This year’s Cannes Film Festival is getting under way with, as always, a French movie opening proceedings and celebrities lining the red carpet.
Lea Seydoux is among the stars in The Second Act, which tells the story of actors working on a doomed movie production – a delightfully wicked way to kick off the world’s most famous film festival.
Away from opening night, here are five more films playing at Cannesthat are worth keeping an eye on.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Image: Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Pic: Warner Bros/ Domain Pictures
A post-apocalyptic action adventure, this is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road – which won six Oscars and is largely regarded as one of the best action films ever. Furiosa is by the same director, George Miller, and early reviews suggest it’s somewhat different to its predecessor but equally brilliant. With stars including Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hardy, it should be a great way to kick off summer blockbuster season – in cinemas from 24 May, so audiences who aren’t on the French Riviera don’t have long to wait too long.
Megalopolis
Image: Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in Megalopolis. Pic: American Zoetrope
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola‘s self-financed passion project is playing in competition at the festival. The filmmaker is reported to have spent several decades and more than a million dollars of his own money making the sci-fi, which is described as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman – and as Coppola’s first film to be released since 2011, expectations are high for this one.
The Apprentice
Image: Jeremy Strong (lawyer Roy Cohn) and Sebastian Stan (Donald Trump) in The Apprentice. Pic: Apprentice Productions Ontario / Profile Productions/ Tailored Films
AsDonald Trumpcontinues to grab headlines in the US, this film looks at the former president’s life before politics, his career in real estate in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, but little else is known about the drama ahead of its world premiere at Cannes. Promoters say it tackles themes of power, corruption and deception – so now it’s a watch and wait to see if the billionaire has anything to say about his life becoming fodder for the big screen.
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Image: Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga. Pic: Warner Bros
Another passion project making its way to the south of France is the first half of this two-parter Western co-written, starring and directed by Kevin Costner. The actor first pitched a version of this movie back in 1988 so it’s been brewing since long before the Western drama series Yellowstone that he’s been busy with during recent years. Audiences will be going in knowing they won’t get the whole story, and with a 181 minute running time it’s quite the commitment – but perhaps not as big as Costner’s himself; he’s personally financed the films, which currently have a budget of almost $100m.
Kinds Of Kindness
Image: Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in Kinds Of Kindness. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
Mere months after Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things won four Oscars, the director has got the gang back together for a new film premiering at Cannes, also starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Described as a “triptych fable”, the film tells three stories that are loosely connected. Known for his strange tales and specific vison, while Lanthimos’s movies aren’t for everyone they certainly can’t be accused of being dull. However, with little to be gleaned from the teaser trailer that’s been released so far, it will be all eyes on Cannes to see what audiences make of this one.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Image: Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
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Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Image: Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Image: Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Image: Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Image: Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Image: Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.