News

Since its founding in 1999, the Newport Beach Film Festival in Orange County, California has grown into one of Southern California’s largest international cinema events thanks to its wide range of programming and appearances by actors ranging from Harvey Keitel and Nicolas Cage to June Squibb and Colman Domingo. This year, the festival is launching a new event that looks to do for television what the film fest has done for the movies.

Set for the first weekend in June, the inaugural Newport Beach TV Fest will feature screenings and panels related to some of television’s most acclaimed and popular shows, including “The White Lotus,” “Yellowjackets,” “1923,” and “The Studio.” This morning the festival announced that it will present its Outstanding Drama Series Award to Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ series “Landman” at an event that will be attended by several of the show’s stars.

Billy Bob Thornton (“Tommy Norris...

For British actress Erin Kellyman, spending a few months in New York felt like home thanks to June Squibb, the 95-year-old screen icon she stars alongside in Eleanor the Great.

Kellyman and Squibb lived in the same apartment building during the eight-week shoot, allowing the women to pop over to each other’ homes, Friends-style. Kellyman attended dinner parties Squibb threw for friends every Saturday, and sometimes would even get Squibb’s advice on her outfits.

“It just felt like girls being girls. There’s no age on that,” Kellyman, 26, says of those bonding moments.

Those bonds were key given that the Scarlett Johansson-directed film hinges on the friendship shared by Squibb’s Eleanor and Kellyman’s Nina, an American journalism student who strikes up a friendship with an older woman who relocates from Florida to New York after a devastating loss. The two meet after Eleanor unwit- tingly wanders...

Scarlett Johansson is arguing the case for why Marvel should be recognized more by the Oscars, especially for its blockbuster film “Avengers: Endgame.”

Johansson, whose character Black Widow died in the 2019 multiverse feature, told Vanity Fair that the film was worthy of Academy attention. “Avengers: Endgame” was nominated for visual effects, but no acting or Best Picture nods.

“How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?” Johansson said. “It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film — and also, it’s one of the most successful films of all time.”

Johansson, though, will not be back in the MCU anytime soon. Her last role was as the title character in 2021’s “Black Widow,” which was set before the events of “Endgame.”

“It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,...

The Cannes Film Festival 2025 is in full swing, and as always, it’s giving us cinematic gems, red carpet drama, and a few unexpected plot twists (both on screen and off). Held annually on the French Riviera, Cannes isn’t just another film festival; it’s the global stage where auteurs debut bold visions, legends are born, and standing ovations can last longer than some short films. From the prestigious Palme d’Or to the indie-celebrating Un Certain Regard section, Cannes showcases everything from highbrow art to raw debut features, all judged by an international jury that sets the tone for the cinematic year ahead.

But this year? The buzz isn’t just about the films. Cannes threw everyone a curveball by introducing a new dress code—no more naked dresses, no more towering ballgowns. The fashion crowd is still scrambling, but honestly, the real shake-up is happening behind the camera.

Cannes Film Festival is known for its standing ovations and this year, we’re trying to predict how long they’ll last.

The Cannes Film Festival, perhaps the glitziest, most glamorous film festival of them all, is now in full swing. Celebrities and journalists alike have gathered on the French Riviera for 11 days of movie premieres and press conferences.

In the next few days, the internet will be full of reviews for the new films by Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay and even Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (here’s one!). We’re also going to be getting daily updates on the lengths of the standing ovations each film gets, a scoring methodology that’s Cannes’ own version of a Rotten Tomatoes score.

Most films presented at the festival will get a standing ovation and (some) headlines love to highlight the specific minutes the audience stayed standing up and clapping.

Scarlett Johansson has a bone to pick with the Oscars. In an interview with Vanity Fair touting her directorial debut “Eleanor the Great” (premiering at Cannes) and her acting role in this summer’s “Jurassic World Rebirth,” the Oscar nominee expressed continued shock over “Avengers: Endgame” being shut out of major races like best picture. To date, “Black Panther” remains the only Marvel movie to land an Oscar nom in the top category.

“How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?” Johansson asked about Marvel’s 2019 record-breaker, which received only one nomination for visual effects. “It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film — and also, it’s one of the most successful films of all time.”

“Endgame” was notable for Johansson as it featured the death of Black Widow, a character she had been playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2010’s “Iron Man 2.

