The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced shortlists across 12 categories, unveiling a competitive field led by Warner Bros.’ “Sinners” and Universal’s “Wicked: For Good,” which each landed eight mentions.

Members from various Academy branches participated in preliminary voting across multiple categories, including animated short film, documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, live action short, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, sound, and visual effects. This year also marks the debut of two new shortlist categories: achievement in casting and best cinematography.

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” emerged as one of the day’s biggest success stories, earning recognition in seven categories: casting, cinematography, makeup and hairstyling, sound, visual effects, and a double showing in original song.

“Wicked: For Good” matched that momentum with shortlist placements in casting, cinematography, makeup and hairstyling, original score, sound, visual effects, and two original songs by Stephen Schwartz. The cinematography mention...

Bangkok-based Benetone Films and Fearfolks are ramping up their 2026 slate with K-horror title “Perfect Girl,” serving as executive producer and production company and Thai distributor, respectively, on the K-pop-themed thriller.

The film features an ensemble of international Asian talent bridging music and film, including Arden Cho and May Hong from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.” The cast also includes K-pop artists Jeon Somi, Nancy from Momoland, Siyoon from Billlie and Chaerin from Cherry Bullet, alongside Thai singer-actor Ally (“The Believers”), Adeline Rudolph and John Kim. Veterans Peter Lee Jae Yoon (“12:12 the Day”) and Samantha Cochran round out the lineup.

Described as “‘Scream’ meets ‘Black Swan,'” the film follows a K-pop super group preparing for their debut. With only four spots available and the final cut a week away, the arrival of a mysterious new member triggers a series of deadly attacks.

The 2023 Blacklist script by Lynn Q. Yu is directed by Hong Won-ki,...

“Disclosure Day” approaches.

The new Steven Spielberg film, still shrouded in mystery, has a brand-new trailer. You can watch the clip, which features Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo, below.

The official synopsis reads: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.”

It seems like Blunt’s character may be an alien and maybe the little girl, seen communing with animals, is also not of this planet. Quite frankly, even after the trailer, it’s not totally clear what...

Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film One Battle After Another will arrive on HBO Max beginning December 19th. An American Sign Language (Asl) version of the film will also be available on the platform that same day.

The movie, which we named as one of the Best Films of 2025, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. The story follows DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary who must confront his evil nemesis (Penn) and battle the consequences of his past when his daughter goes missing after 16 years off the grid. Frequent PTA collaborator Jonny Greenwood helmed the score.

Sign up for HBO Max to...

Jacobi Jupe is set to join Scarlett Johansson in the next installment of the iconic horror franchise, The Exorcist, from writer-director Mike Flanagan.

The film will tell an all-new story set in The Exorcist universe and is not a sequel to The Exorcist: Believer. It is produced by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, Morgan Creek Entertainment and Flanagan — who also will write and direct — via his Red Room Pictures banner. Alexandra Magistro also will executive produce for Red Room Pictures. David Robinson produces for Morgan Creek Entertainment. Jason Blum and Ryan Turek serve as the respective producer and executive producer for Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. The film is set to shoot in New York next year.

Jupe is coming off his breakthrough role as the titular character in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet alongside Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, which premiered at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival. Jupe was nominated for the London Film Critics Circle in...

Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, creators of the cult comedy series “Strangers With Candy” alongside Stephen Colbert, are gearing up for a new take on The Wasp Woman.

Dinello is set to write and direct the comedic reimagining of Roger Corman‘s 1959 cult film, with Sedaris starring in the title role.

The official logline reads, “The new film will follow the original plot of ‘The Wasp Woman,’ focusing on Janice Starlin, the founder of a cosmetics company who attempts to reverse the aging process using experimental enzymes derived from queen wasps, with disastrous results.”

“I saw the film, and the sets were so tight, and it’s so claustrophobic, and...

It’s a “Fleabag” reunion.

Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman are set to star in “Elsinore,” based on the life of Scottish stage and screen star Ian Charleson. BAFTA nominee Simon Stone (“The Dig”) will direct from a script by Golden Globe nominee Stephen Beresford (“Pride”).

