Demi Moore ‘took many risks’ – director Coralie Fargeat on making The Substance
It’s the bloody body horror that has made audiences squirm in their seats – and is now making waves throughout awards season.
Demi Moore has already won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice award for her performance as fading star Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance – and we’ll find out later on if she gets to add a BAFTA to that list.
The film sees the ’90s icon playing an Oscar winner turned fitness guru struggling to accept she has been unceremoniously dropped from her TV show because she’s too old. She signs up for a secret new medical procedure to create a younger version of herself – without fully understanding what the consequences might be.
Moore stars alongside Margaret Qualley, who plays her younger version. The impact of creating this other “self” – called Sue – on her own body is pretty gruesome.
Margaret Qualley, right, Coralie Fargeat, centre, and Demi Moore at the premier of The Substance during the Toronto International Film Festival. Pic: Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP
Director Coralie Fargeat insists her visceral story is more allegory than gory, reflecting the daily violence and sexism women experience throughout life.
“The story was really for me expressing what a life of a woman in our society is in a very genuine way, which is the violence that I think it’s at every level and stage… since we were little girls,” she tells Sky News.
“There are so many pressures that make you feel that if you are not the perfect fantasy or ideal then you don’t deserve to exist. That you have to cut this, hide that, keep it inside, and it is a huge jail that we’ve been raised with and it generates so much violence.”
A few years ago, The Substance might not have been considered traditional awards season fare. But horrors are having a moment, with Heretic and Nosferatu in the running at several ceremonies this year. And the theme of The Substance, a reflection of the harsh realities of ageing for women, especially in Hollywood, is resonating.
The ‘popcorn’ speech
Moore picked up a Golden Globe for her performance – and is a favourite to win an Oscar and possibly a BAFTA, too. Pic: AP
On stage at the Globes, Moore, 62, gave an emotional speech about winning her first major award after 45 years in the business, despite starring in dozens of hit films including Ghost, A Few Good Men and Indecent Proposal. The irony was not lost.
“Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a ‘popcorn’ actress and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged,” she says.
“I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete. I’ve done what I was supposed to do.
“And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you’re not done.”
Moore thanked French filmmaker Fargeat along with her team, and said the film was a reminder “that I do belong”.
Pic: Mubi
Now, The Substance is nominated for five BAFTAs and five Oscars.
Fargeat says she let out “a huge scream of joy” when she found out – saying the nods are particularly satisfying after she initially struggled to secure funding for the film.
“The space that [women] have is still to be pretty, to smile, to be gentle, polite, and I really wanted to be the opposite.”
‘She took risks’
Fargeat is also BAFTA and Oscar-nominated for best director – but once again, is the only female filmmaker in the running.
“Being the only woman director, I still think it tells a lot of things about all the imbalance, you know, the inequality that there is in society,” she says.
“There are as many women in film school as there are men… when you look at the difference between film school and where we are now, like [the absence of women making] second and third feature films. The difference is drastic.”
She was told to tone the film down “a lot”.
Demi Moore plays a fading Hollywood actress in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
Read more:
BAFTAs: The full list of nominees
Buffy is back – Sarah Michelle Gellar teases return
But Fargeat stuck to her guns and it paid off. Critics have called Moore’s performance the best of her career, with many tipping her to win her first-ever BAFTA and Oscar.
On awards prediction site Gold Derby, Moore is the favourite to win best actress at the Oscars, with more than half of the experts backing her. For the BAFTAs, they have her tied with Anora’s Mikey Madison.
“The truth is that she took many risks,” Fargeat says of Moore. “The script arrived to her at a time where she was in the process of getting the control of who she was back, not letting the outside world define her worth, being empowered for herself to decide who she wanted to be – and the next chapter of her life.”
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
Read more from Sky News:
Sabrina Carpenter fury at video
Drake’s lawsuit dismissed
Spotify hikes UK prices
Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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