With A New Pope, ‘Conclave' Becomes The Most Relevant Movie Of The Year
This article includes material from HuffPost's weekly culture and entertainment newsletter, The Culture Catchall. Click here to subscribe.
Edward Berger's 'Conclave' had perfect timing.
That's probably what a lot of people thought on Thursday after the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was announced following a two-day conclave. At the ancient ritual, cardinals gather in secrecy to elect a pope — complete with smoke signals, deliberations and theatrics that could've rivaled its Hollywood depiction.
The ins and outs of the centuries-old papal process hadn't become a mainstream topic until 'Conclave' emerged as one of last year's biggest films. Buzz surrounding the movie got so big that it even earned its own dedicated stan account on X, Pope Crave, a parody of celeb news account Pop Crave, that has almost 100,000 followers.
Now, with a new pope in place, the film has garnered interest again.
Social media was quick to point out how the release of 'Conclave' funnily coincided with real-life developments at the Vatican this week:
the more i think about the more insane it is that conclave came out within the last 8 months to coincide with all of this like that movie will be in the cultural zeitgeist forever
— club hathaway (@NtiAning) May 8, 2025
they dropped conclave (2024) at the perfect time ik whoever was in charge of scheduling that movie is cheesing mad as hell
— cay (@koralinadean) May 8, 2025
Conclave (2024) is gonna be one of those fucking movies where everyone is just gonna say "you HAD to be there" cause no other movie could have this level of not massive but just plain insane pop culture to real life madness. The pope actually DYING is just the tip of the ICEBERG
— 🐢Benitez Hype Guy🐢 (@bntz_04) May 7, 2025
This is how you know Conclave probably should have won best picture. People are obsessed with the new process. We are gonna look back in 10 years and remember that movie the most. https://t.co/c6f5YdTqkB
— Totally Kyle (@KBeezy1001) May 8, 2025
Who can blame them, though? It's hard to ignore the uncanny arrival of 'Conclave' mere months before the death of Pope Francis. As a result of his death, we seemingly got to experience the movie's events all over again, now in real life.
It's interesting to see just how relevant 'Conclave' has remained since its release in October. The film, based on Robert Harris' 2016 novel of the same name and starring three-time Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes, earned rave reviews and won several awards, including an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The 'Conclave' buzz could've stopped there, but the film surged back into the zeitgeist last month after Francis died. Some wondered if the election of his successor would echo the events of 'Conclave,' which depicted the notoriously top-secret rite against the backdrop of Vatican politics and power struggles. Predictions weren't too far off based on how this week's conclave went.
Aside from some fictionalized details — like unearthed scandals and corruption surrounding the mysterious death of a former pope — 'Conclave' is a pretty accurate depiction of the titular process (save for excluding some deeply spiritual aspects), thanks to thorough research conducted by Harris and those behind the film.
'We were given a private tour of the Vatican, and they were quite welcoming, actually, quite helpful. So it was a big research project, really,' 'Conclave' screenwriter Peter Straughan told USA Today.
Speaking to The National Catholic Reporter last year, Fiennes added of the film: 'If we were to be taken seriously, I knew we had to get the rituals right. … I hate when… it's not done properly or if it's messy. For those who are in these spaces, those elements are important.'
The response to the movie's meticulous detail is a testament to its theatrical success and real-life impact, as it became a helpful guide for some of the 133 cardinal-electors who had little experience with conclave protocol until this week.
'Some have watched ['Conclave'] in the cinema,' one cleric told Politico about the preparation to select Prevost, who's now taken the name Pope Leo XIV. According to his brother John Prevost, the new pope also watched the film before his election, 'so he knew how to behave.'
'Conclave' has had a similar impact on its Pope Crave fan account, run by artist Susan Bin, which went from sharing film updates to actual papal process updates for inquiring minds. 'The pivot to me was natural,' Bin shared in a recent interview with Time Magazine. 'When we started with the whole Oscar thing and with 'Conclave,' people still wanted to learn about conclave and its actual practice.'
And demand remains high for anything that demystifies the practice, as, per CBS News, sales for Harris' historical novel are 'up tenfold.' Luminate reported that the viewership of 'Conclave,' currently streaming on Prime Video, also spiked by 283% one day after Francis' death.
