filmmakers

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His Bleak Films Influenced Van Sant, Jarmusch
One of His
Films Clocks In
at More Than
7 Hours
OBITUARY
Jan 6, 2026 10:51 AM CST

One of His Films Clocks In at More Than 7 Hours

Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr, who directed dystopian, often darkly comic movies, dies at 70

(Newser) - The celebrated Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr, director of such works as Satantango and The Turin Horse and the recipient of numerous awards for his long and often darkly comic films, has died at 70, reports the AP . In a statement Tuesday, the Hungarian Filmmakers' Association confirmed Tarr's death, writing...

Tyler Perry Hit With Another Big Lawsuit

Mario Rodriguez's $77M complaint alleges filmmaker sexually assaulted him

(Newser) - Tyler Perry has been sued for sexual assault by an actor who appeared in Boo! A Madea Halloween, marking the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances. Mario Rodriguez filed the lawsuit on Thursday in California,...

Tarantino Disses 'Weak' There Will Be Blood Star

Fans, Hollywood insiders slam director for his harsh critique of 'weak sauce' actor Paul Dano

(Newser) - Quentin Tarantino sparked backlash this week after calling Paul Dano the "weakest f---ing actor in SAG" during an appearance on the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Deadline reports. Tarantino criticized Dano's performance in There Will Be Blood, in which Dano played opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, as "weak sauce."...

Chinese Filmmaker: Renner Warned He'd Call ICE on Me

Yi Zhou claims actor also sent unwanted photos, had drunken outburst before relationship soured

(Newser) - Jeremy Renner is facing fresh allegations of misconduct from Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claims the Hawkeye actor threatened to call immigration authorities on her and sent her "unsolicited" intimate photos. Zhou, who worked with Renner on the Chronicles of Disney documentary, aired the accusations in a series of...

John Waters: 'The Movie Business ... Is Over'
John Waters: 'The Movie
Business ... Is Over'
in case you missed it
Jun 21, 2025 1:05 PM CDT

John Waters: 'The Movie Business ... Is Over'

Revered director not optimistic about cinema

(Newser) - Legendary director John Waters doesn't have the most optimistic take on the state of American cinema:
  • "The movie business, as I know it, is over," Waters declared over the weekend, reports MovieMaker .

After Taliban Killed Man Exposed in Documentary, His Widow Sues

Suit says Taliban killed Afghan mine-clearer Omar Khan after he was featured in film

(Newser) - An Emmy-winning National Geographic documentary about Afghanistan's final days under US occupation is now at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit, after a featured Afghan was identified by the Taliban and killed. The widow of the man who appeared in Retrograde has filed her complaint against the...

Suit: Paul Schrader Sexually Assaulted Me, Then Fired Me

Ex-personal assistant's complaint against American Gigolo director also says he didn't honor settlement

(Newser) - Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and director of American Gigolo, has been accused of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, firing her when she wouldn't acquiesce to advances, and reneging on a settlement meant to keep the allegations confidential. The former assistant, IDed in court documents as...

Shyamalan Was Called 'the Next Spielberg.' Then, a Fall

David Sims profiles the horror/thriller filmmaker's struggles, and eventual resurrection, for the Atlantic

(Newser) - By the time M. Night Shyamalan was in his early 30s, he had a huge hit to his name thanks to 1999's The Sixth Sense , his psychological thriller starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, and two follow-ups—2000's Unbreakable and 2002's Signs —that seemed to...

Tyler Perry Is Going Through Some Things Over AI

Actor says artificial-intelligence tech is 'mind-blowing,' but warns industry will hemorrhage jobs

(Newser) - Just days ago, the world was introduced to Sora , OpenAI's new text-to-video generator—and there's already one big name experiencing conflicting feelings about it. Tyler Perry comes at the AI technology from two different perspectives, per his interview with the Hollywood Reporter : that of a business owner, and...

Filmmaker Demands Probe Into Parasite Actor's Death

Bong Joon-ho wants answers on what happened to Lee Sun-kyun, who died of an apparent suicide

(Newser) - South Korea is still reeling from the death last month of popular Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun, whose body was found in a car in a Seoul park. Lee's family says he'd left behind what appeared to be a suicide note, and now the director of his hit 2019...

