Neon’s Boutique Label Super Buys Margaret Qualley-Christopher Abbott Dominatrix Thriller ‘Sanctuary’ Following TIFF Debut (EXCLUSIVE)

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Hong Chau has joined the cast of the anticipated new film from “The Favourite” and “The Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos. Chau, who has been prolific in recent years, joins a stacked ensemble featuring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Plot details are (frustratingly) under wraps from the Greek master of subversion, who has also given us “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “Dogtooth.” Lanthimos directs from a script he wrote with Efthimis Filippou (reuniting after both “Lobster” and “Sacred Deer”). Searchlight Pictures is financing and distributing the project with Element Pictures and Film4. Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element, Kasia Malipan and Lanthimos are producing. Principal photography begins this month in Chau’s native New Orleans.

Joe Alwyn stars opposite Margaret Qualley in the forthcoming film, , from director Claire Denis and A24. On Thursday, the steamy first trailer was released and promises an «erotic tale of sex, lies and intrigue.» Based in Nicaragua,  is the film adaptation of Denis Johnson's 1986 novel of the same name.

EXCLUSIVE:  The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos and Searchlight Pictures are looking to stay in business with each other as the studio is greenlighting his next film AND. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley are set to star. With a script developed by Element Pictures and Film4 and penned by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, the film is produced by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element, along with Kasia Malipan and Lanthimos.

Yorgos Lanthimos‘ follow-up to 2018’s “The Favourite,” “Poor Things,” doesn’t even have a release date yet, and news about his next movie is already here. Deadline reports that Lanthimos teams up with Searchlight Pictures for the fifth time with “AND,” and the film stars much of the same main cast as “Poor Things.” READ MORE: ‘Bleat’ Trailer: Emma Stone Stars In A New Yorgos Lanthimos-Directed Short Premiering May 6 In Greece “AND” sees Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, and Willem Dafoe return to work with Lanthimos again, just after finishing up “Poor Things.” Joining them is Jesse Plemons, Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film starts production next month in New Orleans.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Yorgos Lanthimos, the filmmaker behind dark comedies like “The Favorite” and “The Lobster,” has lined up a starry ensemble for next movie, “And.” Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley will star in “And,” which is set at Searchlight Pictures. In addition to directing, Lanthimos is writing the screenplay with Efthimis Filippou, his collaborator on “The Lobster and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” Element Pictures and Film4 helped develop the script, and Film4 co-financed the project, which begins principal photography in New Orleans next month. “Working with Yorgos continues to be a highlight for us at Searchlight, and this is yet another truly original project that sets his work apart,” said Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield. “Working again with Emma, Jesse, Willem, and Margaret as well as Element and Film4 is just the icing on the cake.”

Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn star in the erotic thriller Stars at Noon, which has just released its trailer!

What a year 2022 has been for French director Claire Denis. Back in February, her film “Both Sides of the Blade” (formerly known as “Fire”) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

EJ Panaligan editor A24 has released the official trailer for its upcoming Claire Denis-helmed romantic thriller “Stars at Noon,” starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn. The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The two-hour film follows a young American journalist (Qualley), who falls for a mysterious Englishman (Alwyn) while stranded in Nicaragua. Though at first he seems like her best bet at getting out of the country, it is slowly revealed that her affiliation with the Englishman has put both of them in immense danger. Also appearing in the film in supporting roles are Danny Ramirez, John C. Reilly and Benny Safdie. Ramirez plays a Costa Rican policeman, Reilly plays an American boss and Safdie plays a CIA agent. They all take interest in the Englishman’s ominous dealings in Nicaragua.

The challenge and opportunity of transatlantic production was the subject of a session at the Zurich Summit this morning, with the panel comprising Bert Hamelinck, head of films and global MD at Belgian-U.S. film and TV group Caviar, CAA Media Finance’s Benjamin Kramer, Elysian Film Group CEO Danny Perkins and Hype Studios founder Ilya Stewart.

Audiences got their first look at Naomi Ackie as the late iconic American singer Whitney Houston in the new trailer for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The biopic is directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Anthony McCarten, the creator of the critically acclaimed film "Bohemian Rhapsody." Featured in the trailer alongside Ackie is Ashton Sanders who plays Bobby Brown, Stanley Tucci as Davis, Clarke Peters as John Houston, Whitney’s father, and Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston. With executive producers Clive Davis and Pat Houston, the singer's longtime manager, the film follows a young Whitney from her obscure music career to the height of her fame.

Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” has scored U.S. distribution with Neon’s boutique label Super after making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it won two major competition awards.Super will release the film in theaters, following its U.S.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Super, the boutique distribution label from Neon, has acquired U.S. rights to Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” after it won the Silver Lion Grand Jury prize in Venice along with the Luigi De Laurentiis Lion of the Future award. “Saint Omer” was recently shortlisted for France’s submission to the Academy Awards and will premiere at the New York Film Festival and play the BFI London Festival. Neon plans a theatrical release. “Saint Omer” is Diop’s debut fiction feature, which she co-wrote with Amrita David and Marie NDiaye, and it stars Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville and Aurélia Petit. Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral of Srab Films produced alongside Arte France Cinéma and Pictanovo Hauts-de-France.

Amanda Seyfried is now an Emmy winner!

Lily James looks gorgeous on the Emmys red carpet!

Brent Lang Executive Editor Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Ashkal,” following its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The murder mystery is the second feature from Tunisian director Youssef Chebbi and had its world premiere earlier this year at Cannes as part of the Directors’ Fortnight section. Yellow Veil Pictures plans to release the film theatrically in 2023. “Ashkal” is set amongst derelict, half-finished apartment complexes of a former regime, where a mysterious burnt body is discovered by two police officers. The corpse reveals a puzzling repetition of events. As the investigation progresses, a network of violence and corruption is uncovered throughout the city. Fatma Oussaifi and Mohamed Houcine Grayaa star in the picture.