Scarlett Johansson was moved to tears by the script for 'Eleanor The Great'.The 40-year-old actress is stepping behind the camera as she takes on the role of director for the upcoming drama - which follows a year-old Floridian woman (June Squibb ) as she forms an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old student (Erin Kellyman) in New York City - and could see a "great possibility" in the emotional screenplay that reminded her of films made in decades gone by. She told Deadline: "When I read it, I cried, and that almost never happens."Sometimes you’ll read a script that’s really moving. When I read 'Jojo Rabbit', I cried. Sometimes a script will move you like that, which is extraordinary."I could see there was a great possibility in it,” she continues. “I thought, ‘Oh, actually, I think I could tell this story.’ It reminded me so...

The Cannes Film Festival kicked off its 78th edition with the Opening Ceremony and the world premiere of Amélie Bonnin’s debut feature, Partir Un Jour (Leave One Day), led by Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, and François Rollin.

The premiere was attended by the cast of the film, including Quentin Tarantino, Rossy De Palma, Julia Garner, Nava Mau, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who presented the honorary Palme d’Or to Robert De Niro.

Leave One Day follows Cécile, a budding restaurateur whose ambition to open a gourmet haven in Paris takes an unexpected detour. A family crisis compels her return to her rural roots, where, amidst the echoes of her youth, she reconnects with a long-lost love.

Related: ‘Leave One Day’ Review: Amélie Bonnin’s Nostalgic Musical Debut Is A Stealth Charmer – Cannes Film Festival

The festival formally kicked off on Monday with the poster installation, then moved to the Hotel Martinez,...

Scarlett Johansson has wanted to direct since she was 12 years old. On the set of Robert Redford’s 1998 film The Horse Whisperer — her seventh movie as an actor — she saw the specific way he worked, the way he understood his actors, and she had a clear thought: I want to do that someday.

Obviously, in the almost 30 years since Johansson made that private wish, it’s not as though she’s been waiting for something to happen. Oscar-nominated twice and a Tony winner for her work on Broadway, she serves as executive producer and stars as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She founded her production company These Pictures in 2017, and, along with Redford, her director collaborators over the years include Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola, Jonathan Glazer, the Coens, Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson. She’ll reconvene with the latter at Cannes, since she’s appearing in his latest...

Exclusive: Jennifer Garner (The Last Thing He Told Me) is attached to star in Zygote (wt), a sci-fi drama based on a short story by Alyssa Hill, who is on board to adapt the screenplay.

Hailing from Pinky Promise (The Last Showgirl) and Linden Productions (Is God Is), the film centers on Parisa (Garner), an elite crisis negotiator who is sent 254 miles from Earth as a response to hostages on the International Space Station. Due to the unexpected nature of the expedition, Parisa quickly realizes this could be her final mission, as she is forced to confront the limits of her life’s work alongside her own mortality.

Kara Durrett and Jessamine Burgum of Pinky Promise will produce alongside Riva Marker and Deanna Barillari of Linden Productions. Mia Samuels of Linden will oversee the project in tandem with Barillari after making the deal for rights to the film. The director’s chair remains open.

Oscar season is ready to start.

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival kicks off on Tuesday with a lineup that includes new movies from Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, Richard Linklater, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, and more of the world’s top auteurs.

In many ways, the Cannes Film Festival is more important than ever for the awards race. Over the last five years, multiple movies that premiered on the French Riviera have gone on to receive Best Picture nominations at the Academy Awards, including Oscar winners Parasite and Anora, and nominees Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Substance, and Emilia Pérez. With the 2025 lineup loaded with some highly anticipated titles, it would be considered an upset if at least one or two of the following movies failed to secure eventual Oscar bids in the top categories.

Ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, here are the 11 projects...

Christina Applegate says she still feels "very proud" of her work in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.

Per Entertainment Weekly, Applegate opened up about the film on the latest episode of her podcast, MeSsyWith Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. "I didn't wanna do it, because it was a commercial film. I was so into indies back then," Applegate recalled. "I was like, 'I'm only gonna do independent film acting.' I was such a f---ing asshat."

Applegate went on to note that, while she believed at the time that she was effectively selling out as an actor, she still had fun working on the film. Applegate also explained that she is proud of Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead at this point in her career, especially because of the specific place it holds in the wider realm of pop culture. "What movie has a bunch of drag queens steal their car?...

According to Deadline, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller have joined the cast of Paper Tiger, the upcoming drama from Ad Astra director James Gray. They’ll star alongside Adam Driver, who was previously announced. Johansson and Teller are stepping in as late additions, replacing Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong, who exited the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Paper Tiger is described as a “tense and gritty story revolving around two brothers who pursue the American Dream—only to become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through an ever-more dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian ‘Mafiya.’ Their bond begins to fray, and betrayal—once utterly unthinkable—now becomes all too possible.“

Gray is writing and directing the project, with production expected to kick off next month in New Jersey.

