Florence Pugh is getting vulnerable and opening up about the emotional impact of filming Midsommar, saying, “It really fucked me up.”
The Oscar-nominated actress shared during a recent interview on The Louis Theroux Podcast that playing Dani in the Ari Aster-directed film led to six months of depression. After a devastating family tragedy, her character joins her toxic boyfriend on a trip to a remote Swedish commune, where she ends up having a psychological breakdown after being the target of a cult’s manipulation.
“I just can’t exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect,” she admitted. “I think [Midsommar] made me sad for like six months after and I didn’t know why I was depressed. I got back after shooting Little Women, which was such a fun experience and obviously a completely different tone from Midsommar, so I think shelved all of that. And then when I got home for Christmas, I was so depressed and I was like, ‘Oh, I think that’s from Midsommar,‘ and I didn’t deal with it and I probably shouldn’t do that again.”
Pugh said she “had never seen that level of grief or mental health in the way that was being asked of me on the page,” which led her to go all in on the role to fully understand the “horrible state” of Dani’s life.
“I really put myself through it,” she explained. “At the beginning, I just imagined hearing the news that one of my siblings had died, and then towards the middle of the shoot it was like, ‘Oh no, I actually needed to imagine the coffins.’ And then towards the end of the shoot, I actually was going to my whole family’s funeral.”
“It wasn’t just crying. I needed to sound pained,” the Thunderbolts star continued. “I’d never done anything like that before and I was like, ‘OK, well here’s my opportunity. I need to give this a go.’ And I would just basically put myself through hell. But I don’t do that anymore. It really fucked me up.”
Pugh said she initially realized how much playing a distraught character impacted her while on a flight, heading to film Greta Gerwig’s Little Women after wrapping Midsommar. She recalled breaking down in tears because she felt like she had left Dani “in that field with the film crew just filming her cry.”
“My brain was obviously feeling sympathy for myself because I’d abused myself and really manipulated my own emotions to get a performance, but I also then felt sorry for what I’d done,” the We Live in Time actress admitted. “It was very, very strange.”
We Live in Time director John Crowley knew the level of excellence he’d be receiving from one of his most cherished former collaborators, Andrew Garfield, but it was Florence Pugh’s commitment to the nonlinear indie drama that managed to surpass any and all preconceived notions.
Oftentimes, stars prioritize their lucrative big-budget studio films, while their passion projects in the independent world have to work in the margins, both in terms of schedule and preparation. But in the case of Pugh and the role of Almut Brühl, she treated the Nick Payne-scripted romantic drama like it was as important as anything else, meaning she willingly shaved her head to play the part of a chef who risks, and later endures, a recurrence of ovarian cancer after starting a family with her boyfriend Tobias Durand (Garfield).
The rub of such a big choice is that in-demand actors like Pugh typically have other jobs lined up all year, and the spring 2023 production of A24’s We Live in Time was to be immediately followed by her central role as Yelena Belova in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts. Austin Butler faced an inverse situation when Dune: Part Two’s brain trust wanted him to go bald for baddie Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, but he instead negotiated a bald cap so that Jeff Nichols’ subsequent shoot of The Bikeriders didn’t risk its financing due the star having to sport a buzz cut or wig.
Undaunted, Pugh never hesitated about whether to go all the way with the haircut.
“She didn’t tell anybody [that she was shaving her head]. It was sort of terrifying to me. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s really ballsy,’” Crowley tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The first time I met her … she said, ‘Oh, by the way, I want to shave my head.’ And before I met her, I had assumed she would probably say to me, ‘What are we going to do about the shaving of the head?’”
Amid the WGA strike, Thunderbolts held on to its June 2023 production window as long as possible, but by the end of May, they finally decided to fold up shop, which meant that Pugh’s bold move became moot. Regardless, Crowley is grateful that the actor, like Butler, gave all-too-rare precedence to a smaller project. (Oddly enough, Thunderbolts‘ previous two-month delay created the opportunity for Pugh to do We Live in Time first.)
“There’s this fearlessness in Florence, and she said, ‘No, it would be terrible. I hate bald wigs. It won’t work. You can’t do it,’” Crowley recalls. “The smaller, more independent film was the one where the actor was saying, ‘This is the one I’m going to pitch my stake in the ground for and not creatively compromise on.’”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Crowley also adds context to Garfield’s recent account of a sex scene that went on for far longer than it should have.
Coming out of The Goldfinch, what were you looking for en route to We Live in Time?
I was looking, on a looser scale, to not do another literary adaptation. That was the first thing. But the honest truth is that I’m always looking for a visceral reaction in a script rather than a genre choice. That said, when this script arrived, I already knew Nick’s [Payne] work. I directed a play by him in the theater ten years ago, and he’s a friend of mine. So I was very excited to read it, and there was a lot about it that then thrilled me. It was the fact that it was an original, and that it was set in a contemporary version of London that I recognized very well. It was also different to anything I had done before. It was maybe a little gentler and softer in a way, and it was a slightly different emotional tone. There’s obviously sadness and grief in things like Brooklyn and The Goldfinch, but it just felt different. It felt like a different aura. It was a move forward on some of the stuff I’ve done before, and it had two extraordinary roles for two great actors. And we lucked out with those roles.
Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh and John Crowley on Set of We Live In Time
Peter Mountain/A24
As far as your feature work, you’re one of the few filmmakers who’s still trying to make dramas. Is it getting harder and harder to get them made without some kind of bend to them?
It certainly generates a degree of nervousness, which, to give my financiers enormous credit, they kept mostly away from me. But I could feel it in them that they were nervous about the thing that this was, despite these two amazing actors. There were a number of things that had to go right, and there were a number of bullseyes that had to be hit for it to get out to its audience. It’s only beginning its journey now, but it was very, very nerve-racking for everybody. I don’t feel that, personally, because I tried to make something that I might like to watch. If I like it and I’m moved by it and entertained by it, then hopefully there’ll be others if we can find where they are. But, yeah, it’s unfortunate that it’s a rare bird rather than a regular occurrence.
Florence Pugh would make the casting shortlist regardless, but did her past culinary exploits on Instagram factor into her casting at all?
I must admit that I’m not on Instagram, so I did not know that she was as passionate about cooking and eating. She has a wonderful joy in her around food, which is very infectious. So I didn’t know that. I was purely on her casting as an exact piece of psychological specificity. I thought she was really good casting for the role. She has a strength and also a degree of emotional scale, and if she could combine the two, then she could really light up Almut as somebody who’s holding the fear of what’s happening to her at bay by pushing the career side of herself. And when she finally cracks and shows her vulnerability in the big argument scene with Tobias in the kitchen, I knew that it would be heartbreaking.
You worked with Andrew Garfield before he was smashing laptops for David Fincher.
(Laughs.)
The Andrew of 2006’s Boy A set versus the Andrew of 2023’s We Live In Time set, is there a night-and-day difference?
Not night and day. He was very young then, and he was at the very start of his career. There was a huge amount of rather beautiful, almost puppy-like energy in him and a fear, a kind of anxiety, about whether he was going to get to do the things he clearly wanted to do with his career. Boy A was the first leading role he had played, and he was very anxious about that. There was a roiling anxiety about who he was in the world, and it fed straight into the character he was playing in a way that was heartbreaking. That was exactly the character’s dilemma in Boy A. Is that character going to get a second chance at life? Is he going to be allowed to see the horizon and see happiness coming towards him?
In the meantime, Andrew has gone on and done everything that he’s wanted to do in terms of his career, I think. He always was a stage actor, but he’s done some extraordinary stage work, some really big iconic roles on Broadway and here at the National in London. And in that time, he’s grown into a man and gained a degree of depth and experience. He carries all the emotional facets and complications of that with him, and he is still able to access that in his work. But the thing that’s the same is the creature that is as ambitious for the work as he is. There’s a restlessness in him that’s trying to get at the real truthful heart of the scene that you are working on together. That was there in his early twenties, and it’s still there in his early forties.
Andrew Garfield as Tobias in We Live In Time
Peter Mountain/A24
I presume the script was written nonlinearly, but how much does the final cut reflect that original sequencing of scenes? Did you still have to reorder a few scenes?
You’re very intuitively on the money with that. We reordered the whole thing, really. It was written out of sync. The three time frames were in the script, but it had a very different beginning, a very different end and a very different middle. It didn’t play as it was written, which is often the case with scripts. Things will read beautifully, and then the energy of the performances and the camera and something about the way the story unfolds just doesn’t work.
When we saw the first assembly, it didn’t flow like a river in the way that it was meant to, so we broke it apart and almost had to start again from the beginning. We had to find a different logic and a different way, which is about the emotional truthfulness of each moment and how it was speaking to the time in that relationship. We had these two extraordinary performances, which were giving a slightly different kind of valence and a different kind of power to spark things off each other.
So, yes, it was a long-ish edit, and it was quite head-wrecking at times. We had, as you can imagine, a wall full of all the index cards, and we had to keep finding ways to trick ourselves into seeing it with a degree of clarity because the structure was quite slippery. We’d get so far, and suddenly, you’d feel it stop working. So it’s a different order to the same end. We had to go and reinvent the wheel.
Likewise. We talked about Dune: Part Two’s desireto have Austin shave his head, and it would’ve put Jeff’s The Bikeriders in jeopardy if Austin had to sport a shaved head or a bad wig. So Austin worked it out and wore a bald cap for the sake of Jeff and his movie. Anyway, did Florence’s own buzz cut require any back and forth with Thunderbolts since that was supposed to go right after yours until the strike had its way?
