Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back again to take you through the week’s news in the entertainment industry, as the Cannes Film Festival nears its close.
What More Cannes I Say?
Stand up for the standouts: After a quiet opening, the Cannes Film Festival received a shot of life as several buzzy titles finally hit the screen. The excitement on the ground began with The Substance, the much-anticipated blood-splattered horror thriller from French director Coralie Fargeat, which was met with a 13-minute ovation, the longest for a title at this year’s festival until Gilles Lellouche’s Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf) took that crown last night. Fargeat’s pic, which stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, is a punk rock fable centered around a new product called The Substance that promises to transform people into the best version of themselves. It’s an offer that comes with a twist.
What More Cannes I Say?
Stand up for the standouts: After a quiet opening, the Cannes Film Festival received a shot of life as several buzzy titles finally hit the screen. The excitement on the ground began with The Substance, the much-anticipated blood-splattered horror thriller from French director Coralie Fargeat, which was met with a 13-minute ovation, the longest for a title at this year’s festival until Gilles Lellouche’s Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf) took that crown last night. Fargeat’s pic, which stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, is a punk rock fable centered around a new product called The Substance that promises to transform people into the best version of themselves. It’s an offer that comes with a twist.
- 5/24/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Jacques Audiard returned to his stomping grounds at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend to present Emilia Perez, the French auteur’s 10th work and sixth in the main competition. The audience inside the Grand Lumiére Theatre responded with a 10-minute standing ovation after the world premiere of the film, described as a “bracingly original crime musical.”
Emilia Perez stars Zoe Saldaña as a frustrated lawyer, Selena Gomez as a drug lord’s wife, Édgar Ramírez as a dangerous love interest and Karla Sofía Gascón as the cartel kingpin who longs to escape a life of crime and become the woman he’s always dreamed of becoming. Most of the cast was in tears during the rousing standing ovation, and less than 24 hours later, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with three of them — Saldaña, Gomez and Gascón — to discuss the reception, how they landed their respective roles and what they...
Emilia Perez stars Zoe Saldaña as a frustrated lawyer, Selena Gomez as a drug lord’s wife, Édgar Ramírez as a dangerous love interest and Karla Sofía Gascón as the cartel kingpin who longs to escape a life of crime and become the woman he’s always dreamed of becoming. Most of the cast was in tears during the rousing standing ovation, and less than 24 hours later, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with three of them — Saldaña, Gomez and Gascón — to discuss the reception, how they landed their respective roles and what they...
- 5/24/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Die mit einer elfminütigen Standing Ovation bedachte Musical-Sensation „Emilia Pérez“ steht in Cannes kurz vor einem großen Netflix-Deal im britischen und nordamerikanischen Markt.
Jacques Audiards „Emilia Pérez“ (Credit: Shanna Besson)
Die spanischsprachige Musical-Crime-Komödie „Emilia Pérez“ gilt jetzt schon als eine der Gewinnerinnen von Cannes, auch wenn die Preise im Wettbewerb noch vergeben werden. Das neueste Werk von Jacques Audiard mit Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña und Édgar Ramirez in den Hauptrollen steht kurz davor, in die wichtigsten Schlüsselmärkte verkauft zu sein.
Für Nordamerika und Großbritannien wird wohl gesichert Netflix den Zuschlag bekommen. Dabei soll es laut US-Berichten um eine hohe siebenstellige Summe gehen. CDC United Network wird demnach die Rechte für Lateinamerika kaufen. Pathé kaufte sich die Rechte für die französischsprachigen Länder und Territorien im Vorfeld des Festivals. Französischer Kinostart ist am 28. August.
Für den deutschen Markt ist bislang noch kein Käufer öffentlich in Erscheinung getreten.
In „Emilia Pérez“ (Spot-Review...
Jacques Audiards „Emilia Pérez“ (Credit: Shanna Besson)
Die spanischsprachige Musical-Crime-Komödie „Emilia Pérez“ gilt jetzt schon als eine der Gewinnerinnen von Cannes, auch wenn die Preise im Wettbewerb noch vergeben werden. Das neueste Werk von Jacques Audiard mit Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña und Édgar Ramirez in den Hauptrollen steht kurz davor, in die wichtigsten Schlüsselmärkte verkauft zu sein.
Für Nordamerika und Großbritannien wird wohl gesichert Netflix den Zuschlag bekommen. Dabei soll es laut US-Berichten um eine hohe siebenstellige Summe gehen. CDC United Network wird demnach die Rechte für Lateinamerika kaufen. Pathé kaufte sich die Rechte für die französischsprachigen Länder und Territorien im Vorfeld des Festivals. Französischer Kinostart ist am 28. August.
Für den deutschen Markt ist bislang noch kein Käufer öffentlich in Erscheinung getreten.
In „Emilia Pérez“ (Spot-Review...
- 5/24/2024
- by Michael Müller
- Spot - Media & Film
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival is underway with Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act starring Léa Seydoux and Louis Garrel serving as the opening-night film.
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof, Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking back as we update the list.
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof, Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking back as we update the list.
- 5/24/2024
- by Pete Hammond, Joe Utichi, Damon Wise, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is in talks to acquire one of the most talked about titles at this year’s Cannes Film Festival: Emilia Pérez.
The movie, from writer-director Jacques Audiard, follows a cartel leader who hires an undervalued lawyer to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years, to transition into a woman.
Zoe Saldaña stars in the film, along with Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramirez, with breakout Karla Sofia Gascón as the title character.
The film earned a warm Cannes reception with a long standing ovation and near universal praise from critics.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review reads: “The baseline is a drama of criminality and redemption, but then there’s an unforced current of Almodóvarian humor, along with moments of melodrama, noir, social realism, a hint of telenovela camp and a climactic escalation into suspense, ultimately touched by tragedy. All this...
The movie, from writer-director Jacques Audiard, follows a cartel leader who hires an undervalued lawyer to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years, to transition into a woman.
Zoe Saldaña stars in the film, along with Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramirez, with breakout Karla Sofia Gascón as the title character.
The film earned a warm Cannes reception with a long standing ovation and near universal praise from critics.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review reads: “The baseline is a drama of criminality and redemption, but then there’s an unforced current of Almodóvarian humor, along with moments of melodrama, noir, social realism, a hint of telenovela camp and a climactic escalation into suspense, ultimately touched by tragedy. All this...
- 5/23/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jacques Audiard tips his hat in Cannes Photo: Richard Mowe Jacques Audiard: 'The fall of democracy is something that is unbearable for me' Photo: Richard Mowe After dabbling in English with The Sisters Brothers starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and John C Reilly, French director Jacques Audiard adopted a Spanish accent for Emilia Perez in the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Competition.
If his last film Paris,13th District was an austere black and white foray looking at the love lives of millennials now he changes tack completely to deliver a a garishly colourful musical comedy about drug cartels mixed with crime fiction.
It was shot in a studio near Paris rather than on location in Mexico, which he had originally planned. Filming indoors he has said allowed him “to produce more form and gave me more freedom for the parts that are sung and choreographed”.
Audiard, 72, has found himself back...
If his last film Paris,13th District was an austere black and white foray looking at the love lives of millennials now he changes tack completely to deliver a a garishly colourful musical comedy about drug cartels mixed with crime fiction.
