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After an Oscar nomination for her short “Chau, Beyond the Lines,” filmmaker Courtney Marsh set about making her feature debut. But getting it in front of an audience? That required some outside the box thinking.
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Hot photos of Oscar Isaac & Jacob Elordi at last night’s Frankenstein premiere. Oscar is more my type, but Jacob is very handsome. [JustJared]
Charli XCX is back in the studio. I’d love it if she went full Kendrick Lamar on Taylor Swift. The material is there, if she so chooses. [Jezebel]
Donald Trump wants the military to “take care” of Democrats. [Buzzfeed]
Anne Hathaway also attended the Balenciaga show. [LaineyGossip]
Charlize Theron ignored Johnny Depp. [Socialite Life]
Emily Blunt is terrible in The Smashing Machine? [Pajiba]
Facts & fiction about Ed Gein. [Hollywood Life]
Beth Broderick wore a bikini. [Seriously OMG]
Greta Lee in Dior at the Tron: Ares premiere. [RCFA]
Why do these women need a merkin? Can’t they just grow it out?? [OMG Blog]
Netflix has unveiled the trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming directorial, Frankenstein. Following a praiseworthy run at the film festivals, the movie will now be available to stream for the audience in the comfort of their homes. As the trailer for the new horror-thriller film was dropped on October 1, the audience got a deeper glimpse into the characters of Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac. Mia Goth will also portray a pivotal role in the film.
The new Guillermo del Toro directorial is about an egoistic yet brilliant scientist, Victor von Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, who brings a dangerous monster, played by Jacob Elordi, to life during an experiment. His daring move, however, causes a havoc-like situation for the creator, as well as the world. The trailer gives the audience a deeper look into Elordi’s character as he transforms into a resurrected monster.
The official synopsis of the movie reads, “Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic tale of a brilliant scientist and the creature his monstrous ambition brings to life.”
Apart from the visuals, the viewers can also hear multiple voice-overs by the Euphoria star. The movie is an adaptation of the epic Mary Shelley novel, and the filmmaker has been working on it for over a decade.
As for Frankenstein’s run at the film festivals, the director, along with his team, premiered the cinematic piece at the Venice Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto Film Festival. The film was announced to be the runner-up at the TIFF for the fest’s coveted People’s Choice Award.
Also read: Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein shakes up Venice Film Festival, gets longest standing ovation so far
While speaking to Variety, Guillermo del Toro revealed that Frankenstein, for him, is about the “human spirit.” He said, “The usual discourse of Frankenstein has to do with science gone awry. But for me, it’s about the human spirit. It’s not a cautionary tale: it’s about forgiveness, understanding, and the importance of listening to each other.”
Frankenstein will be available in select theaters on October 17 and to stream on Netflix from November 7.
Frankenstein will release on Netflix on November 7, 2025.
Frankenstein is directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Yes. Jacob Elordi will play the role of the monster in Frankenstein.
China has chosen Shen Ao’s “Dead to Rights” as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.
Written by Shen Ao, Zhang Ke, and Xu Luyang, and set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and drawing from documented historical events, “Dead to Rights” follows A Chang (Liu Haoran of the “Detective Chinatown” franchise), a postman who assumes the identity of a photo developer to survive the Japanese occupation. Operating from within the walls of a Japanese-controlled studio, he covertly shelters Chinese soldiers and civilians in an act of quiet resistance.
The film is produced by Furuo Qing of “The Wandering Earth” franchise fame. Niu Vision Media and Echelon Studios released the film in North America in August.
“Dead to Rights” opened in China on July 25 and has grossed more than RMB3 billion ($415 million). It led the local box office for 16 consecutive days over the summer.
China has yet to win the international feature Oscar. The country has scored two nominations in the category to date, with Zhang Yimou’s “Ju Dou” (1991) and “Hero” (2003). Hong Kong, which submits separately, has earned three nominations: Zhang Yimou’s “Raise the Red Lantern” (1992), Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” (1994) and Derek Tsang’s “Better Days” (2021).
Last year, China submitted Fang Li’s documentary “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru,” which was disqualified by the Academy for not meeting language requirements.
The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.
Bhutan has chosen “I, The Song,” directed by Dechen Roder, as its submission for the international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards, marking another significant step for the small Himalayan nation’s emerging cinema.
The selection follows the film’s dominant performance at Bhutan’s National Film Awards, where it achieved a near clean sweep, winning most major categories including best film, director, screenplay and acting honors.
In “I, The Song,” a school teacher travels to the south of Bhutan in search of her doppelganger to save her job and reputation. As she becomes entangled in her lookalike’s life, she realizes she might be the only one to solve her doppelganger’s disappearance as well as recover a stolen sacred song.
