In brief: Angelina Jolie honored for ‘Maria,’ and more

Angelina Jolie will be the recipient of the Palm Springs International Film Awards’ Desert Palm Achievement Award – Actress for her role in Netflix’s Maria. Jolie’s performance “captures the heart and complexity of an artist whose life was as captivating as her music,” Nachhattar Singh Chandi, festival chairman, said in a statement Monday. Other honorees include Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman and Colman Domingo. The ceremony is set for Jan. 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center during the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 2 to Jan. 13 …

Josh O’Connor has been tapped to star in Steven Spielberg‘s latest yet-to-be-titled film, joining Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth and Eve Hewson, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Details are being kept under wraps, but the project is said to have “sci-fi elements,” per the outlet, and is based on a story by Spielberg with a screenplay by his collaborator David Koepp …

Bridgerton‘s Luke Newton has been cast opposite Pretty Little Liars‘ Lucy Hale in the upcoming sci-fi thriller White Mars, according to Deadline. The film, set in an isolated Aquila research facility, “follows microbiologist Sammie as she and Leo fight to save their fellow crew members from a malevolent entity whose sole intention is to extinguish them all,” per Deadline. Hale and Newton will play Sammie and Leo, respectively …