Brent Lang Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Brent Lang Executive Editor Steven Soderbergh starts things off with an apology. His assistant is on vacation, and he was certain that our interview was scheduled to start a full 15 minutes after it was supposed to commence. That resulted in a mad scramble of calls text messages to track down the filmmaker. “I was just sitting here staring off into space,” he says. It must have been a rare moment of calm for the always-on-the-move director, who a has averaged at least one movie or series a year since reemerging from a short-lived retirement in 2017. And he’s back again this summer with “Full Circle,” a six-part miniseries that premieres at the Tribeca Festival before launching on Max on July 13. It’s a morally complex story about a botched kidnapping that causes several characters’ lives to intersect in surprising ways. It’s also a fascinating portrait of modern-day New York City, one that showcases a privileged Manhattan family (Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant play the guardians of a business that revolves around Dennis Quaid’s celebrity chef), as well as a pair of Guyanese kidnappers who are deployed by CCH Pounder’s shadowy business woman to exact revenge. “Full Circle” is the kind of knotty thriller that Soderbergh, a master of the genre, does such a great job of setting and then unwinding. To say more would be to spoil its pleasures.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Michael Shannon has turned the tables on me. I’m supposed to be the one conducting the interview, but he’s more interested in what I saw at Cannes. “What did I like?” he wonders. “What was worth watching?” And to hear his probing questions, delivered in the low rumble and unvarnished intensity with which Shannon threatens Superman in “Man of Steel,” momentarily makes my mind go completely blank. What the hell did I watch over there? I manage to conjure up a few films — “Zone of Interest” and “May December,” the title of which I can’t quite grab onto and rechristen as “the Todd Haynes one.” And with that out of the way we’re off, pausing for a few minutes halfway through so Shannon can tell his kid to get ready for a sleepover while he makes him something to eat.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Several crew members were injured on the Morocco set of the sequel to “Gladiator” on June 7 while filming a stunt sequence for the action film. “While filming a planned stunt sequence on the set of the ‘Gladiator’ sequel, an accident occurred during which several crew members experienced non-life-threatening injuries,” a spokesperson for Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, said in a statement. “The safety and full medical services teams on-site were able to act quickly so that those who were impacted immediately received necessary care. They are all in stable condition and continue to receive treatment.” A total of six people received treatment, four of whom remain in the hospital. All of the impacted crew members were treated for burn injuries, according to an individual with knowledge of the production. Two other crew members were treated locally and then discharged. The accident occurred towards the end of the shooting day. No cast members were harmed.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Some Like It Hot,” a musical adaptation of the classic film, arrived on Broadway in December with sizzling reviews and backed by some of the most prominent names in comedy and theater. And yet, for the first few months of its life on stage, the show struggled to ignite at the box office. “Word-of-mouth has taken a longer time to seep out into the world than we expected,” says Neil Meron, one of the show’s producers. “One thing we’re still struggling with in this post-pandemic period is it has changed people’s buying habits. It used to be if the critics liked you, you’d be selling out. But now, there isn’t the same level of tourism and people aren’t going to the office as much, so they aren’t seeing a show after work. And we haven’t gotten those suburban theatergoers back. So it’s week-to-week, being on the edge-of-your-seat, hoping to get enough people to keep the lights on.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor Rosario Dawson and Sam Adegoke have joined the cast of “Dark Days & the Dawn,” the latest film from “This Is Not a War Story” director Talia Lugacy. “Dark Days & the Dawn” unfolds over the course of one night and into daybreak, as Maria Del Sol (Dawson) and Samuel (Adegoke), a couple who have been together for four hundred and sixty years, hit their breaking point. Lugacy and Kamau Ware collaborated on the genre bending script for “Dark Days & the Dawn,” penning characters written specifically for Dawson and Adegoke to portray. Lugacy produces under her Acoustic Pictures banner, alongside Noah Lang for Witchcraft Motion Picture Company, and Ware for Kamau Studios. Cassian Elwes and Tom Culliver executive produce for Elevated Films. The film will shoot in Savanah, Georgia later this year.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker are checking in across the pond. The two actors (a real-life married couple) are bringing their relationship comedy “Plaza Suite” to London following a sold-out Broadway run. The West End transfer of Neil Simon’s play is directed by Tony Awardwinner John Benjamin Hickey. It will play a strictly limited season at the Savoy Theatre from Jan. 15 to March 31 with tickets on sale in September. In an interesting twist, the play, which unfolds in one of the most famous hotels in the world, will be remounted in a theater that is part of an equally iconic hotel. The production marks Broderick’s return to the West End stage following his run in 2019’s “The Starry Messenger.” “Plaza Suite” is Parker’s West End debut. Both stars are known for their film and television work — he for “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Glory,” she for “Sex and the City.” However, they also frequently appear on stage. Broderick won a Tony for “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “How to Succeed in Business…” and appeared in “The Producers.” Parker made herBroadway debut in 1976 in “The Innocents”directed by Harold Pinter, and appeared in “Annie,” “How to Succeed in Business…” and“Once Upon a Mattress.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor The Tribeca Festival excised “Film” from its name in 2021, and while it’s true that the annual celebration of all things entertainment has expanded to include plenty of television and immersive programming, the movies make it a must-attend event. This year’s lineup is no exception. It has big-name actors such as Michael Shannon and Jennifer Esposito trying their hand at directing, along with revelatory performances from stars like Nick Jonas. But what makes Tribeca so exciting is that it’s a springboard for bold new voices (keep your eyes on So Young Shelly Yo, making her feature directorial debut). As the fest gets ready to kick off on June 7, here are nine movies not to be missed.  

