Luc Besson Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Caleb Landry Jones hits the red carpet with longtime girlfriend Katya Zvereva for the premiere of Dogman during the 2023 Venice Film Festival on Thursday (August 31) in Italy.

For a few beautiful years in the early 2000s, Michael Pitt’s spine-chilling blue eyes wreaked havoc in world cinema, from Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” to Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games.” Then, due to quite a few controversies, the actor stepped away from the limelight, taking on smaller projects here and there and leaving an abyssal gap in the industry: a blue-eyed menace whose presence in any given film immediately signaled some form of psychological torture. Many have tried their hand at filling this gap, from the sprawling Skarsgårds to Dane DeHaan, but no one has come as close to it as Caleb Landry Jones.

Luc Besson’s Dogman had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday night, scoring a nearly six-minute standing ovation from the crowd inside the Palazzo del Cinema.

Luc Besson’s latest film, “Dogman,” made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, where it earned an enthusiastic 6-minute standing ovation. That tied the 6-minute ovation Venice audiences gave Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” earlier in the evening on the second night of the prestigious festival.

Luc Besson’s Dogman is a superhero movie in search of a comic-book, which makes a refreshing change amid the summer’s raft of DC disappointments. It skews a little close to Todd Phillip’s Golden Lion winner Joker in terms of weirdness and (especially) wardrobe, but it also offers the perfect showcase for star Caleb Landry Jones, who imbues a boisterously insane action thriller with heart and soul in what must surely be a career-high performance. Which is no mean feat for an actor whose work has always been excellent and has so often gone under the radar.

Jessica Kiang Check under most any post relating to the recently released trailer for Luc Besson’s “Dogman,” and you’ll find one, if not several responses riffing, to various degrees of enthusiasm, on the theme of “OMG, what if ‘Joker’ but with dogs?” That rhetorical question can now be answered, following this numbskulled nonsense movie’s inexplicable Venice Competition premiere, with a resounding “If only.” The bludgeoningly obvious, creatively inert, deathly dull tale of a cross-dressing misfit in a wheelchair who favors canine company over that of humans, it is scarcely fit to lap from the same water bowl as Todd Phillips’ controversial Golden Lion winner. Even those who didn’t much like “Joker” have to admit that it did not so actively treat its audience as if they were brain dead that everyone left feeling about 30 IQ points dumber than when they went in.

An emotional Luc Besson and his actors Caleb Landry Jones and Jonica T. Gibbs got a rapturous reception at the press conference for their Venice Film Festival movie DogMan.

EXCLUSIVE: Caleb Landry Jones has built an eclectic resumé since he first appeared as Boy on Bike in 2007’s No Country for Old Men. His diverse credits include X-Men: First Class, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Get Out and Nitram, Justin Kurzel’s 2021 mass murder drama which earned Landry Jones a Best Actor prize in Cannes. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Luc Besson, the formerly A-list director who rose to the top of the box office with his kinetic action films, had his career derailed by rape accusations leveled against him in 2018 by Sand Van Roy, an actress on his film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” The ensuing legal battle consumed five years of Besson’s life, but after being cleared last June of all charges by the Cour de Cassation, the French equivalent to the Supreme Court, he’s re-emerging at this year’s Venice Film Festival with the indie drama “Dogman.” But will the industry work with Besson? That’s one of the questions that we discuss during a lengthy interview at the Plaza Athénée Hotel in Paris on the eve of his big premiere. Besson is evasive about the matter, preferring to talk up his latest effort, the story of a bruised man who faces rejection and finds solace in dogs, as well as dissatisfaction with a movie business that’s become more obsessed with superheroes than style.

Sophia Scorziello editor Jamie Christopher, assistant director on Marvel films including “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the entire Harry Potter franchise, died Tuesday in Los Angeles from heart complications. He was 52.

Venice Film Festival. But the SAG-AFTRA strike made it impossible for the tennis drama, which MGM pushed to a 2024 release date, to come to the Lido. So instead, Venice kicked off with World War II drama “Comandante” by young Italian auteur Edoardo De Angelis.

