Tag: Entertainment – Variety

Fast-growing European studio Anton Studios is taking a minority position as a partner and investor in The Creatives. The group, first founded as a long-term strategic partnership in 2021, is moving into a solidified company, with a jointly owned holding structure. The new model will see The Creatives become the first European-rooted producer-owned group of its scale in film and television, with Romain Bessi remaining as CEO.

The Creatives consists of some of the leading production companies in Europe, as well as one each in Israel and the U.S. They are Haut et Court and Unité in France, Komplizen and Razor Film in Germany, the U.K.’s Good Chaos, Lemming Film in Netherlands and Belgium, Maipo Film in Norway, Spiro in Israel and the U.S.’s Masha.

Led by Sébastien Raybaud, Anton’s projects include “In Love,” starring George Clooney and Annette Bening; “Pumping Black,” starring Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman; and the crime thriller “My Darling California,” featuring Jessica Chastain, Chris Evan, Chris Pine, Mikey Madison and Don Cheadle.

Anton’s investment in The Creatives reinforces the financial strength of the group and provides additional access to equity financing. The Creatives will be formally created at closing, following technical steps expected to take a few months.

Bessi brings three decades of experience in production, distribution and broadcasting, having built two international studios in Newen Studios/Studio TF1, which he led as chairman and CEO within the TF1 Group until 2024, and Studiocanal, where he served as group COO. Prior to this, he served as CFO for the Canal+ channels in France and CEO for Canal+ in the Nordics.

Speaking with Variety, Bessi said this consolidated company was “always the point.”

“Five years ago, all of these producers decided that, because they didn’t want anyone to buy them out and they wanted to share their expertise and contacts, they would create a form of club, where they would informally meet every month and co-produce together,” he added. “They have now been doing this very successfully for years, and they decided that, because it was working so well, they would become a group.”

“But they didn’t know how to do it, which is when they reached out to me,” he said. “Of course, creating a group costs money, so during the last year and a half I was structuring the group and looking for an investor to bring some money into the holding company.”

Bessi said it took over a year to find Anton. The Creatives had several other offers, but they had a number of strict demands for whoever would come in as a financial partner. “We wanted a European investor, not only because of the perception, but also because of regulation. They had to be European; they had to be someone who understands the industry—meaning that you can have good years and bad years, and you need to take some risk. That was very important.”

Finding the investor was “not so easy,” because the model built by The Creatives is “very new in the industry.” All 17 producers in the group are shareholders and control the group. “It’s very unique. Usually, you have one person or company who gets the shares and the control. Because of that, some investors were a bit concerned about the governance of the group,” Bessi said.

“We wanted someone who would agree to take a minority stake and would not require distribution or sales,” he added. “Then, of course, there was a valuation, which was important for the producers, and we wanted someone who would respect that valuation. Lastly, we needed someone we knew, and I knew Anton very well because it was created 15 years ago, to implement a state financing deal for Studiocanal. At that time, I was the CEO.”

In the end, the producers decided in favor of Anton. Now, all agreements are signed, and The Creatives are “ready to go.”

By “ready to go,” Bessi means realizing the group’s vision of becoming the leading “one-stop-shop” production company in Europe for major distributors and streamers. The exec sees The Creatives as the place where these companies can have access to “elevated content and festival movies and series.”

“When they come to us, they suddenly have access to many talents, many projects out of many European countries,” he said. “It offers a wide diversity of very good foreign content. We have the scale of the group now. It’s strong enough and financially reliable, so it can be a very interesting one-stop shop for major companies instead of them going country by country to work with these leading producers.”

“Our goal is to accelerate and enhance the model so we can allow the producers to develop the project they want to develop, be ready, take more risks, gather the best talent and use each other’s connections,” he emphasized. “We want these people to do what they do best: to produce and attract talent.”

Work produced by The Creatives has drawn over 140 awards at major festivals and awards ceremonies worldwide, including a Cannes Palme d’Or and a Venice Grand Jury Prize, alongside multiple Academy Award nominations and wins.

Signature lead-produced titles include Komplizen’s Oscar-nominated “Toni Erdmann”; Haut et Court’s Palme d’Or winner “The Class”; Good Chaos’ “Sisu” films, which both topped global streaming charts; Spiro’s Venice Grand Jury Prize winner “Foxtrot”; Razor Film’s Oscar-nominated “Waltz With Bashir”; Maipo Film’s Canneseries winner “A Better Man”; Unité’s multi-César winner “Souleymane’s Story”; Masha’s hit series “False Flag”; and Lemming Film’s six-time Dutch Academy Award winner “Sweet Dreams.”

Niu Niu’s “Final Payment” and Dong Jie’s “Zoom In, Zoom Out” each won two prizes at the 10th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival in China.

