News

Anora Box Office (North America): Hits Its First Milestone( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Anora, starring Mikey Madison in the titular role, is performing well for a limited release. The movie has hit a significant milestone at the box office in North America. It has also beaten Tom Hardy’s Venom: The Last Dance with its average per theatre number on Friday. The romance comedy movie was widely praised upon its premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year. It achieved an amazing feat in over a decade. Scroll below for the deets.

It is a romantic comedy written, directed, and edited by Sean Baker. Baker is known for directing independent feature films about the lives of marginalized people. He has made movies like Take Out, Starlet, and Tangerine. The theatres are filled with multiple releases, some big ones, yet this romantic comedy is paving its path towards a successful run.

“Anora,” the winner of the 2024 Palme d’Or, is a film that’s all too easy to describe as a star is born moment. The film, a madcap romance between the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch and a Brighton Beach sex worker that channels everything from the screwball comedies of Ernst Lubitsch to the intimate neo-realist dramas of Federico Fellini features a performance from Mikey Madison in the lead role that feels destined to raise the “Better Things” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” star’s profile immediately.

Beyond its leading lady, “Anora” also feels like it’s destined to be the moment where its director Sean Baker goes from indie darling to award darling. Baker, who made his directorial debut in the year 2000 with the obscure “Four Letter Words,” has slowly risen in stature for years now. After three more features — “Take Out,” “Prince of Broadway,...

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, director Sean Baker won the Palme d’Or when his romantic drama Anora was chosen as the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition. The movie has been generating Oscar buzz ever since, with Variety reporting that lead actress Mikey Madison could be one of the “few sure-fire bets” in the Best Actress category, while Baker could end up being nominated as producer, director, writer, and editor. That all remains to be seen, but soon enough we’ll find out how a wider audience responds to the film, as Neon (the distributor behind Best Picture winner Parasite) will be giving Anora a theatrical release this Friday, October 18th. With just a few days to go until that date arrives, a new trailer for the film has been unveiled, and you can check that out in the embed above.

The story Baker crafted for...

It’s IndieWire’s honor to announce that Sean Baker will be joining us in a keynote chat for our Future of Filmmaking Summit, happening in Los Angeles on November 2.

Baker, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May for his latest film “Anora” — a major player this awards season — will share his advice to summit attendees and his thoughts about where the industry is going. For a limited time, IndieWire is offering an early-bird discount, with tickets for the all-day event being just $125.

Purchase Early Bird Discount Tickets Here

A testament to adaptation and flexibility while never losing sight of his voice, Baker’s career includes acclaimed low-budget features “Prince of Broadway,” “Starlet,” and “Tangerine.” His 2017 drama “The Florida Project” premiered at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Willem Dafoe. In 2021, “Red Rocket” became his first film in the...

Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams and Sebastian Stan have joined the roster of Hollywood stars set to attend the 50th edition of France’s Deauville American Film Festival.

The festival announced Thursday that it would fete Portman and Williams with its Deauville Talent Award at the upcoming edition (running from September 6 to 15) in the presence of the stars.

Stan is also set to attend receive its Nouvel Hollywood award in the wake of recent performances in The Apprentice and A Different Man, which will screen at the festival as part of its Premieres line-up.

He joins Daisy Ridley, whose presence in Deauville for same award was announced last week. Previous recipients of the award feting rising Hollywood talents include Robert Pattinson, Ryan Gosling and Emilia Clarke.

In other additions to the program, Deauville also revealed that it would be welcoming back Cannes 2024 Palme d’Or winner Sean Baker, who has a long history with the festival.

Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams and Sebastian Stan will be honored at the Deauville American Film Festival which celebrates this year its 50th anniversary in the seaside town of French Normandy.

Portman and Williams will receive the Deauville Talent Award for their career achievements, while Stan will be honored with the Hollywood Rising Star Award.

“Portman has always taken on demanding roles (…) that are marked by this ambivalent presence, a mixture of strength and fragility. She has proven throughout her career that she can play all kinds of characters with depth and accuracy,” stated the Deauville Film Festival which is under the new leadership of Aude Hesbert.

Portman earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Todd Haynes’ “May December” which was presented at the Deauville Film Festival in 2023. The actor was already celebrated last year with a Deauville honorary tribute but was not able to attend the festival due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Neon has acquired North American rights to the romantic dramedy Anora, the latest feature from award-winning indie filmmaker Sean Baker (The Florida Project). It will be released in theaters sometime next year.

Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the pic, shot on 35mm by DoP Drew Daniels, the synopsis for which remains under wraps. Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, and Baker served as producers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights, having already licensed to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.

News of the acquisition follows Neon’s announcement of They Follow, a sequel to David Robert Mitchell’s cult classic horror It Follows, on which Mitchell is set to reteam with star Maika Monroe. Neon will produce, distribute and handle international sales. Other titles on...

