Innholdsfortegnelse for 3/2/2022 i Variety

One of my first big initiatives after joining Variety was to launch a weekly franchise called Artisans, a dedicated feature covering the world of the talented craftspeople who toil behind the scenes on every production made in Hollywood and elsewhere: the editors, production designers, costume and makeup artists, sound engineers and other specialists whose contributions are vital to the fabric of the industry and to breathing life into the movies and television shows we watch on the big and small screens. I felt this was a part of the industry that was woe-fully under-covered, and therefore by devoting special space to telling their stories and profiling them in our magazine, on our website and in video interviews, we’d be giving these unsung heroes their proper due. Over the past few…

Vix and Vix Plus — a two-tier, macro-scale Spanish-language streaming service with more than 50,000 hours of content across genres for users in the United States, Mexico and Latin America — will launch March 31 as the first lovechild of TelevisaUnivision since the two media giants united. Vix may not signal the beginning of a trend, given that Pluto TV, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, Tubi and FuboTV have offered Spanish-language content since they entered the fray, and services that stream solely Spanish-language content, like Pantaya, have existed for several years. But it certainly serves as fuel for the growing demand for Spanish-language programming geared toward U.S. Hispanics and Latinos across the Americas. This demand is further evidenced by Telemundo’s introduction of Tplus, a bilingual content hub on Peacock, earlier this…

Producer Dorothy Ghettuba remembers the moment that changed her life. The Kenya-born entrepreneur was traveling with friends in Zambia when their driver fell asleep at the wheel, sending their van careening off the road and into a tree. The group left the accident unscathed, but the brush with death rattled Ghettuba. “Things can happen to you that make you pause,” she tells Variety. “And that was a thing that made me pause and say to myself, ‘If today was my last day, have I lived my best life?’” Ghettuba had been working at a venture capital firm in Canada, but she left her job and returned to Kenya, where she began to chase a lifelong dream to join the entertainment industry and tell the kinds of stories that spoke to…

Independent Spirit Awards return to in-person ceremony, along with African American Film Critics’ Awards, while the Visual Effects Society and Art Directors Guild salute artisans. In 2021, the Film Independent Spirit Awards went online in reaction to a then-still-raging pandemic, forcing nominees, guests, Film Independent members and even host Melissa Villaseñor to celebrate remotely. In 2022, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman have taken over hosting duties from Villaseñor, but the rest of those people will be back in the ceremony’s traditional venue, a tent near the Santa Monica beach. To Film Independent president Josh Welsh, the return feels like a relief, especially after the Omicron variant wreaked havoc on in-person gatherings in December and January, risking another season of socially distanced events. But despite his excitement, Welsh insists that the…

Alumni Entry In honor of Intl. Women’s Day on March 8, Variety once again highlights the accomplishments of showbiz women around the world. They are award winners, whether in front of the camera or behind, as well as streaming executives and producers creating entertainment for audiences from Europe to Asia, Latin America to Africa. Profiles written by Andrew Barker, Karen Bliss, Peter Caranicas, Wilson Chapman, Nick Clement, Randee Dawn, Shalini Dore, Sharareh Drury, Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Tim Gray, Paula Hendrickson, Carole Horst, Karen Idelson, Emily Longeretta, Addie Morfoot, Jenelle Riley, Malina Saval, Rebecca Souw, Leena Tailor, Sasha Urban and Nick Vivarelli. (The Women of) Amazon Studios Georgia Brown Head of Originals, Europe U.K. Malu Miranda Head of Originals, Brazil Brazil Aparna Purohit Head of Originals, India India Brown has overseen the launch…

FILM REVIEW Director: Matt Reeves Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright Where do you go after “The Dark Knight”? Ben Affleck blew it, and even Christopher Nolan, who brought unprecedented levels of realism and gravitas to that franchise-best “Batman” saga, couldn’t improve on what he’d created in his 2012 sequel. So what is “Cloverfield” director Matt Reeves’ strategy? Answer: Go darker than “The Dark Knight,” deadlier than “No Time to Die” and longer than “Dune” with a serious-minded “Batman” stand-alone of his own. Leaning in to those elements doesn’t automatically mean audiences will embrace Reeves’ vision. But this grounded, frequently brutal and nearly three-hour film noir registers among the best of the genre, even if — or more aptly, because — what makes the film so great is its…

An ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union has become a full-out war with global — and commercial — reverberations. Russia’s booming film and TV industry, with its deep, government-backed coffers, lost its grip on the world stage virtually overnight amid growing fallout from Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Disney, Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount all paused distribution of new movies in Russia, and “SNL” opened last weekend’s show with a Ukrainian chorus in solidarity with the country under attack. Cannes barred the Russian delegation from attending its May festival. For Ukraine’s creative community, the situation is a matter of life-or-death. Though the Russian attack has met with fierce Ukrainian resistance, millions have been forced into makeshift shelters to escape…

