LA Times Today: Cannes Film Festival brings out the stars and early Oscar buzz
So far, the longest standing ovation this year at the Cannes Film Festival has set the record for the longest ever, lasting 12 minutes. For an insider's look at the movies getting the most acclaim plus new red carpet fashion rules Spectrum News 1 anchor Kate Cagle talked to L.A. Times film critic Amy Nicholson who joined her from the French Riviera.
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Johnny Depp makes rare comments about raising his kids Lily-Rose and Jack with ex Vanessa Paradis
Johnny Depp is proud to be a family man. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor, 62, looked back on raising his two kids, Lily-Rose, 26, and Jack, 22, with ex Vanessa Paradis in France in a new interview with The Sunday Times. 'This is a portrait of my daughter, Lily-Rose,' Depp, 62, told the interviewer about the painting hanging behind him. Advertisement 11 Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the 2009 Academy Awards. AP 11 Throwback photos of Lily-Rose Depp and Jack Depp. Lily Rose Depp/ Instagram 'I never finished it,' the actor continued. 'She was ten then, and 25 now.' Advertisement He went on, 'Years get away from us, don't they? I'm of the empty-nest syndrome.' 11 Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard at the Stella McCartney 2016 Fall Presentation party. David X Prutting/BFA/Shutterstock Depp and Paradis, 52, welcomed Lily-Rose in 1999 and Jack in 2002. Lily-Rose is an actress best known for her roles in 'The Idol' and 'Nosferatu,' while Jack lives his life out of the spotlight as a bartender in Paris. The former couple, who dated from 1998 to 2012, raised their kids in an estate near St. Tropez before they later moved to Los Angeles. Advertisement 11 Lily-Rose Depp attends 'The Idol' photocall at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. FilmMagic 11 Lily-Rose Depp attends a 2025 NBA playoffs game in Los Angeles. NBAE via Getty Images When asked what he misses about having his children around, Depp replied: 'Oh man, my kids growing up in the south of France in their youth?' 'I was Papa,' he recalled. 'I cannot tell you how much I loved being Papa. Then, suddenly, Papa was out the window. I was Dad. But Papa was awesome and I'm getting old enough for Papa to possibly come back. Some motherf—er's going to have to call me Papa!' Advertisement 11 Johnny Depp with Vanessa Paradis at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards. Getty Images Depp also explained that he barely spends time in the US anymore and mostly splits his time between the UK and the Bahamas. 'Truly, the first time I felt I had a home was the place in the south of France where Vanessa and I raised the kiddies,' he told the outlet. 'That's the only place that ever felt like home.' 11 Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the 'Sleepy Hollow' premiere in 1999. Getty Images Elsewhere in the interview, Depp made rare comments about his relationship with his ex-wife Amber Heard, three years after their televised defamation trial that culminated with the jury siding with Depp on June 1, 2022. 'So, what were my initial dealings with what we call love? Clearly obtuse,' he said to The Sunday Times. 11 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard at 'The Rum Diary' premiere in London in 2011. UK Press via Getty Images 'And what that means is, if you're a sucker like I am, sometimes you look in a person's eye and see some sadness, some lonely thing and you feel you can help that person,' the 'Sweeney Todd' star continued. Advertisement 'But no good deed goes unpunished, because there are those who, when you try to love and help them, will start to give you an understanding of what that malaise, that perturbance was in their eyes. It manifests itself in other ways,' Depp added. 'And the interesting thing is that it is merely a sliver of my life I have chosen to explore.' Depp and Heard, 39, split in 2016 after less than two years of marriage. 11 Johnny Depp in court during his defamation trial against Amber Heard. AFP via Getty Images 11 Amber Heard after losing her case against Johnny Depp. Getty Images Advertisement The 'Alice in Wonderland' actor sued Heard over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed that didn't name him but indirectly accused him of domestic abuse. The jury ultimately awarded Depp $10.35 million in damages, while Heard won $2 million in her countersuit. The 'Aquaman' star filed to appeal the verdict in the case, but she later withdrew and then settled. She agreed to pay Depp $1 million. 11 Amber Heard and Johnny Depp attend The Art of Elysium 2016 HEAVEN Gala presented by Vivienne Westwood. Getty Images for Art of Elysium Speaking about the accusations and the trial with The Sunday Times, Depp said: 'Look, it had gone far enough. I knew I'd have to semi-eviscerate myself. Everyone was saying, 'It'll go away!' But I can't trust that. What will go away? The fiction pawned around the f—ing globe? No, it won't.' Advertisement 'If I don't try to represent the truth it will be like I've actually committed the acts I am accused of, and my kids will have to live with it,' he continued. Depp added, 'So the night before the trial in Virginia I didn't feel nervous. If you don't have to memorize lines, if you're just speaking the truth? Roll the dice.'