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Megan Griffiths’” I’ll Show You Mine,” a Duplass Brothers Productions film, starring Poorna Jagannathan and Casey Thomas Brown. The drama will be released in theaters and on demand on June 23, 2023. “I’ll Show You Mine” follows an author who has made a career by examining her own trauma as she sits down to interview her beguiling pansexual nephew Nick for a new book about his history as a model. Over the course of a weekend, the two challenge each other to confront and reveal their buried secrets.   “‘I’ll Show You Mine’ was made to engage in an entertaining way with universal themes–sexuality, the effects of trauma, and the need to release the shame that holds us back. It’s a deeply hopeful film that I think will really resonate with audiences and I just couldn’t be more excited to partner with Gravitas to get it out into the world,” stated director Megan Griffiths.  

Brent Lang Executive Editor As Matthew López prepared for the London debut of “The Inheritance,” his epic drama about the AIDS epidemic and its painful aftershocks, he was simultaneously outlining a first draft of “Some Like It Hot,” an effervescent re-imagining of the classic Billy Wilder film. The two shows could not have been more radically different. But López enjoyed toggling between comedy and tragedy. “I like working in extremes,” he says. “I like working in different modes.” Plus, he thinks that both productions benefitted from their author’s double act. “I got to live in both worlds at once,” López argues. “One helped the other. Doing the shows at the same time kept both projects in check. It prevented ‘The Inheritance’ from getting too dour and kept ‘Some Like It Hot’ from getting too lightweight. It brought some gravity to ‘Some Like It Hot’ and some levity to ‘The Inheritance.'”

Brent Lang Executive Editor When I reach Jeremy O. Harris, he’s about to be whisked upstate to celebrate his birthday. And this one is hitting a little harder than others, and not just because, like all birthdays, it’s a blaring reminder of all the mileage that’s been accumulated. No, it’s because Harris is turning 34, the same age that Lorraine Hansberry, the brilliant, barrier-atomizing playwright behind “A Raisin in the Sun, was when she died in 1965. “I feel aligned with her spiritually,” Harris, who took the theater world by storm with his 2019 Broadway debut, “Slave Play.” “We both went to Broadway for the first time when we were 29 years old. And right now, I’m thinking that my life has been so short, but it’s so much richer because of what she has done for the theater.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor The Tribeca Festival has unveiled the jury members who will select winning projects in the film, immersive, games and audio storytelling sections for its 2023 edition. It’s a collection of directors, writers, actors, producers and cultural leaders that includes Oscar winner Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) and Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”). The A-list talent in the jury consists of actors such as Zoey Deutch (“The Politician”), Dianna Agron (“Glee”), Zazie Beetz (“Atlanta”), Kate Siegel (“Hush”), Nina Dobrev (“The Vampire Diaries”), Piper Perabo (“Covert Affairs”), Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) and Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”). Chance the Rapper, playwright and screenwriter Jeremy O. Harris and multi-hyphenate filmmakers such Andrew Ahn, Mark Duplass, Stephen Kay and Clea DuVall are also among the jurors.

Brent Lang Executive Editor No-holds-barred psychological warfare is about to break out as “Doubt: A Parable”returns to Broadway. Two theatrical heavyweights, Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber, will try to put their own spin on the roles of a prickly nun and the reformist priest she fears may be doing the unthinkable. They are parts first portrayed on Broadway by Cherry Jones and Brían F. O’Byrne, she won a Tony and he was nominated, and later on screen by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both picked up Oscar noms. The play won a Tony and a Pulitzer for John Patrick Shanley. This revival arrives courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company and will be directed by Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis (“Tootsie,” “Take Me Out”). “Doubt: A Parable” will begin performances in February 2024 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway. The remaining cast members and design team will be announced at a later date.

