Quote of the Day

I think whenever there's an new movie from Luca Guadagnino coming out -- as there is this weekend with After the Hunt, reviewed right here by yours truly -- I end up doing about five "Quote of the Day" posts involving him, because he's not shy about giving interviews and saying things I enjoy hearing. Today he spoke to GQ (thx Mac) and there are several bits inside this single interview I could've shared -- he goes on about Showgirls being a masterpiece for god's sake! But I'm choosing the bit below where the interviewer asks him about something I very much wanted the answer to after seeing After the Hunt twice -- a framed poster of Pedro Almodovar's movie The Flower of My Secret is prominently displayed in one scene, and here's what he had to say about that:

"I think Alma loves that movie. I think Alma is a cosmopolitan. I think her and Frederick have been traveling the world a lot. You see that alongside the work of art that hangs in the apartment, that belongs to the heritage of the family of Frederick, there is a lot of contemporary international art that maybe Alma has bought around the world and bought. A very smart idea that Stefano developed in the set of the apartment. 

I think she loves that movie because I think she admires Pedro the filmmaker, but I think she really loved the character of Leocadia [in the movie]. I think Alma is drawn to Leocadia’s crisis. She is drawn to the idea that she also secrets herself. And at the same time, I think that she loves the form of that movie. In fact, she listens to the soundtrack. She plays Miles Davis' “Solea,” which is one of the pieces of music that is in that movie. And lastly, because every movie that I do is about the characters, but every character in the movie in a way reflects part of myself, I love that movie. And I love Pedro Almodovar. 

One of the great, great, great moments of my life was when we were at the premiere of Queer in Venice last year, and the movie finished and we had this beautiful reception from the audience in the theater. And I was so happy, and looking around and turning to say thank you to the people. And there, I saw Pedro, and that was amazing."

Whose Hunt, His Hunt

Here is what I believe to be the first poster for Luca Guadagnino's higher education thriller After the Hunt, which is the Opening Night movie of the NYFF on September 28th and then opens in theaters on October 10th in limited release, surely hopping about from there. I shared the trailer here. And no joking -- I thought that was a picture of Luca himself in the upper left corner and not Michael Stuhlbarg at first haha. I was like, "Luca I know you're a director, you've got an ego, but come on." Anyway I'm praying there's a scene where Michael Stuhlbarg  gives his "Our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once" speech to Ayo Edebiri in this and she's just like, "Oooookay, ya weirdo." Make it happen!

Preview of Attractions Coming

Hey everybody! I'm back home but not back back from my trip in the sense that I'm blogging today -- that starts tomorrow. But how could I not hop in here to 1) say hello (Hello!) and 2) share this poster for The History of Sound, Oliver Hermanus' forthcoming WWI-era romance starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor? Swoon, yes, but also -- kinda feel like poor Josh got a little sidelined there? I'm reminded of all the stories of movie stars wrangling for poster billing of olde and wondering if Josh gives a shit. I feel like he doesn't. And there's enough of his pretty closed eyes and pouty lips to make me stir anyway. Anyway! The trailer is apparently dropping tomorrow so we'll cover that when we're back at our desk then. Oh and one more important bit of vaguely related news that dropped today -- Luca Guadagnino's film After the Hunt with Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri was announced as the Opening Night Film of this year's NYFF! This is very exciting for me personally! I shared the trailer for this before I headed out for a week -- check that here. I'm always wrangling for the NYFF Opening Night Party invite but I will lay waste to the earth for it this year, best believe!

[RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM SCREAMING CRYING] Luca's new movie is Opening Night at NYFF!!!! @filmlinc.bsky.social

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) July 23, 2025 at 9:13 AM

Before the After the Hunt

When I mentioned Luca Guadagnino's next next movie on Monday when Cooper Koch was cast in it I forgot to make any reference to Luca's immediately next movie, his higher education thriller After the Hunt starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edibiri, Chloë Sevigny, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Well now consider it mentioned -- more than mentioned because the trailer's just dropped and it looks absolutely killer. Obviously I was sold on day one but this trailer has me extremely excited. Watch:

After the Hunt is out October 10th 

in limited release, a week later wide.

6 Off My Head: A 2025 Peek Ahead

Inspired by the Bugonia teaser I just shared (along with the fact that it's Paul Thomas Anderson's birthday today which reminded me he has a new movie out in several weeks) I decided to go ahead and make a list of the movies left to be released in 2025 that I'm most looking forward to. I did this (as with everything I do here) mostly for myself because I've been bad about keeping an eye on what's ahead -- I can be very much in the moment; planning ahead's not my strongest suit! So I will myself probably be referring back to this list often. But perhaps this will help you along the same lines! That'd be nice! So sans further ado I give you...

