‘Another Simple Favor’ Co-Writer Jessica Sharzer Breaks Down Sequel’s Biggest Twists, Blake Lively’s “Massive” Say in the Fashion and a Possible Third Film

by admin | May 5, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

A Simple Favor is back — however, it’s anything but simple.

Another Simple Favor, Paul Feig‘s follow-up to the 2018 film, sees the return of Blake Lively as Emily, Anna Kendrick as Stephanie and Henry Golding as Sean, and follows their lives when Emily is released from prison after murdering her twin sister. The next adventure shows them reuniting in Capri to attend Emily’s wedding, where she marries a new man, Dante, who is part of an Italian mob.

But to no surprise, not everything goes smoothly, as there are even more twists in this sequel. [Major spoilers from Another Simple Favor.] It’s revealed that Emily’s triplet, Charity, who is believed to have died during childbirth, is on a murder spree, killing Dante — as well as Emily’s ex-husband, Sean. She also has an obsession with Emily, as she thinks they are one. Jessica Sharzer, who was a co-writer along with Laeta Kalogridis, told The Hollywood Reporter that the decision was made to embrace the “gay following” that the first film had and “to tell really great stories that also have a queer element to them.”

The film, which hit streaming on May 1, marks Lively’s first release since the ongoing legal battle heated up in December with It Ends With Us star-director Justin Baldoni. Sharzer says the drama surrounding Lively hasn’t affected her relationship with the film, though she admits: “I feel for what she’s going through right now.” Instead, Sharzer hopes people will “focus on what’s in the movie and not all of the extra stuff.” Up next, Sharzer is working on She Started It, an adaptation of Sian Gilbert’s thriller novel, which she is set to direct for Lyrical Media, Ryder Picture Company.

Below, Sharzer tells THR about the “twisted” love story between Emily and Stephanie, how her contracting COVID-19 inspired one of the scenes, Lively’s influence on the project and reveals that there have already been talks for a third film.

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Was it always the plan to do a sequel for this film? Or did you have any idea that the story would expand when you were working on the first one?

It was actually the opposite. We never expected there to be a sequel. We certainly didn’t plan for one, and if we had, we would’ve ended the first movie differently because we left one of our characters in jail for murder. So, figuring out how to handle undoing was the first challenge. There was no second book in the series, and we thought it was a one-off movie. Then, the success of the movie and its continued success on streaming were what led to the idea of a sequel.

When you were writing this film, were you writing it for a theatrical release or streaming — and did that change how you approached the script?

We always knew it was a streaming movie. We sold it directly to Amazon, and Amazon wanted it for their platform. So that was never a question. And as far as how it impacted the way I wrote, it didn’t change my process at all. It’s a really visual movie. It’s a big-screen movie, whether you’re watching it on a TV or not. Paul really wanted that visual panache and that big world-building that you see in the movie.

There are so many great additions to the cast, such as Allison Janney. Did you have anyone in mind for the roles you could envision when writing it?

For sure. I have to admit, I watched 365 Days, and as soon as I saw Michele Morrone, I thought he has to be our male lead, and I’m so glad it worked out that he wanted to do it. So, I always write with actors in mind. We don’t always end up with those actors, and of course, it’s the director’s decision who’s in the movie anyway, but for me as a writer, it really helps me to imagine actors as I’m writing just to get the cadence and the voice and the personality. It really helps my writing.

Emily’s lines are so witty, and she’s so quick. I’m curious if Blake Lively’s real-life sense of humor inspires any of her dialogue?

Definitely, I mean, she’s funny. She’s married to a very funny man [Ryan Reynolds], and I think they help each other with all of their projects. And so it’s a really collaborative process because Paul Feig is also a writer, in addition to being a great director, and Blake has great ideas for her character, to whom she feels very connected. It really is a collaborative process, and there are a lot of funny lines that I either didn’t write or don’t remember writing, and it could have come from a number of sources.

Could you give me an example?

My favorite line in the first movie that makes me laugh every time that I did not write is when Blake is at a playground with Anna, and she’s talking about working for a tough boss and she says, “Or they will fuck you in the face.” That line always makes me laugh, and I know I didn’t write it because I’ve never heard that expression before, but I just love it. So there’s always lines that are news to me and in a good way.