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
A changing China, captured in 25 years of outtakes, emerges in the poetic ‘Caught by the Tides'
Dispatches from northern China, Jia Zhangke's movies constitute their own cinematic universe. Repeatedly returning to themes of globalization and alienation, the 55-year-old director has meticulously chronicled his country's uneasy plunge into the 21st century as rampant industrialization risks deadening those left behind. But his latest drama, 'Caught by the Tides,' which opens at the Frida Cinema today, presents a bold, reflexive remix of his preoccupations. Drawing from nearly 25 years of footage, including images from his most acclaimed films, Jiahas crafted a poignant new story with an assist from fragments of old tales. He has always been interested in how the weight of time bears down on his characters — now his actors age in front of our eyes. When 'Caught by the Tides' premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival, critics leaned on a handy, if somewhat inaccurate, comparison to describe Jia's achievement: 'Boyhood,' which followed a young actor over the course of 12 years, a new segment of the picture shot annually. But Richard Linklater preplanned his magnum opus. Jia, on the other hand, approached his film more accidentally, using the pandemic lockdown as an excuse to revisit his own archives. 'It struck me that the footage had no linear, cause-and-effect pattern,' Jia explained in a director's statement. 'Instead, there was a more complex relationship, not unlike something from quantum physics, in which the direction of life is influenced and ultimately determined by variable factors that are hard to pinpoint.' The result is a story in three chapters, each one subtly building emotionally from the last. In the first, it is 2001, as Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao) lives in Datong, where she dates Bin (Li Zhubin). Early on, Qiaoqiao gleefully sings with friends, but it will be the last time we hear her voice. It's a testament to Zhao's arresting performance that many viewers may not notice her silence. She's so present even without speaking, her alert eyes taking in everything, her understated reactions expressing plenty. Young and with her whole life ahead of her, Qiaoqiao longs to be a singer, but her future is short-circuited by Bin's text announcing that he's leaving to seek better financial opportunities elsewhere. He promises to send word once he's established himself, but we suspect she may never see this restless, callous schemer again. Not long after, Bin ghosts Qiaoqiao, prompting her to journey after him. 'Caught by the Tides' richly rewards viewers familiar with Jia's filmography with scenes and outtakes from his earlier movies. Zhao, who in real life married Jia more than a decade ago, has been a highlight of his movies starting with his 2000 breakthrough 'Platform,' and so when we see Qiaoqiao at the start of 'Caught by the Tides,' we're actually watching footage shot around that time. (Jia's 2002 drama 'Unknown Pleasures' starred Zhao as a budding singer named Qiaoqiao. Li also appeared in 'Unknown Pleasures,' as well as subsequent Jia pictures.) But the uninitiated shouldn't feel intimidated to begin their Jia immersion here. Those new to his work will easily discern the film's older footage, some of it captured on grainy DV cameras, while newer material boasts the elegant, widescreen compositions that have become his specialty. 'Caught by the Tides' serves as a handy primer on Jia's fascination with China's political, cultural and economic evolution, amplifying those dependable themes with the benefit of working across a larger canvas of a quarter century. Still, by the time Qiaoqiao traverses the Yangtze River nearby the Three Gorges Dam — a controversial construction project that imperiled local small towns and provided the backdrop for Jia's 2006 film 'Still Life' — the director's fans may feel a bittersweet sense of déjà vu. We have been here before, reminded of his earlier characters who similarly struggled to find love and purpose. The film's second chapter, which takes place during 2006, highlights Qiaoqiao's romantic despair and, separately, Bin's growing desperation to make a name for himself. (This isn't the first Jia drama in which characters dabble in criminal activity.) By the time we arrive at the finale, set during the age of COVID anxiety, their inevitable reunion results in a moving resolution, one that suggests the ebb and flow of desire but, also, the passage of time's inexorable erosion of individuals and nations. Indeed, it's not just Zhao and Li who look different by the end of 'Caught by the Tides' but Shanxi Province itself — now a place of modern supermarkets, sculpted walkways and robots. Unchecked technological advancement is no longer a distant threat to China but a clear and present danger, dispassionately gobbling up communities, jobs and Qiaoqiao's and Bin's dreams. When these two former lovers see each other again, a lifetime having passed on screen, they don't need words. In this beautiful summation work, Jia has said it all.
