Sundance Gets Approval to Shorten 2021 Festival Due to Coronavirus

Pep Guardiola called on his Manchester City players to be ready when called upon as the fixtures start to come every three days this month, following the 4-0 win at Norwich.

Southampton showed qualities that Manchester United lack during Saturday's draw, according to ex-Red Danny Higginbotham.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentChiara Bellosi, whose first work, “Ordinary Justice,” launched from Berlin’s Generation 14plus section in 2020, is back with “Swing Ride” (“Calcinculo”) about an overweight 15-year-old named Benedetta pining for attention in an Italian province where she falls in love with the skinny non-binary Amanda.A key difference between the two films is that while “Ordinary Justice,” which examined the lives of two families on opposite sides of a murder case, originated from a deeply researched screenplay that Bellosi wrote, “Swing Ride” — premiering in Panorama on Feb. 13 — stems from a prizewinning script proposed to her by Carlo Cresto Dina, her producer, who also discovered Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and is known for nurturing the cream of Italy’s new cinematic crop.   “It’s a very different process; it was the first time that I had to start from a world that didn’t germinate from me,” said Bellosi about working from the script penned by Maria Teresa Venditti and Luca De Bei that won Italy’s prestigious Solinas prize in 2018.It was like moving into a new house that she had to make her own, she said.“I worked with the writers; I wanted to make a few tweaks and we did that together,” she added, noting that initially “it was a leap into the void.” But directing from their screenplay actually ended up giving her “more freedom” than her previous pic because “the container is already there; but you can go pretty wild with the rest.”This freedom also made it more fun.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films, the banner behind Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” has boarded “Love Life,” the anticipated next film of laureled Japanese director Koji Fukada. Fukada’s credits include the 2016 movie “Harmonium” which won the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, as well as “A Girl Missing” which played at Toronto. His latest film, “The Real Thing” was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.

K.J. Yossman Fresh from appearing in Netflix hit Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” Mark Rylance’s latest big screen outing is “The Outfit,” in which he stars as Leonard, a 1950s tailor. It is a role that could not be more dissimilar to the fictional megalomaniac billionaire Peter Isherwell, whom Rylance plays in McKay’s disaster movie.Written and directed by Graham Moore, the Oscar-winning scribe behind “The Imitation Game,” “The Outfit” sees Rylance star as a Savile Row tailor who has fled across the Atlantic to escape his tragic past.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has closed a flurry of sales on a pair of 3D-animated family features, “Little Allan — The Human Antenna” and “The Super,” underscoring the market appeal of independent youth-skewing movies.“Little Allan – The Human Antenna” marks Danish film Amalie Naesby Fick’s follow up to her commercially successful debut “The Incredible Story of The Giant Pear,” which premiered in the the Generation Kplus section at Berlin in 2018. This year, the helmer has her daring drama series “Sex” selected for the Berlinale Series.The film takes place during summer vacation, when introverted, 11-year old Allan starts acting as a human antenna for his old neighbor, who thinks a huge invasion fleet from the outer space is on its way.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAhead of Sunday’s world premiere of documentary “1341 Frames of Love and War,” which plays in Berlinale Special, Variety spoke to Israeli writer/director Ran Tal about the film and its subject, Israeli war photographer Micha Bar-Am.In some ways “Frames” continues Tal’s interest in Israeli history evident in his previous work, “What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace,” which centered on the former prime minister of Israel. Bar-Am was born in Berlin in 1930, but grew up in what became Israel, and across a five decade-long career as a photographer he documented many of the major episodes – in particular the wars – in the life of the young country, founded in 1948.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentRAI Com is launching sales at the online EFM on Giuseppe Piccioni’s Fascist-era drama ‘L’Ombra del giorno,” starring Italian A-lister Riccardo Scamarcio (“Three Floors”) and Benedetta Porcaroli (“Baby,” “The Catholic School”).Pic, which Scamarcio produced, is a love story with a thriller twist set in 1938, two years before Italy entered World War II. It unfolds entirely in the central Italian town of Ascoli Piceno, a hidden gem with gorgeous medieval monuments, churches and piazzas.The film’s title translates as “The Shadow of the Day,” a reference to the darkness of Fascism.Luciano (Scamarcio), a wounded World War I veteran and a sympathizer of Fascism like most Italians at the time, runs a classy restaurant overlooking the town’s ancient square.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAdding to its notable lineup in Latin American movies, Paris-based sales agent MPM Premium has taken international sales rights to “Fogaréu,” from writer-director Flávia Neves, part of Brazil’s new wave of female filmmakers, which is one of the most exciting developments the country’s cinema currently has going for it.MPM Premium is introducing the film at this week’s Berlin Festival, where it world premieres in Panorama on Feb. 15.First glimpsed at 2020’s Ventana Sur project market, “Fogaréu” shares a sense of attitude and a feminist agenda and a visual verve with fellow Brazilian Ventana Sur titles “The Pink Cloud,” Iuli Gerbase’s a sci-fi character-driven thriller, and “The Joy of Things,” Thais Fujinaga’s portrait of motherhood, also playing at the same market.

