Noticias

Kim Kardashian is stepping into the role of a villain for Amazon MGM’s upcoming live-action Bratz film, as the studio capitalizes on Hollywood’s toy-to-screen trend sparked by 2023’s Barbie.

The project is still in early development, but it is already drawing attention thanks to Kardashian’s casting and the enduring popularity of the Bratz brand, which has sold over 200 million dolls globally since its debut in 2001.

Kim Kardashian’s role marks a return to scripted acting following her stint on American Horror Story: Delicate as well as Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie and adds a new layer to her evolving entertainment portfolio.

Amazon MGM reportedly landed the rights to the film after a competitive bidding process, hoping to tap into the same cultural energy that made Barbie a box office juggernaut.

According to Variety, the Bratz dolls have maintained strong online engagement, making them a prime candidate for a cinematic revival.

Barbie has a lot to answer for.

Eager to cash-in on the success of Warner Bros.' block-busting comedy, Amazon MGM Studios is developing a live-action movie revolving around the Bratz toy line, and Kim Kardashian is set to star.

The wealthy socialite and reality TV star, who is often accused of being "famous for being famous," does have a few acting credits to her name, having appeared in the likes of Tyler Perry's Temptation, Disaster Movie, and Dash Dolls. More recently, she voiced one of the characters in Paw Patrol: The Movie and played a key role in American Horror Story: Delicate.

Kardashian's character has not been confirmed, but she is believed to be playing the villain.

Kardashian revealed that she was interested in getting more serious about her acting career in a recent interview, and may even have her eye on a major superhero role.

"I’m not actively looking,...

Kim Kardashian is set to play the villain in the Bratz movie.The 44-year-old star will be involved in the film as a producer but insiders claim that she is wanted to portray the antagonist in the project, which Amazon MGM has won a competitive bidding war for.The live-action movie about the toy dolls will be written by Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick alongside Erik Feig and Julia Hammer for Picturestart while Kim will produce the flick with Jason and Jasmin Larian for Mga Entertainment.No further details about the film's cast or plot have been released as yet.It is hoped that the Bratz film can replicate the success of 2023's Barbie - which grossed over $1 billion at the box office - and it joins film versions of children's toys Polly Pocket, Barney and Hot Wheels that are currently in development at various Hollywood studios.Bratz has sold...

This is just something we all have to accept. Just about anything can become a movie, and just about anyone can land acting gigs. Acceptance is a crucial first step that will allow a lot of this news to go down a bit easier. After Barbie became a massive hit in 2023, studios began searching for their own answer to that phenomenon, and Amazon MGM Studios found that with a live-action adaptation of theBratz toy line. With the project coming together, the studio has turned to reality star and sometimes actress Kim Kardashian for a very bad turn.

Per Deadline, Kardashian is close to sealing a deal to portray the villain in Amazon MGM Studios' live-action Bratz movie. Not only would Kardashian star in the film, but she'll also serve as a producer on the project alongside the Picturestart banner. Plot details of the film are unknown, but Charlie Polinger and...

Gold Derby's top news stories for June 25, 2025.

The Stand: Here we go again

The Hollywood Reporter dished on the details of a new adaptation of Stephen King's tome The Stand, which Doug Liman is apparently directing. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Wasn't there literally just a television adaptation? Wasn't Whoopi Goldberg in it? And that was different from the Rob Lowe one? Am I hallucinating?" Yes, you are correct. No, you're not hallucinating. And maybe go drink some water.

"There! Up in the ceiling! It's Roofman!"

Channing Tatum has teamed up with director Derek Cianfrance for the true-life crime story of an escaped convict holed up in a Toys R Us. The film, also starring Kirsten Dunst and Peter Dinklage, opens in theaters on Oct. 10.

Train Dreams gets Oscar-y release date

Netflix has announced that its Sundance pickup, Train Dreams starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy,...

Kim Kardashian is the focus of a different kind of headline today. According to Deadline, the famous media personality, socialite, and businesswoman is circling a role in the upcoming movie based on the Bratz doll line from Amazon MGM Studios. The outlet says Amazon MGM Studios won a fierce bidding war for the Bratz property, with Kim Kardashian and Picturestart producing. The project has Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick writing the script, with Kardashian likely playing the villain.

Erik Feig and Julia Hammer will produce for Picturestart with Kardashian, Jason and Jasmin Larian for Mga, and Mga’s Isaac Larian will executive produce. This setup will make the live-action Bratz a high-profile venture as studios rush to chase the monetary highs of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

The Bratz toy line has sold over 200 million dolls and continues to have the highest social media presence across all platforms of any toy line worldwide.

Kim Kardashian is in development on a live-action Bratz film with Amazon MGM Studios, TheWrap has learned.

Plus, the “American Horror Story: Delicate” and “All’s Fair” actress is eyeing to star as the movie’s villain.

Kardashian is producing alongside Erik Feig and Julia Hammer for Picturestart and Jason Larian and Jasmin Larian for Mga Entertainment, with Mga’s Isaac Larian as executive producer.

Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick from “The Plague” are writing the script, though the logline is being kept under wraps. Outside of the Bratz universe, the pair is also working on Polinger’s “Masque of the Red Death” and McKendrick’s “Fangs,” with both producing on each other’s projects.

However, this will not be the first live-action Bratz movie. Lionsgate infamously made “Bratz: The Movie” in 2007 with Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos, Skyler Shaye and Chelsea Staub.

Kardashian and Mga Entertainment are represented by WME,...

Kim Kardashian is helping to bring the Bratz franchise back to the screen.

Amazon MGM Studios has nabbed the package for a new live-action feature based on the Mga Entertainment toy property, with Kardashian and Picturestart set to produce. Kardashian is in talks to star in the film that is keeping plot details under wraps.

Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick are penning the screenplay. Kardashian produces alongside Erik Feig and Julia Hammer for Picturestart and Jason and Jasmin Larian for Mga. Executive producing is Isaac Larian for Mga.

The Bratz fashion doll toy line launched in 2001 and has sold 200 million dolls worldwide.

Mga was behind Lionsgate’s live-action Bratz movie that hit theaters in 2007. Starring Nathalia Ramos, Skyler Shaye, Logan Browning, Janel Parrish and Jon Voight, the film underperformed at the box office.

Kardashian recently appeared in season 12 of American Horror Story and is filming Ryan Murphy’s Hulu legal drama series All’s Fair,...

Kim Kardashian is continuing to pursue acting endeavors and she’s in talks for her latest movie role: the villain in the upcoming Bratz movie from Amazon MGM!

Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick will be writing the script for the live action film, which was won in a bidding war at Amazon.

Deadline notes that Kim‘s involvement is not quite a done deal, but they also note she’s executive producing as well. Plot details have also not been revealed for the film at this time. There’s no additional casting news or release date info, either.

Kim has been pursuing acting more readily in the past few years. She also has a few more projects lined up. She’s going to be in the Netflix comedy The Fifth Wheel, directed by Eva Longoria, is starring in the Ryan Murphy drama series All’s Fair for Hulu, and will also...

Kim Kardashian is being eyed to play the villain in Amazon MGM’s “Bratz” movie.

The tech giant won a bidding war for rights to the live-action film about the popular children’s toy in hopes of backing the next “Barbie.” Additional details about the plot and cast haven’t been revealed.

Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick are writing the script, while Erik Feig and Julia Hammer for Picturestart, Kardashian, and Jason Larian and Jasmin Larian for Mga Entertainment are on board to produce. Mga’s Isaac Larian will executive produce.

Ever since “Barbie” took the world by storm and became 2023’s highest-grossing film with $1.44 billion, Hollywood has been mining all kinds of children’s toys for the big screen. Film versions of Hot Wheels, Barney, Polly Pocket and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots are currently in the works across various studios and production companies.

Bratz has sold more than...

Amazon MGM Studios have found their next major toy adaptation. The studio will be working alongside Kim Kardashianin order to bring Bratz to life, after the company spent the last couple of years developing a movie based on Masters of the Universe. The rights for the Bratz adaptation were at the center of a very competitive bidding war. While a deal hasn't been finalized, Kim Kardashian is currently eyed to portray the antagonist of the story.

Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick have been hired to write the script for the upcoming Bratz project. Before he was involved with the upcoming movie, Polinger received plenty of praise during this year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival thanks to his work on The Plague. The film featured Joel Edgertonin a complicated story about a boy who is forced into a mysterious water camp. Why did the studio recruit an acclaimed horror filmmaker for a Bratz movie?...

Exclusive: After a competitive bidding battle, Amazon MGM Studios has landed the package for a live-action movie revolving around the Bratz doll line with Kim Kardashian and Picturestart on board to produce. Charlie Polinger and Lucy McKendrick are writing the script, and while a deal is not closed, sources say Kardashian is being eyed to play the villain in the project.

Erik Feig and Julia Hammer will produce for Picturestart with Kardashian, and Jason and Jasmin Larian producing for Mga. Mga’s Isaac Larian will executive produce.

Given all the parties involved, along with the global popularity of the toy line, the package saw plenty of interest. But given the strong ties Kardashian and the studio already have, it makes sense the project ended up at Amazon MGM. Last year, the studio won an auction for an untitled thriller with Kardashian attached to star.

Following the success of the Barbie...

Exclusive: AGC International has acquired international rights to Spooky Pictures and Image Nation’s psychological horror-thriller The Vile by Emirati director Majid Al Ansari, with the partners also unveiling a first teaser trailer for the film.

Emirati actress Bdoor Mohammad stars as devoted wife and mother Amani, whose life begins to unravel when her husband returns home with a second wife and an unseen darkness infiltrates her life.

Majid Al Futtaim – Vox Independent Distribution is distributing the film theatrically in the UAE and has set an October 30 release date for the territory. Film Clinic is handling the rights for post-theatrical in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

The Vile breaks fresh ground as the first Emirati Arabic-language feature to come to fruition under the multi-picture slate partnership between Spooky Pictures, the L.A.-based genre label co-founded and run by Roy Lee and Steven Schneider – and Abu-Dhabi-based Image Nation.

