“I said, ‘Forget it,’” Hayek told Entertainment Weekly about hearing Marvel was interested in meeting with her. “I said, ‘God knows what kind of grandmother they want me to play.’ I’m used to being [told] I’m going to be the extra or the old prostitute. And then they said the director was Chloé Zhao, and I said, ‘Okay! Let’s have the meeting!’” Hayek told Variety earlier this year “it was hard to believe” that Marvel was so keen on casting her, a Mexican woman, in the all-powerful role of Ajak....

In her new book, “Run Towards the Danger,” Polley accuses Gilliam of creating an unsafe environment on set, particularly for a child. In an excerpt published in The Guardian, she goes into detail about the highs and lows of the experience. Polley writes that she was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with a legend like Gilliam, and was initially enamored with him upon meeting him. But once they began working on the film, Gilliam’s flaws began to emerge....

At an October 12 New York Film festival screening of “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” co-director Martin Scorsese decried box office coverage in the media. “Since the ’80s, there’s been a focus on numbers that is kind of repulsive… the emphasis is now on numbers, cost, the opening weekend, how much it made in the USA, how much it made in England, how much it made in Asia, how much it made in the entire world, how many viewers it got....

“Since news reports emerged about Scott Rudin, we have had many private conversations with our sibling unions and the Broadway League,” the association said in a statement. “We have heard from hundreds of members that these allegations are inexcusable, and everyone deserves a safe workplace whether they are a union member or not. “We salute the courage of those who came forward. We hope that Scott Rudin will also release his staff from any nondisclosure agreements they may have signed as a condition of employment,” the statement read....

“I would like to make it clear that the news of me making a film (documentary or fiction narrative) about OnlyFans and using Bella Thorne as research is false. I’m NOT attached to this project. I’m actually in development on two features that I’ve put years of research and love in to and neither of these films have anything to do with Ms. Thorne or OnlyFans,” Baker said. Baker also said that, while he did discuss possibly working with Thorne on a project, he encouraged her to reflect on how her account on the subscription-based service might be negatively affecting the sex-work industry....

The question prompted Rogen to discuss the relationship between cancel culture and comedy, as many comedians have been forced to reckon with dated jokes that are no longer appropriate in the present day. Rogen said, “To me when I see comedians complaining about this kind of thing, I don’t understand what they’re complaining about. If you’ve made a joke that’s aged terribly, accept it. And if you don’t think it’s aged terribly, then say that....

The “Anatomy of a Scandal” star recalled being offered “less than half” of what her male co-star was making per week for a play on Broadway several years ago. While Miller did not name the production, she has only starred in two Broadway shows: “Cabaret” in 2014 and “After Miss Julie” in 2009. “I said to the producer, who was extremely powerful, it’s not about money — it’s about fairness and respect, thinking they’d come back and say, ‘Of course, of course....

The (extremely) long-running NBC sketch comedy series lost some key players this summer, including Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, and (debatably key) Pete Davidson. They also trimmed Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, and Aristotle Athari. “This will be a transition year. Change years are always difficult but always exciting. There are new people. There are four new people at least for now,” executive producer Lorne Michaels said backstage at the Emmys....

The imaginary movie boasts “two straight actresses who dared not to wear makeup,” and features “a sex scene so graphic that you think, ‘Oh right, a man directed this.’” In the sketch, Mulligan plays an ill woman (much like the character played by Saoirse Ronan in “Ammonite”) who sparks a connection in a seaside town with another woman played by Heidi Gardner. Their courtship is characterized by grazing fingers and longing glances....

That was the challenge facing “Star Trek: Discovery” this time around. Last week’s “Forget Me Not” was as stirring as the best of “Trek” past, and it combined a self-contained character episode with some advances in the season’s long-game of an arc. But here’s the deal: “Die Trying,” this week’s ep, is almost as good. All those criticisms we’ve had about the supporting characters getting such short shrift on this show?...

“I have walked out of only one movie as an adult: ‘Transformers.’” King tweeted. And in case there was any doubt about which “Transformers” flick he was referring to, the author later specified “Michael Bay. The first one.” While Stephen King’s words for Michael Bay were harsh, it’s possible that Bay doesn’t entirely disagree with the “Shawshank Redemption” author. Bay recently opened up about some of the franchise’s failures, saying he wished he would have walked away from the series after directing “Transformers: Dark of the Moon....

