Benicio del Toro was stopped on flight due to The Phoenician Scheme script
Benicio del Toro was almost prevented from boarding a flight due to the script from his latest movie The Phoenician Scheme.
The Usual Suspects star plays the lead in Wes Anderson's latest movie - whose plot, which features his character surviving an aeroplane bombing.
Reading his lines, however, almost got Benicio detained by agents from America's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after they took the script far too literally.
"I had the script in my carryon, I'm in Boston and I'm flying to LA," he said on Late Night with Seth Meyers. "And for some reason, I had my computer in there, and I didn't take it out, so the TSA people, they just said, 'Hey, we need to check your bag.' 'Sure.' He opens the bag, he looks into it-and I take my scripts and I make the headings bigger, so I can get to it really quick.
"The opening scene is 'Interior Airplane: Bomb'. The second scene is 'Interior Cockpit: Eject the Pilot' and the third scene is 'Crash.' The guy, he's reading it. I go, 'It's a film script.' And he looks at me and goes, (holding up his finger), and he closes the thing and walks out. Five TSA guys come over and they hover around the script, and they're looking at it and looking at it."
However, before the actor was detained for a ficticious bomb plot, an agent recognised him and waved him through.
"Finally, the supervisor showed up and he walked in and he looked at me, and I think he recognised me, maybe from (Benicio's past films) Sicario or Traffic, and he just sat there and looked at it and they let me go," the star continued.
He said there are no hard feelings towards his interrogators, adding: "I give that guy a thumbs up because he was paying attention."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday
Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Since her arrival on the women's basketball scene, going back to her time at Iowa, even before she was the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft in 2024, Caitlin Clark understood the value of connecting with fans. She struggled to get her head around her job as a role model, but she was diligent about seeing to that duty. Advertisement As she said early last year, "It's hard for myself to wrap my head around (being a role model). It's crazy the way people scream my name and really support us. I try to make time for as many of them as I can. That's something that never gets old.' Clark has always seen bringing people together, on and off the floor, as part of her role. 'This isn't an individual sport," she said. "I have four other people on the court with me at the same time, I have 10 other girls on the bench. ... I don't have to score a million points every single night and I think I find peace in that. When I'm having fun and just being Caitlin, that's when things are really successful.' Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) applauds her teammates during the first half of a WNBA game against the Chicago Sky at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images But while Clark remains known for being big-hearted, she does have some boundaries. She has been out for the past two weeks because of a quad injury--the first missed time because of injury in her career--but she has still been showing up at Fever games as she rehabs. Advertisement She was on hand at the United Center on Saturday night for the Fever's victory over the Chicago Sky, and spent considerable time before the game signing autographs and taking photos with fans who had come to watch her play. But she drew the line on one thing: She was not about to autograph Sky materials. That was shown in a video on X from Saturday in which Clark signed a string of autographs only to smile and pass on signing what appeared to be a Chicago Sky-colored shirt. A post from the account, "The Indiana Fever," noted, "Caitlin Clark refused to sign the Chicago Sky merch." The fan who had tried to get her to do so, it should be pointed out, laughed it off. Advertisement Clark is hopeful of returning to the court this week, with the Fever's next game coming Tuesday in Atlanta. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Australia's Pixel Zoo Animation Studios Launches L.A.-Based Original IP Unit Pixel Labs (EXCLUSIVE)
Australia's Pixel Zoo Animation Studios, which has done service work for leading global brands such as Bratz and L.O.L. – Surprise!, is moving into original content production with the launch of a new division, Pixel Labs, and has tapped Emmy Award-winning kids TV veteran Josh Fisher to lead its development efforts. Fisher will oversee Pixel Labs from a new Los Angeles office, marking the Brisbane-based studio's first expansion into the U.S. The announcement was shared with Variety by Pixel Zoo founder and CEO Paul Gillett and head of studio Sebastian Gonzalez. More from Variety Adult Animation, Anime's Rising Influence Lead Women in Animation's 2025 Annecy World Summit Lineup (EXCLUSIVE) Dandelooo Cinéma Acquires Global Rights to 'My Life in Versailles - The Movie' Ahead of Annecy Premiere Live-Action 'How To Train Your Dragon' Among Additions to Annecy Lineup Known for its high-quality animation services for global clients, including Hasbro, MGA Entertainment, Spin Master, eOne and Moonbug Entertainment, Pixel Zoo is part of MGA Studios. The launch of Pixel Labs signals a shift toward creating its own intellectual property across film, television and digital platforms. 