Previous collaborations include Charlie Polinger’s The Plague starring Joel Edgerton, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in May; Randall Okita’s Menace starring Isabel May, and Damian Mc Carthy’s Hokum starring Adam Scott.

The movie’s cast also features Saudi artist and filmmaker Sarah Taibah as Zahra, the enigmatic new wife and rising talent Iman Doghoz as Amani’s vulnerable daughter.

Al Ansari has been a trailblazer in the Emirates throughout his career. His first feature Zinzana (aka Rattle The Cage) – starring Saleh Bakri as a prisoner in a remote jail who finds himself at the mercy of a violent and corrupt police officer played by Ali Suliman – won international acclaim and became the first Arab language film acquired by Netflix.

His new movie blends supernatural tension with culturally grounded storytelling to offer a uniquely regional take on universal fears, through a story about family bonds, emotional conflict and testing unseen forces.

“The Vile is a bold and compelling film that demonstrates the power of local storytelling on a global stage. We’re proud to work with Majid Al Ansari once again and to bring forward a genre film that challenges, disturbs and deeply moves,” said Image Nation CEO Ben Ross.

The movie is produced by Lee and Schneider under their Spooky Pictures banner, and Rami Yasin (Hokum), with Film Clinic founder Mohamed Hefzy on board as Executive Producer.

“The Vile is exactly the kind of film we love to champion at Spooky Pictures – intimate, unnerving, and emotionally rich,” said Schneider.

“Majid Al Ansari has crafted a story that’s both deeply rooted in its cultural context and universally haunting. We’re excited to be part of a project that pushes the boundaries of psychological horror while introducing audiences to a powerful up and coming voice in genre filmmaking.”

Al Ansari added: “I wanted to tell a story that feels both intimate and unsettling; one that explores real emotional experiences through the lens of genre. It’s about love, fear and resilience, and what happens when the familiar turns unfamiliar, when the people we trust most begin to feel like strangers.”...

La actriz de ‘Anora’ sustituiría a Sydney Sweeney. © Getty Images

De acuerdo con The Hollywood Reporter, Mikey Madison, la reciente ganadora del Oscar a la Mejor Actriz por Anora, está en conversaciones para protagonizar la adaptación cinematográfica de A24 de La máscara de la muerte roja, el célebre relato de Edgar Allan Poe. La actriz sustituiría a Sydney Sweeney, quien abandona el proyecto debido a conflictos de agenda.

Madison daría vida a dos hermanas gemelas en un mundo decadente en el que un príncipe loco acoge en su castillo a la élite adinerada mientras la peste se extiende por el país. La gemela perdida, que vive entre la clase baja, entra en el castillo en un ambiente de drogas, sexo, juego de tronos y un baile de máscaras que se desarrolla en siete habitaciones, cada una decorada con un color distinto.

La película, descrita como una versión «salvajemente revisionista», estará...

Every now and then, a new star emerges to take its place among the millions in the galaxy called Hollywood. Well, one such star that has recently awed and stunned the industry is Mikey Madison.

The 26-year-old actress captivated audiences and critics alike with her impeccable performance of a stripper in Sean Baker’s Anora, which not only bagged her the the Academy Award for Best Actress but also garnered multiple accolades for the film.

Fresh off her historic win as the first Generation Z actor to claim an Academy Award for Best Actress, Madison has become a focal point in Hollywood, with directors and studios eager to collaborate with the rising star. Starting off in the industry as a teenager in FX’s Better Things, she ended up starring in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to transforming herself as an actress with a knack for...

Following her Academy Award win for Anora, Mikey Madison has found her next project in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's story The Masque of the Red Death. She was reportedly offered the villain role in Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, but allegedly passed on the movie over a pay disagreement. Madison can pick whatever project she wants and seems to have found the perfect follow-up to Anora, one that was first published in 1842.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Madison has signed on to star in director Charlie Polinger's adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death for A24. She will play twin sisters in a story that follows a mad prince who takes the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. A long-lost twin living among the lower class finds her way into the castle and stumbles upon a decadent world. The...

Mikey Madison is set to replace Sydney Sweeney in what sounds like a pretty out-there adaptation of Masque of the Red Death.

The work of Edgar Allan Poe has been adapted for the big and small screen numerous times over the years, with several of the legendary writer's stories influencing Mike Flanagan's recent retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher.

The acclaimed Netflix miniseries put its own unique spin on The Masque of the Red Death, and we recently got word that a feature adaptation was in the works, with A24 and Picturehouse developing the project, and Charlie Polinger set to write and direct.

Sweeney was in talks to play the lead role - believed to be a gender-switched take on Prince Prospero - but has now been forced to drop out due to a scheduling conflict, with the Anora Oscar-winner stepping in as her replacement.

Nexus Point News broke the story,...

The A24 adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death is to shoot this year, with Mikey Madison replacing Sydney Sweeney in the lead.

