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When it came time to choose a name for our first child, my husband and I had a list of one.

A couple of years before her birth, we’d been on an especially good date to see an Agnès Varda film in repertory; the protagonist’s style, wit and ultimate resilience appealed to us as much as Varda’s own story as a pathbreaking woman in the French New Wave did. We’d seen Varda’s documentary “Faces Places” at New York’s Quad Cinema just a week prior to seeing “Cléo From 5 to 7” at the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn, and, especially in the spring of 2020, the double bill sat lodged in our minds. Cleo D’Addario turned 4 this past May.

I’d always assumed that moviegoing would be a part of Cleo’s story, and the story of our parenting her. I grew up movie mad,...

Paul Greengrass makes harrowing movies. He established this with his gripping 2002 Northern Ireland docudrama "Bloody Sunday," which was his springboard to Hollywood, where he turned the Jason Bourne franchise into a master class in jittery, handheld, shoot-for-the-edit cinema. These successes for Universal compelled the studio to take a managed $15 million risk on Greengrass' "United 93," his masterful staging of the heroic events that transpired on the fourth hijacked plane, which thankfully did not reach its target, on 9/11. It's his best film to date, but one that's also way too intense for many people to endure -- which can also be said of his biographical thriller "Captain Phillips."

The account of Somali pirates hijacking the shipping vessel Maersk Alabama in 2009 stars Tom Hanks as the title skipper who managed to engineer the rescue of himself and his crew from the ship. It's shot in Greengrass' trademark docudrama style, which means a lot of shaky cameras,...

A Stephen King adaptation has just found new life. The author's 2022 book "Fairy Tale" was originally eyed as a feature film. Now though? It's being retooled as a TV show by the folks at A24. This information comes courtesy of the folks at Deadline, who've revealed that Paul Greengrass is expected to be involved as a director and producer. Peter Rice ("Saturday Night") is also on board as an executive producer.

What's interesting here is that Greengrass was originally attached to direct "Fairy Tale" as a movie when he won the rights to the novel in 2022. While the new report notes that Greengrass' deal has not closed yet, it seems like things are headed in that direction. So, it appears as though the Oscar-nominee has really tuned into the material and wants in on the action, be it on the big or small screen.

It's also noted that the project...

Andy Muschietti's mega-blockbuster adaptation of "It" kicked off a new boom of Stephen King adaptations when it hit theaters in 2017, but if we were in a boom, is it safe to say we've now hit a bust? There are still tons of new King adaptations coming (I'm excited to see Osgood Perkins' take on "The Monkey" and Bryan Fuller's horned-up "Christine" update), but the massive hits have slowed down (remember "Firestarter?"), and one major adaptation, Warner Bros' "'Salem's Lot," is only now coming out after years of sitting on the shelf.

The works of Stephen King will always continue to be rich and entertaining, whether they're dominating the pop cultural zeitgeist or not. But if one title exemplifies the fickleness of the recent King adaptation boom, it's "Castle Rock," a wonderfully complicated, delightfully mysterious King-adjacent series that unceremoniously died on the vine at Hulu despite delivering two great seasons of television.

Paul Greengrass may no longer be a journalist, but he has successfully brought a journalistic style to both action films and historical dramas over his career. The filmmaker is best known for his hand-held, cinéma vérité style where the camera moves like a cameraman embedded in the scene, struggling to capture real events. His style is often imitated, though few are able to match the subtly precise way that Greengrass constructs his sequences through quick cutting and frenetic camerawork. Despite being famous for a specific filmmaking technique, Greengrass’ filmography is still quite diverse, which should be apparent in the gallery below.

He began his career working for the audacious British current affairs program “World in Action.” He transitioned to fiction filmmaking with a series of TV movies based on historical events. His breakout hit was the historical drama “Bloody Sunday,” chronicling the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings. Greengrass was then hired to...

The 62nd edition of the New York Film Festival will kick off with RaMell Ross’s “Nickel Boys,” an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Nickel Boys.”

Film at Lincoln Center made the announcement early Monday and notably didn’t specify a premiere designation for the film, perhaps an indication that “Nickel Boys” will have its world premiere at another festival such as the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, or Venice Film Festival.

“What an absolute honor for ‘Nickel Boys’ to open the 62nd New York Film Festival… a daydream really, for the crew, the cast, and team who’ve committed so wholeheartedly to its vision,” Ross said in a statement. The filmmaker’s debut documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” was previously screened at the 2018 edition of New Directors/New Films at New York City’s Lincoln Center. Ross called his debut feature...

