Latest news with #Squibb
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
June Squibb on Her Nonagenarian Career High: 'A 70-Year-Old Will Say, ‘I Want To Be You When I Grow Up!''
'If I'm called 'icon' one more time, I'm going to scream,' laughs June Squibb from her Los Angeles home. It's been a big year for the 95-year-old actress. Thelma, Squibb's first leading feature film role, became one of the biggest success stories at the specialty box office last year, earning over $12 million at the global box office and becoming the highest-grossing movie ever for distributor Magnolia over its two-decade history. She also voices a character in Inside Out 2, which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It's the kind of run that anyone, let alone someone in their seventh decade in entertainment, dreams of. More from The Hollywood Reporter Cannes: Wes Anderson Teases His Next Film Cannes: Wes Brings The Whimsy in 'Phoenician Scheme' Press Conference In Cannes, It All Happened at the Carlton While flattered by the attention that comes with being Hollywood's favorite nonagenarian, Squibb finds the fawning a little ridiculous at times: 'A 70-year-old will say, 'I want to be you when I grow up!'' After all, Squibb is just doing the same job she's always been doing, from off-Broadway shows and cabarets to her work with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Alexander Payne. Nonetheless, the hits keep coming for Squibb as she jets off to the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of her latest movie, Eleanor the Great, which also happens to be the directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson. 'When I called June to tell her, 'Oh my God, June, we're going to Cannes,' she said, 'Well, that's marvelous,' ' recalls Johansson. 'And then she was like, 'Well, I was there about 10 years ago [for Payne's Nebraska], so I know the drill.' I just said, 'June, you're the best.' ' In the film, which will be released by Sony Pictures Classics after the fest, Squibb plays the eponymous title character, a woman who, after the death of her best friend and roommate, moves from Florida back to her native New York to be closer to her daughter and attempts to build a new life for herself. For Squibb, playing a character returning to New York City after many years away was not a big leap. 'I lived there for 65 years,' says the actress, who broke out in New York stage productions like the 1959 musical Gypsy. 'I've been in California for about 20. But, I certainly knew everything there was to know about New York.' Filming took place all over the city, from Brooklyn and Queens to the Meatpacking District and the East River. Squibb, a consummate West Sider, was surprised by how the city had changed. '[Brooklyn] has been gentrified like crazy. That was interesting to me, because my memory of Brooklyn is that Brooklyn Heights was the only place anyone ever went.' Because Eleanor tells a story that deals heavily with themes of Jewish heritage, in addition to subjects like grief and aging, Squibb had to memorize more than her lines. 'I learned the bat mitzvah Torah readings and actually did it on camera,' she says. 'My assistant and I were living in an apartment together, and I woke up one morning saying, 'Oh my God, in my dreams, I was doing the Torah!' ' As for being directed by one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Squibb says she and Johansson connected immediately. 'I just felt I knew who this person was. She's very — what is the word? It's not matter of fact. She is herself. She's not making you look at somebody that she wants you to see. It's just her. And that's what was so great in her direction.' Working with a fellow actress as her director was a new experience for Squibb, who adds that Johansson anticipated the notes and space she needed in order to get the scene just right: 'Now, not many directors can do that, even if they know a little bit about acting. They couldn't do what she did. She knew immediately where I was or where I was going, and how long it might take.' As for returning to the Cannes red carpet for the second time, one of Squibb's most vivid memories is getting an assist from Nebraska director Payne and her co-star Will Forte. 'I still remember going up those stairs,' says Squibb of the Palais' famous steep red steps that deliver audiences and talent into the Grand Auditorium Lumière. 'I was in my 80s at the time. Will Forte took one arm, and Alexander Payne took the other arm, and they dragged me up those stairs. They made sure I made it up the stairs.' It was well worth the climb, as Nebraska debuted to a rapturous 10-minute standing ovation. 