Author: SD

The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) has become the first Hollywood awards group to come out strongly against generative AI, blocking any project that uses the technology from consideration for its Golden Reel Awards. “We support and prize technological advances that assist artists in their creations,” the group said on Thursday. “However, standards for the legal and ethical use of Generative A.I. have yet to be established and are far from being accepted broadly. What we choose to promote as award-worthy points to how much we value the human endeavour of artistic creation.” MPSE continued: “Because of these concerns and…

The jury in the Harvey Weinstein sex crimes retrial in New York has returned a mixed verdict. The panel of seven women and five men found Weinstein, 73, guilty on one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree against former TV production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006, and found him not guilty on the same charge involving former Polish model and actress Kaja Sokola in 2006. The jury has not yet delivered a verdict on the count of rape in the third degree involving actress Jessica Mann in 2013. According to reports tensions have flared among the jury,…

Sphere and Warner Bros Discovery have unveiled more details of their collaboration on The Wizard Of Oz that uses AI to create an immersive version of the 1939 Hollywood classic. The adaptation will open at the Las Vegas venue on August 28 and took more than a year to reformat in partnership with Google Cloud and immersive experiences specialist Magnopus. Tribeca Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal is the producer. The creators of The Wizard Of Oz At Sphere adapted the original shot for a 4:3 screen to fill Sphere’s wraparound 160,000 sq ft interior display and remastered original songs to transmit through Sphere…

EXCLUSIVE: Emma Hewitt, communications lead at BBC Film, is joining the UK’s Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) as director of corporate affairs. Hewitt will lead CIISA’s strategic communications and public affairs activities. She takes up the role later this month. CIISA, an industry-funded body, launched its first standards framework in February, and has a mission to prevent and tackle bullying, harassment and discriminatory workplace behaviour in the creative industries, across screen, music and theatre. “Emma will play a pivotal role in the next stage of CIISA’s development as we prepare to launch our services and broaden our engagement and awareness…

Lionsgate’s From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina opened below tracking on an estimated $25m in second place through Lionsgate as Disney’s family behemoth Lilo & Stitch held on to top place in its third weekend. Overall North American box office earned an estimated $113.4m per Comscore and the year-to-date has amassed $3.53bn to track a very healthy 26% ahead of 2024 by the same stage. John Wick spin-off Ballerina stars Ana de Armas and while action spin-offs historically have opened significantly below the previous entry in a franchise, the 65% drop-off from John Wick 4 will not make Lionsgate executives happy.…

Lionsgate’s Ballerina leads the new films at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, opening in 571 cinemas. Marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the film is the fifth instalment in the John Wick franchise, and takes place between the events of Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4. It sees ballerina-assassin Eve Macarro – played by Ana de Armas – train in the traditions of the Ruska Roma, to exact revenge for her father’s death. Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, the late Lance Reddick, Norman Reedus and Ian McShane are on the cast, alongside Keanu Reeves reprising his role…

Jim Jarmusch’s comedy drama Father Mother Sister Brother is headed to Venice competition, according to Mubi founder Efe Cakarel. Cakarel revealed the film was to feature in competition during keynote speech today (June 6) at SXSW London, telling audiences it is “already confirmed”. Jarmusch’s film, on which Mubi is a producer, is an anthology of three stories starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Vicky Krieps, which shot last year across the US, France and Ireland. It follows estranged siblings that reunite after years apart. The Match Factory represents sales. Production companies are Saint Laurent Prods, Mubi and the Apartment together…

Fresh from its Cannes Competition world premiere, Ari Aster’s Eddington will open the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival, which begins a day earlier than previously announced and runs in Montreal from July 16 to August 3. Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix star in the tale of a stand-off between a small town sheriff and the mayor that ignites wider tensions in a New Mexico community. A24 will release in the US on July 18. The second wave of titles announced on Thursday includes three new works from Japanese genre master Takashi Miike led by the world premiere of episodes from…

EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian animated feature Jumbo has become the country’s highest grossing local film of all time and posted strong sales following the Cannes market. The family adventure is on track to hit 10.1 million admissions today (June 4), some 66 days after opening on March 31. It has unseated Awi ASuryadi’s KKN di Desa Penari (aka Dancing Village), a supernatural horror that amassed more than 10 million admissions in post-pandemic 2022. Jumbo has grossed more than $24.7m (Rp402 billion) as of Sunday (June 1), according to independent box office tracker Cinepoint. Overall, the film is only behind Marvel Studios’ Avengers:…

Kent Sanderson has been promoted from president to CEO at Bleecker Street following the death earlier this year of Andrew Karpen. “Andrew set a powerful example in which the filmmaker always comes first, the theatrical window is paramount, and great filmmaking is celebrated and championed,” said Sanderson. “All of us at Bleecker are committed to honouring and carrying that vision forward, and while the company will continue to evolve and grow, his legacy will always remain an inherent part of our DNA.” Los Angeles-based Sanderson, one of the most insightful minds in the independent film sector, joined Bleecker in 2014…