As the Academy prepares to debut an award for casting directors at the 2026 Oscars, the timing was right for Francine Maisler to travel this week to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic for a tribute organized by its Industry Days office. Taking the stage for a Kviff Talk with her associate Molly Rose, the renowned casting director admitted she had initially been reluctant to enter the limelight. “Coming here is special for me, because I tend to avoid these things. I’m hired to be behind the camera, not in front.”

Despite such modesty, Maisler had no trouble holding the room for nearly 90 minutes, reflecting not only on her own illustrious career path but praising the legions of actors she has worked with for the last 30-odd years. She seemed especially energized by Lady Gaga, having recently seen a cut of Todd Phillips’ heavily anticipated DC sequel Joker: Folie À Deux,...

Francine Maisler, longtime collaborator with Aaron Sorkin and Steven Soderbergh and casting director for “The Revenant,” “The Big Short,” “Little Women,” “Dune” and “The Bikeriders,” says she’s always been obsessed with performance.

“I’m always looking and seeing and my eye is taken with things,” she says.

“I love the theater,” she told an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this week, recalling being “mesmerized” by actors onstage long before she had the inkling to follow her career path.

Sorkin has said, “Francine has an eye for talent like no one I’ve ever met,” to which Maisler jokes, “We fight all the time.”

The longtime New Yorker started her career working for the Actors Equity union before moving into casting and professes she’s neither competitive nor did she ever dream of going bigtime. But after a few films in which “I just kind of kept...

Created by two of the industry’s most proficient goliaths Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Band of Brothers is a haunting iteration of how one of the most courageous troupes of men survived the throes of the Second World War.

Band of Brothers | HBO

Based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s non-fiction book of the same name, the HBO miniseries documents the horrific tale of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, denominated the Easy Company. And the result was an Emmy-wining show that yielded war archives staggering enough to keep you up at night.

Tom Hanks Altered Band of Brothers to Do Justice to the Real-Life Soldiers

Considering how the WWII miniseries is based on Ambrose’s research findings along with interviews with the real-life veterans of Easy Company, authenticity and precision were of the utmost importance for co-creator Tom Hanks. After all, they were going to chronicle the...

Axel Foley returning to Beverly Hills, an animated feature from former Studio Ghibli talent, a jaw-dropping doc about love-struck “rooftoppers” and final seasons from three big shows — a Spanish teen drama, a viking saga and Daniel Larusso’s last hurrah — are some of the highlights on Netflix in July.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Netflix’s high profile feature release for this month, arrives on July 3. The fourth installment in the Eddie Murphy-led action-comedy franchise, sees Detroit detective Axel Foley return to Beverly Hills, thirty years after his last visit. This time, Foley must team up with a new partner — played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt — when his daughter’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened. Franchise fans will be happy to see regulars Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), John Taggart (John Ashton), Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) and Serge (Bronson Pinchot) make appearances and series newcomer Kevin Bacon is also part of the action as Captain Grant.

Netflix has a couple of major series airing all or part of their final seasons in July 2024. The hit Spanish drama Elite is set to premiere its eighth and final season in full this month with one final mystery (July 26), Vikings: Valhalla is setting off on one final adventure with its third season (July 11), and Cobra Kai is also entering its swan song era with the first part of its final sixth season arriving on Netflix July 18.

The most notable movie offering this month is Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (July 3). Thirty years after his last case, Eddie Murphy returns as the titular detective Axel Foley, teaming up with old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) to uncover a conspiracy and keep his daughter Jane (Taylour Paige) safe.

Here’s everything else coming to Netflix this month. Note that Netflix marks its international offerings with that respective country’s two-letter country code.

Summer 2024 has officially begun, and as the weather starts to heat up this July, so will Netflix‘s streaming catalogue. From the highly anticipated return of “Cobra Kai” to the sixth season of the hit reality show “Too Hot to Handle,” Netflix is giving viewers lots to binge as they attempt to escape the summer sun.

Eddie Murphy is revising his iconic role of Detroit detective Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” 40 years after the original “Beverly Hills Cop” film debuted. “Simone Biles Rising,” a four-part documentary about the olympic gold-medalist, is set to release some time this July — just in time for her return to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.”Receiver,” another sports docuseries to follow last year’s “Quarterback,” will star NFL players like Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders) and Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings).

Along with new content, Netflix is adding loads of family classics such...

The Netflix July 2024 originals, movies, and TV shows have been revealed and can be viewed below. The streaming service has also announced which movies and TV series will be leaving next month.

The July lineup includes Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1, The Dragon Prince Season 6, Elite Season 8, Exploding Kittens, Find Me Falling, and Homicide: Los Angeles.