San Francisco, June 18 (Ians) Google has announced that its Album Archive will no longer be available after July 19.

Google Album Archive service let users view and manage album content from some of its products within Album Archive.

The company has now asked users to use Takeout to download a copy of their Album Archive data.

“After July 19, 2023, the Google Album Archive won’t be available. Until then, you can use Takeout to download a copy of your Album Archive data,” according to Google’s support page.

The company also said that content that’s only available in Album Archive will be deleted starting July 19, including — rare cases like small thumbnail photos and album comments or likes, some Google Hangouts data from Album Archive, and background images uploaded in the Gmail theme picker before 2018.

Now, to view and manage content, users can use other Google products, such as — Blogger to view and manage their image content,...

HBO Max’s new series Take Out With Lisa Ling not only satisfies the stomach, but also the mind. That’s because the award-winning journalist Lisa Ling never simply scratches the surface with her reporting in these six episodes, which are available now. In Take Out, she explores the United States’ Asian cuisine as well as the communities that have brought this food to us. The tone here is more fun than Ling’s more serious CNN series, This Is Life, and it comes with a headbanging theme song (more on that later). The smiling Ling is often seen sampling the food she’s investigating for the compelling stories shown onscreen. Let’s just say, you’ll never look at your favorite Chinese takeout from the local strip mall the same again. Below, Ling chats about the series and what drew her to explore — and maybe destroy — some myths about the Asian community,...

Sean Baker used to be the indie world’s best-kept secret, until 2017’s The Florida Project—a study of a struggling single mom in the shadow of Disney World—took the director first to Cannes and later to the Oscars, after Willem Dafoe was nominated for his role as a kind-hearted motel janitor. The career boost was short-lived; as Baker prepared to shoot a passion project about drug activism, the Covid pandemic forced him to pivot to something smaller—much smaller. Ironically, the result, Red Rocket, is one of his best-received films to date, telling the story of hustler Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), who returns to his ex-wife in Texas and obsesses over the teenage jailbait, Strawberry, who works in the local donut shop. Here, he discusses his 20-year journey…

Deadline: How did The Florida Project come about?

Sean Baker: That one was specifically to do with an issue...

Multi-faceted filmmaker Mark Duplass discusses the movies he wishes more people knew about with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Duck Butter (2018)

The Puffy Chair (2005)

Prince Of Broadway (2008)

Tangerine (2015)

The Florida Project (2017) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Red Rocket (2021)

Starlet (2012)

Take Out (2004)

Mack & Rita (Tbd)

Old Joy (2006)

First Cow (2020)

Wendy And Lucy (2008) – Dennis Cozzalio’s favorite movie of 2020

Henry Fool (1997)

Trust (1990)

Amateur (1994)

Medicine For Melancholy (2008)

Shang-Chi (2021)

Your Sister’s Sister (2011)

My Effortless Brilliance (2008)

What the Funny (2008)

Humpday (2009)

True Adolescents (2009)

Man Push Cart (2005)

The White Tiger (2021)

Baghead (2008)

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012)

Language Lessons (2021)

Stevie (2002)

Hoop Dreams (1994)

American Movie (1999)

What Happened Was… (1994) – Ti West’s trailer commentary

Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

My Dinner With Andre (1981)

Creep (2014)

Grown-Ups (1980)

Abigail’s Party (1977)

Nuts In May (1976)

Secrets And Lies (1996) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Naked (1993)

Parallel Mothers (2021)

The Freebie (2010)

East Of Eden (1955) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Strange...

Part of Sean Baker’s close-knit regular creative collaborators that also include Chris Bergoch and Radium Cheung, Shih-Ching Tsou was a co-director alongside Sean Baker in 2004’s Take Out. She is now prepping her solo project which was likely filmed (or will film) under the radar. Tsou was an Executive Producer on Starlet, and producer on Tangerine, The Florida Project and this year’s Red Rocket. She was featured among our Sundance Trading Card series.

Gist: Unknown.

Production Co./Producers: Tbd.

Prediction: Next.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd.

…...

Image Source: Vs Pink

Lana Condor is so much more than To All the Boys' Lara Jean Covey. The actress, at only 24 years old, is one to watch. We know her for her leading role on the hit romantic comedy series, but Lana has also added executive producer to her résumé. She's working on the upcoming Hulu action comedy movie Take Out alongside Randall Park and the upcoming Netflix comedy series Boo, Bitch. On top of that, we'll soon see her in a romantic comedy meets sci-fi HBO Max movie titled Moonshot coming up starring alongside Cole Sprouse, who she describes as "a wonderful guy and an amazing friend and an incredible actor." Lana caught up with Popsugar while promoting her Pink Unwrapped collection. She told us about learning to produce on the spot, whether or not we can expect her in the To All the Boys spinoff Xo, Kitty,...