In a story that we covered in January, A24 and Picturestart are teaming to tackle an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s gothic short story, The Masque Of The Red Death. It centres on a group of privileged nobles who lock themselves away for endless revelry while a plague decimates the outside world. You can probably imagine that not everything goes to plan for the wealthy partygoers.

It’ll be the feature debut of New York filmmaker and theatre director Charlie Polinger, and the project is said to be ‘wildly revisionist and darkly comedic.’

The whole ‘eat the rich’ genre continues to surge, and should this project not deviate too far from the source material, we could be looking at another film...

Anora Best Actress Oscar winner Mikey Madison is in talks to replace Sydney Sweeney in A24’s feature take of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. No deal is done.

The pic from Picturestart, which A24 will release around the globe, is billed as a “wildly revisionist” take on the short story from filmmaker Charlie Polinger. Polinger and Lucy McKendrick will executive produce.

Madison will reportedly portray twin sisters in a world where a mad prince (Prince Prospero in the original 1842 short story) welcomes wealthy elites into his castle as plague spreads across the land. The long-lost twin, who lives among the lower class, enters the castle in what is an atmosphere of drugs, sex and game of thrones as Prospero throws a masquerade ball in seven rooms, each decorated with a different color. In the original short, a mysterious figure enters the castle disguised as a Red Death victim.

THR reports that Mikey Madison is in talks to star in The Masque of the Red Death, the upcoming reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale from filmmaker Charlie Polinger. Sydney Sweeney was initially set to star in the movie, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Sources tell THR that Madison would play “twin sisters in a story that sees a mad prince take in the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. The story sees a long-lost twin, hidden among the lower class, enter the castle and into a decadent world of orgies, opium, power schemes, revenge and decapitations.” Sounds like a blast. The film comes from A24, which will handle global distribution, with production by Picturestart. The Masque of the Red Death will shoot at the end of the year or in early 2026.

Related Reptilia: Mikey Madison & Kirsten Dunst...

A recent Oscar winner may replace Sydney Sweeney in A24's new movie The Masque of the Red Death by filmmaker Charlie Polinger. The new film is a reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's 1824 short story of the same name. Sweeney was previously attached to the project but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. She is currently filming Euphoria season 3.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mikey Madison is reportedly in talks to star in A24's The Masque of the Red Death, set to start production this year. The new A24 adaptation is positioned as "a quintessential A24 movie" with the potential of resonating among "the TikTok class" through memes and "eyebrow raising" scenes. Madison would reportedly play dual roles as a pair of long-lost twin sisters who enter a mad prince's castle during a plague and into a depraved royal world.

What This Means For The Masque...

Mikey Madison has her sights on a new role!

The 26-year-old Oscar winner is reportedly in talks to star in the upcoming A24 film The Masque of the Red Death, a reimagining of the Edgar Allen Poe story, according to THR.

Mikey would be taking over the lead role from Sydney Sweeney, who was attached to the project earlier this year, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. (She has quite the list of upcoming projects!)

Keep reading to find out more…

In The Masque of the Red Death, from filmmaker Charlie Polinger, Mikey “would play twin sisters in a story that sees a mad prince take in the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. The story sees a long-lost twin, hidden among the lower class, enter the castle and into a decadent world of orgies, opium, power schemes, revenge and decapitations.”

The upcoming film...

Mikey Madison is in negotiations to star in one of Edgar Allan Poe's most chilling tales. The AnoraOscar-winner is in talks to star in a reimagining of The Masque of the Red Death, Poe's 1842 tale of decadence, disease, and decay. The dual role was previously set to be played by Madison's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood castmate Sydney Sweeney, who has left the project. The Hollywood Reporter says that the film is due to shoot late this year or early next year.

In the film, Madison would play a pair of twin sisters. One is a princess who retreats with the rest of the aristocracy into a mad prince's castle, while a devastating plague, the Red Death, devastates the countryside. The other twin is hidden among the lower classes, and sees firsthand how the Red Death (which makes its victims agonizingly bleed from every orifice before...

It was announced earlier this year that A24 and Picturestart were developing a new adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. Today, THR reports that it may have found its new star.

Oscar winner Mikey Madison is in talks to star.

Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) was previously attached to the film but dropped out due to scheduling issues.

Charlie Polinger is writing and directing The Masque of the Red Death for A24, said to be a “wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take on the short story.”

Madison would play “twin sisters in a story that sees a mad prince take in the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. The story sees a long-lost twin, hidden among the lower class, enter the castle and into a decadent world of orgies, opium, power schemes, revenge and decapitations.”

THR also describes the project as “a quintessential A24 movie,...

Mikey Madison has landed another buzzy project after nabbing the Oscar for her performance in “Anora.” The actor is in talks to lead A24 and Picturestart’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” writer/director Charlie Polinger’s wildly revisionist take on the short story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe.

Madison replaces Sydney Sweeney, who sources say dropped from the project due to scheduling conflicts. Polinger and Lucy McKendrick will executive produce. A24 has acquired worldwide distribution rights for the film.

