Variety Promotes Katcy Stephan to Film Reporter

K.J. Yossman Matthew Vaughn is already deep into producing his next feature film, a caper titled “The Stuntman,” Variety has learned. Helmed by stunt performer turned director Damien Walters, the film tells the story of two brothers who both become stuntmen.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Variety has promoted Rachel Seo to Social Media Editor, recognizing her considerable contributions to the growth of the brand’s editorial activity across major social media platforms. Seo joined Variety in July 2022 after working in event marketing for ViacomCBS’ VidCon live media division.

The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards are set to take place Sunday, February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica, celebrating the year’s best in independent film and television.

Anatomy of a Fall French producer Marie-Ange Luciani put in a flying appearance at the Berlinale this week with Claire Burger’s coming-of-age drama Langue Étrangère which received a warm reception in competition.

Michelle Salas and Danilo Díaz celebrated their love with a lavish wedding in the picturesque Italian Tuscany in mid-October. The occasion was a heartwarming reunion for the couple’s nearest and dearest, including the bride’s parents, Stephanie Salas and Luis Miguel.

EXCLUSIVE: Dominic Sessa, the 21-year-old rising star, didn’t win a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA award Sunday night – that went to Oppenheimer’s Robert Downey Jr. – but he did pick up his first post-The Holdovers role that will see him starring with Rose Byrne in director Stephanie Laing’s drama Tow.

Naman Ramachandran Film production and distribution company KRG Studios is teaming with acclaimed filmmaker Anjali Menon on a Tamil-language feature film. Menon’s London Film School graduation short “Black Nor White” (2002), starring Archie Panjabi (“The Good Wife”) and Rez Kempton (“The Mummy”), won the BFI award at the Palm Springs film festival. Her directing credits include “Manjadikuru” (2008), “Bangalore Days” (2014), “Koode” (2018) and most recently “Wonder Women” (2022).

William Earl Variety has promoted Lindsey Elfenbein to VP of global summits and strategic partnerships. In her elevated role, Elfenbein will continue to oversee the brand’s global thought-leadership vertical and expand Variety’s portfolio of B2B and consumer clients across tech, financial, consultancy and pharmaceutical categories.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. Today we’re talking to Stephen Kelliher, co-founder and MD of established London-based sales and film finance outfit Bankside Films. The company played a key role in getting Australian horror hit Talk to Me off the ground and Kelliher walks us through how that project came together as well as Bankside’s hefty EFM slate this year.

William Earl Variety veteran Todd Spangler has been promoted to Business Editor, overseeing coverage of corporate and financial news, mergers and acquisitions and other deal activity for media and entertainment’s largest conglomerates. Spangler will also continue to drive Variety‘s coverage of digital media and Silicon Valley tech giants. Based in New York, Spangler is a pillar of daily breaking news coverage.

EXCLUSIVE: Production has wrapped on indie feature Bad Man, starring Seann William Scott (American Pie) alongside Johnny Simmons (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Rob Riggle (21 Jump Street), Chance Perdomo (After We Fell), Andre Hyland (Barry), and Lovi Poe (Chelsea Cowboy).

Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars, will have its Polish premiere on Thursday at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.According to Variety, director Jonathan Glazer will introduce the harrowing film at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where parts of the movie were shot. “Zone” is about Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the Nazi officer and commandant of Auschwitz during World War II, and juxtaposes his home life with wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their five children to the horrors of the Holocaust happening right next door.“To acknowledge the couple as human beings was a big part of the awfulness of this entire journey of the film, but I kept thinking that, if we could do so, we would maybe see ourselves in them,” Glazer, 58, told the Guardian.

A competition named after the legendary Sean Connery is calling for entries from filmmakers.

Honestly, you might not find a bigger fan of the original “Road House” than this writer. I adore everything about that film, and I watch it multiple times a year.

Set Decorators Society of America has announced the winners of the SDSA Awards, recognizing excellence in the art of set decoration for films released in 2023. This year’s winners of the five categories included “Saltburn,” “Poor Things,” “Barbie” and “Asteroid City.” “Poor Things” took home the prize for both achievement in decor/design of a period film and best picture, with “Saltburn” winning in the contemporary film category for decor/design.

“Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy rips into his 2005 movie “Red Eye” in GQ magazine’s latest March cover story.“I love Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it,” Murphy told GQ. “But I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie.”In the psychological thriller, directed by Wes Craven, Murphy plays Jackson Rippner, who’s seated next to Lisa Reisert (McAdams) on a red-eye flight from Dallas to Miami — and whose evil terrorist intentions are revealed once the plane takes off when he tells her he’s going to assassinate the US deputy head of Homeland Security.“When I was a younger actor, I was really, really hard on everything that I was in,” said Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”).

Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Billie Eilish seemingly weren’t tuned in for the Super Bowl this year as they had another big event happening!

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The 10th annual Variety Artisans Awards at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival hosted its biggest crowd to date at this year’s event, with 2,000 attendees packing the Arlington Theater to hear artisans behind Oscar-nominated films discuss their projects. After one-on-one conversations, honorees Stephane Ceretti, visual effects supervisor on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Billie Eilish and Finneas, songwriters on “Barbie’s” “What Was I Made For,” Ludwig Göransson, composer on “Oppenheimer,” Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, production designers on “Barbie,” Kazu Hiro, makeup artist on “Maestro,” Jennifer Lame, editor on “Oppenheimer,” Rodrigo Prieto, cinematographer on “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Michael Semanick, re-recording mixer on “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Holly Waddington, costume designer on “Poor Things,” gathered for a panel discussion.

widespread drug abuse an extremely relevant issue in America? Obviously. But just as screamingly apparent is that a kilo of deflating, predictable movies about narcotics and dope are not going to bring hesitant audiences back to struggling movie theaters.

Talk to Me was named Best Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, which were handed out today on the Gold Coast. The teen horror pic also won Best Director for Danny and Michael Philippou and Best Lead Actress for Sophie Wilde.