The Netflix July 2024 slate also features Love Is Blind: Brazil Season 4, Simone Biles Rising, Too Hot to Handle Season 6, Unsolved Mysteries Volume 4, and Vikings: Valhalla Season 3.

Netflix July 2024 Schedule

July Tba

Laliga: All Access (Es) — Netflix Documentary

This docuseries grants an exclusive look into the acclaimed Spanish football league — from triumphs during the game to tears off the pitch.

Simone Biles Rising — Netflix Sports Series

Follow gymnast Simone Biles as she balances her personal life, mental health journey, and training ahead of a highly anticipated return to the Olympics.

Available...

Four of Tom Hanks last seven major roles have ended up on streaming services – yet have the films been pretty much forgotten already?

In February of 2023, we got something of an endangered species: a surprisingly positive box office story. That a movie had overperformed against fairly gloomy expectations, and turned into a success on the quiet.

That film was A Man Called Otto, released by Sony and directed by Marc Forster. An English-language remake of Oscar-winning Swedish film A Man Called Ove, what was interesting about the movie’s success is it’s the kind of film that’s apparently not supposed to work in cinemas. Aimed at an older audience, without showboaty effects or Roman numerals, and with a fairly morose central character: this is the stuff that streaming services want to devour.

But Sony gambled, put it into cinemas, and took home over $100m worldwide. That’s not Spider-Man money obviously,...

Longtime Sony Pictures Entertainment executive Doug Belgrad is joining Netflix as vice president of film, joining the team assembled by the streamer’s new film head Dan Lin.

Belgrad was at Sony for more than 25 years, most recently as president of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. Before that, he spent a decade as president and head of production at Columbia Pictures.

At Sony, he was involved in the Spider-man, Men In Black and Bad Boys franchises, as well as individual projects including The Social Network, Zero Dark Thirty, Captain Phillips and American Hustle.

In 2016, after leaving Sony, Belgrad founded 2.0 Entertainment,...

Is Tom Hanks Eyeing Gotham? Actor Expresses Interest in Portraying Batman Villain ( Photo Credit – Flickr )

Renowned for his adaptability in a multitude of genres from comedy, romance, science fiction to war dramas, Tom Hanks previously revealed his aspiration to join the cast of a Batman film. Given the expansive realms within the DC universe, the possibility of Hanks realizing this dream has heightened, hinting at an intriguing evolution in his professional journey.

During an interview with On Demand Entertainment a decade ago to promote “Captain Phillips,” Tom Hanks discussed his absence from major superhero films and whether it was intentional. Hanks shared that although he hadn’t been approached for such roles, he had a keen interest in the genre, especially in playing a villain, preferably a Batman adversary, as he preferred not to portray characters guiding the heroes.

With the coexistence of two Batman franchises—Matt Reeves’ The Batman...

Uwe Boll’s migrant crisis thriller “Run” is making its market debut in Cannes via Stuttgart-based sales company Kinostar.

Boll just wrapped shooting on his latest pic and unveiled the first images from the production. Shot entirely in the resort town of Baška on the Croatian island of Krk, which doubles for a coastal community in Italy, “Run” follows a group of desperate migrants as they make landfall after a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea and the impact of their arrival on locals and tourists.

The cast includes Emmy and Tony award winner Amanda Plummer, James Russo, European Film Award winner Ulrich Thomsen, BAFTA winner Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”), Kristen Renton, Daniel Sauli, Marcus Henderson, Mohammed (Michel) Qissy, Sammy Sheik, Costas Mandylor, Daniela Piperno (“Ferrari”), Ezra Mabengeza, Hannah Balogun and Matteo Pasquini (“Return to Silent Hill”).

“It was a real pleasure to work with this extraordinary ensemble cast and the talented crew,...

Dan Lin has found his right hand man.

Former Sony head turned producer Doug Belgrad is joining Netflix as vice president of film.

“We are thrilled to welcome Doug to our film team as Vice President of Film,” said Lin in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience to the role from his many years as a respected studio executive, producer and co-financier. We will be leaning on Doug’s great creative instincts, his eye for talent, and his deep relationships across the filmmaking and talent community. We can’t wait for him to get started and look forward to his many contributions as we pursue our mission to make best-in-class films across every genre.”

Belgrad’s hire is the first major exec move by Lin, who took over as head of film in April after taking over the job from Scott Stuber. Lin is tasked with steering the...