Creating a scripted TV adaptation of “The Thing About Pam” was a no-brainer for NBC News executives looking to expand their IP beyond the podcast of that name and “Dateline NBC” reporting that preceded it. “We started looking into the ‘Dateline’ archives for some of the most interesting stories that they’ve told, and ‘The Thing About Pam’ immediately stood out — we’ve been covering its various twists and turns going back to 2014,” says Noah Oppenheim, president of NBC News. “And I think it was clear to everyone pretty quickly that there was enough material in this story to support a scripted adaptation that would lend itself to a fresh telling.” The resulting limited series, also called “The Thing About Pam” and made in partnership with Blumhouse TV, stars Renée…

In pre-pandemic years, broad-casters and streamers would fly to the U.K. from all over the world to attend the BBC Studios Showcase, a glamorous multi-day event in Liverpool at the tail end of winter. There, the Beeb offered exclusive previews of its latest shows and formats, served alongside a dinner show featuring such musical guests as Nile Rodgers and Fatboy Slim. After being wined and dined, these buyers would then travel by train down to London, where they’d have meetings with other international TV distributors, such as Fremantle, ITV Studios and Warner Bros., which over the years began setting up snazzy presentations of their own. The week’s activities became known, unofficially, as U.K. Screenings. In 2021, distributors struck out on their own and formalized the mini market as London Screenings.…

The surest sign that African-produced content is making an impact around the world: Hollywood talent agencies are paying attention. Actor Lupita Nyong’o helped launch the YouTube Originals animated children’s series “Super Sema” last year to mark International Women’s Day. This year, as Nyong’o and production banner Kukua prepare to debut Season 2, the property has been signed by UTA for North American licensing and publishing. UTA and toy licensee Just Play plan to develop a host of “Super Sema”-branded products, from books to apparel to home accessories. The series follows the adventures of an extraordinary African girl, Sema, and her twin brother, MB. Sema uses superpowers that are rooted in science, technology, engineering, art and math to protect her town from a villainous force. “Super Sema” is executive produced by…

PERIOD FEATURE FILM ‘Nightmare Alley’ Production Designer: Tamara Deverell Appraised by: Nelson Coates, Production Designer, ‘In the Heights’; President, ADG A unique challenge for period film designers is creating a fresh, authentic visual path to support themes of story and fashioning imagery to add depth and familiarity, while transporting contemporary audiences into a plausible past. The evocative, shadowy environments designed by Tamara Deverell for “Nightmare Alley” create a haunting yet alluring sense of place through a rich, dark palette and dense layers of classic Americana to translate period into modern relevance. Expert integration of fabricated sets and modified locations conjure a seamless, evocative throughline, propelling the narrative into a visually enhanced journey, much the way carnival rides perilously propel riders. Specificity of line, detail and color, transitioning from clutter…

GRAY’S GOLD “CODA” started as “a scrappy production with few resources and filmed in a short amount of time,” says writer-director Siân Heder. But it earned the audience favorite award at Sundance and is nominated for three Oscars: supporting actor Troy Kotsur, adapted screenplay and best picture. And if its underdog/Cinderella status continues, it could take all three on March 27. Producers Philippe Rousselet and Patrick Wachsberger wanted an English-language remake of the French “La Famille Bélier.” Heder pitched the idea of setting it in a fishing family, with a more authentic depiction of deafness. Heder began “an immersive research phase,” which included learning ASL. “I felt ASL is a lynch-pin to understanding deaf culture. I approached the script in the way I’d always approached writing. But I realized this…

One of California’s leading film festivals returns with a full slate of live screenings, industry panels and starry tributes, offering movie lovers a ray of sunshine in the gloom of COVID. The Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival (SBIFF) unspools March 2-12, for its 37th year via an in-person program. Although the fest adapted in 2021 to COVID health safety protocols and hosted drive-in screenings and virtual Q&A sessions, “This year will be closer to way things used to be,” promises executive director Roger Durling, who’s marking 20 years as the prestige West Coast fest’s executive director. In all, the 200-film festival will host 95 U.S. premieres (62 features and 33 shorts) and 48 world premieres, including 21 feature films. “Being back in person, being at the festival, congregating and sharing…

Makeup artist Arjen Tuiten’s transformation of Renée Zellweger for NBC’s “The Thing About Pam,” premiering March 8, has been the talk of the internet. Zellweger plays Pam Hupp in the new crime drama, based on the true story of a Missouri woman who is eventually jailed for the murder of her friend. Zellweger donned a padded suit for the role. At TCA last month, the actor mentioned she had opted not to gain weight for the part — as she had for “Bridget Jones’s Diary” — since it had negatively impacted her health. While she had used prosthetics in films before, this was the first time she wore a full suit. The show raised an outcry for not casting an actor with the same body type as Pam, but Blumhouse…

