Author: Hollyood rep

This story comes from The Hollywood Reporter’s upcoming AI Issue, which publishes on March 31. Check out further stories throughout the week and the complete issue next week. If you’re 73, have worked on a string of hits ranging from Forrest Gump to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and have two Oscars on your shelf, it might seem like a strange decision to suddenly go back to school. But for production designer Rick Carter, the rise of AI seemed like an opportunity to learn valuable new skills.  “I’m just not a static person — I’m moving forward as long as I’m here and the…

Before E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial became the most beloved alien movie ever made — before it dethroned Star Wars at the box office, before kids everywhere pointed glowing fingers at each other in suburban backyards — Henry Thomas thought he’d already lost the part. “I felt like I had done the worst job possible,” Thomas says on The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast. “I thought I blew it the minute I opened my mouth.” What happened next is now the stuff of Hollywood legend. Steven Spielberg, unsatisfied with the scripted read, pivoted. Forget the sides, he said. He gave…

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has unveiled the lineup for the Baltic Competition of its 29th edition, featuring 11 titles from the region’s filmmakers. Sergei Loznitsa‘s Two Prosecutors, which premiered at Cannes, will open the lineup in an out-of-competition slot. The three world premieres in the program are very different. Alise Zariņa’s Flesh, Blood, Even a Heart is a Latvian coming-of-age dramedy that follows Liv, a 30-something woman struggling with body insecurities. “Once, Liv dreamed of being a Barbie and still hopes her loving, somewhat old-fashioned husband finds her irresistible, even if their kisses are few and far…

A sweet serve of feel-sad, feel-glad corn done right, Song Sung Blue tells the remarkable true story of a Milwaukee auto mechanic and his hairdresser wife who face hard knocks together but never let their dream die — even if it’s on life support during the toughest times. While that might sound like Hallmark treacle, Craig Brewer’s captivating retelling of the triumphs and tribulations of a Neil Diamond tribute act is grounded in real feeling and irresistibly rousing music. Most of all, it’s held aloft by winning performances from an ideally paired Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, the latter doing…

For their new movie, Jay Kelly, George Clooney had a special rule on set: he didn’t want the cast referring to Adam Sandler by his nickname “Sandman,” in an effort to take the comedian more seriously as an actor. At the film’s AFI Fest premiere on Thursday, Clooney explained that reasoning to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “You get treated the way you treat yourself. This was a different kind of role for Adam, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn’t making fun of his incredible talent. He likes to just deflect and I was like, ‘You know what,…

Japanese anime feature Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is off to an impressive start at the U.S. box office, where it’s on course to top Friday’s chart with $8 million to $9 million from 3,003 theaters for a better-than-expected opening of $14 million to $15 million, if not more. The acclaimed manga pic presently boasts a perfect 100 percent critics score and a 99 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a rarely seen combo, in addition to five out of five stars on exit polling service PostTrak. Produced by MAPPA, the R-rated pic is based on the hit anime…

Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) and singer and actress Nicole Scherzinger have joined the cast of Rebel Wilson’s Girl Group, a comedy now in production that Wilson is writing, directing, producing, and starring in for Live Nation Studios and Future Artists Entertainment.  Scherzinger, fresh off her run on the West End and Broadway of Sunset Boulevard, and two-time Emmy winner Coolidge will play roles that weren’t immediately detailed. In the movie, Wilson plays a pop diva who’s been kicked out of her own girl group’s reunion tour and slapped with a sentence of court-ordered community service. She seizes this to stage a comeback by coaching a group…

Two-time Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett will be honored with this year’s Icon Award at the Camerimage film festival, which highlights the art of cinematography. Blanchett will attend Camerimage in Toruń, Poland, to receive the honor at the festival’s closing gala. Camerimage 2025 runs Nov. 15–22. Blanchett’s astounding 30+ year career on screen has been accompanied by some of cinema’s most stunning cinematography. Her breakthrough film, Elizabeth (1998), her first Academy Award nomination, earned cameraman Remi Adefarasin an Oscar nom (and a Golden Frog win at Camerimage). Ed Lachman’s lensing of Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There (2008) won the Bronze…

The Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event portion of the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has unveiled 18 works in progress that will be in the spotlight this year. Works in Progress presents films currently in production or post-production and seeking sales agents or festival premieres. This year’s 18 projects cover three categories: Baltic Event Works in Progress, International Works in Progress, and Just Film Works in Progress. The lineup features both debut filmmakers and acclaimed directors presenting their latest works. “We’re thrilled with the diversity of the selected projects. It was important for us to include films from Ukraine, both…

HollyShorts London, the U.K. edition of the HollyShorts Film Festival, will honor BAFTA-winning actress and filmmaker Letitia Wright and Academy Award-winning director Aneil Karia with its Trailblazer Award during the festival’s second annual edition for “their outstanding contributions to cinema.” “Letitia Wright, globally known for her role as Shuri in Marvel’s Black Panther franchise, has emerged as a powerful creative force behind the camera,” organizers said. “Her directorial debut, Highway to the Moon, premiered at HollyShorts Los Angeles to critical acclaim and will screen again at HollyShorts London. The film marks a significant new chapter in Wright’s career, showcasing her emotional…