Tom Hanks has played a hero multiple times, whether in Captain Phillips or as Woody from Toy Story. Each time, he’s managed to bring something new and meaningful to the idea of being a hero. Thus, when Clint Eastwood approached Tom Hanks, proposing that he take on the role of Sully, the real-life hero who safely landed a plane on the Hudson River in 2009, Hanks found himself pausing before making a decision, in the 2016 film.

Clint Eastwood in Bronco Billy

But then Eastwood hit him with just three words that sealed the deal. And that decision turned out to be a major highlight in Hanks’ already impressive career.

Clint Eastwood’s Three Words That Influenced Tom Hanks to Portray Sully

Before Sully, Tom Hanks had already portrayed heroes, or as he puts it “ordinary guys in extraordinary circumstances.” He had often felt typecasted. When Clint Eastwood offered him the role of Sully,...

April is shaping up to be a huge month at Hulu! Catch the premiere of the Hulu Original series “Under the Bridge,” starring recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Riley Keough, and Vritika Gupta and based on the book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey chronicling the 1997 murder of Reena Virk. The streamer will also host the premieres of multiple major FX projects, including the second half of Ryan Murphy’s latest “American Horror Story” installment, “American Horror Story: Delicate,” starring Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Cara Delevingne, and more. The end of April will also bring the premiere of the new limited international spy series “The Veil,” starring Elisabeth Moss and Yumna Marwan

Whether you’re looking for a new “Real Housewives” spinoff or a best-selling manga adaptation, check out everything coming to Hulu this month, including The Streamable’s top picks available throughout April!

Women’s History Month may be over, but that doesn’t mean that women aren’t leading many of Hulu’s top picks for April. The month begins with the premiere of Vanderpump Villa, a Hulu Original reality series that follows Lisa Vanderpump and the hand-selected staff members employed at her lavish French estate, Chateau Rosabelle. This next chapter in the Vanderpump saga is sure to be full of drama, decadence, and debauchery as the staff caters to Vanderpump, her wealthy guests, and their own desires.

Hulu Original Under the Bridge, based on the 1997 true-crime novel of the same name, also premieres this month. This limited series follows the investigation of Reena Virk’s disappearance –the fourteen-year-old left to meet some friends and never returned home. Starring Riley Keough and Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge has all the makings of a true-crime hit. Rounding out this month,...

If you haven’t taken the leap to bundle Disney and Hulu, it might be time. Streaming is only getting more expensive and competitive, and the enticing bundle (which also includes ESPN) might be a version of cable TV, but it’s also just cost efficient. Disney and Hulu are so intertwined that their monthly listing updates come in the same email — and as such, we decided to compile them here for you in the same list.

Whether you have Disney or Hulu, or both (and the IndieWire staff has weighed on our favorites), each has its benefits. Disney has the family-friendly titles, the Star Wars and Marvel (new episodes of “The Bad Batch” and “X-Men: 97” continue through April), while Hulu is the place to catch FX originals and network episodes. Both streamers have the rights to distribute National Geographic titles, which are well worth exploring along with the rest of the library.

Apple TV has added more than 50 licensed movies included in the price of the subscription service — the streamer’s biggest collection of back-catalog studio content to date. But the third-party titles will only be available for a limited time.

Apple TV ’s lineup has mostly comprised original series, movies and specials commissioned for the platform (as well as a smattering of live MLB games). Now it has added a bouquet of older film favorites to the mix, including popular and award-winning movies like “Titanic,” “300,” “Argo,” “Black Hawk Down,” “The Bodyguard,” “Jurassic World,” “Gravity,” “Fast & Furious 6,” “Kill Bill” Volume 1 and 2, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the original 2004 “Mean Girls” and “Zoolander.”

The movies are listed in a new section on the service labeled “Great Movies on Apple TV ” — however, the service notes, these are available for a “limited time.

The move could signal a shift in strategy by Apple to finally incorporate more library titles into its catalog.

Is Apple TV finally getting non-original titles in its streaming library? Yes, at least temporarily, at any rate, as the streamer has added a total of 51 movies to its streaming catalog, spanning every genre and including some true blockbusters. Apple stresses that these titles will only be available for a limited time, but it could be providing a glimpse into its own future with the additions. Having long focused on high-quality originals without the studio archives or licensing library of its competitors, Apple V has been a somewhat different type of streamer since it launched in November 2019.

Titles available on Apple TV include “Star Trek,” “Kill Bill,” “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “300” and more. Each movie will only be available on the streamer until March or April. Apple has resisted offering library titles before,...

Oscar nominee America Ferrera has been cast in her next role outside of Barbie World.

Ferrera has signed on to star in Oscar nominee Paul Greengrass’ upcoming drama “The Lost Bus” alongside Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey, Variety has learned exclusively.

