Director Carl Erik Rinsch has been indicted on charges of fraud and money laundering for allegedly taking $11 million from Netflix and spending it on luxury cars, antique furniture and mattresses. Rinsch demanded the funds in order to finish “White Horse,” a science fiction TV series that was never completed, according to the indictment. Instead, he allegedly used the money to make “extremely risky investments,” to pay for stays at the Four Seasons and for other lavish purchases, and to hire lawyers to sue Netflix. Rinsch, 47, was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Netflix declined to comment. Popular on Variety The allegations were first reported in a New York Times story in November 2023.
Tag Archives: FilmIndustry
Mar
Although otherwise “The Substance” had monstrous luck at the 2025 Academy Awards, Coralie Fargeat’s horror film starring Demi Moore did walk away with one Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup Design, as it was favored to do. Now, however, producer Nicolas Royer has weighed in on acrimony between members of the hair and makeup team that has been brewing both before and after the Oscar ceremony. You might well think that an entire team would qualify equally for an Academy Award; or that one single representative, the department head, would automatically be the nominee for an Oscar category. But each Hair and Makeup nomination is limited to three nominees. This in part reflects the complex way that prosthetics, hair design, and conventional makeup all work together to transform actors into
Mar
Bill Maher is saying “cancel culture” is still thriving during a conversation Friday with David Sedaris on Real Time with Bill Maher . The HBO host and comedian says the idea of “cancel culture” has evolved into something else and the Karla Sofía Gascón scandal played a part in Emilia Pérez losing at the Oscars, which was “good news for Anora .” “There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars,’” Maher said on his talk show. “You may not think it happened but the movie that was going to win it all was Emilia Pérez.” Maher said that “Hollywood loved” the idea that they would “finally have a person, who was a trans person” win
Mar
Best wishes to whichever journalist next attempts to ask “Anora” filmmaker Sean Baker the now dead-tired Marvel question. No, after winning four Oscars (a new record for any filmmaker for a single film) for his latest indie effort, Baker will not be pursuing a new career in blockbuster filmmaking, and thank goodness for that. Just one week before his massive Oscars sweep, the self-professed “indie film lifer” took to the stage at the Independent Spirit Awards to accept his Best Director win, using his platform to call out the inequity he sees in the industry he loves so well and make his allegiances known. “I know that there are other indie film lifers in this room, those who don’t see indie films as calling cards, those who don’t make these
Feb
Arriving on a busy blue carpet for a gray day at the beach, guests at the 2025 Indie Spirit Awards agreed: It’s time to Make the Movies Messy Again. Inside the ceremony tent, host Aidy Bryant put it perfectly when she said, “It’s been a great year for film and a bad year for human life.” Hundreds of the most important decision-makers and visionary artists championing creative independence today gathered in Santa Monica, California on Saturday to honor the best in boundary-breaking film and TV. “Anora” and “Baby Reindeer” won the most categories in several tight races, but the show’s main source of dramatic tension came from the countless news items surrounding a tough awards season. From fraught talk of cultural fascism to economic critiques of the entertainment industry, honorees
Sean Baker is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. For the last two decades, Baker has worked on the fringes of American cinema, sticking to his independent roots, but as his star rises to new heights with his Oscar frontrunner “Anora,” the writer/director is using his platform to call out the inequity he sees within the film industry and how it keeps creatives from achieving financial security. Upon accepting the award for Best Director at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards, after offering his thanks to everyone who made “Anora” possible, Baker dedicated a chunk of his speech to acknowledging the struggle indie film is currently facing. Baker explained that he thinks it will only get better when those who control the financing system offer
Feb
Austria can celebrate a huge success as a filming location thanks in large part to attractive funding programs that have lured major international productions to the country, among them Guy Ritchie’s “Fountain of Youth” and Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Cliffhanger” reboot, while also boasting a strong lineup of local works at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Introduced in 2023, the incentives, known as FISA Plus and ÖFI Plus, can cover as much as 60% of costs for international film productions. In addition to magnificent natural landscapes, medieval towns and striking cities, a new state-of-the-art studio complex in Vienna now offers a comprehensive range of services to support productions in the Austrian capital. “Since the launch of the FISA Plus funding program two years ago, Austria has emerged as a strong player in
Feb
EXCLUSIVE: Bangkok-based horror studio and distribution company Night Edge Pictures will be making its European Film Market (EFM) debut with horror film Death Dial, alongside a slate of other horror and thriller films. Night Edge Pictures has unveiled additional cast for Death Dial, with Sanya Kunakorn (How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Good Doctor Thailand ) set to join the project. Top Thai actress Penpak Sirikul is already attached to Death Dial. Sirikul featured in Home For Rent as well as Start Up, Thailand’s adaptation of the popular Korean drama of the same name. Death Dial is currently in pre-production and scheduled for release in early-2026. Watch on Deadline Additionally, Night Edge Pictures will bring Death Dial to overseas distributors at the American Film Market later this year, after