The film — from StudioCanal, Ld Entertainment, Lucky Red and Magnolia Mae Films — is described as a “deeply moving and inspiring true story” of the actor Ian Charleson, who faced incredible odds while preparing to give the “performance of his life” in “Hamlet” at the National Theatre in London.

Andrea Occhipinti of Lucky Red produces with Gabrielle Tana of Magnolia Mae Films, along with Pete Shilaimon and Mickey Liddell of Ld Entertainment, and Stefano Massenzi and Carolyn Marks Blackwood. Scott is also a producer, while Beresford is an executive producer along with Ethan Silverman who originated the project.

Studiocanal is financing the film with Ld pre-buying North America.

Canal+ Group’s StudioCanal brought the buzz and some news updates to a big content preview event in Paris on Tuesday evening. The latest on a Josephine Baker biopic, a new Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo collaboration and a panel for next year’s Les Misérables movie were among the talking points for fans and attendees.

During the Canal+ 2026 content lineup event in Paris, the studio revealed that Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman will star in Elsinore, a film about Ian Charleson, the Scottish star of Chariots of Fire, whose final role was Hamlet in a celebrated London theater production.

It also brought the latest on a project that the studio has been known to be developing, a feature film biopic about Josephine Baker, the legendary American-born French singer and dancer, written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré (Cuties).

The project, which is understood to have the support of the icon’s children,...

Exclusive: Universal, we understand, is pulling the Blumhouse and Atomic Monster sci-fi thriller Soulm8te from its Jan. 9 release calendar next year.

We hear that the studio is shopping the Kate Dolan directed movie, which was originally billed as being connected to the M3GAN universe. While that first 2022 PG-13 killer doll movie was a sensation with an $180M global gross and near $80M profit, M3GAN 2.0 didn’t have the juice this summer with a bigger budget than the first film ($25M net vs. $12M) and significantly less ticket sales ($39M WW). No word on where Soulm8te will land.

Paramount’s Walter Hamada 18Mhz genre title Primate moved onto Soulm8te‘s release date, hence, it was bound to move at some point. Two major studios wouldn’t pit two horror films against each other on the same weekend.

In Soulm8te, a man acquires an Artificially Intelligent android to cope with the...

Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” made a notable splash on Netflix as it debuted as the streamer’s most-watched movie of the week.

After a limited theatrical release, “Wake Up Dead Man” debuted on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 12, and proceeded to log 20.2 million views in its first three days on the streamer, becoming the top English-language movie for the week of Dec. 8.

“Wake Up Dead Man” booted Netflix holiday romcom “My Secret Santa” out of the top spot on the most-watched movies list, with the Alexandra Breckenridge-led movie coming in second place on the list with 16.2 million views in its second week on the streamer.

Lakeith Stanfield is set to play NBA legend Dennis Rodman in Lionsgate’s “48 Hours in Vegas,” taking over the role after Jonathan Majors was dropped from the film following his 2023 assault conviction.

The upcoming comedy is “inspired by the untold story of Dennis Rodman’s legendary trip to Las Vegas during the 1998 NBA Finals — just as the Rodman’s Chicago Bulls are on the verge of completing their second consecutive threepeat championship in eight years,” according to a release.

Rick Famuyiwa will direct “48 Hours in Vegas” and write the next draft of the screenplay, following an earlier draft by Jordan VanDina.

The film will be produced by Lord Miller’s Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Aditya Sood. Executive producers include Ari Lubet, Rodman and Lucy Kitada, with Nikki Baida serving as co-producer. Meredith Wieck and Pavan Kalidindi will oversee the project for Lionsgate, while Robert Melnik negotiated the deals on behalf of the studio.

This article contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of "It: Welcome to Derry."

The final scene in "It: Welcome to Derry" season 1 featured "It: Chapter Two" actress Joan Gregson reprising the role of an elderly Ingrid Kersh. Gregson gave a brief but deeply unsettling performance to wrap up the show's debut season in what was, sadly, her final role. The actor passed away in June of 2025 at the age of 92.