The film had its world premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where Roder won best director, and its Asia premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. The cast includes Tandin Bidha, Jimmie Wangyal Tshering, Tshering Dorji, Sonam Lhamo and Dorji Wangdi.
This selection represents Bhutan’s fourth official submission to the Academy Awards since the kingdom began participating in 1999. Previous entries include “The Cup” (1999), “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (2020), and “The Monk and The Gun” (2023). “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” became Bhutan’s first film to receive an Oscar nomination.
The selection was made by a committee organized through BICMA (Bhutan Information and Communications Media Authority), the country’s main film supporting agency. The Oscar submission committee itself was established relatively recently in Bhutan, as the country previously lacked formal procedures for Academy Award submissions.
“We’re super thrilled to be given this show of support from the committee,” said Roder. “Of course our Oscars journey likely peaks here, since we have zero budget for campaigns or anything now. Still we are honored and thrilled with the seal of recognition from our own country.”
“I, The Song” received several international grants, including funding from Visions sud est, MPA APSA Film Fund, Sorfond, WCF Europe, CNC ACM, Ciclic, and Mibac. The film is produced by Roder for Dakinny Productions (Bhutan) and Johann Chapelan for Girelle Production (France), with multiple international co-producers including companies from Norway, Taiwan, Italy, and France, alongside local co-producer Samuh, Bhutan’s first streaming platform. The production had no executive producers or equity investors.
Award-winning filmmaker and Academy member Arun Bhattarai, who served on Bhutan’s selection committee, praised the choice: “‘I, The Song’ touched me in a personal way. Dechen has a gift for blending the real and the mysterious, and through that she tells a story that feels deeply Bhutanese.”
Fellow committee member Thaye Lam Tshering added: “This film touches on a very current state of our world – the going viral economy/reality, how the digital affects reality. The film also showcases plenty of Bhutan’s unique culture and tradition.”
Producer Johann Chapelan said: “Today, as women’s rights and fundamental human freedoms are eroded by the rising tide of conservatism and bellicism across the world, this film stands as a reminder of cinema’s power to affirm human dignity.”
Roder expressed hope that the recognition would inspire the broader Bhutanese film community: “I hope this recognition gives our own filmmakers a small push of encouragement and inspiration and also creates a small visibility in the global landscape for Bhutanese art/independent films.”
Diversion is handling international sales for “I, The Song.”
The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.
Australia has chosen Gabrielle Brady‘s climate-focused drama “The Wolves Always Come at Night” as its contender for the best international feature film category at the 2026 Oscars.
The Mongolian-language film, which combines documentary filmmaking techniques with narrative storytelling, centers on herders forced from their land by increasingly destructive weather patterns. Real-life herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg star in the film while also serving as co-writers alongside Brady.
Australian selection committee members unanimously backed the choice, with a spokesperson noting: “The Australian selection committee are unanimous in their recommendation and extremely pleased to put forward ‘The Wolves Always Come at Night’ as Australia’s official submission to the Academy Awards. A striking and original portrait of a family deeply affected by climate change and its devastating effects on their traditional way of life, cultural values and homeland. A significant and brilliantly crafted feature film that everyone in the committee regarded as requisite cinema viewing.”
Brady’s sophomore feature following “Island of the Hungry Ghosts” has built considerable momentum on the festival circuit since its Toronto Film Festival debut in the Platform Competition. The film subsequently screened at several international festivals including London, Zurich, IDFA, San Francisco International, True/False, and Sydney.
The filmmaker said: “My hope is that our film brings audiences closely into the lives of Davaa and Zaya, who face the sudden upheaval of climate displacement, but who also find ways to resist in the face of irreversible change. As our world confronts the growing reality of climate migration, sharing this story on a global stage fills me and our whole team with immense hope and pride.”
The film’s subjects added: “We are very proud that the film has been selected in this way. We hope this will lead to more people to understand the great changes happening in our pastures and landscapes now – with global warming deeply affecting us, and so many others around the world.”
The production represents an unusual three-way international collaboration between Germany, Australia, and Mongolia – reportedly the first of its kind. Rita Walsh (“The Assistant,” “Buoyancy”) produced alongside Chromosom Film’s Julia Niethammer and Guru Media’s Ariunaa Tserenpil.
Screen Australia provided the primary production funding, supplemented by private investment from WeirAnderson Films and Storming Donkey Productions. Additional support came from broadcasters BBC Storyville and SWR Arte, plus distributor Madman Films. Cinephil is handling international sales.
The producing team said: “Our beautiful international collaboration was a deeply important and enriching experience for all of us. Now, being selected by the Australian committee is a hugely special moment for our film team from Australia, but also for all of our team in Mongolia, Germany, Colombia, the U.K., and the U.S. It is such an honor to compete alongside so many other outstanding films.”
