Jacob Elordi to Star in TV Adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”

Jacob Elordi has narrowed down his next project…

The 24-year-old Spanish-Australian actor and Euphoria star will serve as the lead in Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant’s limited series adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Jacob Elordi,Kurzel and Grant’s adaptation had been in development with Fremantle for several years but Sony Pictures Television has taken rights and Sony’s recently-launched Australian label Curio Pictures will produce.

Elordi, who is best known for playing Nate in HBO smash hit Euphoria, will play Dorrigo Evans, an army surgeon whose brief love affair with Amy, the young wife of his uncle, sustains and haunts him through his darkest days as the reluctant leader of men prisoners in a Thai-Burmese camp during World War II.

The book won the 2014 Booker Prize and was critically acclaimed for its themes of war, marriage and love.

Kurzel is directing, Grant is writing and the pair are executive-producing alongside Flanagan, Porter and Rachel Gardner.

“The character of Dorrigo Evans requires a multi-layered actor who can bring strength, sensitivity and charisma to the role – qualities Jacob has in spades,” said Porter. “Together with the creative powerhouses of Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant, there couldn’t be a more exciting team to bring this important novel to life.”

Elordi broke out in Netflix YA smash The Kissing BoothHe starred in Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Zach Helm and Adrian Lyne’s Hulu feature Deep Water earlier this year and is playing Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla opposite Cailee Spaeny.

Ximena Lamadrid Named to Variety’s 2022 “10 Actors to Watch” List

Ximena Lamadrid’s star is on the rise…

The 26-year-old Mexican actress has been named to Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch list, the entertainment industry magazine’s list of thespians who are experiencing a major breakthrough on screen.

Ximena LamadridLamadrid is being recognized for her performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s acclaimed new film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.

Acting has always been in Lamadrid’s blood. But it wasn’t until age 5, when she rejected a role in a school play, that she experienced an epiphany.

“It was that ‘no’ that made me realize it’s a ‘yes’ for me, that for the rest of my life I’d be chasing this amazing dream.” She quickly corrects herself, “Well, what began as a dream, but no longer is a dream. It’s a reality.”

After roles in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks and the series Who Killed Sara?, Lamadrid plays a pivotal part in Iñárritu’s Bardo as Camila, the loving daughter of a man caught in the throes of an existential crisis.

She concedes her own history — being born in Mexico, growing up in Dubai and studying her craft in New York City — greatly colored her character’s experience.

“It feels like the universe and Alejandro wrote this for me,” she says,adding: “[Camila] has just graduated from university and is figuring it out. As soon as I graduated, I was figuring it out and came back to Mexico — and it connected. I saw all of the love, warmth and everything I had missed about my country all these years.”

The ability to tackle this role has only furthered her confidence. “As an actor, I have to surrender and trust that it’s going to show up, that everything is going to come out, which it did.” She now has her sights set on the literary world, seeking a publisher for her hybrid poetry-memoir Tulip Season. “I want to make this a very big, beautiful first book.”

Variety’s alumni group of 10 Actors to Watch includes more than 35 Oscar winners and nominees including Mahershala Ali, Adam Driver, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Lupita Nyong’o.

This year’s honorees will be feted at a brunch on October 16 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Jacob Elordi to Star as Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s Film “Priscilla”

Jacob Elordi has got a tale to tell

The 25-year-old half-Spanish-Australian actor will star as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla, about the King of Rock and Roll and his wife.

Jacob Elordi, Calvin KleinCoppola will direct the feature filmwhich is based on the memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.

Cailee Spaeny will portray Priscilla Presley opposite Elordi as Elvis.

Published in 1985, Presley’s intimate account of her life with Elvis became a New York Times Bestseller and an international sensation. Coppola adapted the script as well.

Coppola had reportedly been eyeing this film for some time as her follow-up to On The Rocks and began putting the pieces together to the film off the ground by this fall. While she met with a number of actors for the Elvis role with Elordi ultimately landing the highly coveted role, Spaeny has been her top choice from Day 1 for the role of Priscilla.

The film will shoot in Toronto in the Fall.

Elordi is best known for his roles as Noah Flynn in Netflix‘s The Kissing Booth teen film franchise and Nate Jacobs in the HBO series Euphoria.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Serve as Co-Chair & Host of This Year’s Met Gala

Lin-Manuel Miranda is ready to Met a new challenge…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer-songwriter, rapper, playwright, producer and film director will as one of the hosts and co-chairs of this year’s Met Gala.

