nominations under her belt. She landed her first three on the film side, earning solo recognition for her performances in “You Can Count on Me” (2000) and “Kinsey” (2004), as well as an ensemble bid for “Mystic River” (2003). The actor lost all three races, but won on the TV side for the limited series “John Adams” in...

If you love “Junebug,” the 2005 indie that launched Amy Adams’ career, then you probably felt at the time as film critic Jan Stuart did. He’s quoted on the poster as saying, “It is only a matter of time before [director] Phil Morrison achieves the status of Jim Jarmusch, Gus Van Sant, and Woody Allen.” Well, that prediction never really came to pass. Morrison made one more feature, then turned his attention to commercials. Meanwhile, the film’s screenwriter, Angus MacLachlan, has slowly but surely emerged as an auteur of authentic stories representing the American South.

MacLachlan’s third film as director (and the first to be selected for Sundance featuring him in that role), “A Little Prayer” shares much of the sensibility — and sensitivity — that made “Junebug” so special. Once again, he’s written a modestly scaled but deep-reaching relationship drama about a white middle-class North Carolina family that believes in God,...

Ethan Hawke has taken on the helm for the feature that will focus on the life of Flannery O’Connor, ‘Wildcat.’

Maya Hawke will star as the Southern writer. Other cast members include Oscar-nominee Laura Linney (“You Can Count on Me”), Philip Ettinger (“First Reformed”), Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”), Steve Zahn (“White Lotus”), Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”), Willa Fitzgerald (“Reacher”), Alessandro Nivola (“The Many Saints of Newark”) and Vincent D’Onofrio (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”).

The story will follow O’Connor as she struggles to publish her first novel. A devout Catholic from Georgia, O’Connor was invited to the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Famous for her offbeat short fiction about the American South and her faith, she was plagued by lupus for much of her life and died at 39.

Also in news – Jack O’Connell to play Amy Winehouse’s husband in biopic ‘Back to Black’

Ethan Hawke produces and also co-wrote the script with Shelby Gaines.

Ethan Hawke has started production on “Wildcat,” a look at the life of Flannery O’Connor that stars Maya Hawke as the Southern writer. He’s assembled an ensemble of heavy hitters that also includes Oscar-nominee Laura Linney (“You Can Count on Me”), Philip Ettinger (“First Reformed”), Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”), Steve Zahn (“White Lotus”), Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”), Willa Fitzgerald (“Reacher”), Alessandro Nivola (“The Many Saints of Newark”) and Vincent D’Onofrio (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”).

In addition to directing the film, Ethan Hawke produces and also co-wrote the script with Shelby Gaines. “Wildcat” is produced by Joe Goodman of Good Country Pictures, Ryan Hawke and Ethan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions, Cory Pyke of Renovo Media Group and Kevin Downes and Jon Erwin and Daryl Lefever of Kingdom Story Company. Executive producers include Eric Groth and David Kingland of Renovo Media Group alongside Maya Hawke through Under the Influence Productions.

With the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in full swing, and our own Chris Bumbray covering the event, we wanted to know what film is your favorite of Sundance’s top prize: The Grand Jury Prize- Dramatic. From the very first winner (Old Enough) in 1984 to the most recent winner (Nanny) in 2022, let us know your favorite. If you’ve been to Sundance, please share your experience(s) in the comments section.

Favorite Sundance Grand Jury Prize WinnerNanny (2022)Coda (2021)Minari (2020)Clemency (2019)The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)The Birth of a Nation (2016)Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)Whiplash (2014)Fruitvale Station (2013)Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)Like Crazy (2011)Winter's Bone (2010)Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009)Frozen River (2008)Padre Nuestro (2007)Quinceañera (2006)Forty Shades of Blue (2005)Primer (2004)American Splendor (2003)Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002)The Believer (2001)Girlfight (2000)You Can Count on Me (2000)Three...

