Latest news with #AStarIsBorn


Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Bradley Cooper's stand-up comedy drama ‘Is This Thing On?' to close New York Film Festival
The closing night selection of this year's New York Film Festival will be the world premiere of 'Is This Thing On?' the latest film directed by Bradley Cooper. The film will be released by Searchlight Pictures but is currently without an opening date. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the 63rd New York Film Festival runs Sept. 26 through Oct. 13. Based on the life of British comedian John Bishop, from a screenplay written by Cooper, Will Arnett and Mark Chappell, the film stars Arnett and Laura Dern as a couple in the process of splitting up when Arnett's character immerses himself into New York City's stand-up comedy scene. Likening the film to a contemporary iteration of the classic comedy of remarriage, NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said it is 'definitely a pivot' from the grandeur of the two previous films directed by Cooper, 'A Star Is Born' and 'Maestro.' ('Maestro' also played at the NYFF.) 'I would say it's quite different from Cooper's two other films as director,' said Lim in an interview this week. 'It is less sweeping. This is a more intimate film — kind of scrappier.' Lim noted the new film also has a very different aesthetic from Cooper's previous directing efforts. While Matthew Libatique — a three-time Oscar nominee, recognized for his work on both 'A Star Is Born' and 'Maestro' — is the film's cinematographer, Cooper often operated the camera himself. 'There's a lot of intimate handheld work, which I think matches the tone of the film — it has this bittersweet tone,' noted Lim. Cooper, a 12-time Oscar nominee, also takes a supporting role in the film, with a cast that includes Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Ciarán Hinds and Amy Sedaris alongside stand-up comedians Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen and Reggie Conquest. 'Earlier this year we had the wonderful opportunity to shoot this story all throughout the city, so it's very exciting to debut it on the closing evening of the festival,' Cooper said in a statement. 'NYC injects an energy into every aspect of filmmaking that just can't be replicated.' The festival's opening night film will be the North American premiere of Luca Guadagnino's 'After the Hunt,' a drama of campus politics and personal intrigue starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield. The festival's centerpiece will be the North American premiere of Jim Jarmusch's 'Father Mother Sister Brother,' a story of family relationships told in three chapters in three different countries featuring Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Vicky Krieps, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Waits. Both of those films will have their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival. Still to be announced are the NYFF's main slate and numerous other sections. Aside from 'Is This Thing On?' Lim says there will be a few other world premieres in the festival's program, which for the most part draws on titles from throughout the year that first screened at festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Cannes, Locarno, Telluride, Venice and Toronto. 'How do we make a case for cinema as an art form that is still vital and relevant? I think programming the New York Film Festival is answering this question,' said Lim. 'If I'm going to put forward a list of films that makes the case for cinema as an art form that matters today in 2025, which are the films that I'm going to put forward as evidence? The program is our answer to that question.' The New York Film Festival main slate selection committee is chaired by Lim and includes film programmers Florence Almozini and Rachel Rosen, critic K. Austin Collins and former Times film critic Justin Chang.

Leader Live
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Lightsaber fight sees Star Wars film reclassified due to ‘moderate violence'
The reclassification was revealed in the BBFC's 2024 annual report, which said the 1999 film's starship dogfights, use of laser weapons, and the battle, which shows brief 'bloody detail' and a 'non-graphic' shot of a villain's dissected body, had led to it being labelled PG for its cinema re-release last year. PG means the film should not unsettle a child aged eight or above, but some scenes may be unsuitable for more sensitive children, while U means a movie is suitable to all. Another film which saw its classification change was 1937's A Star Is Born, which went from U to 12, meaning it is not generally suitable for children aged under 12, because of the implied suicide of one of the film's characters, which was described as 'visually discreet'. The phrase 'son of a bitch' and drug references saw US TV comedy series Fraser go from a PG to a 12, over a change in the guidelines for classification, while both The Crow (1995) and Fight Club (1999) saw their classifications lowered from 18 to 15 because of the updated guidelines. It comes as last year saw the BBFC classify the highest number of films in its 112-year history, with new guidelines regarding the classification of sex scenes at the 12/15 border, violence across the categories, and certain depictions of drug misuse. Natasha Kaplinsky, president of the BBFC, said: '2024 was the BBFC's 112th year of helping people across the UK view what's right for them – and what a remarkable year it was. 'We classified more cinema features than ever before, and we have made significant progress towards extending the coverage of trusted BBFC age ratings on streaming services through new deals with Prime Video and Netflix. 'We launched our revised Classification Guidelines – ensuring that the standards we apply when classifying content continue to reflect the views of UK audiences. 'Perhaps most exciting of all, we have continued our pioneering work with AI, ensuring that the BBFC remains at the forefront of film and digital content regulation. It has been a genuine privilege to lead the organisation at such an exciting and transformative time.'