Lin-Manuel MirandaMiranda will host the event, which will reflect the strong Hollywood theme, alongside Ryan ReynoldsBlake Lively and Regina King.

The Met Gala, set for May 2, a primary source of income for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, follows last September’s scaled-back, pandemic-restricted “mini-gala” that launched the Met’s two-part exhibition “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.”

The exhibit will include “cinematic vignettes” exploring the roots of American fashion and designed by film directors King, Sofia Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Chloé Zhao, Tom Ford, Janicza Bravo, Julie Dash and Autumn de Wilde.

Ford, Adam Mosseri and Anna Wintour will continue their roles as honorary co-chairs for the May event.

The “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” exhibit will open to the public on May 7.

AFI to Honor Rita Moreno During This Year’s Virtual AFI Fest

Rita Moreno is ready to talk shop as part of a special night…

The 88-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress will be honored during this year’s virtual AFI Fest, which will take place from October 15-22.

Rita Moreno

Moreno, who currently stars on PopTV’s One Day at a Time, will be honored alongside Sofia CoppolaKirby Dick and Mira Nair, with each taking par t in an evening of conversation celebrating their careers.

“Artists of this caliber are essential players in our global culture,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “To honor each of them – and all of them – at AFI FEST will prove a symphony of talent at a time the world needs it most.”

Moreno’s career began with a Broadway debut at 13 years old. Since then she has won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business – an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy – as well as a Peabody Award and a Kennedy Center Honor. Moreno has also been recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.

Moreno received an Honorary Degree from the AFI Conservatory in 2016.

Moreno is starring in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, which will debut in theaters in December of 2021. She currently stars on the remake of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, One Day at a Time. 

Garcia Bernal to Serve on the Cannes Film Festival Main Jury Panel

It’ll be all business for Gael García Bernalat this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The 35-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer has been announced as one of the jury members who will make up this year’s main panel at this year’s edition.

Gael Garcia Bernal

In all, four men, including Garcia, and four women will support president Jane Campion on the jury panel.

The other world cinema “luminaries” include French actress and former Bond Girl Carole Bouquet; festival habituée Sofia Coppola, whose The Bling Ring opened the Un Certain Regard sidebar last year; Iranian actress Lelia Hatami (A Separation); Korean actress Do-yeon Jeon, winner of the 2007 Cannes Best Actress prize; American actor Willem Dafoe; Chinese filmmaker Zhangke Jia, who won the screenplay award for last year’s A Touch Of Sin; and 2011 Cannes directing prize winner Nicolas Winding Refn.

Garcia and his fellow jury members will judge the 18 films in competition with awards to be handed out May 24.

The Cannes Film Festival runs May 14-25.

Rougier’s Full-Length Feature “Sal” Wins First Time Fest Award

The first time’s the charm for Diego Rougier

The 42-year-old Argentine director’s first feature length film Sal has won the grand prize at New York’s inaugural First Time Fest (FTF).

Diego Rougier

The film festival, hosted by the historic Players Club, honors debut films from prominent newcomers throughout the world. This year’s festival attendees and participants included Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Darren Aronofsky and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

As the grand prize winner, Sal – the first western in Chilean motion picture history – will be offered theatrical distribution, as well as international sales representation through distributor Cinema Libre Studio.

Sal centers on a film director obsessed with making a western who decides to go to Northern Chile in search of a story for his screenplay. Being confused with another, a real adventure begins. It stars Fele MartínezPatricio Contreras and Sergio Hernández.

Sal

In addition, the modern-day western earned the film’s cinematographer, David Bravo, the award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. The judges awarded the Bravo the prize for his “beautiful cinematography with rich details, surprising touches, and a sense of humor.”

Here’s the complete list of First Time Fest award winners:

Grand Prize Winner: SAL
Written And Directed By Diego Rougier (Chile/Argentina)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing: Amelie Van Elmbt (Headfirst / La Tete La Premiere)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing: (TIE) Max Weissberg (Summertime)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting: Neal Bledsoe (Junction)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting: Alice De Lencquesaing (Headfirst / La Tete La Premiere)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: David Bravo (Sal)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing: Jonah Marin, John Young (Zipper)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scoring: Martin Bossa and Tomas Carnelli (I Love You All / Los Quiero A Todos)

John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema: Darren Aronofsky