The "It: Welcome to Derry" finale was the show at its best and its worst, presenting a thrilling conclusion to season 1 that also felt a little less grounded and therefore less effective than the gut-punch of an installment that was...

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Jason Momoa is one of the biggest A-list actors working right now. From his breakout role as Khal Drogo on "Game of Thrones" to his turn as the DC superhero Aquaman, he's had one heck of a career. While he's primarily known as an actor, Momoa has tried his hand at directing in the past. And for those who are curious, his feature directorial debut, "Road to Paloma," is streaming for free currently.

Co-written, directed by, produced by, and starring Momoa, "Road to Paloma" is currently available to stream for free on Tubi. While Netflix may be getting more and more expensive,...

You might know Brad Wright as the co-creator of the iconic "Stargate Sg-1," which ran for 10 seasons on the SyFy channel. Turns out, "Sg-1" was so widely loved that it warranted several offshoot stories, including "Stargate Atlantis" and "Stargate Universe." Wright was also involved in the creation of these later entries, which essentially shaped the ethos of "Stargate" and its ever-evolving lore. There's a level of tonal variety here, as "Stargate Universe" deliberately moved away from the cautious optimism of its predecessors and embraced a more bleak worldview. But Wright created a completely different kind of sci-fi series in 2016 — his "Travelers" helms a rather straightforward story, but doubles down on...

This article contains spoilers for "It: Welcome to Derry."

"It: Welcome to Derry" gave fans a surprise with a finale cameo that occurred during a prologue sequence set 26 years after the events of season 1. It showed an elderly Ingrid Kersh (Joan Gregson) walking into a room at Juniper Hill Asylum to find Beverly Marsh, played by a returning Sophia Lillis, distraught to have found her mother's lifeless body. Lillis previously portrayed Bev in 2017's "It" and the 2019 follow-up, "It: Chapter Two," and it turns out her addition to the last episode of "Welcome to Derry" was fairly hasty.

Regardless of how you feel about certain choices the writers made, "It: Welcome to Derry...

Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos made a surprise appearance at a Canal+ 2026 slate showcase in Paris on Tuesday, telling an industry and celebrity audience that the company was committed to theatrical distribution of Warner Bros film in France once its $82.7bn bid goes through.

“Our intentions when we buy Warner Brothers will be to continue to release Warner Brothers studio movies in theatres with the traditional windows,” Sarandos told Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada in an on-stage interview at L’Olympia. “Then those movies would flow through the Canal+ output deal.”

The Netflix executive continued: “I know it’s very important to...

He's the creator of the "Game of Thrones" universe, so it's unsurprising to learn that George R.R. Martin's favorite Disney movie is also a dark fantasy about dragons. Writing for The Daily Beast, Martin listed the House of Mouse's "Dragonslayer" in his personal top 10 cinematic genre offerings, highlighting a fondness for its creepiness and creature effects. In fact, Martin even implied that the villainous fire-breathing monster in the Matthew Robbins-directed flick is better than the chicken-inspired dragons on "Game of Thrones." In his own words:

"Vermithrax Perjorative is the best dragon ever put on film (the dragons in 'Reign of Fire' are a close second...

While hopes are still high among fans of James Cameron's "Avatar" films for the upcoming third film in the series, "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the critical reception hasn't been as warm as some might have wished. The third "Avatar" film has set a disappointing record by having the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score out of the series thus far, with only 70% of reviews counted as "fresh" (at the time of this publishing). That means that seven out of ten critics gave it a positive review, which isn't too terrible, but it's still lower than "Avatar: The Way of Water" at 76% or the first film at 80%. While that tiny drop doesn't...

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s murders on Sunday were shocking for many reasons – their sheer brutality, the sad fact that it involved one of Hollywood’s gentlest souls, and that the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, is allegedly the killer. I had seen a brief glimpse into their father-son dynamic when I interviewed Rob and Nick when they were at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival with “Being Charlie,” a drama based on Nick’s struggle to get sober.

We talked for maybe 45 minutes, and the resulting piece was all-too brief, but I’ve been turning that interview, as well as the three or four others I conducted with Rob in my career, over in my head since the news broke. It’s impossible to comprehend what would make someone murder anyone, let alone their parents. But in sorting through these stray encounters, I’ve been reflecting on how human...

