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Time Magazine
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Benny Safdie on Taking Up the Mantle of Villainy in Happy Gilmore 2—And Christopher Nolan Telling Him to Get in Shape for The Odyssey
Warning: This post contains minor spoilers for Happy Gilmore 2. Nearly 30 years ago, Christopher McDonald left an indelible mark on pop culture with his performance as smarmy professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 sports comedy classic Happy Gilmore. Opposite Adam Sandler's quick-to-anger hockey failure-turned-unlikely golf sensation Happy, McDonald played Shooter as an arrogant yet moronic, finger-gun-blasting, third-person-talking prick of a man. Now, Benny Safdie is taking up the reins of Happy Gilmore-verse villainy as Frank Manatee, the halitosis-plagued creator of Maxi Golf, a new stunt-based golf association intended to rival the long-established Tour Championship league in Happy Gilmore 2. And, according to Safdie, if he can inspire "even an eighth of the level of hatred Shooter did," he'll consider his character a success. After co-directing Sandler alongside his brother, Josh Safdie, in the acclaimed 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems—a film that earned its prolific lead the most serious awards consideration of his career—Safdie says he "instantly" accepted when Sandler called to offer him the role of Manatee in the long-awaited Happy Gilmore sequel, which hits Netflix July 25. TIME spoke with Safdie about Happy Gilmore 2, buzzy forthcoming projects like The Smashing Machine, and his work with some of the biggest directors of our time. Safdie: Oh my god. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. I can close my eyes and see it from beginning to end. There's so many Shooter McGavin quotes. There's so many Sandler quotes. It just was on repeat for me. With Shooter, there's such a level of like, wow, this guy is truly evil but he's so fully realized. And then Happy is almost like a parable of a guy. He's definitely got his issues, but at the same time, he's really nice and loves his grandmother. Sandler is just special. It's almost crazy to me that I'm even in this thing because that movie was such a big part of my childhood. When Sandler called me to play this, he said there was something about one of my stand-up characters that he thought would be great for this role. So I instantly was like, all right, I know exactly how this guy looks. I wanted him to be one of those people you swipe past on Instagram and are like, "Oh, I know that guy." He speaks in broad platitudes about how to succeed. He's an energy drink disruptor. I really wanted to make him as real as possible because that's one of the things I think is really successful about Shooter. And I was able to bond with Chris [McDonald] about how these guys don't think they're bad, they just think they're doing what's necessary. So I really wanted to bring a level of authenticity. I wanted him to make sense. There's a closeness. I look at him and I'm just like, "Ah, there's the Sandman." There's a real affection and connection there. And it's interesting because we'd always wanted to act together in something, but it never worked out. It's one thing to work with him as a director, but then to be in a scene with him and actually look into his eyes and act is amazing. He's such a perfectionist. He really cares about everything he's doing and wants it to be the best that it can be. There was one line we were really trying to hammer home: "Will you stop with the shoe? We're done with the shoe!" That was one he really wanted to hit hard. And it was amazing because it just kept going and going. We did it so many times. He had a very specific cadence. So he and I are both after the same thing, which is doing whatever it takes to make it as funny and great as possible. I think he's giving as much thought to both of them. It was amazing to see him as Happy because I was like, "Oh my god. That's not Adam Sandler. It's Happy Gilmore." That was the coolest thing because Happy is a character of his. It's like [Charlie] Chaplin and the Little Tramp. And he's playing these roles with as much thought and care as he's doing the other ones. I don't think he makes that distinction. He's also just a really sensitive person and he allows that to seep into things. Even in Gems, it was amazing because he always wanted [his character] Howard to have this softer side. He really pushed for that and, when you look back at the movie, it's so important that was there. He wants people to be able to relate to him. I treat the comedy roles no differently than the others because I'm doing just as much hard work trying to make it feel believable. But I do love comedy and I always want to make somebody laugh. There's a feeling on set where you want to ruin the take. You want people to be laughing at the monitors. You want to hear them go crazy and know that you went there. I did stand-up comedy and so I really enjoy that kind of no-net performance. I don't get to do it that often. It was incredible, because with this project we both