A staple of awards season returns to Hollywood next month with the 2021 edition of AFI Fest. This year, the festival will feature the world premieres of Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song” and Lin Manuel-Miranda’s “Tick, Tick…Boom!.” Additionally, the festival will showcase red carpet premieres for Pedro Almodovar’s “Parallel Mothers” and previously announced galas for Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” and Halle Berry’s “Bruised,” which had a “you had to be there” premiere at TIFF in 2020.

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Some movies feel timely, and some feel timeless; then, there are the movies that make you feel as if the auteur behind the wheel must have stepped out of a time machine to make it. Dennis Hopper’s long-unavailable “Out of the Blue” – which premiered 40 years ago at the Cannes film festival – would be hailed as a flat-out masterpiece were it released in 2020. A spiritual successor to 1969’s seminal “Easy Rider,” Hopper’s 3rd directorial effort is a work that transmogrifies itself so deftly it somehow sways between pensive and punk.

Continue reading Dennis Hopper’s Restored ‘Out Of The Blue’ Is A Devastating Look At Unspoken Abuse [AFI Review] at The Playlist.

Apple has already had a tough month with a not-so-great kick-off to its Apple TV+ service and now its first theatrical release looks like it’s hit unexpectedly rocky waters. The company pulled its upcoming release “The Banker” from a closing night world premiere slot at AFI Fest in Los Angeles. Netflix’s “Marriage Story,” already in release, will screen instead.

READ MORE: Apple goes prestige as “The Banker” set to play AFI Fest

In a statement, Apple remarked, “We purchased The Banker earlier this year as we were moved by the film’s entertaining and educational story about social change and financial literacy.

Continue reading Update: Apple TV Plus’ Rough Start Continues As Sexual Abuse Allegations Finds ‘The Banker’ Pulled From AFI Fest at The Playlist.

The American Film Institute announced this afternoon that Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” will make its world premiere at the 2019 AFI Fest next month.  The Warner Bros. release will be featured in a gala presentation on Wednesday, Novemeber 20.  The late addition to the year-end release schedule and crowded awards season scrum.

WATCH: Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewel” tackles “fake news” in new trailer

In a statement from AFI, the institute’s president and CEO, Bob “always available for a photo op” Gazzale, noted, “Clint Eastwood is an American icon.

Continue reading Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ Gets An AFI Fest Premiere As Oscar Hype Begins at The Playlist.

When the earlier fall festivals, such as TIFF, Telluride, and Venice, began announcing their full lineups, there were a few films that stood out as being not announced. One of those films is the highly-anticipated period film “Mary Queen of Scots,” which stars Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I and Saoirse Ronan as the titular Mary. The film is poised to be an awards contender as both leads have been Oscar-nominated previously.

Continue reading Margot Robbie & Saoirse Ronan Film ‘Mary Queen Of Scots’ To Close Out AFI Fest 2018 at The Playlist.

After a 2017 festival that was woefully short on world premieres, AFI Fest has secured a major debut for its 2018 edition.  Mimi Leder’s “On The Basis Of Sex” will open the festival on Nov. 8 in Hollywood.  And it’s no surprise once you learn Leder is an alum of the American Film Institute.

In a statement, AFI head Bob Gazzale noted, “AFI was founded to celebrate excellence in the art form and to ensure it for future generations.

Continue reading ‘On The Basis Of Sex’ With Felicity Jones Will Open AFI Fest 2018 at The Playlist.

AFI Film Fest Review: Adam McKay's 'The Big Short' Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, And Brad Pitt

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AFI Fest: 'James White,' 'Mustang,' 'Ma' Lead Audience Award Winners

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AFI Fest Review: Khalik Allah’s Documentary ‘Field Niggas’ Is A Hallucinatory Nighttime Document

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AFI Fest: Harold Lloyd Classic ‘Safety Last!’ To Screen With Soundtrack From ‘Breaking Bad’ Music Supervisor Thomas Golubic

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Angelina Jolie Pitt's 'By The Sea' To Open AFI Fest

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Review: Slow-Burning And Rewarding 'A Most Violent Year' Starring Oscar Isaac & Jessica Chastain

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AFI Review: 'Selma' Directed By Ava DuVernay, Starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo & Oprah Winfrey

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AFI Fest Review: Clint Eastwood’s ‘American Sniper’ Starring Bradley Cooper And Sienna Miller

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AFI Fest Review: ‘The Gambler’ Starring Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson and Michael K. Williams

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'American Sniper' Loads Up AFI Fest Secret Screening

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AFI Fest: Paul Thomas Anderson Talks ‘Inherent Vice’ Influence ‘Mondo Hollywood’ With Director Robert Carl Cohen

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Ava DuVernay's 'Selma' To Make World Premiere At AFI Fest, But Is Not The Surprise Screening Title

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New Look At David Oyelowo As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In ‘Selma'; 30 Minutes Of Footage To Debut At AFI Fest

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'The Gambler' Starring Mark Wahlberg To Make World Premiere At AFI Fest

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'Foxcatcher' To Close AFI Fest, Watch 30-Minute Talk With Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo & Bennett Miller

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J.C. Chandor's 'A Most Violent Year' Starring Jessica Chastain & Oscar Isaac To Have World Premiere At AFI Fest

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New Images From 'Out Of The Furnace' As Film Heads To AFI Fest

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AFI Interview: Amy Seimetz Discusses Her Directorial Debut 'Sun Don't Shine,' Noir & The Trappings Of Mumblecore

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AFI Review: 'The ABCs Of Death' Won't Win Over Non-Horror Fans, But That's OK

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