Thierry Fremaux Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAt this year’s Cannes Film Festival, heads will turn at a new May-December romance: TikTok, which is 6 years old, has hooked up with the venerable fest, now celebrating its 75th anniversary.How is it that Cannes — which, in years past, notoriously banned social-media posting from its famous red-carpeted steps — is now welcoming TikTok as one of its elite sponsors? For the festival, the partnership is aimed at pulling Cannes forward into the 21st century, lending it a sheen of techno-hipness and ideally attracting younger film fans. For TikTok, which boasts more than 1 billion monthly users worldwide, pairing with the Cannes Film Festival is an effort to show filmmakers that the app is more than just a place for teenagers to lip-sync to the latest viral dance craze.

Cannes Film Festival almost 35 years ago, I was still green and naïve enough to ask long-time Cannes attendees why the famed French fest held such a powerful place in the pecking order of international film gatherings. The late Richard Corliss, Time magazine’s peerless and beloved film critic, answered warmly and succinctly, with his own more worldly query: “Would you rather be in Germany in the winter or the South of France in the spring?”Corliss had a point, but in the decades since I’ve tucked my own couple of dozen Cannes fests under my belt, I’ve compiled my own list of reasons why Cannes remains the one film festival that people who’ve never been to a film festival have heard about and wish they could go to, and know that if a film has scored there, it must be worth their time.

Lise Pedersen The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival also marks the 25th anniversary of its partnership with luxury jewelry and watchmaker Chopard.Chopard artistic director and co-president Caroline Scheufele remembers fondly when Pierre Viot, then president of the Cannes Film Festival, asked her to create a new version of the world-famous trophy in 1997.“You can imagine my racing heart when he invited me to redesign a fresh interpretation of the Palme d’Or,” Scheufele tells Variety. “The following year, at the closing ceremony of the 1998 Cannes Festival, the new Palme d’Or was unveiled to the world in the form in which it still exists today.For Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux, the 25-year partnership with Chopard is a relationship based on loyalty and trust.

Sasha Urban editorMovie icon Julia Roberts has been named the Godmother of the Trophée Chopard 2022 at Cannes Film Festival.As Godmother, Roberts will present the award to both a male and female young actor on the rise. She follows Godmother Jessica Chastain, who presented the award to Jessie Buckley and Kingsley Ben-Adir at Cannes Film Festival 2021.Zhang Ziyi, Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett, Elton John, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Helen Mirren are among previous presenters.

Zack Sharf Italian director, actor and producer Valeria Golino will serve as the president of the jury for this year’s Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival. Golino follows in the footsteps of last year’s jury president Andrea Arnold.

After what was rumored to be a long search, Thierry Fremaux has found his president for the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Jury. Legendary French actor Vincent Lindon, who starred in last year’s Palme d’Or winner, “Titane,” will take the mantle following Spike Lee‘s reign last year.

Cannes has added a raft of movies to its lineup ahead of the festival next month.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefIt’s beyond distressing how women directors continue to get short shrift at Cannes.How could it be that this year only three movies helmed by females will be contenders in the main competition of the world’s most prestigious film festival?It’s horribly disappointing, but far from shocking, given that last year only four out of 21 competition titles were directed by females and considering Cannes’ poor track record when it comes to recognizing women filmmakers competing throughout its 75-year history. After all, just two movies by women directors, Jane Campion’s “The Piano” and Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” have ever won the coveted Palme d’Or.Of course, I’m thrilled for director Kelly Reichardt (“Showing Up”), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (“Forever Young”) and Claire Denis (“Stars at Noon”), but nonetheless their movies represent a meager portion of the 18 titles in competition at Cannes.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentA few hours after unveiling Cannes Film Festival’s 2022 Official Selection on the Champs Elysees, artistic director Thierry Fremaux sat down with Variety to discuss the festival’s drive to not give in to calls for a cultural boycott of Russian films and filmmakers, efforts to have more female directors in competition, discussions to bring back streamers in a near future and what those rumors about David Lynch in the lineup were about. The all-star competition lineup of this upcoming 75th edition boasts no less than four Palme d’Or winning directors, including Japanese master Kore-eda Hirokazu (Japan) and Swedish helmer Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”), as well new films by David Cronenberg (“Crimes of the Future”), Kelly Reichardt (”Showing Up”), James Gray (“Armageddon Time”) and dissident Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov (“Tchaïkovski’s Wife”).