Being developed, produced and distributed by Apple Original Films with an original script by Brad Inglesby (“Mare of Easttown”), the film is based on Lizzie Johnson’s book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” about the devastating 2018 California wildfires that resulted in over 100 deaths and destroyed the majority of the town of Paradise. The fires were the deadliest in the state’s history. The movie centers on Kevin McKay (McConaughey) and Mary Ludwig (Ferrera), a bus driver and teacher who lead a school bus full of young students through the Camp Fire. The film will go into production this spring.

Ferrera is coming off receiving...

I share my colleague Pete Hammond’s fascination with Cord Jefferson’s BAFTA win for his screenplay adaptation, American Fiction. It is no small thing for a self-consciously American story to win a very British award against competition as formidable as Christopher Nolan, especially for a debut film.

Pete has a point when he notes that American Fiction, based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, about a black novelist who hits it big when his send-up of African-American cultural clichés is taken at face value, probably got traction as the only currently Oscar-nominated adaptation that is all about writing.

Fair enough. But I’d go one step more.

In fact, American Fiction is the only Oscar-nominated script that takes a serious bite out of contemporary socio-political reality.

The rest, even that wild pink feminist fly-by Barbie, which does get tangled in reality, are in a sense doing what the phrase-coining...

Denzel Washington, Anna Kendrick, Tom Cruise, Jeremy RennerScreenshot: Sony, Photo: Lionsgate, Paramount

Every streaming service offers a wide range of film genres, but Amazon Prime Video seems to be particularly focused on the action-adventure sector. If you’re looking for pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thrills, the streamer makes for a solid starting point.

In a devastating (but perhaps none too surprising) blow to Dad Cinema enthusiasts the world over, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's acclaimed true-story Nike drama "Air" was completely ignored by the Academy when Oscar nominations were announced earlier this week. However, if you were expecting the Oscar-winning duo/best buds to spend the immediate future licking their wounds and wallowing in self-pity, guess again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've instead gone and lined up their next project together -- an original crime thriller titled "Animals," which now has Netflix backing it.

Having previously gone under working titles like "The Animals of Los Angeles" and "Be Gentlemen," the new Affleck-Damon joint will see Damon starring and Affleck directing from a script by Connor McIntyre with revisions from "Shattered Glass" and "Captain Phillips" scribe Billy Ray. The plot involves (per THR) "a mayoral candidate and his wife whose son is kidnapped.

It’s hardly a secret that viewership of the annual Academy Awards telecast on ABC has been in precipitous decline over the past four years or so in the age of Covid, with a notable but comparatively modest upward bump last year. It was in 2021 that the ratings and audience numbers suffered a massive nosedive in the wake of the coronavirus closing theaters and wreaking havoc with the release schedule, plummeting from 23.6 million viewers on average in 2020 to a scant 10.4 million in 2021. The audience rebounded in 2022 – to 16.6 million – and then a bit more last year, to 18.7 million.

But hope springs eternal this year in the age of “Barbenheimer.” For the first time in some two decades, a genuine box office phenomenon is favored to win Best Picture. In 2004, it was the international blockbuster “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” This time, it’s “Oppenheimer.” Back in...

Now that the BAFTA, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations have all been announced, it’s time to take a closer look at what they all mean. Seven lead and six supporting performers reaped bids will all four of these precursor prizes (scroll down to see who’s on that list), but can they all count on hearing their names called when the Oscar nominations are unveiled on January 23?

Since the Critics Choice Awards joined the other three precursors in publicizing official nominations in 2002, there have been 11 instances when someone nominated across the board did not go on to contend at the Oscars. Given the lack of precedent for such an occurrence until 2012, the current hopefuls are unfortunately saddled with the implications of the adjusted average of about one case per year.

Just last year, Best Actress hopeful Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) joined this group of also-rans...

Even those who’ve never visited Malta in real life will recognize it in dozens of films — Assassin’s Creed, Troy, Captain Phillips, Last Voyage of the Demeter, Gladiator and pretty soon Gladiator 2, to name a few. There are reasons filmmakers flock there. Not only is it a versatile location that provides a contemporary or period backdrop but also the facilities and crew are unrivaled, tax incentives are generous and accommodations are among the best in Europe with the island nation boasting a whopping six Michelin-starred restaurants.

Renowned for its special effects water facility, Malta offers one indoor tank and two large exterior water tanks situated along the coast, affording filmmakers an authentic horizon line for scenes set on the water. The studio offers a range of water SFX equipment including wave machines, wind machines, rain towers, tip tanks, water shooters and smoke machines.