Brent Lang Executive Editor How high can “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” climb? The sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is getting a lift from good buzz and residual fondness for its predecessor, one of the inaugural cinematic forays into all things multiverse. And while reviews are still embargoed, critics flipped for the first one, so assuming the follow-up sticks the landing, the notices could propel “Across the Spider-Verse” ever higher. But it’s a crowded marketplace and five years has passed since audiences were first introduced to Miles Morales and a wide web of Spider-People. Plus, there’s been an ever expanding array of superhero films and streaming shows to turn to, increasing the competition for moviegoers who like their heroes costumed and masked.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Thirty five years after the animated story of Ariel, a flame-haired siren of the sea who falls for a prince, charmed audiences, a live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” dominated the Memorial Day weekend box office. The Disney release is on track to debut to a massive $118 million over the four-day holiday, with $96 million of that coming over the weekend. It ranks as the fifth highest Memorial Day opening in history. The film got a lift from many of the same moviegoers who first fell in love with Ariel when she flitted across the screen in 1988, as well as from the generations of fans who weren’t alive when the original movie opened, but who were nevertheless weaned on the classic from its various appearances on DVD, television, and later streaming. The live action “Little Mermaid” (and “live action” is doing a lot of lifting here considering the sheer tonnage of CGI required to bring Ariel’s ocean home to life), was directed by Rob Marshall and stars Halle Bailey as the title character. Melissa McCarthy plays Ursula, the malevolent sea witch who steals Ariel’s voice in return for giving her legs and a chance to canoodle with the dreamy Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Javier Badem, Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs round out the ensemble.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The Bride is back. Lionsgate said it is releasing a new and remastered 4K edition of “Kill Bill” to coincide with the Quentin Tarantino film’s 20th anniversary at the end of the year. No word yet on what kind of extras and added footage that version may or may not include. But it does come as Lionsgate announced on its quarterly earnings call that it has landed distribution rights to both “Kill Bill” films and “Jackie Brown.” That gives the company the largest portfolio of Tarantino movies. Lionsgate also has the rights to “Reservoir Dogs,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained,” “The Hateful Eight” and “Death Proof.” Most of those movies were initially released by The Weinstein Company or Miramax. Some of those movies later became available after the Weinstein Company went bankrupt after its founder Harvey Weinstein was accused by dozens of women of sexual abuse, harassment and assault.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The return of John Wick, its popular hit man franchise, helped lift quarterly earnings at Lionsgate, enabling the company to best expectations. For the three-month period ending on March 31, revenues at Lionsgate increased 16.7% to $1.1 billion. The company also reported an operating loss of $49.6 million, which was slightly better than the $50.4 million in losses it logged in the year-ago period.  There was also a net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $96.8 million or 42 cents net loss per share. Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders in the quarter was $49.2 million or 21 cents in adjusted earnings per share. Lionsgate’s film business did much of the heavy lifting. The studio segment reported revenue of $823.6 million, an increase of 25% from the prior-year quarter, with the movie portion of that haul increasing by 85%. That was due to the success of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” a blockbuster sequel starring Keanu Reeves as the titular avenger, as well as the release of two modest hits in the faith-based drama “Jesus Revolution” and the Gerard Butler action-thriller “Plane.” It also helped off-set declines in Lionsgate’s television business, which the company said was the result of “timing” of when its shows are licensed or hit the airwaves.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Tribeca will release a newly restored edition of “A Bronx Tale,” the directorial debut of Robert De Niro. It will include exclusive interviews with De Niro, who starred in the film as well as directed it, and writer and star Chazz Palminteri, reflecting on how the movie has become a classic with audiences. They also recall the original production process, how the screenplay was adapted and the authenticity of the film’s characters .  “A Bronx Tale (30th Anniversary Edition)” will be available on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and video on demand platforms starting Sept. 12, 2023. For the first time, the film will be released in newly restored Ultra High Definition Dolby Vision and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround sound. 