Laura Chinn has written for projects like "The Mick," "Children's Hospital," and "Florida Girls," which she created and starred in. She's also acted in projects like "Happy Endings," and "Warrior." If that wasn't enough, Chinn had a script selected for 2020's The Black List, a grouping of all the unproduced scripts of note from that year. That script is set to become the upcoming drama film "Suncoast," which will serve as Chinn's directorial debut, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Production for the new film will begin in September through Searchlight Pictures, with a number of big-name actors signing on for roles, including Woody Harrelson and Laura Linney. Laura Chinn recently published her memoir entitled "Acne" through Hachette Books, which scored a review blurb from Tina Fey ("30 Rock") on the cover.

Here is everything we know so far about the film "Suncoast."

What We Think Suncoast Will Be About

The script for "Suncoast" is,...

Click here to read the full article.

Academy Award nominees Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson and rising actress Nico Parker, who appeared in the live-action remake of Dumbo, are set to star in Suncoast, a drama written and set to be directed by Laura Chinn, in what will be her directorial debut.

Searchlight has boarded the project, which made the 2020 Black List, with production scheduled to begin in September.

Jeremy Plager, Francesca Silvestri, Kevin Chinoy and Oly Obst are producing the feature.

Suncoast is inspired by Chinn’s own life experience from the early 2000s and follows a teenager (Parker) living with her strong-willed mother (Linney), who must take her brother to live at a specialized facility. There, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist (Harrelson) amid protests surrounding controversial medical cases.

The project will be overseen by Searchlight senior vp production Taylor Friedman and manager of creative affairs Daniel Yu,...

Exclusive: More major casting is emerging for the upcoming sixth season of Black Mirror, with Under the Banner of Heaven and Signs star Rory Culkin the latest to sign up.

Details are scarce on Culkin’s role and Netflix isn’t commenting but Deadline understands the deal was struck recently for the actor to appear in an episode of Netflix’s critically-acclaimed Charlie Brooker-penned anthology.

Having entered production recently, the latest Black Mirror is the first from Brooker’s new Netflix-backed outfit Broke & Bones, which he runs with Black Mirror exec Annabel Jones.

Culkin was most recently seen in FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven as Samuel Lafferty, starring opposite Andrew Garfield in the Dustin Lance Black show. Past TV credits include Paramount’s Waco and Netflix’s Halston.

On the film side, Culkin appeared in Jonas Akerlund’s 2018 heavy metal thriller Lords of Chaos. He broke through...

My parents were born and raised in Kolkata, India, and experienced the golden age of Bengali cinema. They could see themselves in characters onscreen solving mysteries like Soumitra Chatterjee in “Feluda,” courting like legendary stars Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and living everyday village life as seen through the poignant lens of Satyajit Ray.

As a first generation Bengali-American girl, I grew up with two different cultures in a suburban, Irish-Catholic neighborhood. I went to Catholic school for six years, but I also went to Hindu temple camp and spent most of my summer vacations in Kolkata. I speak fluent Bengali and slayed my AP English exam. I danced Bharatnatyam for over 10 years while taking ballet and hip-hop.

I watched a handful of Bollywood films growing up, but I didn’t speak or understand Hindi and couldn’t really connect to the stories. Something clicked when I saw “Bend It Like Beckham,...

Now that all of the guilds and precursors have announced their winners, we know what’s winning at the Academy Awards this upcoming Sunday, March 27 … right? Not so fast. Below, I dissect two categories that are giving me a massive headache ahead of the 2022 Oscars ceremony: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay.

Best Adapted Screenplay

After taking home both the Writers Guild of America and BAFTA Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, “Coda” writer-director Siân Heder now seems like a safe bet for the Oscar. The last film to lose this Oscar race after winning both those prizes was “Up in the Air” (2009), which was bested by “Precious” — a film that hadn’t won a single major screenplay award in the lead-up to the Oscars but presumably benefited from the former film’s behind-the-scenes drama. While it’s true that “Coda” faced only one of its Oscar rivals at WGA,...

In the two dozen years since Paul Thomas Anderson first became an Oscar nominee, he has received seven more bids across four categories, the two most recent of which came in 2018 for “Phantom Thread” (Best Picture; Best Director). He has also directed nine nominated performances that span three of the four acting categories; to date, no Anderson film has ever figured in a Best Actress lineup. But now, Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”) could make history as the first to do so.

