‘Sanctuary’ Review: Nothing Is Sacred in Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott’s Ferocious Two-Hander

Joe Alwyn stars opposite Margaret Qualley in the forthcoming film, , from director Claire Denis and A24. On Thursday, the steamy first trailer was released and promises an «erotic tale of sex, lies and intrigue.» Based in Nicaragua,  is the film adaptation of Denis Johnson's 1986 novel of the same name.

EXCLUSIVE:  The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos and Searchlight Pictures are looking to stay in business with each other as the studio is greenlighting his next film AND. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley are set to star. With a script developed by Element Pictures and Film4 and penned by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, the film is produced by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element, along with Kasia Malipan and Lanthimos.

Yorgos Lanthimos‘ follow-up to 2018’s “The Favourite,” “Poor Things,” doesn’t even have a release date yet, and news about his next movie is already here. Deadline reports that Lanthimos teams up with Searchlight Pictures for the fifth time with “AND,” and the film stars much of the same main cast as “Poor Things.” READ MORE: ‘Bleat’ Trailer: Emma Stone Stars In A New Yorgos Lanthimos-Directed Short Premiering May 6 In Greece “AND” sees Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, and Willem Dafoe return to work with Lanthimos again, just after finishing up “Poor Things.” Joining them is Jesse Plemons, Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film starts production next month in New Orleans.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Yorgos Lanthimos, the filmmaker behind dark comedies like “The Favorite” and “The Lobster,” has lined up a starry ensemble for next movie, “And.” Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley will star in “And,” which is set at Searchlight Pictures. In addition to directing, Lanthimos is writing the screenplay with Efthimis Filippou, his collaborator on “The Lobster and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” Element Pictures and Film4 helped develop the script, and Film4 co-financed the project, which begins principal photography in New Orleans next month. “Working with Yorgos continues to be a highlight for us at Searchlight, and this is yet another truly original project that sets his work apart,” said Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield. “Working again with Emma, Jesse, Willem, and Margaret as well as Element and Film4 is just the icing on the cake.”

Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn star in the erotic thriller Stars at Noon, which has just released its trailer!

What a year 2022 has been for French director Claire Denis. Back in February, her film “Both Sides of the Blade” (formerly known as “Fire”) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

EJ Panaligan editor A24 has released the official trailer for its upcoming Claire Denis-helmed romantic thriller “Stars at Noon,” starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn. The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The two-hour film follows a young American journalist (Qualley), who falls for a mysterious Englishman (Alwyn) while stranded in Nicaragua. Though at first he seems like her best bet at getting out of the country, it is slowly revealed that her affiliation with the Englishman has put both of them in immense danger. Also appearing in the film in supporting roles are Danny Ramirez, John C. Reilly and Benny Safdie. Ramirez plays a Costa Rican policeman, Reilly plays an American boss and Safdie plays a CIA agent. They all take interest in the Englishman’s ominous dealings in Nicaragua.

Mel C has said that Geri Halliwell’s claim, in an interview back in the 1990s, that Margaret Thatcher was “the first Spice Girl” left her “nervous about going home”, given the views that are commonly held about the former UK Prime Minister in her hometown of Liverpool.In a 1996 interview with The Spectator, Halliwell claimed: “We Spice Girls are true Thatcherites. Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology – Girl Power”.Asked now if she agreed with that sentiment at the time, Mel C – or Melanie Chisholm – tells The Independent: “Absolutely not! Geri, in the past, was very vocal about her support for Margaret Thatcher.

Mel C has given her view on comments made by her bandmate Geri Halliwell in 1996 in which she dubbed Margaret Thatcher “the first Spice Girl”.Halliwell told the Spectator 26 years ago: “We Spice Girls are true Thatcherites. Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology – Girl Power.”However, Mel C has now denied that the whole band felt the same way as Halliwell about the divisive figure. “Abbbbbsolutely not!” Sporty Spice told the Independent.

The challenge and opportunity of transatlantic production was the subject of a session at the Zurich Summit this morning, with the panel comprising Bert Hamelinck, head of films and global MD at Belgian-U.S. film and TV group Caviar, CAA Media Finance’s Benjamin Kramer, Elysian Film Group CEO Danny Perkins and Hype Studios founder Ilya Stewart.

Neon, has bought U.S. rights to “Sanctuary,” Zachary Wigon’s much-buzzed-about thriller starring Margaret Qualley as a dominatrix who becomes entangled with a wealthy client, played by Christopher Abbott. The movie world premiered at Toronto, where it earned strong reviews (it currently holds a 93% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes). The acquisition of “Sanctuary” underscores Neon’s ambition to scale up its Super label with higher-profile titles. The company beat out three other distribution banners that bid for the movie, according to a source close to the production.

Amanda Seyfried is now an Emmy winner!

Lily James looks gorgeous on the Emmys red carpet!

A person hires a dominatrix for the same reason they subscribe to organized religion: to give themselves over to a higher power. In Zachary Wigon’s terrific two-hander “Sanctuary,” he invests the dynamic between a roleplaying sex worker and her longest-term client with all the devotional, frustrated intensity of an implacable deity and the quavering mortal who labors to appease her.

Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott are premiering their new thriller at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Deadline’s studio at the 2022 edition of the Toronto Film Festival continued with Day 3 by hosting fest-goers such as Tilda Swinton from The Eternal Daughter; Daniel Craig from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery; Jennifer Lawrence from Causeway; Olivia Coleman from Empire Of Light and Margaret Qualley from Sanctuary. Click on the photo above to launch the gallery.

Manori Ravindran International Editor The stars descended on Soho House in downtown Toronto on Saturday for Variety and Chanel’s Female Filmmakers’ Dinner during the Toronto International Film Festival. Guests in attendance included Tilda Swinton, star of Joanna Hogg’s “The Eternal Daughter”; Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of “The Woman King”; Darren Aronofsky, director of “The Whale”; and Anna Kendrick, who’s in Toronto shopping her new AGC Studios project “The Dating Game” to market buyers. Stars mingled on a packed rooftop before convening in the club’s private dining room, which gathered around 100 of the festival’s bright lights in filmmaking. They dined on a bespoke Soho House menu of beef tartare with black truffle, black cod and bok choy, and wagyu rib cap with porcini purée.