A handful of competition premieres just made their way to the Palais to mixed results as the festival starts to wind down, the Cannes Marche du Film shutters Wednesday, and guests pack it up and head home.
In his second time competing for the Palme d’Or after “Red Rocket” three years ago, Sean Baker debuted the spectacularly alive and even exasperating “Anora” (Neon), starring Mikey Madison (“Better Things”) in a breakout, brilliant-from-the-gate lead performance as sex worker Ani. Living paycheck to paycheck in Queens while working as an exotic dancer in Manhattan, she meets a wealthy Russian, Timothée Chalamet-esque Ivan. He pays Ani $15,000 to be his “very horny girlfriend” for a week of debauchery in Vegas and in his remote Brooklyn cocaine mansion. They end up getting married impromptu, much to the unhappiness of Ivan’s parents, who make their return to the U.S. from Russia to get the marriage canceled.
In his second time competing for the Palme d’Or after “Red Rocket” three years ago, Sean Baker debuted the spectacularly alive and even exasperating “Anora” (Neon), starring Mikey Madison (“Better Things”) in a breakout, brilliant-from-the-gate lead performance as sex worker Ani. Living paycheck to paycheck in Queens while working as an exotic dancer in Manhattan, she meets a wealthy Russian, Timothée Chalamet-esque Ivan. He pays Ani $15,000 to be his “very horny girlfriend” for a week of debauchery in Vegas and in his remote Brooklyn cocaine mansion. They end up getting married impromptu, much to the unhappiness of Ivan’s parents, who make their return to the U.S. from Russia to get the marriage canceled.
- 5/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Goodfellas and Utopia have announced a slew of sales for Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl following its launch at the Cannes market.
The movie, starring Pamela Anderson as a veteran Las Vegas showgirl forced to reinvent her life, was a hot title in the lead up to the market this year.
In first deals, it has sold to Benelux (September Film Distribution), Switzerland (Filmcoopi Zurich), Germany (Constantin Film), Spain (Vertigo Films), UK (Picturehouse), Italy (Be Water Film), Poland (Gutek Film), Cis (Capella Film), Middle East (Teleview International), Australia (Madman Entertainment) and airlines (Skeye Inflight Entertainment).
Further major deals are currently under negotiation, with the expectation that all territories will be sold by the end of the market.
Anderson plays a seasoned showgirl who is left high and dry when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. As a dancer in her fifties, she struggles with what to do next.
The movie, starring Pamela Anderson as a veteran Las Vegas showgirl forced to reinvent her life, was a hot title in the lead up to the market this year.
In first deals, it has sold to Benelux (September Film Distribution), Switzerland (Filmcoopi Zurich), Germany (Constantin Film), Spain (Vertigo Films), UK (Picturehouse), Italy (Be Water Film), Poland (Gutek Film), Cis (Capella Film), Middle East (Teleview International), Australia (Madman Entertainment) and airlines (Skeye Inflight Entertainment).
Further major deals are currently under negotiation, with the expectation that all territories will be sold by the end of the market.
Anderson plays a seasoned showgirl who is left high and dry when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. As a dancer in her fifties, she struggles with what to do next.
- 5/22/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is set to attend the Cannes premiere of his latest feature, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, after receiving an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities and fleeing his home country.
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Making it three features in a row that’ll have premiered on the Croisette, Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi saw his sophomore feature Border play like gangbusters in the Un Certain Regard section (winning the top prize via the Benicio Del Toro-led jury). Four years later in 2022, he presented Holy Spider (read review) and that won Zar Amir Ebrahimi the Best Actress Palme. The film scored an average of 3.0 with our jury. Jumping into production in late 2023 in Toronto, The Apprentice features Silver Bear Winner Sebastian Stan plays a younger Donald Trump in this piece of satire.
Gist: Written by Gabe Sherman, taking place in 70s and 80s NYC, this charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.…...
Gist: Written by Gabe Sherman, taking place in 70s and 80s NYC, this charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.…...
- 5/22/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
- 5/22/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Dahlings, Oscar-nominated Maria Bakalova is channeling an essence of Ivana Trump, who she praises as a “boss lady,” when we meet on a terrace at the Palais to natter about her slyly sublime portrait of Donald Trump’s first wife in filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s Cannes hit The Apprentice.
Bulgarian-born Bakalova plays Czechoslovakian-American Ivana Trump opposite Romanian-born Sebstian Stan’s astute portrayal of Donald Trump.
They married in 1977 when, perhaps, excess and bad taste weren’t as frowned upon it is today.
Bakalova is wearing a bespoke navy blue short-sleeved jacket with white cuffs that match a white skirt created for her by London-based Han Chong’s Self-Portrait label.
“Yes, it was made as an inspiration for Ivana,” says Bakalova, “because we didn’t want it to be exactly the same, but a nod to Ivana, like a power dressing, power style.”
Ivana Trump at the 1988 Council of Fashion...
Bulgarian-born Bakalova plays Czechoslovakian-American Ivana Trump opposite Romanian-born Sebstian Stan’s astute portrayal of Donald Trump.
They married in 1977 when, perhaps, excess and bad taste weren’t as frowned upon it is today.
Bakalova is wearing a bespoke navy blue short-sleeved jacket with white cuffs that match a white skirt created for her by London-based Han Chong’s Self-Portrait label.
“Yes, it was made as an inspiration for Ivana,” says Bakalova, “because we didn’t want it to be exactly the same, but a nod to Ivana, like a power dressing, power style.”
Ivana Trump at the 1988 Council of Fashion...
- 5/21/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Every superhero gets an origin story. So, for that matter, do most supervillains. The Apprentice drops viewers into New York circa 1973, when a 34-year-old resident of Queens walked in to the upper-crust establishment on the Upper West Side known as Le Club. He went there in an attempt to impress a young woman. He’d leave having met a well-known lawyer and well-connected member of New York’s elite, who would end up changing his life. The legal eagle was the notorious Roy Cohn. The outer-borough wannabe was Donald Trump.
- 5/21/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
He may be on trial for fraud in New York City, but Donald J. Trump has made his presence felt at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival.