Nope. She didn’t tell anybody.
Wow.
It was sort of terrifying to me. I was like, “Wow, that’s really ballsy.” The first time I met her was in a cafe to discuss this role, and we started chatting about the script and what she loved about it. And she said, “Oh, by the way, I want to shave my head.” And before I met her, I had assumed she would probably say to me, “What are we going to do about the shaving of the head?”
She was not available when we first approached her because of Marvel’s Thunderbolts, and we were just about to move on until Fiona [Weir], our casting director, said, “Let me just make one more call.” So she quadruple-checked just before we moved on, and that morning, a window had opened up. That film had moved back by eight weeks, and eight weeks was exactly what we needed. It was ridiculous. The day after we wrapped, she was supposed to go off to Georgia to shoot [Thunderbolts], because this was all before the strike, obviously.
There’s this fearlessness in Florence, and she said, “No, it would be terrible. I hate bald wigs. It won’t work. You can’t do it.” We still did all the homework on how you could do it. I assumed any actor would bring the same thing to my doorstep and say, “Look, I would love to do it if I didn’t have to do another job, but I’m going straight onto a huge job.” So it was the same scenario in the sense that the smaller, more independent film was the one where the actor was saying, “This is the one I’m going to pitch my stake in the ground for and not creatively compromise on.”
Florence Pugh as Almut in We Live In Time
Peter Mountain/A24
We’ve reached the image that captured the hearts and minds of the Internet. (This is a reference to the first-look photo of Pugh and Garfield’s characters next to a deranged-looking carousel horse.)
(Laughs.)
It honestly bums me out that films need some kind of viral component these days to start a conversation or drive interest. Sometimes, these things are forced or premeditated, but in your case, it happened all on its own. So how do you feel about it all?
I’m not on social media, so I’m a little bit of an old-fashioned head in that way. So it’s all curious to me, genuinely. And the first I knew of it was when one of the producers sent me the clip of [Stephen] Colbert’s monologue about [the carousel horse], which I thought was one of the funniest things ever. But he wound up by going, “We Live in Time, in theaters in October. Go see it.” There was that kind of thing, and it was an extraordinary kind of moment, really. So I don’t mind. I didn’t mind at all. I thought that it didn’t do us any harm, and all the memes and replacement posters were hysterically funny.
But after a couple of days, I was like, “Ooh, if this stays the mood music, then that would be really unfortunate, especially at that point in the film. If that scene is going to colonize that bit of the film, that would be devastating.” But, equally, those things are so way beyond our control now. I mean, who in any world could have spotted that that would be the thing? It would’ve been impossible. So you just have to go, “Okay, well, it’s better to be part of the pop culture conversation, and hopefully it’s for the right reason.” And thankfully, we came out of it the right way up.
Did its virality influence how you cut that montage in which the carousel horse partially appears? Or was it already locked?
Yes, it was [already locked]. I’ve watched it now with audiences from Toronto and New York to here in London, and I’ve never felt a flutter in the room. Maybe it’s happening in other places, but I’ve never felt that that’s what the scene becomes about or that people guffaw at it or that an extra element sticks its head up into the film. But to go back to your more serious point about how sad it is that things actually need that degree of non-film excitement to generate a degree of buzz, and I think it’s a fair point. It’s very unfortunate that film is not as central as it was in the culture, and that’s definitely a source of sadness.
Andrew told a story about the filming of a particular sex scene and how he and Florence carried on a bit too long after not hearing the word cut.
Correct.
I realize that talk show stories are not always the most detailed, but couldn’t cut be called a second or third time?
I’ll tell you why. It was in the cottage, and it was a closed set, so there were no other monitors on set. There was only my monitor, and I was in the room next door to them. It was just me and a script supervisor watching the scene. There was an intimacy coordinator, but the intimacy coordinator was in another room, and she was the only other person who was allowed access to the footage, separately, on that set.
And the way it would normally happen is I would call cut, but it’s verbal, because there isn’t a first [AD] in the room or anybody else to relay it, verbally. They would hear me through the walls of the cottage. It’s an old cottage, though, and the walls are made of stone. I’m also not somebody who shouts action or cut in an aggressive way. I will always speak to the actors in a way that doesn’t break something that they’re doing. It was a very delicate scene, and there’s only my DP, Stuart [Bentley], and Murph [Chris Murphy], our fabulous boom op in the room with them. And the way that it would happen is that they would do the scene, and I would call cut. Then both chaps in the room would turn to the wall and face away from the actors, which gave the actors a chance to get up out of the bed and put robes on. And once they’d settled themselves, they would shout out, “We’re ready,” as it were, for the people who have to come back in and do any adjustments between takes, including myself.
So there was a bit of confusion during the length of time after I shouted cut. Nothing was happening because, of course, the camera was cut and the image went dead. I also couldn’t hear anything going on in the room. And then, after a few minutes, I didn’t hear anybody go, “We’re robed. We’re ready to go.” So my script supervisor said, “Do you think they heard cut?” And I said, “Oh, you’re kidding.” So I shouted cut a second time, and then I heard giggling from inside the room. The actors were very funny about it. They were fantastic, and it was also testament to how easeful they were with each other. There was nothing odd about it other than [their likely thought of], “Okay, obviously it’s going well because he would’ve told us to cut if it wasn’t working.” It was the second or third time they had done the scene.
The poor cameraman-DP, Stuart, and Murph, it was their most embarrassing day on a film set. They were slightly traumatized by it because they were kind of making eye contact with each other. Neither of them would dream of shouting cut, and they just didn’t know what to do. They were so respectful of the actors and their process, and they wouldn’t dream of interrupting. So, yes, it is true. That’s how it came about. I shouted cut a bit louder for the next few takes.
*** We Live in Time is now playing in movie theaters.
The British star has done it all: shooting webs, making musicals — you name it. Over the last few years, however, he’s felt it right to take a break from the spotlight. Now, with We Live in Timeset to close the San Sebastian Film Festival on Saturday, the Oscar nominee makes his grand return to the screen.
Garfield has dabbled in recent years with, for example, TV miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven in 2022. And who could forget his iconic appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
This year, the star confirms to The Hollywood Reporter that he is ready to make a comeback. “I feel looser, I feel less precious, I feel more joyful,” the 41-year-old says. He has been surfing and eating his way around the Spanish coastal town over the last week, spending time with old high-school friends: “I’ve been a proper tourist.”
On Saturday, he won’t be a tourist. He’ll be on the red carpet with hundreds of cameras pointed at him, Florence Pugh on his arm. The two lead John Crowley’s We Live in Time, a south London-set romantic drama about an up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée who fall in love. As they meander their way through life — and even welcome a child — they learn to cherish their time together when a late-stage cancer diagnosis rocks the happy home they’ve built.
The film is penned by Nick Payne, who Garfield admits was a big draw for him boarding the project. The actor found the “Hugh Grant, Richard Curtis vibrational archetype” of the movie rather charming. It also, he says, has been something of a healing experience after losing his own mother to cancer in 2019. “Every species of every living thing on this earth has lost a mother. Young dinosaurs were losing their mothers,” he says. “So in terms of my own personal experience, yeah, it felt like a very simple act of healing for myself, and hopefully healing for an audience.”
It isn’t the only feature Garfield’s been working on. The Magic Faraway Tree, with Claire Foy and Nicola Coughlan, is on his schedule, and Luca Guadagnino‘s After the Hunt, alongside Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri, is also set to mark a huge moment in his career.
Garfield spoke to THR about why it felt like the right time to come back into the film fold with We Live in Time, what audiences might be surprised to know about his co-star Pugh and the 28 — yes, twenty-eight — actors he named when asked who he would love to work with next: “I did a screen test with Ryan Gosling 20 years ago and ever since then, I wanted to do something with him. He’s very inspiring to me.”
What came first with We Live in Time? Was it Nick’s script? Was it John, or Florence?
It was all very, very hot on the heels of each other. I guess it was John first, in a way, because John was the the script bearer and I wanted to work with John again, since Boy A (2007), for a long time. And then when I saw it was Nick Payne as the writer of the script, that was an immediate, exciting prospect. I love his writing. I think he writes so sensitively and full of humor and heart, an amazing balance of things. I think it’s a hard needle to thread. And then it was me reading that with John’s directing in mind, and going, “Oh yeah, this could really be something quite beautiful.”
And then it was Florence, which was kind of a vital ingredient. Any two actors that did Constellations (2012) for Nick or this film, it would require a certain courage. Obviously Florence is just very inherently right for the part. It requires a level of depth, a level of rawness, vulnerability, and, I don’t know, a lightness of touch — but also an ability to go to the depths of the soul of the character. And very few actors can do that.
So it was all of those things, which kind of annoyingly brought me out of my sabbatical that I was taking but in fact, I’m realizing as I speak about it 1727545989, it felt very much part of my little break I was taking. It felt like I could continue the sabbatical while making the film. So this was just a wonderfully timed thing where I read the script and was like, “Oh, this is the inside of my heart right now.” And what a gift to be able to actually put all that to good use and create out of it.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in ‘We Live in Time’.
Courtesy of TIFF
Why did this rom-com-drama feel like the right moment in your career to re-enter the spotlight?