Robert Picardo's character in the "Star Trek" franchise can be a tiny bit confusing for new viewers, because he's an Emergency Medical Hologram, a holographic program with a full personality who seems to be completely sentient. On the series "Star Trek: Voyager," the Emh that was meant to only be for emergencies became the ship's primary doctor, which meant that the holographic entity became a very real character to audiences. And much like James Darren's holographic Vic Fontaine on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the Emh who became known as the Doctor had feelings and dreams, even if his form kept some of them from coming true. Now,...

The “M3GAN” Cinematic Universe might not be expanding after all.

“Soulm8te,” a sci-fi spinoff about man who buys an android to cope with the death of his wife, has been removed from Universal’s release calendar. The film, which was set for Jan. 9, will be shopped around town to other Hollywood studios.

“Soulm8te,” an erotic thriller with a technological twist, was a companion piece, of sorts, to “M3GAN,” a dark horror comedy about a murderous artificial intelligence doll with the government name of Model 3 Generative Android. “M3GAN” became a sleeper hit with $181 million at the global box office. However this year’s sequel “M3GAN 2.0” misfired with just $39 million by the end of its theatrical run. Though not catastrophic given the $25 million production budget, those ticket sales represent a fatal decline in interest from the original — and certainly not enough enthusiasm to spawn spinoff stories.

Kate Dolan wrote and directed “Soulm8te,...

2000's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a go-to festive film for so many, and star Jim Carrey is a big part of its continuing appeal. If Dr. Seuss' widow had her way, however, the comedy legend never would have donned the green makeup in the first place. Instead, we would have seen a similarly singular but perhaps not as well-suited actor in the role: Jack Nicholson.

Everyone has a favorite Jim Carrey movie, though it's actually pretty hard to pick a winner among his 1990s offerings. The man went on an absolute stunner of a run during that decade, announcing himself to mass audiences in 1994 with the one-two punch...

Tuesday’s Oscar shortlists revealed two new categories this year, for a total of 12. This is the first year for the Casting category overall. Meanwhile, the Academy’s Cinematographers branch asked to be included in the shortlist, because they want to participate in the bakeoffs in January, when voters get to see the contenders showcase and explain their wares. (Watch the Costume and Production Designers follow suit soon enough.) Final nominees will be revealed on January 22, ahead of the Oscar show on March 15.

The other categories are Documentary Feature, International Feature, Original Score, Original Song, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects, as well as the Documentary, Live Action, and Animated Short films. IndieWire’s Oscar predictions are here.

Parsing the shortlist entries yields a sense of where the Oscar voting is leaning. Of the 10 Casting slots, for example, the six usual suspects for Best Picture are included. All of these...

Nick Reiner will be charged later on Tuesday afternoon with two counts of first-degree murder for the death of his parents Rob and Michele Reiner.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. Announcing the charges to reporters on Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said no decision has been made yet on the death penalty.

Reiner, 32, was arrested on Sunday evening and is currently being held without bail at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. He will require medical clearance before he can be taken...

Rob Reiner was many things — an accomplished comic actor before applying his talents to directing, and for decades an outspoken advocate for his beliefs. Above all, he was one of Hollywood’s great humanists.

Think about the very best of his oeuvre — an astonishing run that included multiple films that Reiner lived to see enter the pantheon. All of them get their electric charge from a precise, focused attention on human behavior. A Reiner character may be deluded (as in “This Is Spinal Tap”) or neurotic (“When Harry Met Sally …”) or outright deranged (“Misery”). But their personality will, every time, reveal itself to the viewer in a way that feels like meeting someone out there in the world beyond the cinema.

The gruesome circumstances of the deaths of Reiner and his wife, Michele, are vivid in the news right now. But as time passes, Reiner will, one hopes, be remembered...

Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners investment firm is no longer part of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Variety has confirmed.

