Latest news with #PomKlementieff
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Blonde is back, baby: from Bella Hadid and Kristen Stewart at Cannes to Beyoncé and Marvel's Pom Klementieff – there's a reason your favourite celebrities are lightening up their locks
When Bella Hadid stepped onto the Cannes red carpet this year with glossy, golden-blonde strands, the message was clear: blonde is back. Achieved with the help of colourist Jacob Schwartz and a 14-hour process, the transformation was anything but subtle: a clear pivot from her usual brunette. Bella Hadid attends the opening ceremony of the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 13. Photo: EPA-EFE After all, Cannes is where celebrities go to reinvent. With the world watching and couture turned up to eleven, the red carpet becomes a stage for beauty debuts. This year, French actress Pom Klementieff's icy platinum hair stood out sharply against her typically dark-haired portrayal of Mantis in the Marvel universe. Kristen Stewart , too, returned to Cannes with bleached roots and soft pink ends, years after debuting her first blonde bob back in 2016 on the same red carpet. Advertisement Pom Klementieff at the premiere of the film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at Cannes on May 14. Photo: Invision/AP Of course, going blonde has always carried a certain weight. Historically, blondness has worked as a kind of cultural short-cut in Western beauty: flirty, ultra-feminine and just rebellious enough to keep things interesting. There's a reason the term 'blonde ambition' conjures an entire pop culture mythology, one built on Marilyn, Madonna and Beyoncé in her golden-blonde prime. The shade may vary – ash, beige, strawberry – but the subtext rarely changes: going blonde is a move. Kristen Stewart poses during a photocall for the film The Chronology of Water at Cannes on May 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters This year's blonde revival may feel sudden, but it's been bubbling up for a while. Emma Stone reminded everyone she's actually a natural blonde when she debuted a platinum mane in 2017. Jennie from Blackpink showed up at Paris Fashion Week that same year in creamy blonde, leaving behind her signature dark locks, and even the Kardashian-Jenners have cycled through just about every shade imaginable. Olaplex's Blonde Enhancer shampoo and conditioner. Photo: Handout 'Going blonde has never just been about aesthetics – it's about recognising agency,' says Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad and an expert on the cultural and career subtext behind aesthetic shifts. 'Whether it's a rebellion against expectations, a reclaiming of visibility, or a quiet refusal to blend in – or even a combination of all three – blonde becomes a badge.' She adds that for Black and brown women especially, the move 'often signals disruption, 'I will not be invisible; even if there are attempts of my being erased.'' Kérastase Blond Absolu Bain Ultra Violet shampoo. Photo: Handout
Geek Tyrant
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Pom Klementieff Reportedly Leading New DCU Series, and She Might Be Playing Huntress — GeekTyrant
Pom Klementieff is making the leap from Marvel to DC, and this time she's not just passing through. The Guardians of the Galaxy actress is reportedly set to lead a new DCU live-action TV series, according to Nexus Point News. While details are still being locked down, it sounds like James Gunn is once again teaming up with one of his MCU alums for something big. This wouldn't be Klementieff's first brush with the DC world. She had a silent cameo in The Suicide Squad back in 2021, but if this new project pans out, it'll mark her full-fledged entry into Gunn's freshly rebooted DC Universe. So who's she playing? Word is, Klementieff has been tapped to portray Helena Bertinelli, aka Huntress, a fan-favorite vigilante who previously appeared in Birds of Prey , where she was played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The character first appeared in the 1989 Huntress comic by Joey Cavalieri and Joe Staton and has remained a gritty, complex staple of the Bat-family ever since. The report adds that this version of Huntress will be half-Korean and half-Italian, offering a fresh spin on the character's backstory. That makes the rumored involvement of South Korean filmmaker Jung Byung-gil ( The Villainess ) even more exciting. If this is true, he'll be serving as writer and director. Nothing's been officially confirmed yet because, as the report notes, 'there hasn't been a formal deal in place.' Fans have started speculating after Klementieff was seen visiting the set of Peacemaker Season 2. Could she show up there first before launching into her own series? It wouldn't be the first time Gunn introduced a new character that way. Whether or not the Huntress news is true, this much is clear, Gunn is building a new DC Universe, and it makes sense that he would want to work with Klementieff again.