The Iranian-born, Denmark-based film director Ali Abbasi debuted his newest movie “The Apprentice” in competition this week, and its number one critic is the former President of the United States and current Republican candidate for this year’s election. In “The Apprentice,” Sebastian Stan stars as the young Trump, with Emmy-winner and current Tony-nominee Jeremy Strong as his mentor, the notorious litigator Roy Cohn. (You can watch the successful Sundance-launched documentary “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” for more about this relationship.)
Following the film’s bow Trump’s legal representative Steven Cheung released a Trump-style statement: “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.
The Iranian-born, Denmark-based film director Ali Abbasi debuted his newest movie “The Apprentice” in competition this week, and its number one critic is the former President of the United States and current Republican candidate for this year’s election. In “The Apprentice,” Sebastian Stan stars as the young Trump, with Emmy-winner and current Tony-nominee Jeremy Strong as his mentor, the notorious litigator Roy Cohn. (You can watch the successful Sundance-launched documentary “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” for more about this relationship.)
Following the film’s bow Trump’s legal representative Steven Cheung released a Trump-style statement: “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.
- 5/21/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is hitting back following the premiere of the controversial film “The Apprentice,” which chronicles the 2024 presidential candidate’s early years as a real estate developer.
“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” the Trump campaign’s chief spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to Variety. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”
Cheung’s statement continues, “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-dvd section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.
“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” the Trump campaign’s chief spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to Variety. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”
Cheung’s statement continues, “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-dvd section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.
- 5/20/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
Even in Cannes, it’s hard to avoid Donald Trump.
“The Apprentice,” the story of the 45th and possibly 47th president’s early years as a real estate developer, earned a eight-minute standing ovation on Monday. It’s probably safe to assume that the film festival crowd isn’t a Maga-heavy one, so it helps that “The Apprentice” paints a blistering portrait, focusing on Trump’s relationship with Roy Cohn, the McCarthy-ite lawyer and fixer who took an interest in the “the Donald” before he was a household name.
Sebastian Stan (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) stars as Trump, Jeremy Strong (“Succession”) plays Cohn and Maria Bakalova (“Borat 2”) portrays Ivana Trump, the thrice-married president’s first spouse. Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish filmmaker behind “Border” and “Holy Spider,” directs the movie from a script by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who covered the Trump White House, as well as...
“The Apprentice,” the story of the 45th and possibly 47th president’s early years as a real estate developer, earned a eight-minute standing ovation on Monday. It’s probably safe to assume that the film festival crowd isn’t a Maga-heavy one, so it helps that “The Apprentice” paints a blistering portrait, focusing on Trump’s relationship with Roy Cohn, the McCarthy-ite lawyer and fixer who took an interest in the “the Donald” before he was a household name.
Sebastian Stan (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) stars as Trump, Jeremy Strong (“Succession”) plays Cohn and Maria Bakalova (“Borat 2”) portrays Ivana Trump, the thrice-married president’s first spouse. Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish filmmaker behind “Border” and “Holy Spider,” directs the movie from a script by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who covered the Trump White House, as well as...
- 5/20/2024
- by Matt Donnelly and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
A lot of people would disagree with me, but I think there’s a mystery at the heart of Donald Trump. Many believe there’s no mystery, just a highly visible and documented legacy of bad behavior, selfishness, used-car-salesman effrontery, criminal transgressions, and abuse of power. They would say that Trump lies, slurs, showboats, bullies, toots racist dog whistles so loudly they’re not whistles anymore, and is increasingly open about the authoritarian president he plans to be.
All totally true, but also too easy. What it all leaves out, about the precise kind of man Donald Trump is, is this:
When Trump made “Stop the steal” the new cornerstone of his ideology, arguing, from the 2020 Election Night onward, that Joe Biden had stolen the election, was it simply the mother of all Trump lies? Or was it a lie that Trump told so often, in such an ego-shoring-up way,...
All totally true, but also too easy. What it all leaves out, about the precise kind of man Donald Trump is, is this:
When Trump made “Stop the steal” the new cornerstone of his ideology, arguing, from the 2020 Election Night onward, that Joe Biden had stolen the election, was it simply the mother of all Trump lies? Or was it a lie that Trump told so often, in such an ego-shoring-up way,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
An otherwise rote and unsurprising Frankenstein story about a madman who loses control of the monster he’s created, Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” does exactly one thing that no other movie ever has before or will again: It makes you feel the smallest possible mote of sympathy for Roy Cohn. That isn’t a compliment, necessarily, but it is some kind of testament to the talent of the actor who plays him, and also a very different kind of testament to the unparalleled soullessness of the future world leader who Cohn helped to invent.
When this scuzzy little drama first begins in the late 1970s, it’s Sebastian Stan’s Donald J. Trump — then an insecure Manhattan nepo baby who fumbles around the city in search of his slumlord father’s non-existent affection — whose receding humanity is still visible enough to inspire the same tender pity once evoked by Michael Corleone,...
When this scuzzy little drama first begins in the late 1970s, it’s Sebastian Stan’s Donald J. Trump — then an insecure Manhattan nepo baby who fumbles around the city in search of his slumlord father’s non-existent affection — whose receding humanity is still visible enough to inspire the same tender pity once evoked by Michael Corleone,...
- 5/20/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
To clear any confusion up front, The Apprentice has nothing to do with the NBC reality competition of that name, in which Donald Trump sifted through a field of aspiring businesspeople to identify the most promising of them, sending an eliminated contestant home each week with the brutal dismissal, “You’re fired!” On the other hand, you could say that Ali Abbasi’s biographical drama has everything to do with the television series.
It’s a reverse reflection of the mentorship process, in which the host becomes the hungry young upstart, laying the foundations for a business empire built in part out of smoke and mirrors, and operating under the guidance of a master manipulator.
Written by political journalist and Roger Ailes biographer Gabriel Sherman, the movie is first and foremost the story of a Faustian pact, in which the eager apprentice is schooled to ditch conventional notions of morality,...
It’s a reverse reflection of the mentorship process, in which the host becomes the hungry young upstart, laying the foundations for a business empire built in part out of smoke and mirrors, and operating under the guidance of a master manipulator.