It was shot in a studio near Paris rather than on location in Mexico, which he had originally planned. Filming indoors he has said allowed him “to produce more form and gave me more freedom for the parts that are sung and choreographed”.
Audiard, 72, has found himself back...
- 5/23/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
As Cannes nears its end, some major contenders have already found homes, while many more buzzy titles with Palme d’Or aspirations are awaiting buyers. This year’s market hasn’t been weighed down by the writers or actors strikes in the same way as last year, meaning companies like A24, Neon, Apple, and more have jumped in on exciting packages of possibly future contenders.
Below we’re tracking everything that gets bought throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired During the Festival “Night Call”
Section: Completed Film
Director: Michiel Blanchart
Buyer: Magnet Releasing
Date Acquired: May 23
Cast: Jonathan Feltre, Jonas Bloquet, Romain Duris
Buzz: Magnolia’s genre arm picked up this thriller that screened at the market and is the story of a locksmith on the run from a mob boss after he opens a lock allowing someone to steal the mobster’s bag of cash. Magnet plans to...
Below we’re tracking everything that gets bought throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired During the Festival “Night Call”
Section: Completed Film
Director: Michiel Blanchart
Buyer: Magnet Releasing
Date Acquired: May 23
Cast: Jonathan Feltre, Jonas Bloquet, Romain Duris
Buzz: Magnolia’s genre arm picked up this thriller that screened at the market and is the story of a locksmith on the run from a mob boss after he opens a lock allowing someone to steal the mobster’s bag of cash. Magnet plans to...
- 5/23/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Few periods on the calendar mean more to cinephiles than the two weekends in May occupied by the Cannes Film Festival. Since its founding in 1946, the French festival has been a launchpad for some of the most artistically significant films of all time. The Palme d’Or is one of the most coveted film awards on the planet, and the festival’s ability to balance subversive arthouse work with major Hollywood premieres has led many to view it as the world’s most significant celebration of cinema.
The 2024 lineup featured a mix of buzzy premieres from New Hollywood titans like Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader alongside exciting new works from emerging directors. Between the Main Competition, Un Certain Regard, special screenings, and sidebars like the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, the onslaught of new films can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t able to give the festival their 24/7 attention.
The 2024 lineup featured a mix of buzzy premieres from New Hollywood titans like Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader alongside exciting new works from emerging directors. Between the Main Competition, Un Certain Regard, special screenings, and sidebars like the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, the onslaught of new films can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t able to give the festival their 24/7 attention.
- 5/23/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Exclusive: After a rapturous world premiere at the Palais des Festivals on Saturday night and an 11-minute standing ovation, Jacques Audiard’s latest Cannes Competition entry Emilia Peréz is nearing a deal with Netflix for North America and the UK.
The Spanish-language musical crime comedy, starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramirez, has been one of the buzziest projects to come to market in Cannes this year, with multiple U.S. distributors offering on the film since it premiered at the weekend. Netflix has swooped in for North American and UK rights to the original title in a deal that we’re hearing is in the high seven figures. The pact is in its closing stages.
Deadline understands that a number of key international territories are all close to being done, with CDC United Network also taking rights for Latin America. Pathé pre bought the title...
The Spanish-language musical crime comedy, starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramirez, has been one of the buzziest projects to come to market in Cannes this year, with multiple U.S. distributors offering on the film since it premiered at the weekend. Netflix has swooped in for North American and UK rights to the original title in a deal that we’re hearing is in the high seven figures. The pact is in its closing stages.
Deadline understands that a number of key international territories are all close to being done, with CDC United Network also taking rights for Latin America. Pathé pre bought the title...
- 5/23/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival continues on Day 11 with the world premieres of The Seed of the Sacred Fig and The Most Precious of Cargoes.
As the festival comes to a close in anticipation of tomorrow’s awards ceremony, legendary filmmaker George Lucas will be honored with the prestigious Honorary Palme d’Or on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière during the Closing Ceremony on Saturday, May 25.
The Jury, chaired by director Greta Gerwig will be tasked with awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in the Competition.
Related: ‘Megalopolis’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Aubrey Plaza & More
The jury includes Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green and Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, as well as Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino,...
As the festival comes to a close in anticipation of tomorrow’s awards ceremony, legendary filmmaker George Lucas will be honored with the prestigious Honorary Palme d’Or on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière during the Closing Ceremony on Saturday, May 25.
The Jury, chaired by director Greta Gerwig will be tasked with awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in the Competition.
Related: ‘Megalopolis’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Aubrey Plaza & More
The jury includes Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green and Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, as well as Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino,...
- 5/23/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: French film industry veteran Nicolas Royer, who was line and executive producer on Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes buzz title The Substance, has boarded Catherine Hardwicke’s upcoming feature A French Pursuit, starring Toni Collette.
The production, which is remake of Caroline Vignal’s 2020 French hit My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes), starring Laura Calamy, is due to shoot in the Cévennes region in south-central France this summer.
Royer will line and executive produce the movie, which is lead produced by Christopher Simon at New Sparta Productions and Collette under her Vocab Films banner.
The new production will be first official gig for Royer’s company Voulez-Vous Production Services, which he created in 2023 to build on his work on The Substance.
Royer was line and executive producer on the body horror, lead produced by the UK’s Working Title and starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid.
The production, which is remake of Caroline Vignal’s 2020 French hit My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes), starring Laura Calamy, is due to shoot in the Cévennes region in south-central France this summer.
Royer will line and executive produce the movie, which is lead produced by Christopher Simon at New Sparta Productions and Collette under her Vocab Films banner.
The new production will be first official gig for Royer’s company Voulez-Vous Production Services, which he created in 2023 to build on his work on The Substance.
Royer was line and executive producer on the body horror, lead produced by the UK’s Working Title and starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid.
- 5/23/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been 30 years since a film from India has been selected in the main competition at Cannes, but that finally changed this year.
Recent editions of Sundance, Tribeca, and Toronto have included riveting and even Oscar-nominated documentaries and features. In fact, Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding” won the Golden Lion at Venice more than two decades ago. Granted, Cannes has recently programmed South Asian gems in other sections, such as the Queer Palm-winning “Joyland” from Pakistan in Un Certain Regard in 2022, or Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy” in Midnight last year. But would the South Asian drought in the main competition ever end?
Many were ecstatic last month when “All We Imagine as Light”, Mumbai-based Payal Kapadia’s narrative directorial debut, was announced in the competition lineup alongside legendary Cannes regulars: European heavyweights such as Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos, American auteurs David Cronenberg and Paul Schrader, and Asian visionary Jia Zhangke.
Recent editions of Sundance, Tribeca, and Toronto have included riveting and even Oscar-nominated documentaries and features. In fact, Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding” won the Golden Lion at Venice more than two decades ago. Granted, Cannes has recently programmed South Asian gems in other sections, such as the Queer Palm-winning “Joyland” from Pakistan in Un Certain Regard in 2022, or Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy” in Midnight last year. But would the South Asian drought in the main competition ever end?
Many were ecstatic last month when “All We Imagine as Light”, Mumbai-based Payal Kapadia’s narrative directorial debut, was announced in the competition lineup alongside legendary Cannes regulars: European heavyweights such as Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos, American auteurs David Cronenberg and Paul Schrader, and Asian visionary Jia Zhangke.