I wasn’t looking for a romantic drama. I wasn’t really looking for anything and it just kind of arrived. It was just the right themes, the right expression of where I am at, personally, being kind of midlife at 41. Whenever I say that to people, they’re like, ‘No! It’s not midlife.’ But I think that’s just death denialism. I’d be lucky if I lived to 80. I’d be so grateful to live that long. So I feel this moment of standing in the middle of my life — looking back, looking forward, looking at where I am — and trying to identify and feel what actually matters, where I want to be, how I want to be, where I want to put my diminishing time and energy. To make sure I can get to the end of my life and say, “Well, I did my best with what I was given.”
It just happened to be a romantic drama. And of course, a romantic drama is going to have life and death and love and risk-taking and courage and terror and mortality and dread and joy and exuberance and longing. This film is so full of longing. I watched it with an audience for the first time in Toronto [at the film fesitval], and it was a few quiet moments that really struck me about it quite beautifully and profoundly. It was like, “Oh, these are just two people that want to live.” It’s very simple. They want to live. They’re not asking for a lot. They’re not asking for the most extraordinary life. They’re not asking for anything unreasonable. They are simply asking, like all of us, to survive and to be here and to be able to be together while being here and try to make meaning out of their lives. That’s all I think any of us can can hope to ask for.
Are you firmly out of your sabbatical now?
[Laughs.] I think so. Yeah, I think I’m excited to work again in a different way. I feel looser, I feel less precious. I feel more joyful. I feel more aware. I feel established enough as a person in the world, as an actor within myself and within the world. I know myself well enough now to feel more enjoyment… I’m still a headcase — when I’m on a set, I’m like a dog with a bone and get taken over by some weird spirit that is never satisfied — but that’s never going to change, and I don’t want it to, but within that, I can feel a lot more pleasure and a lot more enjoyment, play and freedom.
I know that you and Florence have both spoken quite candidly about this film and how it ties quite intimately to your own experiences of grief and cancer. I don’t know if you’d be comfortable talking about why it was important to portray this on the big screen.
Thank you for asking sensitively. I appreciate that. Yeah, I’m not special in that regard. It’s garden variety in a way. And in my processing of my grief, one of the most healing and reassuring, soothing moments I’ve had, is realizing that this has been the way it’s been since time immemorial. Sons have been losing their mothers, daughters have been losing their mothers [since the beginning of time]. We’re lucky if it’s that way around, rather than the other. And of course, countless parents lose their children in one way or another too, I can’t even imagine what that must feel like. But I don’t have to imagine what the other way feels like. And it’s so wonderful to know how how ordinary the experience is in terms of how universal it is, while it is still so very, very truly, uniquely extraordinary to the individual.
So there’s something beautiful [about it]. There’s just lots of grace. And maybe I seek grace out. I don’t know. I naturally tend to. The only way to true joy, actually, is through terrible loss and acceptance of reality as it is, not as we think it should be. There’s so many moments, of course, that I’ve had in the last five years of saying, “Well, she shouldn’t have died. My mother shouldn’t have died so young, and she shouldn’t have died in suffering, and she shouldn’t, she shouldn’t, shouldn’t, shouldn’t.” It’s so arrogant of me. It’s so egotistical of me when I’m in those moments. And it’s human. I’m not shaming myself for it. It’s a human response, because it it doesn’t make sense, it feels unjust, it feels unfair. And then you take all those troubles to the ocean or the moon or the woods. And I believe that the moon, the ocean and the woods would all say the same thing, which is, “Yeah, I get it, dude.” Every species of every living thing on this earth has lost a mother. Young dinosaurs were losing their mothers. So in terms of my own personal experience, yeah, it felt like a very simple act of healing for myself, and hopefully healing for an audience.
Is that something that you want audiences to feel, coming away from watching We Live in Time?
I know it’s saying the most obvious thing, but when we go to a concert altogether or when we go to the theater, something about the collective experience helps us to feel less alone in our pain and less alone in our joys and less alone in our lives generally. So it felt like, “Oh no, this is part of what I’m on this earth to do. I love working with a group of people on something that matters. I love working with a group of people where we all get to bring our own woundedness to it and our own fragility to it, and see each other in our fragility and our woundedness, and say: “Me too.” Healing collectively is a privilege.
I don’t get to comment on how people respond, or how I want them to respond. I guess what I would want is for them to come in open hearted. Because I think we, as a culture, have been conditioned and led towards a more calcified, hardened state. And it makes sense, because the world is so divided and uncertain and full of trepidation and fear right now, and violence and ugliness. And we have such access to it at the drop of a hat. Right? We’re all terrified of being open hearted. We’re all terrified of saying the wrong thing. We’re all terrified of feeling the wrong thing, thinking the wrong thing, being inherently wrong in some way. But I think people that come and see this will, on some level, whether it’s conscious or unconscious, want that calcification to be cracked open.
I also want to talk about the Britishness of this film.
Very British, yeah. In the sex, in the food…
It feels very Richard Curtis. Can you speak to being on a London set and acting with a fellow Brit?
It was joyful. I haven’t had a chance to do it very often. Just being able to stay at my house is so nice and Florence being able to go for a run around Battersea before work. It’s heavenly. All these liminal spaces of locations that we were shooting on — petrol stations, NHS hospital waiting areas. You know, turnpikes, A-roads, traffic jams — like heaven. It’s the text we live in every day. To be able to honor that, and to live in that as these characters was really, really joyful. And the snacks, the Celebrations, the Jaffa Cakes and the digestives and the tea in the bath. To be able to lean into that Hugh Grant, Richard Curtis as you say, vibration archetype was just … yeah. And one of my favorite of his films is About Time with Domhnall [Gleeson] and Rachel [McAdams]. That film holds a very special place in my heart for multiple reasons. So when this came along, I was like, it’s About Time, but maybe a little more dramatic. They’re kind of related in some way.
Do you have a favourite pub in Herne Hill?
[Laughs.] Herne Hill is not my hood.
What is your hood?
I’m not revealing that! It’s northwest London.
Do you have any recommendations there?
There’s The Stag [pub] which is great, by Hampstead train station. Primrose Hill has the best bagel shop in London right now — It’s Bagels.
I’ve been. It’s really good.
It’s a little hyped up right now, but it lives up to the hype. It’s really good. Like, I have their merch and everything. I really, really love bagels.
Before we digress further, let’s talk about Florence. Had you met her before this project? What was it like building a rapport that so effortlessly translates into onscreen chemistry?
We had never met. I had been a long admirer of her work, since Lady Macbeth (2016). When John and I were talking about ideas for Almut [Pugh’s character] — because I came on first — Florence was top of the list. I’d been wanting to work with her for a long time, and it turned out she had also wanted to work with me, and it was fortuitous that our schedules matched up. And she was dying to make a film like this as well.
But obviously starting out with a mutual respect for each other as actors was good. But then there’s a whole big question mark of: are we going to enjoy each other’s company? Are we going to even like each other? Are we going to dislike each other? Are we going to find each other problematic in any way? With a script like this, we have to travel to the most intimate places. At one point, I have to have my head right by her backside while she’s on all fours in a petrol station, naked. That’s scary for anyone to do, let alone the woman in that scenario. And that’s just one example of the kind of the intimacy that we would have to feel safe going to with each other. And it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t feel safe.
It was very, very easy to do that with Florence, and I think she would say the same with me. I’m so grateful for that, because I don’t think we would have a film that works without that.
Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield
Is there anything that surprised you about Florence, or can you share some sort of insight into her inner workings that maybe people wouldn’t know?
Oh, that’s a good question. I mean, a surprise I’m not sure, because I didn’t have any expectations. I was very, very pleasantly, like, grateful about how much of a professional she is in terms of the basic stuff — a lot of people don’t see as the basic stuff, like being on time, being ready, being prepared.
She’s someone who wants everyone to feel included. Whether you’re on set with the crew or on a night out or at a dinner party, she wants everyone to feel like they’re part of the gang. She doesn’t want anyone to feel left out. She’s very, very aware of people’s feelings around a table. And I think that was something that I found really touching and moving about her. And she really, really cares about the work. She really, really is devoted to her work as an actor.
You’ve done so much in your career. You’ve done the period pieces, you’ve done the rom-coms, you’ve done Spider-Man, the superhero stuff. You’ve done a biopic with Tick, Tick… Boom! I know you have The Magic Faraway Tree coming up and After the Hunt with Luca Guadagnino. What can you tell us about what’s on the horizon?
I’d like to get back to the kind of origins of making home movies with my dad, or making home movies with my high school friends, who were just in San Sebastian with me. We were reminiscing about the [fact] we had a production company called Budget Productions, which is “budget” but in a French pronunciation, like boo-shay. And, led by our friends Ben and David Morris, we would make genre films. Like we would just do handy cam, stop and start editing, in-camera, James Bond rip-offs when we were very drunk and very high, when we were 15 or 16. In between skateboarding sessions.
So it’s coming back a little bit to to that first impulse of like, we’re playing and we’re making something that is just joyful and fun. I was able to bring that to Tick, Tick… Boom! for sure. And then these last two [The Magic Faraway Tree and After the Hunt], even though they’re very, very different tonally and process-wise — one’s a big, sweet family fantasy film, and the other is a very serious, grown-up drama — it was still very, very playful. Luca is a very playful director. Luca’s like pure imagination and freedom. His creativity is this free, radical, sublime thing. And then Ben Gregor, our director on Faraway Tree, and everyone involved in that process, including Simon Farnaby, the writer, and all the actors, it was just this very playful experience. I’m really excited about both of them being in the world. I feel reinvigorated towards that feeling of putting on plays with my cousins and our best friends for our families over Christmas time or whatever. That’s what it feels like again.