saw something in Mark's story that we really connected to. It was almost non-verbal. I could just see how passionate he was and I felt the same way. So it was really us trying to understand ourselves through this character. I felt like I could ask him to do anything and he would pull it out like it was nothing. It was really special to be a part of. He had a lot of respect for Mark and [his wife] Dawn and it was really about being truthful to their experience. There's a UFC tagline that my wife got me on a shirt: "As real as it gets." We just took that to the extreme. I don't, really, because I'm lucky enough that if there's something I really want to do, I'll figure out a way to make it happen. I was editing Smashing Machine while I was acting in Happy Gilmore. So I literally had my laptop out in my trailer when I wasn't working on scenes. And I look back on it and am definitely like, "How did I do that?" I don't even know. You just kind of compartmentalize things. It was the same thing with The Odyssey. I was in the middle of editing when Chris [Nolan] called me and was like, "How's your body?" And I was like, "What do you mean? Like, how's it holding up in the edit?" And he says, "No, I want you to be in this and you have to be in better shape." And I was like, OK, I have to do that now. So then I was exercising and thinking about what I was eating and going to these crazy locations, and then coming back and working on finishing Smashing Machine—all while dressed as Frank with that hair and goatee. One hundred percent. There's certain things they'll do that will ignite something within me and I'm like, "Oh, that's how they do it." So I'll try and reverse engineer those things and use them to my advantage. I think it's about being willing to go in and put yourself out there. There's a vulnerability. Like, I was going to speak with a Hungarian accent [in Oppenheimer] and Chris' implicit trust in me gave me the confidence to do that. Or Paul will gently try to get you in this competitive headspace so you want to be the best that you can be. And Claire is just always searching for something exciting. She'll stand up in the middle of a scene because she wants to be excited by it and was bored when everyone was sitting down. It's interesting to see the connection between all of them, because when somebody's doing it right there's kind of a throughline to it. Definitely. I want to be able to experience a movie that I made with my kids and talk to them as an audience. I think there's something really special about that. It's funny because we had an idea for a second season early on but then the first season really does work as its own self-contained thing. So there is a really funny idea for it and I think it would be good, but I don't know. Nathan and I also didn't even want to make a show together. We just accidentally came up with this idea and then it was one of those things where you have a friendship with somebody and it becomes a fun thing to talk about. I love his style of acting and I really liked pushing him to places he may not have gone before. I remember telling him, "When you get really angry, it's not funny. But there is something funny about it." He's also somebody who's obsessed with realism in a very different way than I am. He's obsessed with making you look at a real thing and then be like, "That's not real, right?" And I'm obsessed with looking at something and being like, "All right, this is fake, but I need to convince people it's real with every ounce of my being." So those two things do overlap in a nice way.
See - Sada Elbalad
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Venice Film Festival 2025 Lineup Revealed
Yara Sameh Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has revealed a rich mix of buzzy movies with big stars — as well as smaller titles with awards potential — that will be vying for the Golden Lion during the upcoming 82nd edition. Hotly anticipated new works from Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo Del Toro, Noah Baumbach, Mona Fastvold, Luca Guadagnino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Olivier Assayas, Park Chan-wook, Benny Safdie, and more are set for Lido launches, making for a cornucopia of cinematic offerings. The festival features big-name films premiering at Venice include Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine' from A24, featuring Dwayne Johnson as two-time UFC heavyweight champ Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as his wife Dawn; Focus Features' 'Bugonia,' the latest collaboration between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, who were last at the fest in 2023 with the Oscar-winning 'Poor Things'; and Luca Guadagnino's psychological drama 'After the Hunt' starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri. Guadagnino's latest feature film, which hails from Amazon MGM Studios, is in an out-of-competition slot. Barbera noted that it has been Guadagnino and Amazon/MGM's choice to launch out-of-competition and proudly pointed out that 'After the Hunt' will mark the first time for Julia Roberts on the Venice red carpet. 