Darius Rucker's favorite Super Bowl Sunday tradition involves spending time with his son. The country music star opened up about having the opportunity to attend Super Bowls with his son Jack in a new interview with Fox News Digital. "I've been going a lot in the past few years and taking my son, so that's kind of our thing," Rucker explained.

It’s been nearly 30 years since Kristy Swanson slayed a vampire – but these days, she’s happily finding her footing on a ranch. The actress stars in Pure Flix’s streaming series "Sons of Thunder: Redemption." It tells the tale of a former biker gang member (Rocky Myers) who decides to seek forgiveness from his ex-fiancee at her California horse ranch that is about to close down.The ranch owner (Swanson) decides to host a fundraising rodeo, but trouble isn’t far behind.The show also stars Lorenzo Lamas of "Falcon Crest" and "Renegade" fame. Kristy Swanson attends the 2017 Monster Mania Con on March 10, 2017, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Jason Momoa is enjoying a day out with a friend.

Super Bow LVI pitting the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Rams’ home field. The game will air live on NBC as well as for the first time on the Peacock streaming service and Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Zachary Quinto and Lukas Gage are hitting the red carpet!

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are about to be on everyone’s television screens thanks to their Super Bowl commercial.

It was yet another disappointing day for Manchester United as they once again took the lead in a match but didn't come away the winners.

Doja Cat is bringing the heat to a Super Bowl party!

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNo, AMC Theatres is not going to ignore its own social distancing guidelines and force strangers to sit next to each other when the cinema chain reopens this week.That was a mistaken assumption that gained traction on social media when it was revealed that AMC was allowing patrons to buy tickets next to seats that had already been reserved. There’s a reason for that apparent disregard of the six-feet apart rule.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSteiner Studios has unveiled plans to build a 500,000-square-foot film and television production hub in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn.The new project will expand on Steiner’s massive, 780,000-square-foot production facility at Brooklyn Navy Yard, which has hosted such TV and film productions as “Gotham,” “Joker” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” since opening in 2004.The new space will include eight sound stages, as well as renovations of two historic buildings and a new parking facility.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAMC Theatres has just endured one of the most traumatic periods in its hundred-year history. As the theater chain looks to reopen 100 of its locations on Aug.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAnthony Hopkins, Chloé Zhao, and Mira Nair will be honored at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.Hopkins, an Oscar winner for “The Silence of the Lambs,” will receive a TIFF Tribute Actor Award. Zhao, the director of “The Rider,” will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAzazel Jacobs’s “French Exit,” the story of a New York socialite who jettisons her old life for a new one in Paris, has been selected as the closing night feature of the 58th New York Film Festival.The film, which stars Oscar-nominees Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges, will make its world premiere at the festival, which is expected to be a mixture of physical and virtual events due to the coronavirus pandemic. Plans are still being formalized by Film at Lincoln Center, the group behind the annual celebration of moviemaking, but some of these screenings will likely take place outside.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJohn Gore Organization, the Tony-award winning production company being “Dear Evan Hansen” and “The Band’s Visit,” has laid off roughly a hundred employees. The staffers had previously been furloughed, but with Broadway’s shutdown continuing for months, the cuts have now become permanent.John Gore Organization also owns The Broadway Channel and Broadway.com, two leading sources of news on the comings-and-goings on the Great White Way.“It is with a heavy heart that we have laid off a number of previously furloughed employees,” said Lauren Reid, chief operating officer of John Gore Organization, in a statement.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAntitrust rules barring studios from owning movie theaters were swept aside Friday after a federal judge approved an effort by the Justice Department to do away with the Paramount Consent Decrees.These laws have been in effect since the golden age of movies. They were intended to break up the stranglehold that major studios such as Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Paramount once maintained on the business by preventing them from owning both the means of production and distribution.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAMC Entertainment lost $561.2 million during a quarter where the world’s largest exhibitor’s cinemas were closed to moviegoers and virtually its entire staff was laid off or furloughed. Revenues at the company topped out at $18.9 million, a 98% plunge from the year-ago period.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaThe Walt Disney Company was brutalized by the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered its parks and delayed the release of its films, setbacks that nearly sliced its revenues in half during its most recent fiscal quarter. Revenues fell 40% to $11.7 billion, while diluted earnings per share for the quarter decreased 94% to 8 cents, falling from $1.34 in the prior-year period.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRupert Wainwright will no longer direct “Not Without Hope,” a survival drama with Miles Teller that was scheduled to start shooting in the Dominican Republic this August. The filmmaker’s exit is being attributed to “creative differences.” The production is now looking for a new director, a search that will likely push back filming by at least a few weeks.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaCinemark isn’t sold on AMC Theatres plans to shorten the length of time that films play in theaters.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSteve McQueen, the Oscar-winning director of “12 Years a Slave” and “Shame,” is best known for his searing big-screen work. So it is fitting that the New York Film Festival would turn to the British auteur to kick off its 58th edition with his new work “Lovers Rock.