“Final Payment,” from Shanxi-born Niu, won the Fei Mu Award for best film, along with best actor for Niu’s father, Niu Jianrong. “Zoom In, Zoom Out” took the Fei Mu jury award and the Cinephilia Critics’ Award.

The best film prize carries RMB1 million ($149,000), split equally between the director, for the development of their next film, and the film’s China distributor.

“Tearing through a very small rip, the film leads us into a reality and emotional landscape so expansive, where we sigh, lament, and reflect. The director’s approach is concise, unpretentious, and masterful, earning the wholehearted recognition of the entire jury,” the jury said.

The film follows a homeowner locked in a standoff with his contractor over the last payment for a renovation, a dispute drawn from Niu Jianrong’s own experience.

Niu Jianrong, an experienced TV and film director, made his debut as a lead actor in the film. Along with best actress winner Sun Yi, he received a Louis Vuitton accessories box engraved with the festival logo.

“You jury’s bold for giving me this award,” Niu Jianrong said on stage. “It was such torture, my director-son trained me really hard. In real life, I’m my son’s father; but in front of the camera, he’s my father.”

Accepting the jury award, Dong said the team approached the film “with absolute purity of intent, which allows me to fully and unreservedly embrace the joy of making it. It’s the joy of conquering something immensely difficult alongside dear friends, the joy of connecting with audiences after the premiere, and, above all, the joy of simply being here, in this very moment.”

Xu Zao won the Unitree best director award for his debut animated feature “Light Pillar,” which carries RMB200,000 ($29,800) toward his next film. The jury cited his “strong aesthetic awareness” and “astute yet warm approach,” which “encourages everyone to hold up the beacon and keep moving forward even on a cold night.”

Sun won best actress for Wang Xiaozhen’s “A Joke.” The jury said she “delivers a delicate performance with restraint, portraying the regret and growth within an intimate relationship.”

The Fei Mu jury also gave a special mention to Cai Chengjie’s “Suzhou Quartet,” produced by Huang Bo, “for its bravery, for its belief that the movie screen is still vast and open to new adventures and new forms of storytelling.”

In the Crouching Tigers international competition, Rafiki Fariala’s “Congo Boy” won the Roberto Rossellini Award for best film and $20,000, split between the director’s next film and the film’s China distributor. The jury cited its “simple style that echoes the great tradition of neorealism.” Fariala, who was not in Pingyao, sent a video thanking the festival and closed it by singing a folk song.

Rafael Manuel won best director and $10,000 for “Filipiñana,” which Jia Zhangke executive produced and Unknown Pleasures acquired for Greater China.

Lenti Liang’s “Our Secrets” won the Fei Mu best short film award and RMB50,000 ($7,450), sponsored by Nowness of Meta Media. On stage, Liang said the film drew on her own childhood trauma, and that after her mother saw it in Pingyao, the two talked it through and she had made peace with it.

Wang Wenting’s “Black Goat” won the Unitree best student short film award in the Pingyao Corner section, with RMB30,000 ($4,470) and a Unitree robot dog.

Earlier in the festival, Ann Hui received the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award. Pingyao also honored Marco Müller and Han Sanping with the International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award, and producer Tang Yan, founder of Hello Group, which owns social app Momo, with the 10th Anniversary Award.

The full list of winners:

Fei Mu Awards – Hidden Dragons
Best Film: “Final Payment,” dir. Niu Niu
Unitree Best Director: Xu Zao, “Light Pillar”
Best Actress: Sun Yi, “A Joke,” dir. Wang Xiaozhen
Best Actor: Niu Jianrong, “Final Payment,” dir. Niu Niu
Jury Award: “Zoom In, Zoom Out,” dir. Dong Jie
Special Mention: “Suzhou Quartet,” dir. Cai Chengjie
Best Short Film: “Our Secrets,” dir. Lenti Liang
Best Short Film Special Mention: “If a Walnut Falls,” dir. Liu Bohao

Roberto Rossellini Awards – Crouching Tigers
Best Film: “Congo Boy,” dir. Rafiki Fariala
Best Director: Rafael Manuel, “Filipiñana”
Jury Award: “Ben’imana,” dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Special Mention: “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep,” dir. Rakan Mayasi

Pingyao Corner
Unitree Best Student Short Film: “Black Goat,” dir. Wang Wenting
Special Mentions: “Rainforest,” dir. Justine Moo; “Whose Home,” dir. Huang Duojia

Youth Jury Award: “Whispers in May,” dir. Chen Dongnan
Netpac Award – Best First Film: “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep,” dir. Rakan Mayasi
Cinephilia Critics’ Award: “Zoom In, Zoom Out,” dir. Dong Jie
PYIFF–NAAC Distribution Award: “A Girl Unknown,” dir. Zou Jing

Honorary Awards
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award: Ann Hui
International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award: Han Sanping, Marco Müller
10th Anniversary Award: Tang Yan

Fiona Hepler Lowe, the daughter of actor Chad Lowe and Kim Painter, has died. She was 13.