Polinger is currently in post-production on his film “The Plague,” which was made independently and stars Joel Edgerton. He is represented by UTA and Anonymous Content.

Madison will next star in “Reptilia” alongside Kirsten Dunst. The thriller tells the story of a dental hygienist who is seduced by a mysterious mermaid into the dark and wet underworld of Florida’s exotic animal trade. Alejandro Landes Echavarría,...

“Anora” Oscar winner Mikey Madison is in talks to star in an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story called “The Masque of the Red Death” that is set up at A24, an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

Charlie Polinger, a playwright who is the director of his upcoming debut film “The Plague,” is directing what’s described as a “wildly revisionist take” on the Poe short story. Polinger is also executive producing the film alongside Lucy McKendrick.

Sydney Sweeney was originally meant to star in the film, but a source says she dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. The project was first reported back in January, with A24 acquiring worldwide distribution rights for the film.

A24 had no comment.

“Red Death” is a short originally published in 1842 about the Prince Prospero as he tries to hide from a plague by hiding himself in an abbey,...

After winning the Oscar for Best Actress at the recent Academy Awards, Mikey Madison has found her next project and is in talks to star in “Masque of the Red Death,” writer/director Charlie Polinger’s wildly revisionist take on the short story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe, for A24 and Picturestart, The Wrap has learned.

Sydney Sweeney was previously on board to star, but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.

The “Masque of the Red Death” centers on the long-lost twin sister of a Duchess who infiltrates the kingdom’s walls, impersonating her dead sister, who, unbeknownst to the kingdom, fell victim to the fast-rising killer pandemic known as “The Red Death.”

Polinger and Lucy McKendrick will executive produce. A24 has acquired worldwide distribution rights for the film.

Previously, Madison was briefly in talks, but ended up passed on joining Ryan Gosling in a “Star Wars” movie called “Starfighter,...

Mikey Madison has set one of her first roles since winning the Oscar for her performance in Neon’s Anora.

Madison is in talks to star in The Masque of the Red Death, a re-imagining of the creepy Edgar Allan Poe story from filmmaker Charlie Polinger. It hails from A24, which will distribute worldwide, and Picturestart, which is producing.

Madison has developed a reputation of being very particular in choosing her roles, and despite numerous outreaches, has not engaged in much since her comet-like ascendance after Anora premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. (There are two exceptions. She was in brief talks to play a villain in Star Wars movie Starfighter, but those talks broke down over pay. She also attached herself to the package Reptilia, about a dental hygienist who falls in love with a mermaid.)

Now, Madison may have found a role that could be a...

Courtney Eaton and Sophie Nélisse, two breakout performers from “Yellowjackets,” will co-star in an adaptation of Kathleen Glasgow’s novel, “Girl in Pieces.”

The Space Program, a New York-based independent film production company led by Lizzie Shapiro, Lexi Tannenholtz and Gus Deardoff, will produce the film alongside Eaton and Nélisse.

“Girl in Pieces” was embraced on BookTok, the TikTok literary subculture, and has been on the New York Times young adult bestseller list for more than three consecutive years. It follows Charlie Davis, a young woman recently released from a psychiatric ward in Minnesota after a suicide attempt. After a move across the country to Tucson, Ariz., Charlie tries to piece her life back together among a band of artists and musicians while dealing with the trauma of childhood abuse, self-harm and homelessness. A toxic relationship with a local musician and the reappearance of her friend from the psych ward...

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has now concluded, with Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident taking home the Palme d’Or (see all jury winners here). While our coverage will continue with a few more reviews this week––and far beyond as we provide updates on the journey of these selections––we’ve asked our contributors on the ground to share favorites.

See their picks below, and explore all of our coverage here.

Leonardo Goi (@LeonardoGoi)

1. Sirat (Oliver Laxe)

2. Sound of Falling (Mascha Schilinski)

3. The Last One For The Road (Francesco Sossai)

4. The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)

5. Resurrection (Bi Gan)

6. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)

7. Heads or Tails (Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis)

8. Lucky Lu (Lloyd Lee Choi)

9. Two Prosecutors (Sergei Loznitsa)

10. Mirrors No. 3 (Christian Petzold)

Read all of Leonardo’s reviews here.

Luke Hicks (@lou_hicks)

1. Sirat (Oliver Laxe...

A fresh new debut from a filmmaker who has real talent. One of the best first films at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival is titled The Plague, an American indie thriller made by filmmaker Charlie Polinger. During the intro at its world premiere, actor Joel Edgerton (who also runs his own production company called Blue-Tongue Films - though they're not involved in this film) stated that he'd already seen few of Polinger's short films before reading the script for this & couldn't wait for him to finally make his mark with his first feature. That moment is here and, yes, he has definitely made his mark. Even after watching many other films over the course of the festival, this one still stands out, it still lingers in my mind and the score still haunts me. Even if the story about bullying is a bit obvious, and even if it never dips into...

