Jacques Audiard: Last News

Variety examines the Oscar selection process in an array of international markets to see what works, what’s broken and what needs fixing. Despite being over-represented in competition lineups at major festivals like Cannes and Venice, France has had a cursed track record in the international feature film race, and has been overshadowed by smaller countries like Denmark in recent years. The French haven’t been able to claim an Oscar victory in the category since 1993 with Regis Wargnier’s win for “Indochine.” In the past 15 years, only four French films submitted have landed a nomination: Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” in 2020, Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Turkish-language film “Mustang” in 2016, Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet” starring Tahar Rahim in 2010 and Laurent Cantet’s Palme d’Or-winning “The Class” in 2008. Ironically, some French-language films repping other countries in the international feature race have been more successful, such as Michael Haneke’s “Amour,” which was submitted by Austria in 2013 and won. In the upcoming race, France is vying for a nomination with Alice Diop’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Saint Omer,” a politically minded feature debut based on the real-life trial of Fabienne Kabou, a Senegalese immigrant accused of murdering her 15-month-old baby. This year’s Oscar committee, which included the likes of Audiard (“A Prophet”), Philippe Rousselet (“CODA”) and Hengameh Panahi (“Persepolis”), was bitterly split between “Saint Omer,” acquired by Neon’s Super label after Toronto, and “One Fine Morning,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s romance drama starring Lea Seydoux, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics in Cannes. The heated deliberations ended with a vote, as it almost always does.

EXCLUSIVE: Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor Edgar Ramirez is joining Place To Be, the drama from Kornél Mundruczó, the filmmaker of the Oscar-nominated Pieces of a Woman. The film also stars Ellen Burstyn, Taika Waititi and Pamela Anderson. Cameras are rolling in Sydney.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pathé Films, the revered French film group behind “The Count of Monte Cristo,” has partnered with Genario, the fast-expanding generative AI service aimed at screenwriters, to back the inaugural edition of the World AI Film Festival (WAiFF). Partners also include Banijay Entertainment which has been working with Genario to advance script development in-house.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “Vendetta,” the awaited Corsican blood feud drama-thriller from Marco Cherqui, who produced Jacques Audiard’s breakout movie “A Prophet,” will be brought onto the sales market at Series Mania by France TV Distribution. Set up at CPB Films, behind Rebecca Zlotowski’s 2019 Toronto player “Savages” and the upcoming series expansion of “A Prophet,” both produced by Cherqui as CPB head of TV drama and cinema, “Vendetta” is co-produced by public broadcaster France TV, where it will air on France 2.

Naman Ramachandran The Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) has revealed a diverse lineup for its second edition, set to run March 20-23 in Chandigarh, India, featuring notable Oscar winners and nominees alongside celebrated regional cinema. Jacques Audiard’s Oscar-winning “Emilia Perez“headlines the World Canvas section, alongside Magnus von Horn’s Oscar-nominated Danish drama “The Girl with the Needle.” The festival will open with the India premiere of Korean feature “A Normal Family,” directed by Hur Jin-ho, which first bowed at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In a lengthy new statement, Karla Sofía Gascón reflected on the bumpy ride that was her Academy Awards campaign, revealing that she “contemplated the unthinkable” and “will commit to continuing to learn and listen” in the aftermath.

“We are so grateful,” said Camille, letting out a great “whoo hoo” as she and Clément Ducol accepted the Oscar for Best Original Song for El Mal in Emilia Perez. “We wrote El Mal as a song to denounce corruption and we hope it speaks to the role that music and art can play and continue to play as a force of the good and progress in the world.”

In a powerful speech after completing the sweep in the Best Supporting Actress category for this award season, Zoe Saldaña dedicated her award for Emilia Pérez to her grandmother after making history as the first American of Dominican descent to win an Oscar.

On the heels of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Critics Choice award wins, Peter Straughan has now won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for Conclave. This is Straughan’s second Oscar nomination and first win.