'I can still remember, by the end of it, I grabbed Alexander around the waist and was crying in his chest,' recalls Squibb, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the film. Squibb has no plans to rest on her laurels, or retire for that matter. As of late, she has been inundated with scripts. Hollywood, long obsessed with youth and the stories that surround it, has embraced projects centered on older adults. 'People are really interested in aging now that we've got an aging population,' she says. 'I think people understand 90-year-olds. We just have so many more. I have friends that are 100! People want to see aging. They want to know: What do I have to expect?' But not all of the material is the right fit. 'One script was written for a 70-year-old. And I have to laugh, because I thought, at 90, I can't do some of the things that I could do when I was 70. They wanted me to ride a horse!' She chuckles and thinks for a moment before considering, 'Now, I'm not even saying I couldn't [ride a horse]. I used to ride, so I don't know, maybe if they got me on I could stay on.' And if Squibb does happen to do it, please — don't call her an icon. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
India Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Scarlett Johansson shines at Cannes with grief-themed film ‘Eleanor the Great'
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson made her directorial debut at the 78th Cannes Film Festival with Eleanor the Great, a heartfelt indie film starring June film tells the story of a 94-year-old woman named Eleanor (played by Squibb), who, after the death of her best friend (Rita Zohar), relocates to New York. There, she unintentionally attends the wrong meeting at a Jewish Community Center and assumes her late friend's identity as a Holocaust film delicately explores the themes of grief, loneliness, and the longing for connection. Speaking about the inspiration behind the film, Johansson said, 'There's a lack of empathy in the zeitgeist forgiveness feels less possible in the environment we're in.' The film was showcased in the Un Certain Regard section and has been lauded for its tender tone and character-driven reported by Associated Press, Johansson, shared that the desire to direct had been part of her journey for years. 'I would not have had the confidence to direct this film 10 years ago,' she Cannes premiere came shortly after her appearance on Saturday Night Live and ahead of her upcoming blockbuster role in Jurassic World the years, Johansson has expanded her creative role in Hollywood. She has produced several films, including Black Widow, Fly Me to the Moon, and now Eleanor the Great. Her directorial debut is a constant effort of her recent pattern of following her instincts, including her public disputes with major companies like Disney and film's emotional impact was felt at Cannes, where both Johansson and Squibb received a standing ovation. 'Holding June at that moment was unforgettable,' Johansson said, recalling the festival's warm reception.(With inputs from AP)ALSO READ: K-Pop stars turn Demon slayers in Netflix's new animated filmMust Watch
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary Actress, 95, Receives Standing Ovation in Colorful Cannes Appearance
Some of the biggest names in Hollywood have attended the Cannes Film Festival throughout the week, including a special appearance from legendary actress June Squibb. The 95-year-old actress hasn't allowed her age to stop her from continuing with her career, appearing in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 The film—also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Erin Kellyman—scored a five-minute standing ovation at the French event, as it gains early buzz for the powerful storyline and intergenerational casting. The Good Girls actress also turned heads as she ditched her wheelchair to walk the red carpet alongside Johannson and Kellyman. Donning a colorful floral kimono with black pants, the iconic actress used a cane as she posed for photos, holding hands with her castmates for additional support. While attending the film's screening the day before, Squibb opted for a floral black gown. Per Variety, Johansson said premiering the film at Cannes is 'really a dream come true," adding that it's a film "about friendship, it's about grief, it's about forgiveness. And I think those are all themes that we can use a lot more of these days.'The drama piece finds Squibb as the eponymous title lead, who moves from Florida to New York City for a fresh start after the death of her best friend and learns that "making new friends at ninety proves difficult." "Longing for connection, she befriends a 19-year-old student," the synopsis notes. As for how Squibb feels about her status in the industry, she previously told The Hollywood Reporter, "If I'm called 'icon' one more time, I'm going to scream,' noting that the attention gets a little ridiculous at times: "A 70-year-old will say, 'I want to be you when I grow up!'" Squibb began her career with a Broadway debut in Gypsy in 1959, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2013 for the film Nebraska, and landed her first leading role in an action comedy just last year in Thelma.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Eleanor the Great' Review: Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut Is an Unconvincing Crowd-Pleaser, With June Squibb Doing Brash Shtick