Exclusive: Vertical has acquired North American rights to Griffin in Summer, the breakout debut feature of writer-director Nicholas Colia, for release in theaters this summer.

Starring Everett Blunck, an up-and-comer who can currently be seen at Cannes in Charlie Polinger’s The Plague, Griffin in Summer is a comedy that cleaned up in its world premiere at last year’s Tribeca Festival, winning Best U.S. Narrative Feature, Best U.S. Narrative Screenplay, and Special Jury Mention for New Narrative Director.

Also garnering Colia a 2025 nomination for the Indie Spirits’ Someone to Watch Award, the film follows Griffin Nafly (Blunck), who is the most ambitious playwright of his generation. He’s also 14 years old and living with his parents in a humdrum suburb. But when a handsome 25-year-old (Owen Teague) enters the picture, Griffin’s life — and his new play — take an unexpected turn.

“Having been lucky enough to travel...

“The Plague” filmmaker Charlie Polinger simply wanted to make a film that actually reflected his adolescent experiences.

“I see a lot of movies about 12 year old boys that are often either a little more ‘Goonies’-style biking around at night [that are about] this kind of carefree feeling or a little more bro-y hangout kind of movies. My sense of being 12 was it was more like [a] social anxiety hellscape,” Polinger told Executive Awards Editor Steve Pond at TheWrap’s Cannes Conversations in partnership with Brand Innovators.

“You see that [represented] more commonly, I think, in movies about women or about young girls, [movies] like ‘Carrie’ and ‘Raw’ and ‘Eighth Grade.’ You don’t see it as often in films about boys because there’s a certain vulnerability to [being] the object of terror or to [feel] insecurity in your body. There’s sort of a fear of that vulnerability being shown [when it is] centered around masculinity,” Polinger observed. “I...

High concept, low budget, straight-forward creative lens – that is how Emirati studio Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles-based genre label Spooky Pictures target movies under their partnership that is bringing one of its features to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time.

No need to mince words either. “The creative mandate is: cool shit,” producer and Spooky co-founder Steven Schneider (Pet Sematary, Paranormal Activity, Insidious) tells THR. “We also always just look for things that are original and will surprise us,” adds producer and Spooky co-founder Roy Lee (It, The Ring, A Minecraft Movie). “The guiding light when we start out is that we want to make a movie that somebody thinks is their favorite movie of that year or of all time.”

The duo found a partner in crime in Image Nation CEO Ben Ross, bringing together what Schneider calls three “historical horror buffs” on a mission.

The idea of adolescence as a horror story is not new, but it’s given a splashy workout in Charlie Polinger’s queasily stylish debut feature, in which the swimming pools, lockers rooms and bunk-bed dormitories of a boys’ water polo camp are a puberty petrie dish livid with sinister bacteria. Drawn from experience and benefiting from some standout performances among its well-selected young cast, “The Plague” has a familiar coming-of-age narrative, but stranger, subtler undercurrents of creeping dismay at the men these boys will become when, at this formative age, cruelty chlorinates the water they swim in.

Sensitive, 12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) comes to the Tom Lerner Water Polo Camp in the summer of 2003 as an outsider twice over. He’s not only joining after the second session has started, he’s also a new arrival to the area. And, as we understand from an early conversation with his...

The Plague, Charlie Polinger’s debut feature, premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar in 2025. Set in the sweltering summer of 2003, it follows 12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) as he navigates the rigid pecking order of an elite water polo camp. Polinger (writer-director) and cinematographer Steve Breckon conjure an aquatic netherworld—slow-motion dives become rites of initiation—while Johan Lenox’s score underscores the psychic frictions beneath youthful bravado.

At the heart lies a fabricated malady: “the plague,” a supposed contagion marked by pimples that binds the group’s unwritten code. Touch Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), the outcast, and you must scrub yourself raw—an absurd ritual that mirrors witch-hunt dynamics in broader society. The film’s coming-of-age drama and psychological horror merge into a single current, carrying us from casual cruelty to visceral dread.

Blunck’s Ben oscillates between craving acceptance and recoiling at groupthink; Kayo Martin’s Jake wields observation like a scalpel,...

“I have two almost 4-year-olds, and I’m quite powerful and influential in certain circles, but not with two 4-year-olds,” says Joel Edgerton. “Kids run their own country, in a way.”

Edgerton’s been thinking a lot lately about those nascent years before entering adulthood thanks to his latest project, The Plague, which looks at the complicated and occasionally terrifying social dynamics of kids — specifically adolescent boys.

The feature debut of director Charlie Polinger, the film is set in the world of a competitive water polo summer camp, focusing primarily on the dynamic within a group of 12- and 13-year-old boys who have ostracized one camper because he has “the plague,” a nasty-looking case of eczema. One camper, Ben (Everett Blunck), struggles between his desire to help the outcast camper and his worry about incurring the wrath of the larger group. In the film, Edgerton plays the well-meaning if ineffective water polo coach.

The Space Program, a New York-based team of indie producers, describes itself as a collective. The way things work is that the three-person team collaborates on all projects — with one person taking lead and the others assuming supporting roles, depending on the film.

