Jane Campion Talks Leading by Inspiration at Sydney Film Festival Showcase: ‘I Don’t Know Where My Comfort Zone Is’

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Spider-Man put up a good fight, but the Autobots came out on top. After an unusually close box office battle, Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” pulled ahead of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” debuting in first place to $60.5 million from 3,678 theaters. Sony’s animated “Spider-Verse sequel still managed a mighty second weekend, landing in second place with $55.4 million from 4,332 theaters. Initial ticket sales for “Rise of the Beasts,” which is the seventh installment in the “Transformers” franchise,” were notably better than the prior two entries, 2018’s “Bumblebee” ($21.6 million) and 2017’s “The Last Knight” ($44.68 million). It’s an encouraging sign that Paramount’s action series isn’t yet running on fumes. That’s been a concern because the more recent chapters brought back diminishing returns after softer starts. Reviews for “Rise of the Beasts” were mixed, but audiences embraced the film with an “A-” CinemaScore.

Elizabeth Olsen and Meghann Fahy deliver two of the most nuanced performances of the Emmy season, both playing complicated women who are wives and mothers. In “Love & Death,” Olsen’s Candy Montgomery is based on a real housewife in late-1970s Texas, who out of boredom instigates an affair with Allan (Jesse Plemons), a member of her church — an illicit assignation that eventually leads to Candy being on trial for murdering Allan’s wife, Betty (Lily Rabe). In a very different setting, Season 2 of Mike White’s “The White Lotus,” Fahy plays Daphne, a character on a luxury Sicilian vacation with her husband, Cameron (Theo James), and another couple: Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza). As the tension among the four escalates, it’s both sexual and violent — and oddsmakers were entirely wrong about the identity of the dead body in the season-premiere flashback.

Tatiana Siegel It’s all about the framing of a news story. “We’re seeing it now, how a narrative can change the truth,” says Tracee Ellis Ross as she slides into a plush chair in her Los Angeles home. There’s no particular trending story on her mind. The actress and sometimes director is simply musing about the state of clickbait journalism and America’s eroding trust in the media. The topic is front and center in her latest movie, the Fourth Estate thriller “Cold Copy,” in which Ross plays Diane Hager, an esteemed yet cutthroat TV journalist who begins mentoring an ambitious wannabe (Bel Powley), eventually leading them both down a morally bankrupt path.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Elizabeth Olsen is currently on a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she’s definitely enjoying it. During a conversation with “The White Lotus” star Meghann Fahy as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Olsen got honest about not missing her Scarlet Witch days. “Do you miss doing Wanda?” Fahy asked. “No, I don’t,” Olsen responded. “I think it’s been almost 10 years of playing her. And I’ve loved it. And I think the reason why I am not calling Kevin Feige every day with ideas is because I’m really proud of what we were able to do. I think ‘WandaVision’ was a really surprising opportunity.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief These days Jane Campion – Palme d’Or and Oscar-winning film director – is celebrated for a vein of heartfelt cinema that is aching and quirky, rather than gushing. She’s also an intelligent and determined female pioneer who has had to struggle for her present standing in a male-dominated industry. The Sydney Film Festival this week is showcasing and contextualizing her body of work. Its screening program includes all nine of her feature works, from “Two Friends” to “The Power of the Dog,” and a selection of her short films. “For our 70th edition, we wanted to present a retrospective commensurate with the milestone, reflecting the audacious and boundary pushing filmmaking synonymous with our festival and region. There was no one more appropriate than Jane Campion,” said SFF director Nashen Moodley in notes ahead of the event.

The SNP is facing a call for Nicola Sturgeon to be suspended from the party following her arrest.

Practice makes perfect! Princess Beatrice wore her mother Sarah Ferguson’s family tiara to attend the Jordan royal wedding, but there was almost a faux pas when getting ready.

Broadway’s best stepped out in style for the 76th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, at United Palace in New York City.

in the hilarious 2011 “Saturday Night Live” sketch, the “Spy” star actually chugged a probiotic drink called Kefir.“When I think about it, I kinda really love ranch,” said “The Heat” star to Entertainment Weekly’s “3 Rounds” host Alexis Wilson. “So I don’t know that I couldn’t have just [drank ranch dressing] … but there’s a lot of logistics to that.”McCarthy revealed that is an attempt to find a substitute for the condiment, she discovered Kefir. The “Tammy” star joked that the diary drink isn’t that different from ranch “when you’re shotgunning it down your throat.”According to “The Little Mermaid” star, the entire “SNL” sketch was a version of something she wrote and performed while a part of the L.A.

