Sam Mendes Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A pair of Oscar bellwether ceremonies took place this weekend, heralding uncertainty and unpredictability to an awards season where no one agrees on what contenders will end up taking home Academy Awards. The DGA Awards, which has historically matched up best with the eventual winner of best director, chose the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. They’re the third directing team to win in the DGA’s 75-year history (after Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for “West Side Story” and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men”). Only eight DGA winners have failed to walk away with the Academy Award in the same season, with the last instance being Sam Mendes (“1917”), who won at DGA but lost to Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) at the 2020 Oscars.

The winners have been revealed for the 2023 BAFTAs!

*WINNER.BEST FILM“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh“Elvis,” Gail Berman, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Patrick McCormick, Schuyler Weiss“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang“Tár,” Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra MilchanOUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM“Aftersun,” Charlotte Wells, Producer(s) TBC“The Banshees of Inisherin” Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin“Brian and Charles,” Jim Archer, Rupert Majendie, David Earl, Chris Hayward“Empire of Light,” Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” Sophie Hyde, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski, Katy Brand“Living,” Oliver Hermanus, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Kazuo Ishiguro“Roald Dalh’s Matilda the Musical,” Matthew Warchus, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn, Luke Kelly, Dennis Kelly“See How They Run,” Tom George, Gina Carter, Damian Jones, Mark Chappell“The Swimmers,” Sally El Hosaini, Producer(s) TBC, Jack Thorne“The Wonder,” Sebastián Lelio, Ed Guiney, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Alice Birch, Emma DonoghueOUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER“Aftersun,”  Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director)“Blue Jean,” Georgia Oakley (Writer/Director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)“Electric Malady,” Marie Lidén (Director)“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” Katy Brand (Writer)“Rebellion,” Maia Kenworthy (Director)FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE“All Quiet on the Western Front” Edward Berger, Malte Grunert *WINNER“Argentina, 1985,” Santiago Mitre, Producer(s) TBC“Corsage,” Marie Kreutzer“Decision to Leave,” Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok“The Quiet Girl,” Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní ChrualaoíDOCUMENTARY“All That Breathes,”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International George MacKay is virtually unrecognizable in the erotic revenge thriller “Femme,” directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping. With slicked-back hair and a heavy-handed neck tattoo, the dashing, soft-spoken British actor, well known for his period roles, is transformed into the kind of East London gangster you’d go out of your way to avoid. Part of what makes MacKay’s character, Preston, so menacing is the fact that he’s deeply closeted. When one night he’s teased in front of his friends by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett’s drag artist Jules — dressed up as Aphrodite Banks — he responds with violence so severe that it shatters Jules’ confidence to ever perform in drag again. The attack emboldens Jules to ensnare an unwitting Preston in an intense sexual relationship with the intention of outing him on the Internet.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The DGA Awards are under way at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills. In TV, “Severance,” “Station Eleven” and “The Daily Show” were among the frontrunners (with two nods each), while Steven Spielberg was gunning for his fourth trophy, for the semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans.” But also in the hunt are Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo behind the sci-fi comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” At the DGA, Spielberg holds the record for the most nominations and wins, at 13 and three, respectively. The DGA boasts a voting body of around 19,000 members. Over its 75-year history, the DGA Awards has been the most reliable barometer for the Oscars’ best director prize. Only eight DGA winners have failed to walk away with the Academy Award, most recently Sam Mendes (“1917”), who lost to Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) in 2020.

EXCLUSIVE: Toby Jones says he initially had concerns of being “bored out my mind” working on summer blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but the actor tells Deadline that he’s “so relieved that I had done it” because “actually, I absolutely loved working on that film.”

Joanna Lumley, the BAFTA-winning British actress, has said that women would lose out if award ceremonies switched to gender-neutral prizes.

EXCLUSIVE: The Agency has signed Rūrangi co-showrunner and director Max Currie for global representation.

Kate Winslet is sharing what it was really like filming sex scenes in "Revolutionary Road" with Leonardo DiCaprio. The co-stars shot to fame after collaborating on James Cameron's "Titanic" in 1997. Winslet and DiCaprio reunited in 2008 to star in "Revolutionary Road," which was directed by the actress' then husband, Sam Mendes.

Armando Iannucci’s space comedy Avenue 5 has been officially canceled by HBO.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking to Krysty Wilson-Cairns, the Oscar-nominated writer behind films such as 1917, Last Night In Soho and last year’s Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne starrer The Good Nurse. We sit down with the Scottish talent to talk about how she collaborates with big directors like Sam Mendes and Edgar Wright, her new outfit Good Company and why she plans to pay it forward.