Exclusive: Deadline can reveal the first clip of Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great, which will premiere in the Un Certain Regard lineup at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins next week.

The culmination of Johansson’s long-held dream to direct a feature, Eleanor the Great stars nonagenarian June Squibb as Eleanor, a woman grieving the loss of Bessie, her best friend and roommate. When she moves to Manhattan to live with her daughter and grandson, Eleanor finds herself going on something of an odyssey in search of connection — with sometimes shocking results. When she inadvertently joins a Holocaust survivors’ group, Eleanor is reminded of her late friend Bessie’s harrowing experience growing up in Nazi-occupied Poland. But, when Nina, a journalism student, takes a vested interest in Eleanor, the truth suddenly becomes a slippery subject.

The above first-look clip shows Squibb as Eleanor in feisty form. As...

Scarlett Johansson didn’t have a great time finding financing for her feature directorial debut “Eleanor the Great.” The indie drama, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, stars June Squibb as a grieving 94-year-old who relocates from Florida to New York City, where she befriends a young journalism student (Erin Kellyman). MCU alum and “Jurassic World: Rebirth” star Johansson told THR that the film took “forever to get made” in part because indies are so difficult to fund.

“It would be easier to make something that was the sequel of a $180 million movie or a genre movie that was subpar,” Johansson said. “To get much, much, much less money for an independent film with an original story that has a lead actor who was 94 was very, very, very challenging.”

Johansson added that there was a “humongous scramble” to even film in New York.

Scarlett Johansson found directing to be a "pretty natural" experience.The 40-year-old actress has made her directorial debut with 'Eleanor the Great', a new drama movie starring June Squibb and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Scarlett has admitted to relishing the challenge.She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I didn’t know what it would feel like at all, and I didn’t necessarily have the confidence that I would be able to direct actors."But then in doing it, I realised that I’m always working with actors. I’m working with directors and actors in the development stage, in the rehearsal process, in blocking and giving notes, taking this and applying that. That part of it felt almost immediately pretty natural."Scarlett was convinced that she could direct 'Eleanor the Great' after reading the film's script.The Hollywood star shared: "Basically never or very, very rarely...

Scarlett Johansson was behind the camera last year on her feature directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, fixated on the performance of title star June Squibb when she had a vision.

“I said to [one of my producing partners, Jonathan Lia], ‘If I do my job well and do what I’m supposed to do, I can imagine June walking the Croisette at age 95, starring in this incredible dramatic role that she’s so amazing in’ and I thought that would be my dream,” the veteran A-lister, 40, explains of being selected for the Cannes Film Festival. “To have it actually become a reality is amazing. I’m still processing it.”

Johansson has just days to wrap her head around what will be a milestone May with two films in the Cannes lineup. In addition to the Un Certain Regard world premiere of Eleanor the Great, Johansson will walk the Palais steps for Wes Anderson’s competition...

For many years after the 1955 film Marty won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or and then went on to win the best picture Oscar, there was little additional evidence of a Cannes/Oscars connection. But in the last five years, both Parasite and — just months ago — Anora followed in Marty’s footsteps.

Indeed, within the last year, specifically, the relevance of one event to the other became harder than ever to dispute, as an unprecedented 31 Oscar noms were allocated to films that had played in Cannes — spread between Anora, The Apprentice, Emilia Pérez, Flow, The Girl with the Needle, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and The Substance — and 40 percent of the eventual Oscar winners traced back to the fest, including Anora (best picture, director, actress, original screenplay and film editing), Emilia Pérez (original song), Flow (animated feature) and The Substance...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This May, Paramount+ is bringing you a ton of entertainment with the much-anticipated premiere of the new season of Criminal Minds and also the release of the much-awaited new season of The Chi. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Paramount+ this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 7 best films coming to Paramount+ in May 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (May 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98% Credit – Asia Union Film & Entertainment Ltd.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a wuxia martial arts film directed by Ang Lee from a screenplay co-written by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung. Based on the Chinese novel of the same name by Wang Dulu, the 2000 film is set in the 19th...

Molly Manning Walker will serve as jury president for the Un Certain Regard section at the 78th Festival de Cannes, running from May 13 to May 24, 2025. The British filmmaker received the top prize in this section in 2023 for her debut feature, How to Have Sex.

