Florian Zeller’s ‘The Son’ With Hugh Jackman Opens On 500+ Screens, And Sundance Revs Up – Specialty Preview

Animated fairy tale The Amazing Maurice voiced by Emilia Clarke, Hugh Laurie, David Thewlish, Gemma Arterton and Himesh Patel, jumps from Sundance to 1,700 screens via Viva Pictures, the distributor’s widest release to date and a big one for any independently produced animated film.

One of the most delightfully warming and comically offbeat films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Babak Jalali’s “Fremont” tells the story of Donya, a former Afghan translator for the U.S. government who’s felt adrift in the titular California city since resettling there to evade the Taliban.  READ MORE: ‘Fremont’ Review: An Afghan Insomniac Tries To Find Purpose In A Refreshingly Unique & Jarmuschian-Esque Indie Dramedy [Sundance] Living in an apartment complex alongside other Afghan immigrants, working at a Chinese-American fortune cookie factory in San Francisco, and spending evenings alone at a local restaurant that plays Afghan soap operas, Donya — portrayed, in a captivating debut performance, by real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada —longs for companionship.

It appears the question of who would land the lead role in Antoine Fuqua’s recently announced Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled “Michael,” isn’t a mystery anymore. Not only that, the filmmaker didn’t have to look too far to find his star, as Michael Jackson’s nephew landed the job.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jackson will be played by the late icon’s 26-year old nephew Jaafar Jackson in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film biopic for Lionsgate. Fuqua just posted a confirmation on Instagram. The singer and songwriter is the son of Jermaine Jackson, who is the brother of Michael and member of The Jackson 5. Jaafar has been singing and dancing since age 12, and has showcased himself singing tunes from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye, along with originals.

Neon and Topic Studios present writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool at 1,835 theaters in a lively specialty weekend sandwiched between a new crop of Sundance films and noteworthy expansions in the glow of Oscar nominations.

An emotional roller-coaster. From Riverdale‘s Cheryl and Toni to Nancy Drew‘s Nancy and Ace, fans have watched their favorite couples break hearts with some devastating splits.

For anyone wondering how a film called Crazy Rich Asians ever came to be the poster child for diversity and inclusion, Randall Park’s humorous rebuttal is, almost literally, that film’s poor distant relation. Adapted from a comic book rather than a novel and with a cast of character actors rather than stars, Shortcomings even seems to admit its modest production values in the title. But for adventurous audiences, this rough-edged indie is a refreshing antidote to the horrors of the factory-farmed studio romcom, featuring a caustic male thirtysomething Asian-American lead whose messy love life should ring bells right across the age, gender and culture divide.

So far nearly all the films I have been seeing for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival are based on true stories, from a teacher in Radical to a gay single father in San Francisco circa 70’s and 80’s to Michael J. Fox as himself, and now yet another iconic character gets his story told on the big screen. World Premiering at Sundance tonight is Cassandro, a wild story of the first openly gay wrestler in the ultra macho sport of Mexico’s Lucha Libre.

Emilia Jones earned a lot of attention as the star of 2021’s big Sundance winner and eventual Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, and the praise should be continuing this year as she not only stars in Cat People, but also Fairyland, which had its world premiere in Park City today.

EXCLUSIVE: For his first interview on the edgy drama Magazine Dreams that makes its Sundance Premiere tonight, Jonathan Majors was pulling into Park City, after driving for days cross country from New York. While Majors is one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars after turns in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Lovecraft Country, The Harder They Fall and Da 5 Bloods, he was not going to drive up a small film’s limited budget with pricey airfare. Magazine Dreams is written and directed by Elijah Bynum, and produced by Jennifer Fox and Dan Gilroy, the latter of whom made Nightcrawler. Just like the unhinged photog played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Majors has gone all in physically and emotionally to transform himself into the equally extreme Killian Maddox. An aspiring amateur bodybuilder, Maddox is socially awkward and slavishly devoted to the solitary pursuit of body culture, and the drama traces how his obsession plunges him down the proverbial rabbit hole in an effort to be noticed for his physique. It is a tour de force performance that will conjure memories of De Niro’s Travis Bickle, and the work Majors put in physically is impossible to not notice. Here, Majors talks about the truths about the invisibility and stereotyping of many people, and the darkness that creates combustible conditions that often end in tragedy.

EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer has opened up about her past drug addiction, revealing that she chain-smoked cannabis just minutes before she collected her children from school.

EXCLUSIVE: Archer Gray has today announced the promotion of Rebecca Choi to Vice President of Narrative Film and the addition of Kelsey Jackson in the newly established role of Vice President of Narrative Television.

Shudder and IFC Midnight are launching microbudget Skinamarink on a not-so-micro 629 screens, giving the viral horror pic a major push after a well-received premiere back at Fantasia-fest that just kept snowballing with strong reviews and social media love.

An emotional message. La Toya Jackson honored Lisa Marie Presley following Elvis Presley‘s daughter’s shocking passing at age 54 on Thursday, January 12.

Finding The One. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have raised the bar for other couples with their love story.

A costar connection! Jackson White and Grace Van Patten play toxic love interests in Hulu’s Tell Me Lies — but in real life they have offered glimpses at their sweet romance.

Hugh Jackman is officially putting any rumors or speculation of him using steroids while playing Wolverine to bed. According to the actor, he never used the performance enhancing drug because he was deterred by the possible side effects.In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace for his HBO Max series “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” released over the weekend, the host pointed out that, after nine movies playing Wolverine and one more on the way with “Deadpool 3,” some fans have “wondered” over the years: “Did he juice? Did he take steroids?” “You got so jacked for these movies,” Wallace said.At that, Jackman appeared thoroughly amused, laughing and noting that steroids weren’t an overly appealing option.