Affinity Partners said in a statement to Bloomberg, which first reported the news: “With two ​strong competitors ​vying to secure ​the future ​of this ​unique American ​asset, ​Affinity ​has ​decided no longer to pursue ​the opportunity. We ​continue to ​believe ​there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.” Variety has reached out to Affinity Partners for additional info.

Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump.

Paramount, led by chairman and CEO David Ellison, has launched a hostile takeover attempt for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery. That came after Netflix inked a deal with Wbd to buy the Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max in a deal with an enterprise value of $82.7 billion.

Paramount Skydance’s $30/share bid for Warner Bros.

Stanisław Lem's 1961 novel "Solaris" has provided the inspiration for three films. There was a little-seen Russian TV movie adaptation released in 1968 and directed by Boris Nirenburg and Lidiya Ishimbayeva. Then, in 1972, Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky made his "Solaris," a notoriously downbeat and hypnotically slow-moving movie that famously includes long takes and extended spans without any dialogue. Indeed, there's an extensive sequence in Tarkovsky's movie where a character drives down a long highway, uninterrupted, for several minutes. Finally, in 2002, Steven Soderbergh helmed his own "Solaris," this time with a $47 million budget and the participation of Hollywood darling George Clooney. But despite all that and being produced by James Cameron (who...

Nick Reiner, the son of Rob and Michele Reiner, is being charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his parents at their home in Brentwood.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without parole or the death penalty, said Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles district attorney. The charges, which will be formally filed Tuesday afternoon, including the allegation that a knife was used to commit the murders.

“Prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart wrenching cases that this office faces because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” Hochman said at a press conference.

The charges include the “special circumstance” of multiple murders, which makes it potentially eligible for the death penalty.

The D.A.’s office will make a decision at a later point about whether to pursue a death sentence.

The 32-year-old...

The Christmas special is a time-honored tradition amongst TV series. It's a great way to see how everyone's favorite dysfunctional families and friend groups respond to the stresses of the holiday season. Who knows? Maybe even Santa Claus himself will swing by. Even though "SpongeBob SquarePants" takes place under the ocean, the show has still found time to show how SpongeBob and friends get festive.

Given the fact "SpongeBob SquarePants" has hundreds of episodes, it might be surprising how few Christmas specials there are. Of course, we're only looking at specifically Christmas-themed installments, as opposed to anything that has a general winter vibe to it, so sadly, the excellent "Snowball...

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Subscribers to Amazon Prime Video have the opportunity to watch one of the biggest misfires in comic book movie history, should they so choose to do so. The streaming service is currently home to "Joker: Folie a Deux," the sequel to 2019's record-breaking, Oscar-winning "Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix. While the first movie was a huge gamble that paid off to the tune of $1 billion at the box office for DC, the sequel was nothing shy of a disaster.

Directed once again by Todd Phillips, the sequel sees Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker.

With the Warner Bros. sale threatening to end the Hollywood studio system as we know it, movie theaters have never felt more sacred. The brick-and-mortar businesses many of us treat like religious institutions could eventually shutter in record numbers if Netflix’s proposed, paradigm-shifting deal goes through. That’s a scary thought dependent on a whole lot of hypotheticals, but the theoretical doomsday is a strong reminder for moviegoers to find community that’s small and local.

If you talk to people working at the ground level of theatrical exhibition, you’ll hear something surprising: Not all the news is apocalyptic. In fact, as the macro picture gets messier, the micro scene is thriving.

“We are experiencing an upward explosion in the growth of microcinemas in the United States,” said American Genre Film Archive (Agfa) theatrical sales director Bret Berg, whose day-to-day work puts him in direct contact with traditional arthouses,...

Many may recognize Milana Vayntrub from her long-running AT&T commercials, her connection to Squirrel Girl in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring in "Werewolves Within," or her recent appearance in Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." Now, the actress and comedian is drawing attention for a very different reason — a creative fundraising effort aimed at helping victims of the 2025 California wildfires.

According to the New York Post, Vayntrub launched an unconventional initiative that involved selling spicy photos to raise money for those impacted by the fires. The project, called "Only Philanthropy," playfully nods to OnlyFans while directing all proceeds toward charitable giving. In a post shared on Instagram,...

Plans to release Rob Reiner‘s final film “Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale,” which had not yet been dated, are on currently on pause after the director’s death Sunday.

Bleecker Street acquired U.S. distribution rights to the concert performance film directed by Reiner in October. No release date had been set, but the company had initially set plans for an IMAX release in 2026. In light of Reiner’s death, plans to release the film are on hold for now until “the best path forward is decided with those closest to Rob and his family,” sources said.

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer all reprise their roles as the fictional members of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. Together, they put on a once-in-a-lifetime concert marking the first-ever rock show filmed at Stonehenge, the historic English heritage site forever linked to Spinal Tap’s iconic song of the same name.

India’s Kerala government has directed organizers of the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) to proceed with all scheduled screenings, escalating a standoff with New Delhi after the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied censor exemption clearance to 19 selected films.

The decision follows days of disruption at the state-backed international festival, which opened this year at Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram with a consciously political tone reflected in its programming choices and opening-night events, and has triggered widespread criticism from political leaders and film figures who argue the intervention cuts directly across the festival’s curatorial intent. The disruption also sparked protests from festival attendees.

Kerala culture minister Saji Cherian, a senior leader of the ruling Left Democratic Front (Ldf) coalition led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), in an Instagram post described the Center’s denial of exemptions as an unjustified...

The 1990s were a pretty great time for sci-fi, mostly because we were in a strange period in special effects technology. Some of the bigger-budget studio films like "Jurassic Park" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" were advancing CGI technology in impressive ways, while smaller-budget movies were perfecting animatronics, stop-motion animation, miniatures, and other practical visuals. There was a cool sense that, visually, everything was in the toolbox. And even the smaller, less well-known 1990s sci-fi movies were interesting to look at.

In terms of style and theme, though, 1990s sci-fi didn't have too many unifying principles. In general, one might note that many of the sci-fi films and TV shows...

This article contains spoilers for "The Night Before."

Every year, it seems like there's more and more movies trying to establish themselves as the next Christmas classic. But time is the true indicator of this, as some of the best holiday movies prove to be even more rewarding on repeat viewings. Two of them, ironically enough, came out a decade ago. The first is Michael Dougherty's "Krampus," which has more than proven its value as a wintery gateway horror movie alongside "Gremlins." The second is Jonathan Levine's "The Night Before," one of the funniest and most underrated Christmas movies of the 2010s. The film follows three best friends...

The writer of DC's ultra-violent, R-rated "Lobo" movie that never was has shed some new light on the project. The writer in question is Jason Fuchs, the showrunner of HBO's "It: Welcome to Derry," which just wrapped up its first season. Fuchs was originally hired to pen a script for a film centered on DC's cosmic bounty hunter back in 2016, but it never came to fruition. Now, Fuchs has not only revealed what the movie looked like but also why it didn't happen, as he sees it.

During his appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Fuchs was eventually asked about his "Lobo" movie script. The writer revealed that it...

Here’s a stat that might shock anyone who isn’t the parent of a Gen Alpha kid: As of October 2025, online gaming platform Roblox boasted more than 151 million global daily active users.

For perspective, that’s more than the number of people with a Disney+ subscription, more than those with an HBO Max subscription, and roughly half the number of Netflix’s global customers.

While Hollywood giants aren’t necessarily looking for Roblox users to stop spending Robux and instead use their parents’ money to start signing up for streaming subscriptions, they are taking note of these staggering numbers and recognizing the value in collaborating with Roblox and online gaming powerhouse Fortnite (currently averaging between 30 million and 40 million daily users).

To date, for example, Netflix has unleashed “Squid Game,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Stranger Things” in Roblox and Fortnite. Mattel’s Barbie is currently lounging in multiple digital iterations of dream house in Roblox.

2025 was a rich year for evocative period pieces, from the 1950s England of “Hedda” and the 18th-century England and New York of “The Testament of Ann Lee” to the 1970’s-set “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (with its Hollywood musical-inspired fantasy sequences) and the decades-spanning journey traced in “Train Dreams.” What all of these films have in common is a fidelity to historical accuracy that also finds space for poetic expression — a tricky balance that the movies’ production designers discussed at IndieWire’s craft roundtables.