June Squibb has become the female Alan Arkin. She's 95 years old, but onscreen she delivers her zingers with the crack timing of an old person whose perception of the world is ageless in its bombs-away, truth-telling joy. After years as a sneaky scene stealer, Squibb became a star in 'Nebraska,' the 2013 Alexander Payne film that turned her combination of homespun grandmotherly demeanor and ruthless wit into a crowd-pleasing force. Last year, she had her first leading role (in 'Thelma,' an action comedy!), and now her perky moon face is front and center again in 'Eleanor the Great,' the first film directed by Scarlett Johansson. The movie is an awards-season wannabe in every sense. It totally plays up Squibb's tart-tongued Arkin-adjacent antique brash aplomb. But in addition, it's an attempt to tap into the poignant underside of a character who uses her wisecracks as weapons. Did I mention that it's also a sentimental Holocaust weeper? More from Variety Erin Kellyman on Starring in Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut 'Eleanor the Great': 'This Job Has Changed the Way I See Myself as an Actor' Jafar Panahi and Saeed Roustayee Are Both in Cannes in Banner Year for Iranian Cinema on the Croisette Jafar Panahi Speaks Out for First Time in 14 Years as New Film 'It Was Just an Accident' Premieres at Cannes: I Spent 'Eight Hours a Day Blindfolded' and 'Being Interrogated' in Iran Prison When we first meet Squibb's Eleanor Morgenstein, who is 94 and still spry, she's waking up in the bedroom she shares with her oldest friend, Bessie (Rita Zohar), in an apartment in Florida. It's Friday morning, and they're undertaking their ritual weekly outing: a trip to the supermarket. That may not sound too dramatic, but there's rarely a dull moment with Eleanor, who will give anyone a piece of her mind, even when it's not a friendly piece. When she and Bessie arrive at the market's pickle-jar section, only to learn that the kosher brand they favor isn't there, Eleanor seizes the chance to dress down a stockboy who's utterly at sea about how to help them. That she has the awareness to skewer him as a clueless Zoomer is what's funny — that, and the fact that Squibb delivers her lines as if they were the opening monologue of her own talk show. The script of 'Eleanor the Great,' by Tory Kamen, doesn't stint on the sitcom sarcasm, and that's both a plus and a minus. There's no denying that as a character, Eleanor plays, giving Squibb an opportunity to strut her granny-with-an-attitude stuff. But you're always aware that the movie is trying to squeeze a laugh out of you. Bessie is a Holocaust survivor, with one of those old-world Eastern European accents and a woe-is-me shrug of a personality to match. She and Eleanor are presented as if they were two peas in a Jewish-retirement-community pod. But this gives us pause. June Squibb is a hell of an actor, but in 'Eleanor the Great' she doesn't exactly come off like a Jewish person from the Bronx (which is what the film first implies she is). There is, however, a good explanation for that. The set-up for the movie is that Bessie, who has been Eleanor's soulmate for decades, dies quite suddenly. Eleanor has never lived alone, so she relocates to New York City to move into the East Side apartment of her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht), and grandson, Max (Will Price), at which point it starts to become clear that 'Eleanor the Great' is no mere glorified sitcom. It's an investigation into the mystery of who Eleanor is. 'You cut your hair, I see,' says Eleanor to Lisa. 