Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/14/2023 i Variety

Stardom came early for Zac Efron via the kind of pop culture hit that inevitably defines a young actor’s career. To his credit, Efron has worked hard over the past decade and a half to make sure that his work is not overshadowed by the triple-threat Troy Bolton character he played in the 2006 Disney Channel movie “High School Musical.” In his sit-down with Daniel D’Addario, Variety’s chief correspondent, Efron is candid and thoughtful about the arc of his professional journey and what that has meant for his personal life. For his latest movie, A24’s “The Iron Claw,” Efron went through a classic thespian transformation that demonstrated his extraordinary commitment to the role. As he explains, it’s not that easy to put on 15 pounds of muscle, as was required…

When Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” came out in 2008, Zac Efron was two movies deep into the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” franchise, in which he played singing, dancing basketball phenom Troy Bolton. He’d been the swoony romantic lead in the movie musical “Hairspray,” opposite John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer, was shortly to play opposite Matthew Perry in “17 Again,” and had pulled his T-shirt up on the cover of Rolling Stone under the headline “The New American Heartthrob.” At 21, Efron might have seemed like the kind of actor who was as likely to watch footage of the moon landing and decide to become an astronaut as he was to take inspiration from Mickey Rourke’s grizzled, broken-down performance. ¶ And yet. “That film impacted me in a really specific…

James Cameron is sharing one of his favorite moments from “Barbie” with Greta Gerwig, the film’s director and co-writer. It’s America Ferrera’s showstopping monologue, the one that had audiences breaking into applause as her character slams the impossible demands society imposes on women to be successful in ways that don’t threaten men. “You basically sum up thousands of years of the female dilemma in one minute,” Cameron says. “I don’t think it’s ever been done as succinctly and hit the mark so perfectly.” Cameron delivers that verdict via Zoom from New Zealand, where he’s making the next “Avatar” film. Gerwig is half a world away in New York, but despite the geographic distance, the two have an easy rapport. Perhaps it’s because they share the novel experience of having directed…

Ava DuVernay and Michael Mann go way back. In 2003, DuVernay was a publicist on the set of Mann’s “Collateral.” Watching the auteur shoot in her old stomping grounds of East Los Angeles gave her the idea to pick up the camera. “That made me think, ‘Wow, this is possible,’” recalls DuVernay, sitting opposite the Oscar-nominated Mann to discuss where their careers have taken them in the 20 years since. Now, DuVernay, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker, tackles her most complex story yet with “Origin,” a sprawling adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” The biographical drama follows Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as she writes her book at the same time that she grapples with her grief over a series of deaths. Meanwhile, after three decades,…

Edgar Barrera is a Grammys rarity: The Mexican American, Texas-born producer and songwriter is the only (and first) Latino act up for songwriter of the year at the 2024 awards. Less happily, he is also the only Latin act to appear in a Grammy category that isn’t Latin music-specific. Be that as it may, those feats speak to his towering achievements: He has become the go-to songwriter for top-charting acts looking to expand their musical range (he’s responsible for pairing Bad Bunny with the Tejano band Grupo Frontera) and shares songwriting credits with Madonna, Ariana Grande, Maluma, Karol G, Shakira and Peso Pluma, among numerous others. Here, Barrera shares the philosophy behind his songwriting style and reflects on his blockbuster year. A common thread in the songs you’ve worked on…

Greg Akselrud Partner Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Besides advising a host of A-listers in their business transactions, Akselrud is known as a go-to corporate dealmaker. This year he was closely involved in financial and/or acquisition transactions for more than a dozen digital media companies and sports equipment retailers, and represented the late Leonard Cohen’s estate in its catalog sale to Hipgnosis Song Management. Rebounding post-strikes: At first, “people were focusing on budgets and wanted to manage their expenses in what was looking like — and actually ended up being — an extended period.” Then, as happened with COVID, “everyone realized that there was a lot of work that could be accomplished to advance their corporate transactions and invest in the future of their brands or entrepreneurial initiatives, knowing that the…