Brent Lang Executive Editor When his agent first suggested that Karim Aïnouz direct an adaptation of Elizabeth Fremantle’s “Queen’s Gambit,” a historical novel about Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, he thought she was joking. The Brazilian director of “The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão” wasn’t a natural choice to bring 16th century England to life on screen. For one thing, Aïnouz didn’t really know anything about the oft-married monarch. “I could barely identify who Henry VIII was, and I’m not into the monarchy,” he says on the eve of the Cannes premiere of “Firebrand,” the movie he made from Fremantle’s book. “I’m not into British history. I was very puzzled.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christopher Manning will make his feature directorial debut with “James Ivory: In Search of Love and Beauty,” a biographical documentary about Oscar-winning director and screenwriter James Ivory. The film will chronicle the life and work of the filmmaker, who is still going strong at age 94, having earned acclaim and an Academy Award for adapting “Call Me By Your Name.” But even before that film hit theaters, Ivory was known as an unparalleled director of dramas about men and women who deal with roiling emotions behind a facade of exquisite manners.  His greatest films include such classics (and yes that over-used descriptor applies) as “A Room with a View,” “Maurice,” “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day.” He has been nominated for the director Oscar on three occasions, and has been nominated for producing three picture contenders. Many of these movies were made with the help of the late film producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The trio operated under the shingle Merchant Ivory, producing 44 films between 1961 and 2009.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It makes sense that Martin Scorsese would demand and receive final cut. That’s the perk of directing some of the most iconic films in Hollywood history. But even the most exhaustively realized lowlife saga could use a snip here and there. And as Scorsese’s stature has grown, his movies have gotten longer and longer, making one wonder if he needs to be more merciless in the editing bay. It’s gotten so bad that ahead of the Cannes premiere of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the maestro’s team had to deny reports that his latest movie was nearly 4 hours. Turns out it’s a fleet 3 hours, 20 minutes and change. In honor of that film’s debut, we break down some selections from Scorsese’s canon — with an emphasis on the clock to see if length correlates to quality.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Well Go USA Entertainment has taken North American distribution rights to “Mercy Road,” a new psychological thriller from Arclight Films. The film stars Australian actor Luke Bracey, who was most recently seen in Baz Lurhman’s “Elvis” and the re-make of “Point Break.” “Mercy Road” follows a flawed everyman who commits an impulsive and vicious crime. In this ultimate journey to redemption, he discovers how far he is willing to go to save his child.   It was written and directed by John Curran, the director of such acclaimed dramas as “Chappaquiddick” and “The Painted Veil.”  Chris Pelletier and Jesse Heffring penned the script. Susie Porter (“Cargo”) and Huw Higginson (“The Nightingale”) co-star with Toby Jones (“Poor Cow”). Well Go USA will release “Mercy Road” in late 2023. 

Brent Lang Executive Editor Drafthouse Films has acquired three films that it will release theatrically in U.S. theaters followed by digital releases across major streaming platforms.  They include “Mister Organ,” a documentary from journalist and filmmaker David Farrier, whose 2016 film “Tickled” explored the dark underbelly of “competitive endurance tickling,” will be released in theaters this fall. As he turns his camera on another stranger than fiction story, Farrier finds himself caught in an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse with a mysterious character who expertly manipulates the lives of anyone who dares to expose his secrets. The film, Produced by Ant Timpson and Firefly Films’ Emma Slade and Alex Reed, was a critical and audience favorite at Fantastic Fest 2022, and has become a box office hit in Farrier’s native New Zealand.

Brent Lang Executive Editor If Hollywood ever opts to reboot “Back to the Future” without the original cast, Michael J. Fox says he’s at peace with the decision. “I’m not fanatical,” Fox told Variety for a recent cover story on his life and career. “Do what you want. It’s your movie. I got paid already.” But that doesn’t mean he thinks it’s a good idea. Fox also believes that Robert Zemeckis, the trilogy’s director and writer, and his co-writer, Bob Gale, wouldn’t be down with it either. “I don’t think it needs to be,” Fox added. “I think Bob and Bob have been really smart about that. I don’t think it needs rebooting because are you going to clarify something? You’re going to find a better way to tell the story? I doubt it.”

