Netflix Buys Todd Haynes’ Cannes Hit ‘May December’ for $11 Million

Was Natalie Portman dropping hints about her marriage problems before her husband Benjamin Millepied’s shocking affair was exposed?

The 76th Cannes Film Festival is wrapping up this evening with the main awards, including the Palme d’Or, to be handed out by Ruben Ostlund’s jury inside the Palais. Scroll down for the list of winners which is being updated as prizes are announced.

“Perfect Days” makes a perfect debut.PERFECT DAYS. Did Wim Wenders just make his best film since UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD? Holy crap.Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” was the hero of the day, earning strong notices and the now-standard standing ovation.

Johnny Depp Makes a Comeback (Kinda) Having scored a major victory after a Virginia court ruled in his favor in his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp was hoping to use Cannes and the premiere of “Jeanne du Barry” as a launching pad for a return. And the results are … mixed. The crowd at the festival showered Depp with a seven-minute ovation on opening night.

CANNES – It was a warm afternoon on la Croisette when Todd Haynes sat down to chat about his celebrated new drama, “May December.” The Killer Films produced project still hadn’t been acquired yet (Netflix picked up North American rights for a reported $11 million), but the “Carol” auteur was in good spirits. Maybe he’d read the reviews.

Yesterday we told you that Netflix has picked up Todd Haynes’ latest Cannes Competition title, May December, and it looks like the filmmaker has already lined up his next project.

Sometimes in Cannes it’s fun just to hover at the fringes of a party to observe the interactions, the body language, the eye-rolling, who’s drinking what and who isn’t.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is certainly the buzziest film to play Cannes so far, Todd Haynes’ return to narrative filmmaking in four years, “May December,” held its own when it debuted the same day — and now it has a home.The film, described as a campy yet compelling look at an actress (Natalie Portman) who visits the home of a woman (Julianne Moore) she’s set to portray on-screen, ended up being hailed by a few critics as the best feature of the evening. And with U.S.

Recently, after his new film, “May December,” debuted at Cannes, filmmaker Todd Haynes teased what might be his next project. All that was said is the film will star Joaquin Phoenix and will be about two gay men in the 1930s.

EXCLUSIVE: After an old-style all night auction, Netflix is finalizing an $11M deal for North American rights to May December, the Todd Haynes-directed drama that stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. It is far and away the big deal of Cannes so far, and a deal of this size ought to send a jolt of optimism that the North American marketplace for Cannes films is still alive and well, after a slow start here.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Netflix landed North American rights for “May December,” a soapy romantic-drama directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, which debuted at Cannes Film Festival. It sold for $11 million, marking the first big sale of this year’s festival. Several bidders, including Neon, were in the mix before Netflix emerged victorious. The streamer hopes to position “May December” as an Oscar contender in the fall. A scandalous age-gap relationship plays out at the center of “May December,” which debuted on Saturday to raves and earned a six-minute standing ovation. Moore plays the “December” to Charles Melton’s much-younger “May,” who was just 13 when the two fell in love. Given their 20-year age gap, their marriage inspired a national tabloid scandal. Decades later, their relationship is put to the test as an actress (Portman) travels to Georgia to study the life of Moore’s character, whom she’s set to play in a film.

Natalie Portman is opening up and calling out the double standards she sees at the Cannes Film Festival.

has already delivered a slew of breathtaking red-carpet looks, including Elle Fanning’s for the opening ceremony and Naomi Campbell’s crimson Valentino gown with a pink feathered cape at the Killers of the Flower Moon screening. However, Natalie Portman’s arrival at the May December premiere in a glittering custom Dior number that’s an ode to a museum piece really captivated die-hard fashion enthusiasts.’s ivory strapless gown—meticulously adorned with ornate beading and featuring a layered skirt reminiscent of a fan of eyeless peacock feathers—is inspired by the Junon dress that  himself created for his 1949-1950 autumn/winter collection (named after the Ancient Roman goddess, who was wife to Jupiter and patron goddess of Rome).

Coming into Cannes 2023, there was a lot of discussion about Todd Haynes’ new dramedy, “May December.” Haynes is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers working today and his latest stars none other than Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, two of the most respected actors in the world. It appears, judging by early reviews, “May December” delivers the goods and is likely going to be in the mix come awards season.

Todd Haynes is having a great Cannes, isn’t he? His new film, “May December,” has earned rave reviews (including our own), with folks already predicting Oscars love. And now, it appears he has nothing but amazing projects to talk about coming in the future, including a new film with Joaquin Phoenix.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Todd Haynes is the latest auteur to use Cannes as a launching pad for a potential Oscar contender, debuting his delicious dramedy “May December” at the festival on Saturday. Premiering less than one hour after Martin Scorsese’s 202-minute “Killers of the Flower Moon” conquered Cannes, the torrential downpour on Saturday night couldn’t keep many patrons away from taking in the Haynes movie. And not just because the movie reunites the director with his muse Julianne Moore, who he worked wonders with on “Safe” (1995) and “Far from Heaven” (2002), the latter which earned an Oscar nomination for Moore’s performance and one for Haynes’ script.

There’s trouble in the paradise of Savannah, Georgia, where the skeins of Spanish moss-draped over corridors of trees wave in the gentle coastal zephyrs with each night’s picture-perfect sunset. Spouses Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) have opened their palatial home for a backyard BBQ; he’s manning the grill, and she’s darting about trying to make everything just right, each well aware of their role to play.

CANNES – Perhaps it was the fact we’ve reached the halfway point of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the media have reached an inevitable breaking point with lack of sleep. Or maybe it was the often (but not talways) demure personalities of “May December’s” Oscar-winning stars, Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.

May December, Todd Haynes’ film that received an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes late on Saturday evening, is a film all about transgression, Julianne Moore told the press on Sunday. 

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter A scandalous age-gap relationship plays out at the center of “May December,” which debuted on Saturday to raves at the Cannes Film Festival. In the starry romantic drama directed by Todd Haynes, Julianne Moore plays the “December” to Charles Melton’s much-younger “May,” whose character was just 13 when the two fell in love. It’s a complicated dynamic, Moore admits, because of the time in their lives when they first met. “An age gap is one thing, but a relationship between an adult and a child is a different thing entirely,” Moore said at Sunday’s press conference for “May December,” which was embraced in the Grand Palais the day prior with an enthusiastic six-minute standing ovation.