Author: SD

TIFF: The Market (September 10-16) has unveiled the official lineup of more than 70 sessions and events in its Summit, including new Visionaries speakers Danny Boyle and Seth Rogen, and Perspectives conversations around the Academy, and the state of the sales business. Perspectives, supported by Screen International, will feature a conversation with the Academy on international features. This coincides with the first year in which the non-English-language winners of select festival awards including TIFF Platform will become eligible for the international feature film category, alongside official submissions. The programme includes longtime collaborators Glen Basner of FilmNation and Roeg Sutherland of…

Paramount representatives are reportedly preparing to meet with California attorney general Rob Bonta on Monday (August 24) to discuss a possible settlement of the antitrust case to block the proposed $111bn Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) merger. It was unclear how deep talks will go, however it is understood a judge last week requested both sides identify magistrates to preside over a mediation process. An antitrust trial is scheduled for March 2, 2027. Bonta, 11 other state attorneys general, and Writers Guild Of America (WGA) claim the merger is anti-competition. Paramount CEO David Ellison and his representatives have said they believe…

Sony horror Insidious: Out Of The Further and Black Bear’s comedy Spa Weekend lead new releases in UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend as Coyote vs. Acme begins previews. The sixth instalment in the Insidious franchise, Out Of The Further, launches in 527 locations. It opens wider than previous entry The Red Door which debuted in 485 locations back in 2023. That title grossed £2.3m in its first weekend, just shy of Insidious: Chapter Two which debuted with £2.9m, and remains the highest opener of the series. Jacob Chase directs Out Of The Further which follows a young woman who can…

Universal’s The Odyssey has overtaken Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the global box office. Christopher Nolan’s Homer adaptation stood at $1.35bn worldwide as of Thursday morning (August 20), surpassing the $1.34bn final tally of Shawn Levy’s 2024 superhero tentpole. The Odyssey has amassed $516.3m in North America and $835.6m internationally, ranking as the second-highest film in both categories for the year to date behind Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day way out in front on more than $2bn and $803m, respectively. Deadpool & Wolverine still holds the record for the…

Kieron J. Walsh’s Skintown has won the £50,000 Sean Connery prize for feature filmmaking excellence at the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). Skintown is the story of two best friends who plan to escape small town life in Northern Ireland during the 1994 ceasefire. Jack Rowan and Chris Walley star in the film, which is based on Ciaran McMenamin’s novel (who also wrote the screenplay). Visit Films are handling sales. The film was one of 10 feature-length world premieres competing for the Sean Connery prize voted on by the audience. Sinda Agha’s Grief Room won the £15,000 Thelma Schoonmaker prize for…

With less than one month until the start of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Canadian powerhouse Elevation Pictures has announced that co-president Laurie May has stepped down, effective immediately. May, one of the most accomplished executives in the Canadian film industry, issued a terse statement on Tuesday morning that read: “From founding Elevation and working with our team to building it to the top distribution company in Canada, I am excited to now move forward and pursue my other passions.” Sources expressed surprised at the news and at time of writing the reasons were unclear behind May’s abrupt departure heading…

Paramount lawyers have filed a legal request that the 12 US state attorneys general and Writers Guild of America (WGA) pay a $1.88bn bond in connection with their antitrust case against the media company’s proposed merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). Last week David Ellison’s company said it had cleared regulatory hurdles around the world and was confident the $111bn transaction “could and would close today […] but for the actions of just 12 state attorneys general”. In a filing with a California district court on Monday morning, Ellison’s lawyers argued that the plaintiffs pay the bond by September 30 to cover financial…

Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day scored the second-highest third weekend at the North American box office with an estimated $70m haul that propelled the webslinger past Avatar to rank fourth in the all-time domestic rankings. Now standing at $785.8m after 17 days, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Jon Bernthal has overtaken Avatar on $785.2m with 2021 predecessor Spider-Man: No Way Home on $814.9m and 2019 smash Avengers: Endgame on $858.4m firmly within its sights. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens remains the leader on $936.7m. All numbers are unadjusted…

A queue of several hundred ticket-holders sporting orange bucket hats outside Leith Theatre was an indication of the anticipation for the Trainspotting live event at Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) on Friday, August 14 – a screening of Danny Boyle’s 1996 film with running commentary from cast and crew. The live event was a centrepiece occasion for this year’s EIFF. Hats with the film’s ‘Choose life’ slogan were presented to every attendee, before an evening that often resembled more a rock gig combined with a club night, than a traditional film festival screening. Starting from 8pm, the high-energy tone was set by a…

The resurrection of Todd Haynes’ De Noche has enabled better creative opportunities for the project, according to producer Christine Vachon. The film is a romantic drama starring Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez, as two men in the 1930s who fall in love and leave the US for Mexico. It shot earlier this year around Mexico City and is in post-production; the film had previously fallen apart in summer 2024, when Joaquin Phoenix exited the project days before the start of filming. “If you take the Pollyanna, glass-half-full version of everything happens for a reason, maybe the reason was that this…