‘Problemista’ Trailer: Julio Torres’ Charming Immigrant Story Arrives In August

Before Fran Rubel Kuzui brought Joss Whedon‘s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” to life for the first time in 1992, she made “Tokyo Pop.” And Kino Lorber has a new 4K restoration of the film ready for theaters in time for its 35th anniversary. READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023 First screened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, Kuzui’s feature debut sees an NYC girl emigrate to Tokyo on a whim to make it as a singer.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic When you go to a movie called “The Modelizer,” you tend to assume certain things about your protagonist: that he’ll be a smooth-talking pricelessly well-dressed cad, one who values women too much for certain assets (their looks) and not enough for others (everything else), and that the film will be engineered to give him a comeuppance. All that is true of “The Modelizer.” What you don’t expect is that the movie, in this case, is going to take all that sexist-swinger-as-master-of-the-universe stuff and put it on steroids. “The Modelizer” is set in Hong Kong, which the movie keeps reminding us is the most expensive city in the world. The hero, Shawn Koo (Byron Mann), is the scion of an outrageously wealthy Chinese real-estate family; they own one-third of the property in the city. Shawn, who sees each of his parents once a month and serves as their company’s managing director (basically a show title, since they control everything), lives a life of carefree jet-set hedonism, dating a different fashion model every week.

After screening work at the Tribeca Film Festival, Rotterdam, and SXSW, NYC filmmaker Laura Moss made their feature directorial debut at Sundance this past January with “birth/rebirth.” And it didn’t disappoint at the festival: The Playlist’s review says “Moss presents the movie as an eerie amalgam, stitching together horror roots with an off-kilter tone, dreamlike framing, and a focus on human sin over monster shenanigans.

Netflix has dropped the trailer for the second half of The Lincoln Lawyer and…no surprise, Mickey Haller survives that brutal beating.

Paris Barclay made some television history this morning.

Manny Coto, who won an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for 24, worked on its sequel series, co-created Fox’s AI drama neXt and was an EP on Dexter, Star Trek: Enterprise, American Horror Story and others, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at his home in Pasadena. He was 62.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Emmy-winning writer/producer/director Manny Coto, whose credits include “24” and its sequels “24: Live Another Day” and “24: Legacy,” as well as “American Horror Story,” “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Dexter,” died Sunday in Pasadena. He was 62. News of Coto’s death was confirmed by a family representative. Coto died after a 13-month battle with pancreatic cancer, and passed away at his home, surrounded by family. Born in Havana, Cuba, Manuel Hector Coto was one of primetime’s most prominent Latino writers and showrunners. He shared the outstanding drama series Emmy in 2005 for Season 5 of “24,” and co-created “24: Legacy.” Coto also spend four seasons as exec producer of “American Horror Story,” and also exec produced two seasons of “American Horror Stories,” directing the 2021 episode “Feral.”

For years, we’ve heard that the rom-com is dead, and no one is paying to see those movies—generally mid-sized budget films—in theaters. And that could be true, but the success metrics on streaming sites are obviously different, and the romantic comedy has been thriving on streaming, arguably very specifically on Netflix, which has given a home to this genre in recent years.

Will Tizard Contributor Bulgarian crime story “Blaga’s Lessons” by Stephan Komandarev scored the top prize and $25,000 at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Saturday, capping a week of celebrating art film, stars and bold global work. With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” to rare Japanese masterworks by Yasuzo Masumura and a tribute to actor Daniela Kolarova, Czech audiences proved once again to be hungry for every kind of film they cannot experience at any other venue. The Crystal Globe competition special jury prize, along with $15,000, went to “Empty Nets,” a German-Iranian gritty love story directed by Behrooz Karamizade.

The scene outside Silvercup Studios on Thursday was the same as it has been for weeks.

The Nun’s back!