My Top 6 Anticipated Movies of 2025

Bugonia (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos) -- Oct 24th 

(more here)

One Battle After Another (dir. PT Anderson) -- Sept 26th

The History of Sound (dir. Oliver Hermanus) -- Sept 12th 

(more here)

After the Hunt (dir. Luca Guadagnino) -- Oct 10th 

(more here)

Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier) -- Nov 7th

Pillion (dir. Harry Lighton) -- TBD

(more here)

------------------------------

(Sidenote: There is no word on Gregg Araki's I Want Your Sex and any kind of release date for it yet, otherwise it would very much be listed above.) 

(Sidenote #2 - literally five minutes after I posted this list it was announced that Neon has bought Park Chan-wook's new movie No Other Choice for release and it's premiering at Venice so add that one too!)

Runners-up: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (dir. Rian Johnson), Marty Supreme (dir. Josh Safdie), Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao), A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (dir. Kogonada), It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi), The Roses (dir. Jay Roach), Avatar: Fire & Ash (dir. James Cameron), Together (dir. Michael Shanks)...

... Weapons (dir. Zach Cregger),  Jay Kelly (dir. Noah Baumbach), Caught Stealing (dir. Darren Aronofsky), Frankenstein (dir. Guillermo Del Toro), The Mastermind (dir. Kelly Reichardt), Highest 2 Lowest (dir. Spike Lee), A House of Dynamite (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), Die My Love (dir. Lynne Ramsay), The Running Man (dir. Edgar Wright)

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What movies are y'all most looking forward to?

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Ouiser: I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free. And I don't see movies 'cause they're trash, and they got nothin' but naked people in 'em! And I don't read books, 'cause if they're any good, they're gonna make 'em into a miniseries.

A happy 91st birthday to the legend Shirley MacLaine!

Blondie Woman

I don't usually monitor the hair color of female movie stars -- that's not my bag, baby -- but seeing as how this is for a movie I care very much about I am making an exception. Lucky y'all. Julia Roberts, famed movie star and former America's Sweetheart, will have blonde hair in Luca Guadagnino's next movie, the college-set morality thriller After the Hunt. The movie just started filming in Cambridge -- see Luca standing with Miss Roberts down below! Or see even more photos over here. And all of my previous posts on the film right here. The film also stars Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Ayo Edibiri. Oh and Chloë Sevigny. It wouldn't be a Luca joint without Chloë Sevigny. Cannot wait!

Jake Takes Tribeca

Remember that scene in Pretty Woman where Richard Gere bangs Julia Roberts on the piano in the hotel bar? I hadn't thought of that scene in eons but looking at that photo of Jake Gyllenhaal brought it all flooding right back for some reason. Huh, wonder why? Aaanyway that photo is one I missed from his THR shoot last week -- see the rest here. I come bearing (and baring!) a few other Jake-flavored things, too -- most importantly the word that... 

Yeah so #PresumedInnocent is now streaming on Apple+ https://t.co/E6RZaeDTpG pic.twitter.com/dvCJojRflO

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) June 13, 2024

... yes, his Apple+ series Presumed Innocent is now streaming on Apple+. I think it's just the first two episodes? I don't know, I haven't checked, but I do believe this series is a weekly thing not a binge-it-all-at-once thing. I got to see the first two episodes at Tribeca this past week, which you might already know if you saw me shrieking on Twitter about stumbling into Jake in person -- in the flesh, as they say -- right before the screening. I posted a couple of photos on Twitter but why would I not share more if I have more? Indeed -- there is no coherent reason why I would not do that. So let's hit the jump for Jake's flesh in the vicinity of my flesh (including a video from the Q&A following the screening!)...

Dr. Stuhlbarg Reporting For Duty

I don't mean to do a new post for every single cast member that gets announced for Luca Guadaginino's next film -- the filming-this-summer thriller After the Hunt starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edibiri -- but when it's names like the ones I just mentioned or when it's news on the level of a reunion with his Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All actor Michael Stuhlbarg I think I can be forgiven. As explained previously in my first post about this movie it stars Julia Roberts as a college professor whose own troublesome past starts bubbling up when a colleague gets run outta town for bad behavior -- it's hard not to immediately picture Mr. Stuhlbarg playing said colleague, given how in his wheelhouse college professors are. He's performed two of my favorites of all time now, after all! 

That said I will always love Luca for casting him way way way against type in Bones and All, where he sweeps in for one scene playing a creepy redneck cannibal freakazoid type. What an unsettling pleasure that sequence is!

