Rian Johnson and Editor Bob Ducsay to Receive Variety’s Creative Collaborators Award at Middleburg Film Festival

The People’s Choice Award from the just wrapped 2022 Toronto International Film Festival has gone to Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.  First Runner Up is Canada’s own Sarah Polley’s Women Talking. And Second Runner Up was Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The Documentary Award went to Black Ice, and the Midnight Madness winner was Weird: The Al Yankovich Story             .

Toronto Film Festival returned in spectacular fashion after two years of virtual premieres or limited capacity screenings. The parties were packed (which may lead to COVID outbreaks down the road, but… that’s showbiz?), the red carpets were glittering and the atmosphere was electric, bordering on euphoric, as director Rian Johnson’s acclaimed sequel “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story,” Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans” and the Harry Styles-led romantic drama “My Policeman” debuted to blockbuster-starved audiences in Canada. Hollywood seemed eager to make up for lost time. So, as the curtain comes down on TIFF, here’s a look back at the major trends and takeaways from the 10-day festival.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Natasha Lyonne’s upcoming Peacock detective series “Poker Face” has added three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively. Brandon Michael Hall (“God Friended Me,” “Search Party”), Colton Ryan (“The Girl From Plainville,” “Dear Evan Hansen”), and Megan Suri (“Never Have I Ever,” “The Pisasch”) have all been cast in the show. As with past casting announcements for “Poker Face,” details on their characters are being kept under wraps. Hall is repped by Gersh, Viewpoint, and Felker Toczek. Ryan is repped by Gersh and Echo Lake Entertainment. Suri is repped by Entertainment 360.

This weekend saw the big premiere of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” at the Toronto International Film Festival. And if early reviews are to be believed, it would appear Rian Johnson has yet another major hit (and Oscar contender) coming our way.

Knives Out director Rian Johnson says he will “keep making” more sequels of the whodunnit film as long as star Daniel Craig is on board.Johnson was speaking at the premiere of sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery last night (September 10) at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).Addressing the crowd before the screening, Johnson said (via Variety): “My granddad Howard Johnson traveled here tonight, he’s in the audience. Granddad, you are my role model.

It beggars belief that what started out as an idle thought — to continue the adventures of detective Benoit Blanc, the world’s “greatest detective” — has resulted not in just the inevitable franchise placeholder but one of the most exciting, funny and downright enjoyable movies of the year. Shrewdly cast, it boasts one of the most brilliant screenplays of the year, not just in terms of its exquisite, laugh-out-loud dialogue and satirical barbs at pop culture but in the meticulous, meta plotting of a traditional whodunnit that keeps the mind ticking over from start to finish. Unusually for a recent Netflix presentation, hardly a minute is wasted, and it’s no surprise that a Christmas release is planned for an intelligent crowd-pleaser that hits a bullseye with every beat.

Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” kicks off with a giddily entertaining opening: It’s May 2020, the early days of covid, and several old friends receive, one after the other, a box. It comes from their friend Miles Braun, the eccentric tech billionaire, and it’s an elaborate puzzle box; they get each other on the phone (in a series of playful introductions and dizzily frame-slicing split-screens) and figure out how to solve the puzzle of each level, before landing on the box’s ultimate contents: an invitation to a long weekend on his private island off Greece.

Zack Sharf Consider “Glass Onion” another triumphant case for detective Benoit Blanc. As evidenced by the enthusiastic reaction to the premiere screening Saturday, Rian Johnson has again charmed the masses at the Toronto Film Festival with “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2019 hit whodunit. Johnson briefly addressed moviegoers before the movie began to play, giving a sweet shoutout to his grandfather. “My granddad Howard Johnson traveled here tonight, he’s in the audience,” Johnson revealed. “Granddad, you are my role model. You’re the reason I’m making movies today, I love you so much and I’m so happy you’re here.” 

Zack Sharf Detective Benoit Blanc is back in the first trailer for Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Daniel Craig returns in the lead role of the murder mystery sequel, but this time he will be interrogating an entirely new ensemble cast: Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, Jessica Henwick and Ethan Hawke. “Glass Onion” is set in Greece on the private island of tech billionaire Miles Bron, played by Norton, where another game of whodunnit will take place. The original “Knives Out” opened to rave reviews in November 2019 and earned $311 million at the worldwide box office, an impressive gross for an original script that’s light on action and heavy on dialogue. Johnson earned an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. Whereas Lionsgate released the first film, “Glass Onion” has the backing of Netflix after the streaming giant made a reported $450 million deal to acquire two “Knives Out” sequels.