'We will be welcoming her with great pleasure,' he said. Mona Fastvold's 'The Testament of Ann Lee,' starring Amanda Seyfried as the titular founding leader of the Shaker Movement who was proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers, will bow in competition. The indie film, inspired by real events, was co-written by Fastvold and her partner Brady Corbet ('The Brutalist'). Netflix – as has been the case in the past – will have a robust Venice presence with a trio of high-profile movies, all in competition. The streaming giant's Lido launches comprise Kathryn Bigelow's politically charged 'A House of Dynamite,' marking Bigelow's first time behind the camera since 2017's 'Detroit.' Set during a fictional national security crisis at the White House, 'House of Dynamite' stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso and Jared Harris. Then there is Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama 'Jay Kelly' co-written with Emily Mortimer and starring George Clooney 'who plays a successful actor going through an identity crisis,' said Barbera, as its titular character, and Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein,' a new take on the classic monster movie with Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth. They are all Netflix original films. But when it comes to streamers making a splash on the Lido, this year's big novelty is repped by expanding arthouse platform Mubi. Mubi has the fest's previously announced opener, Paolo Sorrentino's love story 'La Grazia,' which re-teams the Oscar-winning Italian director with 'The Great Beauty' actor Toni Servillo. The specialty streamer is also on the Lido with Jim Jarmusch triptych film 'Father Mother Sister Brother,' which stars Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver and Charlotte Rampling. Mubi also has South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook's 12th feature 'No Other Choice,' marking 20 years since his 'Lady Vengeance' made a major splash on the Lido. Neon has North American distribution rights. Also launching in the Lido competition from Asia are 'The Sun Rises on Us All' by veteran auteur Can Shangjun, who won the Silver Lion for best director at Venice in 2011 with 'People Mountain People Sea,' and 'Girl,' the directorial debut of Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi, a frequent Hou Hsiao-hsien collaborator. Standout out-of-competition titles incude Julian Schnabel's star-studded crime mystery 'In The Hand of Dante,' with an ensemble cast comprising Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler and Martin Scorsese (who plays Dante Alighieri's mentor); Gus Van Sant's hostage thriller 'Dead Man's Wire' with Bill Skarsgård, Colman Domingo, Dacre Montgomery and Al Pacino; Sofia Coppola's documentary tribute to fashion designer Marc Jacobs 'Marc by Sophia'; Werner Herzog's doc 'Ghost Elephants,' which follows a mysterious herd of elephants in the jungles of Angola; and Lucrezia Martel's 'Nuestra Tierra,' about the murder of indigenous activist Javier Chocobar. Noting that Schnabel's film had been held up in a dispute with producers over its 150 minute length, Barbera pointed out that the majority of films at Venice this year, with only one exception, 'last between 2 hours and 15 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes,' he said. 'This seems to have become the new international production standard,' Barbera added. 'It's a bit worrying, let me tell you, even for festival programmers because cramming all these movies in our programming calendar is becoming problematic. But we will figure it out.' Leading the crème de la crème French contingent in competition are two major auteurs backed by Gaumont. The venerable French studio will premiere Olivier Assayas' big-budget political thriller 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' which explores the rise of Vladimir Putin — played by Jude Law — and also stars Paul Dano, and Alicia Vikander. Gaumont will also showcase Francois Ozon's comeback to the Lido with 'The Stranger,' his adaptation of the Albert Camus classic exploring themes of human cruelty, existentialism and post-colonialism in 1930s Algeria. Actor-director Valérie Donzelli is in competition with 'À Pied D'Oeuvre,' a drama about a man who goes through lots of changes to pursue his latent dream of becoming a writer. The film is co-written by Donzelli and Gilles Marchand. France also has the fest's out-of-competition closer: Studiocanal's dystopian thriller 'Chien 51,' directed by Cedric Jimenez, starring two of the country's most bankable actors: Adèle Exarchopoulos ('Beating Hearts') and Gilles Lellouche ('The Stronghold'). The movie is produced by the Mediawan-owned Chi-Fou-Mi banner. From elsewhere in Europe, Oscar-winning Hungarian helmer László Names ('Son of Saul') is in competition with period drama 'Orphan,' about a Jewish boy raised by his mother with idealized tales of his deceased father. Also competing from Hungary is the drama 'Silent Friend' by Ildiko Enyedi ('On Body and Soul'), centered around a majestic tree in a botanical garden that observes humans, with an ensemble cast comprising Hong Kong's Tony Leung Chiu-wai in his first role in a European film. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is repped in competition by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania's hot-button political drama 'The Voice of Hind Rajab,' about the killing of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was left stranded in a car that had been attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza on Jan. 29, 2024 and later found dead. 'I think this is one of the films that will make a greater impression, and I hope not polemics,' said Barbera. He noted that Ben Hania used the real audio tapes of phone calls between the girl and her mother. Saudi Arabian director Shahad Ameen, whose feminist fable 'Scales' made a splash after launching from Venice in 2019, is back on the Lido with 'Hijra,' a drama centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert. 'Hijra' will play in Venice's new Venezia Spotlight section that replaces Horizons Extra. Opening the Horizons section dedicated to more cutting-edge works is 'Mother,' which marks the English-language debut of North Macedonian filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska ('God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya') and stars Noomi Rapace as Mother Teresa. The robust Italian roster includes 'Below the Clouds,' the new high-profile doc by Gianfranco Rosi whose 'Sacro GRA' scooped the 2013 Venice Golden Lion and 'Duse,' Pietro Marcello's biopic of legendary Italian stage diva Eleonora Duse, played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, in competition. 'A Year of School' by rising auteur Laura Samani, who made a splash with 'Small Body' in 2021, is launching in Horizons, as is 'The Kidnapping of Arabella,' the sophomore film by Carolina Cavalli whose 'Amanda' was a standout in Orizzonti Extra in 2022. Italy's Benedetta Porcaroli ('The Leopard') and Chris Pine co-star in 'Arabella'. Interestingly, Italian directors have secured three of Venice's four slots dedicated to TV series. Veteran auteur Marco Bellocchio will launch a show titled 'Portobello' that reconstructs one of Italy's most clamorous travesties of justice, while genre specialist Stefano Sollima will bow Netflix original 'The Monster of Florence,' about a harrowing string of sex-related murders that took place outside Florence from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Studiocanal series 'A Prophet,' directed by Italy's Enrico Maria Artale ('Django' the series), is an adaptation of Jacques Audiard's 2009 film with a diverse new cast led by Mamadou Sidibé. The fourth TV series premiering at Venice is 'Etty,' an adaptation of the diaries of Dutch author Etty Hillesum, who was murdered in Auschwitz. It's directed by Hagai Levi, the creator of Israeli TV series 'Be'Tipul,' which was adapted into HBO's 'In Treatment.' Two-time Oscar winner Alexander Payne will preside over the main jury. The 82nd edition of Venice will run August 27-September 6. See the full lineup below. COMPETITION 'La Grazia,' Paolo Sorrentino (opening film) 'The Wizard of the Kremlin,' Olivier Assayas 'Jay Kelly,' Noah Baumbach 'The Voice of Hind Rajab,' Kaouther Ben Hania 'A House of Dynamite,' Kathryn Bigelow 'Ri Gua Zhong Tian' ('The Sun Rises on Us All'), Cai Shangjun 'Frankenstein,' Guillermo del Toro 'Elisa,' Leonardo di Costanzo 'À Pied d'Oeuvre,' Valérie Donzelli 'Silent Friend,' Ildikó Enyedi 'The Testament of Ann Lee,' Mona Fastvold 'Father Mother Sister Brother,' Jim Jarmusch 'Bugonia,' Yorgos Lanthimos 'Duse,' Pietro Marcello 'Un Film Fatto Per Bene,' Franco Maresco 'Orphan,' László Nemes 'L'Étranger,' François Ozon 'Eojjeol Suga Eopda' ('No Other Choice'), Park Chan-wook 'Sotto Le Nuvole,' Gianfranco Rosi 'The Smashing Machine,' Benny Safdie 'Nühai' ('Girl'), Shu Qi OUT OF COMPETITION — FICTION 'Chien 51,' Cédric Jimenez (closing film) 'Boşluğa Xütbə' ('Sermon to the Void'), Hilal Baydarov 'L'Isola di Andrea,' Antonio Capuano 'Il Maestro,' Andrea di Stefano 'After the Hunt,' Luca Guadagnino 'Hateshinaki Scarlet,' Mamoru Hosoda 'Den Sidste Viking' ('The Last Viking'), Anders Thomas Jensen 'In the Hand of Dante,' Julian Schnabel 'La Valle Dei Sorrisi,' Paolo Strippoli 'Dead Man's Wire,' Gus Van Sant 'Orfeo,' Virgilio Villoresi OUT OF COMPETITION — SERIES 'Portobello' (Ep. 1-2), Marco Bellocchio 'Un Prophète' (Ep. 1-8), Enrico Maria Artale 'Etty' (Ep. 1-6), Hagai Levi 'Il Mostro' (Ep. 1-4), Stefano Sollima OUT OF COMPETITION — NON-FICTION 'Kabul, Between Prayers,' Aboozar Amini 'Ferdinando Scianna – Il Fotografo Dell'Ombra,' Roberto Andò 'Marc by Sofia,' Sofia Coppola 'I Diari di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti. Capitolo Terzo,' Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi 'Ghost Elephants,' Werner Herzog 'Baba Wa Al-Qadhafi' ('My Father and Qaddafi'), Jihan K 'The Tale of Sylian,' Tamara Kotevska 'Nuestra Tierra,' Lucrecia Martel 'Remake,' Ross McElwee 'Kim Novak's Vertigo,' Alexandre Philippe 'Cover-Up,' Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus 'Broken English,' Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth 'Zapiski Nastoyashego Prestupnika' ('Notes of a True Criminal'), Alexander Rodnyansky and Andriy Alferov 'Director's Diary,' Aleksander Sokurov 'Hui Jia' ('Back Home'), Tsai Ming-liang OUT OF COMPETITION — FILM & MUSIC 'Nino. 18 Giorni,' Toni D'Angelo 'Piero Pelù. Rumore Dentro,' Francesco Fei 'Newport and the Great Folk Dream,' Robert Gordon and Joe Lauro 'Francesco de Gregori Nevergreen,' Stefano Pistolini OUT OF COMPETITION — SHORTS 'Origin,' Yann Arthus-Bertrand 'Boomerang Atomic,' Rachid Bouchareb 'How to Shoot a Ghost,' Charlie Kaufman HORIZONS 'Mother,' Teona Strugar Mitevska 'Komedie Elahi' ('Divine Comedy'), Ali Asgari 'Hiedra,' Ana Cristina Barragan 'Il Rapimento di Arabella,' Carolina Cavalli 'Estrany Riu' ('Strange River'), Jaume Claret Muxart 'Hara Watan' ('Lost Land'), Akio Fujimoto 'Grand Ciel,' Akihiro Hata 'Rose of Nevada,' Mark Jenkin 'Late Fame,' Kent Jones 'Milk Teeth,' Mihai Mincan 'Pin de Fartie,' Alejo Moguillansky 'Otec' ('Father'), Tereza Nvotova 'En El Camino,' David Pablos 'Songs of Forgotten Trees,' Anuparna Roy 'Un Anno di Scuola,' Laura Samani 'The Souffleur,' Gastón Solnicki 'Barrio Triste,' Stillz 'Human Resource,' Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit 'Funeral Casino Blues,' Roderick Warich VENICE SPOTLIGHT 'Hijra,' Shahad Ameen 'Un Cabo Suelto,' Daniel Hendler 'Made in EU,' Stephan Komandarev 'Motor City,' Potsy Ponciroli 'La Hija de la Española,' Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás 'À Bras-Le-Corps,' Marie-Elsa Sgualdo 'Calle Malaga,' Maryam Touzani 'Ammazzare Stanca,' Daniele Vicari read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks
Japan Today
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Toronto International Film Festival sets lineup with Sydney Sweeney, Aziz Ansari and 'Knives Out 3'
A welcome sign for the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival is pictured on the opening night of the festival, Sept 5, 2024, in Toronto. Films starring Sydney Sweeney, Angelina Jolie and Aziz Ansari will premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, festival organizers have announced. TIFF laid out the selections to its galas and special presentations programs, which make up the bulk of the red carpet premieres to North America's largest film festival. Films making their world premieres include Ansari's 'Good Fortune,' starring Keanu Reeves as an angel trying to teach a struggling man (Ansari) a lesson; David Michôd's 'Christy,' with Sweeney playing the boxer Christy Martin; and Alice Winocour's 'Couture,' starring Jolie as an American filmmaker attending Paris Fashion Week. Those films join previously announced TIFF world premieres including Rian Johnson's 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery." All three of Johnson's 'Knives Out' films have premiered in Toronto. Also debuting in Toronto will be Derek Cianfrance's 'Roofman,' starring Channing Tatum as a struggling father turned thief; Nia DaCosta's Ibsen adaptation 'Hedda,' starring Tessa Thompson; Nicholas Hytner's WWI drama 'The Choral,' with Ralph Fiennes; Steven Soderbergh's third 2025 release, 'The Christophers'; Hikari's 'Rental Family,' starring Brendan Fraser as an American actor in Japan; and Paul Greengrass' 'The Lost Bus,' with Matthew McConaughey as a bus driver navigating California's 2018 Camp Fire. The Toronto International Film Festival will kick off Sept. 4 with the debut of the documentary 'John Candy: I Like Me,' from director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds. The festival runs through Sept. 14. Toronto has long been one of the prized launching pads to the fall movie season, though many of the top films often first go to the Venice or Telluride film festivals. This year, that includes TIFF selections like Chloe Zhao's 'Hamnet,' Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein,' Benny Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine' and Edward Berger's 'Ballad of a Smaller Player.' The designation of those premieres suggests 'Frankenstein' and 'The Smashing Machine' will first play Venice, while Zhao's and Berger's films will likely play both Venice and Telluride. Other notable films premiering in Toronto include James Vanderbilt's Nuremberg trials drama 'Nuremberg,' with Rami Malik and Russell Crowe; Rachel Lee Goldenberg's 'Swiped,' starring Lily James as Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd; and Agnieszka Holland's Franz Kafka drama 'Franz." Several directorial debuts will be landing in Toronto including those by Brian Cox ('Glenrothan') and Maude Apatow ("Poetic License"). Other selections include 'Bad Apples,' with Saoirse Ronan as a teacher with a poorly behaved student; 'Easy's Waltz," a Las Vegas-set drama starring Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino; and Alex Winter's 'Adulthood.' A number of standouts from May's Cannes Film Festival will also play in Toronto, such as Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or winner 'It Was Just an Accident,' Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value,' Oliver Laxe's 'Sirât' and Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague.' © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
