Is the cause of Wings something that really needs to be … evangelized? Apparently so. When “Man on the Run,” a documentary about Paul McCartney’s 1970s Wings period, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, you could hear patrons talking about what a revelation it was that he generated so much good music in the wake of the Beatles’ breakup, as if he hadn’t remained one of the biggest artists in the world throughout the subsequent decade. So maybe there’s some desire for further vindication that has driven McCartney to write a book about those years (coming out in the fall) as well as executive produce this Morgan Neville-directed doc (hitting select theaters and then Prime Video next year). Maybe everyone who sold McCartney’s post-Beatles period short previously has their reasons for putting blinders on, even in the face of that inescapable a juggernaut. “I was a John guy,” said one enthusiastic, 70-plus festivalgoer, as if that were a completely reasonable explanation for a 50-year immunity to the charms of “Jet” and “Let Me Roll It.” Or perhaps it just takes the creep of old age to agree with the wisdom of the sages, that it isn’t silly … love isn’t silly … love isn’t silly at all. “Man on the Run” is a heck of a lot of fun to watch, if you aren’t still so married to your worn copy of “Plastic Ono Band” that you can’t acknowledge the obvious: If there had been no 1960s (imagine no Beatles, it’s easy if you try), McCartney would still have to be acknowledged as on

It’s hard to be a movie star and a dad at the same time — just ask Channing Tatum. On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Daniel D’Addario, Variety chief correspondent, details his reporting for Variety’s Sept. 2 cover story featuring Tatum and director Derek Cianfrance discussing how they brought a stranger-than-fiction true crime story to life in Paramount Pictures’ “Roofman.” Tatum and Cianfrance came together as collaborators at a time when both of them were regrouping in their careers. Tatum is extremely open in discussing the challenges of juggling movie shoots around the world with his most important job of being a parent to his 12-year-old daughter. Tatum, D’Addario notes, is at a key transition point in his career as he reaches his mid-40s. “Roofman,” which premieres Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival, tells the story of a blue-collar North Carolina man, Jeffrey Manchester, who wound up living secretly in a Toys R Us store and robbing McDonald’s fast food restaurants in order to provide for his daughter. Manchester was sentenced to 34 years in prison after being convicted of several robberies in 2000. “I think of [Tatum] as the guy from ‘Magic Mike’ or ’21 Jump Street’ — a fun loving, a goofball. He’s lived a lot of life since then,” D’Addario says. “Those movies were almost 15 years ago, and at 45, he is extremely reflective about the kind of career he wants to have and the kind of work he want

In Oren Jacoby’s documentary “This Is Not A Drill,” three grassroots environmentalists team with descendants of John D. Rockefeller to take on the country’s most powerful oil and gas companies. Justin J. Pearson rallies a multiracial grassroots coalition to try to defeat a crude oil pipeline in Memphis, Tenn. Roishetta Ozane, a mother of six from Louisiana, transforms personal loss from multiple unprecedented hurricanes in her town into political action, taking her fight from the storm-ravaged streets to the halls of Congress. And Sharon Wilson, a former oil insider turned methane hunter, uses infrared cameras to expose invisible, deadly gases pouring from fracking sites and pipelines in Texas. Backing them are rebellious Rockefeller heirs, who have turned against their family’s oil empire to expose ExxonMobil’s “decades-long cover-up deception.” Together, according to the film’s production notes, the coalition uncovers what they call Big Oil’s “Big Con” – an industry doubling down on fossil fuels while disguising the truth. “When democratic institutions and regulations are gutted, corporate greed is given free rein, and the public good is endangered, how can we fight back?,” Jacoby said.  “How do we save our communities? We discovered three extraordinary individuals who have stepped up to show us the way. They are taking on the fight to stop oil and gas companies from ignoring the warnings of science and expanding the infrastructure that is the biggest driver of climate change. Each has something real and immediate at stake in this fight.” Variety spoke to Jacoby about “This Is Not A Drill,” which premiered at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival. I traveled around the country for a year looking for people who were already feeling the climate crisis, personally, and wer

Oscar Isaac scored his second Venice ovation in five days as Julian Schnabel’s literary epic “In the Hand of Dante” premiered to eight minutes of applause on Wednesday night. Isaac also leads Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which debuted on the Lido Saturday to a rapturous 13-minute reception. As the credits rolled on “In the Hand of Dante,” in which Isaac plays both the 14th-century poet Dante Alighieri and 21st-century author Nick Tosches, the actor embraced his director and waved to a crowd of adoring fans. Earlier on the red carpet, Isaac posed for photos with co-star Jason Momoa, who wore a baby pink suit with matching Birkenstocks. Though Momoa walked into Venice’s Sala Grande with his director and cast — including Louis Cancelmi, Franco Nero and Benjamin Clementine — the actor soon made an exit before the film started and was not present for the ovation. The film’s co-stars Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Martin Scorsese and Al Pacino were also unable to attend. Based on the novel of the same name by Tosches, “In the Hand of Dante” follows a New York City author in the early aughts as he is enlisted to confirm the origins of a manuscript believed to be Dante Alighieri’s original handwritten poem “The Divine Comedy.” “After the sudden death of his daughter, Nick is summoned from self-imposed exile by a mafia don for his expertise on the Italian writer. With the help of an unpredictable assassin named Louie, the pair embark on a dark and murderous journey to steal and authenticate the priceless work,” the film’s synopsis reads. “Moving between