Fiona’s death was confirmed to People on Tuesday by the Lowe family, who wrote “We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona” in a statement. Fiona was described by her family as “a loving young girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance.” “She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents,” they wrote. “In fact, she was the light of our lives.”

“Her passing is devastating for our entire family, and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988,” the statement concluded.

Fiona was born on Nov. 16, 2012, to Chad and Kim, and was the second daughter in the family. Mabel Painter, 17, was born in 2009, and Nixie Barbara, 10, was born in 2016. Her middle name, Hepler, was Lowe’s late mother’s maiden name and is his brother Rob Lowe’s middle name, per People. Lowe and Painter got married in 2019.

Chad has appeared on shows including “Pretty Little Liars” and “Supergirl,” among others. He won an Emmy for playing Jesse McKenna on “Life Goes On.” Rob is best known for roles across film and television, including “The Outsiders,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Parks and Recreation” and more.

Fiona is survived by her father, Chad, her mother, Kim and her sisters, Mabel and Nixie.

If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Ahead of the release of “The Social Reckoning” on Oct. 9, director Aaron Sorkin is telling all on the film’s much-discussed reshoots, limited test screenings and why Trump is never named explicitly, despite the January 6 riot playing a part in the plot.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sorkin explained that the reshoots, which took place after the trailer was released, had nothing to do with the initial mixed reactions and were simply to “make it better.” “We weren’t correcting anything,” he said. “There are two kinds of reshoots: one is the ‘Oh, we’re in trouble. We need to reshoot this.’ And that usually happens on $150 million superhero movies. The other kinds of reshoots are ‘Oh, we really like this movie. It’s good. Let’s make it better.’”

He explained that Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tom Rothman asked if there was anything he’d want to reshoot, if given the option. “Yeah, I would go back and rewrite and reshoot the whole thing,” said Sorkin, before clarifying that there were only two scenes he felt he could add something to. “And so he opened the checkbook and gave us three days of shooting.”

A follow-up to 2010’s “The Social Network,” “The Social Reckoning” follows former Facebook engineer and whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz ( Jeremy Allen White) as they expose the inner workings of Facebook. Their work culminated in “The Facebook Files,” a 2021 investigative series revealing Facebook’s harmful effects on teens and its role in spreading misinformation, including content linked to political violence.

However, despite the relevance of politics to the real-life events the film is based on and its recreation of Jan. 6, Trump is not mentioned by name in “The Social Reckoning,” a decision Sorkin stands by.

“I want to be clear: I was never asked to do that, to not mention Trump by name,” he said. “I turned in the script and a day or two later met with Tom Rothman, who was full speed ahead on it. And I promised him, unprovoked, that we would not see any Trump signage, no ‘Make America Great Again.’ The movie is about Facebook’s role and the rise of divisiveness, extremism, and hyper-partisanship in the country. It is not a red-blue thing, even though, obviously, it will be felt that way.”

Sorkin also revealed that a scene in which one of Facebook’s senior officials says, “I don’t know what that bitch thinks she’s doing,” had to be rewritten to remove the expletive, per the outside legal firm hired by Sony’s. “The lawyer said, ‘Unless you can show me that at one point a senior Facebook executive referred to an ex-employee as a bitch, you can’t do that.’ So it was that.”

On the subject of test screenings, Sorkin said that the studio “had a real concern for secrecy,” which meant the test screenings were each “70 people on the studio lot, all of them Sony employees.” “It is not a great polling sample,” he added.

Tom Cruise pulled out his “Risky Business” dance moves (and those black Ray-Ban sunglasses) for his much-anticipated walk down “The Jennifer Hudson Show’s” Spirit Tunnel.

The talk show appearance is Cruise’s latest stop on the press tour for “Digger,” directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. In her Variety Power of Women cover story, Hudson revealed she booked the movie star as a guest during a change meeting this summer at the World Cup final.

“I was like, ‘Tom, could you imagine your Spirit Tunnel? What do you think they’re going to sing for you?’” Hudson said, shooting her shot.

For the uninitiated: the “Jennifer Hudson Show’s” spirit tunnel is a pre-show segment where her staff lines a hallway at Warner Bros.’ Studio 1 and sings a customized song to welcome each celebrity guest to the stage. Fortunately for Hudson, Cruise knew what he’d be signing up for — “I watch the show, Jennifer,” he told her. “I watch everything. I watched you on ‘American Idol.’” — and, as a new clip shows, Cruise came ready to boogie.

