Little else changed this week, with fewer films than usual finding positions on all three iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu charts. “Sing 2” (Universal/$19.99), high on all charts again, has spent more than three months at a $19.99 or higher. Like “Spider-Man,” it still ranked in the top 10 this weekend. “Dog” (United Artists/$19.99), a much more recent release and #7 in theaters, was the third across-the-board placer. The only new entry of note was “Panama” (Saban/$6....

The Academy Award-winning legendary director recently helmed his first music video for Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons and now is marking his Toronto International Film Festival debut with the premiere of his semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans.” The 47th edition of TIFF will take place September 8-18. Inspired by Spielberg’s own upbringing, the film is a deeply personal portrait of 20th Century American childhood rooted in a coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves, per an official synopsis....

Spielberg recalled that he came up with the idea for the film while shooting “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in Tunisia (via The Hollywood Reporter). He did not have time to write the script himself, but he thought he knew the perfect person for the job: Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter behind “The Black Stallion” who just happened to be dating Harrison Ford at the time. “I pretty much had worked out most of the story and I needed a writer to write it with me, or write it just based on the story,” Spielberg said....

“We will continue to monitor the general levels of community transmission and local COVID-19 vaccination coverage in our in-person communities, working to maximize their health safety and adjust any plans as needed for the safety of our community. Any further policy updates will be shared in early January,” reads a statement from the festival. The new requirements, which are additions to ones announced earlier this year, are among the strictest for any pandemic-era event to date....

Quentin Tarantino’s fans can watch some of his iconic movies come to life in “Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & The Tyranny of Evil Men,” a hybrid theater experience that immerses audiences in Tarantino’s Cinematic Universe. Described as a “postmodern cabaret experience,” the 90-minute show takes place at The Bourbon Room in Los Angeles through the end of September, and features a combination of Broadway-style live action scenes coupled with songs from Tarantino films including, “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Jackie Brown,” and “The Hateful Eight....

But as supervising sound editor Brent Findley describes, laying the sonic groundwork for the word-of-mouth Apple TV+ hit “Ted Lasso” started with one fundamental roadblock. “One of the catches with just going to a sporting event and trying to record the stuff wild is there’s so much music at these events,” Findley told IndieWire. “In the world of football, these clubs have copyrighted their chants and these chants are in these crowds continuously throughout the game....

Aside from a mild commentary of mass shootings and late stage capitalism (the term even gets a shout-out), the story of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” hangs loosely around dopey characters and unsurprising plot developments. Still, it delivers plenty of blood spattered, gut-spilling gore to satisfy genre lover’s bloodlust, even if we’ve pretty much seen everything a chainsaw can do by now. The movie opens with a group of friends driving across the wide open plains of deep Texas....

Chastain’s concept, eventually penned by “Catwoman” and “Harriet the Spy” screenwriter Theresa Rebeck, was cooked up on the heels of plenty of other successful, interesting female-centric action outings, from “Atomic Blonde” and “Lucy” to “Wonder Woman” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.” More than three years after its announcement (and with at least one casting switcheroo, swapping original star Marion Cotillard for Diane Kruger), “The 355” finally lands in a world in which films like “Birds of Prey,” “Black Widow,” “The Old Guard,” and “Gunpowder Milkshake” have already been released and proven that there’s indeed a hunger for this smart twist on an old formula....

Yes, science fiction is rooted in profound origins, examining humanity’s deep-seated fear of itself and the intimidating possibility of worlds unknown. But the last two decades have seen a metaphoric rush on sci-fi storytelling that’s left the once niche subgenre a supersaturated movie market. On the one hand, that’s produced an onslaught of sci-fi(ish) titles that aren’t always up to snuff. But on the other, it’s prompted some of the best sci-fi films ever made....

Academy Members, Guild Members, Members of the Industry and fans may apply to attend this event here. (Capacity is limited; an application does not guarantee admission.) A limited number of tickets for the short film event will be available exclusively to LA3C passholders, who will also have access to additional events the same week hosted by fellow Penske brands Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, SHE Media, Vibe, Variety, and Women’s Wear Daily....

