Margaret Mead Film Festival Returns After Pandemic Hiatus, Countering Worrisome Trend In Festival Space

For some years now, Nicolas Cage has been a genre unto himself: desperate, deranged, deliciously cheesy, with that special mastery of dialogue that moves seamlessly from a panting whisper to a bellow and back again. Put Cage’s name above the title and your film has an immediate brand that not only rides over script glitches but does a full Fast and Furious speed-jump over the top of any yawning gaps in probability.

Hard to believe it has been 44 years since Paul Schrader and star Richard Gere last worked together on 1980’s seminal American Gigolo, a film that became not just a keystone in Gere’s celebrated career but also one for one Schrader’s as one of his earliest directorial credits. Of course he has written some of the great screenplays, particularly in his collaborations with Martin Scorsese on Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Taxi Driver. But it is what interests him now a half century later as a writer-director that continues to fascinate.

arrived at the premiere of Kinds of Kindness, her third film in collaboration with writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos, dressed in a stunning shimmery Louis Vuitton gown in the deep-V silhouette she's all but made her signature. The intricate beading almost created the illusion of velvet or chenille, adding to the overall uber luxe vibe.The rich burgundy color complemented her auburn hair, which she wore in loose waves that just brushed her collarbone.

Selena Gomez has touched down in France to attend the 2024 Cannes Film Festival!

Barry Keoghan smiled from ear to ear as Andrea Arnold‘s latest film, “Bird,” earned a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere on Thursday. Festival favorite Arnold, who brought the Shia LaBeouf-starring “American Honey” to Cannes in 2016 and her documentary “Cow” in 2021, basked in appreciation as the audience applauded the drama. “Thank you, this is really lovely but I really want to go and party right now,” she said as laughter erupted in the room.

The Toronto International Film Fest will launch an official market, kicking off in 2026 and boosted by a generous C$23 million (US$16.9 million) of funding from Canada’s Federal Government. TIFF organizers said the new market will be a “game-changer” for the Canadian and wider international business. Festival CEO, Cameron Bailey, told Deadline he wants to see industry attendance more than double.

Late in the highly entertaining and enlightening new HBO Documentary Films movie on the life and career of Faye Dunaway we learn how much this iconic star just loves coming to the Cannes Film Festival. “Just about every year,” she says not only for the world’s best films but also to immerse herself in all aspects of filmmaking. In fact I have seen her many times just soaking it all up cinematically both here in Cannes and Telluride to name two fests. So it seems appropriate that the Cannes Classics section would be the place for the World Premiere Wednesday night (in the presence of Dunaway as the French like to call it) of this terrific new docu in which Dunaway pretty much tells it all straight about her life, loves, desires, ambitions, movies, co-stars, depression, controversies, family, and hopes for the future in a profession she says she can’t imagine not working in.

Jamie Lang Uruguay’s José Ignacio International Film Festival (JIIFF) has launched the Pfeffer del Sur Fund, a $50,000 fund dedicated to supporting Ibero-American film projects. The Pfeffer Del Sur Fund, established by JIIFF’s primary benefactors, María and John Pfeffer, will be launched in January 2025 as part of the festival’s 15th anniversary edition. It will be awarded to one of the projects selected from the JIIFF Lab, part of the Working JIIFF industry program.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Joins Sky In Wide-Ranging AMC Pact

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir – whose body of work comprises “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” – with its 2024 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. “With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

Mubi has acquired worldwide rights for French director Coralie Fargeat’s English-language body horror movie The Substance ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

EXCLUSIVE: A24 has acquired North American rights to Parthenope, the new film from Oscar winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, ahead of its world premiere at the 77th Festival de Cannes.

Kate Beckinsale is back in the public eye!

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.

Succession’s Kieran Culkin in the Storyteller Series segment.The festival will also feature anniversary celebrations of some of the most iconic films and TV shows, including two long-time collaborators teaming up with an iconic hip hop artist.Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro will join rapper Nas in conversation about Mean Streets, as the crime drama film celebrates its 50th anniversary. Nas is also set to introduce a screening of the hip hop drama Beat Street in its 40th anniversary.Tribeca will also feature a reunion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos, seeing members of its cast and crew reunite for the conversation.A new documentary about the acclaimed crime drama series, titled Wise Guy: David Chase And The Sopranos, will premiere at the festival.In other news, Nas recently announced details of a new UK and European tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his iconic album ‘Illmatic’.The rapper will kick off the European leg of the tour in Helsinki on October 22, wrapping up at the Stadthalle Offenbach in Germany on November 8.He will then tour the UK, starting with a slot at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on November 10, before stopping at Edinburgh and Wolverhampton.

Martin Freeman defends his new film, Miller’s Girl, from the criticism it has received for the age gap between him and his co-star, Jenna Ortega.

Ellise Shafer Mike Leigh, the veteran director of “Vera Drake,” “Another Year” and “Happy-Go-Lucky,” will be honored at Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival with its Career Achievement Golden Bee Award. Leigh will also host a masterclass at the festival, the second edition of which is taking place June 22 to 30 in Malta’s capital city of Valletta.

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.

Just Sam, the American Idol 2020 winner, returned for Season 22 to perform Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time.”

Angelique Jackson The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.” This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF PLAY. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.