The video, posted to social media on Tuesday, shows Cruise exit the dressing room to find “The Jennifer Hudson Show” staff rocking black sunglasses and singing a tune that riffs on “Old Time Rock and Roll.”

The song calls back to one of Cruise’s first movie star-making moments from the 1983 movie “Risky Business,” where he slides into frame to lip-sync and dance in his underwear and shades to Bob Seger’s version of the song.

Here, the talk show producers remix the lyrics to reference Cruise’s status as a cinema legend.

“We’ve got Tom Cruise at the Happy Place. He’s in the tunnel walking to the stage,” the crew sings. “He’s a legend everybody knows. We’ve got that Tom Cruise rock and roll.”

Cruise quickly commits to the bit, pulling out his own black sunglasses and dancing along to the tune, even pulling in some staffers to join him. (Sure, some of his handclaps are off-beat, but Cruise is just as committed here as he is to doing his own stunts in the “Mission: Impossible” movies.)

The full interview will air on Wednesday to promote “Digger’s” theatrical release on Friday, Oct. 2. Watch the full clip below:

Christy Carlson Romano, who first broke out on the Disney Channel sitcom “Even Stevens,” is opening up about her experience working alongside co-star Shia LaBeouf. Speaking with Amanda Hirsch of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast on Tuesday, Romano said that she and LaBeouf were “like oil and water,” despite being just 14 and 12 years old, respectively, at the time.

Romano explained that their incompatibility on set stemmed from how they were raised.

“I was being raised and brought up to be this type A, I mean exactly like Ren Stevens. Like, you know your lines, you hit your marks, you don’t mess up,” she said. “You’re a New York kid, like that comes with a certain echelon… I was trying to go to pre-college Juilliard… everything we were doing, my mom called it cross-training, came with a certain dollar amount of training.”

In comparison, LaBeouf has long been open about his tumultuous childhood and has said that his father was a recovering addict, and at times abusive. “He was a Venice Beach kind of bum kid,” said Romano. “It’s like that kind of vagrant fun, but also very chaotic and very scary lifestyle, and he was very young to be having that.” She likened his upbringing to the lifestyle depicted in the 1995 Larry Clark film “Kids.”

Romano did give LaBeouf credit for finding his manager at just eight years old; the “Transformers” and “Holes” star “had a dream and made it happen for himself,” she added.

“Even Stevens” ran from 2000 to 2003 and followed Ren (Romano) and Louis (LaBeouf), the two younger siblings of the Stevens family who were described as having opposing personalities and often clashing.

This isn’t the first time Romano has weighed in on her relationship with LaBeouf. Earlier this year, the actress posted — and then deleted — a statement reading “Shia doesn’t deserve to be on the Rushmore. I’ll be writing a Substack on this so you can understand why,” to X. The comment came after “That’s So Raven” star Raven-Symoné was asked who she’d put on her Disney Mount Rushmore, to which she responded that LaBeouf would be one of them.

On Tuesday, the actress also posted a photo of herself with LaBeouf and his father on the set of “Even Stevens” to Instagram. “Recently found this picture. Shia and I spent 3 years of our lives right next to each other in adjoining trailers, both of us enduring painful childhoods,” she wrote. “If only we could have been there for each other, but we were each going through our own battles and could barely take care of ourselves.” She concluded by writing that she’d “finally” be sharing everything in her forthcoming memoir, “Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star,” which will be available on Oct. 6.

Halloween has arrived on Netflix!

The streaming service is kicking off All Hallows’ Eve with a fresh slate of horror favorites, including classics such as “Dracula,” “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,” “Friday the 13th” and “Psycho.” Fresh scares such as “Ouija,” “The Strangers” and “Evil Dead Rise” will also be added.

If horror isn’t your thing, don’t worry, as Netflix has something for everyone this month. For the faint of heart, Netflix offers comedies like “21 Jump Street” and “A Madea Family Funeral,” while vampire aficionados can watch the entire “Twilight” franchise. For those just looking to cry this October, Netflix is bringing you “Call Me By Your Name” and “East of Eden.”

More lighthearted options this month include “Bring It On,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Horton Hears A Who!” and “Love Actually.”

Here are all the new titles coming or returning to Netflix in October.

Oct. 1

“21 Jump Street”

“22 Jump Street”

“8 Mile”

“A Haunted House”

“A Haunted House 2”

“A Madea Family Funeral”

“Ad Astra”

“Angels & Demons”

“Are We There Yet?”

“The Bourne Identity”

“The Bourne Legacy”

“The Bourne Supremacy”

“The Bourne Ultimatum”

“Bring It On”

“Call Me by Your Name”

“Cowboys & Aliens”

“Crazy Rich, Incredibly Broke”

“Crimson Peak”

“Dallas Buyers Club”

“The Da Vinci Code”

“The Devil Wears Prada”

“Dracula”

“East of Eden”

“The Equalizer”

“Evil Dead”

“Friday the 13th”

“Happy Death Day 2U”

“Horton Hears a Who!”

