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Turns out, Yellowstone didn’t end because folks were done with it, it ended despite nearly everyone wanting more. Luke Grimes, who played Kayce Dutton across five explosive seasons, dropped the truth bomb last month: the cast, the studio, and even the network weren’t on board with Taylor Sheridan’s decision to wrap it up in 2024.

“I don’t think the fans wanted it to be over. A lot of us actors kind of didn’t want it to be over, and the studio and network certainly didn’t want it to be over,” Grimes told People in a report published on June 24.

You see, Yellowstone had everything going for it – a loyal fanbase, strong viewership, and a whole franchise orbiting around it. But a messy behind-the-scenes standoff (including Kevin Costner’s exit) sent the show into hiatus in 2023. When it returned in late 2024, we only got six final episodes.

Despite various voices from left and right, Japanese cinema seems to be a in a good place, particularly during the last few years, and Nippon Connection proved the fact quite eloquently, with a truly brilliant selection for its 2025 editions. Either comedies or dramas, anime or shorts or documentaries, all categories included a number of movies of quality, in a testament to the job done by the programming team. The restrospectives and the screening of movies like Mizoguchi’s “The Water Magician” with accompaniment by benshi Ichiro Kataoka and live music by Günter A. Buchwald were the cherry on top. The audience filled the screening rooms, with them particularly enjoying two comedies, “Kaiju Guy“, which eventually got the audience award, and “Hotspring Shark Attack”.

Check our full coverage in the articles below.

1. Short Film Review: Confession (2025) by Mai Nakanishi

Mai Nakanishi crafts a haunting work that excels particularly in its atmosphere.

The concept of absent or inadequate parenting is a prevalent one in Japanese cinema, particularly in stories about youth, where parents often shine through their absence. Yoshihiko Taniguchi takes this idea further in a style that recalls both “Nobody Knows” and “Never Ending Blue,” landing somewhere between the two in terms of aesthetics. “Happy Life” premiered last year at Skip City, where it won both the Skip City Award and the Special Jury Prize.

Happy Life is screening at Nippon Connection

After the sudden death of their mother, junior high school student Kiki and her siblings see their once-happy home life fall apart. Their father, Kensuke, consumed by grief, loses his job and sinks deeper into depression, leaving Kiki to hold the family together. Balancing part-time work and caring for her younger brother and sister, she struggles to make ends meet. A chance encounter with her former homeroom teacher, Ms.

On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt am Main will open its doors for the 25th time! For six days, the world’s largest festival for Japanese cinema will present a varied program with over 100 current short and feature-length films as well as around 70 cultural events, including concerts, workshops, lectures, and exhibitions. With over 10,000 tickets already sold in advance and numerous events sold out, as well as around 200 filmmakers and artists attending, another record-breaking festival appears to be in store. The full program and tickets are available at NipponConnection.com.

“What began as a student project in 2000 has developed into an internationally recognized meeting place for Japanese film and culture over the last 25 years. We are celebrating this anniversary with a program that impressively reflects the diversity, creativity and relevance of Japanese cinema.” – Marion Klomfass (Festival Director)

The festival will open on May 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Young and the Restless (Y&r) spoilers suggest some interesting casting changes on the show fans need to be aware of, both for the week of September 23-27, and beyond.

How will a new character change the face of Genoa City moving forward, and what are some familiar faces set to appear in the days ahead? All the details are below!

The Young And the Restless Spoilers – Storyline Climax Brings Character Returns (& Exits?)

Y&R spoilers for the week of September 23-27 note that fans should brace themselves for the climax to the Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) storyline.

This means Y&r viewers will see more of the Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby) hallucination next week, starting as of Tuesday, September 24 until Thursday, September 26, as Sharon fights the anger and resentment she has toward Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei) and potentially allows her dark side to emerge.

Cameron will continue to encourage Sharon to attack Daniel; however,...

Sunday, the directorial debut of Uzbekistan’s Shokir Kholikov, has claimed the grand prize at Japan’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival.