H&M just broke a record!

Dad duty took priority for country star Dierks Bentley this weekend as he stepped away from his responsibilities as co-host of CMA Fest to take his teenage daughter on an important outing: to buy a bra. Bentley, who is co-hosting the three-day festival along with Elle King and Lainey Wilson, took to his TikTok to document the entire ordeal, noting it was his "night off." The video begins with Bentley in a store, following his daughter around as she peruses through merchandise. "What are these," she asks her father, pointing to brightly colored bras.

Gladiator 2 after a stunt went wrong.The film’s production company Paramount Pictures said the injuries were non life-threatening and happened while shooting a planned stunt sequence in Morocco.In a statement via Variety, the company added: “While filming a planned stunt sequence on the set of the Gladiator sequel, an accident occurred during which several crew members experienced non-life threatening injuries.“The safety and full medical services teams onsite were able to act quickly so that those who were impacted immediately received necessary care. They are all in stable condition and continue to receive treatment.“The wellbeing of the cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us, and we have strict health and safety procedures in place on all our productions.According to Variety, no cast members were injured but six people received treatment for burn injuries and four remain in hospital.Last month, it was reported that Pedro Pascal will reportedly join Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel.He will join the previously reported Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, Denzel Washington, and a returning Connie Nielsen.

Nia Archives has flipped A-Trak’s huge version of Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ ‘Heads Will Roll’ on her new track ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’.The producer initially created the “spooky edit” of the track for a performance at last year’s Warehouse Project in Manchester and has now given it a full release.“I wanted to make a spooky edit for Warehouse Project last Halloween and this is what I came up,” she said.“I love the a-trak remix and I just wanted a jungle version of it.”Listen to ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’ below.The rising Bradford-born producer released her third highly-anticipated EP, ‘Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall’, earlier this year.In a four-star review of the EP, NME said: “The likes of the high-octane bossa nova rework ‘Baianá’ and the lofty titular track let her production skills stand out, but it’s her songwriting that really takes the spotlight on this EP. Less reliant on beats to get you moving, its toned-down feel makes you sit with Nia’s stories and see the person behind the tunes she spins.“Being able to show so much humanity and versatility so early in her career is highly respectable and if this is a glimpse of the future, Nia Archives looks set to become an unstoppable generational talent.”Speaking to NME last year about the first single release from her EP and projects to date, Archives said: “I think each of my projects have been timestamps of my life.

Miranda Lambert was joined by Avril Lavigne for a rendition of ‘Sk8er Boi’ at her Nashville show this weekend – see the performance below.The performance on Friday (June 9) came at CMA Fest, the festival from the The Country Music Association, who also organise the CMA Awards.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s production company have called on the Trump campaign to stop using footage from their recent movie Air.It comes after Donald Trump posted a video yesterday (June 10) on his Truth Social platform that included a monologue from the Amazon Affleck directed movie in which Damon plays the Nike marketing and sales representative Sonny Vaccaro.“Money can buy you almost anything,” Damon can be heard saying in the video as footage of Trump is shown.

History in the making! J. Harrison Ghee received their first Tony Award nomination in May 2023, marking the first time a nonbinary actor earned such an honor.

Pride Vibes and sunny skies! A-Listers are all about celebrating this summer, whether it’s in honor of Pride Month or just an excuse to soak up the sun.

Naomi Watts went with a designer dress, but she didn’t break the budget on her wedding flowers while tying the knot with Billy Crudup on Friday, June 9.

Almost time! Sara Bareilles is gearing up for the 76th annual Tony Awards by working to ignore her past body image struggles before hitting the red carpet.

Megan Fox isn’t backing down.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Big-budget period action film “The Sand Murmurs” is set to start production in China’s remote region of Xinjiang later this month. The film is the tale of a soldier and an enemy nobleman brought together after a once-in-a-century sandstorm. After braving a near-death experience together, the pair find common purpose despite their differences. They also need to work together to find their way out across 800km of desert. The picture is directed by Wu Youyin as an adaptation of his novel of the same title. Wu previously wrote and directed “Till The End of the World,” which released in 2018.