Written by political journalist and Roger Ailes biographer Gabriel Sherman, the movie is first and foremost the story of a Faustian pact, in which the eager apprentice is schooled to ditch conventional notions of morality,...
- 5/20/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival gets underway, there are plenty of obvious frontrunners for the coveted Palme d’Or. But don’t count out Ali Abbasi‘s “The Apprentice” as a dark horse pick to win the festival’s top prize. The latest film from the “Holy Spider” director (a film that won Best Actress at the 2022 fest) is quite the pivot for the Iranian-Danish filmmaker: a ’70s-set period piece about the professional relationship between a young Donald Trump and NYC lawyer Roy Cohn.
Continue reading ‘The Apprentice’: Jeremy Strong Compares Ali Abbasi’s Film To ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ Describes His Roy Cohn As “A Heart-Of-Darkness Heart Donor” at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Apprentice’: Jeremy Strong Compares Ali Abbasi’s Film To ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ Describes His Roy Cohn As “A Heart-Of-Darkness Heart Donor” at The Playlist.
- 5/16/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
StudioCanal has acquired the rights to Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump film, The Apprentice. More on the film below.
Director Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, which will tell the story of a young Donald Trump, has been acquired for UK and Irish distribution by StudioCanal. The film is due to premiere on 20th May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it will compete for the coveted Palme D’Or.
The Apprentice stars Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong plays lawyer Roy Cohn. Maria Bakalova will play Trump’s first wife Ivana Trump while Martin Donovan will appear as Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr. The film has been described to tackle themes of power, corruption and deception.
The film takes its name from the TV series of the same name, which saw Trump coach a bunch of hopeful businessmen and women and then brutally fire them when they,...
Director Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, which will tell the story of a young Donald Trump, has been acquired for UK and Irish distribution by StudioCanal. The film is due to premiere on 20th May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it will compete for the coveted Palme D’Or.
The Apprentice stars Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong plays lawyer Roy Cohn. Maria Bakalova will play Trump’s first wife Ivana Trump while Martin Donovan will appear as Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr. The film has been described to tackle themes of power, corruption and deception.
The film takes its name from the TV series of the same name, which saw Trump coach a bunch of hopeful businessmen and women and then brutally fire them when they,...
- 5/16/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival may be lighter on glitz and glamour than in years past, but that means arthouse and international fare from emerging and established filmmakers will get a chance to shine. Still, at least two American auteurs, Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Paul Schrader, have films in the main competition for the first time in decades. David Cronenberg (“The Shrouds”) and Yorgos Lanthimos (“Kinds of Kindness”) are also back at the festival, with both making personal stories in their own way: Cronenberg, here, reckons with grief over the death of his wife seven years ago, while Lanthimos appears to retreat back into “Dogtooth” territory in a film that’s almost a rebuke of the global success he’s acquired with “Poor Things” and “The Favourite.”
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
- 5/14/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Are we headed for a bon marché?
A new class of finished films and packages (unmade movies with big stars and a director attached) will travel to Cannes this week in search of cash and homes with the studios, streamers and global indie players.
The 2024 Cannes market comes equipped with some interesting contradictions. Stateside, the content buying machine is fraught. Major media stock prices are getting hammered day by day, and a new age of austerity has gripped the once free-spending tech giants. At the same time, distributors paralyzed by the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes need content to fill their slates for the end the year and the top of 2025.
“We’d agree that finished film volume isn’t as high due to the strikes, but Cannes is a much better setting for packages to begin with,” one top sales agent told Variety. “These movies can get financed out of the international marketplace,...
A new class of finished films and packages (unmade movies with big stars and a director attached) will travel to Cannes this week in search of cash and homes with the studios, streamers and global indie players.
The 2024 Cannes market comes equipped with some interesting contradictions. Stateside, the content buying machine is fraught. Major media stock prices are getting hammered day by day, and a new age of austerity has gripped the once free-spending tech giants. At the same time, distributors paralyzed by the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes need content to fill their slates for the end the year and the top of 2025.
“We’d agree that finished film volume isn’t as high due to the strikes, but Cannes is a much better setting for packages to begin with,” one top sales agent told Variety. “These movies can get financed out of the international marketplace,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Iranian-American multidisciplinary producer James Shani launches creative studio, Rich Spirit, which will partner with Bipoc artists and filmmakers to produce a wide range of original projects from narrative films to documentaries, music videos, donate its services to nonprofits, execute commissioned work for brands, and fund early-stage founders in the technology and media space.
Shani previously held a position at Issa Rae’s ColorCreative, where he represented writers and directors.
By launching Rich Spirit, Shani is driven by independent art that converges with a conscientious global outlook, collaborating with filmmakers from different parts of the world. His mission is to support and resource artists that aim to transcend borders and resonate universally.
“Artists of all disciplines are society’s most important treasures to be supported and fostered,” shared Shani. “My main passion has always been independent cinema and I see us neglecting indie filmmakers more than ever before; these artists...
Shani previously held a position at Issa Rae’s ColorCreative, where he represented writers and directors.
By launching Rich Spirit, Shani is driven by independent art that converges with a conscientious global outlook, collaborating with filmmakers from different parts of the world. His mission is to support and resource artists that aim to transcend borders and resonate universally.
“Artists of all disciplines are society’s most important treasures to be supported and fostered,” shared Shani. “My main passion has always been independent cinema and I see us neglecting indie filmmakers more than ever before; these artists...
- 5/13/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Goodfellas and Utopia are teaming up to co-sell Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson as a veteran Las Vegas showgirl reinventing her life, and will launch sales in Cannes.
The partners, who say the movie is already drawing international buyer interest, have released a first look of Anderson in the starring role.
Anderson plays a seasoned showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. As a dancer in her fifties, she struggles with what to do next. As a mother, she strives to repair a strained relationship with her daughter, who often took a backseat to her showgirl family.
Currently in post-production, the Las Vegas-set film also features Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd in the cast.
Kate Gersten wrote the screenplay, Robert Schwartzman (The Good Half) and Natalie Farrey (Her) produced.
