Poland’s Ministry Of Culture Dismisses Polish Film Institute Director Radosław Śmigulski

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Meryl Streep will receive the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned. Luring the Oscar winner is yet another feat for this Cannes edition, which will bring together a flurry Hollywood legends. Notably, George Lucas will receive the honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” are playing in competition; and George Miller‘s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon, an American Saga” are playing out of competition.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor David Wnendt, the German director behind controversial coming-of-age movie “Wetlands,” Hitler satire “Look Who’s Back” and teen crime drama “Sun and Concrete,” is once again pushing boundaries with his next feature film project. Backed by distributor-producer Constantin Film and with Seven Elephants lead producing, Wnendt has embarked on the feature film adaptation of the award-winning novel “Athos 2643” by Nils Westerboer. Wnendt, who will both write the screenplay and direct the theatrical film, promises an “emotional and spectacular experience that will take the audience into the vastness of outer space,” according to a press statement.

There was a fleeting moment in the early and mid-00s when being selected for the Slamdance Film Festival could mean something for a filmmaker’s career. Sure, it wasn’t the same as being part of the more prestigious and larger Park City, Utah film festival, but the edgier offshoot event gave a voice to independent films that didn’t have an industry connection or agency influence to make the Sundance cut.

Ellise Shafer The second annual Cannes Investors Circle has revealed its lineup, including films from Ruben Östlund and Lorcan Finnegan. Taking place at the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival, the Investors Circle showcases 10 never-before-seen films in various stages of development to an exclusive group of film financing experts and investors.

Netflix has unveiled nine new movies and series from Poland including the directorial debut of High Water writer Kasper Bajon and a thriller from the team behind Forgotten Love.

Greta Gerwig has her jury. This evening, the Cannes Film Festival revealed the rest of the nine-member jury filled with festival veterans and Academy members.

EXCLUSIVE: Now that we know the competition slates, it’s time to bring out the star packages that will line the Cannes Market. Here’s one inspirational movie package that ought to register strongly with the buying crowd. Way of The Warrior Kid is slated to begin production this summer, with Chris Pratt starring and McG directing a Will Staples-scripted adaptation of the the novel by Jock Willink. He is the retired Navy SEAL who found a thriving second career as podcast host, bestselling author and motivational speaker.

The subject of a timely new Variety profile praising his versatility, British actor Dan Stevens is having a moment. The actor is currently competing with himself at the box office with two different films: MonsterVerse installment “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” for Warners and directing duo Radio Silence’s new vampire movie “Abigail” for Universal.

Just over six years have passed since Saudi Arabia announced the lifting of its 35-year cinema ban as part of a strategy to open up the country and move its economy away from a reliance on oil.

Let’s catch up on all things Cannes Film Festival. For one, if you haven’t seen it, Cannes recently revealed its 2024 poster, featuring a scene from “Rhapsody in August,” directed by the great Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, 81 at the time (see it below in full).

The Cannes Film Festival has added 13 new titles to the selection for its 77th edition, including new films by Oliver Stone, Lou Ye and Arnaud Desplechin as Special Screenings.

Wrath of Man” director is mangling is Operation Postmaster — a British World War II effort in which a group of rogues were secretly sent to the coast of Africa to steal a Nazi supply ship.Without that precious cargo, German submarines couldn’t function, thus allowing American forces to cross the Atlantic and join the war effort.You won’t be surprised to learn that the op’s Wikipedia page is a lot duller than this hugely entertaining movie of badass shootouts, explosions and typically eccentric humor.“An unsanctioned, unauthorized and unofficial mission,” says “M” (Cary Elwes) of the risky plan endorsed by Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear). A young Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox) is involved in the plot, too.

Katcy Stephan Amblin’s film adaptation of Richard Osman’s novel “The Thursday Murder Club” is finally taking shape, with “Harry Potter” and “Home Alone” filmmaker Chris Columbus set to direct. Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley are being eyed for three of the four lead roles in the project. The book, released in 2020, tells the story of four septuagenarian friends who live in a retirement community and solve cold cases for fun.

The rumors are true. After 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival may (and an emphasis on “may”) be leaving the confines of Park City, Utah.

A new film and TV studio funded via a portion of a £24M ($30M) government investment has become the latest to launch in the UK.

The 55th edition of the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, the parallel section of the main Cannes Film Festival, has announced its 2024 line-up. Running from May 15 to 23, the Fortnight, or the Quinzaine Des Cinéastes, in French, will debut 21 feature films and ten short films.

XYZ Films announced today that actor Joe Cole, known for the BBC gangster series, “Peaky Blinders,” has landed the lead role in the upcoming action thriller “He Bled Neon.” The film’s director is Drew Kirsch, and Grammy-nominated musician Zhu is composing the score in collaboration with Joseph Trapanese (“The Greatest Showman,” “Straight Outta Compton“).

Thanks to early official announcements a number of the movies debuting at this year’s 77th edition of the Festival de Cannes are already known. Quentin Dupieux’s “The Second Act” will open the festival.

Thanks to early official announcements a number of the movies debuting at this year’s 77th edition of the Festival de Cannes are already known. Quentin Dupieux’s “The Second Act” will open the festival.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Calling all Latino filmmakers, John Travolta wants to work with you. Swinging by Panama to present his 1978 musical rom-com “Grease” at the 12th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama), Travolta professed his great love for “Mexico, Central America, South America, all of its parts.” “There is an incredible humanity that prevails and is different from anywhere else in the world,” he told Variety. Surprised to hear that Robert de Niro had starred in the Argentine series “Nada,” Travolta exclaimed: “I would have loved that, I would have enjoyed being lured to South America to play a part for a while.” The closest he’s come to working with a Latino director was with Alfonso Cuarón, who produced the short film streaming on Disney+ “The Shepherd,” based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novella, which follows a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home for Christmas across the North Sea.