David Gordon Green Wants Action, Wanted A ‘Top Gun Maverick,’ Meeting But Didn’t Expect The Job

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It was 2007. Steven Soderbergh was starting to shoot “Che” in Spain when the Bolivian casting director Rodrigo Bellott came armed with a bottle of Singani, the country’s national spirit, to the production kickoff party.

Barbie” continued its run of pop culture domination over the pre-Halloween weekend, the film’s co-writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach dished on their writing process following a special screening at the Writers Guild of America West headquarters. Because Baumbach sat out the “Barbie” press tour in accordance with the WGA strike, Friday night’s screening marked his first in-depth interview about the $1.4 billion-grossing film. Sitting opposite Judd Apatow, who moderated the hour-long conversation, Baumbach reacted to the worldwide acclaim for the film, which was evidenced by the completely sold-out screening.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Although it was just released in theaters at the beginning of October, the sixth installment in the “Exorcist” movie franchise is ready to stream — just in time for spooky season. Starting on Oct.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Queue, a growing app for movie and TV show tracking, reviews and recommendations with over one million downloads in the last year, has partnered with Lionsgate on a new promotion tied to the release of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” The app is backed by notable filmmakers including Oscar and Emmy-winning producer Todd Lieberman of Hidden Pictures and filmmaker David Gordon Green. Liberman is the producer of “The Fighter” and “The Proposal,” while Green directed “Halloween” and “Pineapple Express.” The pair teamed on the drama, “Stronger.” As part of the promotion, two Hunger Games fans will get a chance to attend the red carpet fan screening of “Songbirds & Snakes.” Next week, Queue kicks off the sweepstakes. Any U.S.-based user can enter.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s an eyebrow raiser in the wake of a zany box office season turned upside down by the actors strike, and ruled by Taylor Swift: Universal/Blumhouse‘s feature take of videogame, Five Nights at Freddy’s, is shaping up for an opening around $40M. That would be the second-best opening at the fall box office YTD after Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour‘s $92.8M start. The pic hits theaters and Peacock on Oct. 27.

Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall from Neon grossed $125,377 at five theaters for a per screen average of $25,075 — a solid limited opening for the Justine Triet-directed film that made its theatrical debut Friday in NYC, LA and San Francisco. A limited expansion is planned for next week. 

David Gordon Green may have made “Halloween Ends” last year, but does the “Halloween” franchise ever really end? Deadline reports that Miramax Television emerges victorious in a steep bidding war against Blumhouse Productions and A24 for the TV rights to “Halloween.” The deal with Trancas International Films allows Miramax to develop and co-produce a TV series based on the IP, including a first-look agreement on other TV projects for the international marketplace.

Charna Flam Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, the “Saturday Night Live” trio better known as Please Don’t Destroy, have released the first trailer for their upcoming movie, “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,”out Nov. 17 on Peacock. The film, produced by Judd Apatow, follows the three friends as they search for a fabled treasure.

Miramax has prevailed in the bidding war for television rights to the “Halloween” horror franchise, meaning Michael Myers could soon be slicing and dicing his way across the small screen or assorted streaming platforms. The indie studio beat out other contenders, including A24, which was also in the mix for the rights, according to an insider with knowledge. The auction was held by Malek Akkad’s Trancas International Films, which controls the franchise’s TV rights.

The Halloween universe is set to expand.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has closed a U.S. deal for The Home, the James DeMonaco-directed thriller that stars Pete Davidson. The film was made be Miramax, and it screened for buyers outside competition at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival in the Industry Selects category that the festival started to highlight commercial films.

Alright, “Exorcist: Believer,” Universal and Blumhouse Pictures’ legacy sequel of 1973’s “The Exorcist,” directed by David Gordon Green hit theaters last weekend and the results were, well, kinda mid. Yes, it’s a legacy sequel, so much like the newest “Halloween” trilogy (also made by Green, Universal and Blumhouse), it disregards all the other sequels and essentially only takes place after the original film).

Josey McNamara is teasing the Ocean’s 11 prequel that is in the works and set to star Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, reuniting the Barbie stars in a new film.

When you look at David Gordon Green’s career, it’s really difficult to nail down just what type of filmmaker he is. Does he make indie films? Comedies? Reboot horror franchises? Yes, yes, and yes.

Refresh for latest…: Just as it came in lower than hoped for domestically, Universal/Blumhouse/Morgan Creek’s The Exorcist: Believer didn’t fully convert overseas audiences, summoning a $17.9M international box office debut for $45.1M global. The R-rated David Gordon Green-directed reboot/sequel did see some of its 52 launch markets give it a No. 1 start, while in like-for-likes, the bow is above M3GAN, Evil Dead Rise, Scream VI and Smile. (As regards the latter, recall that it legged out with terrific holds, so the comparison may not stick down the line since scores on Believer are not good, and Taylor Swift is on deck.) 

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “The Exorcist: Believer,” now playing in theaters. After 50 years, “The Exorcist” franchise is back with “The Exorcist: Believer,” and it returns with some familiar faces. It was announced early on that Ellen Burstyn, who played Chris MacNeil in the original “Exorcist,” would reprise her role in “The Exorcist: Believer,” which is the start of a brand new trilogy.

David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer kept the horror peace train going at the box office with $2.85M in previews last night on its way to a potential high $20M to $30M start at the box office.

“The Exorcist: Believer” hits theaters this weekend, fifty years after the release of William Friedkin‘s 1973 original. And given Friedkin’s passing earlier this year, David Gordon Green will never know what the late director thinks about his film.

By this point, with advance reviews, it’s clear that critics aren’t high on David Gordon Green‘s new horror reboot, “The Exorcist: Believer.” So, sorry to fans of the series, but this isn’t the long-awaited sequel that will boost its cultural cache. But if fans and audiences won’t get what they want from “The Exorcist: Believer,” did anyone on the cast and crew? READ MORE: Jason Blum On ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Release Date Change: “We Bowed Our Heads To Taylor Swift” According to a new THR interview with Ellyn Burstyn, the 90-year-old actress did.

Jaden Thompson NBC has announced that Chloe Troast is joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” the only new comedian rounding out the show’s talent lineup for the coming year. Troast will make her “SNL” debut on Oct. 14, when the show’s 49th season premieres.