Walker expressed enthusiasm about returning to the festival in this capacity. “It’s such an honour to return to Cannes as the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” she said in a statement. “This selection will forever hold a special place in my heart. Being a part of it really changed my world. I can’t wait to discover the films at the epicentre of new cinema. Right now more than ever I feel that cinema is so key to bringing us together and allowing us to feel, to connect with each other. To escape, wonder and learn about each other.”

Joining Walker on the...

Molly Manning Walker will be president of the Un Certain Regard jury at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, which takes place May 13 – May 24, 2025. The British filmmaker won the prize in this category in 2023 for her first feature film, “How to Have Sex.”

“It’s such an honour to return to Cannes as the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” the director, writer and cinematographer said in a statement. “This selection will forever hold a special place in my heart. Being a part of it really changed my world. I can’t wait to discover the films at the epicentre of new cinema. Right now more than ever I feel that cinema is so key to bringing us together and allowing us to feel, to connect with each other. To escape, wonder and learn about each other. I’m excited to go on this journey with the other Jury members...

How to Have Sex director Molly Manning Walker will head up this year’s jury for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar.

The British filmmaker, whose debut feature won the section’s top prize in 2023, will be joined on the jury by French-Swiss director Louise Courvoisier, whose Holy Cow won Un Certain Regard’s Youth Award last year, Italian filmmaker Roberto Minervini, the 2024 ex-aequno best director winner for The Damned, Argentinian actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (120 Bpm), and International Film Festival Rotterdam director Vanja Kaludjercic.

“It’s such an honour to return to Cannes as the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” Walker said in a statement. “This selection will forever hold a special place in my heart. Being a part of it really changed my world. I can’t wait to discover the films at the epicentre of new cinema. Right now more than ever I feel that cinema is...

On April 3, 2024, the world celebrated the 100th birthday of Marlon Brando, one of Hollywood’s most legendary actors and a passionate advocate for human rights, animal welfare and environmental justice.

In honor of this monumental milestone, Mercy For Animals has produced a special short film, Voices of Hope ~ Words of Wisdom by Marlon Brando, released on April 22 in celebration of Earth Day and to commemorate Brando’s lasting influence as an advocate for a better world.

The film features a collection of Brando’s inspiring quotes recited by Marlon Brando himself, alongside an ensemble of more than 20 prominent global figures, underscoring Brando’s unwavering commitment to social justice, animal welfare and environmental sustainability — encouraging people everywhere to carry forward his legacy. The list of influential narrators include:

Erin Brockovich

Martin Luther King III

Arndrea Waters King

Ellen Burstyn

James Cromwell

Marianne Williamson

Stephanie Corneliussen

Ed Begley Jr.

June Squibb

Frances Fisher...

The inimitable Annie Potts plays the role of young Sheldon Cooper's (Iain Armitage) grandmother, Connie "Meemaw" Tucker, in the "Big Bang Theory" spin-off prequel "Young Sheldon." Because the older version of the character (June Squibb) is a fairly prominent presence on "The Big Bang Theory" and Potts therefore had ample material to draw from, one might assume that she studied Squibb's work on the original show quite faithfully in order to find out what Meemaw was made of.

However, Potts opted to go another route. She didn't take cues from Squibb's performance -- and, as it turns out, she had a very good reason for this decision. In a 2024 interview with Den of Geek, Potts revealed that she chose to ignore the "Big Bang Theory" version of Meemaw and focus instead on what "Young Sheldon" wanted to convey. Fortunately, she had more than just the scripts to go with,...

In between her role as Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson starred in a very successful sci-fi film. In 2014, she teamed up with The Fifth Element director Luc Besson for Lucy.

The Oscar-nominated actress played the lead character, a woman who gained psychokinetic abilities after being injected with a synthetic drug. The sci-fi film was a huge commercial hit for Universal Pictures, which distributed the film internationally, although it didn't boast the best reviews from the audience. 11 years after its premiere, Lucy found success again on streaming, Tudum reveals.

Lucy just returned to the charts on Netflix, debuting in fourth place in the U.S. charts. The sci-fi film only made it in the top 10 domestically, but it was enough to enter the global charts, too, in ninth place. In the week between Apr. 7 and 13, Lucy received 2.6 million views and 3.8 hours viewed.

The French director wrote and directed the film,...

The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal a first look at the hotly anticipated directorial debut of Akinola Davies Jr., set to premiere in Cannes.