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War”

“Hush”

“I Know What You Did Last Summer”

“Jason Bourne”

“Lake Placid”

“Love Actually”

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”

“The Menu”

“Moonlight”

“NCIS” Seasons 20-22

“Ouija”

“Ouija: Origin of Evil”

“Pearl Harbor”

“Point Break”

“The Prestige”

“Psycho”

“Psycho II”

“Psycho III”

“The Ramparts of Ice” Season 2

“Red Dragon”

“Seven Years in Tibet”

“The Sixth Sense”

“Split”

“The Strangers”

“Top Chef VIP” Seasons 3-4

“Twilight”

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1”

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2”

“The Way Home: Season 4”

“Underworld: Blood Wars”

Oct. 2

“#Love”

“Schumacher ‘94 — The Birth of a Legend”

“Tyler Perry’s Doing Life”

Oct. 3

“Ranma1/2” Season 3

Oct. 4

“Blue Box” Season 2

Oct. 5

“The Boogeyman”

“Lorne”

“Mayor of Kingstown” Seasons 1-4

“Super Boomi” Season 1

Oct. 6

“All American” Season 8

“Love Village” Season 3

“Mojo Brookzz: I Know You Lying”

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”

Oct. 7

“Inside the Circle”

“Less of a Stranger”

“Real Men: Season 2”

“Who Is Martin Mull?”

Oct. 8

“Below”

“Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed: Chapter 2”

Oct. 9

“Animals”

“Haunted Hotel” Season 2

“Is It Cake? Halloween” Season 2

“Take Charge of My Heart”

Oct. 10

“100 Days of Deception”

“The First Monday in May”

Oct. 12

“Fire Spike” Season 1

“Free Leonard Peltier”

“Señora Acero” Seasons 1-5

“Wayne” Season 1

Oct. 13

“Solar Opposites” Season 6

“The Trap”

“Tyson”

Oct. 14

“Cocaine Bear”

“Love Is Blind: Boston” Season 11

Oct. 15

“Hollywood Arts”

“The Diplomat” Season 4

“The Storm”

Oct. 16

“The Disciple”

“Heat”

“The Fate of the Furious”

“Money Trap: The Karun Treasure”

“Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald”

“Sacrifice”

“Seriously Single Too”

“Therapy Done Right”

Oct. 20

“Blindspotting” Seasons 1-2

“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2”

Oct. 21

“Emily”

“Gladiator”

“Gladiator II”

“The Mothers of Penguins” Season 2

“The New Stanford Prison Experiment”

“Six Kings Slam” Season 2

Oct. 22

“Bottle Shock”

“Couldn’t Agree Less with Allison & Isaac”

“Did Someone Happen to Mention Me?”

“Nobody Wants This” Season 3

Oct. 23

“Fading Grandeur”

“Lupin” Part 4

“Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story”

“Surviving Hurricane Otis”

Oct. 26

“Minimum Wage”

Oct. 27

“Dangerous Liaisons” Season 1

“The One About Matthew Perry”

“Zainab Johnson: Toxically Optimistic”

Oct. 28

“Champions”

Oct. 29

“Balaraw: Blood Island”

“You, Me, Us”

Oct. 30

“A Couple of Lies”

“Akka”

“Best Luke Littler”

“The Birthday Gift”

“Collision Course”

“How to Ruin Diwali: Meet the Parents”

“SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of”

If you love something, let it go, the adage advises, and maybe it will come back to you. Maybe, however, it will go and go and go and never come back, and that, so Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s increasingly lyrical and persuasive “What Remains” would have it, might be its own sort of reclamation. The slowly built, gently revolutionary assertion of this delicate film is that there are some relationships that are stronger and deeper after separation; some lovers who love best with a lot of air and wind between them and you. Perhaps the more space opens up around them, the more affection they generate to fill it.

And perhaps that’s because there are some — you could call them introverts, you could call them solipsists, or you could cut straight to the point and call them writers — who have an essentially solitary streak, no matter how profound and various their attachments to others. Elif (Ökyü Karayel) is one such, a poet of some renown in her native Turkey who has not written a lot recently, or rather, what she has written does not seem to scratch the poet’s itch; whatever creative wellspring she relies on is running dry, its waters coming up sludgy and brackish.

Instead she spends her days feeding the curiosity of her bright, precocious son Selim (Ali Kayra Kul), going on long walks through hilly urban Istanbul, watching over a jar of cocooning butterflies and helping him build Rube Goldberg devices in the living room of their pleasantly bohemian apartment. One room of it has recently been converted into a studio of sorts for her partner Mehmet (Metin Akdülger), an experimental musician who is as likely to want to record the sound of a malfunctioning kitchen appliance as to fix it.

