Todd Haynes: Last News

CANNES (Reuters) - Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore anchor director Todd Haynes' attempt at a fourth Palme d'Or in the drama "May December," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night. Moore plays an older star who became tabloid fodder two decades earlier because of her relationship with a much younger man, played by Charles Melton - best known for "Riverdale.

May December co-stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore were joined by producer Will Ferrell when they walked the red carpet at the movie’s premiere during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (May 20) at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

Todd Haynes returned to the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night with his latest, May December, playing in competition. The complex melodrama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore scored an eight-minute standing ovation inside the Grand Theatre Lumière.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In the experimental montage that opens “Persona,” a bare-chested teenage boy caresses a screen upon which the faces of two women slowly morph back and forth. It’s easy to imagine Todd Haynes being tempted to start his deep-as-you-want-to-go rabbit-hole drama “May December” the same way, seeing as how this endlessly fascinating movie focuses on the blurring of the lines between a Hollywood star (Natalie Portman) and her Heartland subject (Julianne Moore), who was caught in a sexual relationship with a 7th grader at the age of 36. The movie wants to know: Can playing this Mary Kay Letourneau-like tabloid sensation really answer what makes such a woman tick? A heady director whose entire oeuvre feels ripe for film-studies dissertations, Haynes makes movies not merely to be watched, but to be analyzed and deconstructed after the fact. From the rich Douglas Sirkian pastiche of “Far From Heaven” to the queer twist on classical “woman’s pictures” provided by “Carol,” his style can be chilly and distancing. Not so “May December.” As layered and infinitely open-to-interpretation as any of his films, it’s also the most generous and direct, beginning not with Ingmar Bergman references (those come later), but with footage of monarch butterflies. They’re symbols of transformation, too, but also something nice to look at (and listen to, underscored by a lush reworking of the piano theme from “The Go-Between”) before these two women meet.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Todd Haynes brought delicious psychodrama to the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, with the world premiere of his “May December” starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. Captivating the Cannes crowd the film earned a 6-minute standing ovation at the festival’s Grand Palais. “May December” stars Natalie Portman as Elizabeth, an actor who heads to Savannah to study the lives of Gracie (Moore) and Joe (“Riverdale” star Charles Melton). Years prior, Gracie and Joe’s scandalous cross-generational affair sparked a national controversy due to their age gap and the fact that Gracie was Joe’s boss at a local pet store. Twenty years later, Elizabeth is playing Gracie in a film version of the scandal, but her arrival puts a disruptive pressure on Gracie and Joe’s marriage.

Todd Haynes has a way with female stars. I would even call him the new-age George Cukor in that regard. Whether in Carol with Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, or his HBOlimited series Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet, or his homage to the director of so many so-called “women’s pictures” of the ’50s Douglas Sirk in Far From Heaven with Julianne Moore, he seems to be in his comfort zone with women. That has never been more apparent than his latest, May December, a deliciously entertaining showcase for Natalie Portman and Moore (her and Haynes’ fourth film together), which just had its world premiere Saturday in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Cate Blanchett kicked off her stilettos on Friday night as she took the stage a Cannes Film Festival party hosted by Variety and the Golden Globes. Because this is Cannes, where women are mandated to wear heels on the red carpet, shoes have become a political symbol on the French Riviera. And indeed, in this case, Blanchett went barefoot to make a statement — to stand in solidarity with the women of Iran. The A-list actor, on hand to present “Holy Spider” star Zahra Amir Ebrahim with a breakthrough artists award, grabbed the trophy and joked, “This is to stab everyone who stands in the way of women’s rights. Up the vajayjay!” In her remarks, an emotional Ebrahimi called attention to her home country, which is “executing innocent people.” She said, “I always thought being an actress was a paradox: serving the emotions of your own and being a flag or mirror or light. This award celebrates this paradox.”