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs of London) leads the semi-autobiographical My Father’s Shadow. Based on a script by brothers Wale Davies and Davies Jr., the feature follows Remi and Akin, two kid brothers who spend a gift of a day with their estranged father Folarin.

They go on a voyage into Lagos, observing the colossal city for the first time and the hoops their father must pass through to be able to provide. All of this occurs against the backdrop of the 1993 presidential election result, which calls into question his ability to get Remi and Akin home.

The exclusive first image provided to THR shows Dìrísù, as Folarin, on the streets of Lagos, sitting with Godwin Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo.

After a tricky few years, the world’s pre-eminent film festival has come roaring back and is set to feature new work by Kelly Reichardt, another Joachim Trier drama starring Renate Reinsve and Cannes icons the Dardenne brothers

The Cannes film festival selection has been unveiled by its director Thierry Frémaux, with all its auteur heavyweights and cineaste silverback gorillas, including new work by Kelly Reichardt, Julia Ducournau, Ari Aster, Wes Anderson, Joachim Trier and Carla Simón. Tom Cruise’s final Mission: Impossible movie is showing out of competition; Robert De Niro is getting an honorary Palme d’Or – and probably treating audiences to a characteristically tightlipped onstage interview – and Bono arrives at the red carpet for Andrew Dominik’s documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender. Actor turned director Scarlett Johansson comes to Cannes with her Eleanor the Great, a quirky New York tale starring veteran player June Squibb.

There is also,...

Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson will both premiere their first feature films as directors at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, with each selected for the Un Certain Regard section. The announcement was made during a press conference in Paris by festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch.

Johansson’s film, Eleanor the Great, features June Squibb as a 90-year-old woman from Florida who forms an unlikely connection with a 19-year-old student in New York City. The cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, and Erin Kellyman. Johansson, known for her roles in the Marvel film series, shifts focus with a character-driven narrative centered on late-life friendship and personal discovery.

Dickinson’s debut, Urchin, follows a drifter on the streets of London, played by Frank Dillane. The film explores themes of social isolation and systemic failure. In an interview published last year, Dickinson described the project as a portrait of individuals often overlooked.

Among the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival’s 78th edition are some big names from Hollywood and global cinema. We already knew that Tom Cruise will light the fuse on Paramount/Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on May 14 out of competition, while there was plenty of speculation that Scarlett Johansson would have a pair of movies on the Croisette. The latter has now been confirmed with Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great set for Un Certain Regard, and her acting reteam with Wes Anderson in his latest, The Phoenician Scheme, in Competition. Also confirmed is Ari Aster’s Eddington with Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone.

Many more stars are potentially in store now that the bulk of the official selection has been revealed. Not everyone is confirmed to attend the Riviera shindig, but here’s a look at some of the possibilities.

Cannes...

Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson are set to make their directorial debuts at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The two actors have concentrated their focus behind the camera for the debuting titles, featuring in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, announced by Cannes delegate general Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch at a press conference in Paris on Thursday morning.

Johansson, best known for her Avengers outings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will premiere Eleanor the Great. It follows a 90-year-old Floridian woman who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old student in New York City and stars June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht and Erin Kellyman.

Meanwhile, Dickinson, Babygirl actor and a relative newcomer to A-list stardom, will debut his feature film Urchin, about a drifter (Frank Dillane) on the streets of London. Dickinson is not turning to directing entirely — he is set to play John Lennon in Sam...

The Cannes Film Festival announced its 2025 lineup on Thursday morning. Several expected contenders are set for world premieres on the French Riviera, including new projects from Scarlett Johansson, Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, Kelly Reichardt, Joachim Trier, and more.

Among the titles that will premiere at Cannes this year are Eleanor the Great, Johansson’s directorial debut with a lead role for June Squibb; Nouvelle Vague, Linklater’s tribute to the French New Wave and the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless; The Mastermind, Reichardt’s latest about an art-world heist with roles for Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, and John Magaro; Splitsville (directed by Michael Angelo Covino), a Neon release with Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona; and Sentimental Value, Triet’s follow-up to The Worst Person in the World with Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning in the cast.

Other films of note include Alpha (Cannes winner Julia Ducournau...

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is looking to be another knockout, with some of this year’s hottest features, including Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague and Ari Aster’s Eddington set to premiere on the Croisette.

Cannes delegate general Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch announced this year’s lineup at a press conference in Paris on Thursday morning.