BEST FILMALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Malte GrunertTHE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonaghELVIS Gail Berman, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Patrick McCormick, Schuyler WeissEVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan WangTÁR Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra MilchanOUTSTANDING BRITISH FILMAFTERSUN Charlotte Wells, Producer(s) TBCTHE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete CzerninBRIAN AND CHARLES Jim Archer, Rupert Majendie, David Earl, Chris HaywardEMPIRE OF LIGHT Sam Mendes, Pippa HarrisGOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Sophie Hyde, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski, Katy BrandLIVING Oliver Hermanus, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Kazuo IshiguroROALD DAHL’S MATILDA THE MUSICAL Matthew Warchus, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn, Luke Kelly, Dennis KellySEE HOW THEY RUN Tom George, Gina Carter, Damian Jones, Mark ChappellTHE SWIMMERS Sally El Hosaini, Producer(s) TBC, Jack ThorneTHE WONDER Sebastián Lelio, Ed Guiney, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Alice Birch, Emma DonoghueOUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCERAFTERSUN Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director)BLUE JEAN Georgia Oakley (Writer/Director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)ELECTRIC MALADY Marie Lidén (Director)GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Katy Brand (Writer)REBELLION Maia Kenworthy (Director)FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGEALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Edward Berger, Malte GrunertARGENTINA, 1985 Santiago Mitre, Producer(s) TBCCORSAGE Marie KreutzerDECISION TO LEAVE Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seokTHE QUIET GIRL Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní ChrualaoíDOCUMENTARYALL THAT BREATHES Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman MannALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Laura Poitras, Howard

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has denied he has been keeping a low profile since a string of sexual misconduct accusations brought his stellar career to a halt in 2017, in a rare meeting with the press ahead of an awards ceremony in northern Italy on Monday evening.

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has been keeping a low profile since a string of sexual misconduct accusations brought derailed his stellar career in 2017.

EXCLUSIVE: Once again, working under the Guild’s restrictive rules for inclusion among nominees for the WGA Awards for Best Original and Adapted Screenplays, several leading Oscar contending screenplays are AWOL on the official WGA ballot sent to eligible voting members this morning.

BAFTA has unveiled the longlists across all categories for its 2023 Film Awards, and Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy The Banshees Of Inisherin and Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front lead. Scroll down for the lists in full.

Avatar: The Way of Water‘s mega-publicized opening has brought movies back into the conversation, but movie-makers seem to have been lost in the mist. James Cameron’s persona is ablaze across the media but, by contrast, the very personal work of Sam Mendes, James Gray and even Steven Spielberg has done a fade-out in recent weeks.

Filmmaker Sam Mendes (“1917,” “Empire of Light”) is about to make his U.S. television directing debut with a new comedy series at HBO called “The Franchise.” It will see Mendes team up with comedy writer/director Armando Iannucci (“Avenue 5,” “In The Loop”), likely best known to American audiences for the political comedy series “Veep” and the hilarious Soviet-era satire “The Death of Stalin.

The Franchise, a comedy pilot for HBO that takes a wry look at superhero moviemaking, has found its cast.

Taylor Swift will make her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures, the company announced today. The acclaimed singer, songwriter and director has written an original script, which will be produced by the studio.

EXCLUSIVE: Brian Cox (Succession), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) and Emilio Villa-Muhammad (The Man Who Fell to Earth) are heading up the all-star cast of Audible Original title Oliver Twist, produced by Oscar winner Sam Mendes (1917). 

The Florian Hoffmeister lensed thriller Tár from director Todd Field topped the Camerimage main competition, collecting the Golden Frog during the closing ceremony of the cinematography film festival Saturday.

Three rite-of-passage movies are vying for attention this week at a moment when the rewards of maturity seem to be offering more gratification than the agonies of youth.

After racing to finish his upcoming Empire of Light and seeing Searchlight launch at festivals leaning into the Cinema Paradiso-style movie love letter element, Sam Mendes is ready to come clean about what his first solo-scripted film is really about, and the experiences that informed it. The grandeur of the seaside 1980 London movie palace is certainly the backdrop for an unlikely romance between a middle-aged theater manager (Olivia Colman) and a dashing young ticket taker (Micheal Ward, whom you’ll recognize from the opening episodes of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe mini). The youth is dealing with the rampant racism that put young men like him in danger in the UK.

Olivia Colman is everywhere right now. Coming off her third Oscar nomination in four years, Best Actress in “The Lost Daughter,” she’s also the lead in Sam Mendes’ “Empire Of Light” and surely will be in the Oscar conversation.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes, the Oscar and Tony award-winning director, has chosen three London theater stars – Michael Balogun (National Theatre Live: Death of England-Delroy), Hadley Fraser (Donmar Theatre’s Coriolanus), and Nigel Lindsay (Chichester Festival Theatre’s Woman In Mind) to bring his much-garlanded production of The Lehman Trilogy back into the West End. That’s following triumphant runs at the UK’s National Theatre, the Park Avenue Armory, and Broadway, and a phenomenal 16-week, sold-out run at London’s Piccadilly Theatre in 2019.