Oh wow. She came up with that?

I don’t know if it was her or Paul. I’m not exactly sure what the source was, but it definitely wasn’t me. (Laughs.)

There are so many twists and turns in the first movie, but there was even more in this one. Was there any pressure to make audiences more surprised by this movie?

I think there was. Whenever you do a sequel to anything, you’re trying to not only live up to the first movie but outdo it. And I think there was a real aspiration to make this one bigger in every way. It was a much more expensive movie, but going to Italy was a really exciting addition to the story. And as you mentioned, a lot of new characters were added. So, we definitely wanted more twists and turns in this second movie.

I truly wasn’t expecting Emily to have a triplet who is still alive, especially because we’re told she died in childbirth in the first film. What sparked that creative decision?

It was a combination of factors. One of the things Blake loved the most about the first movie was getting to play those twins who are identical but so different in every way. There was a real appetite for how do we do that again when that sister died, and because there had been this plant of triplets in the first movie, we were looking for a way to bring back that third sister we never met and find a way to explain how she is somehow still alive.

Charity’s obsession with Emily was also really shocking. What were the discussions like about wanting to include that?

The first movie has a really big gay following, which we wanted to embrace. We wanted to meet those fans and not disappoint them. And so we were looking for opportunities to tell really great stories that also have a queer element to them. There was a wonderful podcast that was completely devoted to the first movie and it was three queer women who were doing A Simple Podcast. They were a big reason why we ended up doing a sequel at all because they interviewed the key cast, Paul and me, and it just revived all of our interest in the project and gave Paul the idea to do a sequel. So the queer element of the franchise is baked in as far as we’re concerned to the storytelling and the relationship between Anna and Blake in the movie we see as a love story. It may not be a romantic story, but we see it as primarily a love story between two women. It may be twisted, but it is a love story.

What was Blake’s reaction to reading that in the script? What was Paul’s?

I was on strike during a lot of these developments and these conversations, and so I wasn’t part of all of them, but I think Blake really was behind this decision. I don’t think it was handed to her without her participation. My sense is that she really embraced it and wanted to do it.

I’m sure any director like Paul or even a big star like Blake will give notes on the script. Was there anything else that they brought to the table with this follow-up?

Yeah, one of the things that was really fun and that I didn’t know anything about going into the writing was this cottagecore phenomenon, and Blake is really interested in it. So, she brought that idea, which you can see in the Charity character, that she’s dressed in this really old gingham dress and she has this hairstyle that’s really retro and that came from Blake directly. She really is interested in cottagecore and I just didn’t know what it was when she brought it up.

I wanted to ask about the fashion in this film, because Emily’s extravagant style adds a lot to her character. Did you envision any of the looks for her character when writing the script? And did Blake have a say in additional costumes?

Blake had a massive say in the fashion, and I think she had a great collaboration with our amazing costume designer. I always knew that the character was glamorous in the first movie, but I also tried to stay in my lane. I’m not a costume designer. I’m not a fashionista. I’m not part of that world. And so I will indicate the feel of what somebody looks like without getting too specific about the items of clothing, because I know the costume designer and the actor are going to come in and they’re going to come up with something better than what I could imagine. And they did. Off of the first movie, we knew that Blake’s fashion would be a major element in the second movie. And I think that was a really exciting opportunity for everyone involved, mostly the costume designer and Blake, to really think, “How can we outdo what we did in the first movie? What new looks can we bring to the character?” Especially being in Europe on this location wedding.

There were two looks I loved, and I thought they were so funny. One was the huge hat that Emily wore because it was just so over the top.

That wasn’t part of her costume, and she found it shopping in Capri and bought it, and they put it in the movie. So that hat was a discovery while they were on the set.

Also, the all-black morning outfit, when it’s first revealed that it’s Charity.

Yes, It’s over the top. Everything about the movie is over the top, but we embraced the insanity of every element of it and just went for it.

Back to the twists, in the scene where Anna is on the truth serum, how did that idea come about?

That came from the very first draft of the script. I do have a funny story about this. I wrote that scene when I had a 102 fever with COVID-19 and was isolated from my family. I was in a kind of hallucinatory state, and I had this idea that it would be really fun to see Anna under the influence like that, where she just can’t stop telling the truth, but her truth is so much more innocent than anyone else in the story. Her truth is about lying to become PTA president and that kind of thing. So, that idea came from being so sick and having such a high fever that I myself was in that hallucinatory state and put it in the script.

Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that.

No, it was actually a gift. I was better a few days later, but actually, it’s kind of fun as a writer when things happen to you and you’re able to use them, not a bad thing.

What happened between Stephanie and Sean in between the films. We see Sean really struggling trying to cope with everything that happened in the first one. Why didn’t they get back together and explore their connection more?

We had a different ending to the first movie, which was they did get together. And when we tested it for audiences, they really did not like that ending. And I think the reason was because they wanted Anna to have a full arc where she is on her own and has moved on with her life on her own, that it wasn’t about getting a man. That’s not what the movie’s about. It was a confusing ending because it made it seem like she won because she got Sean, which wasn’t really our intention, but I can understand how audiences saw it that way. So we actually changed the ending of the first movie from what it had been, and we shot the ending where they got together at the end. It’s a flash mob scene where he proposes to her and it’s on YouTube and it’s an extra on the DVD, but we didn’t use it. So, we did get them together and that turned out to not be what audiences were wanting.

Why decide to kill him off in this one?

The truth is that it did not come from me. That was a decision made after I was involved with the script. So, you would have to ask the other writer.

It was interesting how it’s assumed that when Stephanie goes to Capri, Emily will want revenge on her for everything that previously happened. But it seems like that wasn’t Emily’s intention, especially since she saved her from being killed. Would you say Emily is a real friend to Stephanie, and is their friendship something you wanted to focus more on in this sequel?

In the first movie, we start them as friends and they end up as arch-enemies. We thought it would be interesting in the second movie to do the reverse arc. So they start out as enemies, and they become unlikely friends by the end. The thing that the audience expects is that Emily has some really dark plan up her sleeve for revenge on Stephanie. And if we did that, it would just play directly into the audience’s expectation. So, we wanted to subvert that expectation that Emily actually regards Stephanie as a friend, which may seem odd, but she really does not have very many friends in her life. She doesn’t have anyone she can trust, and she knows that at her core, Stephanie is a good person, that she is somebody with integrity and that she’s not evil. She really wants to have an ally on this trip where she’s venturing into a very dangerous world that she doesn’t really know and she needs a sidekick and protection. And ironically, that’s Stephanie.

Emily was a really good friend to Dante by helping to keep his relationship a secret. Do you think that she’s misunderstood?

I think she’s very complicated, and I think the best villains in cinema are very human and very complicated. And they, of course, have moments of sincerity and moments of vulnerability and moments of kindness because they’re human. And so I do think that she has moments of humanity that are just as surprising as all of the other twists and turns.

At the end, we see Emily stay in Italy and Charity go to jail, though everyone thinks it’s the real Emily. Why didn’t she come forward and say what really happened?

She’s already in so much trouble, and she’s at risk of going back to prison for her previous crimes. She wants to be free and ultimately to be with her son. At the end of the second movie, she finds a solution that checks every box. It gets her everything she wants, and Charity deserves to go to prison for what she’s done. So it’s not like it’s unfair to Charity.

Dante’s mom hands her a letter asking for another simple favor, but what revenge is she looking for now that Charity will be behind bars?

I guess we’ll have to find out in the third movie. The truth is I don’t even know! (Laughs.)

Well, that leads me to, is there more to her story you’d want to explore in a potential third film?

Definitely. I mean, it’s been talked about and I think we’d all love to revisit these characters in this story in success.

Do you think we’d have to wait another seven years?

No, I don’t, because honestly, as Paul pointed out, we didn’t even have the idea for the sequel until several years after the first movie had come out. So, I think now it’s on a more accelerated track if the second movie is successful.

With Emily staying in Italy, what does her future look like while kind of hiding out there?

I don’t really know. I will have to roll up my sleeves and figure it out if I’m invited back to the party.

Has the noise about It Ends With Us been a distraction surrounding this film, and how has that affected you?

I haven’t experienced it, I feel for what she’s going through right now, but last weekend, we had the premiere, and it was just a celebration about the work and the film, and that noise didn’t really come into play as far as I could tell. But no, it doesn’t really affect me at all. I’m excited about the movie. I’m excited for people to see it. We have so many fans of the first movie who have been looking forward to it, and I hope that they’re able to come to it and focus on what’s in the movie and not all of the extra stuff that really has nothing to do with the movie.