I want to see a Budget Production.
[Laughs.] Let me see if I can… I don’t know. They’re definitely out there. I don’t know whether they’re suitable for public consumption.
It’s great to hear that it was fun working with Luca. Have you seen Queer?
He’s been trying to get me in for a screening. He’s only shown me one blowjob scene, which I thought was so genuinely beautiful, like it was such a beautiful love scene between Daniel [Craig] and Drew [Starkey] and it’s just so tender and full of longing. And obviously, graphic in certain ways. But I just thought, “Oh, I’m gonna love this film.” He’s such a sensualist and a humanist and in touch with his own longing.
Is there a genre of film or TV Show that you haven’t done that really appeals to you?
I’m considering all these things right now. I would love to make a film or a show or something that has the feeling of the stuff that I was brought up on, like ’90s, early 2000s. Amblin Entertainment, adventure, swashbuckling, Indiana Jones-style. Humorous, dramatic, romantic — a big crowd-pleasing epic adventure. That would be really, really fun to do. I was [also] thinking about great like films of Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful, Adrian Lyne. Like an erotic thriller.
Like Queer?
Kind of like Queer. Or Babygirl. But from what I understand young people want less sex on their screens! It probably makes sense because they’ve been exposed to so much insane, graphic pornography, accessible at the click of a switch that they’re like: “No more.” So eroticism has been killed somehow, because of the overtaking of pornography. Anyway, I don’t know. I want to go do theater again, do something on stage again. I don’t know. I’m very, very grateful. I also want to help. I think maybe the focus is more as well towards helping others get to where they want to get to. I don’t know what that looks like exactly, but I feel like I’m in a position that I can be a mentor to other actors and filmmakers and assist in that way. That feels like a good way to spend my time. It’s all up for grabs. Midlife is not so bad.
Midlife sounds great. Okay, who would you love to work with or act alongside next?
My God. Where do I begin? Jesus Christ. Older generation actors like Meryl [Streep]. I’ve been in a film with Meryl, but I’ve never worked with Meryl. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Daniel Day Lewis, if he ever decides to work again. Robert Duval, Gene Hackman. I got the opportunity to work with Robert Redford and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Vincent D’Onofrio, Linda Emond, Sally Field. These are the people that I feel are the custodians of that deep dive of acting. There are other people, of course, in my generation and younger. I just saw Colman Domingo in Sing Sing — one of my favorite films of all time at this point.
I got to work with Zendaya [in Spider-Man: No Way Home], who is just wonderful. I would love to work with her again. I want to work with my friends. I’ve never worked with Eddie Redmayne or Charlie Cox or Tom Sturridge. Cillian [Murphy]. I did a screen test with Cillian once and Ben Whishaw, which was very exciting. There are certain people in the younger generation that I find really exciting as well. Obviously, Timothee Chalamet is just incredible. And Austin Butler is great. I’d love to work again with my friend Laura Dern. It’s really, really endless. I was so happy to get to work briefly with Ayo [Edebiri in After the Hunt], who I love, and got to do some real work with Julia [Roberts], which was a heavenly thing.
And Tom Hanks. That’s part of my dream as well. I would love to work with Will Ferrell, who I got to meet recently. Steve Carell. Ryan Gosling I would love to work with. I did a screen test with Ryan 20 years ago and ever since then, I wanted to do something with him. He’s very inspiring to me.
And how is it closing San Sebastian with We Live in Time?
It’s such a gorgeous festival, and it’s such a nice time. I came out at the beginning of the festival and, because I had a break, I brought two friends out from high school. I had always wanted to come and eat here and surf, so that’s what I did. I came out early and I ate and I surfed, and I was hanging with my old buddies, and we were just rambling around and cycling about and and eating our way through this city and drinking a little bit too. It was really, really beautiful. I managed to see three films. I saw Anora and and I saw Hard Truths which was incredible. I’ve really enjoyed being here with the backdrop of the festival. It’s a beautiful city, and I got to go to Bilbao yesterday, to the Guggenheim — holy shit. So I’ve been a proper tourist. I love being a tourist. I love a city break and and just walking, getting lost and finding the nooks and crannies of a place. So yeah, it’s been a beautiful time, and the reception from people has been really lovely. I’m excited to see how people respond to the film tomorrow.
A super quick question to end on. Did you know your TikTok fans absolutely love that scene from The Social Network? Where you smash the laptop and say: “Sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners! Along with my hoodie and my fuck you flip-flops, you pretentious douchebag.”
[Laughs] It’s passion. It’s justice. I guess people on TikTok like justice, and they like outraged, righteous indignation and someone searching for justice — where Eduardo Saverin is in that moment. And I think they probably subliminally like seeing technology being smashed too.
We Live in Time closes the San Sebastian Film Festival on Sept. 28 and releases in U.S. theaters on Oct. 11.
The Venice Film Festival has begun—get ready for 11 days of some of the best red carpet fashion of the year. WireImage
While last year’s Venice Film Festival was a quieter, more subdued occasion than usual due to the SAG-AFTRA and WAG strikes, the 2024 iteration is expected to bring the usual array of A-list filmmakers and celebrities to the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido for a week and a half of premieres, screenings and parties.
Isabelle Huppert is the 2024 jury president, and this year’s cinematic line-up is packed with some of the most anticipated movies of the year. Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, as is Luca Guadagnino’s Queer (with Daniel Craig and Jason Schwartzman), Pablo Larrain’s Maria (starring Angelina Jolie) and Halina Reijn’s Babygirl (Nicole Kidman), among many others. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, screened out of competition, will open the festival.
Along with plenty of must-see films, the stars also bring their sartorial best for the glamorous film festival in Venice, Italy, strutting down the red carpet in fashionable designs—this is, after all, the very event that brought us couture moments like Florence Pugh’s dazzling black glitter Valentino ensemble at the Don’t Worry Darling premiere, along with Zendaya’s custom leather Balmain dress in 2021 and Dakota Johnson in bejeweled Gucci.
The 81st annual Venice International Film Festival kicks off on August 28 and runs through September 7, which means a whole lot of high-fashion moments are headed for Lido. Below, see the best red carpet fashion from the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
A24 and IMAX unite to screen an extended but of ‘Midsommar’
Psychological-horror thrillers will put you on the edge of your seat in regular movie theaters, so just imagine those creepy-crawlies on IMAX! A24 and IMAX team up to bring a director’s cut of Midsommar to theaters for the first time, bigger than before — expect the IMAX format to deliver all the frights on a gargantuan scale.
Starring Florence Pugh, this movie tells the eerie story of an American couple who visit a rural region of Sweden for what they thought would be a traditional midsummer festival — but is so much gruesomely more. The film “simmers with dread, an unnerving spellbinder that dodges the usual terror tropes to plumb the violence of the mind,” raved Peter Travers in Rolling Stone.
The director’s cut promises an extra 24 minutes of footage, and in case you didn’t immediately notice, the screening date is — yes — Summer Solstice.
Thursday, June 20, IMAX theaters, imax.com, $18.21-$21.40.
Florence Pugh is all set to star in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts. The actress has now shared a BTS video from the sets in Atlanta.
Florence Pugh took to her social media handle to share footage from the sets of Thunderbolts. In the video, the actress can be heard saying that she isn’t supposed to reveal anything about the film but proceeds to offer sneak peeks anyway.
Pugh who is reprising her role as Yelena in Thunderbolts after her stint in Hawkeye, shared a closer look at her suit. The film will feature a team-up of Marvel antiheroes.
Directed by Jake Schreier, the film also features Olga Kurylenko, Geraldine Viswanathan, Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen.
There’s no question that, fashion-wise, clavicles were the stars of the show on the Oscars 2024 red carpet on Sunday, where strapless silhouettes ruled the night. One of the most talked-about ensembles of the night also didn’t benefit from the support of straps, because they were floating inches above best supporting actress nominee Emily Blunt’s shoulders.
Blunt may not have won her category, but she made our best-dressed list of the night for her beaded champagne-color Schiaparelli gown with floating shoulders and an eye-catching midsection embellishment, a passel of Tiffany & Co. platinum necklaces with more than 100 carats of diamonds, and 6-carat diamond earrings. Stylist Jessica Paster, who has worked with Blunt for 18 years, told Vanity Fair that the final gown decision was made from three contenders after a last try-on on Sunday morning.
“I think when you decide what you want to wear, I think something happens,” she said. “It depends on your mood. One was colorful, one was diaphanous, one was white, and there was this little girl.”
And, as she called the embellishment on the dress, which she said the design house has now renamed “The Emily” in Blunt’s honor, “the little underwear.” She knew this one would be talked about, and that’s fine with her.
By Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.
“Sometimes we don’t play it safe. At this point of years of being with Emily, we can go have fun with fashion,” she said. “Did I know that people were going to talk about the shoulder? Absolutely. Do I care what anybody else has to say? Absolutely not. Me? I think that people that know fashion, like fashion, like things that are interesting, were going to like it and I know the people that like some things that are very classic were not going to like it. At the end of the day, she looked absolutely beautiful. It was such a beautiful dress.”
As for that much-talked-about floating shoulder element, Paster predicts that we’ll be seeing more of it in the future. She did admit, however, that she was shocked to see another gravity-defying shoulder strap detail on Blunt’s Oppenheimer co-star Florence Pugh’s own silver Del Core look on the carpet.
“I thought [Blunt] was gonna be the first one to wear it … and then I saw that the beautiful Florence Pugh also had a very similar shoulder,” she said.