Already, 'Conclave' appears to be the most relevant movie of the year, whether by coincidence or providence. The inner workings of Vatican affairs now have a spotlight unlike we've ever seen in pop culture, giving 'life imitates art' a whole new meaning.
If the discourse continues, 'Conclave' just might become the go-to reference for all things papal.
Robert Francis Prevost Makes History As First U.S. Pope Chosen To Lead Catholic Church
New Pope's Brother Shares Unexpected Detail About Conclave Prep And Baseball Loyalty
The New Pope Faces Scrutiny On LGBTQ+ Rights
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Superman's Early Reactions Claim It's Complete Opposite of Man of Steel
With James Gunn's nearing its theatrical release date, early reactions to the first entry in the new DCU have leaked onto the internet following a recently conducted screening. Some of the reviews have compared Gunn's take on the title character to Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, noting a sharp contrast between the two directors' visions. The new Superman film has received its first reviews, with reactions pouring in after an early screening of the movie recently took place. The show's audience was mostly comprised of critics and influencers, who have since given their reactions to the movie. One X (formerly Twitter) user praised the new Superman film after catching the first 30 minutes of it, stating, 'Needless to say it was DAMN BEAUTIFUL. Time absolutely flew by.' Another compared James Gunn's Superman to Zack Snyder's, writing in their review that Corenswet's version is '180 degrees away from' Snyder's Man of Steel. Detailing the experience of his friend who witnessed the screening of the film, the X user wrote, 'He said the trailers have been a bit of a misdirect. But the most important thing was…he really, really liked it.' Meanwhile, an early reaction to Superman drew parallels between the movie and the fan-favorite Superman: The Animated Series, noting, 'It's very Silver-Age. It's got a lot of those sci-fi tropes. It's big in spectacle, drama, and laughs. Big in its heart. A very earnest film,' on X. Renowned entertainment insider Daniel Richtman also noted the positive early reactions to James Gunn's latest film, stating, 'I hear #Superman is good.' While the leaked early reactions to Superman suggest a positive overall reception for the new movie, more detailed reviews from critics and the general public will arrive online as the film nears its big-screen release date of July 11, 2025.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Urban Decay Taps Viral Horror Star M3gan for New Product Partnership
Watch out; there's a killer Urban Decay partnership on the loose. Ahead of the highly anticipated release of 'M3gan 2.0' on Friday, the affordable makeup brand launched a chilling collaboration with Universal Pictures and the film's beloved, blond-haired murderess: M3gan. The AI doll, who went viral back in 2023 when the original movie dropped, was tapped to promote Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray, a smudge-proof and transfer-resistant formula that locks in makeup for up to 16 hours. More from WWD Nike Is Bringing Back Its 'Stranger Things' Collaboration for the Release of the Fifth & Final Season Billie Partners With Charli XCX-beloved Accessories Company Ian Charms to Release Bush Positive Swimwear Lana Del Rey Channels Retro Glam with '60s-inspired BumpIt Hairstyle at Her Concert in Wales 'We're thrilled to be partnering with Universal Pictures on 'M3gan 2.0.' The unique and unapologetic nature of M3gan aligns perfectly with Urban Decay's DNA, and we're excited to bring this collaboration to life in a way that showcases our iconic products — designed for you to stay flawless, no matter what chaos unfolds,' said Fernando Febres, head of U.S. marketing for Urban Decay. In a 30-second clip on YouTube, M3gan is seen sitting calmly on set, with her demonic blue eyes and innocent voice. 'Being me isn't easy. Not only do I have to save the world, I have to look this good doing it. Thankfully, I have my Urban Decay Setting Spray for a look that stays and slays,' the doll says. This partnership will include an in-person activation on Wednesday in Los Angeles, influencer partnerships and exclusive Urban Decay glam for actress Jenna Davis at the film premiere. 'M3gan 2.0' is the second installment in the sci-fi film series, which will see the doll reawaken to kill for good this time as a villainous weapon called Amelia threatens the future of the human race. Launched in 1996, Urban Decay was designed to be a mechanism for self-expression, with the punk and Gothic customer in mind. No surprise, the beauty brand's heyday was the 2010s, bolstered by the launch of its auspicious Naked Palette collection, which amassed over $1 billion in sales until it was discontinued in 2018. A little over a year ago, Urban Decay re-released the original Naked eye shadow palette, comprised of shimmery earth tones and misty gray hues. Urban Decay also joined forces with WNBA star Cameron Brink in 2024 for a multiyear partnership. As the official sponsor of the Los Angeles Sparks, Brink's team's partnership wasn't a total surprise. 