Jeremy Strong Says Serving on Cannes Jury Was ‘Like 'Conclave' With Champagne' and Celebrates Palme d'Or Winner ‘It Was Just an Accident': It ‘Changed Me'
Jeremy Strong is reflecting on his past 11 days as a member of the Cannes Film Festival competition jury, comparing it to the process of choosing a new pope as depicted in the Oscar-winning film 'Conclave.'
'I feel immeasurably inspired by what I've seen here,' Strong said during a press conference after the jury awarded Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' with the Palme d'Or. 'It's been so invigorating, and this sort of cumulative tally of the work I'll carry with me.'
More from Variety
Oliver Laxe's 'Sirat' Sold by the Match Factory to Slew of International Territories After Cannes Jury Prize Win
Cannes Awards: Jafar Panahi Vindicated With Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident,' Marking Sixth Consecutive Cannes Win for Neon
Kleber Mendonça Filho's Brazilian Epic 'The Secret Agent' Wins Fipresci Award at Cannes: 'A Rich, Strange and Deeply Troubling Story'
Strong continued: 'This has been a really wonderful experience, a really connected experience with these people — it's like 'Conclave' with champagne. It's really great.'
Strong served under president Juliette Binoche along with Halle Berry, Payal Kapadia, Hong Sansoo, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi and Carlos Reygadas. During the presser, the group explained their decision to give the top prize to 'It Was Just an Accident,' which follows a group of former prisoners in Iran who must decide whether or not to enact revenge on a man they think was their torturous guard. The film marked Panahi's first project since being imprisoned for several months in 2023 for criticizing the Iranian government.
'It's very human and political at the same time because he comes from a complicated country, politically speaking,' Binoche said. 'When we watched the film, it really stood out. The film springs from a feeling of resistance, survival, which is absolutely necessary today. So we thought it was important to give this film the paramount award.'
She continued: 'Art will always win. What is human will always win. Our creative urge can transform the world.'
Strong chimed in to say that the jury 'wanted to recognize films that we felt were transcendent intrinsically as pieces of work,' aligning with how Robert De Niro kicked off the festival during its opening ceremony by saying that 'fascists should fear art.' Speaking about 'It Was Just an Accident' and the other films awarded, Strong quoted the playwright Henrik Ibsen.
'Ibsen talked about, 'Deep inside, there's a poem in a poem. And when you hear that, when you grasp that, you will understand my song,'' he said. 'And I feel that this film and the other films have these poems within the poem that allow us to grasp something ineffable that have changed me.'
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
22 minutes ago
- UPI
Benicio Del Toro: Imagination runs amok in 'Phoenician Scheme'
1 of 5 | Benicio Del Toro attends the photo call for "The Phoenician Scheme" at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19. Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo NEW YORK, June 6 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro says writer-director Wes Anderson meticulously plans every scene in his movies, but still welcomes input from his cast. "The approach is the same approach that I do on any movie I do. Just, I think, Wes wants you to be in the moment. He wants you to tell the truth, whatever that means," Del Toro, 58, said in a recent virtual press conference to promote his second collaboration with Anderson, The Phoenician Scheme, in theaters nationwide on Friday. "You have all this dialogue," Del Toro said, "but you can still bring a piece of yourself into it. And there's room for the imagination, too, to run amok. And you've got to have fun. Even if you're drowning, you've got to have fun." Co-starring Scarlett Johannson, Michael Cera, Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray and Tom Hanks, the espionage comedy is set in 1950 and follows Zsa-zsa Korda (Del Toro), an industrialist and arms dealer who wants to bring his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) -- a Catholic nun -- into his dangerous, top-secret business. It's Wes Anderson's world, we're just scheming in it. Focus Features (@FocusFeatures) June 6, 2025 "It's layered. It's full of contradictions, which makes it really yummy for an actor to try to bring to life," Del Toro said. "There is an element of my character wanting a second chance at mending a broken relationship. And I think that in the process in order to achieve that, he has to change and he does change. And I like to think that people can change. Not everyone changes, but I think some people can, and for the better." After previously working with Anderson on the 2021 hit The French Dispatch, Del Toro is used to the filmmaker's dense, quirky language. But, this time around, he has a larger