Entertainment News Roundup: Community-led Lakata film 'War Pony' debuts at Cannes; 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-Jae steps behind the camera for 'Hunt' and more

Lee's directorial and screenwriting debut received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is screening out of competition.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 23-05-2022 10:41 IST | Created: 23-05-2022 10:32 IST
Entertainment News Roundup: Community-led Lakata film 'War Pony' debuts at Cannes; 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-Jae steps behind the camera for 'Hunt' and more
Lee Jung-Jae Image Credit: Wikipedia

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Community-led Lakata film 'War Pony' debuts at Cannes

Set on the Pine Ridge Reservation, “War Pony” began as a project among friends and over seven years grew into a community effort, said directors Gina Gammell and Riley Keough, who presented their directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Cast entirely with first-time actors and set in the sovereign lands of the Oglala Lakota in South Dakota, the movie follows the setbacks and triumphs of 12-year-old Matho, played by LaDainian Crazy Thunder, and Bill, 23, played by Jojo Bapteise Whiting.

'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-Jae steps behind the camera for 'Hunt'

"Squid Game" star Lee Jung-Jae flexes his filmmaking muscles with "Hunt", a spy thriller he wrote, directed, produced and also acts in. Lee's directorial and screenwriting debut received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is screening out of competition.

Ali Abbasi introduces ‘Persian noir’ to Cannes with 'Holy Spider'

Iranian director Ali Abbasi premiered “Holy Spider” at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, the tale of a serial killer in the holy city Mashhad — based on a true story — dubbing the genre “Persian noir”. “This is a film noir. This is a Persian noir,” Abbasi told Reuters.

Ukrainian director denounces Russian presence at Cannes

Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk criticized the Cannes Film Festival for including a Russian director in its line-up, as the debut filmmaker's "Pamfir" was shown at Cannes' Directors Fortnight on Saturday. The festival has banned official Russian delegations from attending, but Russian dissident Kirill Serebrennikov, who has spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine, premiered his in-competition film "Tchaikovsky's Wife" at the festival on Wednesday.

Box Office: 'Downton Abbey 2' Starts Strong With $16 Million as 'Doctor Strange' Rules Again

The Crawley family still has the royal touch at the box office. "Downton Abbey: A New Era," a sequel to the big-screen continuation of the beloved British television show, captured $16 million from 3,815 North American theaters in its domestic debut. Though down slightly from initial projects, those returns mark an encouraging start at a time when older audiences have been selective about going to the movies. There had been understandable concern about the second "Downton Abbey" in terms of commercial prospects, and not because long-time fans of the series had tired of devouring the onscreen palace intrigue and class-system drama. Other than "House of Gucci" and James Bond sequel "No Time to Die," many pandemic-era films catering to adults (such as Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" remake" and the Will Smith sports drama "King Richard") struggled to sell tickets despite positive reviews. So it's no small feat that nearly 50% of ticket buyers for "Downton Abbey: A New Era" a feel-good story set in a familiar franchise, were 55 and older.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Give Feedback