Latest news with #OfficialSelection
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Spike Lee's Denzel Washington Pic ‘Highest 2 Lowest' Scores Six-Minute Ovation At Cannes Premiere
Spike Lee returned to the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection tonight with his latest feature, Highest 2 Lowest, which is running in the Out of Competition strand. Starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky and Ilfenesh Hadera, the Akira Kurosawa-inspired crime thriller garnered a six-minute ovation at its world premiere. Highest 2 Lowest is a modern reinterpretation of Kurosawa's 1963 classic High and Low, which was itself based on the novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. While the original follows a shoe company exec who becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom, the new film, set in contemporary New York City, sees a music mogul played by Washington contend with a similar plot. More from Deadline Denzel Washington Gets Surprise Honorary Palme d'Or At Cannes Ahead Of 'Highest 2 Lowest' Premiere Cannes Film Festival Photos Day 7: Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Dakota Johnson 'Highest 2 Lowest' & 'Splitsville' Premieres 'Eagles Of The Republic' Review: The Terrific Fares Fares Stars In Tarik Saleh's Precision-Tooled Political Thriller - Cannes Film Festival From Apple and A24, the film reunites Lee and Washington for the first time since Inside Man back in 2006. The duo has also previously worked together on Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X and He Got Game. Ahead of the Highest 2 Lowest premiere, Washington received a surprise honorary Palme d' is Lee's sixth time in the Cannes Official Selection and marks 36 years to the day since his first appearance — for 1989's Do the Right Thing. His other titles are Jungle Fever (1991), Girl 6 (1996), Ten Minutes Older (2002) and BlacKkKlansman (2018). Highest 2 Lowest's berth in Cannes was unveiled by Lee on the same day the Official Selection was announced but did not include his film. At the time, the fest explained, 'The film was not announced this morning due to one final piece of information we were awaiting — the confirmation of Denzel Washington's presence at Cannes.' RELATED: Washington was indeed in the house this evening — and he got a big surprise from the festival: an honorary Palme d'Or. 'It's a kind of way for us to tell you our adoration, what you have done in cinema,' festival chief Thierry Frémaux said in announced the prize. Slated to hit select theaters August 22 before arriving on Apple TV+ on September 5, Highest 2 Lowest is written by Alan Fox and Lee. Todd Black produced for Escape Artists, alongside Jason Michael Berman for Mandalay Pictures. Exec producers included Lee for 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, and Mandalay's Peter Guber, as well as Juniper Productions' Matthew Lindner, Chris Brigham, and Katia Washington. Mandalay's Jordan Moldo served as co-producer. Erik Pedersen contributed to this report. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies In Order - See Tom Cruise's 30-Year Journey As Ethan Hunt Denzel Washington's Career In Pictures: From 'Carbon Copy' To 'The Equalizer 3'
The Star
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Lawrence Wong gets international recognition for directorial debut with 'Esky'
The actor says the recognition was unexpected. Photo: Lawrence Wong/Instagram Malaysian-born Singaporean actor Lawrence Wong, who made his directorial debut with the short film Esky , has been chosen for the Official Selection in the Best First Time Director category at the Hollywood Best Indie Film Awards. Esky is part of Homebound, an anthology of five shorts produced in collaboration with animal welfare group SOSD Singapore to spotlight rescue dogs in Singapore. The other four short films were directed by Rui En, Tejas Ewing, Jeremy Ng, Zhang Minhua and Jason Lee, with actress Rui En also making her directorial debut. Wong told Shin Min Daily News that the recognition was unexpected. 'It was actually sent for competition by my Hollywood agent, who didn't tell me about it,' he told the Chinese-language evening daily on May 5. 'I was really a bit dumbfounded when I found out that I was selected.' Wong was moved and sobered to receive international recognition. 'I won't regard it as a big achievement, but just an encouragement,' he told Shin Min, adding that that this selection brought not satisfaction, but the motivation to continue exploring creative possibilities. Esky stars Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann, who won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ilo Ilo (2013) and Best Leading Actress for Wet Season (2019). Both films were directed by Singapore filmmaker Anthony Chen. 'She is a very experienced actress and has her own views,' he told Shin Min. 'Sometimes, we disagree, but this also creates new sparks.' The Malaysian-born actor is very grateful that Yeo has 100% trust in him. 'I told her as soon as I was selected (for the award), and she said it was really great,' he said. Speaking of the filming process, Wong said he had not received professional training as a director, nor did he understand the traditional concept of storyboards, as he just ran with his instincts. This brought him both challenges and freedom. Faced with more senior crew on the set, Wong had to strike a balance between adhering to his style and accepting other opinions. 'Very often, you have to discern who to listen to and whether to stick to your original ideas,' he told Shin Min. Wong, who shot to fame after starring in the Chinese period drama Story Of Yanxi Palace (2018), has just returned to Singapore after shooting 36 episodes of a time-travel TV series in China. He recently sought an 'internship' with award-winning local filmmaker Eric Khoo for the Kopitiam Days anthology, the film marking the 60th anniversary of Singapore's independence. 'I asked him to let me help out on the set and do some odd jobs,' he told Shin Min. The other party was worried that this would not be a good idea for a star, but Wong insisted, saying: 'I'm here to learn and not to be taken care of.' – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