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Another Simple Favor is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Trump’s 100 Percent Tariff on Movies: 8 Key Questions the Industry Is Now Pondering and Dreading

by admin | May 5, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

Of course, it was too good to be true.

For the first 100 days of Donald Trump‘s second presidency, it looked like the entertainment industry might just escape the huge costs and relentless chaos unleashed by his radical attempts to remake global trade.

Entertainment products like movies were exempt from Trump’s original “Liberation Day” tariffs because they are classified as services, rather than physical goods. The industry also took some assurance from the fact that films and series, much like big tech, represent one of the United States’ strongest trade surpluses, because of how much more Hollywood blockbusters bring in from abroad compared to foreign content’s slim earnings within the United States. But in a Sunday night post to Truth Social, the president revealed — in screaming all-caps — that he’s targeting the film business next.  

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump wrote. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!” 

He continued: “Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick replied to Trump’s statements on X (formerly Twitter) by writing, “We’re on it.”

Jon Voight, whom Trump named one of his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, is the instigator of the president’s sudden interest in film production, according to several sources contacted by THR. The actor and his manager Steven Paul have been taking meetings with leaders of the Hollywood guilds and studios about a proposal to Trump for how to boost U.S. production with a domestic film incentive. So far, the president appears to have interpreted that advice in the punitive language he prefers — tariffs as stick, rather than incentive as carrot.

From the global film industry, the early reaction is a predictable mix of dread and total confusion. 

“Hollywood is a flagship industry and it was naive to think it wouldn’t be impacted by Trump’s broader tariff war,” says Henning Molfenter, the former head of film and TV production at Germany’s Studio Babelsberg, who has overseen the international shoots of such big-budget U.S. features as the Russo brothers’ Captain America: Civil War and Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections, as well as Wes Anderson’s upcoming feature, The Phoenician Scheme, which will premiere in Cannes. “But it’s not clear what will be impacted. Is it just movies, or also streaming series? Is it visual effects, co-productions, international film financing? There’s a huge degree of uncertainty.”

Molfenter echoes a common refrain: “How could this even work?”

At the risk of sane-washing a policy that may or may not ever come to pass, here are eight key questions the industry will be pondering and considering as potential ammunition to push back against the president’s characteristically blunt opening salvo on the film sector.

What films will be hit by tariffs, and will it be retroactive?

The studios have been shooting their biggest films overseas for years, both to take advantage of visually stunning foreign locations and generous rebates and tax incentives to lower their production costs. Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, also heading to Cannes, tapped tax credits in the U.K. and other territories to offset its hefty production budget. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ A Minecraft Movie, the biggest blockbuster of 2025, so far, was mostly shot in New Zealand, with some production in Canada. Likewise, James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, backed by Disney, shot entirely in New Zealand. Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday recently began production in London. The list goes on.

Would Trump’s tariffs apply retroactively to films that have already shot or that have already begun production? If so, the cost to the studios could be enormous. Roughly 45 percent of A Minecraft Movie‘s $875 million global box office haul — the $400 million it made at the U.S. box office — could theoretically be susceptible to Trump’s 100 percent tariff.

And how will the Trump administration classify movies “produced in foreign lands”? Does including any scene shot outside the U.S. qualify? Does a certain percentage of a film’s budget have to come from international production incentives? So far, none of this is clear.

What about Netflix?

Trump’s initial social media missives only mentioned “movies,” but many in the industry assume any entertainment tariff would also apply to series production. That would be a huge blow to Netflix and other streamers — Amazon, Disney+, HBO Max — which have been built on a model of leveraging local production across a global subscriber base. Would Netflix have to pull Squid Game, Money Heist and The Crown from its U.S. service or face tariffs? And how would tariffs even be calculated for the streamers, which offer countless foreign-made titles to U.S. customers? How much of Netflix’s U.S. subscription revenue can be attributed to non-U.S.-produced shows?

Would a tariff bring production back to the United States?