Geek Tyrant
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
James Gunn Confirms Three GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Stars Are in SUPERMAN — GeekTyrant
James Gunn just can't help bringing a few old friends along for the ride. As the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy director makes his big leap from Marvel to DC with Superman , he's confirmed that three stars from his Marvel days are officially part of his new chapter. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Gunn revealed that Pom Klementieff, Michael Rooker, and Bradley Cooper all have roles in Superman, though they may not be as front and center as you'd expect. 'Pom Klementieff is one of the robots,' Gunn said. 'In that same scene, it's Bradley [Cooper] and it's Michael Rooker as another one of the robots. We've got two Guardians right there.' That scene Gunn's referring to was part of the teaser footage released back in April, showing Krypto dragging a wounded Superman to the Fortress of Solitude, where he's tended to by a squad of robot medics. Alan Tudykwas already confirmed as voicing one of them, and now we know who's joining him. Cooper's involvement had already been floating around the rumor mill. Some speculated he might be playing Jor-El, Superman's Kryptonian father, appearing in an early flashback. And while Gunn didn't exactly shoot that down, the way the quotes are delivered makes it unclear Cooper's role in the film is. Gunn's not ruling out more familiar faces joining him in the DCU, either. When asked if we might see other Guardians stars pop up in future projects, he said he's open to it. No word yet on Dave Bautista or Zoe Saldaña, but Gunn's always been one to work with a trusted crew, Michael Rooker has been in almost everything he's done. With Superman hitting theaters next July, we'll find out soon enough just how deep the Marvel-to-DC pipeline goes.
Geek Tyrant
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
The Cast of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING Talk Bruises, Blizzards, and That Helicopter Commute — GeekTyrant
If you sign onto a Mission: Impossible film, you're not just joining a franchise, you're strapping in for a ride that might literally throw you off a cliff. The Final Reckoning , which brings Ethan Hunt's saga to its adrenaline-fueled climax, pushed its cast to the limit in the best and most brutal ways possible. Tom Cruise is, of course, the high priest of practical stunts. At this point, he's made a career out of cheating death on screen. But it wasn't just Cruise dangling off helicopters this time. Every member of the IMF team got a taste of chaos, fire, and freezing cold. Pom Klementieff, who returns as a fierce assassin-turned-IMF recruit, tackled two particularly punishing sequences, one of which involves a gritty prison brawl, the other inside a building literally on fire. 'They were both very challenging in different ways,' Klementieff told GamesRadar+. 'The first one was the restriction with handcuffs. I had to do high kicks and also, I was wearing less clothing, so when you fall hard on the ground, it hurts more. I did all the fight for that, too.' Then came the heat. 'The one with the fire, with the real flames, where we had to be in sync with the other characters, with Tarzan and with Simon... I was wearing winter clothing, but it was hot inside and there was a real fire,' she said. 'Fighting all day long like that, it was exhausting and very hot, but I think it also shows on our face, the struggle, and it seems real. That was amazing to shoot too.' Greg Tarzan Davis, who plays Degas, had the bruises to prove just how real those fights were. 'I was getting kicked by Pom, repeatedly,' he said. 'I had bruises on my side. Granted, I did ask her to do it to make it look realistic. I just forgot how strong a Pom kick can be. She was like, 'Oh my gosh, are you okay?' I'm like, 'I'm good. Just keep kicking.'' But it wasn't all flame and fury. Sometimes, the challenge came in the form of frozen breath and polar bears. Hayley Atwell found herself in the unforgiving Arctic, filming in negative 40-degree weather—and loved every second of it. 'I loved it,' she said. 'I didn't find it difficult as such because I found it really fulfilling and satisfying every day to be there... I never thought in my life that I would be in such a remote landscape, let alone working with Sled Dogs and filming a huge franchise movie. I think it will always stay with me. A set being interrupted by the presence of a polar bear walking past is not something that you see every day.' Even amid the exhaustion, danger, and crazy temperatures, the team still found time to enjoy the perks of flying with Cruise. Simon Pegg recalled wanting to ride in helicopters during Fallout , only to realize he got his wish this time, just not in the way he expected. 'Tom used to fly us back to number ones when we were doing the scene, when we drove up the mountain,' Pegg said. 'We got to the top of the mountain, and then we'd all bundle into this helicopter, me, Hayley, Tarzan, and Pom and then we'd fly through this canyon back to number ones... I guess I did that already!' Klementieff chimed in saying: 'Yeah, it was amazing. Or [Tom] would fly us from the studio back to central London with the sunset. It was beautiful.' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23rd.
