With Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz-set Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” competing for the Palme d’Or and a host of Polish producers bringing buzzy upcoming projects to the Marché du Film, the Polish industry should again have Cannes talking. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights: The Zone of Interest(Competition)Director: Jonathan GlazerProducers: James Wilson, Ewa
Movies
The anticipation surrounding Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” was building long before it was tapped to compete at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Details about the Auschwitz-set film, which is loosely based on the novel by Martin Amis, have been kept under wraps, although no less a Cannes personage than festival director
Irish screen legend and BAFTA-award winner Patrick Bergin (“Sleeping With the Enemy,” “Patriot Games”) and Francis Magee (“Kin”) have joined true-crime thriller, “Kiss of the Con Queen,” being directed by Tom Waller (“The Last Executioner,” “The Cave”). The pair join real-life victim Eoin O’Brien (“The Last Full Measure”) who plays an actor duped by an
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are ahead for “Fast X,” which is now playing in theaters. “You believe in ghosts?” Agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) asks at the end of 2011’s “Fast Five.” She’s just presented agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) with a surveillance photo of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was believed dead after a horrific crash
Late on in Kaouther Ben Hania’s compelling, ambitious hybrid “Four Daughters,” Olfa Hamrouni — the film’s focus, its fixation and its most charismatically contradictory character — strokes a purring, heavily pregnant ginger cat. Sometimes, she tells us, a cat will be so scared for her babies that she eats them. It’s Olfa’s covert acknowledgement that
With Jonathan Glazer’s previous films “Under the Skin” and “Birth,” the man was playing checkers. Now he’s playing chess with “The Zone of Interest.” For 105 minutes, the auteur filmmaker who’s helmed just three feature films, including the 2000 crime thriller “Sexy Beast” with Oscar nominee Ben Kingsley, puts the audience through the wringer with
Jim Brown, the NFL titan who appeared in “The Dirty Dozen,” a number of Blaxploitation films and Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday,” The Running Man,” Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks” and Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” to name a few films, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 87. His wife Monique posted the news of
Auli’i Cravalho will not be reprising her starring role in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of “Moana.” The actor, who voiced the original character in 2016 animated film, posted a video to Instagram Friday sharing the news. “When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career,” the now
Jonathan Glazer just delivered the first instant sensation of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. “The Zone of Interest,” only the director’s fourth feature film after “Sexy Beast,” “Birth” and “Under the Skin,” earned a six-minute standing ovation following its world premiere. Glazer’s film is austere and challenging as it tells the story of the commandant
Weston Razooli is far more than just a writer, producer and director. He’s a world-builder, as evidenced by his feature debut, “Riddle of Fire.” The faux-’70s children’s fantasy adventure, which premieres May 20 in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight program, follows three tweens (Charlie Stover, Skyler Peters and Phoebe Ferro) on a quest for ingredients to
German cinema is in Cannes with new works by Wim Wenders and films that explore Nazi propaganda, gender identity, economic crisis, romance, betrayal and fast cars. In addition to domestic films, a dozen German co-productions are screening in this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, including major works from the likes of Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismäki
This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Yellow Dot Studios wants to save the Earth — and entertain you along the way. Oscar winner Adam McKay has launched the non-profit studio with the intent
The franchise’s tenuous grip on reality gives way altogether in this episode, which signals the transition from high-speed racing to heist-movie action. After springing Dom from the prison-bound bus, Brian and Mia accompany him to Rio, where, along with Brian’s buddy Vince (Matt Schulze), who hasn’t been around since the first “Fast and Furious” film,
Of the thousands of dramatic feature films that deal with the subject of the Holocaust, few have evoked — or have even tried to — the experience of what went on inside the concentration camps. That’s understandable; the horror of that experience is forbidding and in some ways unimaginable. But there’s a small group of
Vertical has secured North American rights to “The Queen Mary,” a psychological horror film that was produced on the titular ship. It was made by “Dracula Untold” director Gary Shore and chronicles the mysterious and violent events surrounding one family’s voyage on Halloween night in 1938, and how their destinies link up with those of another family onboard the