It all builds up a picture of quite a privileged, if hardly lucrative, creative-class lifestyle, and in the early going there is a slight sense that maybe too much of our attention is being lavished on this attractive family unit and their rather wan predicaments. But then Mehmet is let go from his job teaching esoteric music practices to university students and the household’s sole steady source of income is gone. It precipitates an argument between the couple — the whispered-so-as-not-to-wake-the-kid kind — in which Elif’s unhappiness comes out haltingly, inarticulately, and all of Mehmet’s suppressed resentments too, as we finally get some idea of just how dysfunctional they have become. Elif has not showered in weeks and barely eats. Mehmet tries to proffer practical solutions but each one only seems to deepen the rift. “I really didn’t understand the extent of your problem,” he says coolly at one point and Elif recoils as if hit.

Later there is a kind of ceasefire and they make love in the shower into which Mehmet has bodily dragged her. But it is not a reconciliation, it is a farewell — as the next day before daybreak, Elif gets in the car and starts to drive, out of the city into the changing countryside of Turkey, through tunnels and along highways, amid vast empty landscapes and past ancient cities that rise from the plains like the citadels of a fantasy epic. At some point on her hitherto aimless road trip, she realizes where it is she wants to go: to the tiny village in the mountains where her grandmother lived out her days.

This is not an abandonment. An unusual feature of Ustaoğlu’s thoughtful screenplay is that while this type of narrative, especially when it pertains to a woman and doubly so if she’s a mother, is usually full of recrimination, Elif’s escape is not something for which she is forced to sacrifice all else. In particular, she maintains regular contact with her beloved Selim, Facetime-ing him from the road, and stays in touch with Mehmet, who, with seemingly little complaint, has taken over as the day-to-day parent. And when Mehmet’s aging father becomes ill and he takes Selim along with him to look after him, Mehmet himself also goes on a journey of self-discovery as a son, as a father and as the son of a father he loves, but does not wish to emulate.

Gradually, in fact, the harsh judgments we may have laid on Elif loosen their hold and fall away, especially in seeing her interact with three women she meets at different intervals along the way, who are all solitary but not lonely, all in their way, self-sufficient and resourceful. Their kindness and concern for her, their hospitality so lightly given, starts to reflect back on Elif. She visibly relaxes, her face — and Karayel has a beautiful, lucid face on which we read changes of mood the way we read patterns in clouds — loses its tension. It’s all so well and subtly done that we can be tricked into not seeing that this too is some clever scripting: We start to like Elif at almost exactly the same time she starts to like herself.

Against the stunning landscapes of wild, remote Turkey, captured in glorious detail by cinematographer Kiril Prodanov, Elif finds her muse again. In the poem she writes near the end of the film (all Elif’s writings are supplied by celebrated Turkish poet Birhan Keskin), she refers to Mehmet as “my crooked tooth, my friend” with moving gratitude, for all that they have been to each other, but partly, we infer, also for letting all of it go. “What Remains” is a beautifully calm manifesto for the idea that self-acceptance is the primary love without which none of the other loves — of partner, of child, of art, of thy neighbor — is truly possible. But in this unusually even-handed relationship drama, it cuts both ways and both Elif and Mehmet emerge the stronger for it. When you love something, and you let it go, you are also releasing yourself from its grip.

“I enjoyed it but I’m never doing this again.”

Sofia Coppola utters those words toward the end of “Making Marie Antoinette,” a feature documentary about the making of her 2006 film “Marie Antoinette” from her late mother, Eleanor Coppola.

Playing in the Spotlight section of the New York Film Festival, the fly-on-the-wall doc is compiled from 80 hours of footage that Eleanor shot during the film’s busy production on location at the Palace of Versailles, capturing a young filmmaker coming into her own before our very eyes (as well as plenty of hijinks from stars Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman, who plays King Louis XVI and also happens to be Sofia’s cousin). “Marie Antoinette” came out in 2006 to mixed reviews and modest box office returns, but is now regarded as a cult classic.

During the film’s post-premiere Q&A at NYFF, Sofia revealed that the Coppola family were all gathered at their family home in Napa Valley when they decided to revisit Eleanor’s footage for the first time, and it brought back a rush of memories from her time making “Marie Antoinette.” “It’s embarrassing for me,” Sofia said after the film. “When I’m in the trailer complaining that I don’t want to talk to my mom and being not nice… but it’s important to show all the sides, and I’m crabby sometimes!”