'We're excited to broaden our client business with the launch of Pixel Labs,' said Gillett. 'The new division, which encourages artists and storytellers to push creative boundaries to bring new original worlds and stories to life, furthers MGA Studios' vision of creating bold, global franchises that spark young kids' imaginations both on and off the screen.' Fisher brings more than two decades of experience in children's content. He previously worked at Netflix as Senior Manager, Kids and Family, where he oversaw series like 'Go, Dog, Go,' 'Daniel Spellbound,' 'Action Pack' and 'Super Monsters.' He has also held executive roles at WildBrain, Spin Master and Brandissimo!, where he led the NFL's global youth strategy. 'I'm thrilled to be partnering with Paul, Seb and the incredibly talented and nimble team at Pixel Zoo,' said Fisher. 'We're excited to be working with a variety of talent around the globe on a strong slate of film, television and digital/YouTube projects designed to reach young audiences wherever they engage.' Gonzalez added, 'We are delighted to be working with Josh, whose creativity and vision have been central to this new venture. We already have a handful of co-productions in the works which are a mix of our IP and projects that have come to us from other creators around the world.' Pixel Labs currently has several projects in development: 'The Secret Explorers,' A CG-animated action-adventure series for kids aged 4–7 based on the bestselling book series, co-produced with Spain's Liquid Rock. The show follows a global team of young heroes who use teamwork and tech to solve real-world problems. MGA Entertainment is developing a toy line and YouTube strategy. 'You Wish,' Based on Jeff Victor's IDW-published graphic novel, this story follows a girl who discovers she's half-genie and sets off on a magical journey to rescue her mother. Victor is consulting on the film and TV adaptations. 'Fixie Pixies,' Created by Corey Powell ('Do Re & Mi') and Aaron Simpson ('L'il Stompers'), this animated series follows three magical pixies who renovate miniature fantasy homes while solving quirky household dilemmas. 'Kitty Witch,' An original show from Australian creator Samuel Keene about a girl whose kitten turns out to be part of a secret coven of cat witches. Pixel Labs aims to grow its original slate through co-productions, content partnerships and adaptations of books and comics into screen formats. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Olivia & the Clouds' Director Tomás Pichardo Espaillat on the Wild Collaborative Animation Process of His Annecy Player: ‘It Was Chaotic and Crazy'
Through the thoughts and memories of its cast, Annecy __ player 'Olivia & the Clouds' leaps across multiple animation and live-action formats. This film — only the third animated feature produced in the Dominican Republic, according to its director Tomás Pichardo Espaillat — is made from paper, film, scratched animation cels, stop motion, 2D digital animation, rotoscoping, cut-outs and more. The story itself is about a quartet of people — Olivia, Barbara, Mauricio and Ramón — all connected by past and present relationships with each other, the film's different methods representing the emotional distance between them. More from Variety Brazil's 'Nimuendajú' Makes Annecy Debut As Director Tania Anaya Underlines Ongoing Fight for Indigenous Peoples' Freedom Andy Serkis' 'Animal Farm' Reveals First Footage: Seth Rogen, Kieran Culkin and Gaten Matarazzo Voice Power-Hungry Pigs in Animated George Orwell Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE) Stop-Motion Animation 'Tales From the Magic Garden' Sells to Multiple Territories (EXCLUSIVE) Director Pichardo comes from a background of live-action film, video and fine arts. 'Olivia & the Clouds,' both in its style and its story, draws upon that breadth of experience. Upon the film's screening at this year's festival, Variety spoke to the director about his mixed-media approach, the landscape of Dominican animation and learning to animate on the job. What sparked the idea for 'Olivia & the Clouds'? Was it always intended to be animated across different mediums? As for the story, it was a few short films that never happened, where, with time, I realized, 'Oh, these characters connect with one another,' and then I started creating a path between them. It was a long process from the idea to the end of production — about 10 years. Most of it happened because, coming from the Dominican Republic, we have a very small animation industry and small animation community, and during the first years, it was even smaller. You could count the number of professional animators on one or two hands. So there were not a lot of opportunities to get projects like this done. But as time progressed, there were more opportunities. In terms of the different styles and techniques, we quickly realized at the beginning that most of the animators that we had didn't have the same background or the same education in animation. We understood that that wouldn't work for us to