The partners, who say the movie is already drawing international buyer interest, have released a first look of Anderson in the starring role.
Anderson plays a seasoned showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. As a dancer in her fifties, she struggles with what to do next. As a mother, she strives to repair a strained relationship with her daughter, who often took a backseat to her showgirl family.
Currently in post-production, the Las Vegas-set film also features Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd in the cast.
Kate Gersten wrote the screenplay, Robert Schwartzman (The Good Half) and Natalie Farrey (Her) produced.
- 5/2/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Reviews will have to wait till the Cannes Film Festival kicks off on May 14, but it’s not too early for a critic to weigh in on this year’s lineup — or how it looks on paper, at least, and what the selection might say about the state of things.
At the top of the press conference, festival director Thierry Frémaux noted that last year would be a tough edition to top. The two big winners of the 2023 competition, “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” went on to score Oscar best picture nominations, alongside Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The festival made strides toward gender parity, with nearly a third of the films in competition directed by women. And to complicate matters, Hollywood has since been hit by two production-stopping guild strikes, delaying films the studios might have sent to Cannes.
Judging by the titles unveiled today,...
At the top of the press conference, festival director Thierry Frémaux noted that last year would be a tough edition to top. The two big winners of the 2023 competition, “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” went on to score Oscar best picture nominations, alongside Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The festival made strides toward gender parity, with nearly a third of the films in competition directed by women. And to complicate matters, Hollywood has since been hit by two production-stopping guild strikes, delaying films the studios might have sent to Cannes.
Judging by the titles unveiled today,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Karim Aïnouz is following up his 2023 English-language debut “Firebrand” with a return to his Brazilian roots.
For his second consecutive Cannes premiere, Aïnouz helmed erotic thriller “Motel Destino” which will screen in competition at the festival. “Motel Destino” is Aïnouz’s sixth Cannes premiere, with his 2019 feature “Invisible Life” winning the Un Certain Regard award.
“Motel Destino” stars Iago Xavier and Nataly Rocha, who were selected from an extensive casting process, and renowned Brazilian actor Fabio Assunção. The official synopsis reads: “The neon-hued Motel Destino is a roadside sex hotel under the burning blue skies of the Northeastern coast of Brazil, run by the boorish Elias and his frustrated, beautiful wife Dayana. When 21-year-old Heraldo finds himself at the motel, after messing up a hit and going on the run from both the police and the gang he let down, Dayana finds herself intrigued and lets him stay. As the...
For his second consecutive Cannes premiere, Aïnouz helmed erotic thriller “Motel Destino” which will screen in competition at the festival. “Motel Destino” is Aïnouz’s sixth Cannes premiere, with his 2019 feature “Invisible Life” winning the Un Certain Regard award.
“Motel Destino” stars Iago Xavier and Nataly Rocha, who were selected from an extensive casting process, and renowned Brazilian actor Fabio Assunção. The official synopsis reads: “The neon-hued Motel Destino is a roadside sex hotel under the burning blue skies of the Northeastern coast of Brazil, run by the boorish Elias and his frustrated, beautiful wife Dayana. When 21-year-old Heraldo finds himself at the motel, after messing up a hit and going on the run from both the police and the gang he let down, Dayana finds herself intrigued and lets him stay. As the...
- 4/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Director Ali Abbasi had Sebastian Stan undergo an ominous transformation for his forthcoming film The Apprentice, in which the actor will star a young Donald Trump. As proven by the first-look photos from the movie, set to premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the process was a success — Stan’s Trump looks exactly like the kind of person who would be sued by the Department of Justice for violating the Fair Housing Act.
The Apprentice positions Stan as Trump beside Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, the lawyer who represented the...
The Apprentice positions Stan as Trump beside Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, the lawyer who represented the...
- 4/11/2024
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
Acclaimed auteurs Francis Ford Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino and Andrea Arnold are among the filmmakers set to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
- 4/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sebastian Stan is continuing to be a master of disguise.
After portraying Tommy Lee in Hulu series “Pam and Tommy” and transforming via prosthetics for “A Different Man,” Stan is now taking on the role of a lifetime: Donald Trump. Stan leads “The Apprentice,” directed by “Border” and “Holy Spider” filmmaker Ali Abbasi from a script by Gabe Sherman.
“The Apprentice” is debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition alongside buzzy features like Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” and David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.”
“The Apprentice” centers on Trump’s (Stan) rise to fame following what the official description calls a “Faustian deal” with right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump’s marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova) and relationship with his family including Fred Trump Sr. (Martin Donovan) are also interrogated onscreen. The film...
After portraying Tommy Lee in Hulu series “Pam and Tommy” and transforming via prosthetics for “A Different Man,” Stan is now taking on the role of a lifetime: Donald Trump. Stan leads “The Apprentice,” directed by “Border” and “Holy Spider” filmmaker Ali Abbasi from a script by Gabe Sherman.
“The Apprentice” is debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition alongside buzzy features like Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” and David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.”
“The Apprentice” centers on Trump’s (Stan) rise to fame following what the official description calls a “Faustian deal” with right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump’s marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova) and relationship with his family including Fred Trump Sr. (Martin Donovan) are also interrogated onscreen. The film...
- 4/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Immediately off the back of its inclusion in the Cannes competition line-up, Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice has dropped a first look of Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn.
Billed as an exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice will examine Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with infamous attorney Cohn. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it will reveal the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
Maria Bakalova is starring as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan is Fred Trump Senior in the movie from Iranian-Danish director Abbasi, who most recently had Holy Spider in Cannes competition.
In the past hour,...
Billed as an exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice will examine Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with infamous attorney Cohn. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it will reveal the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
Maria Bakalova is starring as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan is Fred Trump Senior in the movie from Iranian-Danish director Abbasi, who most recently had Holy Spider in Cannes competition.
In the past hour,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s official: Donald Trump — or at least a fictionalized version of him — is heading to Cannes.
The prestigious French film festival unveiled its 2024 official film selection Thursday in Paris, and Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice was among the titles revealed for the event’s main competition.