Will Tizard Contributor Although set in a noirish Northern California, “Fremont” – which premiered at Sundance and plays in competition at Karlovy Vary this week – is a refugee story that’s firmly rooted in reality. Director Babak Jalali’s casting of real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada, a first-time actor, in the lead role gives some indication of his commitment to authenticity. The hardboiled script, co-written with Carolina Cavalli, turns on a young woman, Donya, working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory while starved for sleep and wracked with PTSD from her past life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The tight dialogue lends another level of stylized sheen to the film, as does the appearance of two veteran actors in wry performances – Gregg Turkington as a Jack London-obsessed therapist, and Jeremy Allen White, best known for his role as master chef in TV series “The Bear,” as a lovelorn mechanic.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor When Variety talks to Zoe Saldana and her husband, the artist and film director, Marco Perego, they’ve only just arrived in Taormina and are in the process of unpacking. Room service arrives and Zoe apologizes about having to tuck into the salad straightaway. They’re here attending the world premiere of Perego’s debut film as a director, “The Absence of Eden,” a drama that takes place in the murky world of the U.S.’s southern border, a hellish landscape inhabited by Coyotes, ICE officers, desperate immigrants and refugees. It’s a universe away from the Pandora of the “Avatar” pictures or the science fiction blockbusters “Star Trek” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” Saldana is more usually associated with. “When I was picked for those films, I had no idea they were going to become franchises. I thought it was going to be a one and done kind of thing. I hold all of those films responsible for any kind of global notoriety I may have. However, it’s time consuming. Between ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Guardians’ and ‘Avatar,’ I had solid work for over 10 years. As I became an asset that had a certain value in this industry, I could turn that to films like this.”

Guy Lodge Film Critic In their 2018 film “The Dead and the Others,” directors João Salaviza et Renée Nader Messora turned their lens generously to the Krahô people of northeast Brazil, documenting a longstanding way of life under threat from developers and politicians, and giving their non-professional subjects ample leeway for improvisation in presenting themselves on screen. Their ambitious, formally limber follow-up “The Buriti Flower” resumes their study of the Krahô, but with an expanded scope, as it examines ideological and generational conflict within the tribe: protectively insular tradition on one side, outward-facing activism on the other. Blending candid vérité with extravagant flourishes of fiction, the film sees its helmers sharing screenwriting duties with a trio of Krahô locals, and feels more textured for their collaboration.

Lana Condor revealed if fiance Anthony De La Torre is jealous of her friendship with Noah Centineo – Just Jared Jr Vice President Kamala Harris revealed the song she listened to before visiting Stonewall – Celebitchy The Weeknd is going viral for the wrong reason again due to The Idol – Popsugar Have you heard all of the songs in the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid yet? – Just Jared Jr

Sophia Scorziello editor Hollywood is paying tribute to Oscar winner Alan Arkin, who died on Thursday at 89. Known for his dry, straight-faced humor and wide range of roles, Arkin was a beloved member of the entertainment world throughout his more than seven decades of acting on screen and on stage. Arkin won his Oscar for his role in the 2006 indie road comedy “Little Miss Sunshine.” Arkin played Edwin Hoover, the nutty grandfather and biggest supporter of his granddaughter Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin), a young girl competing in beauty pageant that sends her whole family on a road trip from New Mexico to California in their Volkswagen van.

The story of “Dreamin’ Wild” is a pretty damn fascinating one beyond its terrific filmmaker (Bill Pohlad) and its excellent cast (led by Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel, to name just a few). In short, Light In The Attic, a fantastic Seattle record label that unearths undiscovered gems, did just that with Donnie and Joe Emerson.

is bringing a new book to fans of the show, true-crime followers, and history buffs alike. Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr., who worked together on the CBS drama for many years, have penned the non-fiction book, It is the first narrative non-fiction title from the pair and is set to be released by Harper Select on Nov.

Deadline has confirmed that Evan Peters has joined Disney’s third installment of Tron, entitled, Tron Ares.

Kim Kardashian has been making the most of her time on the American Horror Story set — and Us Weekly has exclusive details on her highly anticipated appearance.