Toronto Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
The maybe-final ‘Mission: Impossible' finds Cruise in control, again
Published May 21, 2025 • 6 minute read From left, Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell in "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning." MUST CREDIT: Paramount Pictures/Skydance Photo by Paramount Pictures and Skydance / Paramount Pictures and Skydance By Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The arrival of 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' puts any knowledgeable filmgoer on alert. Final? Really? That's what they told us when we mourned the passing of Iron Man in the final Avengers movie; now Robert Downey Jr.'s coming back as a villain. After announcing that he would no longer act on-screen, Daniel Day-Lewis recently made it known he will star in an upcoming movie directed by his son. Steven Soderbergh, thankfully, has made more than half a dozen movies and TV series since 'retiring' in 2013. Without spoiling anything, let it be recorded that 'The Final Reckoning' makes sure to leave its options open. But for now, it's best to take the wording of the subtitle in good faith. Even if this doesn't turn out to be Tom Cruise's last hurrah as IMF team leader Ethan Hunt, it's as good a time as any to take the measure of a franchise that, for nearly 30 years, has thrilled and chilled its way into our hearts as the movie we can rely on to make us laugh, gasp, scratch our heads a little, and finally applaud for its unbridled – and giddily contagious – love of spectacle for its own sake. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 1996, when Cruise first appeared as the boyish, spikily hair-gelled Ethan, it was the era of floppy disks and pay phones and smoking on airplanes. Apps were to be eaten, not downloaded, and characters said the word 'internet' with a combination of awe and incipient dread. Cruise was 33 when he starred in the first big-screen 'Mission: Impossible.' Now 62, his Ethan is floppy-haired, phones are palm-size computers in our pockets, and the internet has achieved terminating velocity by way of artificial intelligence: In 'Dead Reckoning, Part One,' which came out two years ago, an AI blob called the Entity was turning the planet into a self-destructing Babylon of post-truth paranoia and conspiracy theories. As 'The Final Reckoning' opens (technically the door's still wide open for 'Dead Reckoning, Part Two'), the Entity is coming for the world's atomic weapons, with one major power after another kissing its arsenal goodbye. ('The Final Reckoning' ostentatiously includes Israel in the nuclear fellowship, so that secret's out, apparently.) Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tom Cruise is still delivering stunts in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.' Photo by Paramount Pictures and Skydance / Paramount Pictures and Skydance Quick recap: Gabriel is still the bad guy, played with evil-laugh glee by Esai Morales. The IMF team dedicated to stopping him is still attractively ragtag, including the pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell), Q-like gadget monger Benji (Simon Pegg), enigmatic assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff) and super-hacker Luther, played by Ving Rhames in a touching full-circle turn, having survived all eight MI movies. There are other originals here, too – and a callback from the first film that strikes a particularly winning chord of humor and sentimentality. Director Christopher McQuarrie has enlisted a terrific, if underused, supporting cast that includes Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer and Hannah Waddingham; Tramell Tillman, the breakout phenom from the Apple TV+ series 'Severance,' makes a particularly welcome and impactful appearance as a steady-eyed submarine captain who is forced to make an unexpected trip to the North Sea. That's where Ethan will single-handedly avert global disaster, as only Ethan can do – which McQuarrie and his co-screenwriter Erik Jendresen insist on reminding the audience at every conceivable opportunity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The scripts have never been the strongest suit of the 'Mission: Impossible' movies; back in 1996, the big moments were Cruise hanging balletically (and beautifully) by a bungee cord in a secret CIA vault, and tearing off a latex mask at the most dramatically opportune moment. That film, viewers may recall, clocked in at a fabulously lean hour and 50 minutes: Now one hour longer – and what an overstuffed, meaninglessly busy hour it is – 'The Final Reckoning' exemplifies a more-is-less approach of diminishing returns, whereby the stunts have become exponentially more elaborate while the story has been reduced to talky expository scenes full of arcane techno-speak and variations on Only Ethan Can Save Us. Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo by Paramount Pictures For all their inflationary bloat, the secret of the MI movies – the reason Ethan Hunt has proved more consistent than James Bond, more enduring than Jason Bourne, more likable than John Wick – is the way they combine contradictory elements: the bluntly effective action and needlessly complicated plotting, for example, or the sophisticated production design and location work with goofy twists worthy of a 'Scooby-Doo' episode. It's all been in good fun, and delivered with gusto and audience-first generosity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More 'The Final Reckoning' stays true to those core tenets, even if it too often feels baggy and redundant. It's a nesting doll of life-and-death deadlines within life-and-death deadlines, with one wildly improbable stunt leading to another, even more wildly improbable stunt. The inevitable setbacks are met with the inevitable last-minute rescues, or miraculously bloodless fights, or both. Resistance is futile. Just repeat after me: Only Ethan Can Save Us! This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The messianic not-so-subtext of 'The Final Reckoning' dovetails neatly with Cruise's offscreen persona: He's always presented himself as a man of destiny, whether he's jumping on Oprah's couch or off the tallest building in the world. In recent years, he's set out to save theatrical filmgoing itself, an impossible mission that met a rare hiccup when he dared to stare down Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' and lost. (Cruise's refusal to move the opening date resulted in the first part of 'The Final Reckoning' playing on Imax screens for only one week.) Still, it's an indisputably honorable endeavor, and Cruise has literally put his body on the line in its service, upping the ante on doing his own stunts with each succeeding movie. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Last time, he rode a motorcycle off a cliff and helped orchestrate a dazzling finale set on a precariously teetering train; in the really-truly-final 'Final Reckoning,' he engages in some eerily spectacular underwater exploits, swimming with lurking naval behemoths, dodging literal missiles and surviving a paralyzing case of the bends. In the film's climactic sequence, he reaches back to cinema's earliest days in a flat-out bonkers wing-walking sequence atop not just one but two biplanes, his face distended into a g-force rictus. (Thank the cinema gods for crepe soles and stupid courage.) An entire generation has grown up learning what a movie is from 'Mission: Impossible'; in his commitment to physical performance and practical effects, Cruise has taught them that it isn't a conglomeration of CGI pixels or green-screen fakery, but something of genuine awe and, at its best, sublime artistry. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo by Paramount Pictures The emotional core of 'Mission: Impossible' was and still is the team: the team Ethan lost in the first movie, the team he's fighting for in this one. There are one or two moments when fans will mistily realize that, as Angela Bassett's presidential voice intones at the beginning of the movie, 'the end you always feared is coming.' But, just maybe, this also marks a beginning. The theme of sacrifice that runs through 'The Final Reckoning' could just as easily apply to Cruise himself, who his younger fans may not realize once starred in motion pictures that didn't require him to run, jump, punch, shoot, walk on airplanes or fly off cliffs on a motorcycle. To paraphrase 'The Final Reckoning,' every 'Mission: Impossible' he's made might have brought this world another exercise in escapist amusement, but they have also deprived us of the Cruise who was astonishingly good in 'Magnolia' and 'Tropic Thunder' and 'Collateral' and 'Born on the Fourth of July' and so many more movies, going all the way back to 1983's 'Risky Business.' If this 'Reckoning' truly is final, Cruise is now faced with tearing off the last mask and admitting his true identity: a shrewd, emotionally fearless actor whose singular brand of intensity is its own best special effect. Leaving behind the disguises and dinguses and derring-do, he's now free to seek out material that makes the most of gifts that, with luck, will only have seasoned and deepened with age. It's a daunting mission, but a worthy one. Should he choose to accept it. – – – RATING: Three stars Canada Toronto Maple Leafs Golf Columnists World