Haim, whose performance in “Licorice Pizza” marks her film debut, ranks ninth in our Best Actress odds but that should change based on her surprise BAFTA bid. Those running ahead of her are four women snubbed by the BAFTAs — Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”), Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) — plus Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”), Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers...

1. “Ozark” Season 4, Part 1 (available January 21)

Why Should I Watch? The beginning of the end starts with a premiere episode titled… “The Beginning of the End.” Jason Bateman’s breakthrough dramatic turn — as Marty Byrde, an accountant-turned-money-launderer who flees to the middle of Missouri with his family to make big profits for his cartel lord clients — will come to a close in 2022 via a supersized final season. Part 1 premieres January 21 with eight episodes, before the last eight entries debut at a later date. By now, you know if you’re onboard with the dark crime saga, and if you don’t, knowing the end is right around the corner should be reason enough to get going. Just take your time. Unlike the Byrdes, who were last seen in the bloody embrace of their unpredictable boss, you’ve got a bit of breathing room.

Bonus Reason: Laura Linney. Everyone who’s seen...

Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz’s gorgeous new melodrama joins classics that range from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? to You Can Count on Me

There are few more irritatingly prevalent errors in modern screenwriting than on-screen siblings who refer directly to each other as such: “You said it, sis.” “I’m here for you, bro.” Even the best actors can’t sell these terms of address that almost no human being actually uses: any great film about a sibling relationship should be so closely observed that you don’t need any dialogue cues to trace the family tree.

One such film is Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz’s gorgeous melodrama The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, now streaming on Curzon Home Cinema. Adapted from a popular novel by Martha Batalha, it’s a story of sisterly love enduring across decades of misfortune and forced separation. Close as children, good girl Eurídice...

For the first time in Oscar history, four women are running for governor of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Variety has learned.

Lesley Barber, Sharon Farber, Heather McIntosh and Taura Stinson are vying for the seat that will shortly be vacated by composer Michael Giacchino, who has been an Academy governor since 2015.

Laura Karpman became the first woman to serve as a music-branch governor in 2016, and she continues in that role. Charles Bernstein, who has served several terms as a music-branch governor, also continues to serve.

Canadian composer Barber is best known for her music for “Manchester by the Sea,” “Mansfield Park,” “You Can Count on Me” and “Late Night.” She recently collaborated with Mindy Kaling on the TV adaptation of “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”

Israeli-born Farber divides her time between concert music and film. A four-time Emmy nominee, she has scored both...

In preparation for Thursday's Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.

by Cláudio Alves

Mainstream cinema, such as it is, has an understandable fondness for the portrayal of interpersonal relationships. That's what happens when narrative cinema dominates and character-based drama is the rule. Nevertheless, it's interesting to note how some bonds are more privileged than others in storytelling. Romantic love is common. Friendship has its own subgenres. Parents and children are at the center of many tales. Enemies, rivals, hateful adversaries have their place too. But sibling relationships, though very common in life, are very rarely at the forefront of any given motion picture. Consequentially, when such a film appears, there's an added value to its existence. At least, that's how I feel.

Kenneth Lonergan's debut feature, You Can Count On Me, is probably one of the best examples of this rare fraternal cinema…...

After the 2010s closed without a female writing Oscar winner in either category, the 2020s will not suffer the same fate. Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for “Promising Young Woman” on Sunday, ending a 13-year drought for female screenwriters at the Oscars.

The last woman to win a writing Oscar, solo or as a co-writer was Diablo Clody, who nabbed Best Original Screenplay for 2007’s “Juno.” The drought is longer in Best Adapted Screenplay, with Diana Ossana, co-writer of 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain” with Larry McMurtry, the most recent one.

Counting the now-defunct Best Story and Best Writing categories, Fennell’s victory marks the 13th time a woman has won original screenplay. The four winners prior to her were also solo writers: Cody, Sofia Coppola (2003’s “Lost in Translation”), Jane Campion (1993’s “The Piano”) and Callie Khouri (1991’s “Thelma & Louise”).

