Film Academy Appoints Meredith Shea to Newly Created Executive Role

Brie Larson, Paul Dano and Julia Ducournau are among the eight people chosen to complete the main competition jury at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Cannes organizers announced Thursday morning in Paris.Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, who won the Palme d’Or last year for “Triangle of Sadness,” was previously announced as president of the jury. The presence of Ducournau, who won the top award for “Titane” in 2021, means that the last two Palme winners will be part of the deliberations to determine who succeeds them this year.Other jurors will be Moroccan writer-director Maryam Touzani, who was in Cannes last year with “The Blue Caftan”; French actor Denis Menochet, who recently appeared in Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid”; Zambian/British writer-director Rungano Nyoni, whose “I’m Not a Witch” premiered in Cannes; Afghan novelist and writer-director Atiq Rahimi, whose film work often adapts his own bestselling books; and Argentinian writer-director Damian Szifron, who landed an Oscar nomination for his 2014 Cannes film “Wild Tales.”The jury’s 5-to-4 split between men and women is typical for Cannes in recent years.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Fisher Stevens has today announced the launch of Highly Flammable, a new director-led production company that will focus on setting up premium unscripted stories for streamers across various series and feature formats, operating out of both New York and Los Angeles.

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

Do you folks remember, not that long ago, during Star Wars Celebration, when Kathleen Kennedy told the press that Kevin Feige was never really attached to a “Star Wars” film and it was just the fandom that made it all up? She actually said, “We never discussed an idea,” and basically, gaslit everyone into thinking it was all a rumor. Of course, we know that’s not true because Feige talked about it, Michael Waldron talked about being hired to write a script, and now, we have the Russo Brothers, who not only confirm that Feige was working on a “Star Wars” film with Lucasfilm but that they were discussing possibly signing on to direct.

on the “Rust” set Friday in exclusive photos obtained by The Post that also show, for the first time, Bianca Cline, the film’s new cinematographer, in action.The grey-bearded actor, 65, appeared in his Harland Rust costume, disheveled and bloodied as filming continued on the indie-Western in Montana.In one image, Baldwin stands casually, yet stoic, among his co-stars, dressed in a tattered blue shirt, suspenders, gray pants and dusty brown boots. When filming was at a standstill, he draped a red blanket over his shoulders.In other photographs, cameras appear to be rolling as Baldwin is hauled toward a noose by two men in cowboy hats, boots and gritty, trench-like jackets.

James Mangold‘s “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” will have its world premiere next month at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18: a prestige showing for a prestige franchise. Or what was once a prestige franchise? Fifteen years after 2008’s “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Cyrstal Skull,” it’s hard to tell how much cultural caché Lucasfilm‘s storied series still has.

A little under two weeks ago, the Cannes Film Festival unveiled its lineup for the upcoming event. However, as we know with film festivals, the initial lineup is far from complete and more films can be added at any time.

Concern about looming labor unrest and uncertainty surrounding pending corporate restructuring have contributed to a 35.8% plunge in on-location TV production in Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Pixar’s Elemental will have its world premiere screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on May 27.

You wouldn’t be wrong, as a film fan, to have your festival sights set on the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. That’s perhaps the premier festival each and every year.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) has tapped Lori Christian and Rob Femia to join its executive board. Christian has been upped to executive VP of marketing, while Femia has been named executive VP of business and legal affairs for the label group consisting of Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, Mercury Nashville, and MCA Nashville. Christian was formerly senior VP of marketing, a role she occupied in 2020 after leading the publicity department at UMG Nashville following the 2012 merger of EMI and UMG. In her elevated post, she will oversee UMG Nashville’s artist development, brands and sponsorship, creative services, international marketing, and media marketing departments for the label’s artist roster. She has previously worked to launch projects for Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, and Luke Bryan, among others.

And the new Academy post goes to … Meredith Shea.

Sophia Scorziello editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Meredith Shea as its chief membership, impact and industry officer. In the new position, she will oversee new member cultivation and outreach, awards administration, rules and regulations, membership branch structural changes, member and industry engagement, film festival and international strategies, talent development programs, and industry DEAI and sustainability efforts. Shea previously worked as an Academy executive for a decade. In her new role, Shea will report directly to Bill Kramer, Academy CEO. “We are thrilled to welcome Meredith back to the Academy in this leadership position. Her vast knowledge of the film industry and Academy membership, along with her commitment to building and nurturing a diverse and equitable global film community makes her a perfect professional for this new role,” says Kramer.

EXCLUSIVE: Blockers actress Geraldine Viswanathan and Joy Ride‘sMeredith Hagner are joining Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon in Nick Stoller’s wedding comedy You’re Cordially Invited, from Amazon Studios.

Last week, after much speculation, we finally were given the initial lineup for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Of course, the main lineup typically features the biggest names in film and this year is no different, with a new ‘Indiana Jones’ film as well as new films from directors like Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson.

The 96th Oscar cycle is upon us, and with it, something new—the mandatory representation and inclusion standards that require filmmakers and/or their storylines and/or their distributors to meet elaborate racial, sexual, and disability guidelines.

, actress Lisa Ann Walter, who played nanny Chessy, admitted during an appearance on that she actually had a major crush on her co-star, Dennis Quaid.Quaid played dad Nick Parker in the iconic Lindsay Lohan film, who employed Chessy as the nanny for his daughter.During her appearance on Thursday, Walter was asked if Quaid was aware that she and co-star Elaine Hendrix were crushing on him at the time and if either of them ever tried anything.«Elaine's my best friend, if she had made a move, I would have known about it,» Walter said of the actress who played Nick's fiancée, Meredith Blake. «I absolutely had a crush on him.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cannes Film Festival’s longtime director Thierry Fremaux sat down with Variety following the announcement of this year’s lineup, which includes a bevy of star-studded period movies, including Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Jonathan Glazer’s “Zone of Interest.” Along with a raft of politically-minded films, there’s also a record six movies directed by female helmers in competition, including newcomers like Senegalese direcotr Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s feature debut “Banel et Adama.” Fremaux said his only regret this year is to miss out on “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” but he’s keeping high hopes to convince Scorsese to vie for a second Palme d’Or 47 years after winning his first with “Taxi Driver.” He also revealed that as many as two or three movies are expected to be added to the competition next week, after Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week announce their respective lineups.

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has locked down North American rights to the British feel-good comedy Bank of Dave, starring Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death), Rory Kinnear (Men), Jo Hartley (After Life) and Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton). The film featuring music and performances by English rock band Def Leppard is slated for release in theaters and on digital platforms later this year.

At last weekend’s Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed three new “Star Wars” movies in the pipeline.  Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy will direct a film that centers around Daisy Ridley‘s Rey; Dave Filoni has a film that culminates “The Mandalorian” and its connected Disney+ series; and James Mangold will helm “Dawn Of The Jedi,” about the birth of the Jedi order 25,000 years ago.