'I liked it better before.' That's the kind of line that gives Eleanor — and, indeed, the comedy of June Squibb — an anti-social edge. Eleanor isn't just sharp as a tack; she's got boundary issues when it comes to what she thinks she can say. She talks less to communicate than to entertain herself. And it's that what-the-hell mouthiness that gets her into trouble. Dropped off at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center (a place where Lisa figures her mother can spend some time and make friends), she wanders into a group of people seated in a circle, and it turns out to be a support group for Holocaust survivors. A normal person would get up and leave, or maybe ask to listen. But neither of those options would satisfy Eleanor, who needs to be at the center of the action. So she starts to tell a story about how she's from Poland, and then this happened to her, and that happened, and we realize that she's making up who she is. She's telling Bessie's story and passing it off as her own. And, of course, doing a captivating job of it. Nina (Erin Kellyman), a journalism student from NYU, is sitting in on the group to write an article for one of her classes, and she's struck by Eleanor's story. She wants to feature her in the article! And since Eleanor could use the company, she gets drawn into a connection with Nina — a standard buddy-movie trope. If there's any doubt about how much 'Eleanor the Great' often seems to have come out of a screenwriting processor, check out this Coincidence 101 contrivance: Back in Florida, Eleanor and Bessie were obsessed with Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a handsome cable-TV newsman — and it turns out that Roger is Nina's recently widowed father. The table is now set for Eleanor's fake Holocaust story to go very public. That someone would appropriate her best friend's saga of wartime survival is clearly indefensible. Yet in a strange way I think 'Eleanor the Great,' to be true to the outrageousness of that premise, should have sharpened the comedy of it more. Johansson, however, while she does a perfectly efficient job of directing, doesn't hone the tone of her scenes. She keeps the whole thing earnest and rather neutral in a plot-driven way, with Squibb as her wild card. As Nina, Erin Kellyman has a wide-eyed precocity marbled with the sadness that has sprung from her mother's death. 'Eleanor the Great' very much wants to be a movie about grief. It tells us that grief is what's at the core of Eleanor's deception — the grief of Bessie's passing, the grief she couldn't bear. That's why she did it! But guess what? I didn't believe that for a moment. Not when June Squibb is having this good a time making herself the center of attention. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes: Scarlett Johansson's ‘Eleanor the Great' scores praise and Oscar buzz for June Squibb
Jennifer Lawrence isn't the only Best Actress hopeful generating Oscar buzz at the Cannes Film Festival. On Tuesday, Sony Pictures Classics premiered Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut with June Squibb in the lead role. Truth be told, the awards campaign for Squibb began months ago, when Thelma Star and Johansson presented together at the Academy Awards. More from GoldDerby 'It: Welcome to Derry' gets creepy trailer, Elle Fanning joins 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,' 'Yellowjackets' renewed, and more top news today 'Somebody Somewhere' final season aims big for 2025 Emmys: Bridget Everett in Best Actress, Comedy Writing, and Original Music categories 'Matlock' acting Emmy submissions include Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall, plus these 3 guest stars So while the reviews for Eleanor the Great were largely mixed, it comes as little surprise that Squibb has been deemed innocent of its flaws. 'June Squibb is a pure joy from start to finish, delivering the finest performance of her career, making audiences laugh out loud one moment and breaking their hearts the next,' Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia wrote on social media. 'It's not every day that a 95-year-old gets a standing ovation at Cannes. Here's June Squibb, the lead of Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut Eleanor the Great, soaking up that love,' wrote New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan. Written by Tory Kamen, Eleanor the Great focuses on the titular Eleanor (Squibb), who moves to New York from Florida after the death of her best friend and roommate, Bessie, a Holocaust survivor. As the reviews allude to, the story takes a turn when Eleanor finds herself sitting in a Holocaust survivors' support group and proceeds to share Bessie's story as her own. Complications ensue. Thanks to Thelma, Squibb was a fringe contender for Best Actress this year, and the pundit class and Squibb's fans hope Eleanor the Great might push her into the Oscar race as a nominee next year. Sony Pictures Classics has an enviable track record in scoring unlikely acting bids, including recent nominees Fernanda Torres, Bill Nighy, Antonio Banderas, and Penelope Cruz. If she is nominated, Squibb would make history as the oldest acting nominee ever. Read on for reviews of Eleanor the Great. Owen Gleiberman, Variety: 'The movie is an awards-season wannabe in every sense. It totally plays up Squibb's tart-tongued Alan Arkin-adjacent antique brash aplomb. But in addition, it's an attempt to tap into the poignant underside of a character who uses her wisecracks as weapons. Did I mention that it's also a sentimental Holocaust weeper?' Kate Erbland, Indiewire: 'It's a little predictable, a little bizarre, a little funny, and very sad, but it's also an ambitious swing at what movies can still be (and what sort of stars can populate them), a message and an idea that we expect will lead both the director and writer into quite fruitful new chapters. It's never too late to try something new, Eleanor and Nina (Erin Kellyman) seem to want to tell us, and even imperfect attempts have real value.' Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter: 'In her directorial debut Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson tries to shape a portrait of aging, loneliness and grief in America through the misadventures of her eponymous protagonist, played by the reliably funny June Squibb (Thelma). You want Eleanor the Great to succeed because of its charming lead and compelling premise (the screenplay is by Tory Kamen), but it struggles to find its groove. The film lurches between comic set pieces and more dramatic beats, and while Johansson proves a competent helmer, it's not enough to overcome some dizzying tonal imbalances. Still, at the very least, Eleanor the Great offers a character-driven break from the glut of sequels, prequels and whatever else studios squeeze out of existing IP. " Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist: The film is trying to do too much, especially when there is more than enough compelling drama in Eleanor's personal distress. Giving any of this nuance in just over 90 minutes would be challenging for any director. For Johannson, it's even more so. The movie doesn't opt for a slick, commercial sheen, but it needed even a hint of visual candor to elevate the proceedings (SNL short films look more captivating than Eleanor). Perhaps Johannson wanted to be as safe as possible when shooting her first film. Maybe the independent shooting schedule limited their options, but considering the lineage of filmmakers Johansson has worked with over her 25-year career, we dared to expect something more?' Pete Hammond, Deadline: 'Johansson, working with Tory Kamen's screenplay, keeps this all very delicate and a reminder of those wonderful contained New York City-set movies about the human condition, and with the expertise of her cinematographer Helene Louvart, she really captures the city. The most recent example I can think of a NYC tale like this one was Melissa McCarthy starring in Can You Ever Forgive Me? which was about a writer who started falsifying letters from famous people. That one got a few Oscar nominations, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear a lot about Eleanor the Great during awards season, especially when it comes to Squibb, whose moving performance is simply exquisite; there is no other word for it.' Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: 'This frankly odd film is misjudged and naive about the implications of its Holocaust theme. Its bland, TV-movie tone of sentimentality fails to accommodate the existential nightmare of the main plot strand, or indeed the subordinate question of when and whether to put your elderly parent in a care home.' Ben Croll, TheWrap: If Eleanor the Great never quite braids its strands into a truly compelling yarn, there's still pleasure in examining the individual threads. Squibb clearly relishes the chance to cut loose — especially when preparing for her late-in-life bat mitzvah, which delivers the film's most unexpected visual. (Rapping grannies are passé. Let's see one chant the ha'Torah.) And the very text of each Holocaust recollection — often delivered by real-life survivors — lands with renewed urgency. At 40, Johansson belongs to a generation still shaped by direct familial ties to survivors. Today, that already isn't the case. Eleanor the Great recognizes as much, ceding its own coda to a first-person account. Audiences in Cannes walked out knowing little more about Johansson's directorial voice – but they also walked out in tears. The movie star wouldn't have it any other way.' Ed Potton, The Times U.K.: 'The last of three directorial debuts by big-name actors at Cannes this year, Scarlett Johansson's Eleanor the Great is — unlike Kristen Stewart's more pretentious The Chronology of Water and Harris Dickinson's riskier Urchin — exactly the kind of conventional, performer-led film one would expect from an actor. It also has the jackpot combination of being tear-inducing and laugh-out-loud funny.' Best of GoldDerby John C. Reilly movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Ian McKellen movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best Octavia Spencer movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