role and a lot more to say. "There were a couple of moments where I went up to Wes and I said: 'Well, maybe we can take this dialogue out.' And, then, I went back to it and it wasn't as good," Del Toro recalled. "I had to go up to him and go like, 'I think you need to put it back because we're passing information that I think you need.' But that's why I couldn't join these people [in the cast] every day for dinner. I had to go up into my room and talk to myself." "You had a lot to say," Anderson agreed. "You took the time to absorb everything." Del Toro said another contribution he made to the project concerned Michael Cera's character Professor Bjorn, the tutor of Zsa-zsa's nine sons, who has a habit of sticking around when sensitive information is being shared. "I remember telling Wes, 'Well, I'm giving a lot of private information to my daughter and there is this stranger sitting right there. I feel uncomfortable as the character, giving all this information in front of a stranger. I'm telling her about my bank accounts and my everything, deals, with secrecy,'" Del Toro said. "Wes said to me, 'Well, we'll polygraph him.' And I went, 'Well, OK.' And, very quickly, he came up with this idea of a lie detector, which is a portable pocket polygraph," he added. "In 1950, it was probably the size of this building, but he made it into the pocket version." Despite the heightened reality, Anderson said this is essentially a father-daughter tale. "His whole business plan is really a mechanism for him to get back together with her," Anderson said of Zsa-zsa and Liesl. "He's acting like he's making her his successor and, really, it's more about what's going to happen between the two of them right now," Anderson added. "The business plan almost becomes like a ritual for him to be reunited with his daughter. ... In that sense, his plan goes great." Anderson first approached Del Toro about starring in this film after they wrapped up The French Dispatch. "I had a sort of the idea of a Euro tycoon, somebody who would've been in a [Michelangelo] Antonioni movie or something, that visual," Anderson said. "I did have this idea that he was probably hurting, that he was going to be in physical distress. Somehow, that was the image of this guy who you sort of can't kill." Over the course of time, however, this fictional man with a plan in a suit started mixing with Anderson's father-in-law Fouad Malouf, who, the filmmaker described as "an engineer and a businessman and he had all these different projects and different places." "He was a kind, warm person, but very intimidating," Anderson said. "He had all his business in these shoe-boxes. He walked [Anderson's wife] through his work at a certain point, because he thought if he is not able to see everything through, she needs to know what he's got. "And her reaction was what you say in the movie," Anderson turned to Threapleton, who immediately chimed in, "This is just crazy." "So, yeah, it was a mixture of those two things," Anderson quipped. "Fouad and whatever the first thing I said was."
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Grey's Anatomy' Star Jake Borelli Making Directorial Debut With ‘IGNIS,' Starring Britt Baron, Allen Leech and Karan Soni (EXCLUSIVE)
Jake Borelli, best known for playing Dr. Levi Schmitt on 'Grey's Anatomy,' is moving behind the camera and making his directorial debut on 'IGNIS.' Described as a 'genre-bending relationship drama,' the film stars Britt Baron ('GLOW'), Allen Leech ('Downton Abbey') and Karan Soni ('A Nice Indian Boy'). 'IGNIS' recently wrapped production in Los Angeles. More from Variety 'Grey's Anatomy' Star Jake Borelli on Levi Schmitt's Exit and Almost Refusing His Coming Out Storyline: 'I Wasn't Ready to Talk About' It on a 'Global Level' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Hacks,' 'The Simpsons' Among Series to Be Honored by Hollywood, Health & Society's Sentinel Awards ABC Shares First Looks at New Seasons of 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Abbott Elementary' and More in Teaser Clip (EXCLUSIVE) The film was written and co-produced by Tony Award-winning producer Julie Cohn ('Stereophonic'), who also wrote the popular podcast 'The Redefector.' It follows Camille, a woman who begins to question her relationship after discovering that her fiancé may have taken a pill designed to chemically induce romantic love. 'As an actor, I've always been drawn to the emotional undercurrents that make us human. With 'IGNIS,' I wanted to explore those same currents — but this time, from the director's chair,' Borelli said in a statement. 'This story is about love, but also about truth, autonomy and the complex ethics of altering our emotions.' Borelli's other credits include the Netflix comedy drama 'Reality High,' as well as 'The Thing About Harry' and 'The Thundermans Return.' He also appeared in shows such as 'iCarly,' 'Parenthood' and 'NCIS: Los Angeles.' On 'Grey's Anatomy,' Borelli played the show's first openly gay male surgeon for more than 130 episodes. Borelli worked with many collaborators from the show on the film, including veteran cinematographer Jeanne Tyson. Line producers Michael Scott and Suki-Rose Etter helped shepherd the project to the screen. 'IGNIS' is targeting a 2026 festival run. Borelli is repped by Amplified and CESD; Baron is repped by Principal Talent and CESD; Leech is repped by Untitled Entertainment and The Way; Soni is repped by CAA and Mosaic; Cohn is repped by Characters and UTA. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?' What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025