Chief correspondent Daniel D’Addario spent his flight to Los Angeles to meet Zac Efron catching up on his movies, including the raunchy comedy “Dirty Grandpa.” Senior entertainment writer Adam B. Vary enjoyed moderating two Directors on Directors conversations and will never forget Ari Aster saying to Yorgos Lanthimos, “So this man over here is asking us to discuss the nudity.” Cover photographer Chantal Anderson says, “Zac Efron brought such a refreshing openness to our shoot. I loved discussing his time prepping for ‘The Iron Claw,’ and hearing about what’s next for him.” For photographer Dan Doperalski, the highlight of shooting Directors on Directors was not only meeting so many giants of cinema but also capturing their excitement and passion for each other’s work.…

I first met Norman Lear through my mentor and friend Jerry Perenchio, who was Norman’s former business partner. Jerry introduced Norman as “somebody exceptional,” and he was right. Norman had a big heart, and he wasn’t going to hurt you. But you had to absolutely be alert, because he was not going to give you a pat conversation. He just had this special uncanny ability to be witty almost all the time. It was that way 30 years ago, and that’s the way he was when he was 101. I remember the first time I got invited to Norman’s house, for a dinner party about 25 years ago. I was so excited to go see Norman and Lyn at their house, and when I arrived, there were probably 12 people…

2023 has been a reinvigorating, rule-breaking year for the movies — and that’s thanks to the visionaries we gathered for this year’s Directors on Directors. Some of the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood talk about their craft and their passion. Ben Affleck (“Air”) and Michael B. Jordan (“Creed III”) are two actor-directors who appeared in front of and behind the camera. Between the two of them, they’re updating the star-turned-helmer archetype, and proving that making your voice heard in contemporary Hollywood demands a clear and original point of view. ¶ Greta Gerwig knows all about that. Her “Barbie” reached stiletto-high heights at the box office — notching the record for the year’s biggest movie. And she connected with another crafter of mass-appeal fairy tales, James Cameron, to discuss just how she…

Bradley Cooper is struggling to remember the name of the film for which he unsuccessfully auditioned in the early aughts, and Spike Lee, the director who rejected him, isn’t much help. The two men are discussing “Maestro,” Cooper’s penetrating look at the marriage of musical genius Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre (played by a note-perfect Carey Mulligan) when the conversation shifts to this first meeting. “You were so kind to me,” Cooper says. “I was losing my mind because, as a young boy growing up in Philadelphia, ‘Do the Right Thing’ messed me up in the best way.” And though Lee didn’t hire Cooper that day, he’s become a fan of his work as well as a friend — the two bonded on the Oscar circuit when Lee was up…

This year started with bright promise — the COVID pandemic seemed to have been tamed, festivals thrived and summer blockbusters ruled once again, with the combo of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” pushing 2023 into iconic status. But despite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, great films found their audiences, and a handful of helmers get personal with praise of their favorites. All of Us Strangers By Edgar Wright Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” is so delicately crafted and intimately performed that it almost seems wrong to discuss its immaculate construction. Andrew, as a director, has a remarkable ability to create films that are both elegant and stylish, but never lose sight of the deep emotions of the story or the humanity of the characters. What captivates me about this film, mirroring…

There was a time when streamers — led by Netflix, burning a hole in its balance sheet with annual negative cash flow in the billions — were banking on double-digit subscriber growth. And they were spending on content like there was no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came. In the past 18 months, Wall Street has become laser-focused on the profitability of streaming services, not just their subscriber growth potential. The trigger: Netflix’s first-quarter 2022 earnings report, which for the first time in a decade showed a sequential subscriber loss. Suddenly, bam! Investors wanted to see a consistent monetary return on streaming. The ripple effects were felt across the sector, as Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Roku took content write-downs for pulling underperforming content. Now Hollywood’s dealmakers are confronting the…

Stuart Downey Associate Paul Hastings In talent, Downey repped Gary Oldman in connection with the upcoming season of Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” currently in production. In business, he helped Mockingbird Pictures and producers Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn with matters including Netflix original movie “Heart of Stone.” In corporate, Downey aided Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery in their sale of a 75% ownership interest in the CW network to Nexstar Media Group. He also repped Cirque du Soleil in the licensing, production and exploitation of its intellectual property, and Slow Ventures in its multiple investments in joint ventures with content creators. Sherif Hamid VP, talent ventures Endeavor Riding the trend of the never-ending fusion between entertainment content and consumer products, Hamid co-leads Endeavor’s initiatives for…

