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Antonio Ferme editor James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” explores the complexity of the American Dream — the idea that every citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and initiative — from the perspective of a Jewish family in 1980. “In some ways,” according to star Anne Hathaway, the status of this idealistic pursuit has remained “very similar” over the years. At the same time, the actor pinpointed a notable societal change that she hopes continues to persist. “If there’s one thing that I really do hope that we keep coming to a different place about because it keeps coming up at such an impossibly high cost, is that we’re more willing to see ourselves as a part of the problem,” Hathaway told Variety on Wednesday night at the “Armaggedon Time” New York Film Festival premiere. “Not in a fragile way, but in a way that we can affect change by changing ourselves.”

Every director brings a piece of themselves to their work, but this Oscar season has seen films becoming ever more personal. And it’s up to the cinematographer to work with their director to bring those stories to life. 

Filmmaker James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” opens in limited release this weekend, Friday, October 28. A soulful, melancholy drama about family, friendship, loss, privilege, and more, it’s also a movie, like many of Gray’s films about class and America, and how its 1980s-set Ronald Regan-era echoes back to where we are today.

The trailer for James Gray’s “Armageddon Time”, starring Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and more, is here.

Michaela Zee editor James Gray is reminiscing about his childhood in Queens in the first trailer for his semi-autobiographical film “Armageddon Time.” Inspired by the director’s upbringing in 1980s Queens, the film loosely follows Gray’s experiences as a student at the Kew-Forest School in New York City — where Donald Trump also attended. Starring newcomer Banks Repeta as Paul Graff, “Armageddon Time” also includes Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway as Paul’s parents Irving and Esther, and Anthony Hopkins as his grandfather. Additional cast members include Jaylin Webb, Ryan Sell, Tovah Feldshuh and John Diehl as Fred Trump. In May, Hathaway and Gray broke into tears as the film received a seven-minute standing ovation following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Viewers were also surprised to see Jessica Chastain appear in a small cameo as Donald Trump’s sister, Maryanne.

Whether it’s ancient cities in the Amazon jungle, uncharted regions of the solar system, or the bleak trenches of WW1, James Gray’s worlds are always meticulously crafted and endlessly immersive. For his upcoming semi-autobiographical work, “Armageddon Time,” things are slightly more earthbound than “Ad Astra,” but they promise to be just as broad, if not broader in scope.

EXCLUSIVE: Director James Gray has revealed to Deadline that Johnny, a pivotal character portrayed by Jaylin Webb (The Wonder Years) in Gray’s autobiographical film Armageddon Time, was killed during a drug deal in the mid-1980s, some six years after we last see him in the movie.

James Gray’s Armageddon Time will be a main slate selection of the New York Film Festival as well as a special 60th anniversary screening event celebrating the history of the fest.

CANNES, France -- When the Cannes Film Festival audience stood to applaud James Gray's richly observed autobiographical drama “Armageddon Time," about the director's own 1980s childhood in Queens, Gray's voice quivered as he addressed the crowd.“It’s my story, in a way,” said Gray. “And you guys shared it with me.”“It took every last bit of control not to burst out into tears," Gray said, still recovering the next day in Cannes. “It’s been a really strange journey making the film and my father died two months ago of COVID.

Clayton Davis James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” a deeply personal look at how the auteur became the auteur we, or at least the French, came to know and love, debuted to warm applause on Thursday. However, the film’s problematic depiction of racial inequalities in the Reagan era may turn off awards voters.

TheWrap’s review called the film one of the least nostalgic examples of a form that is almost by definition nostalgic,” and added: “Gray is hard on himself in ‘Armageddon Time’; Paul Graff, the film’s stand-in for the director as a sixth grader, is never cute, unless you want to dote on the angelic curls and ignore the purposefully stubborn personality.

Kenneth Branagh’s childhood was transformed by the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Mike Mills had very eccentric parents and Cameron Crowe was a teenage rock critic — and we know these things because all three directors have made films that drew upon their own childhoods. And now it’s James Gray’s turn to offer his own look back with “Armageddon Time,” which premiered to a rousing ovation in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.And what does the film tell us about the young Gray? For starters, he was a dreamer, he was a brat, he didn’t understand the privileges he was born into and he went on his own path.

Writer-director James Gray has been to the Cannes Film Festival in competition on four previous occasions with We Own the Night, The Yards, The Immigrant, and Two Lovers but has yet to walk away with a prize. Maybe the fifth time will be the charm? It certainly would be deserving as Gray comes back to his beloved New York City roots with the highly autobiographical and intriguingly titled Armageddon Time.