New York Post
44 minutes ago
- New York Post
Harrison Ford once complimented his ‘Shrinking' co-star Jason Segel on his ‘great d–k'
It belongs in a museum! Harrison Ford once complimented Jason Segel on his 'great d–k' after watching the 45-year-old actor go full frontal in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall.' Segel recalled the 'Indiana Jones' star's surprising words during Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series with Seth Rogen published on Thursday, June 5. 7 Harrison Ford once complimented Jason Segel's 'great d–k' after watching the younger actor go full frontal in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall.' AFP via Getty Images 7 Segel recalled Ford's surprising words during a recent episode of Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series with Seth Rogen. Peggy Sirota for Variety He began by explaining how the producers of 'Shrinking,' Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, convinced Ford, 82, to sign on to the popular Apple TV+ series. 'We got Harrison Ford because Harrison Ford is the kind of person you make an offer to so that for three days you can say, 'We've made an offer to Harrison Ford,' and then you'll pick the real guy,' Segel said on Thursday. 'He read it, and he didn't know anything about me,' the 'How I Met Your Mother' star continued. 'Brett Goldstein met with him, and they had a really nice meeting, and they sent him 'The End of the Tour' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall.'' 7 Segel began by telling Rogen how the producers of 'Shrinking' convinced Ford to sign on to the Apple TV+ show. Peggy Sirota for Variety 'Then,' he added, 'Bill Lawrence got a text that said, 'I'm in. And tell the kid, great d–k.'' Rogen, 43, couldn't get over the fact that Ford once complimented Segel's manhood. 'Even if he was out, that would be great,' the 'Studio' star joked. 'I would take that.' 7 Ford and Segel as the therapists Paul Rhoades and Jimmy Laird in Season 2 of 'Shrinking.' Apple TV+ The full-frontal scene in question occurs in the 2008 comedy when Segel's character, Peter Bretter, stands fully naked as his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), breaks up with him. Segel previously opened up about the surprising scene in 2015 and revealed that he was the one who came up with the idea. 'I thought that was hilarious,' he told Vulture at the time. 'I was actually not very uncomfortable doing it. I really felt free.' 7 'I'm in,' Segel recalled Ford saying. 'And tell the kid, great d–k.' ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection 'You have to put it in the context that this was 2006, 2007, and this hadn't been done before, in my recollection,' Segel added, 'where the main guy was going to be naked in the first five minutes of the movie.' Even more surprising was Segel's admission that the full frontal idea was inspired by a similar incident that had actually happened to him in real life years before. 'She arrived at the house and I had decided that the way to really kick off this sex was that I was waiting on the couch totally naked, like posed,' he told Conan O'Brien during an episode of the comedian's podcast in 2023. 7 Ford and Segel seen at 'Shrinking' FYC Event at The Think Apple TV+ Emmy House on May 18, 2025, in Los Angeles Apple TV+ via Getty Images 'So she walked in and there I am laying,' he continued, 'and I said, 'I've got a surprise for you,' and then she said, 'We need to talk.'' One person who didn't enjoy Segel's nude scene was his mother, who was blindsided when she watched it at the movie premiere. 'She said, 'Why didn't you tell me?'' the recalled last year. 'I said, 'I thought it would be a funny joke.' She said, 'This is not a funny joke.'' 7 This wouldn't be the first time that the 'Indiana Jones' star complimented his 'Shrinking' co-star's manhood. Getty Images As for 'Shrinking,' the series stars Segel and Ford as therapists Jimmy Laird and Paul Rhoades, respectively. The show, which premiered in January 2023 and concluded its second season in December, follows Segel's character in the wake of his wife's death. It also follows Ford's character as he battles Parkinson's disease. 'There's no intention to make it into a joke,' Ford said of his character's startling diagnosis during an interview late last year. 'But there are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom,' he added. 'And that is not to say that some people do not.'