Erika Alexander got her start as a teen on “The Cosby Show” before assuming the breakout role of Maxine Shaw on “Living Single.” But it’s her latest performance in “American Fiction,” a satire that critiques our culture’s obsession with stereotypes, that’s put her in a conversation she’s never been in before — that of awards season contender. Alexander plays Coraline, the love interest of Jeffrey Wright’s Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a cantankerous author who challenges the industry’s perceptions of “Black entertainment.” Just hours before sitting down with Variety, Alexander learned she’d been nominated in the supporting category at the Independent Spirit Awards; she attended last year’s ceremony as a guest. “I got dropped off on the highway and walked, scooting around the Porta-Potties,” she says, laughing brightly to keep her emotions…

Dec. 4 Dec. 5 CCA Celebration of Cinema & Television Fairmont Century Plaza, Century City Jamie Foxx made a surprise appearance at the Critics Choice Association Celebration of Cinema & Television: Honoring Black, Latino and AAPI Achievements, marking his first public outing following his sudden hospitalization in April. “You know, it’s crazy, I couldn’t do that six months ago — I couldn’t actually walk,” Foxx said after his co-star Jurnee Smollett presented him with the Vanguard Award for his performance in “The Burial.” “I’m not a clone, I’m not a clone. I know a lot of people who was saying I was cloned out there,” he continued with a laugh, later adding, “I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy, because it’s tough.” Dec. 5 Elle Women…

For much of their conversation, Ben Affleck and Michael B. Jordan seem mutually star-struck, even though they’ve known each other for 10 years. They first connected after “Argo,” Affleck’s third directorial effort, won best picture and Jordan’s career skyrocketed following his searing leading performance in Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station.” Today, Affleck inundates Jordan with praise for his directorial debut, “Creed III,” the latest entry in the “Rocky” franchise, starring Jordan as the indomitable heavyweight champ Adonis Creed. Jordan, meanwhile, is eager to learn how Affleck directed his lifelong friend Matt Damon for the first time in “Air,” a film about how Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) convinces founder and CEO Phil Knight (Affleck) to build a shoe line around NBA rookie Michael Jordan — or, as Affleck puts it, “the…

Over their careers, “Hereditary” director Ari Aster and Yorgos Lanthimos, who helmed “The Favourite,” have each developed an unmistakable filmmaking voice. But this year, both stretched into brand-new cinematic territory. With “Beau Is Afraid,” Aster crafted a nearly three-hour fever dream chronicling the mental unraveling of its profoundly neurotic title character, played to the hilt by Joaquin Phoenix. Meanwhile, Lanthimos partnered with frequent collaborator Emma Stone for “Poor Things,” adapted from the Alasdair Gray novel about Bella Baxter, a grown woman implanted with the brain of an infant. In this far-ranging conversation, they discuss how they work with their leading actors and bringing a new, expansive visual palette to their movies. ARI ASTER: I love “Poor Things.” It’s so great. How did you discover the book? YORGOS LANTHIMOS: It was…

In 2019, Victoria Monét finally had enough with being a secret weapon. She’d become one of the music industry’s key songwriters, lending her pen to artists including Fifth Harmony and Coco Jones. But it was after the success of longtime collaborator Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next,” an album that spawned a pair of No. 1 singles with her name in the writing credits, that she was ready to step out. Four years later, she’s done so in supreme fashion, earning seven 2024 Grammy nominations, including record of the year and best new artist. “I feel like I was sometimes only relevant to people according to my proximity to another artist, and that can be disheartening when you see so much more for yourself,” explains the artist. “I wanted to be…

In early October, Killer Mike stood poised at the mic on stage at “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.” He was joined by acclaimed jazz pianist Robert Glasper and R&B singer Eryn Allen Kane for a stripped-down rendition of “Motherless,” a deeply visceral meditation on his grief after losing his mother and grandmother. “Is this a blessing or a curse, or just some other shit?” he choked through tears streaming down his face. “No matter what, I’m numb as fuck, ’cause I’m still motherless.” It’s this type of bare vulnerability that supercharges “Michael,” the Atlanta rapper’s first solo outing in 11 years, which was released this past June. Throughout his decades-long career, Mike has evolved from scene-stealing turns on Outkast projects into a bona fide hip-hop foreman, threading his music…