AWARDS CIRCUIT The best picture Oscar race is a dead heat, with any number of paths to victory on March 27. But there’s another fierce competition, years in the making: to be the first streaming giant to win the film industry’s most coveted honor. On the television side, Netflix and Amazon each made a play to become the first streamer to take the Emmy Award in either of the top series categories, but Hulu shattered the glass ceiling with “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 2017. On the film side, might Apple be the surprise streaming giant to take home the Oscar statuette for best picture with the delightful family drama “CODA”? Directed and written by Oscar nominee Siân Heder, “CODA” has captured the hearts of many industry voters. Starting its journey…

Did the “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” reunion of Mira Sorvino (1) and Lisa Kudrow as SAG Award presenters bring us a step closer to finally getting a sequel to the 1997 comedy? “If it were up to me, it would have happened a long time ago,” Sorvino told me on the red carpet before she and Kudrow pulled their big surprise inside Barker Hangar. “Maybe tonight will spark something.” Sorvino already has a plan if it ever comes together: “Make it multigenerational. Bring in the young audience. Have [Romy and Michele] have some young relatives.” Speaking of reunions and reboots, Fran Drescher (2) tells me that the comeback of “The Nanny” is something she’s been thinking about. Not only does she continue work on a stage musical adaptation of…

MATT REEVES was terrified. In September 2020, the director had just returned to filming on “The Batman,” Warner Bros.’ latest reboot of the studio’s multi-billion-dollar superhero franchise, after a six-month break due to the pandemic. Reeves had spent lockdown working on the meticulous — and costly — safety protocols needed to complete the film, but just 24 hours after shooting restarted in London, he got the news that his star, Robert Pattinson, had tested positive for COVID-19. “All we did was shoot a day, and already it wasn’t just someone got COVID — Batman got COVID,” Reeves says. To Reeves’ relief, Pattinson’s case was relatively mild, and his health recovered quickly. But with three-quarters of “The Batman” left to film, the experience had exposed, in rather spectacular fashion, just how…

AMERICAN RIVIERA AWARD Kristen Stewart Stewart, nominated for a lead actress Oscar for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” will be in Santa Bar-bara for a conversation about the film and her career. 8 p.m. March 4; Arlington Theatre VIRTUOSOS AWARD Caitriona Balfe (“Belfast”), Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”), Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”), Emilia Jones (“CODA”), Troy Kotsur (“CODA”), Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”) and Saniyya Sidney (“King Richard”) come together for a conversation. 8 p.m. March 5; Arlington Theatre OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR AWARD Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis Smith and Ellis account for two of “King Richard’s” six Oscar nominations. 8 p.m. March 6; Arlington Theatre MONTECITO AWARD Penélope Cruz Cruz grabbed her fourth Oscar nomination for “Parallel Mothers,” the latest from…

TIFFANY ANDERS “Reservation Dogs,” “Pen15,” “The Chair,” “Firefly Lane” Anders credits years of working in record stores for schooling her on a wide swath of music across all genres — a key qualification for a music supervisor. From the raw momentum of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in the first episode of FX’s “Reservation Dogs” to obscure Japanese tunes from the ’60s in the “Yuki” episode of Hulu’s “Pen15,” Anders confesses that she sometimes finds herself getting lost in the process of combing for music. “Being a fan of a specific type of music doesn’t really work for this job,” she says. “You have to be able to bounce all genres of music out as ideas, and really know the specific taste and sound of the show, which…

To get the right look for “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” debuting March 6 on HBO, practice really did make perfect. For the series, which traces the professional and personal lives of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson-led team that won five NBA championships during the 1980s, costume designer Emma Potter started breaking down the squad’s look by studying its practice uniforms. “What was exciting was seeing how the purples didn’t match, or in one session someone would be wearing shorts from two seasons back, and another had his number written on with a Sharpie,” says Potter, who aimed to capture that energy and fun in her designs. “In a way, it felt like things were more hands-on and thrown together.” Unlike today, when uniform lists for…

FILM REVIEW Director: Graham Moore Starring: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn It’s hard to imagine anyone better suited than Marc Rylance to the lead role of Graham Moore’s “The Outfit” — the story of a Savile Row cutter who works more or less exclusively for an Irish mobster in 1956 Chicago. Rylance’s character, Leonard Burling, knows the rules: You keep your head down and your mouth shut, and in return, you’re treated almost like family by the Boyle clan. And if you don’t, well, we’ve all seen enough gangster pictures to know the consequences. Leonard hardly ever leaves his workshop, and neither do we, in “The Outfit,” a contained, almost play-like film noir the likes of which John Huston and Nicholas Ray were making in the early ’50s. Today,…