The 2025 competition lineup is packed with auteur heavyweights, including Kelly Reichardt, who returns to Cannes competition with The Mastermind, an art-heist drama starring Josh O’Connor and John Magaro, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War; Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier, who returns to the Croisette after his 2021 triumph (with The Worst Person of the World) with Sentimental Value, also featuring Renate Reinsve; and dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who will be back in Cannes competition with his latest drama, A Simple Accident.

Movies from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster, Julia Ducournau, Kelly Reichardt and more will compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The 2025 edition is shaping up to be a glamorous one with a large Hollywood presence — and of course, lots of stars. Earlier this week, it was officially announced that Tom Cruise will be back on the Croisette with “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” which is debuting out of competition. Other big names likely to be in attendance include Jodie Foster, who stars in Rebecca Zlotowski’s out-of-competition crime comedy “Vie Privée”; Josh O’Connor, who is leading two films in competition with Kelly Reichardt’s heist movie “The Mastermind” and Oliver Hermanus’ gay romance “The History of Sound” alongside Paul Mescal; Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler, who feature in Aster’s A24 competition film “Eddington”; and the...

The Fithian Group, founded by former top exhibition lobbyists John Fithian, Patrick Corcoran, and Jackie Brenneman, said on Wednesday that Lost & Found In Cleveland will be the first feature from the beta development phase of its theatrical distribution and online digital marketplace Attend.

The holiday season comedy from Marisa Guterman and Keith Gerchak will open nationwide on November 7 and gets a 45-day exclusive theatrical window –the minimum length called for by exhibitors at CinemaCon last week.

The Fithian Group is in the early stages of booking theatres and aims to migrate the process to Attend’s suite of automated tools.

With just three weeks until the line-up for the Cannes Film Festival 2025 is announced on April 10,Screentakes a look at the films from around the world looking increasingly likely to debut on the Croisette.

North America

English-language auteurs Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch and Kelly Reichardt could all unveil their anticipated next films at the Cannes – and if they do, it will drum up the kind of red-carpet glamour Thierry Fremaux loves.

Two years after The French Dispatch played in Competition, Anderson looks a safe bet to return with The Phoenician Scheme, a spy comedy thriller featuring...

Fun fact: Each year, all Film Independent Members who are eligible to vote for the winners of the annual Spirit Awards are entered into a very unique raffle, of sorts. The prize for said raffle? Two tickets to attend the Spirit Awards!

We’re talking about a true once-in-a-lifetime experience… You can grab coffee next to June Squibb. You might run into Questlove in line for the bathroom. Or if you’re Jean Ortiz-Luis, you’ll reconnect with a friend that you know from your years as Spirit Awards volunteers.

Ortiz-Luis was randomly selected to be this year’s Member attendee and, on top of her love for independent film, she has a long history volunteering for both the Spirit Awards and the LA Film Festival, making the experience that much more meaningful for her.

We spoke with her about her experience, both at the show, and as a Film Independent Member.

Ever since Robert Downey Jr. announced his heel-flip return to the MCU as iconic villain Doctor Doom, Marvel fans have been clamoring to find out who from the original “Avengers” might be resurrected for the next installments. While it’s unclear who, if anyone, will be joining Downey Jr., one star wants it to be known that her character will remain peaceful in the after-life.

“Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?” said Scarlett Johansson in a recent interview with InStyle. Speaking of how Marvel fans refuse to accept her character’s death in “Avengers: Endgame,“ she added, “They just don’t want to believe it. They’re like, ‘But she could come back!’ Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.

By Nathaniel R

It took me a second viewing to appreciate what Margaret Qualley was up to in "The Substance". Great work!

Reckless sex workers, repressed CEOs, witches-in-training, and a triple helping of “Elizabeths” (!?!) factor into the incredible characterizations offered up by gifted actresses in leading roles this past film season. As we say goodbye to the year in cinema just behind us, a tribute to my personal dozen favourites (alpha order) from leading ladies. Though it’s a full dozen I still had to leave out highly enjoyable star turns from June Squibb in Thelma and Scarlett Johansson in Fly Me to the Moon, as well as Amy Adams' funny and underappreciated juggling of dowdy and feral as “Mother” in Nightbitch. The actual shortlist for my own Best Lead Actress honors is revealed at the end.

top dozen - alpha order...

