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FEST BEGINS TODAY WITH INDUSTRY POSING MANY QUESTIONS |
The 79th Cannes Film Festival gets underway today with plenty of talking points at both the festival and market.
Top of mind are the usual pre-market buzz, the impact of AI on filmmaking, and what might break out from the festival lineup. Who knew Sentimental Value would be an awards season heavyweight this time last year? Probably not many.
There will be no shortage of volume at the market, that's for sure, with a handful of intriguing packages among the bigger-budget items, including Park Chan-Wook's starry The Brigands of Rattlecreek. Apparently it's budgeted in the $70M range.
For those with an ongoing aversion to AI, look away now from the Cannes market, which is awash with the subject this year. While Thierry Frémaux yesterday sounded a note of caution about the tech at his meet the press event, the market program features dozens of panels on the tech. >>>More On The Agenda
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Deadline Exclusives & Originals
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Cannes Cover Story - In Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, Sebastian Stan returns to his Romanian roots with a story that examines our prejudices, assumptions and the treatment of immigrants. This once again plunges Stan into a thorny role with a look that belies his MCU star status. As he prepares for both fatherhood and playing a supervillain in The Batman: Part II, he’s focused on being one of the good guys, he says in our Cannes Disruptors cover story. >>>The Interview
'Westworld' Rebuilt - After bringing Michael Crichton's theme park vision to the screen scripting 1993’s Jurassic Park and two sequels, screenwriter David Koepp is looking to tackle another one. Deadline hears Koepp will revisit a big screen version of Westworld, the 1973 film written and directed by Crichton about an adult fantasy park that allows monied guests with a hankering for the Old West to go up against a coterie of robots wielding six-guns. >>>Warner Bros Attached
From Local To Global - Deadline debuted its From Local to Global series in Dublin, Ireland, which kicked off with a host of top Irish screenwriters who discussed their work, their processes and the shape of the current film and TV landscape on the Emerald Isle. >>>Watch The Video
Breaking Baz Meets John Gore - John Gore, the Broadway maven turned fledgling movie mogul, is making his first foray into the Cannes Market with a new film about Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom a king gave up his throne. He was determined that the grand royal title of Duchess “had better be in its title." >>>Leaping To Screen Production
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QUOTABLE
"I hope the studio films come back" - Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux on Hollywood's lack of commitment to big world premieres at this year's fest.
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Inside FilmNation’s Stacey Snider Hire & How Glen Basner’s Blue-Chip Outfit Is Edging Into Domestic Distribution
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FilmNation‘s hire of former Universal, DreamWorks and Fox head Stacey Snider was a coup. But then again, FilmNation isn’t your average indie film and TV company. Glen Basner‘s blue-chip New York firm has been working on prestige and commercial hits for almost two decades: from Mud to Arrival and Conclave to Anora.
In a wide-ranging interview on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival and market, Deadline sat down with Snider and Basner to discuss their collaboration, new slate additions (including films with Richard Gere, Adrien Brody and Rachel Zegler and Jeremy Strong), the state of the business and what’s on the horizon. >>>Q&A
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BY THE NUMBERS
200M - Number of people who engage with Fox's linear TV networks, streaming services and podcasts, per tech chief Melody Hildebrandt
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MORE NEWS
✊ The national board of SAG-AFTRA is recommending the guild’s latest contract with the major studios to its full membership for ratification. The board “decisively” approved the deal, tentatively sealed earlier this month, on Monday, per the union.
💵 Netflix has revealed for the first time how much it spent on content over the past decade. The streamer noted it spent $135B between 2015 and 2025 as it celebrated 10 years making content outside of the States, with chief Ted Sarandos claiming, "while other entertainment companies pull back, we’re leaning in.”
🤝🏽 Allen Family Digital, an affiliate of Byron Allen’s family office, has entered a deal to acquire a majority stake in distressed digital media company BuzzFeed with Allen becoming chairman and CEO. Current chief executive Jonah Peretti will transition to a newly created role as president of BuzzFeed AI.
📷 Meta might be bringing the social media influencers and content creators to Cannes in a new partnership, but don’t expect the festival to lift its ban on selfies at red carpet premieres. Asked if there will be a pivot in its no selfies policy, Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux said, “I’ll respond immediately on the selfies — No.”
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OBITUARIES
🕯️ Jennifer Harmon, a prolific Broadway performer who often understudied more widely known actors such as Stockard Channing, Judi Dench and Jessica Lange, and who appeared as a regular on the ABC soap One Life To Live in the 1970s, died Saturday, May 9. She was 82. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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ON THE RADAR
Tue - Disney upfront; Cannes Film Festival starts; Dutton Ranch NYC premiere
Wed - WBD & Netflix upfronts; YouTube Brandcast
Thu - Global Citizen Now Summit; Welcome to Wrexham S5 premiere
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Cannes Do Attitude - Workers install the official 2026 festival poster, featuring an image of Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise, ahead of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.
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