Though Eleanor passed away in 2024 at the age of 87, she was “always frustrated that the footage was never put together [into a film],” so Sofia — with the help of editor Aaron Matthews — helped make her vision a reality. Eleanor envisioned an observational film in the vein of Frederick Wiseman, and the doc is narrated by actress Diane Lane, a longtime Coppola family collaborator, who reads Eleanor’s contemporaneous diary entries from twenty years ago. “There wasn’t much drama, so how do you make it not boring?” Sofia pondered during the Q&A.

Although there was some drama. We see Sofia and her team on “Marie Antoinette” overwhelmed at times by the amount of extras and just how long it took cast members to get their hair, makeup and costuming done (the hair, especially). In addition to a monument to Sofia, “Making Marie Antoinette” is also a celebration of the work of Milena Canonero, the film’s costume designer. Canonero created over 70 original dresses for Dunst’s Marie Antoinette alone, and eventually won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

The most compelling scenes in “Making Marie Antoinette,” scheduled to be released Oct. 23 on Mubi, concern Sofia butting heads with her cinematographer, Lance Acord, who wanted more shots showing the perspective of King Louis XVI instead of centering the POV of Marie Antoinette. It’s stirring to see Sofia, who was 34 at the time, push back on Acord’s demands and stay true to her vision. “It’s hard to believe twenty years ago that the female point-of-view was so unusual,” she said during the Q&A. “Now I’m more comfortable at being assertive at what I want… I was still trying to find my way of being assertive on set about what I wanted.”

We also get to take in Schwartzman fooling around on set, playing the harpsichord and cracking jokes to a tiny dog; Dunst giving it her all with a smile; and Asia Argento, who played the icy Madame du Berry, throwing her shoulder into Dunst way too hard during a confrontation scene. Oh, and we also see Thomas Mars, the lead singer of Phoenix and Coppola’s then-boyfriend, be introduced to Eleanor for the first time (Sofia and Thomas are now married with two children).

But mostly we bear witness to Sofia executing her vision with precision and grace. It’s a sight to behold, as is this love letter from mother to daughter (and vice versa). “I get stressed watching it and just seeing how none of us were prepared for a period film and how long the costume changes would take,” Sofia confessed during the Q&A, but added, “I felt so lucky that [my mother] gave this to me, and to have this tribute to her and being with her again.”

Universal Music Group has named Libby Bush to the newly created role of President, Global Brands and Commercial Partnerships, starting in November. According to the announcement, she will “lead a new global function that brings together UMG’s brands, media, and commercial partnership businesses, including Universal Music Group for Brands … Spanning digital platforms, physical products and live experiences, these collaborations will be rooted in artists’ originality and authentic connections with fans.” Based in Los Angeles, Bush will report to UMG’s Chief Operating Officer Boyd Muir.

She joins from Creative Artists Agency, where she served as Global Head of Entertainment Partnerships and was a member of the Agency Board. Previously, Bush founded Tandem Entertainment, an entertainment partnerships agency acquired by CAA in 2020, and held roles at Marvel Entertainment, ABC Entertainment, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and the National Basketball Association.

Muir said, “As the ways fans experience music evolve, the opportunities for our artists multiply. Bringing our brand, media, and commercial partnerships together under Libby’s leadership will help extend our artists’ reach and grow their revenues, while giving our partners new ways to build relationships with fans and collaborate with the world’s most influential voices. Libby brings exceptional creative and commercial expertise to the world’s leading music company. She’ll work with our talent, teams, and partners to create memorable experiences for fans, lasting value for brands, and new possibilities for artists.”

+ Avex Inc. has increased its ownership of Brandon Silverstein’s S10 Entertainment, acquiring 85% of the company from Silverstein and his partners. The transaction further integrates S10 into Avex Music Group. Silverstein continues as CEO of S10 and Avex Music Group, a board member and equity partner in Avex Music Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction follows Avex’s March 2025 acquisition of the S10 Music Publishing catalog, which includes shares of hits by Justin Bieber, Drake, Tate McRae, Kehlani, Doja Cat, Post Malone and Rihanna, among others. In the transaction Silverstein was represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

“S10 is an exceptional management company that is playing a key role in realizing our global ambitions,” said Katsumi Kuroiwa, CEO of Avex Inc. “Bringing S10 into Avex reflects our confidence in Brandon’s leadership and our commitment to growing Avex’s global music business. Together, we will bring the full breadth of Avex’s capabilities to artists and creators around the world.”

+ Warner Music Group has named Sonny Takhar as Chairman and CEO of Warner Music U.K. & Ireland, effective January 2027. Takhar will oversee creative direction, artist development, and strategic operations across WMG’s recorded music footprint in the U.K., the world’s third-largest music market, and Ireland.

