American director Sean Baker wins Palme d’Or for ‘Anora’ at Cannes Film Festival

Inside Out,” with a voice cast led by Amy Poehler, which returned it to the inventive glory days of “Toy Story” and “Ratatouille.” Almost a decade later, Pixar’s crisis is now existential. Its fortunes at the box office have plummeted, the movies often stink, it’s been forced to lay off staffers and is quickly losing its once-dictatorial grip on American childhoods.

told the Hollywood Reporter that Bower died in his sleep at home in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 30.Bower was still appearing in movies and television series right up until 2023, when he did a three-episode guest spot on AMC’s “Lucky Hank” as Bob Odenkirk’s father Henry Sr.One memorable role was as the janitor Marvin in 1990’s “Die Hard 2,” in which he helps Bruce Willis’ John McClane fight terrorists at Dulles International Airport.He also played the president’s father Frank in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon,” starring Anthony Hopkins as Tricky Dick.And Bower took on a variety of character roles through the years in other films, like “Beverly Hills Cop 2,” “The Hills Have Eyes,” “Pollock” and “Hearts in Atlantis.” On television, the actor appeared in 26 episodes of the wholesome series “The Waltons” as Dr. Curtis Willard.

smacking comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars in 2022.But, for the time being anyway, that bizarre incident is still fresh on viewers’ minds, and the “Independence Day” actor remains a very challenging guy to like — even in an easily digestible buddy-cop movie. His second go at a comeback after last year’s “Emancipation” would suggest a clichéd old phrase about third times.In the mediocre sequel to 2020’s surprisingly fun “Bad Boys for Life,” Smith is completely dead behind the eyes, with that glazed-over look of corporate burnout.

Megalopolis,” which began as a script he started 40 years ago. None of Hollywood’s studio bosses liked it then — and now it’s unclear when or if it will end up in American theaters.

Ernest Cole, the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa, is known today for his contribution to documenting the Apartheid in the 1960s and racial attitudes in America in the 1970s. Born in 1940, he grew up in segregated South Africa before moving to the United States in his youth to evade persecution for his work.

Variety presents their favorite discoveries. Indian director Payal Kapadia’s second feature is a wise, gently lambent portrait of two roommates, both Mumbai nurses, at different points in their romantic lives. Spanning the city and the seaside, an understated yet profound bond grows between them despite different ages and outlooks, and both actresses are outstanding.

CANNES – If you were to have asked us just 48 hours ago whether we believed Cannes would be sending another Best Picture nominee to the Academy Awards we would have been hesitant to answer yes. Now, following Sean Baker’s “Anorma” winning the Palme d’Or, it looks like Cannes’ Oscar streak will continue.

CANNES – After 12 days of screenings, the Cannes Film Festival has drawn to a close. That means it’s time for Greta Gerwig and her jury to reveal the winners of the competition section of the festival.

Star Wars creator George Lucas was fêted with an Honorary Palme d’Or at this evening’s Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony.

Refresh for latest…: The 77th Cannes Film Festival draws to a close this evening with the prize ceremony about to kick off inside the Grand Théâtre Lumière. The past 10 days have been building to this moment after a somewhat muted start that arrived under gloomy skies. The clouds have since cleared and several films have emerged as potential winners tonight. Scroll down for the list of laureates which is being updated as awards are announced.

Marta Balaga Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” won the Fipresci award at Cannes. The jury of the International Federation of Film Critics called it “a courageous story set in modern-day Iran that deals with the conflict between tradition and progress, depicted in a very powerful and imaginative way.” Following a rapturous screening and 2024 record 12-minute standing ovation, the film became a Palme d’Or frontrunner, reported Variety.

CANNES – After screening “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” a world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, one has to breathe a sigh of relief that director and screenwriter Mohammad Rasoulof is safely out of Iran. A victim of a politically motivated jail sentence for supporting the 2022 Masha Amini hijab protests, Rasoulof‘s latest feature will likely anger the Iranian government even more.

“All We Imagine As Light” opens as only a film set in Mumbai can— with the gradual unfurling of this massive metropolis at dawn. Its essential workers begin corralling the huge resources needed to maintain its creaking infrastructure and feed the tens of millions of people who will wake up and take public transport to work.

On the Road AgainThe New York institution Shakespeare in the Park is taking a break this year while the famous Delacorte Theater in Central Park undergoes renovations. But the Public Theater, which produces it, will still tour a bilingual, 90-minute musical version of the Bard’s “Comedy of Errors” to locations around the city as part of its Mobile Unit program.

It has been a big week for the beloved 1964 musical, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the 1964 Palme d’Or and went on to international acclaim and five Oscar nominations, plus served as one of the key inspirations for Damien Chazelle’s Oscar winning La La Land.

Joey King just arrived in town for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival!

Sean Baker is a filmmaker who likes to make films about the fringes of society. And many times, that includes a story about a sex worker, such as in “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project,” or his latest, “Anora.” It’s a world Baker feels is not only ripe with stories, but also serves a purpose in the grander scheme of things.

“Yellowstone” star, 69, insisted that he “didn’t f–king cry” as it seemed he did when his new movie, “Horizon: An American Saga,” received an 11-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Costner appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday after his trip to France and revealed what was going through his mind when he experienced the positive response to his Western feature. “I actually started walking my life backwards for a second,” he said.

Marta Balaga International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety. Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CANNES – The “Anora” in Sean Baker’s latest creation is actually the birth name of Ani (Mikey Madison), a private dancer who works in a pretty nice strip club in New York City. Sure, the hours ain’t ideal, and there’s that long subway ride back to the rundown duplex she shares with her sister in Brighton Beach, but she’s not complaining.