“When I met up with [director] Nia [DaCosta], I thought the goal was going to be being really period accurate,” Kara Brower said of her work on “Hedda.” “She told me right off the bat that she didn’t want that at all. She wanted to make a period film that was really unique and had its own voice and didn’t look like anything else.” Nevertheless, Brower...

On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, we go back in time to December 16, 1905, to celebrate Variety’s 120th birthday. Showbiz historians David Monod and Peter Rader explain what the entertainment marketplace was like at the time Variety was born.

More to come

Vintage Variety: Here is the front page of our first issue, published in New York on December 16, 1905

From the Dec. 16, 1905 edition of Variety

Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

More from VarietyVariety at 120: Exploring Key Pop Culture Touchstones, From Vaudeville to 'Easy Rider' and The Ramones to Taylor SwiftLISTEN: Paying Tribute to Rob Reiner's Legacy on Screen and in California; 'Hamnet' Impresses on a Ho-Hum Box Office WeekendLISTEN: Sundance Lineup Mixes New Discoveries and Nostalgia; The Game Awards Blend Kudos and Ballyhoo...

Bob Feinberg has been named executive director of HamptonsFilm, the organization that puts on the annual Hamptons International Film Festival.

The veteran media executive, attorney and entrepreneur brings nearly four decades of experience across film, television, public media and education. He has served in senior leadership at New York’s flagship PBS station Wnet, and co-founded Montclair Film in 2010 (a year-round film and education nonprofit which includes the annual Montclair Film Festival).

Feinberg has worked across nonprofit media, festivals, and education, building organizations and partnerships that connect storytelling, community, and public service. In the Hamptons, he will oversee strategic planning and artistic development. Feinberg will focus on broadening the organization’s reach.

“We are delighted to welcome Bob as our new executive director,” said Alec Baldwin and Randy Mastro, Co-Chairs of HamptonsFilm. “His extensive experience in media, education, and nonprofit leadership, combined with his deep understanding of film and storytelling,...

It’s a weekday in December, which means another major awards announcement has been unveiled.

On Tuesday, December 16, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the shortlists across 12 categories for the 98th Oscars ahead of next year’s March 15 ceremony. The categories include Casting (new this year), Documentary Feature, International Feature, Original Score, Original Song, Cinematography, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects, as well as the Documentary, Live Action, and Animated Short films.

See all of IndieWire’s Oscar predictions, which we’ll be updating throughout the day, here.

Voting took place last week for participating branches specific to their categories. Shortlisted films in these categories will advance into the next round of voting (which will also broaden to all Oscar categories), which begins Monday, January 12, and closes Friday, January 16, 2026. Nominees are announced on Thursday, January 22.

“Sinners” managed eight spots on the shortlists below. “Wicked: For Good” is also present on eight lists,...

The Academy has published its 12 shortlists for the 98th awards cycle, unveiling a list that includes traditional categories like international feature film and documentary feature, as well as contenders for the inaugural casting Oscar and a first-time list for cinematography.

International feature film contenders include a first from Iraq –Hasan Hadi’s Cannes Directors’ FortnightCamera d’Or and People’s Choice Award winnerThe President’s Cake – as well asothers likeJafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident flying the flag for France, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value for Norway, Kleber Mendonca Filho’s The Secret Agent for Brazil, Kaouther Ben...

More “The Pitt” is headed our way.

Making good on a promise to get the show back on air within the year, Season 2 of HBO’s Emmy-winning medical drama “The Pitt” will premiere on January 8, 2026 — hurtling fans back into the chaotic world of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center and the internal struggles of its dedicated leader, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle).

Season 1 of the Emmy-winning series from “ER” alums John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill, nominated for two 2026 Golden Globes and three Critics Choice Awards, ended with a devastating hour that saw the fictional trauma center, known as “the Pitt,” flooded with victims of a mass shooting. After an unrelenting season, during which each episode represented one segment of a single 15-hour shift, the finale didn’t shortchange on the adrenaline.

