Asteroid topography

The 71st Berlin International Film Festival unveils its program this week, with the Generation and Retrospective sections kicking off proceedings today. A total of 15 films are selected across the two youth-focused Generation competitions – Kplus and 14plus. Of the titles chosen, 60% are directed by female directors. Scroll down for the full list. The movies come from the likes of Canada, China, and Korea. There are eight world premieres and six debuts. Films arriving from other festivals include the animation Cryptozoo, which was at Sundance and features Lake Bell and Michael Cera in its voice cast. The 2021 Retrospective program will focus on the comedic work of three actresses – Mae West, Rosalind Russell, and Carole Lombard during the era when the Motion Picture Production Code (“Hays Code”) was coming into effect. There are 27 films in total, released between 1932 and 1943. They are also listed below. Related Story New European Film Market Chief Dennis … [Read more...] about Berlinale Unveils Generation & Retrospective Selections

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Rylance and Michael Chiklis are the latest to join the all-star cast of Adam McKay’s next film Don’t Look Up. They join a cast that already includes Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett, Chris Evans, Jonah Hill, Himesh Patel, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Matthew Perry and Tomer Sisley. The film is currently in production. McKay will write, direct and co-produce along with Kevin Messick under McKay’s Hyperobject Industries Banner. The film follows two low-level astronomers who embark on a media tour to warn mankind of an approaching asteroid that will destroy Earth. Rylance finds himself reuniting with Netflix after being seen in their most recent ensemble drama The Trial Of The Chicago. That film has earned accolades all award season which included recently earning a best ensemble cast nomination from SAG. Chiklis, who is best known for his Emmy-winning role in The … [Read more...] about Mark Rylance And Michael Chiklis Join Adam McKay’s ‘Don’t Look Up’ At Netflix

C ue the credits: the era of financial thuggery is officially over. Three hellish years of panic, all done and gone – the mass bankruptcies, midnight bailouts, shotgun mergers of dying megabanks, high-stakes SEC investigations, all capped by a legislative orgy in which industry lobbyists hurled more than $600 million at Congress. It all supposedly came to an end one Wednesday morning a few weeks back, when President Obama, flanked by hundreds of party flacks and congressional bigwigs, stepped up to the lectern at an extravagant ceremony to sign into law his sweeping new bill to clean up Wall Street. Obama’s speech introducing the massive law brimmed with celebratory finality. He threw around lofty phrases like “never again” and “no more.” He proclaimed the end of unfair credit-card-rate hikes and issued a fatwa on abusive mortgage practices and the shady loans that helped fuel the debt bubble. The message was clear: The sheriff was padlocking the Wall Street casino, and the … [Read more...] about Wall Street’s Big Win

EXCLUSIVE : We dialed in with Independence Day filmmaker Roland Emmerich and his longtime producer (and composer) Harald Kloser last week just hours after “the master of disaster” wrapped on new sci-fi movie Moonfall . At $140M, Moonfall is the biggest-budget ‘independent’ movie to shoot in recent years. Almost two years after speaking to Emmerich in Cannes , where he described the project to us as a mix of Independence Day and 2012, we checked back in with the director to hear about the challenges of getting the film away amid the pandemic and what its journey will be from here. Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Michael Pena, Charlie Plummer and John Bradley are among cast for the big-canvas film, about a space crew which travels to the moon after it is struck by an asteroid and is sent on a collision course with Earth. Related Story Michael Peña Replaces Stanley Tucci In Roland Emmerich's 'Moonfall', Carolina Bartczak, Maxim Roy … [Read more...] about Roland Emmerich On Making $140M Sci-Fi ‘Moonfall’ Amid The Pandemic: “It Was A Miracle This Movie Happened At All”

Bill Nye will host and exec-produce a new science series called The End is Nye for Peacock , the streamer announced today. Brannon Braga ( Cosmos: Possible Worlds, Star Trek ) will serve as showrunner and executive producer and direct all episodes. Nye, the Emmy-winning television host ( Bill Nye the Science Guy ), science educator, mechanical engineer and author, will explore various epic global disasters imaginable, both natural and unnatural, with each episode of The End is Nye examining the mystery and reality of such threats as viruses, volcanoes, asteroids, authoritarianism, climate change and chemical warfare. The series is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio and UCP, divisions of Universal Studio Group, and Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door. MacFarlane and Erica Huggins executive produce for Fuzzy Door. Rachel Hargreaves-Heald is executive in charge of production for Fuzzy Door. Nye is represented by Nick Pampenella at N/PRJCTS. … [Read more...] about Peacock Orders New Bill Nye Series ‘The End Is Nye’ Examining Earthly Threats