Filmmaker Rian Johnson looked all ready and poised to join the “Star Wars” universe for a few years following the success of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” But on the way to making it, Johnson decided to do a relatively smaller, detective mystery comedy as a palette cleanser first. That film, “Knives Out” became a huge hit for Lionsgate, grossing $311.4 million off a $30 million budget.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy and Tony winner Cherry Jones (Succession), Luis Guzmán (Shameless), Hong Chau (Watchmen) and Tony winner Reed Birney (Succession) have joined the cast of Peacock’s Poker Face, a mystery drama series starring Natasha Lyonne, from Rian Johnson, his T-Street banner and MRC Television.

There’s no shortage of star power on the Lido this year. The 79th Venice Film Festival boasts such boldface names as Timothée Chalamet — along with his fellow the Bones And All castmates and filmmaker Luca Guadagnino — Cate Blanchett, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Adam Driver and dozens more.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Taylor Swift is about to become the hottest ticket at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The singer and songwriting star will appear in conversation with TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey and introduce her short film, “All Too Well,” at the annual celebration of movies. “In Conversation With… Taylor Swift” will take place on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox, so start lining up now (only kind of joking). The event will mark the first-ever screening of “All Too Well” on 35mm. “We love the intersection of film and other art forms, and Taylor Swift is a brilliant visual thinker,” said Bailey. “We’re excited to hear Taylor’s version of how absorbing influences from cinema led to her creating ‘All Too Well: The Short Film.'”

reported Empire Magazine. “It’s just at this point a matter of schedule and when it can happen. I’ve stayed close to Kathleen [Kennedy] and we get together often and talk about it,” Johnson told the publication, referring to the Lucasfilm president. “It would break my heart if I were finished, if I couldn’t get back in that sandbox at some point.”Johnson’s trilogy was announced in 2017 after his “Star Wars” directorial debut and had promised to feature “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that ‘Star Wars’ lore has never before explored,” according to IndieWire, which added that a parallel tagline was echoed by “Thor: Love and Thunder” director Taika Waititi — who is slated to have a “Star Wars” film in 2025.Johnson’s comments track with those made by Kennedy at the Star Wars Celebration earlier this year.

Dylan Sprouse and his girlfriend Barbara Palvin shared a sweet moment on the 79th Venice International Film Festival red carpet.  The couple walked on the red carpet in Venice, Italy for the premiere of Noah Baumbach's "White Noise," starring Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle and Jodie Turner-Smith, and took a moment to share a kiss.  Palvin, who is an ambassador for Armani Beauty wore a black sequence dress with her hair in a bun while her boyfriend wore a classy black tuxedo.  Dylan Sprouse shared a kiss with his girlfriend Barbara Palvin on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival.  (Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) The "Suite Life of Zack and Cody" actor started dating the model in 2018, and they took their relationship to the next level shortly after when they moved in together in 2019.  Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin arrived together at Venice Airport ahead of the festival.

The 49th Telluride Film Festival opens Friday in a much-awaited edition that is set to feature world premieres of Searchlight’s Oscar hopeful Empire of Light from director Sam Mendes, starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth; Women Talking from director Sarah Polley, starring Rooney Mara and Frances McDormand in the ensemble; Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh; and Sony/Netflix’s sizzling new version of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover with Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell; among other films.

Zack Sharf It’s been nearly five years since Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opened in theaters to rave reviews from critics (many of whom called it one of the best “Star Wars” movies ever made) and a far more divisive response from the fandom. Just before the film opened in theaters, Lucasfilm announced Johnson would be sticking with the studio to develop a brand new “Star Wars” trilogy with fresh characters, but it’s been radio silence on the plan ever since. Fans have speculated that the controversial reception to “The Last Jedi” killed Johnson’s chances of making another trilogy, but the director recently told Empire magazine that his talks with Lucasfilm continue about the project.

“White Noise.” She ditched her usual pantsuit look and instead donned a baby blue kaftan and shiny flats for the evening.Many were confused about why she was there, but rumors have swirled around that it was due to her connection to Netflix. The streaming giant is also at the helm of Clinton and her daughter Chelsea’s documentary, “In Her Hands.” The project will be the first from the Clintons’ new production company, HiddenLight Productions.

The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its full list of titles, with the program comprised of 164 features and 23 world premieres across film and TV.