Sundance Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Benh Zeitlin hasn’t made a film in seven years since he exploded onto the scene with his Best Picture Oscar-nominated “Beasts of the Southern Wild” in 2013. Coming out of hibernation, the director’s “Wendy,” a take on J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday. Well, was his eagerly anticipated followup worth the wait?

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival four documentaries spotlight adolescents who inspire change while also holding a mirror up to a society that provoked their pain and path to resistance.

Justin Simien understands the value of a compelling story.

The Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest, Tribeca, Bentonville, Athena, ATX Television Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival have committed to allot a portion of their credentials to members of the Time’s Up Critical database, Variety has learned exclusively. The online hub aims to increase representation of women, people of color, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ community in the television and film critics space.

If there were any doubts that the impact of sexual-harassment exposés­­ and backlash against them had died down, Oprah Winfrey put them to rest when she withdrew her name (and Apple’s distribution) from “On The Record,” a film about allegations against music execs Russell Simmons and L.A. Reid — just two weeks before its Sundance Film Festival premiere.

Documentary filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, along with their cast, have withdrawn from planned interviews set to promote their movie “On The Record” at the Sundance film festival this week.

Fox Searchlight Pictures and Celluloid Dreams have joined forces to co-distribute Benh Zeitlin’s “Wendy” which is set to world premiere at Sundance.