“Willow” is a TV spinoff of the 1988 fantasy classic directed by Ron Howard. Garcia will play a queen and mother to Tony Revolori’s character, who participates in a quest to rescue a prince at the order of his twin sister princess. Per the report, Garcia’s role is a small speaking part and may only appear in one episode. “Willow” is a Lucasfilm production. Garcia’s casting reportedly makes history with her portraying a cis character in a Disney-owned project....

Given the rapidly changing state of the box office world, this list only includes movies that have opened in theaters during 2020, including brick and mortar businesses and drive-ins. For more information on streaming and VOD box office takes, please check out our weekly updates in those markets right here. When provided, this list also includes budgets for each film. Last year’s list can be found here. Grosses include all reported grosses (via BoxOfficeMojo) up to December 29, 2020....

It’s no secret that sex sells, and movies are no exception. But while plenty of films like to show gratuitous sex, they’re not always very good. That’s a problem, since movies have the power to shape not only the cultural norms, but personal ones. And what could be more personal than sex? Sexuality is an integral part of the human experience, not some sensational or shameful ploy to sell tickets (though it doesn’t hurt)....

On the awards tip, Vanessa Kirby vehicle “Pieces of a Woman” is probably the most anticipated new arrival, and the actress makes the most of this unfathomably tough melodrama about a woman coping in the months after a stillbirth (she’s even better in next month’s “The World to Come”). Rahmin Bahrani’s “The White Tiger” is still under embargo, but his adaptation Aravind Adiga’s whirlwind novel about an Indian driver scraping his way up the social ladder will almost certainly be worth a look when it drops on January 13....

Summer is in full swing, and with the nicer weather comes the opportunity for more outdoor film shoots. Excited? You’re not alone. In addition to the benefits of natural light and getting to breathe fresh air while you work, it’s nice not to be constrained by ceilings. Sometimes a breathtaking aerial shot is all it takes to turn a good film, into a great one. With that in mind, filmmakers looking to maximize the potential of their outdoor shoots should pick up a camera drone....

Working from home doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be confined to just one room. Regardless of how much space you have, lap desks and portable laptop tables are a great alternative to a traditional desk, plus they’re perfect if you don’t have a dedicated home office. Because laptops tend to work better on a hard surface, a portable lap desk can help your device stay ventilated to prevent it from getting hot, which could potentially save you money in the long run....

Inevitably, the tweet set off a firestorm of reactions, from those who agreed with the sentiment to those who very much did not. (One recurring theme: If a film is good enough, the manner in which it’s first seen doesn’t really matter.) Villeneuve has been one of the most vocal proponents of seeing the film in theaters, and the film’s big-time box office take over the weekend assures us that he’s not alone in his thinking....

Shot in Korea and Canada (COVID-19 prevented filming in Japan), the show utilizes the whole spectrum of filmmaking tools, from giant pre-built backlots cleverly adapted from hit Korean dramas to Go-Pros strapped to single actors, and seems guided by the idea that ordinary choices can ripple through time, and deserve to be understood as epic. “Even though this is a very specific Korean story, this is not a Korean show....

The announcement is stunning given star Ezra Miller’s rolling public meltdown, which goes far beyond the norm for even a troubled star and includes multiple arrests and allegations of abuse, grooming, and assault. “We have some great DC films coming up: ‘Black Adam,’ ‘Shazam,’ and ‘Flash,’” Zaslav said, in response to a question about the shelving of “Batgirl.” “Warner Bros Motion Picture group has fantastic IP and history — they’re turning 100,” Zaslav said....

As then-Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger explained, the studio was looking for a little break from “Star Wars” cinema. “We will take a pause, some time, and reset, because the Skywalker Saga comes to an end with this ninth movie,” Iger said at the time. “There will be other ‘Star Wars’ movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus.” Three years later, Iger’s comments have more than proven out....

“We inherited a tough deal,” said Landmark Theatres COO Paul Serwitz, who still operates The Quad Cinemas downtown and said that the company was exploring other uptown options. “It never felt financially viable.” Landmark at 57 West opened in September 2017. Multiple sources tell IndieWire that Landmark attempted to renegotiate its lease with landlord the Durst Organization, even before COVID-19, but they could not come to terms. This leaves only one specialty theater north of Greenwich Village: Film at Lincoln Center....