See Full list of Oscar winners

Fennell was the...

The 2010s earned the dubious distinction of being the first decade since the 1960s without a female writing Oscar winner after Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”) and “1917” co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns lost their respective categories last year. But a new decade means a new start and some new history to be made. Emerald Fennell, fresh off her Writers Guild of America Award on Sunday for Best Original Screenplay for “Promising Young Woman,” and “Nomadland’s” Chloé Zhao, are the favorites to win both writing Oscars. That would make it the first time in 13 years a woman screenwriter has prevailed and the first time that solo female screenwriters swept both categories in the same year.

Diablo Cody was the last woman, solo or as a co-writer, to win either category, taking Best Original Screenplay for 2007’s “Juno.” In adapted, the dry spell is longer as Diana Ossana, who co-wrote “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) with Larry McMurtry,...

Three seasons in, Laura Linney still hasn’t bagged a single piece of awards hardware for playing Wendy Byrde on “Ozark.” But the tide might finally turn at this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the actress racked up two nominations: one as a member of the Netflix series’s ensemble cast and one individually in the TV drama actress race. These are the eighth and ninth overall bids for the actress, who looks to scare up her second career victory.

Linney is up against four fellow Netflix actresses: her “Ozark” co-star Julia Garner and three women from “The Crown,” Gillian Anderson, Olivia Colman and Emma Corrin. Of her category counterparts, only Anderson has won individually, having nabbed consecutive prizes for “The X-Files” in this race in 1997 and 1998. Colman has one victory under her belt as well as a part of “The Crown’s” ensemble, which won just last year.

Overlooked for “Ozark’s” first two seasons, Laura Linney has finally scared up her maiden Golden Globe bid for her fiery turn as the cunning Wendy Byrde on the gritty Netflix crime drama. This marks the lucky seventh nomination overall for the actress, who now looks to rake in her third career victory.

In the Best TV Drama Actress category, she faces off against Olivia Colman (“The Crown”), Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), Emma Corrin (“The Crown”) and Sarah Paulson (“Ratched”). Of this group, two-time nominee Comer and rookie contender Corrin are the only two who aren’t previous winners. The defending champ in this category for “The Crown,” Colman netted two additional victories for the miniseries “The Night Manager” in 2017 and feature film “The Favourite” in 2019, while Paulson triumphed for the anthology series “American Crime Story’s” first installment, “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” in 2017.

SEETom Pelphrey: Where the...

Laura Linney is all but certain to earn her lucky seventh Golden Globe nomination this year. Surprisingly, it would be her first for “Ozark,” in which she has played the cunning Wendy Byrde for three seasons. While she did not end up winning the Emmy last September, the actress just picked up a Critics’ Choice Award nomination — her first for “Ozark” from that group — and she could be on the path to earning her third career Golden Globe.

Linney is beloved by the Golden Globes. She was first nominated on the film side for “You Can Count on Me” in 2001, followed by “Kinsey” in 2005 and “The Squid and the Whale” in 2006. She lost those three races but won on the TV side for the limited series “John Adams” in 2009 and the comedy series “The Big C” in 2011. Linney has not been cited by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association since reaping...

This will be the last year for the IFP Gotham Awards, as the organization behind the event — Independent Film Project — is formally changing its name to the Gotham Film and Media Institute, or the Gotham for short.

The rebrand, which coincides with the award show’s 30th anniversary, is intended to reflect the organization’s expanded focus and New York base. Going forward, the ceremony will lose its vestigial initials and simply be referred to as the Gotham Awards, as it has been known colloquially for years.

“We chose to change our name to the Gotham, or the Gotham Film and Media Institute, in recognition of the digital era and the best-known event that we produce every year, the Gotham Awards,” says Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the organization. He will formally unveil the retooled moniker at the Jan. 11 Gotham Awards ceremony, which will be streamed from Cipriani Wall Street...