The Venice Film Festival began August 30 with opening-night movie , an Italian World War II drama, kicking off a lineup for the venerable fest’s 80th edition that includes world premieres of Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, David Fincher’s The Killer, Ava DuVernay’s Origins, and new films from lightning-rod directors Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Luc Besson.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The 80th Venice Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday with World War II drama “Comandante” by young Italian auteur Edoardo De Angelis packing a strong political punch. Tensions due to the SAG-AFTRA strike lurked in the background, though without stealing the thunder of strong expectations for this year’s lineup.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent It’s official: Adam Driver, Caleb Landry Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Jessica Chastain are among the stars set to attend the upcoming Venice Film Festival. Following multiple unsourced reports, the festival has confirmed that Driver is expected on the Lido’s red carpet to promote Micheal Mann’s “Ferrari,” in which he plays the titular character, Italian car racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari; Landry Jones is coming for Luc Besson’s “Dogman”; Mikkelsen will make the trek for Danish director Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land” and Chastain for Mexican auteur Michel Franco’s “Memory,” her first role since her Oscar-winning performance in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Also expected on the Lido are Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, who play Priscilla and Elvis Presley in Sophia Coppola’s “Priscilla.” as well as Priscilla Presley herself.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Dozens of Hollywood players are staring anxiously at empty Louis Vuitton trunks this week, wondering if A-list stars and select filmmakers will get the greenlight from SAG-AFTRA to attend the rapidly approaching Venice Film Festival. The union’s interim agreements have been a focal point over the past weeks of the contentious strike, as the deals allow some productions to resume and select finished films to engage in publicity.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has cancelled its swanky Women in Cinema gala event at the upcoming Venice Film Festival in response to the ongoing actors’ strike.

Luc Besson’s DogMan has become one of the first films to receive a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that will allow talent to do press during the upcoming festival season. Actors will be allowed to promote the pic at its upcoming premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amazon Prime Video France has signed a multi-year deal with leading French independent distributor Metropolitan FilmExport to bring over 100 movies to local subscribers. Metropolitan FilmExport ranks as one of France’s top purveyors of U.S. franchise films, such as “Lord of the Rings,” “Hunger Games,” and “John Wick.” As such, this deal positions Prime Video in France as a home for premium content for wide audiences.

Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is refusing to row back on his decision to invite controversial movie-biz bigwigs Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Luc Besson to the late summer event, which will take place despite the potential disruption by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. “Luc Besson has been recently fully cleared of any accusations. Woody Allen went under legal scrutiny twice at the end of the ’90s and was absolved,” Barbera said in a new interview with Variety.

The Venice Film Festival confirmed to us today it is hopeful that movies with SAG-AFTRA ‘interim agreements’ will bring their casts to the Lido.

The red carpet may not have as many stars as in previous years, but the 2023 edition of the Venice Film Festival will feature a slew of highly anticipated films. And, likely, their directors taking center stage.

When I write about new trailers that are released, I typically include the studio’s synopsis of the film. It’s just an easy way to concisely provide an explanation for what the film is about and why you should care.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent EuropaCorp has dropped the trailer for Luc Besson’s anticipated comeback movie “Dogman” starring Caleb Landry Jones, a Texas-born musician and actor best-known for his Cannes-prizewinning role in “Nitram.” The movie, represented in international markets by Kinology, is expected to world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. The film tells the story of a child, bruised by life, who finds salvation through his love of dogs. It marks Besson’s first film since 2019’s “Anna.”  In the trailer, which Variety had seen exclusively before the Berlinale, Landry Jones stars as Douglas, a man who was abused as a child by his violent father and viciously thrown to the dogs. Instead of attacking him, the dogs came to protect him and became his allies. On a journey to heal from childhood trauma and physical injury, Douglas seeks to find his own path, even if it means bending societal rules and going overboard with his love of dogs. The trailer shows Landry Jones’ character experimenting with gender expression and embracing his singularity, while facing off gangsters in action-packed scenes. Douglas also appears to be interrogated by a detective, played by Jojo T. Gibbs.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kinology has boarded Quentin Dupieux’s (“Rubber”) ferocious comedy “Yannick” which will world premiere in competition at the Locarno Film Festival. The anticipated film is produced by Thomas et Mathieu Verhaeghe at Atelier de production, and Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions. “Yannick” stars Raphaël Quenard, Pio Marmaï, Blanche Gardin and Sébastien Chassagne. Yannick” unfolds during a mediocre stage performance of “Le Cocu” during which an audience member revolts and takes the full reins of the room. “‘Yannick’ is Quentin Dupieux’s most mature film; it’s both melancholic and thoughtful,” said Gregoire Melin, Kinology’s founder and president. “We’re so excited to be reteaming with him after ‘Daaaaaali!’ and ‘Wrong’ on this new film which could become even more cult than his previous movies,” Melin continued. 