'Partnering with Urban Decay is incredibly important to me because it represents more than just beauty — it's about investing in authenticity,' Brink said in a statement. 'Their commitment to individuality and originality aligns perfectly with my values, inspiring consumers to embrace their uniqueness.' Best of WWD ColourPop x Lilo & Stitch Collaborate on Mischievous Island Adventures Collection in New Campaign [PHOTOS] Lunar New Year Collections to Know: Details on Fashion, Jewelry and More Brands Embracing the Year of the Snake Valentine's Day Collections to Know: Details on Fashion, Makeup, Jewelry and More Brands Giving Products a Touch of Love, Live Updates
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Mariska Hargitay shares the surprising way she discovered her biological father's identity
Print Close By Brie Stimson Published June 28, 2025 The Mariska Hargitay-directed documentary "My Mom Jayne" covers a lot of ground about actress Jayne Mansfield's life and about Hargitay's attempts to reconnect with the memory of her mother. The film had its share of bombshells, most notably that Hargitay found out as an adult that the man who raised her wasn't her biological father and that, in the chaos of the car crash that killed her mother, Hargitay was left behind at the scene as a 3-year-old. The documentary also reveals that Mansfield hungered to be a serious actress despite her "dumb blonde" image. Mariska found out that Mickey Hargitay wasn't her biological father Hargitay revealed for the first time in the documentary that Mickey Hargitay wasn't her biological father as she believed her entire childhood. MARISKA HARGITAY STUNS IN CANNES AFTER REVEALING SHOCKING FAMILY SECRET When she was 25, she said she was talking with the head of Jayne Mansfield's fan club, Sabin Gray, and he inadvertently told her about her biological father. "He's showing me all these photos," the "Law & Order: SVU" star told Alex Cooper this week on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. "He's showing me whatever it is, dresses that she had that he'd collected, earrings that she wore, things from movies from the movie set, props or whatever, and then he says to me, 'Do you want to see a picture of Nelson?'" She added, "I just looked at him, and this jolt went through my body, and I said, 'Who's Nelson?' And then I knew in one second." She said in the documentary, "That's when like I think the blood just drained out of his face and he sort of went white as a ghost and he looked at me panicked and he said, 'Well, it's probably not true,'" adding that he then showed her pictures of a man who "looked like the male version of me." She told Cooper, "And I think that (Gray) couldn't believe that I didn't know. I was 25, how could I not know?" She said in the film, "It was like the floor fell out from underneath me. Just the bottom dropped out of everything. It was like my infrastructure dissolved and life as I knew it was irrevocably changed." She told Cooper that she felt like she was going to crash her car after she left Sabin's house "because I was so not present. I was totally dissociated and out of my body, and I got to my brother's house. I didn't even know how I got there, but I knew that I shouldn't be driving. It was crazy." After that, she said she then confronted her father, asking him, "Why didn't you tell me you're not my father? You lied to me." 'LAW & ORDER: SVU' STAR MARISKA HARGITAY'S REAL-LIFE HERO MOMENT ON LIVE TV But he told her that was "bulls---." "I was in so much pain," she said in the documentary, "but I could see his pain was almost worse, so I decided I would never talk about it again, and I would never bring it up to him again, and I never did," she said. "But the fact is I had bad years after that." She said she didn't tell anyone, and would just go to bed crying every night for a long time. Hargitay had an identity crisis over the revelation. "Who was I related to? Who did I belong to? And then, on top of it, I was born out of some affair like some illegitimate, sinful mistake? I was so angry at my mother for leaving me in this mess and for hurting my father and for leaving me feeling so alone and untethered," she admitted. She said for her own survival she "disowned the part of myself that was my mother's daughter." Meeting her biological father When she was 30, she decided to go see her biological father, Nelson Sardelli, who was performing in Atlantic City at the time. "And after the show he came out and I said, 'Hi, Nelson, my name is Mariska Hargitay. I