Lana Condor is teaming up with Randall Park to flex her range in a new action-comedy series for Hulu. Their upcoming show, Take Out, is said to be a combination of the world’s three greatest things: romance, action, and food. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Condor is set to star as Iris, a restaurant employee struggling […]

The post ‘Take Out’: Lana Condor to Star in Randall Park-Penned Action Comedy Series at Hulu appeared first on /Film.

Lana Condor is making the move from Netflix to Hulu. After starring in Netflix's popular romantic comedy franchise To All the Boys I've Loved Before, the 24-year-old actress is set to star on a new Hulu comedy titled Take Out. The project also comes from actor Randall Park and Michael Golamco, who previously wrote Netflix's Always Be My Maybe, so you know it's going to be full of laughs. Mixing comedy with action, the series will follow Condor's Iris as she balances her life working at a restaurant and her secret mission to take out an "evil crime syndicate" trying to take over NYC. Condor will serve as an executive producer alongside Park, Golamco, and Hieu Ho.

Condor shared her excitement about the new series on Instagram, writing, "We Did It!!! A project that perfectly encapsulates my favorite things: Food, Action, and Love!!! Thank you to Imminent Collision for being...

To All the Boys star Lana Condor is set to star and executive produce Take Out, a half-hour action comedy from Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) and Michael Golamco that is in early development at Hulu, Deadline has learned. 20th Television is the studio.

Written by Park and Golamco, Take Out follows a restaurant employee (Condor) who is on a secret mission to take down an evil crime syndicate that is hellbent on ruling New York City.

Condor will executive produce alongside Park, Golamco and Hieu Ho.

Condor is known for her role as Lara Jean in Netflix’s To All the Boys film series. Her other credits include a starring role in Syfy’s Deadly Class.

THR was first to report the new project.

Lana Condor will star in “Take Out,” an action comedy series in development at Hulu, an individual with knowledge tells TheWrap.

The 20th Television series follows Iris (played by Condor), a cook with a crime-fighting secret. As if balancing her personal life while working at a restaurant wasn’t hard enough, Iris is determined to destroy an evil crime syndicate that is hell-bent on taking over New York City.

Randall Park and Michael Golamco, who co-wrote the Netflix rom-com film “Always Be My Maybe,” will write the pilot episode of “Take Out.” Park and Golamco will also executive produce the series, alongside Condor and Hieu Ho.

After news of the role broke on Wednesday, Condor tweeted, “Im Crying !!! Lets Goooo Get It!!! The project perfectly combines my favorite things: Food, Action, and Love and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Condor most recently starred in the third installment of Netflix...

To All the Boys‘ Lana Condor will star as a cook who fights crime in the Hulu action comedy Take Out.

As reported by THR.com, Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat, WandaVision) and Michael Golamco will pen the pilot for the half-hour series, which follows a restaurant employee who is on a secret mission to take down an evil crime syndicate that is hellbent on ruling New York City.

More from TVLinePEN15 Season 2 to Include Animated Special (Airing Soon!) -- Get First LookNicole Kidman's Nine Perfect Strangers Dig Their Own Graves in Full-Length Trailer for Hulu Limited Series --...

Lana Condor is teaming up with Randall Park for her next project, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The To All the Boys alumna will star in Take Out, a half-hour action comedy in early development at Hulu. Park and Michael Golamco, who previously penned Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe together with Ali Wong, will write the pilot. 20th Television is the studio.

In Take Out, Iris (Condor) struggles to balance her personal life with her restaurant job – and her secret mission of destroying an evil crime syndicate determined to take over New York City. The series is described as a genre-bender that “takes an ...

Lana Condor is teaming up with Randall Park for her next project, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The To All the Boys alumna will star in Take Out, a half-hour action comedy in early development at Hulu. Park and Michael Golamco, who previously penned Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe together with Ali Wong, will write the pilot. 20th Television is the studio.

In Take Out, Iris (Condor) struggles to balance her personal life with her restaurant job – and her secret mission of destroying an evil crime syndicate determined to take over New York City. The series is described as a genre-bender that “takes an ...

Sean Baker may be a new name to Oscar voters, but IndieWire readers have long been aware of his unique approach to filmmaking. “The Florida Project” has introduced Baker to a wider audience, many of whom were blown away by his latest film’s raw emotion and unparalleled naturalism. Ardent admirers would be wise to revisit Baker’s earlier works, such as “Take Out” (2004), “Prince of Broadway” (2008), and of course, the highly acclaimed “Tangerine” (2015). “The Florida Project” is the culmination of many of the skills Baker honed in his earlier work; he has perfected the quality issue film, exploring social themes with insightful and nuanced filmmaking without sacrificing artistry.