Thus, “The Croods: A New Age” was born. Was it worth the wait? Eh, sort of. Like its predecessor, Joel Crawford’s feature directorial debut offers a familiar story, some classic lessons, and a lot of caveman-centric humor in one inoffensive package. The good stuff is still good: full-throated voice performances from a star-studded cast (Nicolas Cage manages to make his role as a prehistoric dad fit neatly alongside other recent choices in his inscrutable career), a bevy of delightfully weird animals, and the kind of loving messaging that never goes out of style....

Mann, Tran, and Dinklage play another caveman family, known as the Bettermans, who pose the biggest threat to the Croods since leaving their cave. The Bettermans (emphasis on the “better”) — with their elaborate tree house, amazing inventions, and irrigated acres of fresh produce — are a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. When they take the Croods in as the world’s first houseguests, it isn’t long before tensions escalate between the cave family and the modern family....

However, to sum up her impact in the language of credits and awards would an injustice of its own. Weyermann was one of those people who had the privilege of being genuinely beloved. She was dedicated to her work as chief content officer at Participant Media, but the filmmakers she worked with knew her as a fiercely intelligent champion, guide, and most of all a friend. After losing her long battle with cancer last week, Weyermann’s friends in the documentary community sent IndieWire a flood of tributes....

Prior to 2021, no originals series from a streaming service had won the Outstanding Limited Series Emmy. HBO’s programs won three of the last four years, with “Watchmen,” “Chernobyl,” and “Big Little Lies” beating out competition from Netflix like “When They See Us,” “Unorthodox,” and “Unbelievable.” FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” broke up the premium cable network’s hot streak by winning the category in 2018, topping Netflix’s “Godless....

“The Swimmers,” which is written by El Hosaini and Jack Thorne, is based on the true story of the Olympian-anointed Mardini sisters, who left their battle-torn Damascus in 2015 by boat on a treacherous path to Germany, where there’s hope things might be better. The movie, centered on Sara and Yusra, who share a deep bond but also a scrappy competitiveness, as established in opening shots of the pair dunking and holding each other underwater in a public swimming pool, is well-meaning....

It was the year that saw the launch of the entertainment industry’s big-money streamers from high-profile companies such as AT&T and NBCUniversal. It was also a year that served as a key test for platforms such as Disney+ and Apple TV+, which launched in late 2019 and needed to prove that they had the staying power of industry heavyweights such as Netflix. Hulu began streaming a variety of FX shows....

The website introduces a new medium to unpack cinema embedded in the language of the internet and the nonlinear ways audiences experience documentaries, research, and the web. It features a custom interface that allows users to scrub through a thumbnail view of the film, alongside corresponding articles, quotes, links, and archival materials. A collaboration of Memory Studio and A Lot of Moving Parts, the site was made possible with the support of Sandbox Films....

But in a recent interview on the “Light the Fuse” podcast, while director Christopher McQuarrie would neither confirm nor refute such speculation, he did have a word of caution: Don’t believe every report you read about Tom Cruise. (Via Variety.) “Let me tell you, I’ve been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been standing next to the man, witnessed an event and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true,” McQuarrie said....

In a new exclusive featurette, courtesy of MGM, Reznor, Ross, and Guadagnino opened up about the influences that went into crafting the film’s unique sound. “When we got the first cut of the film, no music or anything in it, we thought that this was a masterpiece,” Reznor said, emphasizing that his goal was always to find subtle ways to add texture to the understated love story. “We knew that the guitar was going to be the central element,” Ross added....

As the festival announced late last month, this year’s event will “transform prominent locations into an expansive 12-day multi-screen outdoor celebration” held June 9 to 20, and is believed to be first major North American film festival to mount such an in-person event. Director Jon M. Chu’s long-awaited “In the Heights,” adapted from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, will open the 20th anniversary edition of Tribeca on June 9....