The biographical drama stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and explores his career as an aspiring real estate tycoon in the New York City of the 1970s and 1980s. The film is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception. It delves into the relationship between Trump and Roy Cohn, the New York City prosecutor oft-remembered for working with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.
The movie’s official logline reads: “The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young...
The prestigious French film festival unveiled its 2024 official film selection Thursday in Paris, and Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice was among the titles revealed for the event’s main competition.
The biographical drama stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and explores his career as an aspiring real estate tycoon in the New York City of the 1970s and 1980s. The film is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception. It delves into the relationship between Trump and Roy Cohn, the New York City prosecutor oft-remembered for working with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.
The movie’s official logline reads: “The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young...
- 4/11/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump drama The Apprentice, Anora, the latest from The Florida Project and Red Rocket director Sean Baker, and Andrea Arnold’s Bird, starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, are among the highlights of this year’s Cannes Film Festival competition.
Abbasi, the Iran-born, Sweden-based director, whose Holy Spider was a sensation of the 2022 Cannes festival, returns with his story of how a young Donald Trump and the notorious lawyer Roy Cohn built up Trump’s real estate business in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, Succession‘s Jeremy Strong plays Cohn and Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) is wife Ivana.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things follow-up Kinds of Kindness will also premiere in the Cannes competition. The film, featuring the Oscar-winning Poor Things star Emma Stone, will be high on every Cannes attendee’s must-see list. The Greek auteur has again...
Abbasi, the Iran-born, Sweden-based director, whose Holy Spider was a sensation of the 2022 Cannes festival, returns with his story of how a young Donald Trump and the notorious lawyer Roy Cohn built up Trump’s real estate business in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, Succession‘s Jeremy Strong plays Cohn and Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) is wife Ivana.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things follow-up Kinds of Kindness will also premiere in the Cannes competition. The film, featuring the Oscar-winning Poor Things star Emma Stone, will be high on every Cannes attendee’s must-see list. The Greek auteur has again...
- 4/11/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IFC’s Late Night With The Devil has scared up the distributor’s largest opening weekend ever with an estimated $2.8+ million on 1.043 screens, coming in at no. 6 at the domestic box office.
Prior to this weekend, Watcher was IFC’s top opening film at $827k, followed by Skinamarink with $819k and Blackberry at $801k. Late Night was IFC’s widest opening since The D Train, the distributor said, noting it was IFC’s highest opening day ($437k) since Skinamakink, and its highest Thursday pre-show ($317k). The film by Australian duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes unfolds almost in real-time on the set of a 1977 late-night talk show broadcast that unexpectedly transforms from amusing to sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Stars David Dastmalchian as talk show host Jack Delroy.
The Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures pic premiered at SXSW and has since played Fantasia Festival in Montreal,...
Prior to this weekend, Watcher was IFC’s top opening film at $827k, followed by Skinamarink with $819k and Blackberry at $801k. Late Night was IFC’s widest opening since The D Train, the distributor said, noting it was IFC’s highest opening day ($437k) since Skinamakink, and its highest Thursday pre-show ($317k). The film by Australian duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes unfolds almost in real-time on the set of a 1977 late-night talk show broadcast that unexpectedly transforms from amusing to sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Stars David Dastmalchian as talk show host Jack Delroy.
The Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures pic premiered at SXSW and has since played Fantasia Festival in Montreal,...
- 3/24/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The second day of Dublin’s Storyhouse screenwriting festival kicked off with a bang on Friday as established writer-directors Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider), Mounia Akl (Costa Brava Lebanon) and Stacey Gregg (Ballywalter) all discussed at length the process of how they achieve their best work and how they balance the writer-director relationship.
“I think it’s not necessarily a process of digging deeper – sometimes it’s about digging sideways,” Abbasi told the Light House cinema audience. “I don’t necessarily think that working on something for ten years makes it better.”
Abbasi’s Holy Spider is a film noir based on the true story of the “Spider Killer” Saeed Hanaei who saw himself as on a mission from God as he killed 16 women who were sex workers between 2000 and 2001 in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, and Abbasi said that when it came to making the Palme d’Or contender...
“I think it’s not necessarily a process of digging deeper – sometimes it’s about digging sideways,” Abbasi told the Light House cinema audience. “I don’t necessarily think that working on something for ten years makes it better.”
Abbasi’s Holy Spider is a film noir based on the true story of the “Spider Killer” Saeed Hanaei who saw himself as on a mission from God as he killed 16 women who were sex workers between 2000 and 2001 in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, and Abbasi said that when it came to making the Palme d’Or contender...
- 3/22/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Italy, where debate over violence against women is currently raging, is celebrating International Women’s Day by becoming the first country to theatrically release “Tatami,” a female empowerment thriller about an Iranian judo fighter that made a splash in Venice and marks the first collaboration by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers.
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
- 3/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
- 3/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well has been set as the opening film of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which has unveiled its full lineup today.
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
- 3/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
My Rep and Me is a recurring Culture Shift feature in which reps and clients from the same historically marginalized background sit down to discuss the chemistry and business advantages of their special connection, in order to underscore the importance and benefits of diverse representation.
UTA partner Keya Khayatian and actress-filmmaker Zar Amir Ebrahimi are both from Iran but left the country under somewhat traumatic circumstances: Khayatian as a child with his parents fleeing the Islamic Revolution and Ebrahimi in 2008 when she ran afoul of the conservative regime and faced blacklisting and imprisonment. Now based in France, the latter has rebuilt her career and in 2022 became the first Iranian performer to win best actress at Cannes with her role as a journalist investigating a serial killer targeting sex workers in Holy Spider.
It was at the 2023 Sundance premiere of Ebrahimi’s latest film, Shayda, in which she plays an immigrant...
UTA partner Keya Khayatian and actress-filmmaker Zar Amir Ebrahimi are both from Iran but left the country under somewhat traumatic circumstances: Khayatian as a child with his parents fleeing the Islamic Revolution and Ebrahimi in 2008 when she ran afoul of the conservative regime and faced blacklisting and imprisonment. Now based in France, the latter has rebuilt her career and in 2022 became the first Iranian performer to win best actress at Cannes with her role as a journalist investigating a serial killer targeting sex workers in Holy Spider.
