Sam Mendes: Last News

Skyfall director Sam Mendes has said he would not return to the James Bond franchise as they want “more controllable” filmmakers.Mendes, who also helmed 2015’s Spectre, made the comments in a new interview with Inverse, claiming that he feels that part of his life is now behind him.“Never say never, to quote the man, but I would doubt it,” he said. “It was very good for me at that moment in my life.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sam Mendes directed two James Bond movies, “Skyfall” (2012) and “Spectre” (2015), and he doubts he’ll return to the 007 franchise to helm a third entry. Speaking to Inverse to promote his new HBO series “The Franchise,” Mendes said the studio often needs a director who is younger and thus more “controllable.” That’s no longer him. “Never say never, to quote the man, but I would doubt it,” Mendes said about directing a third “Bond” movie.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The playwright Jez Butterworth recently had perhaps the most eventful recording session in the history of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “In the course of this call, I have returned one dog to its owner and seen four foxes,” Butterworth said during a conversation with director Sam Mendes about their latest Broadway project, “The Hills of California.” With Mendes recording from New York, where “Hills” opened Sept.

Laura Donnelly has teamed up with director Sam Mendes and playwright Jez Butterworth again, six years after their hit show The Ferryman became a smash hit on Broadway.

Is there a more dependable set-up for family drama than the gathering of long-estranged siblings? Last season’s dark and wonderful Appropriate proved there was plenty of life in Pinter’s old Homecoming trick, and this Broadway season Jez Butterworth does it again with the fine The Hills Of California, a superbly performed reckoning with old traumas and those family squabbles that can seem so petty on the surface.

Two hours and 45 minutes with one intermission. At the Broadhurst Theater, 235 W 44th St.Perhaps the city should rename West 44th Street Stage Mother Way.Between 7th and 8th Avenues at the Majestic Theatre, Audra McDonald will soon begin playing that most ferocious of performer parents, Mama Rose, in a revival of the musical “Gypsy.” And next door at the Broadhurst, where Jez Butterworth’s new play “The Hills of California” opened on Sunday night, lives her stern British counterpart, Veronica Webb.Like Rose, single mom Veronica forces her four daughters in Blackpool, England, to learn the ins and outs of show business in pursuit of finally escaping their shabby lives spent running a dingy hotel.

Frank Rizzo Jez Butterworth’s ambitious, captivating and richly rewarding domestic drama “The Hills of California” straddles dual worlds of dreams and reality as it shuttles between two pivotal time periods in the lives of the Webb women. Though this densely-packed, 17-actor play is more family-focused in its themes than Butterworth’s previous, stunning epics “Jerusalem” and “The Ferryman,” “The Hills of California” — also directed by Sam Mendes, who staged the Tony-winning “Ferryman” — strikes societal notes, too, as it details women with limited choices and plenty of obstacles in an ever-changing world.

The Hills of California, the new Jez Butterworth play directed by Sam Mendes that began previews at the Broadhurst Theatre on September 11 and opens this Sunday, September 29, has received a two-week extension to its limited engagement.

Kate Winslet is opening up about her son’s experience with watching Titanic for the first time.

Beatles documentary titled 1964 is coming to Apple TV+ this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the band conquering the United States.In February 1964, the Fab Four made their first trip to the US, with over 70 million people watching their debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. They led what came to be known as the British Invasion, with Beatlemania taking over the country for the rest of the year.That phenomenon is set to be commemorated in a new film that will reportedly document their rapid rise in American culture, including new interviews and archival footage of the band’s shows.The Sun reports that 1964 will be released onto Apple TV+ on Thanksgiving (November 28).The news comes after the announcement earlier this month that a new boxset comprised of the US versions of the band’s albums in 1964 and 1965 would also be coming out on November 22 via Apple Corps Ltd., Capitol and UMe.

Metro Weekly will be on the aisle to offer adulation, admonishment, or a combination of both.The Roommate — Playwright Neil Simon perfected the scenario of two entirely different personalities sharing one domestic space with his enduring comedy, The Odd Couple. Jen Writer Silverman updates the story with a feminine twist, this time with two heavy hitters of stage and screen: Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow. To nobody’s surprise, LuPone plays a Bronx bad ass while Farrow is a sheltered innocent from the Midwest.

Broadway added a couple shows and a 7% bump in receipts last week, with a roster of recent arrivals like McNeal, Yellow Face and The Roommate drawing considerable interest.

The Franchise” debuts on its linear channel and Max Oct. 6 at 10 p.m ET. The premiere episode of “The Franchise” is directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor James Bond. Benoit Blanc. Joe Bang.

Justin Kurzel’s political thriller The Order will open the Zurich Film Festival in October with its star Jude Law in attendance alongside the director to receive the event’s Golden Eye Award for his performance and career.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Zurich Film Festival will open on Oct. 3 with political thriller “The Order,” starring Jude Law, who will receive the festival’s Golden Eye career achievement award. Director Justin Kurzel will also attend the screening.

HBO has set Sunday, October 6 for the premiere of Sam Mendes and Armando Iannuccci’s comedy series The Franchise. The streamer also released the official teaser trailer which can be viewed above.

EXCLUSIVE: Though Conclave is fiction based on the Robert Harris novel, you cannot watch Edward Berger’s taut thriller about the election of a new pope without noticing the parallels to the polarizing politics of the race for the White House. The surprise twists and turns abound as it becomes clear the Vatican will either retreat into past conservative, exclusionary policies, or embrace Catholics who’ve been excluded by the institution. The German-born filmmaker is introducing his follow-up to the harrowing WWI drama All Quiet on the Western Front, which won four Oscars including Best International Film. This one-two punch also announces a major filmmaking talent, though he’s no overnight success. Whether he moves on to a major studio franchise like Ocean’s 14 or 007, it is clear from the confident hand in his visual storytelling that Berger is a filmmaker who can make the kind of impact in sophisticated commercial fare as a Sam Mendes or Christopher Nolan. Here, Berger introduces himself to Deadline readers to position Conclave – which Focus Features launches in awards season – and discusses many other things. Ralph Fiennes (already generating strong Oscar buzz), Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini star in a film that made its Toronto debut this morning and screens again Monday and Tuesday.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao’s next film “Hamnet” has landed at Focus Features with Steven Spielberg newly joining the project as a producer. “Hamnet” is adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s Shakespeare-era novel, which was published in 2020 and fictionalizes the life of the Bard’s son who died at a young age. As previously announced, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal will star in “Hamnet” alongside Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn.

Naman Ramachandran Ridley Scott‘s “Gladiator” is set to return to London’s Royal Albert Hall for a 25th anniversary screening as part of the venue’s Films in Concert series. Scheduled for April 26, 2025, the event will feature the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and Philharmonia Chorus performing Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard‘s Golden Globe-winning score live. Matthew Todd, director of programming at the Royal Albert Hall, noted the venue’s Roman amphitheater-inspired design as a fitting backdrop for the gladiatorial epic.

The subscription-based nonprofit Manhattan Theatre Club has joined producers of the previously announced Broadway production of Jez Butterworth‘s The Hills Of California and will offer the play to subscribers as part of MTC’s 2024-25 season.