A documentary about the acrimonious legal battles between film star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, will air on UK television network Channel 4 on Sunday. The three-part series, called Depp Vs Heard, was directed by Bafta-nominated filmmaker Emma Cooper, and covers Depp’s unsuccessful 2020 libel case against the publisher of The Sun and a separate defamation trial he initiated against Heard earlier this year. It is billed as the first “in-depth” examination of the case. The related legal battle, which included allegations of domestic violence, was dubbed the world’s first “Tik Tok trial” as it was streamed live and generated widespread public interest. Depp won the later defamation case on 2 June, receiving $15m in damages. Heard also won $2m in damages in a counter-claim.
A new film called 'How To Have Sex' follows three schoolgirls on a drunken holiday to burn off steam after their GCSEs. Mulling over topics such as consent, male chauvinism and the concept of 'asking for it,' the film is essentially a coming-of-age tale, with reviewers saying it humanises its characters and balances comedy with genuine concern. However, the title is causing distributors to think carefully about how to market it. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
The husband of Jo Cox, the murdered Labour MP, has criticised the National Film and Television School’s Killing Boris Johnson, which will premiere at Cannes Film Festival this month. The film follows a character who takes a gun to a primary school being visited by Mr Johnson after Downing Street lockdown-breaches were revealed. The character plots to assassinate Mr Johnson, before donning a mask of the former prime minister for the assassination attempt. First-time director Musa Alderson-Clarke said the film reflected his concerns about incoherent governance during the pandemic and warned against normalisation of violence.
Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold has opened up about his decisions for the upcoming film. The latest instalment of the franchise, titled “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” was first thought of as a replacement for Steven Spielberg, who did not direct this chapter. Harrison Ford also acknowledged the work of Mangold in resurrecting the beloved film franchise to its former glory. Mangold said that the concept for the sequel came from the era in which it was set. He felt that while Indiana Jones is an iconic character in a complicated world, he remains a lasting force for good, which is what the story needed. The challenges that Indiana Jones faces, and his legacy, are all themes that he wanted to explore in the new film. He also said that he wants viewers to enjoy the sheer spectacle of movie-making and for the action to feel grounded and real. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is set to debut in theatres June 30.
Firebrand, which has been shown at the Cannes Film Festival and has yet to have a UK release date, has been reviewed by the Telegraph. The pungent drama is about King Henry VIII and his wife Katherine Parr, played by Jude Law and Alicia Vikander respectively. The film portrays them as enemies with opposing ideologies rather than just in the domestic realm. The plot follows Parr, who survived Henry VIII, and the battles she had to endure to stay alive in his court.
The film starts with Parr going secretly to a woodland shrine to listen to a sermon by her friend Anne Askew, played by Erin Doherty. This friend would soon be burned at the stake as part of a witch hunt. She was a Protestant radical at a time when the Catholic church were still in power. The review described Law’s portrayal of Henry VIII as that of a “terrifying glutton”.
The output is from director Karim Aïnouz, one of Brazil’s most recognised film makers who brings lashings of Vermeer to the film and portrays Henry VIII as the English monarchy’s own Harvey Weinstein. The Telegraph suggested the content may have been better suited to a TV series.
Martin Scorsese’s “Killers Of The Flower Moon” has had a successful world premiere at Cannes Film Festival, with critics reporting that the film is expected to dominate the next Oscar race. The film centres around the Osage people, who accumulated wealth from the sudden discovery of oil, but were then pursued by greedy white men whose agenda was to acquire the money by any means necessary. Starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film is an intensely depicted historic injustice, shedding light on the violence and hardship that the Osage people faced during the heady days of the 1920s oil boom.
The fifth and final Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, stars an 80-year-old Harrison Ford and checks off franchise tropes, including a MacGuffin, Nazis, tombs, and sidekicks, according to a review. The movie is mostly set in 1969, but the story also involves a plot by its villain, played by Mads Mikkelsen, to use a time machine designed by Archimedes to correct Hitler's mistakes and allow Nazi rule of the planet. The 142-minute film's fabulous extended opening sequence features CGI de-aging technology.
Protests against pension reforms in France have failed to affect activities surrounding the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Although dozens of demonstrators assembled in Cannes to protest the reforms imposed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, they did so on the Boulevard Carnot, far from the festival's central hub on the Palais des Festivals or Cannes’ seaside boulevard, Croisette. Local authorities instituted a ban on protests throughout many areas of Cannes before the summit. The move avoided any clashes which might have disrupted the celebration. The controversy comes amidst labor unrest in the Cannes, including a Hollywood screenwriters' strike.