Trump isn’t all wrong when he says film production in America “is DYING.” A report last month from FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county, showed shooting in L.A. decreased more than 22 percent over the three-month period from January to March this year. More than a year after the two strikes that brought the U.S. film and TV business to a standstill, production has not returned in force to L.A. While some production has simply moved across state borders — Marvel has filmed many of its biggest titles in Atlanta, taking advantage of the state’s 30 percent tax credit — there is no doubt runaway production, to London, to Vancouver, to Budapest, Hungary, and Christchurch, New Zealand, has led to a sharp drop in America-made movies. FilmLA reports production has dropped nearly 40 percent in the past decade, and the most recent report from movie industry research firm ProdPro shows production spending in the U.S. overall was $14.54 billion last year, down 26 percent since 2022.

But would a movie tariff actually bring back film production? The main reason the studios and independents go abroad to shoot is money. Making a film in the U.S., which lacks federal tax incentives of the sort found in the U.K., Europe or Australia, can be 30 to 40 percent more expensive. Add to that the cost of U.S. crews, which are pricier than their international counterparts — thanks in part to the strength of American film and TV unions — and it’s unclear whether a tariff would be enough to bring production back home.

Without a domestic rebate to offset the lost incentives abroad, the increased costs of filmmaking in the U.S. will likely mean that studio movies get smaller — or become more digital, with more volume stage and greenscreen shooting or more use of artificial intelligence (though that could create new problems with the guilds, which have strict restrictions on the use of AI).

For small and midsize independent productions, a tariff could simply mean those films don’t get made.

How will other countries respond?

With Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, many countries had limited recourse for retaliation because the U.S. trade deficit on physical goods in nearly all nations is so enormous. That’s not true for entertainment. The U.S. exports nearly three times as much entertainment as it imports, according to the MPA. Figures from the European Audiovisual Observatory, a media industry think tank, show that U.S. films accounted for 71.1 percent of cinema admissions in Europe in 2023, the latest year for which figures are available, with locally made movies making up just over 25 percent of sales. A tit-for-tat tariff response by international governments would jack up the price of U.S. movies abroad, and, for Hollywood, still struggling to recover from a post-COVID box office dip, it could be devastating.

What happens to the foreign-language distribution business?

Buying foreign-language films for the U.S. has always been a tough business. Trump’s tariffs could make it nearly impossible. Will the small number of successful international film buyers in the U.S. — Neon, Mubi, Sony Pictures Classics — still afford to buy and release the finest French, German and Japanese films in North America when they will cost twice as much under Trump’s tariff? What would it mean for American intellectual life to be effectively walled off from much of the world’s finest cinema?

What about postproduction? 

In the same way that they have created production incentives to lure film shooting to their shores, many foreign governments offer similar rebates for postproduction work done within their borders. Would Trump’s movie tariff also target postproduction work completed outside the U.S.? If so, what would become of the likes of New Zealand’s fabled Weta FX and Weta Workshop, Netflix’s Scanline VFX (in Canada and Europe) and the U.K.’s Double Negative and Framestore, among others? More than any other sector of the business, postproduction has become truly global. Can Trump put an end to that?

Can international co-productions survive? 
In its ongoing fight for survival, the indie film community has learned to use every tool at its disposal to get its movies made — and more often than not, that has meant shooting abroad for rebates and leveraging foreign grants through co-production arrangements. Brady Corbet’s multi-Oscar nominated indie triumph The Brutalist — made for just $9.6 million — probably wouldn’t have been possible in its finished form had it not been set up as a Hungarian/U.K./U.S. co-production, taking advantage of multiple tax incentives and production subsidies, and shot in low-cost Budapest. Midbudget action movies — pretty much every Gerard Butler, Liam Neeson or Jason Statham shoot-’em-up you can think of — rely on budget crews and tax incentives, mainly in Eastern European countries, to make the numbers work. The bulk of new projects being packaged and pitched for the Cannes film market next week involve some form of international co-production or non-U.S. shoot. Has Trump killed the Marché?

Will this actually happen?

At this point in the Trump show, the famously unpredictable president seems to be following a script as tired as any other long-running, low-brow procedural. How likely is it that Trump’s movie tariff will endure in its initial, blunt and far-reaching form, or will it eventually get watered down like many of his other art-of-the-dumb-deal opening gambits? So far, markets seem to be only mildly concerned. Amid a broader slip in stock futures, Disney’s stock was down just over 3 percent in pre-market trading, while Netflix was under by 6 percent and Warner Bros. Discovery down about 4 percent.