As was foretold in Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” music video, in which Christopher Walken danced to a line from Dune (“Walk without rhythm, It won’t attract the worm”), the actor would be destined to join Frank Herbert’s sci-fi universe in Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed adaptation. In fact, Dune: Part Twobrought Walken out of a four-year acting break.
Denis Villeneuve on Ending Dune: Part Two That Way
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Walken discussed why he took on the role of the formidable Emperor who sets in motion the fall and rise of House Atreides in Dune. “I had, of course, seen the first Dune a number of times. I loved it, and I admired [Villeneuve’s] movies. Arrival, I thought, was wonderful. And to be with all those terrific actors—Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Stellan Skarsgård—and to go to Budapest, which is a beautiful city. And of course, that’s what I do for a living. It was only, I think, three weeks. So, everything about it was attractive,” he said to the magazine.
Walken, who had somehow not yet been scooped up by a sci-fi epic, also revealed that he was almost in Star Wars but the timing wasn’t right. “I think it was for Han Solo,” Walken shared. “Yes, I auditioned for it. And if I’m not mistaken, my partner in the audition was—I think this is true—it was Jodie Foster. I think we did a screen test. I’m not sure we did a scene. Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras… I did audition for Star Wars, but so did about 500 other actors. It was lots of people doing that.” But as was fated by “Weapon of Choice,” Walken was all along meant to be the Emperor in Dune.
What is a white boy of the month? The term originated on the social media app formerly known as Twitter, as most ubiquitous pillars of stan culture do. The Twitter white boy of the month began as a joke poking fun at the cyclical nature of thirst on the internet. Almost every month, everyone’s feeds would erupt with photos and fancams of a new heartthrob — usually a young, white actor or musician with heartthrob hair — just to be replaced by the newest flavor of the month only weeks later.
Then came the ranking system. Stan communities pitted their white boys against each other, ranking them according to whether they were hot or not. But soon, as the term entered the mainstream, the internet seemed to come to a consensus: these are all our parasocial boyfriends. We should all just get along.
Thus, the internet boyfriend or the white boy of the month has become a fixture of being chronically online. The term has evolved so much that this flavor of the month doesn’t even have to be white. Often, his relevancy doesn’t even last an entire month in our minds. Blame our TikTok-addled brains but these heartthrobs are being cycled through like micro trends.
However, during award season, we are inundated with content from the same fleet of internet boyfriends — keeping them in rotation and lodging their gorgeous faces in the centers of our brain for longer. Don’t mind if I do.
We get red carpet content, heartwarming speeches, interviews, group photos — how can we choose just one white boy of the month under conditions like these? The sight of them keeps us entertained during peak Seasonal Affective Disorder months, and for that, I thank them for their service.
Callum Turner, Austin Butler, and Barry Keoghan at last night’s “Masters of The Air” premiere. Watch the series’ teaser at the link in our bio. #indiewire #fyp #austinbutler #barrykeoghan #callumturner #redcarpet #tvtok #tvtiktok
No matter who gets awarded the most statues by various guilds and academies this season, I just hope all my internet boyfriends have fun.
A Field Guide to Internet Boyfriends
If you’re overwhelmed and hot under the collar, look no further than this field guide to internet boyfriends. As talented as they are beautiful, this year’s slate of award season hotties is serving up more than a few white boys of the month and we’re eating good.
Callum Turner
If you’ve been paying attention to the indie scene, you’ve likely had a crush on actor Callum Turner for a while. This year, Callum Turner — Masters of the Air and The Boys in the Boat under his belt — he’s made it into the mainstream and straight into the running for white boy of the month. It also doesn’t hurt that Callum Turner’s girlfriend is none other than Dua Lipa. I want to be them so bad.
Notable Callum Turner Movies and TV Shows: Masters of the Air, The Boys in the Boat, The Only Living Boy in New York, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Emma
Austin Butler
If you’re an Austin Butler fan, he’s been your white boy of the month since Elvis — maybe even before if you remember him before his voice changed and took on the spirit of Elvis himself. Gorge yourself on Austin Butler photos because he’s been serving alongside Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy on the Dune 2 press tour. And if that’s not enough he’s also promoting Apple TV’s Masters of the Air alongside aforementioned white boy of the month, Callum Turner.
Notable Austin Butler Movies and TV Shows: Elvis, Masters of the Air, Dune: Part Two, Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood, The Bikeriders, The Carrie Diaries
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Chalamet’s personal life has been my Roman Empire lately. Did Timothée Chalamet dump Kylie Jenner? And what about the Selena Gomez and Kylie beef? It’s gag city, and I’m enthralled. But watching Dune 2 reminded me that I’m also enthralled by his work. The boy can act, which is why he’s been a white boy of the month since 2017.
Notable Timothée Chalamet Movies and TV Shows: Wonka, Dune, Dune: Part Two, Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, The French Dispatch, The King, Bones and All, Don’t Look Up, Interstellar, Little Women
Charles Melton
Charles Melton, known for May December (and that May December prosthetic), has truly done the impossible and transcended from Riverdale heartthrob to art house film darling. Though he was snubbed for this year’s Oscar, his career seems to be shooting up and I can’t wait for him to be an enduring award season internet boyfriend for years to come. He’s proven he’s more than just abs and a jawline — but what fantastic abs and what a fantastic jawline.
Notable Charles Melton Movies and TV Shows: Riverdale, May December, The Sun Is Also A Star, Poker Face, American Horror Stories, Bad Boys for Life
Barry Keoghan
Short kings are so up. Barry Keoghan danced into our hearts to the tune of “Murder on the Dancefloor” in Saltburn alongside Jacob Elordi. After already being applauded for his performance in 2022’s Banshees of Inisherin, he’s finally become the leading man and heartthrob he deserved to be. Sabrina girl, I so see the vision.
Notable Barry Keoghan Movies and TV Shows: Saltburn, Banshees of Inisherin, American Animals, Killing of the Sacred Deer, Eternals, Chernobyl, Dunkirk, Masters of the Air, Top Boy, The Green Knight
Archie Madekwe
One of the sleeper stars of Saltburn was Archie Madekwe, who also starred alongside David Harbour and Orlando Bloom in Gran Turismo. I hope we see more of this rising star on our screens for years to come.
Notable Archie Madekwe Movies and TV Shows: Saltburn, Gran Turismo, Midsommar, Beau is Afraid
Jeremy Allen White
All I can say is: Yes, chef. Thanks to those abs, those biceps, and a particularly thirsty Calvin Klein ad, Jeremy Allen White is not going anywhere. Just the other day he was spotted buying heaps of flowers from a farmers market in Los Angeles. Peak internet boyfriend behavior. And after The Iron Claw and The Bear, he’s sweeping up awards and showing what a force he is as an actor. And a short king.
Notable Jeremy Allen White Movies and TV Shows: The Iron Claw, The Bear, Shameless, Fingernails, Fremont, The Birthday Cake, Homecoming
Paul Mescal
Paul Mescal, park running menace of East London (IYKYK), has quickly emerged as one of Ireland’s premier heartthrobs. Thus far, all his roles have made me ugly cry. But he’s preparing for Gladiator 2 so some pure heartthrob fodder is on its way soon. But if you ever see Paul Mescal running, watch out.
Notable Paul Mescal Movies and TV Shows: Aftersun, Normal People, All of Us Strangers, Foe, Carmen, The Lost Daughter
Ayo Edebiri
Okay hear me out. Though she’s neither white nor a boy, Ayo Edebiri has been receiving very white boy of the month flavored attention on social media during award season. She’s the people’s princess but she’s also giving heartthrob, especially whenever she steps out in menswear and proves she’s a menswear god. God bless the Irish.
Notable Ayo Edebiri Movies and TV Shows: Bottoms, The Bear, The Sweet East, Theater Camp, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Abbott Elementary, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
David Jonsson
David Jonsson’s versatility is perhaps why he’s everywhere right now. From reinvigorating the romantic comedy in Rye Lane to taking a turn at Agatha Christie in Murder is Easy, he’s just showing off at this point — especially after being one of the most compelling characters in HBO’s Industry.
Notable David Jonsson Movies and TV Shows: Rye Lane, Murder is Easy, Industry, Alien: Romulus, Deep State
Dominic Sessa
Imagine going from being a random theater kid to being Twitter’s white not of the month. He lived it! Dominic Sessa, Carnegie Mellon grad (or student???), has had a whirlwind year after he was plucked from his high school (Deerfield, the same one attended by former presidents and Connor Kennedy, Taylor Swift’s underage ex) theater department to star in this indie masterpiece alongside Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Good for him and theater kids everywhere.
Notable Dominic Sessa Movies and TV Shows: The Holdovers
Iâll admit it here: I didnât read Dune. But Iâll also swear on my life that Iâve had Frank Herbertâs massive odyssey of a novel on my TBR long before the new adaptation, Dune: Part One(let alone Dune: Part Two), was set in motion by Denis Villeneuve. I’m not new to this, but I’m also not true to this.
Itâs my fatherâs favorite book, so I grew up half-grateful, half-scornful he didnât name me Chani. Now that Zendaya is playing that role, Iâm still ambivalent about the choice.
Which is to say, all these long years, I still havenât even turned to the first page. Therefore, I donât know how it ends â specifically if Prince Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) gets the girl in the end. I guess Iâll find out on March 1st, Dune: Part Twoâs long-awaited release date (shoutout to the SAG strike). But until then, I have even hotter Dune tea to contemplate: Did Timothee dump Kylie Jenner?