“We have been able to become a safety net for each other and for the films and the filmmakers,” explained Gus Deardoff, who runs the company along with Lizzie Shapiro and Lexi Tannenholtz. “It means there’s always someone available, which helps because filmmakers really need instantaneous contact with their producers at all times, and sometimes you get spread very thin. This way, we have several lines of defense.”

The company, which has worked on the feature debuts of Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) and Emma Seligman (“Shiva Baby”), takes a particular interest in first-time filmmakers.

“We love working with people that we want to be able to grow with,...

While ostensibly adopting the perspective of a kind and sensitive 12-year-old boy going through the wringer at the hands of bullies, “The Plague” leaves a bitter, chlorine-y taste in the mouth. Set at a water polo camp, this competently realised debut feature from American director Charlie Polinger has its cake and eats it, gleefully aestheticizing the brutal violence and braggadocio cultivated in that environment. As alarming as that sounds, its relentless formal play seems a sign of cinematic enthusiasm rather than anything more sinister — the work of a filmmaker delighting in the aesthetic and dramatic possibilities granted him by his subject.

Continue reading ‘The Plague’ Review: Charlie Polinger’s Stylish, Bombastic Debut Feature With Joel Edgerton Has Little Emotion Under The Surface [Cannes] at The Playlist.

The American Pavilion is proud to announce a dynamic lineup of guest speakers, panels, and parties for the second week of its programming at Cannes 2025. Among the headliners are actor Lakeith Stanfield, and filmmakers Kevin Smith, Eugene Jarecki, Charlie Polinger, and Lucy McKendrick. This is in addition to already-announced special guests such as Spike Lee, Vicky Krieps, as well as many others in the days ahead — AmPav will have hosted more than 30 events before the festival wraps.

These events take place at the Roger Ebert Conference Center and are available to American Pavilion members.

“We’re honored so many talented filmmakers, actors, and industry leaders choose to share their stories at The American Pavilion,” said Julie Sisk, American Pavilion’s Founder and President.

See the full lineup of events below.

Saturday, May 17

11:00 Am

Industry In Focus: Build Your Audience, OWN Your Future

As the independent film landscape evolves, more...

The experience of engaging with a film can give you a reference for expressing a personal idea that you didn’t previously have the words for. This transference makes a moot point of all criticisms that could reasonably be leveled at the film. What do flaws matter, when you walk out of the cinema knowing how to finally say something you’ve been yearning to say? “The Plague” is full of ideas executed with varying degrees of resonance. It is not for everyone. But it could mean a lot to people like me.

In his debut feature, filmmaker Charlie Polinger plays with broad riffs on coming-of-age, body horror, and bullying genres before paring these themes back to reveal that two 12-year-old boys — and their contrasting approaches to being different — are really the heartfelt preoccupation of the film.

Set in the sealed world of a water polo training camp for boys...

Cannes is so brat.

On the heels of an electric Coachella performance and a series of roof-raising concerts in Brooklyn, Charli Xcx touched down last night at the Cannes Film Festival where she extended Brat summer, bringing some green to the Croisette courtesy of Magnum.

The well-known ice cream brand, which has long posted up for high-profile activations during the festival, once again took over Palais Stephanie. This year, Magnum dedicated Thursday to a day of “unapologetic indulgence” as a way to celebrate the brand’s offerings and inspire “a new generation of pleasure seekers to ‘own the moment’ their way,” per official intel.

Charli Xcx at the Magnum party wearing Vivienne Westwood archive in a reported homage to a 1995 runway moment that featured a model eating a Magnum ice cream bar.

Charli Xcx owned her moment by causing a stir at the Magnum Cannes beach party where she jumped...

The Plague, a world premiere today in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, may be fiction, but it brought back vivid, not-so-pleasant memories of my days in elementary school and at the Catalina Island Boys Camp, where every 12-year-old in my cabin nicknamed the kid we labeled a chronic liar and outcast as Skag. We didn’t believe this extremely awkward kid about anything including that his father had won four Oscars, as he kept bragging, but the fact is after I got home I discovered it was true. If only we had cell phones and IMDb in those days, Skag might not have become the target of our obsessive bullying.

And then in the fifth grade, my entire class zeroed in on one poor girl named Karen who we nicknamed Ledbutt. We all secretly even cut her photo out of our copy of the class photo,...

Charlie Polinger opens his thrilling and uneasy directorial debut feature The Plague with an arresting sequence that quickly establishes the haunting undertones of this adolescent psychological thriller. The ambient, muffled sound of sloshing water is set against a shot of the bottom of a pool. One by one, swimmers drop into the massive indoor basin. Their spindly legs move awkwardly as they try to get in sync. It’s 2003, and these are the middle-school-aged attendees of the Tom Lerner Water Polo camp. From this angle, Polinger and his cinematographer Steven Breckon make these kids look like phantasmic figures.