It was at the 2023 Sundance premiere of Ebrahimi’s latest film, Shayda, in which she plays an immigrant...
- 3/2/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two well-reviewed indies are taking a bow in limited release in the shadow of Dune, A24’s Problemista by Julio Torres, and Shayda from Sony Pictures Classics, the feature debut of Noora Niasari.
Torres, the comedian, actor and writer, in his directorial debut, stars with Tilda Swinton as Problemista gets its release at last after being bumped from August due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. He also penned the screenplay, and produced alongside Fruit Tree’s Dave McCary, Ali Herting and Emma Stone. Premiered at SXSW last year, see Deadline review, and sits at 91% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
This surreal comedy adventure amid the treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system follows Torres’ Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador trying to land a spot at Hasbro’s incubator program. When he’s fired from the cryogenic center where he tends...
Torres, the comedian, actor and writer, in his directorial debut, stars with Tilda Swinton as Problemista gets its release at last after being bumped from August due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. He also penned the screenplay, and produced alongside Fruit Tree’s Dave McCary, Ali Herting and Emma Stone. Premiered at SXSW last year, see Deadline review, and sits at 91% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
This surreal comedy adventure amid the treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system follows Torres’ Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador trying to land a spot at Hasbro’s incubator program. When he’s fired from the cryogenic center where he tends...
- 3/1/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Noora Niasari was editing “Shayda” when the world changed — again — for Iranians.
It was September 2022, and Mahsa Amini had just died in police custody, igniting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran. Halfway around the world, Iranian-born filmmaker Niasari struggled to concentrate on completing her film, which she hoped would offer a portrait of female defiance very much in line with the burgeoning movement. She would finish the film that fall and dedicate it to “my mother and the brave women of Iran.”
Since its Sundance 2023 premiere (where it won an audience award and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics), it has screened at roughly 50 festivals and earned a DGA Award nomination. Last year, Australia picked it as its Best International Feature Film submission.
Set in 1995 during the lead-up to the Persian New Year, “Shayda” marks Niasari’s feature debut. She previously directed a string of shorts films that,...
It was September 2022, and Mahsa Amini had just died in police custody, igniting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran. Halfway around the world, Iranian-born filmmaker Niasari struggled to concentrate on completing her film, which she hoped would offer a portrait of female defiance very much in line with the burgeoning movement. She would finish the film that fall and dedicate it to “my mother and the brave women of Iran.”
Since its Sundance 2023 premiere (where it won an audience award and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics), it has screened at roughly 50 festivals and earned a DGA Award nomination. Last year, Australia picked it as its Best International Feature Film submission.
Set in 1995 during the lead-up to the Persian New Year, “Shayda” marks Niasari’s feature debut. She previously directed a string of shorts films that,...
- 2/28/2024
- by Soheil Rezayazdi
- Indiewire
Exclusive: TV and film writers will want to circle this one in their calendars: Poor Things and The Favourite producer Element Pictures is launching Storyhouse, a new Dublin-based screenwriting festival that will celebrate storytellers and storytelling.
Speakers at the first edition include Poor Things writer and Oscar nominee Tony McNamara, Arthur Harari, who won a BAFTA for Anatomy Of A Fall, and Iranian writer-director Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider). Molly Manning Walker (How To Have Sex) will also be there and appear in conversation with Charlotte Regan (Scrapper).
Other highlights include frequent Element collaborator Lenny Abrahamson (Room) interviewing One Day and Patrick Melrose scribe David Nicholls. The festival sessions will run over March 21-22. The venue is Dublin’s Light House Cinema, which is owned by Element co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney.
Storyhouse will cater for aspiring writers as well as established names and industry professionals. Storyhouse Lab,...
Speakers at the first edition include Poor Things writer and Oscar nominee Tony McNamara, Arthur Harari, who won a BAFTA for Anatomy Of A Fall, and Iranian writer-director Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider). Molly Manning Walker (How To Have Sex) will also be there and appear in conversation with Charlotte Regan (Scrapper).
Other highlights include frequent Element collaborator Lenny Abrahamson (Room) interviewing One Day and Patrick Melrose scribe David Nicholls. The festival sessions will run over March 21-22. The venue is Dublin’s Light House Cinema, which is owned by Element co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney.
Storyhouse will cater for aspiring writers as well as established names and industry professionals. Storyhouse Lab,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Stewart Clarke
- Deadline Film + TV
Tatami, the groundbreaking Iranian drama co-directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
UK sales outfit Bankside Films has unveiled a first look image of Mala Emde in the role of Vera Brandes in Ido Fluk’s The Girl From Köln, as well as a slew of key deals on the film as the company heads into the European Film Market (EFM).
The feature, currently in post-production, tells the little-known story of one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, US pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert, and how one formidable German teenager, Vera Brandes, was instrumental in its creation. Bankside will be showing a sales promo to buyers at the EFM.
The feature, currently in post-production, tells the little-known story of one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, US pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert, and how one formidable German teenager, Vera Brandes, was instrumental in its creation. Bankside will be showing a sales promo to buyers at the EFM.
- 2/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Emma Laird, Fionn Whitehead, Zar Amir and Adwoa Aboah star in psychological drama “Satisfaction.”
The film is the narrative feature debut of theater and commercial director Alex Burunova, who is also known for the acclaimed shorts “Pale Blue” and “Lonely Planet.” Set against the backdrop of the Greek isles, the film follows Lola (Laird) who takes revenge against her sexual partner Philip (Whitehead). Things begin to unravel when they encounter the enigmatic Elena (Amir), who intoxicates Lola with her uninhibited way of being and emboldens her to face the roots of her pain. Amir, best actress winner at Cannes 2022 for “Holy Spider,” also serves as executive producer for the female empowerment tale.
The film, which has wrapped principal photography, is shot by Budapest-based cinematographer Mate Herbai (Oscar-nominated “On Body and Soul”). The film is a Ukrainian co-production with Ukrainian companies Constant Production and Kristi Films.
Burunova said: “I wanted to...
