EXCLUSIVE: Four senior staffers who resigned in protest from the International Documentary Association are responding to a public statement from the IDA board dismissing their concerns about how the nonprofit organization is being run under new executive director Rick Pérez. The board published a letter on the IDA webs…

Get your big hair ready. The Rainbow Bar & Grill, the famed rock ‘n roll hangout on the Sunset Strip, is planning a big 50th celebration on April 24. The bar, famous as the second home for the late Motörhead bassist Lemmy Kilmister, will have live performances from 1-10 pm featuring some of the acts that once made the…

Julia Child knew her way around a sauce the way Leonard Bernstein knew his way around a sympathy, the way Patrick Mahomes knows his way through a defense. That is to say, with panache. The renowned cookbook author and pioneering TV personality is the subject of the documentary Julia, directed by Betsy West and Julie Co…

On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 73 new deaths from Covid-19, as well as 21,709 new positive cases. The number of deaths and confirmed cases relayed today may reflect delays in weekend reporting. But today’s data brings the County to a total of 28,886 deaths and 2,631,994…

EXCLUSIVE: For Halle Berry, who recently made her feature directorial debut with the Netflix sports drama Bruised, one of the most “magical” parts of the process was teaming up with A-list musicians Van Hunt, H.E.R. and Starrah on the creation of its Oscar-shortlisted original song, “Automatic Woman.” In the film…

The deals keep coming at the 2022 Virtual Sundance Film Festival. MUBI closed the docu Free Chol Soo Lee, including North America, and Warner Bros is negotiating a near $7 million WW rights deal for the Tig Notaro/Stephanie Allynne film Am I Ok? to place the film on HBO Max. The Lauren Pomerantz-scripted film stars…

DistroTV, a free ad-supported streaming television platform, is moving into original content with the global debut of a feature film, Escándalo Secreto: En Plena Cuarentena. The comedy feature, directed and written by Jorge Cano, will bow on February 25th. Translated as Secret Scandal: In Quarantine, the Spanish…

Carol Speed, who lit up the screen in the cult blaxploitation film The Mack died on Jan. 14 in Muskogee, Okla. She was 76 her family announced her death in a statement published online, but did not specify the cause. Speed came to filmgoer attention in the 1970s in a series of blaxploitation movies, but broke through…

Editors note: When we think of Robert De Niro and Italy, it’s easiest to focus on the Sicilian town of Corleone, because of his Oscar-winning turn in The Godfather: Part II. But De Niro wanted to focus on Naples, which director Paolo Sorrentino brought to life in The Hand of God. De Niro was so moved, he wrote a guest…

EXCLUSIVE: Between 1880 and 1968, over four thousand African American people were lynched in the United States, according to multiple independent investigations. "Terror lynchings were horrific acts of violence whose perpetrators were never held accountable," states a report by the Equal Justice Initiative. "Indeed…

A tentative agreement has been reached for a new film and TV contract covering Hollywood's Teamsters Local 399 and the Basic Crafts. The agreement was reached this evening, and the unions’ bargaining committee is unanimously recommending it for ratification. The deal, which covers union work in 13 Western states, must…

Netflix has taken worldwide rights to Participant's feature documentary Descendant, which just won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision at the Sundance Film Festival. Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, will present the film alongside…