- 5/23/2024
- by Ritesh Mehta
- Indiewire
Zoe Saldana has showcased her acting potential with different projects ranging from both action and science fiction genres. From paving her acting journey with a guest role in the television series Law & Order in the late 1990s, her dance background was well reflected in her breakthrough role in 2001’s Center Stage.
Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness [Credit: Paramount Network]With her roles included in Star Trek, Avatar, and the MCU, she has built an incredible portfolio that cemented her status among the top actresses. However, she still has one concern about her glamorous acting career.
Zoe Saldana Talks About Her Acting Career
Saldana has been proud of her work since she was a child. Whether it be her dancing skills or her acting profession, she has passionately worked on improving for the better.
Suggested“I didn’t even know what the word ‘Trekkie’ meant”: How a $219M Tom...
Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness [Credit: Paramount Network]With her roles included in Star Trek, Avatar, and the MCU, she has built an incredible portfolio that cemented her status among the top actresses. However, she still has one concern about her glamorous acting career.
Zoe Saldana Talks About Her Acting Career
Saldana has been proud of her work since she was a child. Whether it be her dancing skills or her acting profession, she has passionately worked on improving for the better.
Suggested“I didn’t even know what the word ‘Trekkie’ meant”: How a $219M Tom...
- 5/22/2024
- by Priya Sharma
- FandomWire
The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival continued to dazzle with star-studded appearances, including a notable photocall for the highly anticipated film Emilia Perez on Sunday. Among the attendees were Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and French director Jacques Audiard.
Gomez, known for her roles in Only Murders in the Building and her successful music career, stunned in an elegant ensemble, radiating Hollywood glamour. Saldana, known for performing in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and Avatar, exuded confidence and style, complementing Gomez’s chic look. Audiard, the celebrated French director known for his work on Dheepan and A Prophet, brought a touch of sophistication to the event.
Audiard’s latest film, Emilia Perez, has been one of the most anticipated titles at this year’s festival. The movie blends drama and dark comedy and explores complex themes of identity and transformation, showcasing the director’s signature storytelling skills. Gomez and Saldana play pivotal roles,...
Gomez, known for her roles in Only Murders in the Building and her successful music career, stunned in an elegant ensemble, radiating Hollywood glamour. Saldana, known for performing in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and Avatar, exuded confidence and style, complementing Gomez’s chic look. Audiard, the celebrated French director known for his work on Dheepan and A Prophet, brought a touch of sophistication to the event.
Audiard’s latest film, Emilia Perez, has been one of the most anticipated titles at this year’s festival. The movie blends drama and dark comedy and explores complex themes of identity and transformation, showcasing the director’s signature storytelling skills. Gomez and Saldana play pivotal roles,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Lauren Ramsey
- Uinterview
So this is what economizing looks like in Cannes.
The rosé still flowed, though not as freely, and it was easier to get a reservation at the Michelin-starred restaurants that are usually booked months in advance of the film festival. There were still rooms to be had at the Hôtel du Cap, the posh resort where studio chiefs and movie stars typically stay. Most troubling, the deals — both for completed films that premiered in Cannes and the packages that hit the Côte d’Azur searching for financing — are taking much longer to close.
Even in the shimmering south of France there’s no escaping that the movie business, having endured Covid shutdowns and two devastating labor strikes, has lost much of its luster. Donna Langley, the chairman of NBCUniversal Studio Group, was blunt during a talk, noting that the domestic box office is down 20% and the global box office has...
The rosé still flowed, though not as freely, and it was easier to get a reservation at the Michelin-starred restaurants that are usually booked months in advance of the film festival. There were still rooms to be had at the Hôtel du Cap, the posh resort where studio chiefs and movie stars typically stay. Most troubling, the deals — both for completed films that premiered in Cannes and the packages that hit the Côte d’Azur searching for financing — are taking much longer to close.
Even in the shimmering south of France there’s no escaping that the movie business, having endured Covid shutdowns and two devastating labor strikes, has lost much of its luster. Donna Langley, the chairman of NBCUniversal Studio Group, was blunt during a talk, noting that the domestic box office is down 20% and the global box office has...
- 5/21/2024
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The first time Donna Langley came to the Cannes Film Festival she was a junior executive working on 1999’s “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”
“I had just been promoted and I was fortunate enough to get picked to come on this trip to be part of the support team, and it was great! It was very different to this experience, I will say,” Langley said, eliciting a laugh from the well-heeled crowd at the Kering Women in Motion dinner, held at the Place de la Castre high above the Croisette. “[But] we had the time of our lives. We were just in so much awe to be in the cinema capital of the world.”
Indeed, the chairman of NBC Universal Studio Group no longer needs to share an apartment with four other young women — especially not one situated behind the fancy hotels. After all — and as Cannes president Iris Knobloch...
“I had just been promoted and I was fortunate enough to get picked to come on this trip to be part of the support team, and it was great! It was very different to this experience, I will say,” Langley said, eliciting a laugh from the well-heeled crowd at the Kering Women in Motion dinner, held at the Place de la Castre high above the Croisette. “[But] we had the time of our lives. We were just in so much awe to be in the cinema capital of the world.”
Indeed, the chairman of NBC Universal Studio Group no longer needs to share an apartment with four other young women — especially not one situated behind the fancy hotels. After all — and as Cannes president Iris Knobloch...
- 5/21/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
In this instalment of Screen’s Cannes Close-Up interview series, Beatrice Bauwens - studio head for Paris’ Mpc and co-chair of France VFX - talks Jacques Audiard, France’s VFX tax credit and why a good pair of shoes is the key to surviving Cannes.
Bauwens is at the festival with several films including Audiard’s Emilia Perez and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio but is also hoping to highlight the country’s booming VFX industry.
“[Cannes] is a great opportunity to show what France is capable of in terms of VFX,” Bauwens says. “It’s a good thing to be here and say ’Ok,...
Bauwens is at the festival with several films including Audiard’s Emilia Perez and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio but is also hoping to highlight the country’s booming VFX industry.
“[Cannes] is a great opportunity to show what France is capable of in terms of VFX,” Bauwens says. “It’s a good thing to be here and say ’Ok,...
- 5/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
Amid a generally positive market the familiar gripe of high asking prices has sent a clear message that buyers and sellers are finding it increasingly tough to reconcile their respective financial models.
The tension remains particularly acute on A-list market packages, where independent producers have fought (and paid) to attract and hold on to talent in a post-strike world where hefty offers from studios and streamers, driven by talent agents, have been hard to resist.
The ripple effect has forced sales agents to push up their asks in order to recoup financiers’ investments. Sales estimates set more than a year ago,...
The tension remains particularly acute on A-list market packages, where independent producers have fought (and paid) to attract and hold on to talent in a post-strike world where hefty offers from studios and streamers, driven by talent agents, have been hard to resist.
The ripple effect has forced sales agents to push up their asks in order to recoup financiers’ investments. Sales estimates set more than a year ago,...