Axios
2 days ago
- Axios
At Cannes Lions, everyone is trying to sell your attention
CANNES, France — The doubling of global ad revenue to $1 trillion over the past decade has ushered in a new wave of companies eager to sell consumer attention. Why it matters: This week's Cannes Lions demonstrated that the annual festival for creativity and advertising has quickly become one of the most important global convening spaces not just for brands and agencies, but for celebrities, athletes, influencers and creatives looking to tap into that growth. State of play: Dozens of Hollywood stars and athletes made appearances, such as Jason and Travis Kelce, Ryan Reynolds, Reese Witherspoon, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Ilona Maher, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Carmelo Anthony, Serena Williams and Jordan Chiles. So did influencers and podcasters popular among Gen Z, such as Jake Shane, Alix Earle, Alex Cooper and Anna Sitar. Big tech firms and agencies looking to curry business with major advertisers mostly covered travel and accommodations in exchange for stars showing up at their venues. Zoom in: Big Tech's dominance was on full display at Cannes Lions this year, where the only firms that could afford the expensive, high-profile beach spaces were companies like Meta, Spotify, Google/YouTube, Pinterest and Yahoo, alongside global ad agencies such as WPP, Omnicom and Stagwell. Traditional publishers, such as Warner Bros. Discovery, the New York Times, Hearst and Axios, were mostly relegated to smaller boats that dock in the nearby port, and cheaper hotel suites and restaurants across the street. Zoom out: The millions of dollars spent by companies to build out extravagant programming stages and host concerts and parties on the beach or nearby locations has made Cannes Lions an even bigger spectacle than the annual Cannes Film Festival, which takes place in the same location a few weeks before. "It's more expansive in terms of who it interacts with," United Talent Agency CEO David Kramer told Axios in a stage interview Monday. "I mean, Cannes Film Festival obviously is a very special, special place, but it's very specific to movies. That's it ... I do think Cannes Lions is a more expansive place. ... It's pretty different than it probably was a decade ago for sure." How we got here: The massive growth in advertising over the past 10 years can mostly be attributed to the launch of the smartphone, which allowed social media and search companies to start selling a lot more inventory across their mobile apps. Over the past few years, other types of companies with scaled audiences, such as grocers, retailers and travel firms, have similarly built out advertising businesses as a way to make more money and upsell their existing customers. That trend has transformed the ad industry, shifting sales power from traditional publishers to technology firms. Case in point: In 2011, the top five advertisers globally were mostly U.S. publishers: Google, Viacom and CBS, News Corp and Fox, Comcast, and Disney, per WPP Media. Today, the top five advertisers globally are all tech firms and two are Chinese: Google, Meta, ByteDance, Amazon and Alibaba. Between the lines: Brands that have traditionally attended the festival to explore places to spend their ad dollars are now becoming ad platforms themselves. United Airlines, for example, handed out drinks to customers boarding its flights from Newark to Nice last weekend, celebrating the one-year anniversary of its new ad network, Kinective Media, at Cannes. "You've got to have scale," United MileagePlus CEO Richard Nunn told Axios in an interview. "We flew 174 million people in 2024, so we've certainly got scale. The quality of audience is obviously there. By definition, they're not bots. They're real people." Nunn also noted that the plethora of screens that a customer interacts with throughout their flying journey — from the app on their mobile device to the screens in the lounge, at the gate and on the plane — provides the company with a "multi-channel" digital platform to reach people with marketing and advertising. By the numbers: Despite the fact that the Cannes Film Festival is so prominently referenced in pop culture, it has a similar number of delegates (15,000 in 2024) as Cannes Lions (13,000 in 2024). What to watch: While the festival this year felt livelier and more celebratory compared to the few years following the pandemic, uncertainty around how AI will shape the industry's future loomed large, especially for publishers already struggling to compete with Big Tech. "The future of the web is going to be more and more like AI, and that means that people are going to be reading the summaries of your content, not the original content," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince told Axios in an interview.