Oh, Hi! has now found a studio. The upcoming dark romantic comedy, which was written and directed by Sophie Brooks (The Boy Downstairs), follows a couple - Iris and Isaac (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief star Logan Lerman) - whose new marriage swiftly unravels when they embark on a road trip. The cast of the movie, which has already earned a solidly Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 72%, also includes Blockers' Geraldine Viswanathan and Stranger Things supporting player John Reynolds.

Per Variety, Oh, Hi! has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics just over a month after its Sundance premiere on January 26. So far, there has been no official release date set for the project. Read comments on the acquisition from Sophie Brooks and Sony Pictures Classics below:

Sophie Brooks: I couldn’t be more thrilled that we have found our home with Sony Pictures Classics. For as long as I can remember,...

With movie awards season over, and rumors that Adrian Brody’s Oscar acceptance speech is finally coming to an end, the year 2025 sees a surprising amount of faces coming straight back into the conversation. For one, Zoe Saldaña will be putting her Supporting Actress Oscar to good use on the publicity trail for one of the biggest tentpoles of the year: James Cameron’s Fire and Ash, the third in the Avatar series, in which she reprises her role as Na’vi princess Neytiri.

It doesn’t seem especially likely that lightning will strike twice for Saldaña, but the win will bring extra gravitas to the franchise, which secured four nominations (including Best Picture) last time. Fire and Ash hits cinemas in the middle of December, usually a risky strategy, awards-wise — think Wonka, Nosferatu and even A Complete Unknown — but Cameron has good form on this front, and, presumably for...

Actress Scarlett Johansson recently revealed that she declines to take photos with fans outside of work appearances. In her cover story for InStyle the Oscar-nominated actress relayed that she intentionally sets a boundary with her fans, separating her private and work life: “I like to be in my own thoughts that have nothing to do with what other people think of me.”

“It really offends a lot of people. It doesn’t mean I’m not appreciative, of course, that people are fans, or happy to see me,” Johansson explained. “But I always say to people, ‘I’m not working,’ [which means] I don’t want to be identified as being in this time and place with you. I’m doing my own thing.. I like to be in my own thoughts that have nothing to do with what other people think of me. I don’t like being self-conscious.” She made...

In the criminally underrated Peacock comedy Killing It, the desperate protagonist (Craig Robinson) decides that the only way to make seed money for his start-up business is by participating in a python-hunting competition in the Florida Everglades. Over two seasons, herpetological misadventures and a scathing critique of the state of the American Dream ensue.

The audience for Killing It was sufficiently small — I’m not sure Peacock exactly canceled the show so much as the streamer simply forgot it existed — that the reaction to Xander Robin’s new documentary The Python Hunt won’t simply be, “Oh! It’s a real-life Killing It!”

Like an invasive Burmese python, the storylines in The Python Hunt prove a little bit too squirmy and erratic for the documentary to come into a focus in a wholly satisfying way. But it’s still a wild and generally empathetic journey into the swamp of the American soul.

The entertainment community recently lost an icon when the legendary Gene Hackman died at the age of 95. While there are still some unknowns surrounding his death, no one is disputing his status as a Hollywood legend. The French Connection, Superman, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiven, Hoosiers, The Firm, and The Royal Tenenbaums are just a few of his acclaimed works. But there's one title that's far less well-known, and it was Hackman's final film prior to retirement.

Hackman's last onscreen appearance was in 2004's Welcome to Mooseport. He played a former President of the United States who retired to a small town in Maine and befriended a local handyman, played by Ray Romano. Welcome to Mooseport was a critical and commercial failure, and it did not deserve to be Hackman's last outing. But was its underperformance the reason for his retirement? Or were there other factors that led to him leaving the spotlight?...

Scarlett Johansson opened up about sitting near Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco at the 2025 Oscars last weekend.

The 40-year-old Marvel actress spilled on her seating situation during an interview backstage at the venue. In the process, she shared some very sweet insight into the couple’s relationship.

Keep reading to find out more…

“Well, I’m sitting next to Selena and Benny and I have to say… I’m seeing a lot of very cute, honeymoon-phase cuteness happening,” Scarlett said, via People.

Scarlett took the stage to present an award with June Squibb during the ceremony. She walked the red carpet with her date… who was not husband Colin Jost. Do you know who she was with?

Selena was at the Oscars in support of her movie Emilia Perez. While she was not nominated for any categories specifically, the movie was up for 13 awards.

She and Benny posed for photos backstage.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage fans, we’ve got a fresh off the press preview for the new Season 1 Episode 14 episode titled A Sportsbook and a Breakup!

Find out everything you need to know about the A Sportsbook and a Breakup episode of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, including a full preview, videos, release date, cast information and how to watch!