The film is the narrative feature debut of theater and commercial director Alex Burunova, who is also known for the acclaimed shorts “Pale Blue” and “Lonely Planet.” Set against the backdrop of the Greek isles, the film follows Lola (Laird) who takes revenge against her sexual partner Philip (Whitehead). Things begin to unravel when they encounter the enigmatic Elena (Amir), who intoxicates Lola with her uninhibited way of being and emboldens her to face the roots of her pain. Amir, best actress winner at Cannes 2022 for “Holy Spider,” also serves as executive producer for the female empowerment tale.
The film, which has wrapped principal photography, is shot by Budapest-based cinematographer Mate Herbai (Oscar-nominated “On Body and Soul”). The film is a Ukrainian co-production with Ukrainian companies Constant Production and Kristi Films.
Burunova said: “I wanted to...
- 1/17/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Utopia has added Dave A. Liu, a veteran executive and investor, as strategic advisor to its CEO and board of directors.
In his new role, Liu will help steer the company’s strategic and financial initiatives. He will also work to amplify diverse voices across Utopia, the indie media company said. Liu has worked in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. He has been an investment banker, entrepreneur, and film producer, raising over $15 billion for hundreds of companies, while creating multiple start-ups and writing a bestselling book, “The Way of the Wall Street Warrior: Conquer the Corporate Game Using Tips, Tricks, and Smartcuts.” Liu also invested in Stampede Ventures and Teg, among other companies.
Co-founded by Robert Coppola Schwartzman and Cole Harper, Utopia says it hopes to leverage Liu’s expertise to strengthen its core business, while enhancing its focus on diversity and inclusion within the film and TV industries. Specifically,...
In his new role, Liu will help steer the company’s strategic and financial initiatives. He will also work to amplify diverse voices across Utopia, the indie media company said. Liu has worked in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. He has been an investment banker, entrepreneur, and film producer, raising over $15 billion for hundreds of companies, while creating multiple start-ups and writing a bestselling book, “The Way of the Wall Street Warrior: Conquer the Corporate Game Using Tips, Tricks, and Smartcuts.” Liu also invested in Stampede Ventures and Teg, among other companies.
Co-founded by Robert Coppola Schwartzman and Cole Harper, Utopia says it hopes to leverage Liu’s expertise to strengthen its core business, while enhancing its focus on diversity and inclusion within the film and TV industries. Specifically,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
As an end-of-year gift to our writers and readers, we've compiled a user-friendly overview of our publishing highlights from 2023. The collection is broken down by category: essays, interviews, festival coverage, and recurring columns.Browse at your leisure, and raise a glass to our brilliant contributors!Meanwhile, you can catch up with all of our end-of-year coverage here.{{notebook_form}}ESSAYSContemporary Cinema:Cinema as Sacrament: The Limitations of Killers of the Flower Moon by Adam PironA Change of Season: Trần Anh Hùng and Frederick Wiseman's Culinary Cinema by Phuong LeWalking, Talking, & Hurting Feelings: Nicole Holofcener's Everyday Dramas by Rafaela BassiliThe Limits of Control: Lines of Power in Todd Field's Tár by Helen CharmanThe Art of Losing: Joanna Hogg's Haunted Houses by Laura StaabTreading Water: Avatar: The Way of Water by Evan Calder WilliamsThe African Accent and the Colonial Ear by Maxine SibihwanaTen Minutes, but a Few Meters Longer:...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
Bookmark this page for the latest updates in the territory.
Screen is listing the 2023 release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here. Screen is also running a calendar for festival and market dates throughout 2023 here.
December
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2023 (Trafalgar - event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 6
Piggy (Vertigo), The Enforcer (Vertigo), Alcarràs (Mubi), A Man Called Otto (Sony), Rashomon (BFI), Till (Universal)
January 7
Andre Rieu In Dublin 2023 (Piece of...
Screen is listing the 2023 release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here. Screen is also running a calendar for festival and market dates throughout 2023 here.
December
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2023 (Trafalgar - event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 6
Piggy (Vertigo), The Enforcer (Vertigo), Alcarràs (Mubi), A Man Called Otto (Sony), Rashomon (BFI), Till (Universal)
January 7
Andre Rieu In Dublin 2023 (Piece of...
- 12/30/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Ali Abbasi brought her on as a casting director and as fate would have it Zar Amir Ebrahimi would go onto land the role that was originally not meant for her and win the Best Actress award (see here) at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. Holy Spider would catapult the actress to international recognition but as we learned, Ebrahimi was already making inroads onto significant contributions that premiered in 2023 with Shayda (a Sundance selection and Audience Award winner) and Venice preemed Tatami (a film that allowed her to cut her teeth as a director alongside Guy Nattiv).…...
- 12/30/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance audience award winner received one-week awards-qualifying run earlier this month.
Sony Pictures Classics has set a March 1, 2024, release date for Noora Niasari’s Australian Oscar submission Shayda.
The film will open in New York and Los Angeles and expand nationwide in the following weeks. It received a one-week awards-qualifying run earlier this month.
Shayda premiered in Sundance where it won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
The Origma 45 production centres on the titular Iranian woman living in Australia, who finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her six-year-old daughter, Mona, when she learns a court...
Sony Pictures Classics has set a March 1, 2024, release date for Noora Niasari’s Australian Oscar submission Shayda.
The film will open in New York and Los Angeles and expand nationwide in the following weeks. It received a one-week awards-qualifying run earlier this month.
Shayda premiered in Sundance where it won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
The Origma 45 production centres on the titular Iranian woman living in Australia, who finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her six-year-old daughter, Mona, when she learns a court...
- 12/18/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Danger is never very far away in Noora Niasari’s confident debut, a deeply personal tribute to a generation torn between tradition and modernity. Focusing on the title character, Shayda hangs on a vulnerable but powerful performance from Holy Spider’s Zar Amir Ebrahimi as an Iranian divorcée hiding out from her abusive ex, who may or may not be planning to smuggle their daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) back to Iran.
