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Feb222025 by cineverseNo Comments

George Armitage, ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Miami Blues’ Director, Dies at 83

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By Pat Saperstein According To The variety George Armitage, who directed, wrote and produced films including “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Miami Blues,” died Saturday in Playa del Rey, his son Brent confirmed. He was 83. Raised in Hartford, Conn., Armitage started out in the 20th Century Fox mailroom before becoming associate producer on the long-running series “Peyton Place” in the 1960s. He met Roger Corman on the Fox lot and moved into feature films, writing the Corman-produced 1970 comedy “Gas! – Or – It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.” He continued making films for Corman and his brother Gene Corman, moving into directing with “Private Duty Nurses.” The 1972 Blaxploitation film “Hit Man,” which he directed and co-wrote, starred Pam Grier and Bernie Cas...

Feb182025 by cineverseNo Comments

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Weighs Cannes Film Festival Debut

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By Elsa Keslassy, Nick Vivarelli According To The variety Ethan Hunt could be hitting the Croisette. Though no decision has been made, “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” is weighing a Cannes Film Festival bow, which could see Tom Cruise injecting some serious star power into the event. Paramount, which declined to comment for this article, will be releasing the movie in theaters on May 21, which falls during the second week of the festival. The film is intended to be Cruise’s last outing as the IMF spy. Paramount has a rich history with the festival, and so does Cruise, whose last trip to Cannes — for “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022 — was a triumph. The movie went on to gross $1.45 billion at the worldwide box office and even garnered six Oscar nominations...

Feb172025 by cineverseNo Comments

Roschdy Zem Set for Psychodrama ‘Elisa — I Wanted to Kill Her’ Directed by Leonardo Di Costanzo (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Nick Vivarelli According To The variety French-Moroccan multi-hyphenate Roschdy Zem (“Days of Glory,” “The Innocent”) and Italy’s Barbara Ronchi (“Kidnapped”) are set to star in psychological drama “Elisa — Io la volevo uccidere” by Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo (“The Inner Cage,” “The Intruder”). Zem, who is one of France’s most bankable actors, will play a compassionate criminologist named Alaoui, whose life intersects with a young woman named Elisa, played by Ronchi. Elisa comes from a middle class family and has been in prison for 10 years for brutally killing her sister. Rounding off the cast is Diego Ribon (“Doc”), who plays Elisa’s father. Shooting is set to start March 1 on “Elisa — Io la volevo uccidere,” which is the film’s Italian worki...

Feb122025 by cineverseNo Comments

New Berlinale Chief Tricia Tuttle on Political Furor and ‘Bold, Exciting’ Cinema: ‘Filmmakers Are Noting That We Live in a Crazy, Divisive WorldBy

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By Leo Barraclough According To The variety The Berlin Film Festival prides itself on being a political event, which dates back to its inception in 1951 as a beacon of democracy in West Berlin, surrounded by Communist East Germany in the Cold War era. This year’s edition, the festival’s 75th, takes place in the final two weeks of a federal election in Germany that is expected to see a lurch to the right, with the right-wing Alternative for Germany party doubling down on its anti-refugee rhetoric. This makes the position of the director of the Berlinale, as it is known locally, all the more challenging, especially as the director reports to the German federal government and the festival derives the bulk of its funding from the federal government and the state of Berlin....

Feb112025 by cineverseNo Comments

Green Day-Inspired Comedy Movie in the Works From Live Nation Productions (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Ethan Shanfeld According To The variety A comedy movie inspired by (and developed with) Green Day is being produced by Live Nation Productions. Titled “New Years Rev,” the film is a coming-of-age story of three friends — played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust — who journey to Los Angeles, mistakenly believing that their band is opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve. Per the logline, “Their roadtrip is a rowdy and mischievous jaunt across the country filled with adventures, based on the exploits of Green Day and their years of living in a tour van.” The film, written and directed by Lee Kirk, also stars “The Office” favorites Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, alongside Ignacio Diaz-Silverio and Keen Ruffalo. Production is underway in Oklahoma...

Feb92025 by cineverseNo Comments

Unspoken,’ ‘Genealogy of Violence,’ and ‘Aferrado’ Take Top Honors at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival

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By Ben Croll According To The variety “Unspoken,” “Genealogy of Violence,” and “Aferrado” have won a trio of top honors at this year’s Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, with each title winning a grand prize in the respective international, national and lab competitions. Best known for his acting work on Australian film and television, “Unspoken” director Damian Walshe-Howling can now burnish his behind-the-camera bona fides with Clermont-Ferrand’s top international trophy. Set in late-70s Sydney, the film follows a young, Croatian born woman whose life spins out into chaos as Croatian independence protests overtake her adopted hometown. Led by Quebecois star Marc-André Grondin (“C.R.A.Z.Y.”) and directed by Pier-Philippe Chevigny, the slaughterhouse-set slow-boil “Me...

Feb82025 by cineverseNo Comments

By Design’ Review: Juliette Lewis Becomes a Chair in a Bold if Baggy Body-Swap Sundance Movie

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By Manuel Betancourt According To The variety The logline for Amanda Kramer’s latest film, “By Design,” sounds both like the setup and the punchline for a winking joke. When a woman becomes envious and enamored with a striking wooden chair, she suddenly finds herself becoming said chair. Or rather, she ends up swapping bodies with it, forced to live thereafter as the inanimate object she was once so enthralled by. Outlandish and absurd in equal measure, Kramer’s Sundance dramedy is so obviously operating on its own quirky wavelength that when it eventually runs out of steam, you’re left wishing the “Please Baby Please” filmmaker could’ve pulled off this high-wire act. When Camille (Juliette Lewis) arrives at a chair store with two chatty friends who barely register her presence, let alo...