Hot off its warm reception at TIFF ’24 comes the new Trailer for Jacques Audiard‘s EMILIA PÉREZ.

SYNOPSIS |

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Pérez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramírez.

About EMILIA PÉREZ
DIRECTOR: Jacques Audiard
WRITER: Jacques Audiard
PRODUCERS: Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, Valérie Schermann, Anthony Vaccarello
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Pauline Lamy
CAST: Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia), Zoe Saldaña (Rita), Selena Gomez (Jessi), Adriana Paz (Epifanía), and Edgar Ramírez (Gustavo)
ORIGINAL SCORE AND SONGS BY: Clément Ducol and Camille
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France

In Select Theaters On November 1, 2024 (US and Canada)

On Netflix November 13, 2024 (US, Canada and UK)

By David Baldwin

Rita (Zoe Saldaña) is a defence lawyer in Mexico City with the uncanny ability of helping her wealthy clients stay out of jail. She is contacted by a local drug kingpin for assistance in finding the right discreet medical centres to complete their gender affirmation surgery from man to woman. She needs to help get the kingpin’s young wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children to safety in Switzerland as well. Four years later, Rita meets the fully transitioned Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) who now wants to become reacquainted with her family.

Oh, and did I mention that this is a full-blown rock opera filled head to toe with songs – almost all entirely in Spanish – while also being a Shakespearean tragedy?

EMILIA PÉREZ is a sumptuous fever dream that should not work. But Co-Writer/Director Jacques Audiard manages to balance all of the ideas and genres (including it also being a crime thriller and a moving exploration of discovering one’s true self in the LGBTQ+ community) into one cohesive and beautiful film. I loved the look and the feel, and felt the songs and dance sequences – yes there are plenty of those as well – were exquisite. While I wish there was a true showstopping number, I still feel like we are gifted a solid soundtrack that will get lots of future replay on Spotify.

If I hold anything really again EMILIA PÉREZ, it’s that there are a few subplots and characters that feel extraneous and take away from the commanding performances by the lead trio of Saldaña, Gomez and Gascón. This is a story about powerful, flawed women first and foremost, and they each slay in their own way from start to finish. There’s a reason why the Cannes Film Festival bestowed the Best Actress prize to the three of them (plus Adriana Paz) rather than highlighting only one of these spectacular performers. So why should we care about characters like Edgar Ramírez’s Gustavo? Some of this leads to sag in the middle that I wish was tightened up a bit better, but I will admit that it’s easy to look past and forgive once you see what a distinct and unique sensory feast the rest of the film is.

EMILIA PÉREZ screens at TIFF ’24:

Monday, September 9 at 6:15PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Tuesday, September 10 at 11:30PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Friday, September 13 at 5:45PM and 9:00PM at TIFF Lightbox

Saturday, September 14 at 9:00AM at TIFF Lightbox and 9:45PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Sunday, September 15 at 12:00PM at TIFF Lightbox

Even at the half-way point, the star power still is electric at the Festival! Our Day Six sightings include:

•Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon for EMILIA PEREZ

•Robbie Williams at TIFF ’24 for BETTER MAN

•Jason Reitman, Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons, Rachel Sennott, Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O’Brien, Nicholas Braun, Ella Hunt, Kim Matula, Billy Bryk, Cory Michael Smith and more at TIFF ’24 for SATURDAY NIGHT

Highlights below:

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Paramount+ today announced that the highly anticipated second season of the original drama series LIONESS will premiere Sunday, October 27, 2024 with two episodes, exclusively on Paramount+ in Canada, the U.S. and international markets where the service is available. From Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, the espionage thriller is currently filming in Texas. LIONESS features a star-studded cast, including series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Canadian Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez and Emmy Award nominee Michael Kelly, with Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, and Oscar and Emmy winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

As the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home, Joe (Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Kidman), and Byron (Kelly) enlist a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe is forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she has made as the leader of the Lioness program. The series also stars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Thad Luckinbill and Hannah Love Lanier.

The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, David Lemanowicz, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Friedman and Keith Cox and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Season one of LIONESS set a new record as the most-watched worldwide series premiere on the service, at that time.

LIONESS is part of Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes YELLOWSTONE, 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, LAWMEN: BASS REEVES, the upcoming series LANDMAN, as well as the second seasons of TULSA KING and 1923.

