Opening soon after the death of Sophie’s mother, the teenager reasons that she’s coping well enough, at least she’s not cutting herself or drinking or taking drugs. Instead, however, Sophie has turned her attention to the seeming wealth of winsome high school boys, all eager to “comfort” her in mostly physical ways. Her first conquest: sweet Kevin (Skyler Verity), who she finds attractive for a number of reasons, but mostly because he recently announced to a class that “The Old Man and the Sea” is his favorite book....

“The brief Pablo gave me at the beginning was, we weren’t working in a specific date,” recalls the two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer in a conversation with IndieWire. “Our period was roughly [from] 1988 to 1992. So we created a wardrobe [without] replicating anything. Because her costumes are [extensively] photographed, somebody somewhere would pinpoint the date quite easily if [we] were to replicate. And whether that [matches] the date in the movie would [have become] a thing....

With it, COVID Christmas No. 2 is a reasonably successful season. The incredible domestic 10-day total of $467 million (and reaching $1 billion worldwide) — as much as double expectations — does raise hopes that the end is in sight for gross-challenged exhibitors. That this comes in the face of the Omicron surge — with holiday plans disrupted, Broadway and other events shutting down, some sports postponed — has to be seen as a major boost for exhibitors’ viability....

Sondheim’s death came as a shock to many in the film and theater communities, as he was known for his dynamic persona (and even very recently gave an interview to The New York Times and visited “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”). Collaborators and friends took to social media to remember the icon, including Steven Spielberg, who offered this statement to Deadline: “Stephen Sondheim was a gigantic figure in American culture — one of our country’s greatest songwriters, a lyricist and composer of real genius, and a creator of some of the most glorious musical dramas ever written....

“Honestly, one of the most traumatizing experiences of my entire life,” Stevens said of his live performance at the 90th annual Oscar ceremony that he likened to “a horrifying Scientology end-of-year prom.” The Oscars, he said, represent “everything I hate about America and popular culture.” With 26 million viewers, the Oscars represented massive exposure for the shy musician revered for his plaintive and experimental folk-electronic music. Even so, it’s an experience he doesn’t want to repeat....

A pulsating panorama of “Black, beautiful, proud” people, “Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” is a joyous and welcome addition to the documentary subgenre of rock festivals. But this one, which marks the directorial debut of The Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, comes with a most unfortunate history: Its film reels were buried in a basement for 50 years, largely unseen, until now. The “Questlove Jawn,” as it’s introduced in opening credits, covers the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, aka “The Black Woodstock....

Betsy Wallace, the Sundance Institute’s managing director and CFO, appeared before the Park City city council Tuesday to get the modified plans signed off, which include a drastically reduced amount of space for parking, ticketing, and office space Sundance is planning on leasing from the city. The festival has yet to finalize any plans, but Wallace said during the meeting that the festival will be a much smaller affair than in years past....