Kevin Smith Partners With Secret Network’s Legendao On Distribution Of ‘KillRoy Was Here’, First Film Minted As NFT

return to the directing chair for a Netflix rom-com came as balm to her many fans, who have been waiting more than seven years for another comforting kitchen-set romp like “It’s Complicated.”David Lynch fans were thrilled when it was rumored that the “Mulholland Drive” auteur might have a new feature going to Cannes. But since there’s still a chance we might see a “Wisteria” TV series or feature on Netflix — or elsewhere — sometime soon, we’re going to leave Lynch off the list for now.Meanwhile, Kathryn Bigelow recently announced that she would make “Aurora,” her first film since 2017’s “Detroit,” while Francis Ford Coppola is still swearing he will get “Megalopolis” off the ground sometime soon.Then there’s George Lucas, who basically hung up his eyepiece after “Revenge of the Sith,” and said at the time that he would pivot to smaller independent films.

Steven Seagal. The martial arts star isn’t exactly a ubiquitous presence on the late-night talk show circuit. The action hits of his heyday don’t festoon the banners at the top of Netflix.

The 75th Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 17-28, was already due to be a starry affair with the likes of Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis screening out of competition. Today it got even hotter with a strong Official Selection that should make for glamorous red carpets, but one that will likewise treat serious subject matter.

Wilson Chapman editorThis year, DC Comics is celebrating Pride Month with a bang.On May 31, the company will launch “DC Pride 2022,” a 104-page anthology comic featuring stories from LGBTQ creators and focusing on queer characters from the DC universe. The comic will open with an introduction from Nicole Maines, the transgender rights activist and actor who portrayed Nia Nal on “Supergirl” in 2018, becoming the first trans actor to play a superhero on television.

Morgan Neville’s company Tremolo Productions is officially in production of an untitled Andy Kaufman documentary alongside Josh and Benny Safdie’s Elara Pictures. The Emmy-nominated Alex Braverman will direct the feature-length film.“No matter how many times I watch Andy Kaufman’s work, I feel like I’m seeing a magic trick for the very first time,” Braverman said.

EXCLUSIVE:  Lionsgate has picked up an action comedy pitch from writers Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Mamrie Hart for Zoë Bell to direct, inspired by the stuntwoman’s viral short film Boss Bitch Fight Challenge. 

Rooting for love! Kaley Cuoco offered her opinion on Meet Cute costar Pete Davidson‘s romance with Kim Kardashian — and the couple definitely has her stamp of approval.

Lise Pedersen “Il Posto” (“A Steady Job”), which world premiered Tuesday at Visions du Réel film festival, is set to launch in Europe on Franco-German channel ARTE and German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk in September. The film is directed by Italian duo Mattia Colombo and Gianluca Matarrese, whose “Fashion Babylon” premiered recently at CPH:DOX.

UTA has signed artist and author Enrique Martínez Celaya in all areas.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Venice Film Festival is getting in gear to celebrate its 90th anniversary with an international conference to be held in Venice in July.The Biennale, which is the fest’s parent organization, has announced it will hold a confab on July 9 in Venice in the library auditorium of the Biennale foundation’s archives. It will be attended by an as-yet unspecified plethora of international film academics, critics, and also film directors and talents, to commemorate the advent of the world’s oldest film fest.The First Exposition of Cinematic Art — later to be known as the Mostra del Cinema in Italy and the Venice Film Festival globally — opened on Aug.

Alissa Simon Film CriticFunded by multiple arts organizations, the hybrid documentary “Foragers” from the Berlin-based Palestinian sculptor and filmmaker Jumana Manna investigates the age-old Palestinian practice of gathering wild edibles such as the herb za’atar and the delicacy ‘akkoub, a thistle-like plant with medicinal properties, and how these traditions conflict with Israeli nature conservation laws that essentially criminalize the Palestinian herb-picking culture. Including some unexpected humor, Manna’s gentle approach is more poetic meditation than commercial nonfiction. “Foragers” has already been exhibited as an installation at California’s Berkeley Museum of Art, one of the commissioning funders.

“The Batman” will be streaming on HBO Max this month, fans of 4K and bonus features will be heartened to hear that the film is getting a physical release in May and will be available to own on Digital even sooner.“The Batman” digital release date has been set for April 18, the same day the film will be streaming on HBO Max. And the 4K Blu-ray release date has been set for May 24, at which time it will also be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD.In addition to the release date, Warner Bros.

Stepping out. Jada Pinkett Smith was photographed on the red carpet for the first time since her husband, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock at the 94th annual Academy Awards.

Colin Jost had some thoughts about the recent announcement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that Will Smith had been banned from the Oscars for 10 years due to his slapping Chris Rock onstage during this year’s ceremony.

Tom Epperson and his wife Stefani Ames are leaving town, heading to Santa Fe in early May—another player from the movie era of the 90’s and early 2000’s soon gone.

Kevin Smith has shared further details about his new horror film KillRoy Was Here, which is set to be the first film ever released as an NFT.Directed and by Smith and based on a script he co-wrote with Andy McElfresh, the horror anthology features a creature that kills evil adults on behalf of their traumatised child victims. Smith also produced the film with Jordan Monsanto and David Shapiro.KillRoy Was Here will be released as an NFT that also includes exclusive content from the film, behind-the-scenes footage, and a commentary track (per Deadline).