For more information about Paramount+ and LIONESS, please visit www.paramountplus.com, and follow @ParamountPlusCA and @LionessPPlus on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

About Paramount+

Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com, and follow @ParamountPlusCA on social media.

Paramount+ today announced that production is underway on the highly anticipated second season of the original drama series LIONESS. From Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, the espionage thriller currently is filming in Texas and features a star-studded cast, including series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Canadian Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez, Emmy® Award nominee Michael Kelly, with Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, and Academy Award winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman. LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

LIONESS, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe (Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror. The series also stars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Thad Luckinbill and Hannah Love Lanier.

The series is executive produced by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, David Lemanowicz, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Friedman and Keith Cox and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Season one of LIONESS set a new record as the service’s most-watched worldwide series premiere on launch day, at that time, with nearly six million total viewers in its first week across Paramount+ globally and a linear preview on the Paramount Network in the U.S.

In addition to LIONESS, Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+ includes YELLOWSTONE, TULSA KING and LANDMAN, which currently are all in production, and the upcoming third season of MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, 1923, LAWMEN: BASS REEVES, and 1883.

For more information about Paramount+ and LIONESS, please visit www.paramountplus.com, and follow @ParamountPlusCA and @LionessPPlus on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Toronto’s own Laysla De Oliveira got a huge welcome home tonight to present upcoming Paramount+ Series SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS. The Actress after having lived in the City for most of her life, now is based in the U.S.

This Action-Thriller Series from Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown) centers on Joe (Zoe Saldaña) as she attempts to thwart the next 9/11 with an aggressive Marine named Cruz (De Oliveira), reporting to Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) and Donald Westfield (Michael Kelly).

Some lucky select influencers got to preview the first episode of the riveting new Series which left them wanting more. De Oliveira sporting a gorgeous Fendi number, spoke about being cast in this dream assignment at a Q&A hosted by TIFF, with a gorgeous rooftop bash that followed at Malaparte. She truly rises above the the physical and emotional demands of her role.

Seen supporting De Oliveira who by the way is phenomenal here, were her fiancé, Actor Jonathan Keltz, along with Aladdin star Mena Massoud. De Oliveira‘s Locke & Key Co-Star Hallea Jones also was present for the celebrations.

A reel of highlights from the night:

You absolutely must check-out SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS when it premeres on Paramount+ Canada July 23, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Paramount+)

Paramount+ today debuted the teaser trailer and key art for the highly anticipated original series SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, which will premiere on Sunday, July 23 in the U.S. and all Paramount+ international markets exclusively on the service. From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, the espionage thriller features a star-studded cast, including series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Emmy Award nominee Michael Kelly, with Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, and Academy Award winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman. SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios for Paramount+.

SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, inspired by an actual US Military program, follows the life of Joe (Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Kidman) and Donald Westfield (Kelly), enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (De Oliveira) to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA’s efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS will also star series regulars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanier. The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.

SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1923, 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, and TULSA KING as well as the upcoming series LAWMEN: BASS REEVES and LAND MAN.

For more information about Paramount+ and SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlusCA and @SpecialOpsLioness on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and @SpecOpsLioness on Twitter.

Paramount+ debuted a first look and official title for the highly anticipated espionage thriller SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (previously titled “Lioness”). From Academy Award® nominee Taylor Sheridan, the original series stars series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Academy Award winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman, Canadian Laysla De Oliveira, and Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman. SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS is based on a real-life program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.

SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS will also star series regulars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanier with Emmy Award® Nominee Michael Kelly in a recurring role. The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.

The series is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1923, 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, and TULSA KING as well as the upcoming series LAWMEN: BASS REEVES and LAND MAN.

For more information about Paramount+ and SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlusCA and @SpecialOpsLioness on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and @SpecOpsLioness on Twitter.

Paramount+ today announced that Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman will join the cast of the upcoming original series LIONESS alongside series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Academy Award winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman, and Laysla De Oliveira. Freeman will play Edwin Mullins, the United States secretary of state. From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

LIONESS is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.

LIONESS will also star series regulars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanier. The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.

Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman ranks within the top 10 highest-grossing actors of all time, with his films having earned over $5 billion in cumulative ticket sales. In 2005 Freeman won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in “Million Dollar Baby.” Freeman also received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor for “Street Smart,” in 1994 for Best Actor for “The Shawshank Redemption” and in 2010 for Best Actor for “Invictus.” He also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1990. Freeman has been honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award and the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. Freeman also received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished acting and was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award from the Hollywood Film Festival.