Indian thriller Stolen, which debuted at last year’s Venice, picked up best director for Karan Tejpal and the audience award while Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s Happy Life, which received its world premiere at the festival in Japan, won the special jury prize and Skip City Award.

Scroll down for full list of winners

The awards were presented at a closing ceremony of the 21st edition of Skip City, which ran July 13-21 in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.

The grand...

The world premiere of Takeshi Kushida’s Acting For Beginners has been set as the opening film of Japan’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival (July 13-21), which has also revealed its international and Japanese competition titles.

It marks a return to the festival for Japanese filmmaker Kushida, whose psychological thriller My Mother’s Eyes premiered in competition at Skip City last year, having won the festival’s top award in 2020 with Woman Of The Photographs.

Kushida’s latest centres on a man who moves between dreams and reality against the backdrop of an abandoned factory where time seems to have stopped.

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival which started in 2004 in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, has been held every year as a “gateway for emerging talent” centered on the International Competition and the Japanese Film Competition (features and shorts). The festival launched the careers of Kazuya Shiraishi (Lesson in Murder), Ryota Nakano (The Asadas), Shinichiro Ueda (One Cut of the Dead), Shinzo Katayama (Missing) and many other directors who are leading the Japanese film industry as top runners and whose new movies audiences are looking forward to seeing.

The 21st edition will be held both at theaters and online as a hybrid festival again.

On Friday, June 7th, we held a press conference to announce the full line-up consisting of the titles of the whole line-up. This year's festival will open with Acting for Beginners, directed by Takeshi Kushida, who won the 2020 Skip City Award for Woman of the Photographs, the nomination...

Lost star-turned-Marvel superhero Evangeline Lilly is calling it quits: The actress announced Monday that she is “stepping away” from acting… at least for now.

“I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision,” she captioned on Instagram alongside a video from 2006 where she’s seen sharing her dreams for the future. “Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings. Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment. I might return to Hollywood one day,...

Lost and Marvel Cinematic Universe actress Evangeline Lilly is “stepping away” from Hollywood to live out her vision of early retirement. The 44-year-old film and television star is excited to embrace a new chapter of her life. However, she says she might return to Hollywood one day if the right opportunity comes calling.

Lilly announced her departure from the limelight via Instagram, saying she’s joyful about her decision and feels like she’s exactly where she belongs. The post includes 20-year-old footage of Lilly saying she’d like to retire at a young age and a video of the great Maya Angelou articulating the act of moving on from something you love to do something more fulfilling with the time you have left.

“I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision,” Lilly wrote to her fans on Instagram. “Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings.

Young and the Restless (Y&R) spoilers for Monday, May 6 indicate some interesting plot twists in the land of Genoa City.

One dad grills a potential suitor for their daughter, while a character sense their “friend” wants more, and one unhappy wife will let her voice be heard.

What kind of drama should viewers expect during Monday’s show? Time to find out!

The Young And The Restless Spoilers – The Moustache Grills Cole Howard

Y&R spoilers for Monday, May 6 hint that Victor Newman (Erice Braeden) may sense something has changed between Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) and Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck).

Trending Now! The Young And The Restless News: Get To Know Melissa Ordway A Little Bit Better

During this week’s preview video, a scene is shown where Cole and The Moustache are at the Newman Ranch, and Victor asks if things have changed between him and his daughter.

Michael M. Bilandic's Project Space 13 is exclusively showing on Mubi in many countries starting December 10, 2021 in the series The New Auteurs, as well as in the series Anarchy in NYC: Michael M. Bilandic's Streetwise Cinema.Project Space 13When it comes to contemporary cinema, there arises the question of how to depict the breakneck present—in particular, a volatile and fast-paced internet culture indebted to the techno-apocalyptic strides of the 21st century. Some films confront it obliquely with the occasional meme reference or on-screen text, while others avoid it entirely by setting themselves in a world free of automated contrivance. A third increasingly prevalent tactic is to augur the dangers of “the online.” Films concerned with social media, in particular, almost uniformly denounce such platforms as soulless and exploitative. The films of Michael M. Bilandic offer a worthwhile alternative to this nihilism by embracing the Internet—and even the Post-Pandemic—Age with open arms.