Malta’s first sound-stage is currently...

After a season of spending, Freevee knows you don't have to break the bank for quality. The free Amazon streamer has already added several titles to its platform to start the month, including the Tom Hanks-starred "Captain Phillips" and Ryan Coogler's directorial debut "Fruitvale Station," but more great titles will be coming throughout the rest of the month.

Find out The Streamable's top picks for what's here now and what's coming to the streamer throughout January!

Watch Now Free amazonfreevee.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Freevee in January 2024? “Baby Driver” | Monday, Jan. 1

Edgar Wright helms the action thriller starring Ansel Elgort as Baby, a prodigal heist getaway driver and music-loving orphan in for one last job before riding off into the sunset with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Eiza Gonzalez, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, and Kevin Spacey make up the supporting...

Zorro and Expats are the big shows coming to Prime Video in January. The former is what Amazon are calling a “bold reinterpretation” of the classic hero El Zorro for 2024. Starring Miguel Bernardeau as Diego de la Vega and Renata Notni as Lolita Marquez, it’s definitely an intriguing-sounding action-adventure series, with a ten-episode first season based on the iconic character originally created by Johnston McCulley all the way back in 1919.

Meanwhile, upcoming drama series Expats is based on the bestselling 2016 novel The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee, and follows “the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community” in Hong Kong. Nicole Kidman has been known for picking the right kind of shows to lead in the past, so let’s hope this is another banger for the actress, who is also on board as an executive producer here.

Here’s everything coming to Amazon Prime Video and Freevee this month.

Pictured: Hulk, The Mummy, The Karate Kid, Kung-Fu Panda

A New Year means lots of removals from Netflix and January 1st is looking busy, with over 100 movies set to leave the service already. Below, we’ll be keeping track of all the Netflix departures for the first month of 2024.

First, a few housekeeping notes as to how Netflix removals work before we dive in. Due to licensing agreements, shows and movies added to Netflix aren’t added forever. Instead, they’re essentially rented for a fixed period. All the shows below have their current window on Netflix ending and will likely be bound for a rival streaming service.

We list titles slightly differently from other outlets, with our listings being the actual day of removal. If you want to watch any titles scheduled to expire on January 1st, for example, you’ll need to watch by the end of December 31st.

You won’t have to battle your bladder to watch A24’s upcoming action epic “Civil War.”

The Alex Garland movie, set in the near future as the United States breaks out into violent conflict, has a runtime of 109 minutes, despite reports to the contrary. While IMDb incorrectly lists a runtime of 3 hours and 15 minutes, A24 confirmed to Variety that the film is under two hours long.

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jesse Plemons and Nick Offerman, the movie puts viewers in the heat of a new American civil war. The trailer opens with scenes of destruction across the country, along with news reports that “19 states have seceded.”

“Citizens of America, the so-called Western forces of Texas and California have suffered a very great defeat at the hands of the United States military,” Offerman, who portrays the U.S. President, says in the trailer.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Picture: Paramount Pictures

The holiday season is in full-swing and if you fancy settling down onto Netflix for a new movie to watch – you should probably be prioritising these excellent nine movies that will all be departing as we head into the New Year.

For a full list of what’s leaving Netflix throughout January 2024, check our guide of removals for the month which is the most comprehensive on the net!

Captain Phillips (2013)

Leaving Netflix: January 1st

Paul Greengrass’s superb biopic about the true story of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama continues to stir much controversy. The controversy stems from the scrutiny of Richard Phillips, portrayed by Tom Hanks, and his decisions that led to the event. Regardless of these opinions, one cannot deny that this is a fantastically made movie.

As with most Sony Pictures movies on Netflix, you’ll a premium tier...

Prepare for war.

A24 has released the first trailer for Alex Garland’s action epic “Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno and Nick Offerman.

Set in the near future, the film revolves around the U.S. amid civil war, where government air strikes are used against civilians and journalists are shot on sight in the Capitol. “A race to the White House in a near-future America balanced on the razor’s edge,” the official logline reads.

The trailer opens with scenes of destruction in the U.S., along with news reports about the civil war playing in the background. “19 states have seceded,” one reporter says on the radio.

“Citizens of America, the so-called Western forces of Texas and California have suffered a very great defeat at the hands of the United States military,” Offerman, who portrays the U.S. president, says in the trailer.