In addition to his Academy Award nomination for his role as Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” Freeman also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor, received a Golden Globe nomination and a Broadcast Critics Association nomination. Freeman will next be seen in feature films “A Good Person,” “Paradise Highway” and “Muti.” Other feature films include “Vanquish,” “Coming 2 America,” “The Comeback Trail,” “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “The Poison Rose,” “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” “Just Getting Started,” “Going in Style,” Paramount Pictures’ “Ben-Hur,” “Now You See Me 2” “London Has Fallen,” “Ted 2,” “Last Knights,” “Lucy,” “Dolphin Tale 2,” “Transcendence,” “The Lego Movie,” “Last Vegas,” “Now You See Me,” “Oblivion,” “Olympus Has Fallen” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Other credits include “Dolphin Tale,” “Born to be Wild 3D,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Bucket List,” “Glory,” “Clean and Sober,” “Lean on Me,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Unforgiven,” “Se7en,” “Kiss the Girls,” “Amistad,” “Deep Impact,” “Nurse Betty,” “The Sum of All Fears,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Coriolanus,” “Attica,” “Brubaker,” “Eyewitness,” “Death of a Prophet” and “Along Came a Spider.”

In television, he was most recently seen in his Emmy-nominated guest star role in “The Kominsky Method” and the sci-fi anthology series “Solos.” He also starred in the children’s program “The Electric Company.” Freeman has served as an executive producer on “Madam Secretary” for CBS, the true drama “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain” and “Princess of the Row.” Freeman also hosted and produced a nonfiction series entitled “Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman.” He narrated the documentary “March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step,” for which he received an Emmy nomination, “The C-Word,” “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar,” “Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking” and “We the People.” Other narrations include two Academy Award-winning documentaries, “The Long Way Home” and “The March of The Penguins.” 

On stage, Freeman won a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Nomination for his role as Zekein “The Mighty Gents.”Other stage credits include the Alfred Uhry play “Driving Miss Daisy.” In 1973 he co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, now in its 37^th season, which seeks to serve successful playwrights of the new millennium. 

LIONESS is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, TULSA KING and 1923 as well as the upcoming series BASS REEVES and LAND MAN.

(Photo credit: Nigel Parry)

Today, The Walt Disney Company is celebrating “Avatar Day” with the debut of the final trailer for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s highly anticipated follow-up to his Academy Award®-winning “Avatar,” tonight during “Monday Night Football” game, which airs at 8:15PM ET on TSN. Fans counting the days to the film’s December 16th theatrical release can purchase tickets wherever tickets are sold.  Now fans, communities and organizations can arrange group bookings and theatre buy-outs by visiting:  https://www.avatartickets.ca/

Celebration events are taking place all over the world, including Venice–where its famous canals were turned blue with a projection on the water and buildings, Sydney–where the iconic Bondi Beach Icebergs Pool was transformed into a giant blue birds’ eye view billboard for the film, and New York City’s famed Times Square, where at approximately 7PM EST, “Avatar: the Way of Water” will simultaneously light up 40 digital screens, immersing viewers in an anamorphic 3D, nearly 360 degree experience of Pandora’s breathtaking underwater world. 

The following gala premieres for the film were announced:

London – December 6 (World Premiere)

Seoul – December 9

Tokyo – December 10

Los Angeles – December 12

Disney also revealed that Snapchat has created an augmented reality Lens that turns any Snapchatter into a Na’vi. Every Snapchatter will get a personalized experience. The Lens uses machine learning to transform in real-time their mouth, eyes, head shape, hair and skin – complete with blue-striped texture – as if they came straight from Pandora.

World class global promotional partners, including Mercedes-Benz, NYX Professional Makeup – L’Oréal Groupe, will support the film with massive media campaigns and first to market activations.

And finally, beginning today in celebration of “Avatar Day,” the original 2009 “Avatar” is once again available to stream on Disney+.

With “Avatar: The Way of Water,”  the cinematic experience reaches new heights as Cameron transports audiences back to the magnificent world of Pandora in a spectacular and stirring action-packed adventure.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive,  and the tragedies they endure. 

Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet. Screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers.