Netflix Reportedly Will Not Premiere Films At This Year’s Cannes Film Festival

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s drama of the rock-and-roll legend starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Tom Hanks, will world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has confirmed.The movie currently has June 24 release date, which means it couldn’t open the festival unless Warner Bros. Pictures decides to have it bow on May 17 to kick off the milestone 75th edition.

Angelique Jackson The Minions are back — and celebrating with a splashy world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.The long-awaited “Minions” sequel, dubbed “The Rise of Gru” will open the festival with a screening on Monday, June 13 in the Grande Salle de Bonlieu.The next chapter in the “Despicable Me” film franchise tells the backstory of how Gru — the world’s greatest supervillain — met his Minions, forming “cinema’s most despicable crew” and facing off against the criminal supergroup, the Vicious 6.“The Minions franchise is inextricably linked to Annecy,” stated Marcel Jean, the festival’s artistic director. “As early as 2010, ‘Despicable Me’ made its mark at the event, and since then each film in the series has started its success here.

Angelique Jackson Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” has been cleared for takeoff with a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.As Variety predicted earlier this month, the “Top Gun” sequel will screen during the French fest, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.Described by Variety’s Elsa Keslassy as the “planetary blockbuster Thierry Fremaux has been dreaming of since 2020,” the Cannes director first aimed to get the movie secured for an out-of-competition slot before COVID-19 delays upended the film release calendar.Cruise’s long-awaited return to the cockpit had been further delayed by the pandemic, which pushed the movie’s planned release date several times. The film is now set to hit theaters on May 27, while the Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28.

K.J. Yossman “Community’s” Gillian Jacobs and “Call My Agent” star Gregory Montel are set to appear in a new Netflix series from “Unorthodox” creator Anna Winger.Joining them are Lucas Englander (“The Witcher”), Cory Michael Smith (“Gotham”), Ralph Amoussou (“Marianne”), Deleila Piasko (“Boys Are Us”), Amit Rahav (“Unorthodox”) and Corey Stoll (“Billions”).The series, titled “Transatlantic,” tells the true story of the Emergency Rescue Committee during the Second World War, which helped thousands of refugees escape Nazi-occupied France.

Gotham alum Cory Michael Smith, Gillian Jacobs (Community) and Corey Stoll (Billions) are set as the leads of Netflix’s Transatlantic, a limited series set during the 1940 refugee crisis in Marseille, France. Call My Agent star Grégory Montel, Lucas Englander (Bridge of Spies), Ralph Amoussou (Missions) and Deleila Piasko (Boys Are Us) round out the international cast of the series, from Unorthodox creator Anna Winger and her Airlift Productions.

Sergei Pugachev was once dubbed ‘Putin’s banker’. Today he is considered a ‘traitor’ and is exiled in France.

slate of new Netflix movies is a potent mixture of Netflix original films and titles from elsewhere, making for a rich bouquet of springtime entertainment. (You heard us.)Below are the very best new movies on Netflix this month – from horrifying nightmares to ace fighter pilots to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (and everything in between).Two “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies are making their debut on Netflix this month – both Wes Craven’s 1984 original and a widely derided 2010 remake starring Rooney Mara and Jackie Earle Haley.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Documentaries about the conflict in Ukraine, the Cuban migrant situation and the Palestinian refugee crisis were among top winners at MiradasDoc, Spain’s foremost documentary film festival which wrapped its 15th edition on March 12. Based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, the festival was an in-person event running March 4-12, while its market (March 8-11) remained virtual for the second consecutive year.The best international documentary prize went to “Option Zero” (“La Opcion Cero”) by Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltran while the best debut feature award was extended to “Trenches” by French journalist Loup Bureau who has covered the Arab Spring in Egypt, the Syrian War and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the Donbas region. “Trenches” follows the intrepid young men and women who are fighting Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorThe Sun Valley Film Festival, which will be returning in-person for its 11th annual event from March 30 to April 3, has announced additional awards and films that will be screened this year.Variety will present this year’s Pioneer Award to Danny Strong on April 1. As a writer, director, actor and producer, Strong has earned two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two WGA awards, a PGA Award and a Peabody Award — with credits ranging from both parts of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” to “Dopesick.” Previous Pioneer Award winners include Shaka King, Aaron Paul, Eliza Hittman and Mark Duplass.Also on April 1, the Rising Star Award will be given to Netflix’s “Outer Banks” cast members Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Carlacia Grant.

Netflix today provided a taste of its slate of original French productions coming up in 2022, which includes 25 new titles for launch this year and 20 projects currently in production. The slate, selected and developed by the Netflix France creative team, reps a total investment of more than 200M euros ($221M) across 2022. The streamer recently signed a deal with the French industry in which it committed to producing at least 10 local films per year, investing about 40M euros ($45M).   Among the projects highlighted during a presentation in Paris today was Romain Gavras’ formerly untitled feature, which is now called Athena. An immersive and modern tragedy, it stars Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane, Anthony Bajon and is co-written with Oscar nominee Ladj Ly (Les Misérables) and Elias Belkeddar. The logline reads: In the space of a few hours following the tragic death of their younger brother in troubling circumstances, the men’s lives will tip over into chaos.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNetflix unveiled its 2022 slate of 25 French Originals, as well as projects including the second and third opus of its action movie “Lost Bullet,” and “En Place,” a comedy series created by Jean-Pascal Zadi (“Tout simplement Noir”) and Francois Uzan. The company said it will invest more than €200 million ($220 million) in 2022 in France.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterNetflix asked a federal court on Thursday to block a Texas prosecutor from pursuing child pornography charges against the streaming service for distributing the 2020 French film “Cuties.”Lucas Babin, the elected district attorney in Tyler County, Texas, indicted Netflix in September 2020, alleging that the film violates a state law against the “lewd exhibition” of children. The film portrays a children’s dance troupe, and sparked controversy in the U.S.

Netflix has paused all future projects and acquisitions from Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine, Variety has learned. The streamer had four Russian originals in the pipeline, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has been put on hold.The 1990’s set series was Netflix’s second original series filming in Russia, following "Anna K" which wrapped last year.

The three key side events of the Cannes Film Festival – Critics’ Week, ACID and the Directors’ Fortnight – will not be joining the boycott of Russian cinema.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSet to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Cannes Film Festival will likely be presided over by a female executive for the first time ever. Variety has confirmed that Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France, Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, is well-positioned to succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.Knobloch has yet to be elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, but the German-born, Paris-based executive is being pushed forward by high-profile figures within the French government.

Variety reported on Wednesday. The news comes on the heels of another Netflix production, the royal drama “The Crown,” falling victim to a similar, $200,000 jewel, silverware, and antique theft on Feb.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNetflix has paused all future projects and acquisitions from Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine, Variety has learned.The streamer had four Russian originals in the pipeline, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has been put on hold. The 1990’s set series was Netflix’s first original series filming in Russia.A source close to Netflix said the company was assessing the impact of current events.Elsewhere in the film and TV industry, Russia has been barred from major festivals and award shows.

Netflix has been the subject of another robbery.

Cannes Film Festival has released a statement in response to the war in Ukraine saying it will not accept “Russian delegations” this year. Scroll down to read it in full.

Some news in the film world today regarding the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.