UPI
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Venice Film Festival: 'Frankenstein,' 'Smashing Machine' among lineup
1 of 3 | Dwayne Johnson stars in "The Smashing Machine," a sports drama directed by Benny Safdie that will screen In Competition at the Venice International Film Festival. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 22 (UPI) -- The 82nd annual Venice International Film Festival announced its 2025 lineup Tuesday. The roster of films is a pool of both splashy titles with major names attached, to smaller flicks hoping to make more than a ripple as they take the fest plunge. Set to run from Aug. 27 through Sept. 6, some of the festival's more anticipated movies include Bugonia, a sci-fi dark comedy directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring frequent collaborator Emma Stone, and The Smashing Machine, director Benny Safdie's tale about two-time UFC heavyweight champion Mark Kerr, portrayed by Dwayne Johnson. Also screening In Competition is Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic gothic novel. Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth star in the film, which will be released on Netflix. Two other original offerings from Netflix were also selected: Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite, with Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso and Jared Harris on deck, and Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney. Fellow streamer Mubi's movies are also likely to grab some eyes, as its La Grazia, from Paolo Sorrentino, will open the festival. Father Mother Sister Brother, directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver and Charlotte Rampling, will also screen. Out of Competition titles include Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri, and Julian Schnabel's In the Hand of Dante, featuring Martin Scorsese, Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler. Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire, starring a powerful trio of Bill Skarsgård, Colman Domingo and Al Pacino, was also selected, along with Marc by Sofia, Sofia Coppola's documentary about fashion designer Marc Jacobs, and the Werner Herzog documentary Ghost Elephants. As for indie entries, Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried, is another piece that has some buzz. Dwayne Johnson turns 52: a look back Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson poses with his wax image, which was unveiled for the media on April 10, 2002, at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York City. Earlier that year, the wrestler made his acting debut in "The Scorpion King." Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo
Pink Villa
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Venice Film Festival 2025 Full Lineup: From Dwayne Johnson's The Smashing Machine to Julia Roberts-Andrew Garfield's After the Hunt
The Venice Film Festival is just a month away, and the movie lineup has been announced. The event will set the stage for the upcoming award season, premiering the best of Hollywood during the week that the festival will be ongoing. Among the top contenders are Dwayne Johnson 's The Smashing Machine and the Julia Roberts starrer, After the Hunt. Both Johnson and Roberts are set to mark their debut at the ceremony this year. Unlike the previous year, Netflix has come in strong with two titles competing at the film festival. Frankenstein and A House of Dynamite are among the most-talked-about films, making movie fans anticipate the release. The Venice Film Festival 2025 lineup Apart from The Smashing Machine and After the Hunt, one of the most looked-forward-to movies of the season is The Voice of Hind Rajab. The story of the film is based on a real-life incident where a young girl gets trapped in a car on fire. While she contacts the fire department, they keep her online as the ambulance approaches her. Moreover, the director of Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos, returns to the festival with his new film, Bugonia, which is an adaptation of the South Korean sci-fi film Save the Green Planet! The movie will star the filmmaker's frequent collaborator, Emma Stone. Meanwhile, this year's lineup is packed with exciting movies to keep the film fans, as well as the amateurs, on the edge of their seats. Some of the ace directors returning to the event include Park Chan Wook, François Ozon, and Laszlo Nemes. As for the Golden Lion achievement prize, the honor will be presented to German director Werner Herzog and Vertigo star Kim Novak. Elsewhere at the event, the two-time Oscar winner, Alexander Payne, will serve as the president of the competition jury. He will be joined at the panel by Fernanda Torres, Mohammad Rasoulof, Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Zhao Tao, and Cristian Mungiu. The Venice Film Festival is scheduled to begin on August 27, with La Grazia, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, and the closing ceremony will be held on September 6, with the film Dog 51, directed by Cedric Jimenez.
