Roberto Minervini’s Cannes-Bound ‘The Damned’ Debunks Heroism of War, Says Director – Watch Teaser (EXCLUSIVE)

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros’ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was greeted with a very warm reception during its Cannes Film Festival world premiere in an early showcase last week, and amid much love for franchise architect George Miller. It has followed up with strong critical and social scores. Nevertheless, in this currently wonky theatrical landscape, the prequel underperformed in its global opening this launch weekend, grossing $58.9M from 76 total markets through Sunday.

Bruce Springsteen delivered a moving speech while at the Ivor Novello Awards last night (May 23), and recalled how music from the UK inspired him since he was a teenager.The Boss became the first international songwriter to receive the Fellow of the Ivors Academy at Grosvenor House in London last night, following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Paul McCartney.Becoming an Academy Fellow is the highest honour the organisation bestows, and with it, the iconic singer, songwriter and guitarist becomes the first American songwriter that the Academy has inducted into Fellowship in its 80-year history.He was presented the award by Beatles legend Paul McCartney, who took the opportunity to jokingly roast him before introducing him to the stage. As he arrived, Springsteen delivered a moving speech to the crowd, recalling both what the honour means to him and his long-lasting love of the UK music scene.He also recalled his nerves when first coming to London back in 1975, and what it is like to be performing in the country again, nearly 50 years down the road.Read the full speech from The Boss below.“Back in 1975, I went on the long flight from New Jersey to the UK, with two different guys who had never been on an aeroplane.

Anita Gou is no stranger to the festival circuit. Her L.A.-based Kindred Spirit banner saw a raft of its first projects debut at Sundance (think Lulu Wang’s Mandarin-language comedy The Farewell, which made $23M worldwide, Shia LaBeouf-starrer Honey Boy and Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation) but, more recently, her co-production Silent Twins was selected in Un Certain Regard in 2022, while Dominic Savage’s Close To You premiered in Toronto last year. The company’s Mubi-acquired doc The Last Year of Darkness, which explores the lives of alternative Chinese youth, was awarded a Special Mention prize in the Next:Wave section at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival last year.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to allegations that they accepted complimentary flights within Nigeria from an airline company led by a man reportedly under indictment in the United States.

FBI: International is popular, and so are its stars!

Established in 1932, Japan’s Toho Group has grown into a film-industry powerhouse, not only at home but globally. Working across production, distribution and exhibition, it has recently been on an expansion spree, reeling in box office around the world and with recognition from major awards bodies. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus films (“Drive My Car”) have acquired all North American rights to Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine as Light,” the first Indian film to screen in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years. The movie will world premiere on Thursday, May 23. It’s also one of only four films in the Competition directed by a woman.

American Idol just came to an end, and we now have a winner of Season 22!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture. The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Neon has bought North American rights to “The Unknown” (“L’Inconnue”), the hotly anticipated next movie from “Anatomy of a Fall”’s Oscar-winning co-writer Arthur Harari. As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Paramount+ has released a teaser for its seventh South Park special, which takes aim at weight loss drugs. You can watch the teaser above.South Park: The End of Obesity will premiere in the US on May 24, before arriving in Europe and other international territories a day later.In the trailer for the special, Cartman is told by a doctor that “drastic” action is required in order to bring his weight down, before learning about the drug Ozempic.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian-born and Texas-based director Roberto Minervini is known for making hard-hitting documentaries that dissect the backwaters of American society, such as his so-called Texas trilogy comprising “The Passage,” “Low Tide” and “Stop the Pounding Heart.” His most recent doc, “What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?,” about a community of Black people in New Orleans during the summer of 2017 – when a string of brutal killings of Black men sent shockwaves throughout the country – launched from the Venice competition section in 2018. “The Damned,” which premieres on Thursday in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and is Minervini’s first fiction feature, is set during the American Civil War in the winter of 1862.

Annika Pham Scandinavia’s top sales agent TrustNordisk has scored major deals on the English-language epic “Stockholm Bloodbath” by Oscar-nominated Mikael Håfström (‘Evil”), which has sold to Brainstorm Media and Sunrise Films for the US and Canada, The Jokers for France and Divisa Red for Spain. The Claes Bang-vehicle, produced by Helena Danielsson for Viaplay Studios Sweden, is due to screen at the Cannes Market May 18, in a new international version.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Phillippe (Shooter) and Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) are leading thriller The Patient, which is launching in the Cannes market with International Film Trust.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates ruled over the North American box office as “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $56.5 million in its first weekend of release. Those ticket sales were a hair above early projections of $50 million to $55 million and were easily enough to tower over the nonexistent competition.

EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of the Cannes market, Lionsgate has taken North American rights off the table on one of the bigger-budget new packages that’ll be on sale next week: that’s action-thriller Mutiny, which will star action evergreen Jason Statham (Fast & Furious) and be directed by Jean-François Richet (Plane).

Sam Claflin and Rupert Friend will star in Thunder Road Pictures’ World War II action-thriller Perdition. Written and directed by Henry Dunham, principal photography is set for the fall.

Alex Ritman Writer-director S. Craig Zahler (“Bone Tomahawk”) is set to reunite with his “Dragged Across Concrete” and “Brawl in Cell Block 99” star Vince Vaughn and Oscar winner Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”) for upcoming crime thriller “The Bookie & the Bruiser.” Anton will introduce the film to international distributors at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes. UTA Independent Film Group and Range Media Partners arranged the financing and will be representing the North American distribution rights.

EXCLUSIVE: Nicolas Cage, FKA Twigs, Noah Jupe and Souheila Yacoub are set to star in Egyptian-American director Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son exploring the rarely told story of the childhood of Jesus with a horror take.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “The Fall Guy,” an action-comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, kicked off the summer movie season without much sizzle. The film, backed by Universal and directed by David Leitch, fell just short of expectations with $28.5 million from 4,002 North American venues in its debut. Heading into the weekend, “The Fall Guy” was projected to earn at least $30 million to $40 million.