Takhar will report to Val Blavatnik, Managing Director of Warner Music North America, U.K. & Corporate Development. Takhar’s remit will also include operational oversight of WMG’s independent distribution arm, ADA, in the U.K. and Ireland, and he’ll work in close partnership with Elliot Grainge, CEO and Chairman of Atlantic Music Group and Chairman of ADA in the U.S., as well as Aaron Bay-Schuck, Chairman and CEO of Warner Records Group.

A founding partner of Syco Entertainment, Takhar played a key role in the careers of One Direction, Labrinth, Leona Lewis, Little Mix, James Arthur and Fifth Harmony, alongside the launch of global TV franchises “The X Factor” and “Got Talent.” More recently, Takhar co-founded Los Angeles-based KYN Entertainment in a joint venture with Live Nation, and worked with Westlife and songwriter-producer Steve Mac.

Blavatnik said, “Sonny is one of the most visionary executives in music and his track record of discovering, nurturing, and breaking global superstars speaks for itself. His instinct for talent, deep understanding of the wider music ecosystem and strategic global perspective make him the perfect leader to power Warner Music UK & Ireland forward.”

+ Amra, the global digital collection society, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Tomas Ericsson, will transition from his role as CEO after 13 years, effective January 1, 2027. He will assume the role of Chairman of the Board. Robin Davies, Amra’s Chief Operating Officer for the last four years, has been named Chief Executive Officer of the company beginning on January 1st.

Ericsson launched Amra in partnership with Kobalt Music Group in 2013, ultimately licensing digital rights directly across more than 200 territories, 45 publishers and growing into nine figures gross by 2026.

“We are so grateful for Tomas’ vision and leadership as he and his team have built amra into one of the industry’s most innovative and transformational organizations,” said Laurent Hubert, CEO of Kobalt. “We are also looking forward to Tomas continuing to contribute to the business as Chairman. amra will be in good hands with Tomas’ ongoing guidance and with Robin, who has been with amra and the Kobalt organization for a decade, at the helm.”

+ Danny Goldberg has promoted Jesse Bauer to the position of Senior Vice-President and Gabriel Barreto to Vice President of Gold Village Entertainment, the New York based artist management company that Goldberg launched in 2007. Bauer has been with the company since its inception; Barreto joined in 2021. Gold Village represents Steve Earle, the Waterboys, and others.

+ ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams has announced that Jim Selby has been elected as a publisher member to the ASCAP Board of Directors. Jim Selby is President, Global Music Publishing at BMG, leading the company’s worldwide music publishing, and played a key role in its recent merger with Concord.

Williams commented: “The ASCAP Board cares deeply about making decisions that are in the best interests of the membership as a whole. As a global publishing leader, Jim has the expertise to tackle the complex issues facing music creators and publishers in today’s market, from both the challenges and opportunities of AI to licensees who want to pay songwriters less. He will be an invaluable voice on the ASCAP Board in our mission to advocate for and protect our more than one million members.”

+ Universal Music Group has named Òscar Celma as Senior Vice President, Applied AI and Machine Learning, effective immediately. Celma will help lead the development and application of AI and machine learning across UMG’s global operations, supporting UMG’s labels, divisions and businesses. He will report to Hannah Poferl, UMG’s Chief Data Officer.

In his previous role at Spotify, Celma helped lead the development of AI-powered personalized listening experiences including AI DJ, Jam and Daylist, as well as personalization and discovery. He also held roles at Conde Nast, Pandora/SiriusXM and BMAT Music Innovators.

Poferl said, “Òscar brings a unique blend of quantitative and product experience, deep expertise in AI, and a love of music. He’s built teams that have delivered and knows how to turn data at scale into useful insights. With the breadth and depth of UMG’s data, there’s enormous potential for him to help our teams do more for our artists.”

+ Chrysalis Records, part of the Reservoir group of companies, and associated artist management & music publishing company Blue Raincoat Music announced that broadcaster-journalist Steve Lamacq has joined the company as Curator, New Music & Talent Development. The newly created consultancy role focused on helping both companies identify, champion and nurture the next generation of breakthrough artists.

Working alongside Chrysalis’ and Blue Raincoat’s existing A&R, management and creative teams in a consultancy capacity, Lamacq, a veteran of the BBC and NME, will help discover, champion and develop emerging talent, drawing on more than four decades of experience at the forefront of alternative and independent music culture. Lamacq was appointed an MBE in 2025 for services to broadcasting and to music venues.

Jeremy Lascelles, CEO of Chrysalis Records & Blue Raincoat Music said: “Steve has an extraordinary ability to spot great artists early. Time and again he’s identified talent long before the wider industry catches on. When I asked him if he fancied working alongside us in this capacity, I was over the proverbial moon when he agreed. It’s pretty much a dream scenario for us. Alongside his deep knowledge of music, he has built a level of trust with artists and audiences alike, that makes him uniquely qualified for this curating role. I’m thrilled with the association and think we’re going to have a lot of fun.”