- 5/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
There’s a lot to look forward to in what has been branded a Mexican comedy-thriller musical from the Palme d’Or winner that brought us Dheepan, A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and, more recently, the underseen Western delight that marked his move toward Hollywood, The Sisters Brothers. Or so it seemed.
Writer-director Jacques Audiard is one of the few filmmakers who has been able to, more than once, tell stories from outside their world and capture narrative, character, and culture with a unique foreign perspective that adds meaningful insight without bringing into question the filmmakers’ respect or depiction of the subjects.
Thus it appeared that this cartel-centric, Mexico-set, largely Latina film––about an unsuspecting lawyer being forced to help a violent cartel boss transition into a woman in order to leave her past behind and finally feel like herself––is actually right up the septuagenarian Frenchman’s alley. Unfortunately,...
Writer-director Jacques Audiard is one of the few filmmakers who has been able to, more than once, tell stories from outside their world and capture narrative, character, and culture with a unique foreign perspective that adds meaningful insight without bringing into question the filmmakers’ respect or depiction of the subjects.
Thus it appeared that this cartel-centric, Mexico-set, largely Latina film––about an unsuspecting lawyer being forced to help a violent cartel boss transition into a woman in order to leave her past behind and finally feel like herself––is actually right up the septuagenarian Frenchman’s alley. Unfortunately,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Zoe Saldaña says the future of female representation in the film industry is dependent on women continuing to shatter the glass ceiling. And those who do cannot get complacent.
“We need more female CEOs. We need more women sitting on boards. Because those are the gatekeepers,” she said. “We need the keys that unlock those doors. And once those women are there, don’t just be happy and feel so lucky that you’re the only woman sitting at the table. Get three men to get up.”
Speaking as part of Kering’s Women in Motion program at the Cannes Film Festival, the “Avatar” star covered a broad swath of subjects, from her breakout moment working with James Cameron to her latest starring role in Jacques Audiard’s operatic crime drama “Emilia Pérez” — which debuted to some of the loudest buzz at the festival.
“I’m like a little girl from Queens,...
“We need more female CEOs. We need more women sitting on boards. Because those are the gatekeepers,” she said. “We need the keys that unlock those doors. And once those women are there, don’t just be happy and feel so lucky that you’re the only woman sitting at the table. Get three men to get up.”
Speaking as part of Kering’s Women in Motion program at the Cannes Film Festival, the “Avatar” star covered a broad swath of subjects, from her breakout moment working with James Cameron to her latest starring role in Jacques Audiard’s operatic crime drama “Emilia Pérez” — which debuted to some of the loudest buzz at the festival.
“I’m like a little girl from Queens,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Tatiana Siegel
- Variety Film + TV
“We need more female CEOs.”
Such was the declaration Monday by Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy actress Zoe Saldaña at the Cannes Film Festival’s Kering Suite.
Saldaña is winning high praise for her turn as Rita in Jacques Audiard’s Emila Pérez. The actress plays an underpaid and underappreciated criminal attorney in Mexico who gets a rich opportunity repping a cartel lord. However, the kingpin demands to transition to a woman, Emila. But that new identity, life gets complicated.
“I think as women, we’re going got keep creating stories about us for us and forever, but we need more women sitting on boards, because they’re the gatekeepers,” she said today.
But Saldaña had more advice: “Once those women are there, don’t feel happy that you’re the only woman at the table .. make room.”
Specifically, minus three guys for more women. And Saldaña wasn’t being anti-guy,...
Such was the declaration Monday by Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy actress Zoe Saldaña at the Cannes Film Festival’s Kering Suite.
Saldaña is winning high praise for her turn as Rita in Jacques Audiard’s Emila Pérez. The actress plays an underpaid and underappreciated criminal attorney in Mexico who gets a rich opportunity repping a cartel lord. However, the kingpin demands to transition to a woman, Emila. But that new identity, life gets complicated.
“I think as women, we’re going got keep creating stories about us for us and forever, but we need more women sitting on boards, because they’re the gatekeepers,” she said today.
But Saldaña had more advice: “Once those women are there, don’t feel happy that you’re the only woman at the table .. make room.”
Specifically, minus three guys for more women. And Saldaña wasn’t being anti-guy,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
Coralie Fargeat's The Substance is a body horror shocker.
Half of the Cannes Main Competition has screened, and it seems we're in a year of big swings and even bigger faceplants. Divisive titles aplenty, the most acclaimed films of the festival appear to be located in parallel sections rather than Thierry Frémaux's selection. Even so, Jia Zhangke's Caught by the Tides has confirmed itself as the critics' favorite, though that only extends to writers already fond of the director's oeuvre. The documentary-fiction hybrid made no new converts. Jacques Audiard dazzled audiences with the trans-themed Mexican musical Emilia Perez, and while some critics are ecstatic, others loathe the thing. Reactions are more pointedly adverse to Kirill Serebrennikov's Limonov biopic, while Coralie Fargeat's The Substance has elicited equal pans and praise. Some folks online are trying to characterize the body horror's critical divide as a battle of the sexes,...
Coralie Fargeat's The Substance is a body horror shocker.
Half of the Cannes Main Competition has screened, and it seems we're in a year of big swings and even bigger faceplants. Divisive titles aplenty, the most acclaimed films of the festival appear to be located in parallel sections rather than Thierry Frémaux's selection. Even so, Jia Zhangke's Caught by the Tides has confirmed itself as the critics' favorite, though that only extends to writers already fond of the director's oeuvre. The documentary-fiction hybrid made no new converts. Jacques Audiard dazzled audiences with the trans-themed Mexican musical Emilia Perez, and while some critics are ecstatic, others loathe the thing. Reactions are more pointedly adverse to Kirill Serebrennikov's Limonov biopic, while Coralie Fargeat's The Substance has elicited equal pans and praise. Some folks online are trying to characterize the body horror's critical divide as a battle of the sexes,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) arrives at its halfway point, here is THR executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg’s assessment of the awards prospects — at the Cannes closing ceremony and later in the fall — of the films that have screened at the fest so far.
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
- 5/20/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It sounds on the surface like one of the most unlikely of premises for a film by a French auteur like Jacques Audiard - a Spanish language musical themed around Mexican drug cartels and featuring a dealer who wants to escape the whole scene because he is finding his true self as a woman.
Yet he pulls it off with a frenetic energy that bludgeons the viewer into submission, not least because of the high voltage score and dazzling technical trickery (it was all shot in a studio). Pedro Almodovar must be devastated he did not stumble across the story first because it would have been a perfect fit.
Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors, not least Karla Sofia Gascón (as Manitas/Emilia) who uses personal experience in the creation of the character. Zoe Saldana is the lawyer who helps Manitas transition and Selena Gomez plays his wife and the mother.
Yet he pulls it off with a frenetic energy that bludgeons the viewer into submission, not least because of the high voltage score and dazzling technical trickery (it was all shot in a studio). Pedro Almodovar must be devastated he did not stumble across the story first because it would have been a perfect fit.
Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors, not least Karla Sofia Gascón (as Manitas/Emilia) who uses personal experience in the creation of the character. Zoe Saldana is the lawyer who helps Manitas transition and Selena Gomez plays his wife and the mother.