understand you knew my mother,'" she said. He burst into tears and told her "'I've been waiting 30 years for this moment,'" she said, adding that they stayed up until 5 in the morning talking that night, and he told her what had happened. SOPHIA LOREN AND JAYNE MANSFIELD: THE STORY BEHIND THAT INFAMOUS SNAP "That was 30 years ago, and I've kept it a secret ever since," she added. Sardelli said he met Mansfield in Atlanta, and she asked him to see her show. When the show was over, she asked to go for a ride in his car. He said that at the time Mansfield and Hargitay weren't talking to each other, and she and Sardelli began publicly dating, and he was even introduced to her kids. They performed together, made a movie together and went all over Europe together. He found out Mansfield was pregnant with his child while they were in Europe. Hargitay read a letter in the documentary that Mansfield wrote to her mother talking about "going through perhaps the most trying time" of her life while she was pregnant with Hargitay and having "the love of two men – a very deep love from each of them. I hope God shows me the way soon because I have really been depressed as of late." Sardelli said in the documentary that he broke up with her in Europe, and they never spoke again, which he called the "biggest shame" of his life, acknowledging "a lot of people paid the price for this love affair that we had." "I can't imagine what your father felt, but I am grateful to him," he said. He told Hargitay after Mansfield died, her grandmother wanted him to "rock the boat and claim you or something but by that time Mickey was the father you knew, and your siblings they were your siblings. What would I be accomplishing that would be beneficial to you?" JAYNE MANSFIELD'S FATAL CAR CRASH CHANGED ELAINE STEVENS' LIFE FOREVER Years later, he said he talked to Mickey once and Hargitay told him, "'Nelson, nobody has to tell me who's the father of my child,' and I said to him, 'I will not embarrass you in any way. Never.'" Hargitay's stepmom told her that if Sardelli ever came up in conversation, he would only tell her, "I'm her father, period." "Mickey was a great father, and he was so full of love for you, but I think Mickey was quite capable of shutting out pain, which I think he did a lot with Jayne, so he said Mariska's my daughter, and he said that until the day he passed," she added. Hargitay said she spent 30 years trying to hide her story "to honor my dad, but something that I've also realized is that sometimes keeping a secret doesn't honor anyone." Reacting to the truth being revealed for the first time in her documentary, Sardelli said it felt like a "stronger, higher power is forgiving me. There is nothing I can change, but I regret having extricated myself from your mother's life because I think certain things would not have happened to her." He added that he'd like to be able to have one more conversation with Mickey and apologize to him, "because I'm sure I was part of his suffering." Hargitay added, "I've spent most of my life feeling ashamed of my mother, a person who I had no memory of, a person whose voice I didn't want to hear, a person's whose career made me want to do it differently, a person who made her share of problematic choices and left me with loss and secrets, but at 60 years old I feel different." Hargitay also met her half-siblings Giovanna and Pietra Sardelli, who kept the secret as well. Giovanna said she once confronted her father as a child after finding a secret letter he'd kept written from Mansfield's mother, telling him he had an "amazing child that's yours," but he told Giovanna that Hargitay is a "little girl, has a father who loves her like I love you. This little girl is safe." Pietra interjected, "'And if she is OK, she just lost her mother. You cannot take the only family she knows,' and that was their decision and that's why they stayed quiet." MARISKA HARGITAY OPENS UP ABOUT LOSING HER MOM JAYNE MANSFIELD AS A CHILD: 'THERE'S NO GUARANTEES' "And that made sense to me and I tucked that away." Giovanna said, adding that she remembered coming years later to Mariska's birthday party and telling Katie Couric when the journalist asked, that they weren't related, they were just family friends. "My need to honor Mickey was so huge, but the fact is I was wrong, because you guys had to live all these years with the secret, and you were so generous, so generous to me," Hargitay told her sisters. Hargitay was left behind after deadly crash While the documentary doesn't go into a lot of detail about the Mississippi crash that killed Mansfield and two others, Hargitay's brother Zolton Hargitay, who was 6 at the time, said he remembered his mother had been sitting in the back seat with the children before moving into the front seat. He said she had been arguing with her boyfriend, then she got out of the car