Ayo Plus Luca Equals Yes

There was a killer photo (see it here) of a bunch of my favorite famous people stuffed into a party bus headed to the Met Gala back on the 6th and amonng the folks was The Bear and Bottoms star Ayo Edebiri (sidenote: apologies if me typing the words "bear" and "bottoms" so close to one another brought to your mind those obnoxious Charmin Toilet Tissue commercials) and world-class filmmaker slash MNPP -beloved Luca Guadagnino. And I remember thinking to myself, "Oh those two should work together." And I made it happen! Me and me alone! Ayo has just today joined the cast of After the Hunt, the thriller that Luca is directing this summer already starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield. Most excellent news! Also that photo above comes from a new cover story profile of Ayo in Vanity Fair -- I haven't read it yet myself so let's all go read it together. She seems a peach and we're hoping the world for her.

Andy By Luca

An exciting update on that thriller called After the Hunt that Luca Guadagnino is directing and Julia Roberts is starring in -- Andrew Garfield is in talks to join its cast! (thx Mac) This movie is going to shoot this summer so it's full steam ahead! Annoyingly Deadline buries the lede that this is a Luca movie, which is what makes this news matter most! The movie is about a college professor whose past full of secrets comes back to haunt her after a star pupil accuses one of her collegues of... well something. Nobody has said what the accusation is yet but I imagine we all can imagine what it might be. Anyway it seems to me that Garfield is too old to play "a star pupil" at this point right? Will he be the collegue? Or some part of Julia's past secret? I don't know, I'm just excited that all of this is happening. It's giving me A Bigger Splash vibes, with its intertwined relationships charged with possibly erotic thriller elements... and you just know that Luca is gonna make Andy look hot as hell.

Pretty Luca

Now here is a big bit of news I never expected to report -- Luca Guadagnino's next movie will star The Julia Roberts? Yes, the Pretty Woman one. In a movie from the guy who made a teenager fuck a peach! Will wonders??? Anyway it's actually Luca's next next movie after Queer with Daniel Craig, which is already in the can. Or it probably is Luca's next next one -- the Deadline article about it makes it sound like Amazon is moving full steam gung-ho ahead on this, but Luca's got several other projects currently announced, like the other gay one with Josh O'Connor we just heard about yesterday. Good grief this man can't help himself, he announces everything and then slowly makes a movie every three years. But to get to what this movie will be, it's called After the Hunt and it's a "thriller" and here is how they describe the plot:

"The film is an intense dramatic thriller about a college professor (Roberts) who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light."

Obviously it sounds like this is one that's going to deal with #MeToo and consent and power imbalances in relationships and yadda yadda blah blah blah which are all subjects that Luca's shared complicated feelings on previously (and they're subjects worthy of complicated feelings) -- gosh I sure do hope it gets those "age difference" conversations going again though, cuz I sure did enjoy that bullshit the first time around with Call Me By Your Name. (Do note my sarcasm.) Anyway good for Luca, good for Julia, good for us all. Pat yourself on the back. We made this happen.

Pretty Scared Woman

Julia Roberts should star in more horror movies. As anyone who has seen her Drink The Juice Shelby, she can play scared incredibly well. And oh then there was the back-to-back thrillers of Flatliners and Sleeping With the Enemy! We love us some Sleeping With the Enemy. Anyway Sam Esmail's latest Netflix venture, the apocalyptic Leave the World Behind, isn't entirely a horror movie, but it's close enough to remind me of this fact, and I reviewed the movie over at Pajiba today. Do we think it was the massive flop that was Mary Reilly that scared her off the genre? Has anyone tried to watch Mary Reilly in the past twenty years? Maybe I should re-watch it again and see if it's aged better than its reputation might suggest. I just remember everybody at the time was like, "WHY WON'T AMERICA'S SWEETHEART SMILE DAMMIT???" How exhausting that must have been for her. 

Lucas Bravo Five Times

I watched the Julia Roberts & George Clooney rom-com Ticket To Paradise over the weekend and lord it was dumb, not least of all because they tried to make us believe that anyone would choose anyone except for the perfect french pilot played by perfect French actor Lucas Bravo (see lots more of him here) in it. As soon as it became a plot-point that Julia just couldn't with him I was done with her character. DONE!

YES YES I DO I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT YES pic.twitter.com/7tT2qZAtyB

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) November 7, 2022

Anyway dumb as it was the movie was a perfectly adequate way to distract myself for a couple of hours from the fritz it's been on for the past couple of weeks, which I'm hoping will clear up now that the election's passed and gone better than anticipated. We'll see. Well it didn't happen today, but I was up half the night not-doom-scrolling, so let me get some sleep tonight and we'll see. Until then I leave you with this InStyle photo-shoot of the bellissimo Mr. Bravo, after the jump...

Emmys For Everybody!

