Russia
Polish Box Office Champ Takes on Russian Leader in Thriller ‘Putin’ (Exclusive Trailer)
Polish box office king Patryk Vega has set his sights on Vladimir Putin. Vega, who now goes by the artistic name Besaleel, is best known for his gangster films, including local hits Pitbull and Women of Mafia, which have grossed a cumulative $100 million plus at the Polish box office. But for his English-language debut, […]
- By
Russia Bans Late Night Hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers From Entering the Country
More than a year after it began its war in Ukraine, Russia is cracking down … on American late night TV hosts. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, CBS’ Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Seth Meyers have been permanently banned from Russia, according to a new list of names released by the Russian government. On Friday the Russian Foreign […]
- By
Cannes: The Indie Film World Is Quietly Doing Business With Russia
At the Cannes Film Festival last year, Ukraine was on everyone’s mind. In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the festival and its Cannes Film Market imposed a blanket ban on any Russian delegations or film companies connected to the Putin government. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even opened the […]
- By
Global Box Office Forecast to Hit $29B in 2023 But Remain Well Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
The global cinema box office continues its slow but steady rise out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the year nearly done, box office analysis firm Gower Street is forecasting worldwide theatrical revenues will hit $25.8 billion in 2022 (by Gower Street’s calculations, the total take as of Dec. 10 was $23.6 billion), a 21 percent […]
- By
Liev Schreiber to Narrate ‘Against All Odds’ Ukraine Russian Invasion Documentary
Liev Schreiber has come on board to narrate a documentary with the working title Against All Odds: The Failure Of Russia’s Blitzkrieg, about the first months of the invasion of Ukraine. The film from Organization of Ukrainian Producers and indie producer Gingers Media chronicles the initial destruction of Ukraine by Russia’s military forces, and […]
- By
Daniel Ellsberg ‘How to Stop Nuclear War’ Documentary in the Works (Exclusive)
A feature doc about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, dubbed “the most dangerous man in America” by then U.S. President Richard Nixon, is in the works. Director Paul Jay’s How to Stop a Nuclear War is based on the book Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Ellsberg. In extensive interviews with Jay […]
- By
A Real-World ‘Black Swan’ in Exile
Joy Womack is speaking to me in a Zoom window as she furiously threads a pair of ballet shoes. “It takes three hours to prepare one pair of shoes,” she says apologetically. “And we go through four pairs a week. So if you’re not sewing, you’re out of shoes.” At 28, Womack has already gone […]
- By
Canada’s CBC to Close China News Bureau
The CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, says it will shut down its news bureau in Beijing after failing to secure a work visa for a new journalist to continue a 40-year presence in China. The move follows efforts by the CBC to secure a visa for Philippe Leblanc, a reporter with Radio-Canada, the pubcaster’s French-language service, […]
- By
Tokyo: Director Takahisa Zeze Talks Historical Importance of Fest Opening Movie, Freedom of Low-Budget Filmmaking
Opening this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival is Takahisa Zeze’s war drama Fragments of the Last Will, a tragic but hopeful story from a little-known chapter of Russo-Japanese history. Based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto (Kazunari Ninomiya), one of more than half a million Japanese soldiers taken to the Soviet Union after World […]
- By
Fox News Inks National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin to New Long-Term Deal
Fox News has signed national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin to a new long-term deal, elevating the veteran journalist to chief national security correspondent in the process. Based at the Pentagon, Griffin has been a fixture on Fox’s news programming during coverage of defense or national security-related news. Most recently, she was one of the correspondents […]
- By
Guest Column: What Putin’s War on Ukraine and LGBTQ Rights Means for Russian Culture
Russian filmmakers had been doing their best to build up new international cultural relations and embed our country into a global art world. Vladimir Putin has unearthed the hatchet and buried all these efforts by our national talents. On Feb. 24, President Putin declared war on Ukraine in all but name. But war has been […]
- By
U.S. Offers Deal to Russia for Release of WNBA’s Brittney Griner
The U.S. has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. In a sharp reversal of previous policy, Blinken also said he expects to speak with his Kremlin counterpart for the first time since before Russia invaded Ukraine to discuss the deal and […]
- By