There's nothing Hollywood loves more than a snappy, propulsive, made-for-movies book premise from some of the most exciting authors around. Just in the last decade alone, we've seen writer Andy Weir parlay the breakout success of his debut work "The Martian" and its 2015 adaptation by director Ridley Scott into another upcoming movie deal, this time headlined by filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. More recently, "Gone Girl" author Gillian Flynn has had "Sharp Objects" turned into a major HBO series, while she teamed up with no less a talent than Steve McQueen to adapt the British TV series "Widows" into one of the most brilliant, under-appreciated thrillers of the last several years. Now, movie fans would be well advised to remember the name T.J. Newman, who appears ready to become the next big name-brand novelist around.

Newman's first novel "Falling" inspired a massive bidding war soon after publishing in 2021 and,...

Earlier this year, we heard that Warner Bros. had come out the winner of an intense bidding war over the film rights to author T.J. Newman’s second novel, Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421 (you can pick up a copy at This Link). Now Deadline reports that Paul Greengrass – whose credits include The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne, United 93, 22 July, Green Zone, Captain Phillips, and News of the World – has signed on to write, direct, and produce the film adaptation of Drowning.

Newman’s novel tells the following story: A plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff and is flooded after an explosion during evacuation. A dozen survivors sink in a sealed part of the aircraft as it perches precariously on an undersea cliff 200 feet below the surface. Among them is an engineer and his 11-year-old daughter. His estranged wife and the girl...

Though many people think of Paul Greengrass for his work on the ‘Bourne’ franchise, he really broke out in a big way with his film, “Bloody Sunday,” which is based on a true story. And after ‘Bourne,’ he would go on to direct films inspired by real events such as “United 93,” “Captain Phillips,” and “22 July.” Clearly, he has a keen eye when it comes to taking very human, emotional stories and making them incredibly cinematic.

Continue reading ‘Drowning’: Paul Greengrass To Direct A Thriller About People Trapped In A Crashed Plane at The Playlist.

Paul Greengrass has been hired to adapt the big-screen version of T.J. Newman’s novel “Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421.”

Greengrass will write, direct and produce the film, which is set at Warner Bros. The studio emerged victorious earlier this year in a bidding war, one that drew interest from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Alfonso Cuarón and Steven Spielberg, along with seven-figure offers from Apple and Bruckheimer, Paramount and Damien Chazelle, Legendary and Universal Television.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy prevailed after agreeing to pay $1.5 million for the rights and an additional $1.5 million on the first day of production. The studio also brought the “Drowning” author on as an executive producer.

“Drowning” centers on a plane that crashes into the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced...

Exclusive: Paul Greengrass has been set by Warner Bros to adapt, direct and produce Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 421. The T.J. Newman bestselling novel was the subject of a fevered bidding battle, with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy landing the novel for $1.5 million against $3 million. There were four other seven-figure bids on the table. The project reunites De Luca and Greengrass, who worked together on Captain Phillips.

In Drowning, a plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff and is flooded after an explosion during evacuation. A dozen survivors sink in a sealed part of the aircraft as it perches precariously on an undersea cliff 200 feet below the surface. Among them is an engineer and his 11-year-old daughter. His estranged wife — she’s also the girl’s mother — is part of the elite rescue team that races to save the passengers before their air runs out.

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” an epic look at the French emperor and military leader’s rise to power, is one of the final potential awards hopefuls awaiting its first reactions from critics and pundits. As awards season approaches, Variety has learned exclusively which Oscar categories the film will be submitted for. Most notably, Vanessa Kirby will vie for best supporting actress.

Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.

Joaquin Phoenix, who won best actor for the villain origin story “Joker” (2019) and has received three additional mentions during his career, will submit for leading actor for his performance as Napoleon. Kirby, who picked up her inaugural nom for “Pieces of a Woman” (2020), will vie for supporting actress for her role as Josephine, Napoleon’s wife and one true love. Two supporting actors will be submitted — Tahar Rahim (“The Mauritanian”) and Rupert Everett (“My Best Friend’s Wedding...

Nathan Fielder is an off-beat comedian who graduated from one of Canada’s top business schools with really good grades. His former shows, Nathan For You and the recent The Rehearsal from HBO, are masterful at being uncomfortable and cringe-inducing by design as part of the humor. His combined powers with Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie bring us an abstract trailer for The Curse. The Curse is a rare scripted narrative series for Fielder, and it teams him up with the show’s star, Emma Stone. Stone is currently gaining praise in the festival circuit for her new bold Frankenstein-esque film, Poor Things.

The official synopsis from Showtime reads,

“Newly married couple Whitney and Asher are convinced they’re helping to build communities – and save lives – by developing eco-friendly homes for ‘Fliplanthropy,’ their socially conscious new reality show. But behind every on-camera renovation lies a path of off-camera destruction when a hostile makeover,...