HBO on Tuesday released the trailer for Season 2, which sees Dr. Robby preparing to go on sabbatical. The...

Have you ever enjoyed literally any romantic comedy made after 1989? Well, it exists because of "When Harry Met Sally..." and director Rob Reiner, who brought the film to life.

News broke late on December 14, 2025 ,that Reiner and his wife of 36 years, photographer Michele Singer, were found dead in their Brentwood, California home. There have been more developments about this horrific tragedy since that initial report, but that is, frankly, not what I'm here to discuss. The way that Reiner left this world feels particularly wrong because of the joy he brought into it. As an actor, Reiner was delightful in everything from "Sleepless in Seattle" to "The Wolf of Wall Street" to "New Girl.

[Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Episode 7 of “Pluribus.”]

Production designer Denise Pizzini has a picture of Vince Gilligan holding a Post-it up to the camera. On that note is a very rough plan of Carol Sturka’s (Rhea Seehorn) whole cul-de-sac with a “C” for where Carol’s house is. “Ok, so we’re doing a neighborhood?” Pizzini asked the “Pluribus” showrunner when she saw the note. When you’re working on a Vince Gilligan show, Pizzini has found, you’re always doing a neighborhood.

“Pluribus” charts the adventures of unhappy writer Carol versus the rest of humanity, now united in an unnervingly cheerful hivemind. Visually, Gilligan and his team of directors use the whole buffalo when it comes to sets and locations. The show doesn’t just want to find the right unexpected, emotional angle on an event; it wants to take an expansive view of a location to create the sense of Carol furiously problem-solving,...

Ridley Scott had a wild 2021. The legendary director came out of lockdown with not one but two movies, both of which were big-budget historical dramas with A-list casts. They were also unbelievably unserious in spots. The first one, "The Last Duel," is a poignant, thrilling epic about the last duel in medieval France, and it examines sexual abuse, power dynamics, and systemic misogyny, all while Ben Affleck talks in a hilariously unconvincing accent and sports a bizarre blonde hairdo. Then, mere months later, Scott followed that up with "House of Gucci."

Now, the latter — a true crime thriller starring Lady Gaga — is nowhere near as good as "The Last Duel.

Leonardo DiCaprio is doubling down on his belief that he’ll never transition to the director’s chair.

“Some people have asked me if I wanted to direct,” DiCaprio said at the A Year in Time event in Manhattan. “I’m like, ‘I would never want to direct.’ I could never do anything close to what Martin Scorsese does. Why would I do that?”

The actor previously told Variety in 2016 that he felt “cursed to probably ever work as a director myself” after collaborating with filmmakers like Scorsese and “The Revenant” director Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

DiCaprio, who was honored at the event as Time’s 2025 Entertainer of the Year, was joined onstage by Scorsese for a 25-minute conversation. DiCaprio said the only “regret” he has about their long-running collaboration was not taking more time to observe Scorsese’s work behind the camera.

“I’ve been so focused on what I...

Get ready to get your heartstrings pulled by a trip to Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska," because "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" will become available on digital just before Christmas. The biopic stars Jeremy Allen White as the Boss himself and follows him during one of the most difficult and isolating periods of his life during the recording of his 1982 album "Nebraska," which deviated quite a bit from his previous albums and separated him from his beloved E Street Band. While the movie was a box office flop and received mixed reviews, it's since gotten a lot of love from fans of Springsteen, including famed horror author Stephen King, who wrote...

Selma collaborators David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay are teaming up again on the contemporary, London-set thriller Heist Of Benin for Endurance Media and Studiocanal.

The film weaves together art, love and restitution and will see Oyelowo produce with Lisa Bruce through his Yoruba Saxon alongside Endurance Media’s Steve Richards and Jake Katofsky.

Studiocanal will finance, distribute and handle international sales. Ron Halpern, Shana Eddy and Sam Shipp will oversee for the studio. Screenwriter Jesse Quiñones came up with the original idea and serves as executive producer.

Oyelowo said the story of Heist Of Benin contained “with deeply resonant themes...