- 5/19/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Imagine a world in which Stephen Sondheim made Sicario. Yes, that Stephen Sondheim; yes, that 2015 thriller about the world of Mexican drug cartels. Got that? Good. Now add in Selena Gomez as the wife of a narco who, in a moment of deep grief and remembrance, utters the line, “My pussy still hurts when I think of you” — which, to be fair, sounds a lot more poetic in Spanish. She believes her husband, a major drug lord for the Los Globales cartel, had been murdered. This is not true. Rather,...
- 5/19/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The Cannes Film Festival keeps on chugging, with more acquisitions, more premieres and an honorary Palme d’Or awarded to a studio for the first time.
The Glorious Return of Jacques Audiard
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is a consistent staple at Cannes. His film “A Prophet” won the Grand Prix in 2010, 2012’s “Rust and Bone” competed for the Palme d’Or and 2015’s “Deephan” won the Palme d’Or. The last time Audiard was at Cannes in 2021, his smaller “Paris, 13th District” competed for the Palme d’Or.
Now he’s back with “Emilia Pérez,” a musical crime comedy about an escaped Mexican cartel leader undergoing gender-affirming surgery that stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez. And judging by the response to the film, it sounds like he has a good shot at Cannes’ top prize once again.
The film “landed the loudest, most enthusiastic standing ovation,...
The Glorious Return of Jacques Audiard
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is a consistent staple at Cannes. His film “A Prophet” won the Grand Prix in 2010, 2012’s “Rust and Bone” competed for the Palme d’Or and 2015’s “Deephan” won the Palme d’Or. The last time Audiard was at Cannes in 2021, his smaller “Paris, 13th District” competed for the Palme d’Or.
Now he’s back with “Emilia Pérez,” a musical crime comedy about an escaped Mexican cartel leader undergoing gender-affirming surgery that stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez. And judging by the response to the film, it sounds like he has a good shot at Cannes’ top prize once again.
The film “landed the loudest, most enthusiastic standing ovation,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
His has a longstanding tradition with the Cannes Film Festival this former Palme d’Or winner for Dheepan (2015) moved into a completely different language, backdrop setting and new genre with the musical for a project that was born during the pandemic. Jacques Audiard has been a visitor with Regarde Les Hommes Tomber in the Critics’ Week, 1996’s Un héros très discret (Best Screenplay winner), 2009’s A Prophet (Grand Prix winner), 2012’s Rust & Bone and 2021’s Paris, 13th District. Starring Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Édgar Ramírez, Adriana Paz and Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular Emilia Pérez.
Gist: Overqualified and undervalued, Rita (Saldana) is a lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice.…...
Gist: Overqualified and undervalued, Rita (Saldana) is a lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice.…...
- 5/19/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
One of the best things about being at film festivals is that most of the time you never know what is going to happen in the film you're about to watch. At Cannes, it's usually the first time the film is ever being shown to an audience. Walking into these films without any expectations or any idea what we're all in for can result in some of the most wildly exhilarating experiences when you encounter a truly ambitious, unexpected, one-of-a-kind creation. That's the case with Emilia Perez from French filmmaker Jacques Audiard. I shouldn't be surprised, however, considering my love for Audiard's films goes back all the way to my very first visit to Cannes in 2009 - Un Prophet (A Prophet) is still one of my all-time favorite Cannes films. 15 years later and Audiard has totally blown me away again with Emilia Perez, a full-on Broadway-esque musical about Mexican society...
- 5/19/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Risky Business: Audiard Surprises with Vibrant Genre Musical
Although it’s assembled from unlikely, even questionable sources, Jacques Audiard’s latest feature, Emilia Pérez, a genre and gender blending Mexico City set musical, is surprisingly skilled. Though destined for naysayers who will want to overlook its Almodovarian sense of soap opera (and thus requiring a certain suspense of disbelief), told as it is from the perspective of a director who is three cultural layers removed from its eponymous character, it’s a compelling odyssey of mixed tropes which coalesce into a film not only vigorous but bold. In its own blunt way, the film exemplifies the enhancing power of what musicals can be, when excessive interior emotion can be so heavy, channeling it through song breaks the artifice of traditional boundaries as an alternative way to reach a desired authenticity.…...
Although it’s assembled from unlikely, even questionable sources, Jacques Audiard’s latest feature, Emilia Pérez, a genre and gender blending Mexico City set musical, is surprisingly skilled. Though destined for naysayers who will want to overlook its Almodovarian sense of soap opera (and thus requiring a certain suspense of disbelief), told as it is from the perspective of a director who is three cultural layers removed from its eponymous character, it’s a compelling odyssey of mixed tropes which coalesce into a film not only vigorous but bold. In its own blunt way, the film exemplifies the enhancing power of what musicals can be, when excessive interior emotion can be so heavy, channeling it through song breaks the artifice of traditional boundaries as an alternative way to reach a desired authenticity.…...
- 5/19/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Jia Zhangke’s Caught By The Tides is the new leader on Screen International’s Cannes jury grid with an average score of 2.6.
The Chinese romance epic received one four (excellent) from Justin Chang (LA Times) followed by seven threes (good). On the other end, The Telegraph and Katja Nicodemus of Germany’s Die Zeit gave it just one star.
This is Jia’s sixth time in Competition with highlights including 2015’s Mountains May Depart which scored 2.8 and 2013’s A Touch Of Sin on 3.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Caught By The Tides chronicles...
The Chinese romance epic received one four (excellent) from Justin Chang (LA Times) followed by seven threes (good). On the other end, The Telegraph and Katja Nicodemus of Germany’s Die Zeit gave it just one star.
This is Jia’s sixth time in Competition with highlights including 2015’s Mountains May Depart which scored 2.8 and 2013’s A Touch Of Sin on 3.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Caught By The Tides chronicles...
- 5/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
Selena Gomez has credited the Emilia Perez script for providing her with a potentially iconic line, speaking at the press conference for Jacques Audiard’s Cannes Competition title.
Gomez was asked by a journalist whether a particular speech of hers in the film would become “iconic erotic dialogue… some of the sexiest dialogue ever heard in Spanish.”
“I don’t know if I’m sexy!” responded Gomez. “That’s the writing, it’s not me.”
“It’s a very powerful moment in the movie and it was very poetic.”
Emilia Perez is written by Audiard, with collaboration from Thomas Bidegain and Lea Mysius.
Gomez was asked by a journalist whether a particular speech of hers in the film would become “iconic erotic dialogue… some of the sexiest dialogue ever heard in Spanish.”
“I don’t know if I’m sexy!” responded Gomez. “That’s the writing, it’s not me.”
“It’s a very powerful moment in the movie and it was very poetic.”
Emilia Perez is written by Audiard, with collaboration from Thomas Bidegain and Lea Mysius.
- 5/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
The stars of Cannes sensation “Emilia Perez” got personal about the politics of their genre-bending musical on Sunday.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez fielded questions at a press conference for the Jacques Audiard project about the film’s setting in Mexico — a country torn by cartel violence as it heads for a summer election. A Mexican journalist asked the actors if they could reconcile the beauty of the film with the real world corruption occurring in the nation.
“I’ve been living in LA for 20 years. Mexican culture, that’s something that’s dear to my heart. I have lots of family there. There is injustice and corruption, which is true of all places in the world. But I’m grateful to Jacques because he used a lot of creative library and freedom [in this story],” said Saldaña.