Where have these two been? No Kylie and Timothee Paparazzi Pictures, No Nothing.
For a couple comprised of two of the hottest celebrities alive, their relationship has been so amorphous in the public eye. They havenât been taking over tabloids with not-so-candid appearances. In fact, all the Kylie and Timothee pictures have been rare and somewhat tame. Yet, they also havenât been completely hush-hush. This middle ground is somewhat unsatisfying. After Kylie and Timothee pictures broke the internet at Beyonce’s Renaissance tour and then again at the US Open, 2023’s odd couple have been fairly quiet. This year, they only came up for air to smooch on camera at the Golden Globes. Now, with radio silence persisting ad Timothee in his flop era, some wonder if this unlikely pair has run its course. I mean, even the famously private Tom Holland and Zendaya are more conspicuous than these two.
Are Kylie and Timothee actually dating?
I will say, Iâm a hater. I never loved this pairing. Not because I have some parasocial claim on our generationâs Leonardo DiCaprio. Nor because I have some purist notion that he is somehow âtoo goodâ for Kylie Jenner just because his name is a little French. And, unlike my darling Aaron Taylor Johnson, the Kylie Jenner/Timothee Chalamet age difference is perfectly acceptable â only two years, even though she sometimes looks like his mom (sorry, Miss Girl!).
When it comes to celebs, I think they all deserve each other. But since itâs become so ubiquitous that Kris Jenner orchestrates her daughtersâ lives with the dexterity and precision of a chess grandmaster, nothing the KarJenner clan does surprises me. The most gossip these two ever gave was Selena Gomez Gate.
Even if I believe itâs a real relationship â I mean, câmon, who could resist either of them â thereâs absolutely nothing charming about the fact that it probably had to be Kris-approved to come into the world and will have to be Kris-approved to come out of it.
Thatâs not sexy. Thatâs not what I want from my Timothee Chalamet dating rumors. I miss when he was making out on boats in grainy pictures with Lily-Rose Depp and Eiza Gonzalez. I wish for him what Dua Lipa has with Callum Turner. What Sabrina Carpenter has with Barry Keoghan. Hell, even what the American Royal Couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have. Not this sanitized version of a surprise couple.
So … Did Timothee Dump Kylie?
If the rumors are true: I might get my wish after all. Reports (re: Deuxmoi and Reddit) say that Timothee was acting very single on a night out after the Dune: Part Two premiere in New York City. While his committed costars Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Zendaya slept, Timmy was allegedly out partying in SoHo like a singleton. Oh, to be young and hot in New York.
Where was Kylie? Putting Stormi to bed, one can assume. But was she waiting for a call from her man? Or is that not her man anymore? If not, her recent paparazzi pics in her Khy bodycon dress might have to be reclassified as a revenge dress. We’ll have to wait and see if more Kylie and Timothee paparazzi pictures surface. Though Kris Jenner, I implore you: if there are more Kylie and Timothee pictures, please keep them to yourself.
Take this all with a grain of salt, of course.
I may not know much about Dune, but one thing I know for certain is who pulls the strings in this town. When Kris Jenner deems the timing right, and only then, will the news break (and the Kylie and Timothee pictures cease for good)â not with a bang, I fear, but a whimper. I can only hope Dune: PartTwo goes out with a grander finale than this controversial, but ultimately uninteresting. coupling.
Meanwhile, Paul’s mother, Jessica, is going on her own deeply fascinating journey. A member of the witchy sisterhood cult of the Bene Gesserit, she is one of the supernaturally gifted puppet masters who effectively pull the strings, guiding and controlling the male leaders of the empire. Jessica agrees to drink the ‘Water of Life’ in order to become the tribe’s new Reverend Mother. In doing so, she is granted new spiritual powers and her eyes are opened to the full picture — she sees all potential future paths with newfound clarity, and, in turn, she sees the path that will offer safety for her bloodline. Although she and Paul are the sole survivors from house Atreides, she is pregnant, and, with her newfound spiritual powers, she soon begins conferring with her unborn daughter. And so, she teeters on the edge of full-blown crazy lady and all-seeing, all-powerful witch. She is driven by emotion, but, simultaneously, she is ferociously clearsighted and dogged in her determination to carve a safe path for her remaining family members. It’s quietly dark and satisfyingly creepy — and, of course, completely fascinating stuff.
As for the other women in the film, they are, though playing relatively small characters, given interesting arcs and multiple levels to play. Florence Pugh makes her first appearance in the franchise as Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor. Trained by the Bene Gesserit, she holds the power and is already swaying her indecisive father (played by Christopher Walken). Lea Seydoux also appears briefly as Lady Margot, a young Bene Gesserit who seduces the wonderfully erratic villain Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). Indeed, Dune: Part Two is overshadowed with the growing sense of the Bene Gesserit’s deep-seated wisdom and power — theirs is a power that does not pick sides, but lurks in the shadows pulling the strings.
Niko Tavernise
Niko Tavernise
The men of Dune are loud and, often governed by pure impulse and emotion. As Paul, Chalamet yells and roars and thumps his chest. Butler, the film’s young villain, is merely a different side of the same coin: a psychotic Harkonnen who repeatedly kills on a whim, he is all bluster and emotion. Javier Bardem’s Stilgar, an ardent believer in Paul’s messianic status, is an overzealous obsessive whose eyes well up every time a new element of the prophecy is fulfilled. Conversely, each expression of female power is quiet, shadowy, measured, but, in the long-run, far more effective. After the first film relegated women to the shadows, the second film shows us why: in this patriarchal world, that’s how the powerful women have to operate.
The film ends with Zendaya’s Chani setting out on her own path after seeing first-hand what the quest for power and religious zeal has done to the people she loves. Though not a Bene Gesserit, she, like the other women, is clear-sighted in her own way.
On the surface, Dune is your typical male-dominated sci-fi fare — but look a little deeper, and you’ll see it is women who are some of the most complex characters on screen: they are capable of cruelty, kindness, love, intelligence, scheming, ferocity and planning. But like the giant worms that burrow below the sandy dunes of Arrakis, they lurk below the surface until it is their moment to strike. And after last year’s cultural mania around girlhood, these fierce, powerful and often morally dubious women could not be more refreshing.
Dune: Part Two releases is UK cinemas on 1 March 2024.
The BAFTAs red carpet has begun. BAFTA via Getty Images
Awards season is in full swing, and after a flurry of ceremonies in Los Angeles, it’s time to head across the pond. Tonight (Feb. 18), the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will host their annual Film Awards, celebrating the best in cinema. Oppenheimer received the most BAFTA nominations (a staggering 13), with Poor Things coming in second (11 nods).
David Tennant is hosting the 2024 BAFTAs ceremony, held at Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre. It’s always an exciting night, as A-listers flock to the British capital to fête the best and brightest in the film industry. The star-studded red carpet never fails to impress, as attendees go all out for the glamorous evening. Below, see all the most exciting moments from the 2024 BAFTAs red carpet,
After the first few Marvel Cinematic Universe films came out, it was clear they were building toward an Avengers crossover movie. 15 years after Iron Man‘s release, we are now entering Phase 5 of the MCU. And along the way, Marvel has been slowly putting together a team of anti-heroes in the background.
That’s right, we are getting the Marvel version of Suicide Squadwith the Thunderbolts—sometimes you need the bad guys to save the world. We have a deep love for many villainous characters here at TMS, so getting redemption stories for an entire team of them is going to be delicious. Let’s go over everything we know about Thunderbolts so far.
When does Thunderbolts come out?
At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Disney and Marvel announced the official Thunderbolts cast with a team lineup photo that had all of us foaming at the mouth for more. After some release date swaps and delays, the movie is currently slated to come out on May 2, 2025.
Thunderbolts is like the Avengers, but for morally grey anti-heroes and villains. Most of the characters in this movie were first seen in other MCU titles over the years, so we already know them and love them!
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, a.k.a. Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) – Last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+. Bucky grappled a lot with his past in this one and found a BFF in Sam Wilson, who is taking over the Captain America moniker in the upcoming movie Captain America: New World Order.
Yelena Belova, a.k.a. Black Widow (Florence Pugh) – Last seen in the Hawkeye series. Yelena is perfect and I love her and she doesn’t need to change a single thing. She went away during the Blip only to come back to a world that her sister, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), died trying to save. Yelena is just trying to find the right path after a lifetime of following bad orders.
Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) – Last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp. A skilled fighter with the cards stacked against her, Ava is more of an anti-hero than a real villain. Hopefully, her condition has gotten more stable since her last appearance and she can have somewhat of a new beginning.
John Walker, U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) – Last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. U.S. Agent is the guy they tried to make into the new Captain America—and failed miserably. I think this character will have the longest path to redemption since he is just awful.
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) – Last seen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We watched Valentina slowly gather a team of discarded people, and now she’s the director of the CIA with an agenda to accomplish.
Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. Red Guardian (David Harbour) – Last seen in Black Widow. Alexei is the Russian version of Captain America who served as a father to Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. He’s not a bad guy; he just needs a little structure and guidance. It will be interesting to see him on a team with his daughter.
Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) – Last seen in Black Widow. This version of Taskmaster is a product of the Red Room, just like the Black Widows. Unlike them, however, Antonia wears a special suit and mimics superheroes’ fighting techniques to use against them. She’s been living her whole life as her father’s attack dog, so it will be an entirely new world for her.