From “Gravity ” and “Wild” to “The Way Back” and “Jaws,” the most compelling survival movies fearlessly examine characters’ will to live, imbuing their perilous struggles with the intensely personal motivations and desires that make every person unique. These stories allow audiences to consider what specific obstacles along one person’s quest for survival and happiness say about humanity writ large. What’s more, they challenge viewers to look inward and consider what truly matters when the chips are down.

The best survival films immerse viewers in life-or-death scenarios, balancing realism and believability with slow-burn suspense. Even in lighter survival fare, such as “Swiss Family Robinson,” filmmakers have to keep up the pace and pressure to deliver the subgenre’s characteristic urgency. Sure, “Cast Away,” “The Revenant,” and epic sagas like them are sweeping in scope with the lengthy running times to match. But survival stories work best when every frame...

This Column Includes Some “Oppenheimer” Spoilers.

I don’t think I was as surprised as a lot of people were that “Barbie” broke out as such an even-better-than-expected megahit, hauling in $162 million domestic during opening weekend. It caught the zeitgeist wind just right and had some canny marketing might behind it. Say what you will about the moviegoing experience doing a slow fade, it can still get it together to generate a must-see happening. That’s what this was. At the screening I attended in Burbank on Saturday, there was a sense of giddy anticipation in the air. Moviegoers were posing in front of Barbie displays and getting into life-sized versions of Barbie doll packages. It was a hoot. The movie was fun, clever, beautiful to look at, superbly designed and agreeably goofy if at times a mite preachy.

But it was the response to “Oppenheimer” that really surprised me,...

Barbenheimer — the same-day release of two polar opposite movies, Christopher Nolan‘s bleak “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig‘s dazzling “Barbie” — will go down in history. Both movies have been very well received and the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer has led to packed theatres the likes of which these days are usually seen for superhero movies. Whether you prefer “Oppenheimer” or “Barbie,” cinema is the winner here.

But one of the biggest takeaways from both movies is two wildly different performances from supporting actors that threaten to steal their entire, respective movies: Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer” and Ryan Gosling as Ken in “Barbie.” Downey Jr produces another layered performance as the political player Strauss, who at first appears to be an ally of Cillian Murphy‘s Oppenheimer but is later revealed to be playing a game the whole time with the intention of bringing down the father of the atomic bomb.

“Barbie” has become a resounding success for Warner Bros. and director Greta Gerwig. The film grossed $155 million in its opening weekend and received rave reviews from critics hailing the direction, script, design, and, above all, performances.

Margot Robbie leads the cast as the titular main Barbie while Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, and Nicola Coughlan, amongst others, play different variations of Barbie. Ryan Gosling leads the pack of Kens along with Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa. Also in the movie are Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, and Ariana Greenblatt. This has led to some intriguing odds charts for the movie on our site, meaning that the “Barbie” cast could theoretically receive up to five Oscar nominations. Here’s the rundown.

Best Actress — Margot Robbie

Robbie is wonderful as Barbie and it’s her pitch-perfect performance that keeps the movie running. Other names (more on that below) might steal...

The episode of Best Horror Movie You Never Saw covering Overlord was Written by Andrew Hatfield, Narrated by Kier Gomes, Edited by Paul Bookstaber, Produced by John Fallon and Tyler Nichols, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The channel covers so much from the ’80s and ’90s but the truth is, there’s more horror floating around now than ever before. With the rise of horror studios like Blumhouse or prestige studios like A24 realizing that horror can not only be profitable but award worthy, the theaters have no shortage of scary. That’s not even including streaming services like Tubi, Shudder, and even the big 4 going all in on either producing or showcasing horror on their platforms. A lot of these end up being successful but some of them flounder a bit, even when they deserve to soar. Today’s movie has good names in front of and behind the camera,...

This year’s New York Film Festival will open with the North American premiere of Todd Haynes’s new film “May December,” festival organizers announced on Tuesday.

“‘May December’ is a tour-de-force of writing, acting, and directing: a film built on moment-to-moment surprise, as thought-provoking as it is purely pleasurable,” said Dennis Lim, the artistic director at the New York Film Festival, in a press release. “It cements Todd Haynes’s place as one of American cinema’s most brilliant mischief-makers and as an all-time great director of actors. Todd has been a consistent presence at the New York Film Festival for almost his entire career, and we are very excited to open this edition with one of his most dazzling achievements.”

“We are all so proud and moved to have been invited to open the New York Film Festival with the North American premiere of ‘May December,’” Haynes said...