Oscars might be one of the most eclectic yet, between musical adaptations, sci-fi blockbusters and body horror nightmares.The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.Emilia Pérez leads this year’s pack with 13 nominatins, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked with ten nods each, and Conclave and A Complete Unknown with eight.All five of those films are up for Best Picture, alongside Anora, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance. If you’re looking to catch up on all these films, here’s where they are available in the UK.Jacques Audiard’s musical crime film follows a Mexican cartel leader who wants to disappear and transition into a woman with the help of a lawyer.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events H.E.R. is weighing in on Oscar producers’ decision not to include performances of this year’s best original song nominees during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Jacques Audiard swept the board at the 50th Césars on Friday evening winning Best Director and Film for Emilia Pérez against expectations after its award season campaign was derailed by the uncovering of racist tweets by its star Karla Sofía Gascón.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After laying low in the wake of several clumsy apology attempts over her offensive posts, “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofia Gascón made her first award show appearance on Friday at the Paris-set Cesar ceremony where Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language crime musical is vying for 12 nods. Flanked by two men who appeared to be security, Gascón bypassed the Cesar press line and went directly inside the Olympia auditorium. Gascón, who lives in Spain, traveled to France for the Cesar, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, and will be facing co-star Zoe Saldana in the best actress category.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, are celebrating their 50th edition on Friday at the Olympia Theater in Paris with a roster of nominations that is richer — literally and figuratively — than in most years. A pair of epic French blockbusters, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ literary classic, and “Beating Hearts,” Gilles Lellouche’s sprawling crime romance, are leading the race with 14 and 13 nominations respectively.

Karla Sofía Gascón will be at the Oscars after all, with Netflix covering her expenses to attend the Dolby Theatre ceremony in Los Angeles on March 2nd, sources have confirmed to Deadline.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Karla Sofia Gascón plans to be at the Oscars. Sources confirm that Netflix will pay for the “Emilia Pérez” star to attend the ceremony on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Gascón is nominated for best actress for her work in the Spanish-language musical.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor If you thought predicting this year’s Academy Awards would be easy, the Screen Actors Guild Awards just proved otherwise. Voted on by more than 150,000 SAG-AFTRA members, the SAG Awards reaffirmed what has been true all season: Several major Oscar categories remain wide open with just one week to go before the ceremony. Coming off a dominant showing at the BAFTA Awards, Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller “Conclave” took home the top prize for best cast ensemble.

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com This year’s USC Libraries Scripter Awards nominated “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Nickel Boys,” “Sing Sing” and “The Wild Robot” on the film side, while in TV, “Baby Reindeer,” “Ripley,” “Say Nothing,” “Shōgun” and “Slow Horses” were recognized for their outstanding episodes. Considered a strong indicator for the best adapted screenplay category at the Oscars, past Scripter winners that went on to win at the Academy Awards include “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “The Imitation Game” (2014), “The Big Short” (2015), “Moonlight” (2016), “Call Me by Your Name” (2017), “Nomadland” (2020), “Women Talking” (2022) and “American Fiction” (2023).

Zoe Saldana won the Best Supporting Actress honor at the 2025 BAFTA Awards, for her role in the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez.

Zoe Saldaña‘s acceptance speech at the 2025 BAFTAs was cut from the BBC’s broadcast of the ceremony – see what she had to say below.Last night (February 16), the BAFTAs took place at the London’s Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre. Among the night’s biggest winners was Zoe Saldaña, who took home the award for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez.However, her acceptance speech was reportedly cut from the BBC’s broadcast of the awards ceremony halfway through her speech.

Zoe Saldaña was cut off as she delivered a sweary acceptance speech at the 2025 BAFTAs. The actress appeared on stage to accept her award after winning the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for her portrayal of Rita Mora Castro in the controversial musical Emilia Pérez.

2025 BAFTA Film Awards despite the controversy over her resurfaced tweets.Jacques Audiard, who helmed the musical crime movie, went on stage to accept the award for Best Film Not in the English Language and mentioned Gascón, 52, in his speech after he previously condemned her “hateful” social media remarks.“Above all, I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight,” said Audiard, 72, according to Variety.“My dear Zoe, my dear Selena, Giorgini, Paul, Juliet, Camille, Clement, Julia and your team, but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss,” he continued. “I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together.