Nicolas Cage Defends Marvel Against Coppola, Scorsese Criticisms: ‘I Don’t See What the Issue Is’

NEW YORK -- A former Goldman Sachs banker was convicted on Friday on bribery and other corruption charges accusing him of participating in a $4.5 billion scheme to ransack the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB.A jury reached the verdict at the U.S. trial of Roger Ng in federal court in Brooklyn.

Clayton Davis The way to officially close the door on a crazy awards season (and even-crazier 94th Oscar ceremony), is to crack open the window and take a look ahead at what the studios and production companies could have in store for global cinema in 2022.As Variety transitions to Emmy season, with the first official predictions rolling out next week, this annual tradition of blind guesses gives us all something to look forward to. If you look at last year’s piece, no one should expect this to be 100% accurate as films shift or fall by the wayside, while some end up bigger than anticipated.Apple Original Films broke through the streaming glass ceiling with Siân Heder’s “CODA,” winning the Academy’s top prize and two others.

Manori Ravindran International EditorMagnolia Pictures has snapped up the North American rights to a Martin Scorsese executive-produced documentary about New York’s historic Chelsea Hotel.Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier’s “Dreaming Walls,” about the Manhattan institution and its controversial renovation, world premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale in February. Magnolia plans to release the film in theaters and on-demand this summer.The Chelsea Hotel, an icon of 1960s counterculture, was a haven for famous artists and intellectuals including Patti Smith, Janis Joplin and the superstars of Warhol’s Factory.

in an Instagram post as “just a great dude.”“A first class storyteller and raconteur and one hell of an actor … Paulie lived around the corner from me the last few years and i am glad we got to spend some time together before he left us,” Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti in the hit HBO series, wrote in the touching tribute.“I’ll miss him. Lots of love to his family, friends and community of actors and filmmakers.”Herman was well-known for his portrayal of heroin dealer turned pizza shop and club owner Peter “Beansie” Gaeta in “The Sopranos.”Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony Soprano’s psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi in the iconic series, also paid tribute to her costar on Twitter.  “The one & only.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Rome Film Festival is under new management following a political shake-up that has led to the appointment of RAI Cinema executive Paola Malanga as the fest’s artistic director and Gian Luca Farinelli, who heads the Bologna film archives, as president.Malanga, who was appointed late on Tuesday, replaces Antonio Monda, the New York based journalist and film academic who during his seven-year stint at the helm of the event secured a steady stream of high-caliber guests such as Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton and Angelina Jolie, to mention a few names on the Rome red carpet at last year’s edition.Farinelli –– who has been appointed president of the Cinema Per Roma foundation that oversees the Rome fest –– takes the reins from Laura Delli Colli, a prominent film journo and critic who remains on the foundation’s board. The new Rome fest regime was prompted by the election last October of new Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri.The Eternal City extravaganza, which is the brainchild of former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, has been undergoing management shake-ups due to Italy’s political spoils system ever since its launch in 2006 with Nicole Kidman on the red carpet and ambitions to rival Venice.While Delli Colli exited gracefully, Monda’s departure has been a bit more acrimonious.

We’re hearing that the Basic Instinct actress will be playing Victoria Kord.

Clayton Davis The Oscars best picture win was a March Madness upset of streaming proportions — though the slap heard round the world threatened to overshadow the achievements of “CODA” and other winners.What started out as a great improvement in the presentation was diminished by Will Smith charging the stage and smacking comedian Chris Rock after he cracked a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith in the last hour, just moments before the In Memoriam segment and prior to him becoming the fifth Black man to win best actor.It might go down as one of the craziest moments in 94 years of Oscars history.But back to the night’s biggest winner: streaming. Apple, under its film distribution banner Apple Original Films, became the first streamer to win the Oscar for best picture with Siân Heder’s family drama “CODA.” It’s been no secret that Netflix has long harbored ambitions to be the first digital video player to take home the Academy Awards’ most prestigious honor, spending lavishly to promote the likes of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” (2018), Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (2019) and David Fincher’s “Mank” (2020).

Marvel and DC Comics have been two warring companies for decades with both of their unique, action-packed superhero stories and crime-fighting characters. As of February, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced 27 films while the DC Extended Universe has only created 11 movies. DC’s projects have grossed over $5.8 billion and the MCU scored bigger bucks with $25 billion.At the same time, acclaimed directors such as Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese have bashed the genre.

Deadline has confirmed that Brian Kurland, a four-time Oscar-nominated sound mixer who sits on the Cinema Audio Society’s board, has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over its plan to pre-tape several categories, including Best Sound.

Martin Scorsese’s Boston gangster movie “The Departed” was loosely based on the thrilling Hong Kong crime epic “Infernal Affairs” that starred Asian superstars Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Well, the pair of actors are reuniting for a new thriller, “Goldfinger,” aka, “Once Upon A Time In Hong Kong,” that will be written/directed by Felix Chong, who penned the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy.

Francis Ford Coppola is opening up about the legacy of his beloved "Godfather" film trilogy. The "movie brats" troupe member — which includes the likes of "Star Wars" collaborators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese and John Milius, respectively — received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday.

IASTE president Matthew Loeb pushed back today against the plan to pre-tape several categories in an attempt to tighten up Sunday’s Oscarcast, saying, “We believe a deviation for some crafts and categories but not others is detrimental.”

These days, it’s become de rigueur for iconic, heavyweight filmmakers to either weigh in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its cultural hegemony or to be asked about it. One of those recent dissenting voices has been Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” trilogy), and while he’s criticized the genre in the past, he seems to like at least one modern superhero film.

Pete Davidson has been hanging out with Scott Disick, and made a hilarious appearance in a video the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star shared on Instagram Stories.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentDecades ago, in his landmark “Biographical Dictionary of Film,” critic David Thomson said of filmmaking legend Francis Coppola: “No one retains so many jubilant traits of the kid moviemaker.” As Coppola approaches production on “Megalopolis,” his biggest, most creatively ambitious project of the 21st century, that description seems more apt than ever.And a quick glance at the Variety archives vividly illustrates Coppola’s explosive emergence as a veritable force of nature while still enrolled as a film student at UCLA.The wunderkind announced his arrival with his name blasted in a Variety page one headline as the winner of a student screenwriting competition.

While there was “Sopranos” and Martin Scorsese’s “Boardwalk Empire” before it, and David Fincher’s participation in “House Of Cards” that paved the way for the streaming age, it’s hard to argue that the show that launched the current era of streaming Peak TV with auteur directors involved was anything other than HBO’s “True Detective,” directed by Cary Fukunaga.

Netflix finally stop crying itself to sleep on Oscars night?That’s the sad streaming giant’s dearest hope for next week, when “The Power of the Dog” enters the ceremony (Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. on ABC) as the favorite to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture. And, despite it being pretentious and languid, director Jane Campion’s ‘flix film probably will win. But until they hear that “Puh” from the presenter’s mouth — unless, of course, it’s uttered by Warren “Bungle” Beatty or Faye “Flub” Dunaway — Netflix execs will be biting their nails and taking swigs of Jameson from a flask.

Regina King, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Lin-Manuel Miranda will serve as co-chairs of the Met Gala, returning to its traditional berth on the first Monday in May. The May 2 evening is actually the second star-studded gala after the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute was split during the pandemic.  It celebrates "In America: An Anthology of Fashion," the second part of a major two-part exhibition at the museum exploring the roots of American fashion.