Metro
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Star Wars is getting a new trigger warning 26 years later
It's been 26 years since Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released, and now the hit sci-fi flick has been hit with a new trigger warning. Boasting a mighty cast comprising Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, and Samuel L. Jackson, the epic space opera was a phenomenal hit with cinephiles in 1999. Against a $115million (£86m) budget, it grossed an astonishing $1.047billion (£780m), breaking numerous records and becoming both the highest-grossing film of that year and the second-highest of all time. But fast forward almost three decades, and it's all change, as The Phantom Menace has been reclassified due to an aggressive fight scene. The film was originally classified as universal (U), but this has now switched to parental guidance (PG) in a decision by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), citing 'moderate violence' in a lightsaber fight as the reason. Its reclassification was revealed in the BBFC's 2024 annual report, which said the film's starship dogfights, use of laser weapons, and the battle, which shows brief 'bloody detail' and a 'non-graphic' shot of a villain's dissected body, had led to it being labelled PG for its cinema re-release last year. PG means the film should not unsettle a child aged eight or above, but some scenes may be unsuitable for more sensitive children, while U means a movie is suitable for all. And Star Wars wasn't the only film to have its classification changed this time, as another film that fell victim to it was 1937's A Star Is Born. The American drama, which tells the story of a young woman who aspires to Hollywood greatness but becomes entangled with a leading man and his alcoholism, went from U to 12. This means it is not generally suitable for children aged under 12, because of the implied suicide of one of the film's characters, which was described as 'visually discreet'. A Star Is Born has, of course, been adapted several times since the original was released, most notably in 1954 with Judy Garland and in 2018, with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Meanwhile, TV-wise, the phrase 'son of a b***h' and drug references saw US comedy series Frasier go from a PG to a 12, over a change in the guidelines for classification. In contrast, both The Crow (1995) and Fight Club (1999) also saw their classifications lowered from 18 to 15 because of the updated guidelines. It comes as last year saw the BBFC classify the highest number of films in its 112-year history, with new guidelines regarding the classification of sex scenes at the 12/15 border, violence across the categories, and certain depictions of drug misuse. More Trending Natasha Kaplinsky, president of the BBFC, said: '2024 was the BBFC's 112th year of helping people across the UK view what's right for them —and what a remarkable year it was. 'We classified more cinema features than ever before, and we have made significant progress towards extending the coverage of trusted BBFC age ratings on streaming services through new deals with Prime Video and Netflix.' She added: 'We launched our revised Classification Guidelines—ensuring that the standards we apply when classifying content continue to reflect the views of UK audiences. 'Perhaps most exciting of all, we have continued our pioneering work with AI, ensuring that the BBFC remains at the forefront of film and digital content regulation. It has been a genuine privilege to lead the organisation at such an exciting and transformative time.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Games Inbox: Is there a secret Nintendo Switch 2 Christmas game? MORE: Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's best game and you should get it now it's cheap – Reader's Feature MORE: All Neighbours spoilers for next week as 90s legend returns to Ramsay Street


South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Lightsaber fight sees Star Wars film reclassified due to ‘moderate violence'
The reclassification was revealed in the BBFC's 2024 annual report, which said the 1999 film's starship dogfights, use of laser weapons, and the battle, which shows brief 'bloody detail' and a 'non-graphic' shot of a villain's dissected body, had led to it being labelled PG for its cinema re-release last year. PG means the film should not unsettle a child aged eight or above, but some scenes may be unsuitable for more sensitive children, while U means a movie is suitable to all. Another film which saw its classification change was 1937's A Star Is Born, which went from U to 12, meaning it is not generally suitable for children aged under 12, because of the implied suicide of one of the film's characters, which was described as 'visually discreet'. The phrase 'son of a bitch' and drug references saw US TV comedy series Fraser go from a PG to a 12, over a change in the guidelines for classification, while both The Crow (1995) and Fight Club (1999) saw their classifications lowered from 18 to 15 because of the updated guidelines. It comes as last year saw the BBFC classify the highest number of films in its 112-year history, with new guidelines regarding the classification of sex scenes at the 12/15 border, violence across the categories, and certain depictions of drug misuse. Natasha Kaplinsky, president of the BBFC, said: '2024 was the BBFC's 112th year of helping people across the UK view what's right for them – and what a remarkable year it was. 'We classified more cinema features than ever before, and we have made significant progress towards extending the coverage of trusted BBFC age ratings on streaming services through new deals with Prime Video and Netflix. 'We launched our revised Classification Guidelines – ensuring that the standards we apply when classifying content continue to reflect the views of UK audiences. 'Perhaps most exciting of all, we have continued our pioneering work with AI, ensuring that the BBFC remains at the forefront of film and digital content regulation. It has been a genuine privilege to lead the organisation at such an exciting and transformative time.'

Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Lightsaber fight sees Star Wars film reclassified due to ‘moderate violence'
The reclassification was revealed in the BBFC's 2024 annual report, which said the 1999 film's starship dogfights, use of laser weapons, and the battle, which shows brief 'bloody detail' and a 'non-graphic' shot of a villain's dissected body, had led to it being labelled PG for its cinema re-release last year. PG means the film should not unsettle a child aged eight or above, but some scenes may be unsuitable for more sensitive children, while U means a movie is suitable to all. Another film which saw its classification change was 1937's A Star Is Born, which went from U to 12, meaning it is not generally suitable for children aged under 12, because of the implied suicide of one of the film's characters, which was described as 'visually discreet'. The phrase 'son of a bitch' and drug references saw US TV comedy series Fraser go from a PG to a 12, over a change in the guidelines for classification, while both The Crow (1995) and Fight Club (1999) saw their classifications lowered from 18 to 15 because of the updated guidelines. It comes as last year saw the BBFC classify the highest number of films in its 112-year history, with new guidelines regarding the classification of sex scenes at the 12/15 border, violence across the categories, and certain depictions of drug misuse. Natasha Kaplinsky, president of the BBFC, said: '2024 was the BBFC's 112th year of helping people across the UK view what's right for them – and what a remarkable year it was. 'We classified more cinema features than ever before, and we have made significant progress towards extending the coverage of trusted BBFC age ratings on streaming services through new deals with Prime Video and Netflix. 'We launched our revised Classification Guidelines – ensuring that the standards we apply when classifying content continue to reflect the views of UK audiences. 'Perhaps most exciting of all, we have continued our pioneering work with AI, ensuring that the BBFC remains at the forefront of film and digital content regulation. It has been a genuine privilege to lead the organisation at such an exciting and transformative time.'