The 75th Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 17-28, was already due to be a starry affair with the likes of Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis screening out of competition. Today it got even hotter with a strong Official Selection that should make for glamorous red carpets, but one that will likewise treat serious subject matter.

a competition lineup with only three films directed by women. While additional films could still be added to the slate for next month’s festival, the Cannes lineup falls short of the already dismal record of the last two editions of the festival.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThis year’s crop of filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival don’t represent a new benchmark in terms of gender diversity. Since becoming the first international festival to sign a gender parity pledge in 2018, Cannes has failed to make substantial progress in ramping up the representation of female directors in competition which remains dominated by male directors.Cannes director Thierry Fremaux told Variety last week that he was aiming to “hopefully” have a “stronger presence of female directors” in 2022.

Ukraine as a backdrop, the Cannes Film Festival plans a special honor for Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun” comeback and to host some 35,000 people as the movie industry looks to reclaim its pre-pandemic allure.On Thursday, organizers of this year's festival unveiled the 18 films that will compete for the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the May 17-28 event. They include “The Natural History of Destruction” by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, “All that Breathes” by Indian director Shaunak Sen, and Ethan Cohen’s “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.”Organizers will announce the jury at a later date.After a pandemic-related production delay, “Top Gun: Maverick,” in which Cruise reprises his 1986 role as a U.S.

The number of female filmmakers selected for Cannes Film Festival’s Competition program dipped this year, with three of the 18 titles unveiled this morning helmed by women. However, because the selection is smaller this time, the percentage remained consistent.

Refresh for latest…: After being jockeyed about by the pandemic these past two years — and just in time for its 75th anniversary — the Cannes Film Festival is finally headed back to its regular May slot. And as such, President Pierre Lescure and General Delegate Thierry Frémaux are announcing the lineup for the event this morning from Paris’ UGC Normandie cinema on the Champs-Elysées. (Scroll down for the full list as we update live.)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAs the Cannes Film Festival will announce its Official Selection on Thursday, Variety is starting to get a slightly clearer picture of what 75th edition will look like, though fewer titles than usual have leaked. Led by Cannes’ artistic director and general delegate Thierry Fremaux, the selection committee has been flooded with late submissions and is now in the thick of deliberations.Most surprisingly, according to two well-informed sources, there will even be a David Lynch feature film which has been completely off the radar and stars Laura Dern — either as a cameo or a supporting role — along with some other Lynch regulars.We already know the sun-dappled celebration will land several high-profile films from U.S.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentWith just a week to go before Cannes’ Official Selection is unveiled, festival director Thierry Fremaux took a break from binge-watching movies to tell Variety about the preparations for this year’s milestone edition.Although the festival has already confirmed the world premieres of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Elvis,” a surprisingly small number of titles have leaked so far, and the name of the jury president, as well as the opening night movie, have yet to be revealed. Besides addressing the potential presence of Russian filmmakers and COVID protocols, Fremaux said this year’s lineup will see a stronger showcase of female directors and movies from less-represented countries.Fremaux also revealed special plans for the celebration of Cannes’ 75th anniversary on May 24 and how partnerships with TikTok and Brut will impact the festival going forward.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok, which as become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, has assembled the prestigious jury of its inaugural #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical shorts.Rithy Panh, the BAFTA-nominated Cambodian filmmaker of “The Missing Picture,” will preside over the international jury, which comprises Basma Khalifa, the Sudanese multi-disciplinary creative, Camille Ducellier, the artist and filmmaker of “Bachi-Bouzouk,” Angele Diabang, the screenwriter and producer of “Un air de kora,” as well as Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born TikToker and content creator. Eligible short films will be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes in length.

Tom Cruise is set to be celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival this May with a career retrospective, an in-person conversation on stage and the premiere of his eagerly awaited “Top Gun” sequel “Maverick: Top Gun.”The actor will reportedly be in attendance at the Palais des Festivals for a tribute event that will take in his 40-year film career. He will also take part in a conversation with journalist and Cannes associate Didier Allouch.As Variety reported earlier this week, “Top Gun: Maverick” will receive a special screening in Cannes — a huge coup for festival director Thierry Fremaux who has been keen to program the studio tentpole since 2020.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has the scoop on what is happening with Tom Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick and the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentCarol Polakoff, a two-time Directors Guild of America award winner, is teaming with “Exodus” producer Denise O’Dell to adapt to the big screen “Speak Sunlight,” American writer Alan Jolis’ much-loved memoir. Now in pre-production and scheduled to shoot from May 8, the high-profile title is produced by Madrid-based Babieka Films, most recently behind Netflix hit “The Paramedic,”  and L.A.’s Viewfinder Pictures. “Speak Sunlight” (“La Voz del Sol”) marks the directorial debut of journalist-screenwriter Polakoff whose curriculum includes two DGA wins and three Daytime Emmy Awards nominations for “ABC Afterschool Specials.” Most recently, Polakoff produced Daniel Rosenberg’s 2020 Cannes Official Selection title “The Death of Cinema and My Father Too,” which won a Cannes Label for making the cut in Thierry Frémaux’s First Features category. To film in Spanish, with a smattering of French, “Speak Sunlight” is written by Polakoff with a Spanish version from Natxo López, a creator of top primetime series such as “Perdida” and “Unauthorised Living.” López also co-wrote the just-out Amazon Studios hit “Operation Black Tide,” the subject of a case study panel at Series Mania on March 23.A heartfelt coming of age tale set in Paris and majorly Pamplona in 1965, “Speak Sunlight” is based on the memoir of the same title by Jolis, who died aged just 46 in 2000. It drinks from his childhood memories as the son of posh but distant American parents in Paris who is really looked after by the family’s cook, Maruja, a force of nature, and her husband, Manolo, the butler. In 1965, they take Alanito off to Pamplona, where he awakes to a vivid sensual world and grows up emotionally.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok has become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival on time for its 75th anniversary and will give the cultural event a wider-than-ever platform comprising one billion users around the world.While it banned selfies on the red carpet several years ago, Cannes is looking to draw global eyeballs and will provide TikTok users with some exclusive content from backstage, glamorous red carpet scenes and interviews with talents. Aiming to position itself as a top entertainment destination and content creator, the banner is also launching the #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical short films – between 30 secondes and 3 minutes.