General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) – Last seen in Avengers: Endgame. Ross went from fighting the Hulk to instating the superhero accords that led the Avengers to a Civil War. He will appear in the next Captain America movie before returning in Thunderbolts. Harrison Ford will take over the role previously played by William Hurt, who passed away.
Ayo Edebiri and Steven Yeun were both originally slated to join the cast of Thunderbolts, with Yeun playing Sentry and Edebiri in an unannounced role. However, both have left the production due to scheduling issues, with Geraldine Viswanathan taking over Edebiri’s role, and Lewis Pullman reportedly in talks to play Sentry
What is the plot of Thunderbolts?
In the original comic book storyline, Baron Von Zemo created the Thunderbolts team out of villains he previously collaborated with. When all the heroes died during a certain story arc, he realized Earth still needed a team of super-powered beings to save the world. Later iterations of the Thunderbolts are started by various government factions that need the team to get their hands dirty in a way the Avengers or the Fantastic Four never would. It seems like the movie will go with this version of the team since de Fontaine is handling the group. I would wager their mission would have something to do with the U.S. government’s desire for a monopoly on Wakanda’s vibranium supply.
Who is writing and directing Thunderbolts?
Director Jake Schreier enlisted Lee Sung Jin to work on the script after working together on Netflix’s Beef (also starring Yeun). Lee Sung Jin will write alongside Kurt Busiek and Eric Pearson. Busiek created the Thunderbolts team for Marvel Comics, so it is great to see his involvement with the film. Pearson worked on several other MCU projects, including the screenplays for Black Widow and Thor: Ragnarok.
Who is the villain of Thunderbolts?
Since Thunderbolts features a team full of former villains, who could be the bad guy in this one? Marvel has not announced the official villain, but of course there’s plenty of speculation online. Could it be Doctor Doom? Or maybe General Ross himself, since he has been the villain before? There does seem to be a lot of chatter behind Hyperion as a new villain for the MCU. Hyperion is like an evil version of Superman, and could be just the person to bring a ragtag team of baddies together to save the planet they all call home.
LONDON – Zendaya is on a fashion roll, in a cyborg “Dune: Part Two” kind of way.
The co-star of the highly anticipated film sequel stunned Thursday at its world premiere when she hit the sand-strewn carpet in a silver robot suit straight from the archive of Mugler. It’s from the French fashion house’s fall/winter 1995 “Cirque d’hiver” 20th anniversary collection, according to a company statement.
That translates to “Winter Circus,” not unlike the fanfare surrounding the March 1 release of Denis Villeneuve’s second half of his sci-fi epic.
Zendaya’s body-hugging armor outfit with sheer plexiglass inserts has built-in gloves she paired with matching silver heels. Mugler gave special thanks to her stylist, Law Roach, in an email detailing the vintage look. While the runway version included a matching headpiece, Zendaya opted for a short sleek hairdo and a blue diamond necklace from Bulgari.
She was joined on the carpet by fellow stars Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin and Rebecca Ferguson, along with new cast members Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Villeneuve.
The new film picks up where 2021’s “Dune” left off. Chalamet’s Paul Atreides unites with Zendaya’s Chani and the Fremen in order to seek revenge against those who killed his family members. Pugh, a newcomer to the world of “Dune” as the Emperor’s daughter, plays Princess Irulan with Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha.
Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Walken, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem round out the cast.
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Dune: Part Two, the upcoming sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 sci-fi epic based on the Frank Herbert novels, is releasing in just two weeks, but somehow the team behind it kept one major star’s involvement a total secret. During the February 15 world premiere in London, The Queen’s Gambit actor Anya Taylor-Joy appeared on the red carpet to confirm that she is, indeed, a member of the sequel’s cast. This came after an eagle-eyed Letterboxd user noticed that Dune: Part Two was listed under Taylor-Joy’s credits on the review aggregation app.
In Dune: Spice Wars The Spice Must Flow But Remember To Hydrate
Variety confirmed that Taylor-Joy is a part of the cast, which includes Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, and many more huge Hollywood stars. But, Variety refused to “spoil” who Taylor-Joy is playing, and it doesn’t appear that anyone else is willing to say who, either.
Except me. Dune novel spoilers below, but let’s be real, the book came out in 1965.
Anya Taylor-Joy is probably Alia Atreides in Dune: Part Two
First, an attempt at a brief Dune synopsis. In the far future, an interstellar society is comprised of noble houses whose fiefdoms are entire planets. The Atreides family, led by Duke Leto (played by Oscar Isaac in Dune: Part One), is ordered to take a harsh desert planet known as Arrakis as its new fief. Though the planet is virtually inhospitable, it is the only source of the highly sought after resource known as “spice,” a psychedelic drug that is used in space navigation. But as soon as the Atreides family arrives on Arrakis, it’s clear that they’ve walked into a trap set by the rival House Harkonnen, who wants to wipe them out entirely.
As seen in Dune: Part One, the Harkonnens’ plan results in Leto’s death, and forces Paul and his mother, Jessica, to flee into the desert. It’s there that they come into contact withe the Fremen, Arrakis’ native people who have learned how to thrive (not just survive) on the harsh planet. There’s a whole messianic thing that I can’t even begin to get into, but what’s important here in regards to Taylor-Joy is this: Jessica is pregnant, and submits to the “spice agony,” a ritual where she takes a deadly amount of spice. Because she’s with child, the baby is exposed to the spice in utero, and is born possessing all the knowledge of a fully grown adult.
Alia Atreides looks and sounds like a child, but is a full-blown Reverend Mother, the highest tier attainable amongst the Bene Gesserit (a matriarchal order that has religious and political power). In David Lynch’s Dune from 1984, Alia is played by a child actor, but I think (especially when seeing what Taylor-Joy wore to the premiere, and how it compares to what Alia wears in Lynch’s film) that Villeneuve has figured out a way to present Alia as an adult.
Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and Timothee Chalamet (from left) in Dune. Ryan Stetz/HBO
Whether you want surprisingly funny family dramas, international excellence, or a refresher on one of the decade’s biggest sci-fi franchises, you’re in luck. From indies to blockbusters, these are the titles you need to watch before they leave streaming this month.
What’s leaving Netflix
The Farewell
While Lulu Wang’s star-studded series Expatsis still unfurling, why not watch the movie that catapulted the director into the mainstream? The Farewell stars Awkwafina as Billi, an aspiring writer who’s struggling to find work and her place as a Chinese American woman. When she hears that her beloved grandmother, Nai Nai, has been diagnosed with cancer, though, she drops everything to go see her in China. However, there’s another issue: the family is keeping Nai Nai’s diagnosis a secret from her, and a reluctant Billi must do so too. The Farewellwill be available to stream until February 29th.
Dune
After a lengthy, strike-related delay, Dune: Part Two is finally on the horizon. The second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic (out March 1st) features a sprawling cast (with new additions Austin Butler and Florence Pugh) on top of a dense mythos, so there’s no time like the present to catch up by watching Dune. Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul, heir to the House Atreides within the galactic empire, who must contend with political threats to his father (Oscar Isaac) and strange trials courtesy of his mother (Rebecca Ferguson). Along the way, he encounters friends and foes alike, played by Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, and Josh Brolin. Dunestreams through the end of the month.
What’s leaving Hulu
Paddington
As winter truly begins to wear on us all, it’s the perfect time to watch some of the coziest movies of the 21st century. Paddington and its sequel are the rare family movie franchise to truly appeal to all ages, from the title bear’s expertly animated cuddliness to the A-list actors who get to play cartoonish villains (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, the latter in a BAFTA-nominated performance). Though sweet little Paddington gets himself into quite the precarious predicaments, his mantra of “if we’re kind and polite, the world will be right” always holds true. Paddingtonstreams until the end of the month, while Paddington 2is available through February 26th.
What’s leaving Max
Drive My Car
Layered, lengthy, and packed with a lot of languages, Drive My Car is one of the most daring dramas of the decade so far. The film follows a theater actor and director who discovers his wife’s infidelity before her untimely death. Bereft and unmoored, he decides to accept a theater residency that will have him directing a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya. Ultimately, it’s a movie about understanding, and how we may never be able to achieve it when it comes to those we love. Everything about the film is superb, and there’s a reason why the movie was nominated for four Oscars. Drive My Carstreams through the end of the month.
What’s leaving Peacock
Five Nights at Freddy’s
One of last year’s biggest horror hits is departing streaming later this month. Five Nights at Freddy’s became a smash success when it was released in theaters and on Peacock last October, bringing the thrills from the beloved video game to screens both big and small. Josh Hutcherson stars as Mike, a man so desperate for a job that he takes on a gig as a nighttime security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a family pizzeria-slash-arcade with plenty of skeletons in its supply closets. Before long, things begin to go bump in the night, leaving Mike to solve a decades-old mystery. Five Nights at Freddy’sstreams through February 25th.
The Descendants
While The Holdoverscurrently stands as a favorite at the Oscars, it’s far from the first time that filmmaker Alexander Payne has seen success with the Academy. In fact, he won his second Oscar in 2012 for The Descendants, a complex family dramedy. George Clooney stars as Matt, a man who’s inherited and attained great wealth (including a large swath of land in Hawaii), but all of that stability vanishes when his wife gets in an accident that leaves her comatose. He must grapple with his role as a cousin, a husband and a father to his two daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller). The Descendantsstreams through the end of the month.
What to Watchis a regular endorsement of movies and TV worth your streaming time.
“In the middle of our sex scene, the camera broke,” Pugh shared. “No one knows this, but it did. Our camera broke when we were both naked, and it was not ideal timing.”