"What just happened? Guys, what just happened?" Circle Collective has unveiled the official trailer for an indie film titled Project Space 13, an experimental, artistic feature from filmmaker Michael M. Bilandic, of the cult comedies Jobe'z World, Hellaware and Happy Life previously. An emerging performance artist finally gets a coveted show at a Manhattan gallery But right as he begins his durational, provocative piece, the entire city shuts down for Covid-19. Unswayed, he locks himself in a white cube space to continue his performance for an audience of none. "Project Space 13 is an irreverent satire of upper class dilettantism, desperate institutions and rampant paranoia in hyper uncertain times." Apparently most of the film is about the conversations he has with the security guards. A bit strange and clearly experimental, but perhaps that's the point! Starring Keith Poulson as Nate, Hunter Zimny, Jason Grisell, Theodore Bouloukos, and Kyle Brown. Not sure if...

Exclusive: New York-based consulting and distribution agency Circle Collective, in partnership with Mubi, is set to release feature Project Space 13, a pandemic-inspired satirical comedy whose team includes DoP Sean Price Williams (Good Time).

The film is the fourth feature by Michael M. Bilandic reuniting cast members from his previous comedies Jobe’z World, Hellaware and Happy Life. Craig Butta (The Birthday Cake) and Daniel Weissbluth (Hellaware) produce.

The movie follows Nate, an emerging performance artist, who finally gets a coveted show at a Manhattan gallery, but right when he begins his provocative piece, the entire city shuts down for Covid-19. Unswayed, he locks himself in the white cube space to continue his performance for an audience of none. As tensions flare outside, the gallery hires private security to watch over him and his art. Over the course of one night, two armed guards and Nate argue about everything, reveal their darkest secrets,...

We Summon The Darkness will be available on Digital HD and on Video on Demand this Friday, April 10, 2020.

Ig Live is hosting an Ig Live Q&a with the star of the film herself – Alexandra Daddario – @alexandradaddario – 9 p.m. Et / 6 p.m. Pt also on Friday, April 10. Check out this trailer:

On the way to a heavy metal concert, Alexis (Alexandra Daddario) and two girlfriends hear a news report of a local murder believed to be tied to a series of satanic killings. After the show, the girls invite three guys to join them at the estate owned by Alexis’s father, a fire-and-brimstone preacher (Johnny Knoxville). What starts as a party suddenly turns dark and deadly in this devilishly entertaining thriller.

We Summon The Darkness stars Alexandra Daddario, Johnny Knoxville, Keean Johnson, Maddie Hasson, Logan Miller, Amy Forsyth, and Austin Swift and is directed by Marc Meyers

Alexandra Daddario garnered critical,...

Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – three of the biggest new IPs set to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe come Phase 4.

Put together with hugely anticipated sequels like Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and it makes for quite a tantalizing future for the franchise, though you’d be forgiven for wondering why Ant-Man 3 was totally absent from both Marvel’s Sdcc and D23 presentations.

Admittedly, it could just be because the studio isn’t ready to announce the threequel yet, or maybe the Powers That Be are holding fire until Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly can clear out their schedules. After all, we know that the former has signed up for Ghostbusters 2020, and may not be available until early 2021. Not to mention that Lilly has two sizeable projects – namely Dreamland and Happy Life – on her plate as well.

Exclusive: Jaeden Martell, who is having a busy weekend between It Chapter Two opening and Knives Out making its world premiere here at Tiff, has just joined the Highland Film Group feature Tunnels opposite Oscar winner Susan Sarandon.

Directed by John Krokidas (Kill Your Darlings) and written by Victoria Rose, the pic is set years after a school shooting and follows a grandmother (Sarandon) who raised the shooter. She finds an unlikely but wonderful friendship in a bullied teenage boy (Martell) whose brother was one of the victims. Through each other, these two outsiders find redemption against the backdrop of a town still grieving. With their strength and ability to forgive, they help one another heal.