Gomez said she related “so much to what Zoe said. I still have family there and,...
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez fielded questions at a press conference for the Jacques Audiard project about the film’s setting in Mexico — a country torn by cartel violence as it heads for a summer election. A Mexican journalist asked the actors if they could reconcile the beauty of the film with the real world corruption occurring in the nation.
“I’ve been living in LA for 20 years. Mexican culture, that’s something that’s dear to my heart. I have lots of family there. There is injustice and corruption, which is true of all places in the world. But I’m grateful to Jacques because he used a lot of creative library and freedom [in this story],” said Saldaña.
Gomez said she related “so much to what Zoe said. I still have family there and,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Matt Donnelly and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
You know a movie has left a big impression at Cannes when the applause explodes in the press room as the cast files in. Such was the case Sunday morning for Emila Pérez.
Jacques Audiard’s latest movie follows Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an overqualified and undervalued lawyer who goes from repping guilty criminals to a cartel leader Manitas (Karla Sofía Gascón) who hires her to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years: to become the woman he has always dreamt of being.
Gascón, who is trans, today spoke about the prejudice she has faced in the Latin America and Hispanic communities.
“People who are trans are subjected to insults or death threats because they exist. In Mexico, there are harsh phrases when addressing trans people. It can be gross,” the actress explained.
“I think we should be taken for what we are.
Jacques Audiard’s latest movie follows Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an overqualified and undervalued lawyer who goes from repping guilty criminals to a cartel leader Manitas (Karla Sofía Gascón) who hires her to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years: to become the woman he has always dreamt of being.
Gascón, who is trans, today spoke about the prejudice she has faced in the Latin America and Hispanic communities.
“People who are trans are subjected to insults or death threats because they exist. In Mexico, there are harsh phrases when addressing trans people. It can be gross,” the actress explained.
“I think we should be taken for what we are.
- 5/19/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes 2024: Selena Gomez Starrer Emilia Pérez Gets The Longest Standing Ovation ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana, and Karla Sofia Gascon’s musical drama Emilia Pérez received a warm reception at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The team was overwhelmed by the standing ovation at the film’s premiere, the biggest so far at the prestigious film festival. Scroll below for more.
Selena attended the premiere in a custom black and cream-colored Yves Saint Laurent dress and a gorgeous choker neckpiece from Bulgari. She looked chic and classy in her attire. She kept her hair tied up in a ponytail, with a pair of locks framing her face.
According to Variety’s report, the Spanish-language movie Emilia Pérez, starring Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofia Gascon, received a nine-minute long standing ovation. Additionally, the audience hooted, whistled, and cheered a lot. It is so far the longest-standing ovation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana, and Karla Sofia Gascon’s musical drama Emilia Pérez received a warm reception at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The team was overwhelmed by the standing ovation at the film’s premiere, the biggest so far at the prestigious film festival. Scroll below for more.
Selena attended the premiere in a custom black and cream-colored Yves Saint Laurent dress and a gorgeous choker neckpiece from Bulgari. She looked chic and classy in her attire. She kept her hair tied up in a ponytail, with a pair of locks framing her face.
According to Variety’s report, the Spanish-language movie Emilia Pérez, starring Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofia Gascon, received a nine-minute long standing ovation. Additionally, the audience hooted, whistled, and cheered a lot. It is so far the longest-standing ovation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
- 5/19/2024
- by Esita Mallik
- KoiMoi
I’m at a loss for words after seeing Selena Gomez walk the 77th Cannes Film Festival red carpet in a gorgeous black-and-white Saint Laurent gown!
As one of the most anticipated guests at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Selena Gomez did not disappoint. She captivated the scene the instant she walked the red carpet for the premiere of her musical crime comedy movie, Emilia Pérez.
Selena Gomez looks breathtaking in her Saint Laurent gown at the 77th Cannes Film Festival premiere of Emilia Perez at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
Emilia Pérez: Transforming From a Drug Cartel Leader to a Trans Woman
Emilia Pérez, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, tells the story of a Mexican cartel leader, Manitas Del Monte, who longs to escape and disappear from the criminal world.
To help realize his plan, Manitas approached attorney Rita Moro Castro, who...
As one of the most anticipated guests at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Selena Gomez did not disappoint. She captivated the scene the instant she walked the red carpet for the premiere of her musical crime comedy movie, Emilia Pérez.
Selena Gomez looks breathtaking in her Saint Laurent gown at the 77th Cannes Film Festival premiere of Emilia Perez at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
Emilia Pérez: Transforming From a Drug Cartel Leader to a Trans Woman
Emilia Pérez, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, tells the story of a Mexican cartel leader, Manitas Del Monte, who longs to escape and disappear from the criminal world.
To help realize his plan, Manitas approached attorney Rita Moro Castro, who...
- 5/19/2024
- by Anne De Guia
- Your Next Shoes
Jacques Audiard’s latest movie, the Spanish-language musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, had its competition world premiere Saturday in Cannes, where it received a an ovation that lasted more than 11 minutes.
Stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramirez were all in attendance for the first big premiere of Cannes’ first weekend, after a festival that has already seen the likes of Megalopolis and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga among the big Hollywood movies playing here.
The ovation came as the credits rolled on the pic. At some point Audiard took the microphone to thank the audience at the Palais. After he finished, the applause resumed for two-minutes-plus more, with Saldaña, Gascón and Gomez coming to tears.
A bashful Selena Gomez basks in the applause after the premiere of ‘Emilia Perez’ #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/zjWlDvtqOe
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 18, 2024
Star of ‘Emilia Perez’ Zoe Saldana gets...
Stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramirez were all in attendance for the first big premiere of Cannes’ first weekend, after a festival that has already seen the likes of Megalopolis and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga among the big Hollywood movies playing here.
The ovation came as the credits rolled on the pic. At some point Audiard took the microphone to thank the audience at the Palais. After he finished, the applause resumed for two-minutes-plus more, with Saldaña, Gascón and Gomez coming to tears.
A bashful Selena Gomez basks in the applause after the premiere of ‘Emilia Perez’ #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/zjWlDvtqOe
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 18, 2024
Star of ‘Emilia Perez’ Zoe Saldana gets...
- 5/18/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione and Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
“Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical drama starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón, has earned the biggest standing ovation of this year’s Cannes Film Festival so far.
Gomez wiped away tears as the Palais clapped for a full nine minutes, accompanied by plenty of hooting, whistling and cheering. During the standing ovation, director Jacques Audiard waved his hat at the balcony as stars Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez shared an emotional hug. There was huge applause for Gascón, who stars in the film as a drug cartel leader who seeks gender-affirming surgery.
In the film, from Palme d’Or winner Audiard, Saldaña stars as Rita, an “overqualified and undervalued” lawyer, whose firm is more inclined to help criminals than seek justice. She finds an unexpected way out when a feared drug cartel leader Manitas (Gascón) recruits her to aid him in surreptitiously completing a sex change operation to...
Gomez wiped away tears as the Palais clapped for a full nine minutes, accompanied by plenty of hooting, whistling and cheering. During the standing ovation, director Jacques Audiard waved his hat at the balcony as stars Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez shared an emotional hug. There was huge applause for Gascón, who stars in the film as a drug cartel leader who seeks gender-affirming surgery.
