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Film Academy Allocates $2.5 Million in Grants – Variety

Film Academy Allocates $2.5 Million in Grants to 96 Organizations

By Marc Malkin The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the recipients of its 2020 FilmCraft and FilmWatch grants. A total of $2.5 million has been allocated to 96 organization, including recipients of the emergency grant funds announced last month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Academy's first priority remains to help those in our film community most impacted by the current global crisis. Our contribution of $2 million in emergency funds to the Academy Foundation, along with the grants we bestow on an annual basis, will surely benefit struggling organizatio...

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Russell Crowe Thriller ‘Unhinged’ 1st New Release to Debut in Theaters – Variety

Russell Crowe Thriller ‘Unhinged’ First Major Release to Debut as Theaters Re-Open

By Brent Lang If everything goes according to plan, “Unhinged,” a thriller with Russell Crowe, will be the first wide release film to debut in US theaters when and if exhibition chains re-open in July. The film will bow on July 1, preempting Christopher Nolan's “Tenet,” currently scheduled to bow on July 17, by more than two weeks. “Unhinged” is the first release from Solstice Studios, a new independent movie company that numbers veteran producer Mark Gill (“Olympus Has Fallen”) among its founders. It's a bold, albeit risky bet by Solstice, given that the coronavirus has led to widespread t...

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Netflix Scores Movie Rights to Iconic 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer Team

By Justin Kroll Netflix has scored the rights to Jere Longman's book “The Girls of Summer: The US Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed The World” to develop into a feature film. The project will center on the 1999 US Women's Soccer team, following their journey to the Women's World Cup and their groundbreaking success. “Darkest Hour” producer Liza Chasin will produce under her first look deal along with Ándale Productions' Hayley Stool and Ross Greenburg of Ross Greenburg Productions. Stool optioned the book and secured life rights to eight of the US soccer team's players. 3dot's Margaret...

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CineEurope Cancels Barcelona Convention, Plans Online Event in June

By Tim Dams The CineEurope exhibitor convention, slated to take place in Barcelona in August, has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. CineEurope, at which Hollywood studios present their upcoming slates to European cinema operators, is now organizing an online conference and trade show on June 17-18. The annual event had originally been due to take place in June, but earlier this year the decision was taken to push it forward to August in the hope that the coronavirus situation might have eased by then. However, the organizers have now decided that the new August date is unworkab...

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Cancelled Locarno Fest Launches ‘The Film After Tomorrow’ Initiative – Variety

Cancelled Locarno Fest Launches ‘The Film After Tomorrow’ Initiative to Support Indie Productions Blocked by Pandemic

By Nick Vivarelli The Locarno Film Festival has announced details of its innovative “The Films After Tomorrow” initiative to support indie cinema following its cancellation last month due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The Films After Tomorrow” will see the prominent Swiss event dedicated to indie cinema award 2 Golden Leopard prizes comprising a cash component. They will go to indie productions that have been blocked and economically damaged by the pandemic. The prizes will be awarded by two juries and selected from a competition roster of 20 productions in-prog. 10 international titles, an...

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Rachel Brosnahan to Star in Life-Swap Comedy ‘The Switch’ for Amblin

By Dave McNary Rachel Brosnahan is set to star in “The Switch,” a life-swap comedic drama based on Beth O'Leary's novel of the same name. Bekka Bowling is adapting the screenplay for “The Switch,” which is set up at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners. The dramedy centers around a 29-year-old consultant, and her 79-year-old grandmother, who decide to swap lives (including cell phones) for two months, after a series of personal setbacks. The younger woman moves to a tiny Yorkshire village to tackle the responsibilities of dog walking and neighborhood watch and the older woman finds herself in...

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Cannes’ Palais Turned Into Homeless Shelter During Coronavirus Crisis – Variety

Industry Pays Tribute to Canceled Cannes as Palais Serves as Coronavirus Shelter

By Elsa Keslassy Film professionals, filmmakers and journalists have taken to social media to pay tribute to the Cannes Film Festival, which was due to kick off Tuesday in the French Riviera town and was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival and the city of Cannes humbly marked the day by posting a picture of a large white banner above the entrance to the Palais des Festivals, where gala world premieres are hosted. The banner read, “Thank you to our caregivers, to all those who carried out essential work, to everyone for their civic duty.” The Palais was transformed into a ...

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Studiocanal Buys 100% of Tandem Productions, Rola Bauer Steps Down

By Elsa Keslassy Studiocanal has acquired a 100% stake in its German subsidiary Tandem Productions, picking up the stakes of partners Rola Bauer, Tim Halkin and Jonas Bauer. Rola Bauer, a founding partner of Tandem and managing director of Studiocanal, is also stepping down from both of her roles, though she will keep working with the banner on a few high-profile series through a non-exclusive consulting deal with Studiocanal. The acquisition was announced today by Anna Marsh, CEO of Studiocanal. Among the slate of shows being handled by Bauer and Studiocanal as part of this consulting deal...

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Susan Sarandon Film ‘Blackbird’ Bought by Screen Media – Variety

Susan Sarandon’s Film ‘Blackbird’ Bought by Screen Media

By Dave McNary Screen Media has bought North American rights, as well as select international territories, to “Blackbird,” a family drama starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Rainn Wilson. Screen Media plans to release the film, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, in September. Screen Media acquired the film from Millennium Media. The movie revolves around Sarandon's family matriarch learning she has cancer, so she and her husband (portrayed by Sam Neill), gather the family and loved ones together to discuss her options. But opinions vary, especially those ...

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Disney Raises Another $11 Billion in Debt

By Cynthia Littleton Disney has raised another $11 billion in debt to help the company power through the revenue crisis spurred by the global coronavirus pandemic. On the same day that Shanghai Disneyland reopened at a fraction of its typical capacity after a nearly four-month closure, Disney tapped the debt markets for a series of notes that come due between 2026 and 2060. The debt raise spurred a new round of ratings commentary on Disney from the major credit arbiters. Fitch Ratings gave the debt issue a grade of A minus with a negative outlook given the short-term headwinds facing the co...

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