An eerie sense of unreality runs through The Plague, which premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Working from a screenplay he also wrote, Polinger uses horror conventions to tease out the psychic terror and intimidation of pre-teen social codes. In the age of renewed questions about and considerations of the manosphere,...

Arab cinema and its representatives are out in full force — and in the spotlight — on the Croisette this year, where the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday.

Case in point: Qatar’s film industry is gearing up for what insiders say will be its biggest-ever presence on the Croisette. The timing seems fitting given that the Arab Cinema Center (Acc) will, during the fest, bestow its sixth Arab Cinema Personality of the Year Award onto Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Qatar’s Doha Film Institute, for her “noteworthy efforts to advance the Qatari, Arab, and global film industries.”

Egypt also has reason to celebrate. It returns to the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard lineup for the first time in nine years, with its “central role in regional production and distribution” as “the Arab world’s largest filmmaking hub” getting the spotlight in a...

Buyers are finally wise to the fact that Cannes is driving the Oscar race and even the specialized box office. Everyone wants to find the next “Anora,” “The Substance,” “Emilia Perez,” or “Anatomy of a Fall.” And more buyers like Mubi, Metrograph, Sideshow, and other upstarts have emerged to take on the likes of Neon and A24, who come to Cannes armed with several titles already set to debut.

Below, we’ve identified 13 movies looking for homes that could be the next awards breakout, including new films from Lynne Ramsay and Richard Linklater and the debuts of Kristen Stewart and Harris Dickinson.

All titles presented alphabetically.

“The Chronology of Water” (Un Certain Regard)

Director: Kristen Stewart

Stars: Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, Jim Belushi, Tom Sturridge

Buzz: Even if it’s in a sidebar for a first-time director, Kristen Stewart’s debut should be a hot ticket with a lot of...

Kristen Stewart, TheWrap’s Cannes magazine cover star, will join us for a live conversation on her daring directorial debut “The Chronology of Water” in TheWrap’s Cannes Conversations series, presented in partnership with Brand Innovators at the Brand Innovators Salon D’Affaires pop-up inside the Armani Caffé on the Croisette.

Taking place May 16–18, the program spotlights top filmmakers, changemakers and creative visionaries at the 77th Cannes Film Festival — in exclusive conversations with TheWrap’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Sharon Waxman and Awards Executive Editor Steve Pond.

Acclaimed actor and first-time feature director Kristen Stewart will join the conversation lineup alongside “Splitsville” filmmakers and stars Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin and producer Emily Korteweg; “The Plague” director and writer Charlie Polinger; and Matthias Schweighöfer, star of “Amrum.” Both “Splitsville” and “Amrum” screen in the Premiere section, while “The Plague” is featured in Un Certain Regard.

Other industry speakers will include Dr.

Joel Edgerton can be seen in the upcoming Train Dreams, which screened at Sundance a few months ago, and Netflix shelled out a massive $16 million for the rights to this elegant slice of early twentieth-century Americana, which could be an awards contender if given the proper build-up. Our Chris Bumbray raved about the film, saying in his review, “It’s the kind of movie that stays with you long after you see it and hopefully will get the kind of build-up it deserves, as it will likely rank among the best films of the year when all is said and done.”

Next, Edgerton has signed on to star in a black comedy with Toni Collette titled Fangs. According to Variety, the film is described as a “thrilling black comedy about privilege, power, and dangerous fantasies.” The film will be helmed by first-time Australian director Lucy McKendrick. McKendrick will also be...

Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton and Golden Globe winner Toni Collette are teaming up for the directorial debut of fellow Australian Lucy McKendrick.

“Fangs” — billed as a “thrilling black comedy about privilege, power, and dangerous fantasies” — is being sold by Cornerstone, which is handling international rights and is co-repping for the U.S. with CAA Media Finance.

The film follows Teddy (McKendrick), the daughter of a private prison mogul, who becomes obsessed with a charismatic inmate, Fangs (Edgerton). Consumed with desire for the self-proclaimed ‘psychopath,’ Teddy risks everything as her life spirals spectacularly out of control.

“Fangs” is produced by Rebecca Yeldham through Ahimsa Films together with Aggregate Films’ Michael Costigan, Charlie Polinger (“The Plague”), and Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian (“Turn Me On”). The film, which is made with major production investment from Screen Australia, will commence production in Sydney in August.

“It’s rare to read a script as entertaining,...

Late Night with the Deviland Barbarian stars David Dastmalchian and Georgina Campbell are taking the lead of The Shepherd. It's an exciting casting announcement for genre fans, given that Late Night with the Devil and Barbarian are considered to be among the best horror movies of recent years.

Per Variety, Campbell and Dastmalchian will be starring in a new horror film, The Shepherd, set to launch at Cannes. The Shepherd is directed by John Hyams from a screenplay by Alexander Gustaveson, and is set to follow a young woman in the midst of labor who just so happens to also be on the run from the abuse that has engulfed her night. While trying to escape in the dead of night in Nevada, her efforts are thrown into chaos by the appearance of a mysterious stranger who harbors an ominous threat of their own.

The Shepherd is being produced under...