How Pedro Almodóvar’s Gay Cowboy Short Film ‘Strange Way of Life’ Differs From ‘The Power of the Dog’: ‘They Didn’t F—’

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The nominations for the Emmys are still weeks away. But there’s growing excitement in the Latino community as multiple lead actors continue to look well-positioned to receive deserved recognition. Two of the top contenders in the lead drama actor race — Pedro Pascal as the hardened survivor Joel from HBO’s apocalyptic video game adaptation “The Last of Us” and Diego Luna as the rebel hero Cassian in the “Star Wars” prequel series “Andor” from Disney+ — are Latino and star in buzzy sci-fi and fantasy series. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions in all categories.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet have taken a new step in their relationship. The new celebrity couple is getting to know each other more, and it seems like the Hollywood star has even met the famous Kardashian-Jenner family.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday. Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

William Earl Variety’s Actors on Actors series returns featuring the biggest stars in this year’s TV Emmys race for Season 18. The four episodes will debut on PBS SoCal on Thursday January 15th starting at 8:00 pm, followed by encores on KCET and public television stations across the country and the WORLD Channel (check local listings). All episodes will stream on pbssocal.org and the free PBS App following their premieres. Variety’s Actors on Actors issue will hit newsstands on June 7th and the conversations will start airing on Tuesday, June 6th on Variety.com and its social media channels. This year’s “Actors on Actors” lineup includes:

Pedro Pascal was noticeably absent at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The Chilean actor is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and the world is captivated by his every move.

Dua Lipa made an appearance at Cannes Film Festival, making her red carpet debut alongside her new boyfriend, Romain Gavras. The pair looked stunning together wearing evening attire and appeared happy to have a moment in the spotlight, with Dua Lipa sharing the photos on social media."Last night in Cannes with my sweetheart,” she captioned it. Scroll down to have a look at all we know about Romain Gavras: 2023 Met Gala: Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, and more to co-chair fashion’s most exclusive eventCheck out Pedro Pascal in Pedro Almodovar’s ‘Strange Way of Life’ posterA post shared by DUA LIPA (@dualipa)Gavra is a filmmaker, having been involved in the entertainment world since he was young.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Revered Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio is returning to Cannes with “Kidnapped,” a drama that reconstructs the true tale of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy who was kidnapped and forcibly raised as a Christian in 19th century Italy. It’s a story that Steven Spielberg had his eye on, having announced in 2016 that he would make a drama about Mortara for which he began scouting locations in Italy. Last year, Bellocchio was in Cannes with another kidnapping drama, the limited TV series “Exterior Night,” about the abduction and assassination of former Italian premier Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists. The veteran auteur’s first foray in TV has had the rare distinction of playing well in Italian cinemas — in two installments — before airing on RAI and selling globally. Earlier this month it also scored a slew of statuettes, including best director, at Italy’s David Awards, the country’s top film prizes.

Manu Rios is enjoying the warm weather in Cannes and he went shirtless during a beach day!

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, will preside over the jury of the Malta Film Commission’s inaugural Mediterrane Film Festival celebrating movies from the Mediterranean Basin. The fest, which will take place in Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations on the island between June 25-30, will showcase films from each of the MED9 nations, an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states. It comprises: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Besides Wotton the other jury members are “Triangle Of Sadness”actor Zlatko Burić; Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali; French actor and director Vahina Giocante; Greek producer Amanda Livanou; Italian journalist Boris Sollazzo; Maltese critic Mario Azzopardi; Portuguese journalist and programmer José Vieira Mendes; Slovenian journalist Tina Poglajen; and Spanish programmer Carlos Reviriego.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Spain’s status as Cannes’ Marché du Film’s Country of Honor is a “milestone,” says María Peña, CEO of ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. But it’s also a mark of recognition, she says, after Spain’s big wins just this year at the Berlinale (three prizes for Estibaliz Urresola’s “20,000 Species of Bees”) and France’s Cesars (foreign film win for “The Beasts” and actor trophy to Benoît Magimel for Albert Serra’s “Pacification” and cinematography for its DP, Artur Tort). Peña also points to April’s MipTV, where Rafael Cobos’ “The Left Handed Son,” from Movistar Plus+, won Canneseries’ Short Format Competition, and “The Caravan,” produced by Barcelona’s Caravan Films, the first MipDoc International Buyers Screenings honors.

Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford swung into Cannes on Thursday for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival.

Cannes Film Festival was bursting with powerful auteurs debuting new work and a bevy of titles being prepped for acquisition. From Pedro Almodóvar to Steve McQueen, festival attendees were flush for choice on what to watch — this despite reports that issues with tickets were still happening.

EXCLUSIVE: Sky wanted to start 2023 with a bang. Comcast’s European pay-TV giant gathered journalists at London’s salubrious Soho Hotel and laid on a banquet table heaving with Danish pastries. A smorgasbord of upcoming Sky content was also on the menu, but there was really only one show on everyone’s lips. The Last of Us had recently premiered and Pedro Pascal’s blockbuster apocalypse series was in the mood to steal Sky’s thunder.

Viola Davis was serving up looks on the red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival!

Uma Thurman had a special date on hand as she kicked off her time at the Cannes Film Festival!On Tuesday, the 53-year-old  Fiction actress walked the carpet during the opening ceremony at Palais des Festivals with her 21-year-old son, Levon Thurman-Hawke. The mother-son duo was picture perfect as they made their high-fashion arrival. Thurman was stunning in a floor-length gown, that she completed with a red drape that had a dramatic train trailing behind her.

previously on the Dua Lipa podcast, the filmmaker stated that “it’s a queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other. It’s about masculinity in a deep sense because the Western is a male genre.” He continued, in sentiments that echoed his post-screening conversation on Wednesday, “What I can tell you about the film is that it has a lot of the elements of the Western.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Every time two cowboys point their guns at one another on screen, there’s something homoerotic at play. Hollywood Westerns may be loath to admit as much, but not so Pedro Almodóvar, who casts Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as lonesome cowboys reunited after 25 years in “Strange Way of Life.” Commissioned by Saint Laurent Productions (which is also premiering a Jean-Luc Godard short at Cannes), this half-baked half-hour serves as a sexy showcase for creative director Anthony Vaccarello’s latest designs, while barely delivering on the promise that an Almodóvar-made “gay cowboy” movie conjures in the imagination. At the Cannes premiere, the Spanish director described “Strange” as his response to a question posed by “Brokeback Mountain”: What can two men do on a ranch? Silva (Pascal) gives Jake (Hawke) his answer in the final seconds of the short, and it’s sweet, though it turns out Almodóvar is misremembering Ang Lee’s 2005 Western. The scene he’s thinking of is probably the one where Heath Ledger’s character tells Jake Gyllenhaal how his father made a point of showing him an old rancher’s corpse, gay-bashed with a tire iron and then “drug … around by his dick.” With an image like that in their minds, no wonder the couple decide to keep their forbidden love on the down low.

Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar rode into the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday with his short film Strange Way Of Life, pushing boundaries for LGBT representation in the Western genre.

The great Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar is a rabid fan of the western genre but until now had never made one, and also has only dabbled in directing any english language film with the exception of the 2020 short, The Human Voice that starred Tilda Swinton. His latest movie is also a short, just 31 minutes, but he finally got to do his western in english, and it is a nice homage to the form and those great directors who made it that way, one it is safe to say could only have come from this master of cinema, and a true cineaste himself. Almodovar brought the finished product to its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival today and, if flattered by the attention, the ghosts of John Ford, Howard Hawks, John Sturges, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh , and Sam Peckinpah may be surprised at the twist in Strange Way Of Life that this 73 year old fanboy has given it.

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.