Lily Gladstone, star of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has said that the director was a powerful ally in telling the world what communities like hers had always known. The film, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a study of white society’s treachery; Gladstone plays Mollie Burkhart, a member of the Osage Nation whose family members die under suspicious conditions in 1920s Oklahoma. Scorsese, she argues, was well positioned to dispel the myths that have prevailed and to challenge people's complicity in white supremacy. “We need these allies,” Gladstone said.
Ramata-Toulaye Sy, a French-Senegalese filmmaker, is the only first-timer to compete at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Sy’s debut film, “Banel & Adama,” was recognised among the 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or. This achievement sees Sy following in the footsteps of Mati Diop, a French-Senegalese filmmaker who debuted “Atlantics” in 2019. “Banel & Adama” tells the story of a deeply in love couple who dream of living outside their traditional Senegalese village. They choose to sweep sand aside to make it happen, but their yearning for independence is met with angst.
Actor Robert De Niro has criticised former US president Donald Trump during the Cannes Film Festival while promoting his new film Killers of the Flower Moon. De Niro called Trump "stupid" and said it was "insane" to have faith in his abilities. Sitting on a panel alongside director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, De Niro compared Trump to his on-screen character, adding: "It's the banality of evil. It's the thing we have to watch out for." The crime thriller, set in the early 1900s, is based on the true story of a cover-up of murders within the Osage Indian nation.
Firebrand, which has been shown at the Cannes Film Festival and has yet to have a UK release date, has been reviewed by the Telegraph. The pungent drama is about King Henry VIII and his wife Katherine Parr, played by Jude Law and Alicia Vikander respectively. The film portrays them as enemies with opposing ideologies rather than just in the domestic realm. The plot follows Parr, who survived Henry VIII, and the battles she had to endure to stay alive in his court.
The film starts with Parr going secretly to a woodland shrine to listen to a sermon by her friend Anne Askew, played by Erin Doherty. This friend would soon be burned at the stake as part of a witch hunt. She was a Protestant radical at a time when the Catholic church were still in power. The review described Law’s portrayal of Henry VIII as that of a “terrifying glutton”.
The output is from director Karim Aïnouz, one of Brazil’s most recognised film makers who brings lashings of Vermeer to the film and portrays Henry VIII as the English monarchy’s own Harvey Weinstein. The Telegraph suggested the content may have been better suited to a TV series.
A woman at the Cannes International Film Festival poured fake blood over herself to stage an alleged anti-war protest. The protest took place before the screening of Acide, directed by Frenchman Just Philippot. It was not immediately clear why the demonstration took place at that screening. The woman was wearing a yellow and blue dress along with blue-heeled shoes and was immediately removed from the event by security. It is unclear whether the woman will be charged or what punishment she would face. Organizers of the film festival have reportedly said they are standing in solidarity with Ukraine. It is worth noting that a ban on Russian delegations or film companies connected to the Russian government remains in place at this year’s festival, after first being implemented last year.
German police searching for Madeleine McCann's body are set to search a remote Algarve reservoir that suspect Christian Brueckner previously visited. Meanwhile, the UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman says she is "confident that nothing untoward has happened" in the handling of her speeding offence. In other news, Ukrainian forces sponsored by the Ukrainian government have launched a cross-border tank raid, apparently the most significant cross-border activity by Ukraine-backed forces to bring the war against Russia to its soil. Russian volunteers fighting on Ukraine's side drove tanks and armoured vehicles across the border.
Jennifer Lawrence turned heads at this year's Cannes Film Festival after swapping her heels for a pair of black flip-flops. The actor wore a crimson Christian Dior gown to the Anatomie D’une Chute premiere, which she paired with the casual footwear. Lawrence, who produced the documentary Bread and Roses, about women in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, is not the only actor to have protested against the festival's requirement that women wear high heels on the red carpet. Kristen Stewart walked the red carpet in bare feet in 2018 amid rumours of an alleged dress code.
American film director Quentin Tarantino has killed off a character from his most recent movie, according to an update posted on Twitter. The character, Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), has died, said podcast The Video Archives, which Tarantino co-hosts. The next episode will be a Dalton "memorial episode". Ahead of making the 2019 film, Tarantino wrote a book about Dalton's history and his fictional credits.
Jeff Bezos has proposed to longtime girlfriend Lauren Sanchez after four years together, according to recent reports. The Amazon founder and the journalist are currently on holiday in the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival, where Sanchez was seen wearing what appeared to be a large diamond engagement ring while aboard Bezos's new $500m yacht, Koru. Bezos divorced his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Scott, in 2019, and Sanchez has also been married before. Neither Bezos nor Sanchez has confirmed their engagement.
