Best Friend Forever Boards Sales On Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Title ‘Universal Language’; Oscilloscope Takes U.S. Rights

Princ Films boards ‘Isabel’s Garden’ For Cannes Marche Du Film 

Renowned genre filmmaker Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) is in talks to direct the next Exorcist film for Blumhouse and Universal Pictures, sources have confirmed to Deadline.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Iranian authorities are exerting heavy pressure on director Mohammad Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors who have been summoned for questioning and banned from leaving the country. Human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who is Rasoulof’s lawyer, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that several unspecified actors and producers on “Sacred Fig” were summoned and questioned last week by authorities.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Meryl Streep will receive the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned. Luring the Oscar winner is yet another feat for this Cannes edition, which will bring together a flurry Hollywood legends. Notably, George Lucas will receive the honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” are playing in competition; and George Miller‘s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon, an American Saga” are playing out of competition.

Paris-based distributor ARP Selection has acquired French rights for Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Meghan Markle’s friendship with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau — the ex-wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — appears to have hit the rocks.The Duchess of Sussex, 42, once boasted about her close bond with Trudeau, referring to her as her “dear friend” whom she “absolutely adores.”But when asked about her friendship with the royal, it appears as though the warm feeling isn’t quite as mutual.“I know her,” Trudeau simply told The Times of London in response to a question about her friendship with the “Suits” alum.The 49-year-old “did not gush back” about the mom of two, and mentioned that the pair “haven’t spent much time together.”Instead, Trudeau revealed her sympathy for Kate Middleton, adding that she felt “terrible” after hearing of the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis.“My heart just sank when I saw what was happening,” she said.Speaking on her “Archetypes” podcast in 2022, Markle detailed a day spent at home with Trudeau and her family.“We swam, we drank wine, we splashed in the water,” she shared at the time. “Then threw some pool floats in.”“This was the other version of us,” Markle continued.

Ellise Shafer The second annual Cannes Investors Circle has revealed its lineup, including films from Ruben Östlund and Lorcan Finnegan. Taking place at the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival, the Investors Circle showcases 10 never-before-seen films in various stages of development to an exclusive group of film financing experts and investors.

's track record for making and keeping friends as an adult appears to be better than average. But some are questioning her relationship with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the ex-wife of , after she appeared to distance herself from the duchess in a new interview.In a profile published in British publication on April 27, writer Louise Callaghan asks Grégoire Trudeau about her friendships with the world leaders she'd come across during her nine years as the wife of Canada's PM.

EXCLUSIVE: France tv distribution has acquired world sales rights for Romuald Boulanger’s upcoming bio-pic Mansour, capturing the journey of celebrity tennis player Mansour Bahrami’s from post-Revolutionary Iran, to exile and poverty in France, and then fame on the international circuit.

Ellise Shafer The full Cannes Film Festival competition jury has been revealed. Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.” The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides” by Jia Zhang-Ke; Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” with Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez; “The Girl With the Needle” by Magnus von Horn; Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” starring “Poor Things” actors Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe; “Beating Hearts” by Gilles Lellouche; “Limonov: The Ballad” by Kirill Serebrennikov; “Marcello Mio” by Christophe Honoré; Francis Ford Coppola’s epic passion project “Megalopolis,” starring Adam Driver; “Motel Destino” by Karim Aïnouz; Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” led by Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi; Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope” with Gary Oldman; David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds”; Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance”; and “Wild Diamond” from Agathe Riedinger.

Greta Gerwig has her jury. This evening, the Cannes Film Festival revealed the rest of the nine-member jury filled with festival veterans and Academy members.

The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.

Ryanair has warned passengers flying to three major holiday destinations that they must print off their boarding passes. The budget airline said that airports in Turkey and Morocco do not allow digital boarding passes downloaded onto mobile phones.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to 1980s-set wrestling action-horror “Dark Match.” The film is headlined by professional wrestler and rock musician Chris Jericho and written and directed by Lowell Dean (“Wolfcop”). The film will launch later this year with its festival premiere to be announced imminently. Blue Finch will begin sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Picture Tree Intl. has boarded international sales for Constantin Film’s comedy fantasy blockbuster “Chantal and the Magic Kingdom,” which will receive its market premiere in Cannes. The film has been No.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “East Bay,” a dark comedy film starring “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Crazy Rich Asians” star Constance Wu, has been picked up for North American distribution and world sales by Level 33 Entertainment. The film won the audience award last year at the Cinequest Film and Creativity festival in San Jose. Level 33 plans to release it next month in North American theaters, ahead of a later digital outing. Wu portrays a close friend of a man who feels let down by his immigrant parents and, after a string of personal and professional humiliations, is forced to accept that he is a failure.

Jamie Lang Leading French production-distribution outfit Le Pacte has boarded the upcoming 2D animated feature project “Conference of the Birds,” which will be spotlighted at the Marché du Film’s Animation Day during this year’s Cannes Festival. In addition to co-producing, Le Pacte will handle French distribution and serve as international sales agent on the film, part of the five-title Annecy Showcase at the Animation Day.

The Cannes Film Festival has added 13 new titles to the selection for its 77th edition, including new films by Oliver Stone, Lou Ye and Arnaud Desplechin as Special Screenings.

Naman Ramachandran Circle Women Doc Accelerator, an international training program dedicated to women and non-binary filmmakers, has unveiled the four projects that will take part in its showcase as part of the Cannes Docs program of the upcoming Cannes Film Market. For the fifth consecutive year, four alumnae of the program will present their works-in-progress during the market. “Dreamers” by Imam Hasanov, produced by Maria Ibrahimova for Cinex production (Azerbaijan), is set in rural Azerbaijan, where former football player Mamed coaches an all-girls football team.

Lise Pedersen Berlinale Forum entry “Shahid,” the debut feature of Iranian-German filmmaker Narges Kalhor, has been picked up by Prague-based doc specialist Filmotor ahead of its premiere at Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, where it is competing in the more experimental Burning Lights section. Described by Kalhor as a collective work between herself and other artists, including a costume artist and a painter from Iran, a German music composer and a choreographer from Berlin, “Shahid” shifts playfully between genres, challenging conventional filmmaking rules.