Channing Tatum is finally a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after debuting as Gambit in “Deadpool and Wolverine,” but it turns out he tried to enter the mega-franchise years earlier as Thor. In his latest Variety cover story, Tatum opened up about bombing his audition to play the God of Thunder in Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 superhero movie. “I didn’t really want to be Thor,” Tatum admitted. “But I wanted to audition in front of Kenneth Branagh.” The audition itself did not go well. As Tatum explained: “After I did one take, [Branagh] was like, ‘You’re not allowed to move. Put your hands on this chair.’ And I froze. He nailed my crutch. I spent the next five years really trying to learn stillness.” Chris Hemsworth would ultimately win the part of Thor, with Tatum later moving on to develop a Gambit movie at 20th Century Fox as part of the studio’s “X-Men” franchise. Gambit was always Tatum’s passion when it came to superheroes. The movie had multiple fits and starts over the years. It was once dated for an October 2016 release before a script overhaul delayed the project. Variety reported in November 2017 that Lizzie Caplan had boarded the movie as the female lead. It still never got off the ground and ultimately collapsed when Disney bought Fox. Tatum told <a rel="noreferrer noopener" class="" target="_blank" href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chan

Andy Serkis recently told Metro that he is heading to New Zealand this month to begin work on “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” the new “Rings” movie that he is starring in and directing. Warner Bros. has already announced the movie will open in theaters Dec. 17, 2027. “Gollum” will be the first live-action “Rings” movie since 2014’s “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” directed by Peter Jackson. “I’m very excited to go back. I leave for New Zealand on Saturday [Sept. 6],” Serkis said. “We’re going down to start prep and working on it, because I’m directing. I’m thrilled to return to the family that I’ve loved working with for many years, and a character that I cannot escape from.” Warner Bros. first announced “The Hunt for Gollum” in summer 2024 and originally said it would be ready for theaters in 2026. It then got delayed to December 2027. Serkis is directing the tentpole and once again starring in the title role, which he’s been playing via motion capture since 2002’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Serkis’ directorial efforts include “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” Peter Jackson, who directed “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit��

Ciao! The 82nd annual Venice Film Festival is underway and the stars have hit the canals, with this year’s world premieres including Yorgos Lanthimos kidnap thriller “Bugonia,” Noah Baumbach’s showbiz dramedy “Jay Kelly,” Guillermo del Toro’s lavish adaptation “Frankenstein,” Luca Guadagnino’s college campus thriller “After the Hunt” and Benny Safdie’s UFC biopic “The Smashing Machine.” New films from Mona Fastvold, Kathryn Bigelow, Paolo Sorrentino, Jim Jarmusch, Park Chan-wook, Gus Van Sant, Lucrezia Martel, László Nemes and Kaouther Ben Hania are also in the lineup. This year’s jury is headed by Alexander Payne, the director of films like “The Holdovers,” “Election” and “Sideways.” Venice often serves as the launch of awards season, coming ahead of an onslaught of other fall festivals including Telluride, Toronto and New York that distributors use to lay the foundation for campaigning in the coming months. See all of Variety’s reviews from the 2025 Venice Film Festival below. The roundup will be updated throughout the festival to include the most recent reviews. Read Variety’s review: Julian Schnabel’s gonzo literary gangster movie is a folly that pulsates with life. Oscar Isaac plays Nick Tosches — and Dante — in a heist-movie-meets-philosophical-rumination that overreaches almost on purpose. Read Variety’s review: Pietro Marcello unleashes Valeria Bruni Tedeschi on a torrid portrait of a prima donna. Italian theater star Eleonora Duse gets an adulatory l

If Dylan O’Brien plays the drums on Taylor Swift’s upcoming new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” he’s certainly not giving away that scoop. “Oh, I can’t say!” the actor told me Tuesday night at the premiere of his new indie “Twinless” at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. “You know, I can’t say.” O’Brien’s drum-playing was credited on “Snow on the Beach” from Swift’s 2022 album, “Midnights.” “It was an all-time bucket-lister for me,” he said. He also starred opposite Swift and Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”) in Swift’s “All Too Well: The Short Film.” O’Brien insists he hasn’t asked Swift to listen to her new album. “I respect the space,” he said. In “Twinless,” a dark comedy with a twist you will not see coming, O’Brien and James Sweeney star as Roman and Dennis, new friends who meet at a support group for people whose twins have died. O’Brien pulls double duty, playing Roman as well as his late identical gay twin Rocky in flashbacks. “I was like, ‘What the fuck is this?’” O’Brien said of first reading the script. “And I just thought it was amazing. I did my homework on [Sweeney] and thought was he was just incredible and talented and kind of shocked that it ended up anywhere near me.” O’Brien was attached to the project for about five years before filming finally began. “A lot happened over the years,” he said, adding,