In the film, from Palme d’Or winner Audiard, Saldaña stars as Rita, an “overqualified and undervalued” lawyer, whose firm is more inclined to help criminals than seek justice. She finds an unexpected way out when a feared drug cartel leader Manitas (Gascón) recruits her to aid him in surreptitiously completing a sex change operation to...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ramin Setoodeh and Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Jacques Audiard returned to Cannes on Saturday night to introduce the world to Emilia Perez, which received a rapturous response from the audience, who gave it a nine-minute standing ovation. After Audiard took the mic to speak in French, the standing ovation resumed for another minute or so.
The 10th film from the French auteur — his sixth film in the main competition — stars Zoe Saldaña as a frustrated lawyer, Selena Gomez as a drug lord’s wife, Édgar Ramírez as a dangerous love interest and Karla Sofía Gascón as the cartel kingpin who longs to escape a life of crime and become the woman he’s always dreamed of becoming. And surprise — it’s a musical.
As the credits roled, there were whoops and hollers and shouts of “Bravo,” even before the lights came up. Saldaña and Gascón were in tears, while Gomez was visibly moved, covering her face.
Reviews...
The 10th film from the French auteur — his sixth film in the main competition — stars Zoe Saldaña as a frustrated lawyer, Selena Gomez as a drug lord’s wife, Édgar Ramírez as a dangerous love interest and Karla Sofía Gascón as the cartel kingpin who longs to escape a life of crime and become the woman he’s always dreamed of becoming. And surprise — it’s a musical.
As the credits roled, there were whoops and hollers and shouts of “Bravo,” even before the lights came up. Saldaña and Gascón were in tears, while Gomez was visibly moved, covering her face.
Reviews...
- 5/18/2024
- by Chris Gardner and Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes film festival
A thoroughly implausible yarn about a Mexican cartel leader who hires a lawyer to arrange his transition is carried along by its cheesy Broadway energy
Anglo-progressives and US liberals might worry about whether or not certain stories are “theirs to tell”. But that’s not a scruple that worries French auteur Jacques Audiard who, with amazing boldness and sweep, launches into this slightly bizarre yet watchable musical melodrama of crime and gender, set in Mexico. It plays like a thriller by Amat Escalante with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a touch of Almodovar.
Argentinian trans actor Karla Sofia Gascon plays Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a terrifyingly powerful and ruthless cartel leader in Mexico, married to Jessi (Selena Gomez), with two young children. Manitas is intrigued by a high-profile murder trial in which an obviously guilty defendant gets off due to his smart and industrious lawyer...
A thoroughly implausible yarn about a Mexican cartel leader who hires a lawyer to arrange his transition is carried along by its cheesy Broadway energy
Anglo-progressives and US liberals might worry about whether or not certain stories are “theirs to tell”. But that’s not a scruple that worries French auteur Jacques Audiard who, with amazing boldness and sweep, launches into this slightly bizarre yet watchable musical melodrama of crime and gender, set in Mexico. It plays like a thriller by Amat Escalante with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a touch of Almodovar.
Argentinian trans actor Karla Sofia Gascon plays Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a terrifyingly powerful and ruthless cartel leader in Mexico, married to Jessi (Selena Gomez), with two young children. Manitas is intrigued by a high-profile murder trial in which an obviously guilty defendant gets off due to his smart and industrious lawyer...
- 5/18/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Going into this year’s Cannes Film Festival, expectations soared around a certain go-for-broke, no-guts-no-glory, swing from a Palme d’Or winning auteur, and on Saturday — two days after Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” fizzled — festivalgoers got all they wanted and more in Jacques Audiard’s gonzo telenovela musical “Emilia Perez.” Turns out we had been looking at the wrong Palme d’Or winner all along.
If for nothing else, the French director’s previous Grand Prize and Palme d’Or wins for tough-guy films “A Prophet” and “Dheepan” feel especially pertinent given the startling (and delightful) swerve he offers with “Emilia Perez,” an Almodóvar-aping melodrama about a cartel kingpin’s transition to the more benevolent woman she was always hiding from the world.
That the Spanish-language film is also a full-blown musical, chock-full of deliriously choreographed numbers and ear-catching ditties about vaginoplasties and tracheal shaves would also reflect Audiard’s high perch.
If for nothing else, the French director’s previous Grand Prize and Palme d’Or wins for tough-guy films “A Prophet” and “Dheepan” feel especially pertinent given the startling (and delightful) swerve he offers with “Emilia Perez,” an Almodóvar-aping melodrama about a cartel kingpin’s transition to the more benevolent woman she was always hiding from the world.
That the Spanish-language film is also a full-blown musical, chock-full of deliriously choreographed numbers and ear-catching ditties about vaginoplasties and tracheal shaves would also reflect Audiard’s high perch.
- 5/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Movies that take their title from a female protagonist’s name — from Mildred Pierce and Stella Dallas through Norma Rae to Vera Drake and Jackie Brown — instantly claim that woman’s rightful place at the heart of a story, often depicting struggle and sacrifice but also resilience and strength of character. The same applies to Jacques Audiard’s bracingly original crime musical Emilia Pérez, even if the woman herself doesn’t show up until some way in, when she emerges from the unlikeliest of cocoons.
The French director has always shown an adventurous spirit, switching genres with nimble assurance, and he continues to surprise in his ballsy tenth feature. Very loosely adapted by Audiard from journalist and author Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute, the film dexterously spans many styles. The baseline is a drama of criminality and redemption, but then there’s an unforced current of Almodóvarian humor, along with moments of melodrama,...
The French director has always shown an adventurous spirit, switching genres with nimble assurance, and he continues to surprise in his ballsy tenth feature. Very loosely adapted by Audiard from journalist and author Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute, the film dexterously spans many styles. The baseline is a drama of criminality and redemption, but then there’s an unforced current of Almodóvarian humor, along with moments of melodrama,...
- 5/18/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a movie musical where the words “mammoplasty, vaginoplasty, rhinoplasty” play out in song. Nor have you lived until you’ve seen that same movie musical in which Selena Gomez says the words “My pussy still hurts when I think of you.” And you’ve never seen a movie musical at all about transness that takes as bold of swings as Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez,” which is stylistically unforgettable while missing the crucial element that makes any movie musical work: Actually good, memorable songs.
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Cannes – You have to give Jacques Audiard credit. The famed French filmmaker has proven time and time again he isn’t afraid to take big swings. And with “Emilia Perez,” he’s attempting to hit one all the way across the Atlantic. Debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition, “Perez” is a Mexican-set musical melodrama with a narrative that seemingly knows no bounds. And yet, even at its most unwieldy, Audiard’s cinematic skill and Zoe Saldana‘s at times dazzling performance make it hard to ignore.