This fear is played out in the jittery opening sequence, set in 1995, when Shayda and Joyce (Leah Purcell), a social worker of sorts, scope out an airport with Mona in tow. Both women impress upon Mona what to do if she should ever end up there against her will, noting repeatedly that blue uniforms equate with safety. Back at the women’s shelter, a shared hostel in a fiercely secret suburban location, Shayda wonders how she got to this...
This fear is played out in the jittery opening sequence, set in 1995, when Shayda and Joyce (Leah Purcell), a social worker of sorts, scope out an airport with Mona in tow. Both women impress upon Mona what to do if she should ever end up there against her will, noting repeatedly that blue uniforms equate with safety. Back at the women’s shelter, a shared hostel in a fiercely secret suburban location, Shayda wonders how she got to this...
- 12/16/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The German culture ministry has unveiled the new head of the Berlin International Film Festival, who will take over from co-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek, who are stepping down after next year’s Berlinale. Tricia Tuttle, formerly director of the BFI London Film Festival, will take over as the sole director of the Berlinale from after next year’s event.
The Berlinale announced the replacement on Tuesday, following months of speculation and media chatter surrounding Germany’s number-one film festival. Chatrian and Rissenbeek have announced they will be leaving when their contracts expire next year. The German Ministry for Culture and Media, the main financier of the Berlinale, had previously said it would scrap the dual director set-up and revert to a single festival director from 2025 on.
Tuttle, who was BFI festivals director from October 2018 to April of this year, is currently Head of Directing Fiction at the UK...
The Berlinale announced the replacement on Tuesday, following months of speculation and media chatter surrounding Germany’s number-one film festival. Chatrian and Rissenbeek have announced they will be leaving when their contracts expire next year. The German Ministry for Culture and Media, the main financier of the Berlinale, had previously said it would scrap the dual director set-up and revert to a single festival director from 2025 on.
Tuttle, who was BFI festivals director from October 2018 to April of this year, is currently Head of Directing Fiction at the UK...
- 12/12/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari, her debut feature Shayda has served as an authentic and honest exploration into her own personal childhood trauma. The film, which is being released by Sony Pictures Classics and won the World Cinema Dramatic Competition Audience Award in Sundance earlier this year, is Australia’s Oscar submission for the Best International Feature Oscar.
The film follows Shayda, a brave Iranian mother who finds refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter. Over Persian New Year, they take solace in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings, but when her estranged husband re-enters their lives, Shayda’s path to freedom is jeopardized.
It’s anchored by a heart-rendering performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who won the best actress award in Cannes last year for her role in Holy Spider. Niasari writes, directs and produces with Dirty Films’ Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton and Coco Francini.
Related:...
The film follows Shayda, a brave Iranian mother who finds refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter. Over Persian New Year, they take solace in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings, but when her estranged husband re-enters their lives, Shayda’s path to freedom is jeopardized.
It’s anchored by a heart-rendering performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who won the best actress award in Cannes last year for her role in Holy Spider. Niasari writes, directs and produces with Dirty Films’ Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton and Coco Francini.
Related:...
- 12/9/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Is it too soon for a movie about Donald Trump? Frankly, if I never see the 45th U.S. President's face again it'll be too soon, but it's not surprising that after filmmakers have spent the past several years filling their projects with Trump-like allegorical figures, someone would finally bite the bullet and make a full-on biopic. The upcoming film "The Apprentice" sounds more like a snapshot of the political figure's life than a complete biographical account, but it'll no doubt stir up plenty of intrigue regardless – especially when it plans to include other headline-grabbing names like Ivana Trump and Roy Cohn.
While "The Apprentice" won't be hitting theaters in time for award season, it's still a fascinating project worth keeping an eye on. Any initial ick you might get about the idea of Trump as a protagonist may be tempered by the project director's unique filmography and the eclectic,...
While "The Apprentice" won't be hitting theaters in time for award season, it's still a fascinating project worth keeping an eye on. Any initial ick you might get about the idea of Trump as a protagonist may be tempered by the project director's unique filmography and the eclectic,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Animal, with Thursday previews of just over $1.25 million, looks set for the biggest North American Bollywood opening day since Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva last year. Both star Ranbir Kapoor.
The Hindi revenge thriller by Sandeep Reddy Vanga about a son’s toxic relationship with a father he idolizes opens on 700 screens (nearly 100 in Canada) with the subtitled trailer below at 81 million views. Co-stars Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna. Opening numbers look especially good since the film is violent (it has the equivalent of an R rating in India), likely taking some families out of the mix.
Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, Murad Khetani, Krishan Kumar. Distributors are Moksha Movies and Nirvana Cinemas.
Neon presents Sundance-premiering Eileen with Anne Hathaway from director William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth) in limited release at six theaters. Based on the 2015 debut novel by Otessa Moshfegh,...
The Hindi revenge thriller by Sandeep Reddy Vanga about a son’s toxic relationship with a father he idolizes opens on 700 screens (nearly 100 in Canada) with the subtitled trailer below at 81 million views. Co-stars Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna. Opening numbers look especially good since the film is violent (it has the equivalent of an R rating in India), likely taking some families out of the mix.
Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, Murad Khetani, Krishan Kumar. Distributors are Moksha Movies and Nirvana Cinemas.
Neon presents Sundance-premiering Eileen with Anne Hathaway from director William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth) in limited release at six theaters. Based on the 2015 debut novel by Otessa Moshfegh,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
How’s this for intriguing? Deadline reports that Sebastian Stan will star as a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” Ali Abbasi‘s feature follow-up to last year’s “Holy Spider.” And Stan isn’t the only big name to sign on to Abbasi’s new movie: “Succession” star Jeremy Strong is also on board to play attorney Roy Cohn, while Maria Bakalova will play Trump’s first wife, Ivanka.
Continue reading ‘The Apprentice’: Sebastian Stan Is Donald Trump In ‘Holy Spider’ Director’s Next Film, Jeremy Strong & Maria Bakalova To Also Star at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Apprentice’: Sebastian Stan Is Donald Trump In ‘Holy Spider’ Director’s Next Film, Jeremy Strong & Maria Bakalova To Also Star at The Playlist.
- 11/30/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
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