The festival takes place January 19 through 29, 2023, in-person, with an on-demand, curated selection to launch on Tuesday, January 24 with select films available to view online for those not in Park City or Salt Lake City, Utah. The digital offering showcases an on-demand, curated selection of feature films from the 2023 Festival, including all competition titles (U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, World Cinema Documentary, and NEXT), as well as exciting work across other sections of the feature film program, alongside episodic work and short films....

I’m deeply honored to be asked to give the Sundance Producers Keynote address. I know many of you listening could easily be in this speaking position. So first of all, thank you for listening! Related Influential Awards Bodies Reshape 2023 Best Documentary Feature Race Oscars 2023: Best Documentary Feature Predictions Related Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Movies: 53 Films the Director Wants You to See The 15 Best Vampire Movies Ever Made When I first started producing, it took me years to introduce myself as a producer without fumbling....

With reservations for film and episodics screenings open this afternoon, allow us to guide you toward a dozen of our most-anticipated picks for this year’s festival. Some of these titles have appeared at other events, but are just landing on U.S. shores (and screens now), while at least one is a holdover from last year’s truncated SXSW festival. All of them speak to festival’s aim to shine on a light on rising stars and talents taking a chance on something new, all at the tips of your viewing fingers....

Not the streamer productions around $20 million that benefit from Hollywood resources, nor the dwindling middle class of features lucky enough to secure independent financing for $5 million-$10 million. This is about the bootstrapped, maxed-out-credit-card moviemaking that exists through the sheer will of its creators. The ones with the microscopic cast and crew (and often the cast is the crew), the minimalist narratives mandated by minuscule resources — the personal and potentially alienating visions of singular moving-image artists who somehow manage to bring their movie dreams to life....

The 2023 festival will be helmed by Claudette Godfrey, taking over for longtime mentor Janet Pierson, who ran SXSW for 15 years as VP Director. Pierson will transition into a “Director Emeritus” role. “Leading SXSW Film (now SXSW Film & TV) starting in 2008 at the age of 50 was a wonderful, and quite unexpected, adventure,” Pierson said in a press statement. “It’s been glorious to present so much great work at our unique event, yielding so many transformative experiences for creators and audience alike....

The “Euphoria” breakout star landed her first Emmy nomination in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category for her performance in the hit HBO series. Sweeney was also nominated for “The White Lotus” in the Outstanding Limited Series Emmys category. The Emmy Awards are set to air live September 12 on NBC and stream live on Peacock. Sweeney’s “Euphoria” co-star Zendaya also made Emmys history as the youngest star (at age 25) to receive two acting Emmy nominations, as well as being among the youngest producers to earn an Emmys nod....

As Bennett recently told The Hollywood Reporter, Malick wrote a letter singing her praises after being forced to cut her out of “Song to Song.” Malick sent the letter by mail to the director Antoine Fuqua after learning Bennett was getting ready to audition for Fuqua’s action movie “The Equalizer.” Bennett called Malick her “guardian angel” because of the letter. “Once Terrence Malick casts you in a film, it kind of puts you on the map for other filmmakers that have been affected by Terrence’s work — Antoine Fuqua being one of those people,” Bennett said....

Should there be a meatier role to accept, Newton is more than ready to enter the superhero movie world. The actress said she’s been impressed recently by superhero films with real artistic edge. “The perfect example is Taika Waititi, what he did with ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’” she said. “I love that the actors in it really want to push it too — of course they do, it’s boring otherwise, Jesus.”...

We’ve added 25 new films to the Top 50 list we unveiled in August. At that time, we dropped a number of titles from the original list that are funny, but not necessarily comedies. And we’ve added some titles released since 2017 that needed to be included, plus a handful of films released before then that the staff at IndieWire have deemed essential. (Here’s lookin’ at you, “The Lobster.”) As IndieWire has evolved, so has this list, and it will continue to do so as long as we keep finding films that make us laugh....