If anyone knows the musical world of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, it’s composer Brian Tyler. Over the years, he’s created themes and cues for Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Cipher (Charlize Theron), and with “Fast X” he gets to dabble with Jason Momoa’s brilliant baddie, Dante. “Instead of creating a dark energy theme,
Maria Bakalova, the Oscar-nominated star of “Borat Subsequent Movie Film,” is set to star in the action-comedy “My Masterpiece” for Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood’s Balboa Productions. Cassandra Brooksbank will make her feature directorial debut from a script by Jason Hellerman. The Veterans and CAA Media Finance will introduce the film to buyers at Cannes
Anonymous Content has partnered with Spain’s Morena Films, one of the country’s top production companies, to launch a joint venture aimed at developing and producing Spanish-language content for the global market. The alliance marks the fifth international joint venture for Anonymous Content as they continue to build partnerships with local producers and companies in key
FILM FUND (EXCLUSIVE) Bitpix TV and Myco have partnered on a feature film development fund. Open to filmmakers worldwide, the fund, which was launched on Friday at the Cannes film market, aims to support three films a year each with a budget of up to $2 million per feature. Bitpix TV is the official streaming
Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy showed support for the writers strike while attending the Cannes press conference for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Kennedy has been a producer on the Harrison Ford-led franchise since its first installment. “When it comes to acknowledging the importance of writing, I think everybody up here has demonstrated that
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” stars Harrison Ford in his final performance as the swashbuckling, fedora-wearing adventurer, a legendary role he’s inhabited in five films across 40 years. But he says he is officially ready to retire the character. “Is it not evident?” the 80-year-old actor joked at the Cannes Film Festival’s Friday
Nanni Moretti’s “Il sol dell’avvenire” (“A Brighter Tomorrow”), a multi-layered love letter to filmmaking in the age of streaming giants, has scored a slew of sales ahead of it’s Cannes bow. French sales company Kinology has sealed deals to Moretti’s latest work with a slew of territories including Germany (Prokino); Spain (Caramel Films); Benelux (Cineart)
Spain’s status as Cannes’ Marché du Film’s Country of Honor is a “milestone,” says María Peña, CEO of ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. But it’s also a mark of recognition, she says, after Spain’s big wins just this year at the Berlinale (three prizes for Estibaliz Urresola’s “20,000 Species of Bees”) and France’s Cesars (foreign
Sean Penn is standing in solidarity with the writers guild, whose members are currently on strike to fight for better wages and work conditions in the streaming era. “My full support is with the writers guild,” Penn said during Friday’s press conference for his latest movie “Black Flies,” which debuted in competition at Cannes Film
In the lead-up to Cannes, Spanish film sales continue to show resilience despite shifting market trends and global challenges. The market signals suggest an enduring preference for genre movies and high-concept films, while the sale of arthouse fare remains tough. Antonio Saura, director general of Latido Films, tells Variety, “The trends we are seeing confirm
Two Japanese films by internationally renowned auteurs — “Monster” by Koreeda Hirokazu and “Kubi” by Kitano Takeshi — are in the Cannes lineup this year, and both carry with them big box office expectations in Japan. “Monster,” which is screening in competition, will be released on June 2 by Gaga and Toho, the latter Japan’s
“20,000 Species of Bees,” (Estibaliz Urresola) One of the big winners at Berlin, taking Leading Performance, and now racking up healthy sales, the story of a family off for a village summer holiday which builds to a moving ode to women’s freedoms. Sales: Luxbox “21 Paraíso,” (Nestor Ruiz Medina) Living in an idyllic Andalusia, a couple in love
XYZ Films has unveiled the first clip from Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection “In Flames,” a Pakistani-Canadian horror film directed by Zarrar Kahn. The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year. In
Clive Owen has joined “Star Wars” star Daisy Ridley in the London-set action-thriller “Cleaner.” Directed by “Casino Royale” helmer Martin Campbell, the project follows a group of activists who ambush an energy company’s annual meeting at the Shard — one of London’s most recognizable skyscrapers — and takes 300 people hostage. However, the cause is
Cannes Docs highlights Spain as part of its Docs in Progress program, featuring four documentaries that range from the avant-garde to the introspective. Spain’s doc filmmakers have labored to establish international footing — battling the stigma that the category is made up of dry narratives, productions strive for the robust funding granted to fiction. “There’s