make a feature that was just one method. What we tried to bring was each animator working in their own style, and it fit really well with the points of view of the characters. In terms of the idea and how the project came to be, I came from making short films. Most of those short films were a way for me to learn a new technique, as we didn't have an animation school at that time. I also did freelance for TED-Ed. They have this segment on YouTube where they put a lot of animations, and I was taking each project as a way to learn one specific technique, something new. I took advantage of that in the sense of using it as my school. So if they gave me creative freedom, I'd think, 'I wanna do something as a cutout animation.' Or I'd do one in stop motion. So I was learning in that sense, too. How did you figure out where to place these different animation styles within that story? I was always taking all my short films and, even if they were very different, I tried to put them together as an edit for myself. So I was playing a lot with remixing my own work. But it's also because most of the people working on the film were former students of mine. I knew them well — how they work. So for some animators I gave them the script with a full animatic and everything and said, 'this is what you're going to be animating.' And with others, they would be dealing with more abstract animation or playing around with feelings, and I would just give them a word or one expression. One sequence, the bachata sequence at the bar, was made by six animators, and all of them were working apart from each other. So I was giving them different ideas and asking them not to see what the others were doing. Then I received all this material; it was chaotic and crazy. Speaking of material, one fascinating thing was the different textures you were using, like the cutouts that looked like they were made from invoices. Cardboard is something that I've been using quite a lot — not in my films, but I come from fine arts, so I did a lot of pieces made out of cardboard, sculptures and all that. As for the invoices, that's because some of the elements of the story are from my past or the people around me. And when I was building Ramón as a character — my father is an engineer by trade — he was always making sketches on invoices, on any kind of paper he could get, making all these doodles. So I figured, 'what if I take all these invoices and all these elements and all these letters and everything and make them into this person?' So I was taking all these different textures, seeing what they could bring to the story or maybe remind me of something from the past. You mentioned how much the Dominican animation scene had changed, even during your time working on the film. What about the industry was reflected in the production of the film? We had many challenges and so many things happening. For example, being in the Dominican Republic, we are very influenced by American culture and the films and animation they produce. So the concept of animation here is traditional Disney animation and Pixar, 3D animation. Making things outside of that is very rare, and sometimes they don't understand it when you try to explain it to them. For example, when I was trying to get funds for 'Olivia & the Clouds,' for the sequence shot on Super 8 that had animation elements on top of it, we had to ask permission to record at this specific street in this area. They were like, 'Isn't this an animation? What are you doing?' We also had the head of the film commission change during the project. The new one is half-Dominican, half-Russian, so she grew up watching a lot of different Soviet animation. She understood quite well that animation has all these ways of being made. And she incorporated a lot of programs and funding into the film industry, and that helped quite a lot, everything growing and evolving at the same time. With that concept, when we released the film, we made an exhibition at the contemporary museum in the country. What we did was deconstruct the entire film, and we did an exhibition for an entire month. It was that whole idea of new people being able to understand how to make animation, but also all these different processes. Do you think these mixed techniques are a mode you'd want to work in again, or do you imagine you'll focus more on one? It depends. In my short films, I do like to play with different techniques, but I sometimes try to understand what the concept needs from the animation. 'Olivia' had that idea of different points of view of the same memory, so it worked for me to have varying styles. And now I'm writing a new project in collaboration with one of the animators from 'Olivia.' She's the one who did all the clay animation, like the sequence of the couple kissing and the scene turning abstract. The story that we're working on has a lot more natural and more 'crafty' elements: more charcoal, pastel colors, textiles, more hand-drawn, as that's what the story is asking for. I think mixing media will never leave me, because it has been in my entire filmography and short films as well, but it changes depending on the story and what it means. Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar 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?'