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.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Cannes Film Festival is hoping to attract the likes of Baz Luhrmann, George Miller and David Cronenberg for its 75th anniversary. The milestone edition of the sun-dappled celebration of all things cinema may even land a megastar in the form of Tom Cruise, who festival organizers are banking can be convinced to unveil “Top Gun: Maverick,” giving Cannes the kind of blowout premiere that makes the French festival an unforgettable experience.The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28, and the full selection will be revealed in the third week of April.

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.

Is something finally about to give in the long impasse between Cannes and Netflix?

debut on the streaming service later this year — will be rated an NSFW NC-17. Rumors of the rating first circulated last summer.Director Andrew Dominik discussed the movie during a chat with Screen Daily and said, “It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe.

Guillaume Esmiol has been named the successor of Cannes Marché head Jérôme Paillard, who will step down from his role after this year’s edition. Esmiol will serve as co-exec director of the Marché this year, where he will work in tandem with Paillard, before taking on the role entirely from 2023.

Gaspard Ulliel.The actor, who stars in Marvel’s upcoming “Moon Knight” series, died on Wednesday following a skiing accident. He was 37.Gaspard began acting while still at school. At the age of 12 he appeared in French TV movie “Une Femme En Blanc” (“A Woman in White”) in an uncredited role.

The glitterati was out in full force in Jeddah on Monday night as the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival kicked off with the Middle Eastern premiere of Joe Wright’s musical romance Cyrano.

Lise Pedersen Jane Campion, the first woman filmmaker to have received a Palme d’Or in Cannes (for “The Pianist” in 1993), is in Lyon for another first, as she becomes the first female filmmaker to pick up the Lumière Prize at the eponymous film festival.Warmly greeted by an enthusiastic crowd for a masterclass at the city’s historic Théâtre des Célestins, Campion answered questions by festival director Thierry Frémaux, who also runs the Cannes Festival.On the question of the place of women

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter beating the odds last year by hosting a physical edition in the midst of the pandemic, Cannes’ chief Thierry Fremaux’s Lumière festival kicked off in Lyon with great fanfare and prestigious guests including Paolo Sorrentino, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Valeria Golino, Joachim Trier, Rossy de Palma, Melanie Laurent and Edouard Baer.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIrene Jacob (“Three Colours: Red”), a critically acclaimed film and theater actor, is set to preside over the Lumière Institute in Lyon, succeeding to Bertrand Tavernier, the revered French filmmaker who died in March.

Rebecca Davis editorAs soon as Chinese film fanatic Li heard the news earlier this month that the Cannes Film Festival had scheduled a surprise special screening for a documentary about political unrest in Hong Kong, he rushed straight to his computer to open the page for his favorite online bookstore.He already owned a copy of festival director Thierry Fremaux’s book, “Selection officielle,” but he didn’t want to miss the chance to order two more, fearing they could soon be taken off the

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentWith the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in the rearview mirror, Variety caught up with the festival’s chief and artistic director Thierry Fremaux to discuss the highlights and surprises of this year’s event.

Naman Ramachandran Now that the dust has settled on the Cannes Film Festival, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is setting the record straight with festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux, who commented early on in the event that streaming platforms don’t discover talent in the same way.At a pre-festival press conference, Fremaux had praised Netflix productions like “Mank” and “The Irishman” and also lauded the work of Sarandos and Scott Stuber.