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage A Sportsbook and a Breakup Season 1 Episode 14 Preview

The upcoming episode of “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” titled “A Sportsbook and a Breakup,” promises to deliver a mix of humor and drama that fans have come to love. Set to air on CBS at 7:00 Pm on March 13, 2025, this episode will surely keep audiences entertained as it dives into the quirky world of illegal betting and relationship struggles.

In this episode, Mandy discovers that Meemaw, played by the talented June Squibb, is running an illegal sportsbook.

The canon of "The Big Bang Theory" and its various spin-offs is a fluid thing. In one particular instance, for example, the actor playing a younger version of an already established character got a chance to dictate something about how much the character would change. Indeed, Annie Potts, who portrays Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) grandmother MeeMaw on "Young Sheldon," was candid in a 2018 interview with Variety about how she worked with series co-creators Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro to develop the younger version of a character first played on "The Big Bang Theory" by June Squibb. She explained that because of the loose rules around the "Big Bang Theory" canon, she felt like she had a "clean slate" to work from despite the character already existing in fan's minds. Still, there was one aspect of Squibb's appearance as MeeMaw that Potts really wanted to hang on to.

On both "The Big Bang Theory...

Whether it was Zoe Saldaña calling out her husband’s beautiful hair during her acceptance speech or June Squibb claiming that she’s really Bill Skarsgård in drag, the 97th Oscars on Sunday were chock-full of good, bag and fugly moments.

Here are all the moments that made us go hmmm.

So Good: Oscar gave a collective hug to fire victims by opening the show with a chill-inducing ode to our beloved L.A. with iconic moments from Rocky III, La La Land, Grand Canyon, La Bamba and The Big Lebowski, followed with gorgeous performances by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

So bad it was good: It felt a little strange to transition out of such a sentimental opener to the image of “four-time Oscar viewer” Conan O’Brien crawling out of Demi Moore’s corpse.

Thelma star June Squibb had a great bit while presenting the Oscar for Makeup and Hair with actress Scarlett Johansson at the 2025 Oscars.

Squibb joked that she was really being played by Bill Skarsgård under several layers of makeup.

“Oh yeah, I mean half the time you see me, it’s not me. It’s Bill Skarsgård,” she told Johansson after the Jurassic World: Rebirth star questioned her. “The real June Squibb is at home with a book right now.”

Johansson caught on quickly.

“Bill Skarsgård, you mean the guy from Nosferatu and the clown in It?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Squibb said matter-of-factly. “And June Squibb at the Oscars! The big three.

Related: ‘The Substance’ Hair Boss Reveals She Was Ousted From Oscar Nomination In Favor Of Assistant

Johansson, after claiming she woke up at 6 a.m. so that someone could do her makeup in a way that looks like...

June Squibb and Scarlett Johansson had one of the more memorable hosting bits of the evening at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday (March 2) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

While presenting for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, the 95-year-old actress joked that Nosferatu‘s Bill Skarsgard (who underwent a heavy makeup transformation for the title role.)

Keep reading to find out more…

“I got a little makeup done too. I’m actually being played by Bill Skarsgard right now,” June joked. “Oh yea. I mean, half the time you see me in public, it’s Bill Skarsgard. The real June Squibb is home with a book right now.”

Watch the hosting bit below!

Check out photos of Every celeb on the Oscars red carpet in one post!

At the #Oscars, June Squibb jokes that when you see her in public she's being played by Bill Skarsgard from #Nosferatu pic.twitter.com...

Gold Derby has learned the rundown for tonight's Academy Awards ceremony. The Oscars 2025 show will kick off at 7 p.m. Et/4 p.m. Pt on ABC and Hulu with host Conan O'Brien. Below is a summary of when each of the 23 awards will be announced and who will be presenting (keeping in mind that producers might change anything at the last minute):

Supporting Actor

Animated Feature

Animated Short

Costume Design

Original Screenplay

Adapted Screenplay

Makeup and Hairstyling

Film Editing

Supporting Actress

Production Design

Original Song

Documentary Short

Documentary Feature

Sound

Visual Effects

Live Action Short

Cinematography

International Feature

Original Song

Actor

Director

Actress

Picture

SEEOscars 2025: How to watch and stream live and everything to know about this year's ceremony

Here is the full list of presenters announced so far (although some surprises are expected):

Joe Alwyn

Dave Bautista

Halle Berry

Sterling K. Brown

Penelope Cruz...