and called their father before she moved into the front seat. Zoltan remembered her comforting him before the crash, "telling me I was going to be fine, 20 minutes later, half an hour, whatever, I heard her scream so loud, and that was it – just silence." The car had crashed into a tractor trailer that had slowed down around 2 in the morning on June 29, 1967, killing Mansfield, her boyfriend and the driver of the car. Mariska, Zoltan and Mickey Hargitay, Jr. were in the back seat at the time and survived. "I often think about why she didn't just stay in the back seat with us," Zolton said through tears. Zoltan said he remembered being in a car on the way to the hospital and looking around before saying, "Where's Maria?" referring to Mariska. "And they said 'Who's Maria,' so then we doubled back." Ellen Hargitay, Mariska's stepmom, said when they went back, she was found "lodged underneath the passenger seat with a head injury and – thank God, thank God Zolie woke up." Mansfield had no will when she died at 34 Mansfield didn't have a will at the time of her death at 34 years old in 1967, "So the state sold off her belongings to pay her debts and there were just a handful of items that my siblings and I were able to keep," Hargitay explained in the doc. She added, "For me, a lot of this is about reclaiming what was lost. Even physical things." Hargitay finally went through the family storage unit, which she said hadn't been opened since 1969, two years after her mother's death. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER A poignant moment near the end of the film showed Hargitay's husband, Peter Hermann, surprising her with Mansfield's piano. The actress was both a pianist and violinist. Mickey wasn't over Mansfield when he married Hargitay's stepmom Hargitay's stepmom, Ellen Hargitay, said she's sure Mansfield's widower was "not over her" when they met and started dating. "Because she passed away June 29, 1967, and Mickey and I got married in April of 1968. But you always have them with you," she said. "There's no way when you love somebody that they ever leave your heart. I don't care who, I don't care how angry you are, I don't care anything. If you really love somebody they remain in there." Mansfield's oldest child, Jayne Marie Mansfield, said: "It was love at first sight with Mickey [Hargitay]. It really was, and he was just such a nice man, you could just see that she was so happy." Hargitay and Mansfield divorced in 1963, four years before her death. Her daughter Jayne said she believes her mom became depressed shortly before her divorce from Hargitay. "Her career wasn't going well, so she went back to these parts for dumb blondes," Mansfield explained. "I don't think it was easy for her. But I don't think it was easy for Mickey either. She was completely absorbed in negativity because she wasn't doing the kind of work she dreamed of doing, and I believe she became a victim of depression. You know you're never yourself when you're depressed." LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Ellen said Mansfield started meeting other men and "the marriage fell apart. I think Mickey was hurt deeply by Jayne. I think she blew it when she divorced Mickey." "Mickey was the most positive influence in her life and even though he might have felt a lot of pain, he loved her. He always loved her even after they were divorced," she added. Mansfield came back to him many times after their divorce, and they were together again for a few months around the time she was pregnant with Mariska, Jayne said. Mansfield personified a 'dumb blonde' character Hargitay said her mother's baby whisper voice used to annoy her, and she would try not to listen to it when she heard her. "She didn't always talk like that," Hargitay said, adding that her mother had copied Marilyn Monroe in that way. Her former publicist Rusty Strait said she personified that character because it was what the studio wanted at the time. But at home, her daughter Jayne said she "didn't put on any of those airs," and wore her hair in a scarf and no makeup. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "But she was also very eloquent. She spoke French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, and she wanted us to be exposed to more [in life]," she added. Her son, Zoltan, said he "kind of looked the other way" when his mom did her "public voice. Because I knew she was really, really smart." Jayne said her mother told her she wanted to be a serious actress but "the parts didn't come in so she did what she had to do." She said Mansfield had "great admiration" for Marilyn Monroe, but eventually realized "that blonde persona is a box," adding that her mom told her around the time of Monroe's death in 1962 that "she wanted to reverse that image." "My Mom Jayne" premiered on HBO on Friday and is streaming on Max. Print Close URL