The selection continues Australia’s nearly three-decade participation in the international feature category, dating back to 1996. Previous Australian submissions have included indigenous-language films “Ten Canoes” (2006), the shortlisted “Samson and Delilah” (2009), “The Rocket” (2013), and Oscar-nominated “Tanna” (2016).
Brady’s film will also compete in the documentary feature category.
The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.
Much like “Screen Talk” podcast co-host Ryan Lattanzio felt after leaving Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear missile thriller “A House of Dynamite” at Venice — which he rave-reviewed — Anne Thompson left a recent L.A. screening of the movie with her heart pounding in her chest.
Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year. The film stars Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Idris Elba, Jonah Hauer-King, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Tracy Letts, and more — and while its ensemble will likely be left out of acting categories, the movie will play well to Oscar voters and audiences when it drops on Netflix in October. The streamer will give this gripping and intense film — which is a cautionary letter about the nuclear stockpile across the world — a theatrical, qualifying play in theaters starting October 10.
On this week’s “Screen Talk” episode, we also remember the great Robert Redford, the filmmaker and actor and Sundance founder who died at home in Utah at the age of 89 on Tuesday. We each pick our favorite Redford movies: While Anne argues that “Out of Africa,” the 1985 Best Picture-winning romance he directed and starred in with Meryl Streep, has aged better than Alan J. Pakula’s timely (!) journalism thriller “All the President’s Men” from 1976, Ryan advocates for “The Way We Were” as a career-best Redford performance. He starred in that Sydney Pollack-directed film as a WASP opposite Barbra Streisand as a Marxist Jewish woman. From college on, they never could make their relationship work. But Pollack knew how to make commercial appeal and filmmaking artistry work at the same time.
We also discuss the latest, headline-dominating news that Jimmy Kimmel has been pulled from late-night airing by ABC after he made allegedly erroneous comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. What does it mean for free speech on television? It’s not looking good. Much like the situation with Stephen Colbert getting axed from airwaves amid the Paramount-Skydance merger, there’s another combination of mega broadcasting forces at play here: Nexstar, America’s largest local TV broadcasting group, is amid a merger with similarly local-TV-operating Tegna. Both are in the FCC’s pocket, which is in turn in President Trump’s pocket.
This week’s “Screen Talk” also breaks down the major players in the Best International Feature Oscar race. France, due to its production stake in the film, has officially submitted Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winner “It Was Just an Accident” for the Academy Award. The country stands a good chance at a nomination, and possibly a win, after years of being snubbed. France could have won this year for “Emilia Pérez” until, well, we know what happened there. Other strong contenders include “The President’s Cake” from Iraq (a Sony Pictures Classics release), Norway’s “Sentimental Value” (Neon), and Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” (also Neon), though this is a category that is ever hard to predict. The deadline for submissions is October 1.
Listen to the podcast in this week’s episode below.
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Designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, who have served as co-creative directors at Oscar de la Renta for nearly a decade, are leaving the brand, a rep confirmed Wednesday. Puck’s Lauren Sherman was first to report the news. Per Sherman, employees were notified on Wednesday …
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Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent has been submitted as Brazil‘s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th annual Academy Awards.
The film was picked this afternoon by the Brazilian Cinema Academy.
The Secret Agent is led by Wagner Moura and also stars Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, and Hermila Guedes. The film was produced by Emilie Lesclaux. Co-producers include Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz, Fionnuala Jamison, Olivier Barbier, Leontine Petit, Erik Glijnis, Fred Burke, and Sol Bondy.
The film’s synopsis reads: Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son, but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.
The Secret Agent debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it won Best Actor for Moura and Best Director for Filho, who is best known for his last fiction feature, Bacurau. That film debuted in Competition at Cannes in 2018 and won the Jury Prize. His last feature was Retratos Fantasmas, a documentary that debuted at Cannes in 2023.
Neon will release the film in the United States. Mubi has the rights in the UK, Ireland, India, and Latin America, excluding Brazil.
Brazil picked up the Best International Feature Film Oscar last year with Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here. The decision on who would represent Brazil at the 98th Academy Awards has been a hot-button topic in the country. Filho’s The Secret Agent has been the obvious frontrunner with its two Cannes wins. However, Mascaro’s The Blue Trail has been a local box office hit. And Marianna Brennand’s debut feature Manas was given a recent boost when Sean Penn joined the production as an EP alongside Salles and two-time Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and I’m Still Here producer Maria Carlota Bruno.
In a Sunday Instagram post, I’m Still Here star Fernanda Torres praised the strong set of submissions, enthusing: “Brazilian cinema is reborn like a phoenix”. Name-checking The Blue Trail and Manas, Torres said her personal preference was for The Secret Agent.
AMPAS will announce the shortlist for the category on December 16, with nominations to be announced January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15, 2026.