Black Flies,” the Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan film about emergency medical first responders, smacked the Cannes Film Festival in the face with a brutal world premiere on Thursday. Splattered brains, dead dogs, an addict giving birth with a needle dangling from her arm — these and a litany of other horrors confronted Penn and Sheridan, who play veteran and rookie paramedics, respectively, at the New York Fire Department. Interestingly enough, the black-tie screening at the Grand Palais enjoyed the dose of reality, giving the film a five-minute standing ovation. “We carry the misery,” a weary Penn tells Sheridan in the film of their chosen profession. That’s an understatement, as chaos unfolds neighborhood by neighborhood in a portrait of an unforgiving city.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The 2023 Cannes Film Festival is jam-packed with buzzy world premieres, from Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City.” Todd Haynes is also back to unveil “May December,” featuring the A-list pairing of Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, while Disney is bringing Harrison Ford to the Croisette for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” New films from Pedro Almodovar, Jessica Hautner, Jonathan Glazer, Catherine Corsini, Hirokazu Kore-eda and more are also set to make their debuts at Cannes this year. Cannes is often seen as a launching pad for Oscar season. Warner Bros. in 2022 kicked off its lengthy awards run for Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” on the French Riviera, with the film going on to land eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness” also picked up Oscar nods for best picture, director and original screenplay. Two international film nominees, “Close” and “EO,” launched at last year’s festival, while “Aftersun” best actor nominee Paul Mescal got his awards start in the Directors Fortnight sidebar. All of this is to say the industry will be closely watching the buzz on all of this year’s world premieres.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor From the royalty of Elizabeth I to the betrayal of superhero villain Hela, Australian sensation Cate Blanchett is one of the most revered performers of her generation, with some of the most riveting turns in modern cinema.  To celebrate her birthday, Variety ranks her 15 best performances of her career (so far). Beloved by critics, audiences,s and awards bodies, Blanchett has displayed a career that aspiring actors dream about.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Few films at Cannes this year have indie pedigree and star power behind them like “May December,” Todd Haynes’ examination of a cross-generational couple who caused a tabloid scandal and the actress studying their family to portray the woman in a forthcoming movie about their lives. Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman lead the way, but the project is a significant launchpad for “Riverdale” alum Charles Melton. Playing opposite Moore as a character who’s about to become an empty nester at 35, Melton dishes about his Cannes debut and walking dogs before he hit stardom. Will this be your first Cannes? This will be my first film festival. I’m so excited to reunite with Julie and Natalie and Todd Haynes and everyone that was a part of making the film. I’m grinning from ear to ear right now. 

EXCLUSIVE: Gloria Sanchez Productions has promoted Alex Brown to Head of Film and hired Alix Taylor as Head of Television.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Variety has a first look at the anticipated Cannes Film Festival competition premiere “May December,” led by Oscar-winning heavyweights Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman and directed by Todd Haynes. The title, which is also for sale out of this year’s Marché du Film, represents a “Far From Heaven” reunion for Moore and Haynes and a significant breakout opportunity for “Riverdale” heartthrob Charles Melton. Moore and Melton star as married couple whose 20-year relationship inspired a national tabloid obsession at its offset. Now preparing to send their grown children off to college – as Melton reconciles with empty nest syndrome in his mid-30s – an actress (Portman) embeds with the family to study them for an upcoming film where she’ll play Moore. The couple buckles under the pressure as Portman probes as deeply as she can for an honest performance.

Kicking off on May 16, the Cannes Film Festival is around the corner, and the lineup was announced this morning alongside the names of six female filmmakers that will be participating this year that have films in competition. It’s a small number, but a new record for the festival.

Kicking off on May 16, the Cannes Film Festival is around the corner, and the lineup was announced this morning alongside the names of six female filmmakers that will be participating this year that have films in competition. It’s a small number, but a new record for the festival.

Stars are getting ready to walk the Croisette.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The anticipation is running high at the Cannes Film Festival’s packed annual press conference on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where festival chief Thierry Fremaux is expected to unveil the bulk of the Official Selection for the 76th edition. The festival has been teasing cinephiles with splashy announcements about Martin Scorsese returning to the Croisette with “Killers of the Flower Moon,” 38 years after winning best director with “After Hour,” as well as Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and Pedro Almodóvar’s short film, “Strange Way of Life.” But Fremaux, who is leading the presser with the festival’s new president Iris Knobloch, is expected to have saved a few high-profile surprises, including Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” starring an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton; Todd Haynes’ “May December” with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore; Karim Aïnouz’s Henry VIII drama “Firebrand” with Alicia Vikander and Jude Law; and HBO’s “The Idol,” the Weeknd-led series.

Mubi is adding over 50 features from the Sony Pictures’ library to its U.S. streaming service. The mix of studio and arthouse fare includes Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, The Last Picture Show by Peter Bogdanovich and films from Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar and Guillermo Del Toro.

EXCLUSIVE: Up-and-comers Piper Curda (May December) and Nico Greetham (American Horror Story) have signed on to star in Something Casual — an independent romantic dramedy from writer-director Brandon Buczek (Your Own Road).

The word “romantic” doesn’t have much place in cinema these days, serving mostly as a modifier for “comedy”. The term “women’s picture” has also passed out of favor since its ’40s heyday, regardless of the fact that the films that exemplified it usually featured strong female characters and almost always pushed back at the pressures of male-run society. With her feature debut Past Lives, which screened to a double standing ovation this week in the Premieres strand at Sundance, playwright Celine Song has killed two birds with one stone, creating an elegant and unexpectedly mesmerizing character piece that speaks profoundly to the concept of love in the modern age while using an intelligent and ambitious, but still very relatable woman to do so.

Pavement, the venerable indie rock band fronted by Stephen Malkmus, is getting its own feature film treatment.