Pugh played Jean Tatlock in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, who was in a relationship with Murphy’s titular protagonist before and during his marriage to Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, played by Emily Blunt.
“Cillian and I are in this room together. It’s a closed set, so we’re both holding our bodies like this,” Pugh continued, wrapping her arms around herself.
The actress added that when someone arrived to fix the camera, she figured, “this is my moment to learn,” and asked the camera surgeon: “So tell me, what’s wrong with this camera?”
“You just make your moments,” Pugh told the crowd as they laughed at the anecdote. “I’m like, ‘What’s going on with the shutter here, buddy?’”
The actress went on to compliment Nolan’s full production team, saying that “every person on this set was so knowledgeable and was so ready to make this kind of movie that there was no dull moment. It was all amazing. It felt like we were lucky to be there every second of the day.”
Oppenheimerreceived 13 Oscar nominations on Tuesday, the most of any film. Among the nods are nominations for best picture, best actor (Murphy), best director (Nolan) and best supporting actress (Blunt) and actor (Robert Downey Jr.).
I remember exactly where I was when I first watched it: the trailer for Challengers starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor. That was my Super Bowl. It had everything: besties, bisexuality, and Zendaya in that Blonde bob.
I had waited months to finally get a glimpse of Zendaya’s collaboration with Luca Guadagnino. Ever since the film had been announced, we’d savored clips of Zendaya practicing her tennis game, Tomdaya strolling around Boston on location, and even her judgemental looks (and flawless courtside fashion) at Wimbledon and the US Open.
And just when we were on the precipice of a legendary press tour — that was supposed to include a stop at the Venice International Film Festival — it was taken away from us by the SAG strike.
Challengers was originally slated to premiere on September 15, 2023. Due to the strike, it was pushed back to April 26th, 2024. You can understand my devastation. Especially since Challengers was not the only casualty of the strike. Many films were pushed from late 2023 release dates and into 2024. Luckily, we had some bangers to close out the year. But we have been so brave and, in the new year, we are about to be rewarded.
2024 promises a slew of highly anticipated films. And not just delayed projects, but other cinematic delights that we’ve been waiting years for. And with the press circuit back and better than ever, we also have promotional interviews, red carpets, and more to look forward to. After Barbie put on a marketing masterclass, next year promises to take it up a notch. And I, quite frankly, cannot wait.
Here are some of our most anticipated titles in 2024:
Challengers, April 26
It goes without saying that I’ll be first in line when tickets are finally released. Join me to watch Zendaya play a retired tennis star in the middle of a years-long love triangle. All directed by the man who made Call Me By Your Name.
Dune: Part II, March 15
Speaking of delayed Zendaya projects, Dune’s long-awaited sequel is finally coming. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya will be joined by Austin Butler and Florence Pugh — which is enough for me.
If you can’t wait until the Spring, don’t worry, Argylle will be out in February. It promises to be a hilarious take on the spy genre that subverts all the old tropes and cliches. It stars Dua Lipa and Henry Cavill. We’re in for a delightfully ridiculous treat.
The Fall Guy, May 3
Another comedic action film, The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling as a stunt man who becomes the hero of the screen when he has to save his ex, Emily Blunt. If you liked Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in The Lost City, you’ll love this.
Spaceman, March 1
Based on the book Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař, Adam Sandler is returning to dramatic roles with a movie that promises to be his next Uncut Gems or Punch Drunk Love. He stars alongside Paul Dano, Carey Mulligan, and Kunal Nayyar stars as an astronaut whose life unravels while he is on a mission.
Mean Girls: The Musical, January 12
While this might not be as giant as Barbie, this musical remake of the 2000s classic is already a hit. Starring Renee Rapp as Regina George, a role she has been playing on Broadway for years, I can’t wait to relive all the iconic Mean Girls moments on the big screen.
The American Society of Magical Negroes, March 22
Black satire is back in a big way. After the success of 2023’s American Fiction, I am excited to see another film that examines Black representation in pop culture. This satire stars Justice Smith as a man who enters a secret society of Black people who embody the “magical negro” trope.
Bob Marley: One Love, February 14
Biopics can be hit or miss, so fingers crossed that Kingsley Ben-Adir’s turn as Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley hits the right notes. Produced in partnership with the Marley family, the film spotlights his life and career, including his political activism and fight for peace.
Mickey 17, March 29
One thing about me? I love an unsettling film — hence my devotion to Saltburn. Bong Joon-ho’s first movie after Parasite, Mickey 17, promises to fit the bill. It stars A-List weirdo Robert Pattinson in an adapted tale about a man who dies and is reborn with memories of his past life.
Deadpool 3, July 26
Deadpool 3 might be the last good Marvel movie we get because it’s looking pretty bleak for the next generation. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds team up for this tale of Deadpool and Wolverine. The summer blockbuster we deserve.
Kraven: The Hunter, August 30
Hear me out: Aaron Taylor Johnson. Marvel is trying their best to replicate the success of Joker with their own villain origin story. Kraven is a Spiderman villain but, more than that, I would like to reiterate: Aaron Taylor Johnson.
Joker: Folie à Deux, October 4
Following the Oscar-winning success of the first Joker , DC is hoping this sequel will save them from the despair of 2023’s The Flash. More than anything else, I’m curious to see Lady Gaga join Joaquin Phoenix as Harley Quinn.
Wicked, November 27
While movie-musicals have a spotty history (think: Cats and Les Mis), Wicked is so iconic I want to believe in it. It stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. The cast has already made headlines for Slater’s relationship with Grande — it’s giving Don’t Worry Darling presstour-levels of chaos already.
Gladiator 2, November 22
Will 2024 make me an action movie stan? If Paul Mescal has anything to do with it, it’s more likely than you think. Gladiator, the 2000 film starring Russell Crowe, spawned a generation of men thinking about the Roman Empire. Ridley Scott returns with this long-awaited sequel to hope he can strike lightning twice.
In defense of English dubs, no one does it better than Studio Ghibli. It’s not a matter of either-or; with the incredible global talents that span the original Japanese voices and the English casts, it just means we get more!
With the release of The Boy and the Heron, which featuresRobert Pattinson’s dedicated vocal bird transformation, we’re looking back at the best Studio Ghibli dubs. When it comes to Hayao Miyazaki’s films, care has always been taken between by the Disney and GKIDS distributors to cast the English roles with incredible talent. It’s no easy feat to perform in sync with animation, let alone in a foreign language, but it helps to have the guidance of directors such as Pixar’s Pete Docter (Howl’s Moving Castle) who approach the task with appropriate reverence. While we understand the importance of subtitles—and we’d never take away from the wonderful work of the original Japanese voice casts—dubs help make the films accessible to more audiences. And as an animation fan, I love dubs because I can bask in the art and storytelling without reading and then revisiting with subtitles. It’s a preference and a gateway for more global animation to travel the world.
Here’s a list of the top 10 English Studio Ghibli dubs we love.
Actor Florence Pugh was struck in the face by a thrown object on Sunday while she posed alongside her co-stars during a Dune: Part Two promotional event in Brazil.
Pugh, 27, was attending a Comic-Con panel in São Paulo alongside Dune stars Zendaya, Austin Butler and Timothée Chalamet to promote the second instalment of the science-fiction movie franchise.
As the celebs and director Denis Villeneuve stood together for a photo, an object was hurled toward the stage and hit an unsuspecting Pugh near her eye. Before bending down to pick up the projectile, Pugh appeared to say either “ow” or “wow” in reaction to being hit.
Many pop culture enthusiasts have pointed to the incident involving Pugh as proof that actors are not exempt from the trend of being hit with fan-thrown projectiles.
In the last year, bad audience behaviour has been a highly buzzed-about topic, with many of the music industry’s biggest names being pelted by a number of strange objects all around the world, from food to undergarments.
Earlier this year, singer Bebe Rexha was rushed offstage after she was struck in the face with a cellphone while performing in New York. The singer reportedly required stitches to close a wound on her face. The man who threw the phone was arrested on assault charges for “intentionally” throwing the phone at Rexha.
During Harry Styles’ successful Love on Tour run, he was whacked with a myriad of objects at nearly every stop. While on stage, Styles was bombarded with everything from chicken nuggets to Skittles in his eye.
YALLLLLL. This goes without saying. 👏🏻 DO 👏🏻 NOT 👏🏻 THROW 👏🏻 STUFF 👏🏻 AT 👏🏻 PEOPLE 👏🏻 Harry Styles took a forcefully thrown skittles to the freaking eye last night. Come on, use some common sense!! 😡 pic.twitter.com/yK0PLlTh6H
Even megastar Taylor Swift had to scold her fans for throwing at artists. In Buenos Aires, Swift appeared rattled when an object was tossed onto the stage.
“Just because communication means having gentle, healthy boundaries, it really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on the stage,” Swift said from behind her piano. “Because, if it’s on the stage, then a dancer can trip on it.”
— upasana ✨ did exile backing vocals (@itsupasana13) November 13, 2023
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But really, throwing things at celebrities is not a new trend. In 2004, David Bowie was hit in the eye with a lollipop thrown by a fan while he performed at a Norwegian music festival. After stepping back from the microphone, Bowie returned to curse at the fan who threw what would later be known as “love on a stick.”
Earlier, in 1982, Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne infamously bit the head off of a bat that a fan had thrown on stage. Osbourne later clarified that he thought the bat was fake and made from rubber.
Holiday Hilarity: Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms and the cast of ‘Family Switch’