Ethan Shanfeld Variety garnered a record 96 nominations for the SoCal Journalism awards sponsored by the Los Angeles Press Club, with nods across magazine and entertainment journalism, art and photography, video, audio, online content and social media during the 2022 calendar year. Among the nominations announced Friday were Tim Gray for print journalist of the year and Clayton Davis for online journalist of the year. In addition, Owen Gleiberman, Chris Willman and Daniel D’Addario were nominated as entertainment journalists of the year. “We are extremely proud of our newsroom for a banner year in record-breaking traffic, hard-hitting investigative journalism, profile writing and video. These nominations are a testament to the great work Variety is doing covering the entertainment industry,” said Variety co-editor-in-chiefs Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Having explored the darker side of corporate amorality and greed in “Succession,” Jeremy Strong will delve into a more small town version of corruption. The Emmy winner is set to star in a new Broadway production of “An Enemy of the People,” Henrik Ibsen’s classic story of a medical officer whose scientific findings leave him pushing to close the spa that is his community’s main source of economic life. It does not go well… Well, at least that’s the story Ibsen spun. This time Amy Herzog, who recently brought a paired down version of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” to Broadway, is adapting the story, so it could be quite different. Sam Gold, who has impressed and alternately alienated critics with his radical re-imaginings of “The Glass Menagerie” and “King Lear,” will direct. The production will premiere on Broadway in early 2024 at a theater to be announced.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” a new thriller starring Oscar nominees Liam Neeson and Kerry Condon. The studio is planning to release the film in theaters this fall. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” unfolds in a remote Irish village, where a damaged Finbar (Neeson) is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins. The question is what price is he willing to pay, as he finds himself drawn into a lethal game of cat and mouse with a trio of vengeful terrorists. Neeson has starred in dozens of films, including “Schindler’s List,” “Taken,” and “Batman Begins.” Condon was nominated for nearly every award imaginable for her supporting performance in “The Banshees of Inisherin.” The starry ensemble also includes Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Oscar-nominee Ciaran Hinds (“Belfast”), Jack Gleeson (“Game of Thrones”), Desmond Eastwood (“Normal People”) and Sarah Greene (“Bad Sisters”).

Brent Lang Executive Editor David Schuster’s Gloves Up Entertainment and Dennis Latos’ Latos Entertainment have partnered to option David L. Bluder’s novel, “The Great Gamble.” They will also produce the psychological horror film, “It Comes Back” with Elise Finnerty set to direct.  Schuster (HBO’s “The Survivor”) and Latos (Tribeca winning short, “Leylak”) will develop and produce the projects jointly within each of their own respective banners. Additionally, the duo is developing several other high-profile projects and are expanding their catalogue of intellectual property in the film and television space. According to the official description: “‘The Great Gamble’ follows two FBI agents who embark on a classified operation as they begin uncovering the deceptive and corrupt universe of gambling and sports betting previously hidden from the eyes of fans in the United States.” The novel was published by Ice Cube Press in March 2020. 

Brent Lang Executive Editor Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane are starring in “Between the Temples,” a new film from writer and director Nathan Silver that’s being described as “an anxious comedy.” It’s the story of a cantor who is locked in a crisis of faith and finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student. The supporting cast for this humorous exercise in neurosis boasts Dolly De Leon, who was just nominated for her scene-stealing work in “Triangle of Sadness.” Other ensemble members include Screen Actors Guild award-winner Caroline Aaron (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), longtime funnyman Robert Smigel (SNL’s “TV Funhouse”), stage and screen actress Madeline Weinstein (“Beach Rats”) and indie film regular Matthew Shear (“Mistress America”).

Brent Lang Executive Editor CJ 4DPlex is off to the strongest start in its history with revenues for the first four months of the year tracking 70% higher than 2022. It’s a sign of how much movie fans seem to be enjoying immersive experiences as the pandemic starts to recede. The first four months of 2023’s box office for the company’s 4DX and ScreenX theaters is tracking 36% higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019), and generating over $150 million through May 1. The company’s combined network has more than 1,100 premium screens consisting of both its ScreenX venues, the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view, and its multi-sensory 4DX theaters, which add motion, vibration, water, wind, snow, lightning, scents and other special effects to movies that are unfolding on screen. The company is headquartered in Seoul with international offices in Los Angeles and Beijing.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Nicolas Cage will return to the shadowy world of illegal weapons sales, but this time, it’s become a family affair. The Oscar-winning star will reunite with writer and director Andrew Niccol on “Lords Of War,” the sequel to their 2005 crime thriller, “Lord Of War.” Cage will reprise his role as morally compromised arms dealer Yuri Orlov with “It’s” Bill Skarsgård co-starring as his son, who is a chip off the old block. Vendôme Group is backing the project, which is set to begin principal photography in the fall of 2023. FilmNation Entertainmentwill represent the international sales rights and introduce the film at the Cannes Film Festival, while CAA Media Finance will handle the domestic rights. Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi who produced the original are producing under their Vendôme Pictures banner, alongside Cage under his company, Saturn Films. Skarsgård is executive producing.