Despite the three progressively excellent examples listed above, these kind of stories aren’t easy to do well — especially on TV. Without a steady stream of humor (a la Kaley Cuoco’s zippy new HBO Max original) or satisfying surprises, all that worry can quickly prove exhausting or intolerable over six-to-10 hours, let alone multiple seasons. “Dead to Me,” “Defending Jacob,” and plenty more programs that don’t start with the letter “D” have struggled to balance a constant undercurrent of anxiety with believable twists, effective jokes, and/or enough plot to fill the time....

As usual, ND/NF selections qualify for filmmakers who have made up to three features. That means, rather than purely celebrating debuts, the festival serves to highlight active talent that may have already proven their worth but deserves more attention. That’s certainly the case in these highlights from the 2020 offering, which includes a couple of awards contenders and festival highlights worthy of wider attention. Together they prove that the future of cinema is in promising hands no matter what next year brings for it....

Created by Issa Rae, HBO Max’s new comedy series follows the story and perspective of Shawna (Aida Osman), an aspiring Miami rapper working at a hotel for the time being. When she teams up unexpectedly with Mia (KaMillion), their impromptu freestyle becomes a viral track and the start of a promising collaboration. “Rap Sh!t” is hyperspecific, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply engrossing. Osman and the cast shine with Rae’s once-again winning team of writers and directors....

The pandemic changed the way that we do everything from going to work to watching movies. It also inspired people to pick up fun new hobbies such as chess (and who can forget the banana bread craze?). “The Queens Gambit” played a big part in the board game becoming that much more popular in the last year. The Netflix series, which is set in the 1960s and follows an orphaned chess prodigy, increased chess sales by more than 1,048% in 2020, compared to the previous year....

Shopping for the right coffee table book isn’t as easy as you might think, namely because there are so many choices out there. To narrow things down a bit, you can find books that align with your personal interests. If you’re a movie fan who wants to incorporate that cinema aesthetic into your living room decor, we rounded up a list of some of the coolest coffee table books to buy right now....

In terms of individual ratings losers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cartoon Network was the hardest hit with a 34 percent drop. Nickelodeon also got hammered, with a 23 percent decline. Awkwardly, Nickelodeon will host its annual upfront event at 4 p.m. ET today in which it will attempt to impress and otherwise woo media buyers into purchasing commercial time on their programming schedules. Today’s Nickelodeon event is the first live, in-person upfront since The CW’s in May 2019....

This year, as a presenting sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival, Adobe launched a short spot highlighting the work of four Sundance Institute alumni, which was co-directed and edited by 2018 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellow Carol Nguyen. The vignette, titled “When I Tell the Story,” epitomizes the importance of giving new filmmakers a platform to share their work and their voice. “When I tell the story, it’s dark and glittery....

When writer-director Nadav Lapid was doing press for his Berlinale-winning “Synonyms” in 2019, he told a funny story about his conflicted approach to the Israeli notions of masculinity and national identity that rage across his films: When his sister-in-law had a baby boy, she asked him for advice as to whether or not they should circumcise the child. “I totally understand if you don’t want your son to be Israeli,” Lapid told her, channeling his late mother’s lifelong hope that her children would leave the country behind....

The new rule applies only to counties with a COVID-19 infection rate less than 2% on a 14-day average, and with no cluster zones. Masks are required at all times except when seated and eating or drinking, which has already been a commonplace standard among those theaters throughout the country open so far. Assigned seating will be required in all theaters (which means even those not equipped for assigned seating)....

WarnerMedia unveiled a slew of new animated projects on Wednesday morning prior to the company’s virtual upfront event. Chief among the company’s upcoming animated titles include “Batman: Caped Crusader” and “My Adventures With Superman,” which were officially greenlit by HBO Max and Cartoon Network on Wednesday. Jack Quaid (“The Boys”) will voice Superman in the latter show, which will focus on twentysomethings Clark Kent, the bright and driven Lois Lane (Alice Lee), and their best friend Jimmy Olsen as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet....

Astronauts Gordo (Michael Dorman) and Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones) are attempting to prevent a nuclear meltdown on the moon. The problem isn’t that the lunar rock is on the verge of going Chernobyl, it’s the fact that the once married couple has to step out onto the surface without wearing traditional spacesuits. It’s a mission that suggests there’s no turning back. For the visual effects team led by VFX supervisor Jay Redd, who has been on the series since its inception, capturing the authenticity of life on the moon is a collaboration among a number of departments including production designer Dan Bishop, special effects supervisor Mark Byers, and stunt coordinator Todd Schneider to pull off the realism....

The successes include “Till” (United Artists), which has grossed up to $6.5 million total in its fourth weekend, and “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight), which has grossed $3 million so far. Together, they are generating close to two thirds of the specialized business. Better-than-average results continue for “Triangle of Sadness” (Neon) and “Decision to Leave” (MUBI). “Triangle” grossed more than $3 million — more than double of director Ruben Östlund’s earlier “The Square” and “Force Majeure” combined....

“It’s such a stronger film if you let the story be told not only through the actors or whatever but also the framing because then everything is working in sync,” James Deakins said. “The film is telling you but it doesn’t feel like you’re being talked to. When we worked on ‘Sicario,’ we worked with Benicio del Toro, who is such a great actor, and he would come up to Denis often and say, ‘You know what, there is a whole page of dialogue and I don’t think I need it because I think I can say it on my face....

Gaming upgrades are essential in giving you the competitive edge that can dramatically enhance your overall experience. When it comes to PC gaming, shopping for the right graphics card can be a complicated but necessary process. If you’re going to be spending hours on end in front of your computer, upgrading your graphics card is a quick way to achieve the spectacular realism that can make you feel like you stepped inside a video game....

According to the Associated Press, “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that testimony tainted the trial, even though a lower appeals court had found it appropriate to show a signature pattern of drugging and molesting women.” That’s true — however, the state’s high court didn’t even consider that issue in deciding to overturn Cosby’s conviction. Cosby’s lawyers filed an appeal that made two arguments: One surrounded the admissibility of those accusers’ testimonies — so-called “prior bad act” evidence — and another was based on a former district attorney’s 2005 promise not to prosecute Cosby in exchange for testimony in an earlier civil case....

This year’s list was compiled from suggestions of over 375 film executives, who contributed up to 10 feature screenplays that were written in, or somehow uniquely associated with 2020 and will not begin principal photography during the year. Scripts had to receive mentions from at least seven of those executives to be included on this year’s Black List. The first survey was released in 2005. Since then many of the included scripts have gone on to be produced, often to great acclaim....

The third season of the hit Netflix series will focus on Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) finding romance with longtime pal Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). The “will they, won’t they” dynamic will further be explored as Penelope (aka Lady Whistledown) reports on the fresh faces in Regency England, including new cast members Daniel Francis as charismatic womanizer Marcus Anderson, Sam Phillips as eccentric Lord Debling, and James Phoon as simple bachelor Harry Dankworth....

Much of that came down to timing. COVID postponed last year’s Cannes to July 2021 and, after Cannes being canceled altogether in 2020, there was a backlog of excellent titles waiting for their moment on the Croisette. However, studio films were all but absent; their distributors didn’t have much interest in spending to promote their titles in July. Led by “Drive My Car,” the films of Cannes 2021 showed unprecedented dominance in year-end critics’ surveys, including four of the top six in the IndieWire critics’ poll, four of the top five from Sight and Sound, and six of the top 10 at Cahiers du Cinema....

The 2020 winners are (listed alphabetically by author): James Acker, “SadBoi” Beth Curry, “Lemon” Vanar Jaddou, “Goodbye, Iraq” Kate Marks, “The Cow of Queens” Jane Therese, “Sins of My Father” The 2020 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author): Kris A. Holmes, “The Seeds of Truth” Fred Martenson, “Demons in America” Robin Rose Singer, “The Lions of Mesopotamia” David Harrison Turner, “Safe Haven” Andrew Wankier, “Three Heavens” The fellowships support each writer’s completion of a feature-length screenplay within the year....

At a CinemaCon press roundtable, NATO CEO John Fithian admitted that he feared losing half that number. “That’s a miracle,” he said, “a tremendous success story. Some cinema companies couldn’t make it through some bankruptcy filings, fewer than we thought. I’ve lobbied [for exhibitors] since September 1992, but I’ve never been as encouraged by this industry coming together to save movie theaters.” The bad news: Day-and-date releases boosted piracy all over the world....