There are plenty of reasons why limited series is so often the horse race to watch when it comes to the Emmy Awards. For one thing, like film and the Oscars, there’s no chance of repeat winners mucking up the category, making each year’s showdown a blank slate, pitting new project against new project, with marquee actors facing off against complete unknowns in categories increasingly difficult to predict. It’s a reality made even more glaringly obvious this year by the slightly underwhelming offerings that will almost certainly populate the comedy and drama categories, where disrupted production schedules saw a lot of contenders fold, hoping for a better hand come the 2021-2022 awards season and all but guaranteeing some truly unconventional series nab nominations....

It should be impossible to condense a single life (much less a pair of them) into three hours, but Emily Mortimer gets about as close as you can get in “The Pursuit of Love.” The two in question: a couple of cousins, Linda (Lily James) and Fanny (Emily Beecham), who journey from growing up together on the comfortable estate of Linda’s family to diverging lives that test the strength of their deep bond....

For almost 20 years, Microsoft’s Xbox series has always tried to be ahead of the game. When the original Xbox debuted in November 2001, it was the most powerful unit in that sixth generation of consoles. It was also the very first video game system to feature an internal hard drive, which allowed it to eschew the memory cards needed for players to store their save data on other consoles, and — coupled with the console’s DVD player — also hinted at Microsoft’s goal of creating the ultimate home entertainment system....

Polished in all the ways its predecessor was rough, “This Much I Know to Be True,” Andrew Dominik’s second film about Nick Cave, offers nothing close to the acute emotional experience of his previous effort — and that’s the best news of all. In 2016, the rocker and the “Assassination of Jesse James” filmmaker teamed on “One More Time with Feeling,” an ash-toned music doc that followed the singer as he grieved an incomprehensible personal loss, resulting in a roundabout portrait of raw nerves and confusion that remains a high watermark of the genre....

Last year, the festival provided minimal and scaled-back, in-person, socially distanced, and vaccine-mandated screenings at its various venues throughout the city. Despite its unusual format, the 2021 edition of TIFF provided an opportunity to experience the unique challenges and opportunities of forging forward with a physical film festival in the era of COVID-19, in spite of the many risks and reservations. The festival shifted entirely to a virtual format in 2020 (as did the near entirety of the festival world), but offered a healthy selection of its titles on the TIFF screening platform....

This year’s tributees assembled for a press conference Tuesday morning ahead of the awards, which will be aired on CTV in Canada at at 8PM ET/PT, on demand on Crave, and streaming internationally via Variety.com at 8:30PM ET/ 5:30PM PT. Connecting to the TIFF Talk conference from their homes, from California (Zhao and Hopkins) and New Orleans (Blanchard) to London (Winslet), the honorees said they appreciated the lockdown time spent with their families....

If you didn’t know the scope of the event — or if you’d never heard of it at all — you’re not alone. Even some veteran Black documentarians say they didn’t grasp the full story until they started making a movie about it. “I’ve been making historical documentaries for about 40 years now, so I’ve known about it for a while, at least in the broadest sense, like a lot of folks, but very few people knew and still don’t know the details,” said director Stanley Nelson, who co-directed, alongside Marco Williams, “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre,” which premiered May 30 on The History Channel....

Even with new titles, we’re seeing grosses plateau. The three-day weekend for all titles should total $72 million, down from $98 million last weekend. The same weekend in 2019 grossed $184 million. Another point of comparison: The last time July 4 fell on a Sunday was 2010. That weekend’s total, adjusted for higher ticket prices, was $220 million. Over the past four weeks, grosses overall are 43 percent compared to the same period in 2019....

Johnny Depp? Nope. Ezra Miller. Miller, 29, scored rave reviews in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” before landing the role of Credence Barebone in JK Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and two sequels, as well as Barry Allen/The Scarlet Speedster/The Flash, which they (Miller uses “they/them” pronouns) portrayed in four DCEU films leading up to the 14th DC feature film, time-travel multiverse adventure “The Flash,” which features two alternate Batmans (Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck) and is now in post-production....