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterFor the second time in Hollywood history, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged.But unlike the first time, after months of dating under the paparazzi’s watch in 2002, Lopez handled the announcement herself. And because this is 2022, not 20 years earlier, the news of the couple’s engagement came via Lopez’s newsletter — called On the JLo — where the movie star taped a video for fans, sporting a green diamond engagement ring.

Will Smith was banned from attending the Oscars and any other Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences event for the next decade, the academy announced Friday following a meeting to address Smith's slap of Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards last month. Smith slapped Rock after the presenter made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head, referring to the 1997 film "G.I.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors met this morning to discuss potential consequences for Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage last month. They voted to ban Smith from all Academy events, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years.

Accepting his punishment. Will Smith responded to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ decision to ban him from all Oscars events for 10 years as punishment for slapping Chris Rock across the face.

Will Smith has released a brief response to the news that he has been banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years.

The consequences have finally dropped!

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe British Film Institute has announced five new board members including Netflix’s film chief Scott Stuber.Stuber joins the BFI’s board of governors along with eminent British industry exec and academic Monica Chada; producer Elizabeth Karlsen, co-founder of Number 9 Films (“Carol”); Laura Miele, vice-president and COO of interactive entertainment giant Electronic Arts; and writer, producer and director Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver,” “Shaun of the Dead”).The appointments were announced by U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries.Each new BFI board member will serves a term of four years beginning in May 2022.“It’s a privilege to be appointed a Governor of the BFI, an institution I have long admired,” Stuber said in a statement “I wholeheartedly endorse their mission to promote the next generation of U.K. storytellers, widen access to screen culture and support the continued growth of this extraordinary sector,” he added, noting that, “Our industry is in a state of constant evolution and I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the BFI remains best situated to champion its past, present and future.”The BFI’s new board recruits join the current BFI board, which includes Michael Birshan; Idris Elba; Gerry Fox; Jay Hunt; Robin Saunders; Andrew Smith; Phil Stokes and Nell Whitley.Said BFI Chair Tim Richards: “I am honored to be welcoming five new incredibly talented industry professionals to the BFI Board of Governors.“Their knowledge and experience across film, television, games, technology and business combined with that of our existing governors, will be invaluable to the BFI and the industry as a whole.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has added five experienced executives to its Board of Governors.

Vivienne Chow Jimmy Wang Yu, once a superstar of multiple Asian martial arts genres, died on Tuesday. He was 79.News of his death in a Taipei hospital was posted on social media by Wang’s daughter Linda, herself a former Canto-pop star of the 1990s.

Laura Dern (Jurassic World Dominion) and Liam Hemsworth (Poker Face) have signed on to star in the film Lonely Planet, which Susannah Grant (Unbelievable) is writing and directing for Netflix.

Martha Stewart is hosting a tag sale and Rob Riggle and Joe Tessitore are fronting a rescue dog show for ABC.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThere is exactly one person on earth who could be serenaded on his 90th birthday by (in order) Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, Kenny G, Art Garfunkel, Earth Wind & Fire, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys — and have the whole evening capped off by a brilliant Mark Ronson-helmed “megamix” of great songs from across that birthday boy’s 60-plus-year career. The answer is so obvious we’re not even going to bother.Yes, Clive Davis’ 90th birthday party, held Wednesday night at the memorably named Cipriani South Street at Casa Cipriani in Lower Manhattan, was truly one for the ages.

translator Dylan Cheung. She did not indicate the nature of the disease.She added, “I believe his [1967 film] One-Armed Swordsman — that image of a dashing great swordsman — will remain forever in the hearts of film history and film fans alike.”Director Ang Lee told the China News Agency: “It’s with the deepest sorrow that we learned of his passing today.

Jimmy Wang Yu, a Taiwanese actor who was once one of the biggest stars of martial arts cinema, died Tuesday in a Taipei hospital from an undisclosed illness he battled for six years. He was 79 and his death was announced on Instagram by his daughter, Linda Wang.

Rae Allen, a Tony winner who originated the role of Gloria in “Damn Yankees” on Broadway in 1955 and reprised the role in the 1958 film, had died at 95.Her talent manager, Kyle Fritz, told TheWrap that she died in her sleep of natural causes on Wednesday morning. Allen was born Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorHaving two action experts in the starring roles helped stunt coordinator Timothy Eulich make mayhem in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which features Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan jumping through a manic multiverse created by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directing duo known as the Daniels.In the A24 film, now in theaters, Yeoh plays Evelyn, a laundromat owner and mother who navigates the changing scenarios to save her family, including Quan as her husband, Waymond, and ends up with a new outlook on life and love. Key props: a fanny pack that’s used as a martial arts weapon and a butt plug-shaped IRS Auditor of the Year trophy that’s a portal to other dimensions.Eulich, who has collaborated with the Daniels for 11 years, including on 2016’s “Swiss Army Man,” is familiar with their M.O.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday said that it is moving up an annual meeting by 10 days to more quickly address possible sanctions for Will Smith after his now-infamous slap of Chris Rock on live TV during the Oscars last month.

Jada Pinkett Smith wants to "move on" from Will Smith's Oscars smack. The 50-year-old actress - who suffers from hair-loss condition alopecia - was the butt of a joke made by comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Annual Academy Awards towards the end of last month, which resulted in husband Will,53, striking Chris across the face and is now reportedly ready to forget about the controversial moment. A source said: "Jada wants to just move on.

Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman are set to star together in new thriller The Kill Room.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is a “darkly comic” crime story, which will follow a hitman, his boss (Jackson), and an art dealer (Thurman).