Natalie Portman To Be Feted At Deauville

dismissed the accusation in 2019. Marembert said the latest decision, from France’s highest appeals court, finally puts the matter to rest.“It therefore puts a definitive end to this procedure initiated in 2018, during which Luc Besson was systematically cleared by all the magistrates who examined the case,” the statement said.

France’s highest appeals court dismissed accusations of rape by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy against French director and producer Luc Besson on Wednesday.

Luke Evans (“Murder Mystery,” “Nine Perfect Strangers”) and Taiwanese female actor Gwei Lun-mei (“Black Coal, Thin Ice,” “Girlfriend, Boyfriend”) will co-star in “Weekend Escape Project,” an action thriller being produced in Taiwan by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp.  The film marks a further comeback for EuropaCorp after a four-year hiatus that followed Besson’s personal travails and financial difficulties at the company. Besson and Virginie Besson-Silla are producing the movie for EuropaCorp. Kinology is handling international sales. 

Mediawan has been shaking the foundations of the film and TV world in France and Europe since it was launched in 2015 by producer Pierre-Antoine Capton, billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse.

Those in Amber Heard‘s camp are not at all happy about Johnny Depp making his entertainment industry comeback this week at the Cannes Film Festival.

Johnny Depp’s new film.A social media campaign was launched earlier this week which accused the festival of “supporting predators” – it comes under the hashtag #CannesYouNot. The online opposition arose after the prestigious film festival was confirmed to be opening with Johnny Depp’s new film, Jeanne du Barry, this year.The 2023 instalment — the 76th edition of the festival — kicked off yesterday (May 16), although was on the receiving end of backlash due to its inclusion of the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor.

A journalist who is accusing Johnny Depp‘s Jeanne du Barry director Maiwenn of spitting on him is speaking out about the encounter.

a case she lost last June. “Jeanne du Barry” has been a lightning rod for controversy; last week director Maïwenn admitted to assaulting a journalist (the journalist was part of an organization covering the allegations against Maïwenn’s ex-husband, French filmmaker Luc Besson, who started dating Maïwenn when she was 15).

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent A new social media campaign with the hashtag #CannesYouNot is calling out the Cannes Film Festival for “celebrating abusers for 76 years.” The campaign was launched online, days before the festival, by supporters of Amber Heard. Her ex-husband Johnny Depp’s new film, “Jeanne du Barry,” will open the prestigious festival on Tuesday night when Cannes kicks off in the South of France. Eve Barlow — a journalist, activist and close friend of Amber Heard’s — posted the hashtag across her social platforms. “Cannes seem proud of their history supporting rapists and abusers,” Barlow posted on social media with the French expression, “Plus ça change,” which roughly translates to, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Natalie Portman has reflected on her debut role in Léon: The Professional, referring to the film as “cringey”.In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress spoke about the 1994 Luc Bensson-directed film where she starred as Mathilda Lando, a lonely 12-year-old who befriends Léon, her neighbour and Italian hitman.“It’s a movie that’s still beloved, and people come up to me about it more than almost anything I’ve ever made,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It gave me my career, but it is definitely when you watch it now, it definitely has some cringey, to say the least, aspects to it. So, yes, it’s complicated for me.”The film was Portman’s acting debut, and she was cast when she was 11 years old.

Prince turned down the eccentric role of Ruby Rhod in the film The Fifth Element.During his appearance on The View, Tucker shared the pop icon’s reason for rejecting the role in the 1997 Luc Besson-directed sci-fi film. The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg mentioned the film was one of her favorites and praised the actor for his performance.