'Hollywood of the South' Struggles Amid Strikes

Atlanta, once booming with work for crew and actors, is now at a virtual standstill

(Newser) - A lighting technician is mowing lawns. A camera assistant is teaching guitar again. An actor has thought about shifting careers. For more than a decade, work had been nonstop in Atlanta's booming film industry, thanks to Georgia's extremely generous tax break. Dubbed the "Hollywood of the South,...

Little-Known Film Project Gets Attention of Jan. 6 Panel

House committee subpoenas filmmaker who had inner-circle access to Trump, shot footage of riot

(Newser) - The House Jan. 6 panel gavels back into session on Tuesday afternoon, with the focus expected to be on efforts by former President Trump and his allies to pressure state officials to reject election results, reports NBC News . But Politico is reporting an intriguing new wrinkle expected to be sussed...

'Outrage' After Student Cinematographer Dies

Chapman University mourns the 'brilliant' Peng Wang, killed in rollover crash

(Newser) - A student cinematographer at Chapman University was killed Friday while riding sand dunes with film students from the University of Southern California, which has only added to concerns about a lack of safety protocols on film sets. The 29-year-old was acting as cinematographer on a USC production, though it's...

He's Won 2 Oscars, Is Now Accused of Plagiarism

At issue: Asghar Farhadi's film 'A Hero'

(Newser) - Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took home Oscars in 2012 and 2017 in the best international feature category. His 2021 film, A Hero, managed to win the grand prize at Cannes—but also land him in court to fend off allegations of plagiarism. The director has been accused by former film...

Russian Minister Dies in Lifesaving Attempt

Yevgeny Zinichev jumped off cliff to save film director Alexander Melnik; both died

(Newser) - Russia's emergencies minister died Wednesday during a drill exercise while attempting to save a filmmaker, who also died. Film director Alexander Melnik slipped off a cliff at the Kitabo Oron waterfall in the Putorana nature reserve in northern Siberia, landing in water, the BBC quotes Margarita Simonyan, the head...

BIPOC Filmmakers Have a Problem With PBS, Ken Burns

Exclusive partnership comes at the expense of diversity, they argue

(Newser) - Almost 140 filmmakers, including some who work with PBS, have signed a letter calling out the public broadcaster for a "systemic failure to fulfill [its] mandate for a diversity of voices." The letter , implying an overemphasis on white creators, notes Ken Burns, a white man, has created about...

Amateurs' Drone Video Catches Hollywood's Attention

Director Lee Unkrich says bowling alley clip is 'one of the most amazing things I've ever seen'

(Newser) - Filmmakers who posted an 87-second video to YouTube earlier this month are now getting calls from Hollywood directors. That's how impressive "Right Up Our Alley" is. The continuous clip, shot March 2 with a "first-person view" racing drone, offers a zigzagging view inside Minneapolis' Bryant-Lake Bowl, which...

Director Detained in France's Shocking #MeToo Accusation

Adele Haenel accused Christophe Ruggia last year, now he's in custody

(Newser) - A French filmmaker is in custody while authorities investigate accusations that he sexually abused an actress when she was between 12 and 15 years old, the AP reports. Director Christophe Ruggia was detained for questioning Tuesday based on allegations last year by actress Adele Haenel , according to the Paris prosecutor'...

Filmmakers Hate This New Netflix Feature

It allows content to be sped up or slowed down

(Newser) - If you want to binge-watch Stranger Things in record time with the characters sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks, you might like a new feature Netflix is testing—but filmmakers are not happy about it. Netflix is facing a backlash over the new feature, which allows viewers to speed up...

Goodbye to the Filmmaker Who Brought Us Romeo and Juliet

Franco Zeffirelli was 96

(Newser) - Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and often extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic Romeo and Juliet, has died in Rome at 96. Zeffirelli's son Luciano said his father died at home on Saturday, per the AP . "He...

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