Read More:‘The Florida Project’: How Sean Baker and His Collaborators Used Instagram, Target, and Motels to Find its Cast

“The issue of the film, which is the hidden homeless, was something I was unfamiliar with. I didn’t even...

No matter the scale of the production, American cinema largely reflects the conditions of a society that still has a hard time exploring its diversity. To put it simply: A lot of movies are made by white guys and revolve around white guys. American filmmaker Sean Baker is a white guy, but the four features he has written and directed over the last decade delve far deeper into the crevices of a country that contains many more stories beyond the market standard.

Baker maintains a firm grasp of genre — as his other career, creating the dopey comedy shows "Greg the Bunny" and "Warren the Ape" prove — but applies it to unorthodox ends. While both his scrappy first feature, the college romp "Four Letter Words," and his latest effort, "Starlet" (which opens in limited release this Friday), revolve around archetypes of American youth, these familiar access points provide fluid transitions into perceptive looks at deep-seated insecurities.

"The A-story of 'Starlet,'" says director Sean Baker, "is inspired by a true event that happened to a friend of my father. A large sum of money was found at a yard sale and my father's friend faced a moral dilemma about whether or not to keep it." In the film, Baker has replaced his father's friend with 21-year-old aspiring actress Jane, who develops an unlikely but revealing relationship with a caustic older woman after a confrontation at a yard sale.

How does "Starlet" fit in with your other work? "This is my 4th feature film and the one I am most proud of. It has similarities to the last two films ('Take Out' and 'Prince of Broadway') in tone although stylistically I think it is a departure.

What difficulties did you face during production? "Money and time are always the two biggest challenges in making a low-budget film.

By Stephen Saito

Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:

Best Feature

"Ballast"

Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh

"Frozen River"

Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae

"Rachel Getting Married"

Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt

"Wendy and Lucy"

Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani

"The Wrestler"

Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin

Best Director

Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"

Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"

Lance Hammer, "Ballast"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"

Best First Feature

"Afterschool"

Director: Antonio Campos

Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond

"Medicine for Melancholy"

Director: Barry Jenkins

Producer: Justin Barber

"Sangre de Mi Sangre"

Director: Christopher Zalla

Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell

"Sleep Dealer"

Director: Alex Rivera

Producer: Anthony Bregman

"Synechdoce, New York"

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel

John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"

Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge

Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy

"Prince of Broadway"

Director: Sean Baker

Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean

Producer: Darren Dean

"The Signal"

Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry

Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh

"Take Out"

Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou

"Turn the River"

Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman

Producer: Ami Armstrong

Best First Screenplay

Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Lance Hammer, "Ballast"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"

Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"

Best Screenplay

Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"

Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"

Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"

Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"

Best Female Lead

Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"

Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"

Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"

Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"

Best Male Lead

Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

Sean Penn, "Milk"

Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Best Supporting Female

Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"

Rosie Perez, "The Take"

Misty Upham, "Frozen River"

Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"

Best Supporting Male

James Franco, "Milk"

Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"

Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"

JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"

Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"

Best Cinematography

Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"

Lol Crowley, "Ballast"

James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"

Harris Savides, "Milk"

Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"

Best Documentary

"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"

Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

"Encounters at the End of the World"

Director: Werner Herzog

"Man on Wire"

Director: James Marsh

"The Order of Myths"

Director: Margaret Brown

"Up the Yangtze"

Director: Yung Chang

Best Foreign Film

"The Class" (France)

Director: Laurent Cantet

"Gomorrah" (Italy)

Director: Matteo Garrone

"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)

Director: Steve McQueen

"Secret of the Grain" (France)

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)

Director: Carlos Reygadas

Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

"Synecdoche, New York"

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy

Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams

Someone to Watch Award

Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"

Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"

Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"

Truer Than Fiction Award

Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"

Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"

Darius Marder, "Loot"

Producers Award

Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"

Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"

Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...

Longtime couple Beyonce Knowles and Jay-z have taken out a marriage licence.

The pair, who began dating in 2002, successfully applied for the licence in Scarsdale, New York on Tuesday morning, according to website People.com.

Knowles and Jay-z - real name Shawn Carter - now have 60 days to get married before the licence expires.

Over the course of their six-year romance, both singers have refused to discuss the status of their relationship, despite increasing speculation they are planning to wed.

Beyoncé Knowles and longtime beau Jay-z have taken out a marriage license in Scarsdale, N.Y., People has learned. According to a source, the pair obtained a license Tuesday morning. The document is valid for 60 days. A rep for Beyoncé told People, "No comment." Jay-z's spokesperson could not be reached. Beyoncé, 26, and Jay-z, 38, have been dating since 2002, though the couple have stood reluctant to discuss their relationship publicly. Rumors about their romance began circulating after the singer appeared on Jay-z's song "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," followed by collaborations on Beyoncé's solo hit "Crazy in Love," in 2003. While the two have remained...