Everything you need to know about Bafta-nominated film Parasite

Pete (Will Ferrell) and Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are a prosperous American couple who’ve taken their two sons on a ski vacation to the Alps. Are they having fun yet? That’s a question that hovers over the movie, as the family members hit the slopes and make pilgrimages to the alpine-lodge restaurant, or retire to their room, where they always feel guilty about playing games or watching TV, since they could do that anywhere.

By Tom Grater

Addiction, you could say (and I would), has become the central demon that plagues Americans. We’re addicted to everything: alcohol, illegal drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, psychotropic drugs, sugar-bomb soft drinks, processed food, video screens…you name it.

One of the people who’s made long-form television drama arguably more interesting as a whole than its mainstream big-screen equivalent in recent years, Alan Ball has underlined his superior comfort with that format in the few theatrical features he’s made to date. His screenplay for “American Beauty,” which Sam Mendes directed, was brilliant but glib; as writer-director of 2007’s “Towelhead,” he couldn’t quite make the complicated agenda of Alicia Erian’s novel gel in two-hour form.

There's a new Latinx series coming to Netflix that you do not want to miss.

As an LGBT person it is important to feel safe and welcome wherever we travel. There are many places in the world where LGBT people must travel with discretion, not even showing affection to their husband, wife, or partners in public.

In today’s film news roundup, Legion M is launching its Film Scout mobile app, the first round of Oscar presenters are unveiled, Verve is expanding its book-to-screen business, “Gladiator” producer David Franzoni boards an American Indian project, and XYZ announces promotions.

Disney fans everywhere will be happy with this latest news.

For the fourth year in a row, women across the United States are marching for justice and gender equality under the Trump administration. The first Women’s March was held literally the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated, in January 2017.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s dramatic decision to split their time between the UK and the US and step back from royal duties means that they will be freed up to spend more time with some of their famous friends across the pond. Not least actress Abigail Spencer, who was spotted on a New Year’s Day hike with the pair in Vancouver. So, who is Meghan’s former Suits co-star? Here’s everything you need to know.

It was a star-studded night for American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos as he met with Bollywood's A-listers in an event in the city on Thursday evening. Bezos sat down with and Zoya Akhtar for a chat session that was attended by celebrities like Riteish Deshmukh and his wife Genelia, Vidya Balan and her husband Siddharth Roy Kapur, Arshad Warsi, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Kamal Haasan and Ali Fazal among others.

Josh Thomas had his big breakthrough with American TV audiences by essentially playing a version of himself on Please Like Me. Now, three years after that series finale, and after some self-imposed time away from TV, he's back with Everything's Gonna Be Okay. The new Freeform comedy will, like Please Like Me, pull at certain heartstrings—and make you laugh.

“Buoyancy,” the Australian-made story that has gathered momentum as a powerhouse depiction of human trafficking, is set to be released in North American theaters. Rights were acquired by specialty distributor Kino Lorber, which will give it a cinema opening in Spring 2020 ahead of video on demand and home video outings.

Acclaimed director Spike Lee will serve as the president of the Cannes Film Festival’s 73rd jury, making him the first black person to do so. In a statement released by the organization, the filmmaker said that he “was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time.” 

While Lulu Wang’s emotional family drama “The Farewell” may have broken through last year, and upcoming comic book adaptations “Birds of Prey” (by Cathy Yan) and “The Eternals” (from Chloé Zhao) spell fresh opportunities for filmmakers of Chinese descent in 2020, a rollicking little follow-the-money caper called “Lucky Grandma” from first-time feature director Sasie Sealy and co-writer Angela Cheng proves there are plenty more emerging Chinese American talents just waiting for their shot.

Director and activist Spike Lee will serve as jury president of the 73rd edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Lee succeeds Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose 2019 jury awarded the Palme d’Or to Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” which won a Golden Globe and was just nominated for six Oscars.

Mainstream Korean media gave pride of place to Monday’s unprecedented haul of six Oscar nominations for Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite.” The dark satire was nominated in categories including best international feature film, best screenplay and best picture.

A celebration for one another! The 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 19.

BTS is returning with their fourth Korean LP, MAP OF THE SOUL: 7. The septet just kicked off the album’s rollout by dropping a comeback trailer for “Interlude: Shadow”—along with a jam-packed release schedule. This will be their first album since last year’s MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA.