‘The Successor’ Review: Cold, Controlled French Thriller Implicates Entire Patriarchy in the Sins of a Father

The Afterparty‘s run on Apple TV+ is over.

Caroline Brew editor The Whole Spiel — the new company co-founded by former NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy — and Red Bull’s Terra Mater Studios have teamed up to develop a slate of drama series. The projects include a reimagined “Tarzan” series, wildlife crime investigation “Rogue,” geopolitical drama “A New King” and true history drama “The Executioner.” In collaboration with Shingle Media and Friendly Fire, the “Tarzan” series will reimagine Edgar Rice Burroughs’ iconic hero for a new generation.

In her Miss Americana documentary, Taylor Swift talks extensively about how she spent much of her career hyperfocused on external validation. At times, her need to please others — her family and friends, the music industry, and even complete strangers — came at the detriment of her own well-being. 

Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi is no stranger to documenting huge moments in American political history. She’s also no stranger to politics, considering she is the daughter of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

The wait is over as tonight the show dubbed the 'ultimate social experiment', Big Brother, returns to our screens. Sixteen housemates arrive at the brand new Big Brother house before a live studio audience as they prepare to compete for a £100,000 cash prize. One by one each housemate arrives by car as they’re introduced to the nation.

Fresh from a victory tour of the fall festivals, four of the key creatives behind Netflix awards favorite Maestro stopped by Contenders London to reveal some of the secrets behind the scenes. Speaking to Baz Bamigboye, producer Kristie Macosko Krieger, makeup designer Kazu Hiro, costume designer Mark Bridges and production designer Kevin Thompson shared their thoughts and experiences on Bradley Cooper’s poignant biographical portrait of world-famous New York conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990 aged 72.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Matt Buchanan and Karl von Randow, the two movie mega-fans who started Letterboxd as a part-time labor of love, have sold a majority stake in the business. So what’s going to be different now? Not much, the two New Zealanders tell Variety.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ireland’s Deadpan Pictures (“Northern Lights”) and France’s Thalie Images (“Killer Coaster”) are teaming up on “The Continental Method,” an ambitious spy comedy thriller set against the backdrop of the Paris riots of May 1968. The European half-hour series is inspired by the true story of Conor O’Flaherty, a fresh-faced Irish salesman who became an unlikely spy in Paris. The twelve-part show is penned by John Morton (“Dead Still”) and Victor Lockwood (“Mental”) who are leading a writing team.

Todd Gilchrist editor In “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” absolute power corrupts absolutely, but even using absolutely all of the footage shot for the notorious production back in 1976 does not necessarily result in a better film. The most expensive independent film ever produced until that time, “Caligula” was conceived by late Penthouse founder Bob Guccione as a sexually explicit film that also featured real actors and high production values; hiring bestselling author Gore Vidal to write a script for Italian avant-garde director Tinto Brass (“Salon Kitty”), Guccione subsequently attracted such respected thespians as Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud and Helen Mirren to star.

his 2018 “Halloween” reboot with Jamie Lee Curtis. And, on paper, his plan doesn’t sound so bad. Running time: 121 minutes.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic The sequels — or, in two cases, prequels — to “The Exorcist” have all been unqualified turkeys. There is now a movement at hand to declare that John Boorman’s crackpot insect-swarm fantasia “Exorcist II: The Heretic” (1977) was some sort of misunderstood masterpiece, but that’s an act of revisionism every bit as loony tunes as “Heaven’s Gate” revisionism.

J. Kim Murphy There was one key question gripping the box office heading into this weekend: would audiences be PAWing, or would they be Sawing? In a crowded September capper with four new wide releases, Paramount’s “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” looks to come out on top. The animated feature is edging out Lionsgate’s horror entry “Saw X” to lead domestic charts.

Trish Deitch Before Melissa Etheridge became a stadium rock star, she spent four years playing lesbian bars in and around LA. That atmosphere—a small, rowdy roomful of happy drunken ladies—changed the way she wrote music and performed.

Michael Nordine author Much like its protagonist — a ghastly superhero who gains his powers after falling into a vat of chemical waste — “The Toxic Avenger” refuses to die. Made for a paltry $500,000 in 1984, Troma’s cult classic spawned three direct sequels, a rock musical, two video games, a short-lived animated series and now a remake starring Peter Dinklage. Given the eco-friendly, anti-pollution message at the improbable franchise’s core, perhaps its reemergence shouldn’t be surprising.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson secretly long-lost brothers? It’s a question that has enticed fans and the media since McConaughey dropped a bombshell revelation about his family history earlier this year. Now, retired television personality Maury Povich has thrown his hat into the ring, offering to help the two actors settle the mystery once and for all with a DNA test.The story began when 53-year-old Matthew McConaughey made a shocking revelation during a podcast interview earlier this year.

Writer/director Brian Duffield has only directed two films so far, but he’s already starting to carve out a specific niche. He’s a filmmaker who loves to take these character-driven, emotional stories and put them against the backdrop of genre.

Matthew McConaughey is revealing more about recent rumors that Woody Harrelson is his brother.

Courtney Howard The “PAW Patrol” franchise is now 10 years old — 70 in dog years — and with each installment, children and their parents have been treated to exciting adventures, wholesome characters and cool new merchandise. What began as a preschool TV series in 2013 got the silver-screen treatment in 2021 with the inventively named “PAW Patrol: The Movie,” broadening its scale and reach but sacrificing none of its lesson-learning or toy-slinging.

Amy Nicholson “The Royal Hotel,” the setting of Kitty Green’s ulcer-inducing thriller, is a sun-baked bar in a rural Australian mining town surrounded by terrain so monotone that Canadian backpackers Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) can’t keep their eyes open on the way in. The two young women arrive at their barmaid jobs with a sense palpable disorientation. They’ve quite literally woken up in Oz, and they don’t know the people, the customs, the nicknames for the local ales, or the way out.

When I was in college cinema courses I made a Super 8 film called Movie Girl. It was a Hollywood-set love letter to movies centered on a Musso & Franks waitress who put herself dreamily into the plots of classic films. It won an award there but was the highlight of the directing career I never had. However I have always been partial to filmmakers who put their own early film going experience and passion into their careers now. You may have heard of them. Kenneth Branagh won an Oscar for doing just that in Belfast. Steven Spielberg got several nominations last year for his very personal The Fabelmans . Woody Allen had his own charming take in The Purple Rose Of Cairo. Peter Bogdanovich made a lasting impression with 1971’s The Last Picture Show, as did Giuseppe Tornatore with his Oscar winner, Cinema Paradiso. It is a combination of the latter two especially that might describe the feel of the latest movie about the love of movies, The Movie Teller (La Contadora de Peliculas) which had its World Premiere tonight at the Toronto Film Festival. And just in sheer numbers of classic film clips incorporated into its near two hour running time, this one sets a record in the little sub-genre. For movie lovers everywhere The Movie Teller is a must see.