Congratulations from all of us here at MNPP (i.e. me and my shadow) to all of the Emmy nominees -- people like Nicholas Hoult in The Great, for instance. You hear me, Nicky? I said congratulations. You can feel free to dump that bottle of champagne over me in slow motion now, I will allow it. Anyway see all of the nominees over here -- as reported yesterday I have to run offline for the next couple of hours so y'all tell me what you think is good and what you think is bad about the Emmy nominations in the comments here and I will listen to you when I get back! I already complained about a couple of snubs on Twitter a bit ago (Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer to be exact) but there's good stuff -- The White Lotus ruled and I am terribly happy to see Mike White have such success at last, and then there's our favorite person in the world...

There's no way I am wading through all the Emmy nominees just so I can get annoyed but I did make sure that the most important thing happened -- yay @melanielynskey!!! #YellowJackets pic.twitter.com/nuOSgz6MkN

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) July 12, 2022

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Jennifer Tilly: You know, I should have played 

Erin Brockovich. I could have done 

it without the wonderbra.

A happy 62 to the great Jennifer Tilly today!

We can't wait for Don Mancini's Chucky TV series.

Good (Late) Morning, World

.

I'm getting a late start today, as might be expected when the past week and a half has begun to blur together into a day-less hour-less minute-less miasma. Anyway I posted over the weekend -- although to quote the Dowager, what's a weekend -- which I normally don't do, so I'm allowing myself some leeway this minute. But you can see them posts below. For now I will tell you today is the 30th anniversary of Pretty Woman and that's a movie that always makes me smile -- even if yes, I can read the retrograde sexual politics at work -- and we should probably all take two hours out of our very busy quarantines today to watch it. And then ask ourselves this question...

bike trail guide

Take A Hammer to the White House

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Did y'all see the teaser trailer for Ryan Murphy's Halston series starring Ewan McGregor that popped up earlier this week? I've included it at the bottom of this post in case you haven't -- I bring it up because it reminded me what weird casting that was and is, and how Armie Hammer here would've been a much better choice to play Halston. But Armie's got his own weird ass casting now, as it's just been announced (thx Mac) that he's going to play Watergate-era White House council John Dean...

... and that is weird ass casting. He's playing John Dean in Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail's new series called Gaslit, which will be an adaptation of the podcast Slow Burn and reunite him with his Homecoming star Julia Roberts (Homecoming, which I really dug, was also based on a podcast). Julia is playing Martha Mitchell, an Arkansan socialite and the wife to Nixon's Attorney General (who'll be played by Sean Penn). Also in the cast will be Joel Edgerton as FBI agent turned Nixon fixer G. Gordon Liddy. The series doesn't have a pick-up yet but with that cast I think it won't be too long. Anyway here's that Halston teaser I mentioned:
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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

The Mexican (2001)

Jerry: It's a little hard to carry on a relationship
when I'm stuffed with straw and formaldehyde.

I was going to wish Brad Pitt a happy birthday by using his "Don't cry in front of the Mexicans" line from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but then I remembered he actually starred in a movie called The Mexican, and here we are. Happy birthday, Brad Pitt! I've never actually seen The Mexican -- it's on Prime but only through the end of the year! Should I bother?

Anyway it's looking increasingly likely that my favorite male performance of 2019 -- that'd be Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse -- isn't going to eke out a Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars this year, and if that holds true then I will be rooting for Brad in Hollywood come Oscars Day. He's terrific in a terrific movie. That's as real as a fucking doughnut.

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RIP Albert Finney

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The last thing I saw Albert Finney in was a few months ago when TCM aired 1967's rom-com Two For the Road with him opposite Audrey Hepburn, which was one of the singularly most unpleasant viewing experiences of my life. I found both of their characters cloying and unlikeable, shrill and vapid, deranged really -- they deserved each other, but why I was expected to enjoy the spectacle of their screeching unpleasant love affair I couldn't suss out.

(Finney does spend a lot of time in skimpy swimsuits though, if you're looking for that kind of thing.) Anyway it's a shame that's where my head's at upon hearing that Albert Finney passed away this week at the age of 82 -- I really should go back and watch some of his other older work; I have never seen Tom Jones, if you can believe it! I loved his late-life work with Soderbergh and Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich of course, and with Tim Burton in Big Fish, and he had a fine small final role in Skyfall a few years ago.

If I was going to pick a favorite Albert Finney movie though (not having seen a lot of the earlier stuff like Tom Jones yet, I mean) I'd probably have to say Michael Crichton's gorgeously ridiculous 1981 plastic surgery psycho-drama Looker, which is just a ball. Finney isn't necessarily "good" in it, but he's there and that's enough. See my previous post on that right here. What's your fave Finney?