Sitting at a beautiful rooftop overlooking the sprawling streets of Italy’s Taormina, Oscar-nominated Brazilian actor Fernanda Torres still can’t quite believe she has finally made it to Sicily. Torres, who is in town to receive the Taormina Film Festival Achievement Award, tells Variety that visiting the region has been a “longtime dream” of hers.  “I […]

When director Michael Gallagher was eight years old, 39 people died in his neighborhood in San Diego, California. They were the victims of the infamous Heaven’s Gate cult, who died in a coordinated mass suicide timed with the approach of the Comet Hale-Bopp in March of 1997. That event would leave an indelible mark on […]

Russell Crowe proudly recalled “sticking to his guns” about not having sex scenes with Connie Nielsen in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.” Speaking at the Taormina Film Festival, the New Zealand-born actor was asked about a “certain attitude” he showed about the 2024 sequel to his 2000 Oscar-winning epic.  Crowe elaborated on the sequel’s issues by speaking […]