Betty Gilpin Teases Playing a Nun ‘With Lashes’ in ‘Mrs. Davis’: ‘You’ll Be Screaming at the Television’

Clayton Davis After two weeks of solid showings at the box office, excellent reviews and passionate fan responses, “The Woman King” has become one of the year’s standout hits, with plans to be competitive in the awards races for both major and artisan category attention.  One of the film’s standout stars, Thuso Mbedu, who plays the young Nawi, will be campaigning for supporting actress attention, Variety has learned. Academy Award winner Viola Davis (“Fences”) will be the sole actress campaigning for lead actress.  Mbedu, who was the breakout sensation of 2021’s Emmy-nominated series “The Underground Railroad” from director Barry Jenkins, will compete in supporting alongside her co-stars Sheila Atim, Jayme Lawson, Adrienne Warren and most prominent, Lashana Lynch. All of the male actors, including John Boyega, will be competing in supporting actor. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a first look at her Wolf Pack character Kristin Ramsey, a chief arson investigator who she describes as a “hard person to crack” with plenty of secrets of her own.

are also among the auction items, along with the black-and-gold Mignon gown she wore to the Emmy Awards in 1989. Several other vintage designer gowns from Hollywood awards shows are among the lots.Julien’s Auctions has already received thousands of bids for the wide variety of items, many of which are animal themed, reflecting the star’s lifelong devotion to animal causes.

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley), Ashley Romans (Y: The Last Man) and Katja Herbers (Evil) have joined the cast of the Peacock drama series from Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic “Tough guy with heart of gold” is the cliché that provides the gist to “The Enforcer,” and nothing much turns up to refresh or complicate that hoary hook. This criminal-underworld thriller benefits from Antonio Banderas’ star charisma as a veteran mob strong-arm who turns against his own organization in order to rescue an imperiled teen. Richard Hughes’ feature directorial debut also elevates matters somewhat with a slick and stylish presentation. But the results remain too hogtied by original “Point Break” scribe W. Peter Iliff’s routine, elemental screenplay to rise above the level of disposable genre fodder.  Cuda (Banderas) is just out of prison, having dutifully taken the heat for deeds done in service to Miami syndicate boss Estelle (Kate Bosworth). He hopes to restore relations with his 15-year-old daughter, but she’s wary after his long absence, his ex-wife outright hostile. Perhaps as a regretful result, he takes a fatherly interest in Billie (Zolee Griggs), a foster-home runaway who’s also 15. He prevents her getting in trouble for shoplifting, securing a motel room so she’ll be off the streets he’s all too aware are unsafe. Yet Billie is soon abducted from that short-term haven, presumably by sex traffickers, and it doesn’t take Cuda long to figure out that the perps are very likely tied to his own employer. 

Sarah Jessica Parker and Sara Ramírez are teasing that the second season of And Just Like That… has started production. The stars of the HBO Max series shared a couple of photos from the table read ahead of filming of the first episode.

Audiences got their first look at Naomi Ackie as the late iconic American singer Whitney Houston in the new trailer for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The biopic is directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Anthony McCarten, the creator of the critically acclaimed film "Bohemian Rhapsody." Featured in the trailer alongside Ackie is Ashton Sanders who plays Bobby Brown, Stanley Tucci as Davis, Clarke Peters as John Houston, Whitney’s father, and Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston. With executive producers Clive Davis and Pat Houston, the singer's longtime manager, the film follows a young Whitney from her obscure music career to the height of her fame.

Clayton Davis As the filmmaking team for “The Woman King” travels to Brazil to promote the historical epic, Viola Davis and her husband and producing partner Julius Tennon are celebrating the success of the film’s no. 1 debut at the box office, grossing $19 million domestically. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 10, followed by opening in theaters one week later. It’s one of the rare films where critics and general audiences given it a similarly positive reception, with a 95% critics score and 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It even pulled off an “A+” Cinema Score. Davis emphasizes that the story of “The Woman King” can connect to all audiences, not only Black women.

This is too funny!

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday. LAST UPDATED: Sept. 15, 2022 CATEGORY COMMENTARY: We’ll see if the science fiction and the action genres can get representation in the race with Claudio Miranda for “Top Gun: Maverick,” Russell Carpenter for “Avatar: The Way of Water” or Larkin Seiple for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” When it comes to “Top Gun,” if the studio wants to get into the best picture category, it needs to stay gain at least four tech noms to stay in the discussion, and cinematography could be its ticket as it looks “assured” recognition for best film editing, sound and visual effects (so far).

Viola Davis is stepping out for a special screening of her new movie!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Fresh off its enthusiastic world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the Viola Davis-led historical epic “The Woman King” will touch down in 3,700 North American movie theaters over the weekend. The domestic box office desperately needs a boost, but will U.S. audiences be as receptive as festival-goers in Canada? Touted as the real-life “Black Panther,” Sony’s “The Woman King” is aiming to collect at least $15 million in its domestic debut. Independent box office observers are optimistic that opening weekend returns could reach $17 million to $20 million. Yet Sony, who co-financed the movie with eOne, is projecting $12 million, in line with 2018’s “Widows,” which also starred Davis. Replicating those ticket sales, even with tempered pandemic-expectations, would be tepid-at-best since “The Woman King” carries a $50 million price tag.

John Legend took the stage at the 2022 Emmy Awards to honor all the stars that are now gone. The In Memoriam segment was one of the highlights of the night with the EGOT winner performing his new song “Pieces.”

Gina Prince Bythewood’s period film The Woman King opens with an incredible action sequence with General Nanisca (Viola Davis) of The Agojie army approaching a village of men holding their women hostage. Men are getting sliced, diced and tossed across the screen by these mighty warrior women. After they arrive back in the Dahomey kingdom victorious, the story introduces Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), an unmarried young woman deemed worthless because she has no husband. She’s taken to the palace and introduced to Izogie (Lashana Lynch) and Amenza (Shiela Atim), Dahomey’s top soldiers in the King Ghezo Royal guard. Women in the army are respected, and when they pledge to service, they take an oath of celibacy and childlessness to be accepted and train.

Peter Pan, Wendy, and the Lost Boys are on a new adventure in the trailer for Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy.”The first look at the upcoming film, which debuted at D23 Expo on Friday, opens with Ever Anderson as Wendy stumbling upon the Lost Boys — who are not all boys. When Wendy points out the discrepancy, she’s met with a sassy, “So?”It isn’t long before Alexander Molony’s Peter Pan appears to whisk Wendy away.

Director Justin Simien and Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis stopped by D23 today to tease their upcoming live-action Haunted Mansion film, sharing that it will feature cameos from Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, Hasan Minhaj and more.