Colin Bates and Michael Jefferson (Son of the South) will produce under the Lucidity Entertainment banner (Southland) alongside Circle of Confusion’s Matt Smith (Maleficent) and Brad Mendelsohn (Daisy Jones and the...

Known by many viewers for his role as Ragnar on the History channel series Vikings, Travis Fimmel is stepping out of medieval times and into the near future with a starring role in Zone 414, the feature film directorial debut from Andrew Baird that focuses on a mystery in a city of humanoid robots.

Press Release: Los Angeles – Highland Film Group announced today that Travis Fimmel has signed on to star in Andrew Baird’s feature film directorial debut, Zone 414. From a script penned by Bryan Edward Hill, the sci-fi thriller will be produced by Baird, 23ten’s Martin Brennan, source | management + production’s Jib Polhemus, and Deborah Shaw-Kolar with executive producers Mark Huffam and Bryan Edward Hill. Highland Film Group is handling worldwide sales, which will launch at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

Set in the near future, Zone 414 is a colony of state-of-the-art humanoid robots. When its creator’s daughter goes missing,...

Earlier this year it was reported that Kevin James will star as a "merciless" convict who invades a lake home in the action thriller Becky, the latest film from directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion. The home invasion movie will pit James against Lulu Wilson as the teenage title character, and now Joel McHale has joined the cast as Wilson's father, along with additional cast members Amanda Brugel and Robert Maillet.

Press Release: Los Angeles – Highland Film Group announced today that Emmy® nominated Joel McHale, Amanda Brugel and Robert Maillet have joined Kevin James and Lulu Wilson in Becky. From directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion, the action-thriller is produced by Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman and Russ Posternak of Yale Productions alongside Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz of BoulderLight Pictures. Highland Film Group is handling international sales, which will continue at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. UTA Independent Film Group...

Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – three of the biggest new IPs joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe during Phase 4.

Put together with big-name sequels in the vein of Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and it makes for quite a tantalizing slate, though you’d be forgiven for wondering why Ant-Man 3 was totally absent from Marvel’s Sdcc presentation.

Chances are Kevin Feige and Co. just aren’t ready to announce a bona fide new installment in the Ant-Man series, or the Powers That Be are holding fire until such time as Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly have enough time on their hands to film another McU sequel. Let’s not forget that Rudd has signed up for Ghostbusters 2020, and may not be available until early 2021, while Lilly has two sizeable projects – namely Dreamland and Happy Life – still in the pipeline.

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that San Andreas and True Detective star Alexandra Daddario is set to star in Highland Film Group’s comedy Happy Life opposite Evangeline Lilly and Ike Barinholtz.

Pic reps the directorial debut of Mindy Project and Blockers producer David Stassen which he’s also writing. Happy Life follows new mom Allison Beck (Lilly) who suspects her workaholic husband Eli (Barinholtz) is having an affair with an Instagram star (Daddario). One mistake after another leads her into the arms of a younger man as she struggles to come to terms with her life decisions as she strays farther from her perfect, responsible super-mom self. Production starts in September.

Daddario can next be seen in CBS’s fall premiere series Why Women Kill opposite Ginnifer Goodwin and Lucy Liu. She’s also starring in Highland’s Marc Meyer thriller We Summon the Darkness opposite Johnny Knoxville. Daddario also...

Highland Film Group represents international rights; production to commence June 24.

Tony Jaa, Frank Grillo, JuJu Chan, Rick Yune and Marie Avgeropoulos have joined Nicolas Cage and Alain Moussi on the martial arts thriller Jiu Jitsu.

Production is scheduled to begin on June 24 and Highland Film Group represents international rights on the story about an ancient order of elite fighters who battle a vicious alien every six years to protect earth.

When celebrated war hero Jake is defeated by the alien Brax, the future of humanity hangs in the balance, until a team lead by Wylie (Cage) rescues Jake, now suffering from amnesia,...