Continue reading ‘Emilia Perez’ Review: Zoe Saldana Sings In Jacques Audiard’s Audacious Movie Musical [Cannes] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Emilia Perez’ Review: Zoe Saldana Sings In Jacques Audiard’s Audacious Movie Musical [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/18/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
On paper, it looks mad as a loose wheel. A largely Spanish-language musical about a Mexican druglord having a sex change, featuring onetime Disney teen star Selena Gomez as a gangster’s wife: nobody could deny director and writer Jacques Audiard’s giddy determination to do something different, but how could Emilia Pérez be anything but a hot mess? But here is it is on the screen, a musical marvel. Of course it’s crazy, but Audiard has set up his impossible conjuring trick and made it work.
Emilia Pérez fires up immediately with an eccentric chanson about consumption – “we buy washing machines; we buy microwaves” – that literally sets the tone for what will follow. Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldaña) would love to consume a little more; she is a junior barrister flatlining as her boss’ more capable helpmate. Her story is told swiftly: Saldaña delivers a deft dance with the office cleaning women,...
Emilia Pérez fires up immediately with an eccentric chanson about consumption – “we buy washing machines; we buy microwaves” – that literally sets the tone for what will follow. Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldaña) would love to consume a little more; she is a junior barrister flatlining as her boss’ more capable helpmate. Her story is told swiftly: Saldaña delivers a deft dance with the office cleaning women,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: The following review contains some spoilers.
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
- 5/18/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
‘Emilia Pérez’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Édgar Ramírez, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña & More
Cannes Film Festival hosted the world premiere of Emilia Pérez, a musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard. It stars Karla Sofía Gascón in the title role, with Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Édgar Ramírez.
Related: Cannes 2024 in Photos: Parties, Premieres, Pressers & More
Guests at the premiere included Clement Ducol, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, Justine Triet, Ron Howard, Salma Hayek, Sarocha Chankimha, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Renate Reinsve, Pierfrancesco Favino, Omar Sy, Eva Green, Rossy de Palma, and Eva Longoria who all walked the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, on Saturday, May 18.
Related: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Jacques Audiard’s Musical Is Crazy, But Also A Marvel – Cannes Film Festival
The film’s plot follows Rita, a talented lawyer, disillusioned by her firm’s focus on winning cases for any client, who gets an unexpected chance at escape. Notorious cartel leader Manitas hires her for a seemingly outlandish...
Related: Cannes 2024 in Photos: Parties, Premieres, Pressers & More
Guests at the premiere included Clement Ducol, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, Justine Triet, Ron Howard, Salma Hayek, Sarocha Chankimha, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Renate Reinsve, Pierfrancesco Favino, Omar Sy, Eva Green, Rossy de Palma, and Eva Longoria who all walked the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, on Saturday, May 18.
Related: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Jacques Audiard’s Musical Is Crazy, But Also A Marvel – Cannes Film Festival
The film’s plot follows Rita, a talented lawyer, disillusioned by her firm’s focus on winning cases for any client, who gets an unexpected chance at escape. Notorious cartel leader Manitas hires her for a seemingly outlandish...
- 5/18/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds Of Kindness has landed top of Screen International’s Cannes jury grid with an average score of 2.4.
The triptych drama is the first film so far to receive a four (excellent), both from Le Meduza’s Anton Dolin and Screen’s own critic. Others were less convinced with Mathieu Macharet (France’s Le Monde) and Stephanie Zacharek (US Time) both giving it just one (poor).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Lanthimos has proved divisive on the jury grid before, in 2017 with The Killing Of A Sacred Deer which scored a 1.9 overall...
The triptych drama is the first film so far to receive a four (excellent), both from Le Meduza’s Anton Dolin and Screen’s own critic. Others were less convinced with Mathieu Macharet (France’s Le Monde) and Stephanie Zacharek (US Time) both giving it just one (poor).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Lanthimos has proved divisive on the jury grid before, in 2017 with The Killing Of A Sacred Deer which scored a 1.9 overall...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Andor and Hit Man’s Adria Arjona is to star alongside Emilio Perez, American Crime Story and Carlos’ Edgar Ramirez in Jayro Bustamante’s dystopian thriller El Sombreron.
The feature is being launched at Cannes by The Match Factory which will represent worldwide sales outside of North America. CAA Media Finance will handle North American rights. Jayro Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark, and Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll for Luz Films serve as producers.
Bustamante’s previous crime horror La Llorona won Bustamente the GdA’s Best Director and Best Film awards in Venice Days.
The feature is being launched at Cannes by The Match Factory which will represent worldwide sales outside of North America. CAA Media Finance will handle North American rights. Jayro Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark, and Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll for Luz Films serve as producers.
Bustamante’s previous crime horror La Llorona won Bustamente the GdA’s Best Director and Best Film awards in Venice Days.
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Adria Arjona and Edgar Ramirez, the Golden Globe-nominated actor of “American Crime Story” and “Carlos,” have been tapped to star in “El Sombreron,” a dystopian thriller from Jayro Bustamante, the acclaimed director of “La Llorona” (2019) and “Ixcanul” (2015).
The feature is to be launched at Cannes by the Match Factory, which will represent worldwide sales outside of North America. CAA Media Finance will represent North American rights.
Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark, and Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll for Luz Films will serve as producers.
“El Sombreron” tells the story of Lila, an ambitious woman trapped in hell as the trophy wife of a violent cartel boss.
Desperate for liberation, she seizes the opportunity presented by a mysterious stranger named Ramón, who promises to smuggle her north to Paradise.
However, as Lila journeys with him, she discovers the harrowing truth about her companion and...
The feature is to be launched at Cannes by the Match Factory, which will represent worldwide sales outside of North America. CAA Media Finance will represent North American rights.
Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark, and Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll for Luz Films will serve as producers.
“El Sombreron” tells the story of Lila, an ambitious woman trapped in hell as the trophy wife of a violent cartel boss.
Desperate for liberation, she seizes the opportunity presented by a mysterious stranger named Ramón, who promises to smuggle her north to Paradise.
However, as Lila journeys with him, she discovers the harrowing truth about her companion and...
- 5/18/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Adria Arjona and Edgar Ramirez have been announced to co-star in Jayro Bustamante’s dystopian thriller El Sombreron as The Match Factory launches worldwide sales on the project in Cannes, with CAA Media Finance representing North America.
Guatemalan director Bustamante previously made waves with Mayan drama Ixcanul (2015), which premiered in competition in Berlin, winning the Alfred Bauer Prize (since renamed the Silver Bear Jury prize), and war criminal horror La Llorona, which won Best Director and Best Film in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori in 2019.
Arjona will play an ambitious woman trapped in a marriage as the trophy wife of a violent cartel boss. Desperate for liberation, she seizes the opportunity presented by a mysterious stranger (Ramirez), who promises to smuggle her north. However, once on route, she discovers the harrowing truth about her companion and finds herself thrust into a surreal odyssey.
Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark,...
Guatemalan director Bustamante previously made waves with Mayan drama Ixcanul (2015), which premiered in competition in Berlin, winning the Alfred Bauer Prize (since renamed the Silver Bear Jury prize), and war criminal horror La Llorona, which won Best Director and Best Film in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori in 2019.
Arjona will play an ambitious woman trapped in a marriage as the trophy wife of a violent cartel boss. Desperate for liberation, she seizes the opportunity presented by a mysterious stranger (Ramirez), who promises to smuggle her north. However, once on route, she discovers the harrowing truth about her companion and finds herself thrust into a surreal odyssey.
Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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