Trump Says He’s Instituting a “100% Tariff” on Films Produced Outside of the U.S. Because the “Movie Industry in America Is Dying”

by admin | May 5, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

In a move that could shake up the entertainment industry, President Trump says he’s directed his administration to put a “100% tariff” on any movies coming into the U.S. that were not produced in this country.

He posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that he’s authorized the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to institute the tariff.

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!

“Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

For years, Hollywood productions have flocked to countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Spain for their tax incentives.

Talking with C-SPAN on Sunday, Trump was asked about the tariffs, and he briefly expounded upon his post and put some of the blame on California Gov. Gavin Newsom in addition to other countries.

“What they’ve done is other nations have been stealing the movies, the moviemaking capabilities from the united States,” he said, adding: “I’ve done some very strong research over the past week, and we’re making very few movies now. Hollywood is being destroyed. Now, you have a … grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen, so I’m not just blaming other nations, but other nations have stolen our movie industry. If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, then we should have a tariff on movies that come in. And not only that, governments are actually giving big money. They’re supporting them financially. That’s sort of a threat to our country in a sense.”

Asked for comment, a spokesperson in Newsom’s office said: “Looks like it’s distraction day again in Washington, D.C.”

Meanwhile, top entertainment execs say this would be devastating for TV and not just movies. “Vancouver is over,” said one source.

The MPA has yet to comment.

There are a number of expensive tentpoles due out in the coming months that filmed overseas. Would they be grandfathered in via a grace period or hit with a tariff? And what would the tariff even look like? This was all unlear.

The ultra-pricey Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (May 23) was shot all over the world, which is one of the key selling points of the globetrotting franchise, which films overseas for the exotic locales, not the tax credits.

Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff Ballerina (June 6) filmed in the Czech Republic.

Disney and 20th Century’s Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec. 19) was made in New Zealand, which has become a production hub over the past 20 years after The Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson put it on the map.

Disney sister company Marvel Studios could also be hit by the tariffs. It recently began filming Avengers: Doomsday (May 1, 2026) in London and plans to film Sony co-production Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31, 2026) there this year as well. The U.K. offers generous tax incentives that helped lure production away from Atlanta, where Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame filmed.

Disney-owned Lucasfilm is also expected to shoot the Ryan Gosling Star Wars: Starfighter (May 28, 2027) in the United Kingdom this year.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s rival comic book brand DC Studios has been beefing up its London presence, filming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (June 26, 2026) in London.

There’s a cottage industry of low-budget, VOD movies that shoot in Eastern European countries such as Romania and Bulgaria for the low labor costs and tax incentives. (Think: anything low budget starring an aging action star.)

Trump, of course, last month announced a plan to place at least 10 percent tariffs on goods from every country that trades with the U.S. As a result, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dropped amid fears of a recession. A week later, he said he was putting a “90-day PAUSE” on most of the tariffs, except those against China. The stock market has since rebounded.

6:07 p.m. Sunday, May 4: Added Trump’s quotes to C-SPAN.

8:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4: Added comment from Newsom’s office.

How May the 4th Became Known as Star Wars Day and How It’s Being Celebrated

by admin | May 5, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

It didn’t begin a long time ago or in a galaxy far far away, but every May 4 it feels like images, memes and promotional deals involving Star Wars have an inescapable gravity.

May 4 — or May the 4th, as fans say — has evolved over the years into Star Wars Day, an informal holiday celebrating the space epic and its surrounding franchise.

What is Star Wars Day?

Star Wars Day was created by fans as a sly nod to one of the films’ most popular catchphrases, “May the force be with you.” Get it? Good, now May the 4th be with you too.

It’s not an official holiday but has become so well-known that even former President Joe Biden marked it last year when Star Wars actor Mark Hamill dropped by the White House a day beforehand. This year, the Trump administration marked the occasion with a Star Wars-themed meme.

“I think it’s a very clever way for fans to celebrate their passion and love for Star Wars once a year,” said Steve Sansweet, founder and executive chairman of Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit museum in California that has the world’s largest collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia.

How did it begin?

The phrase “May the 4th be with you” was used by fans in the years after the first film was released in 1977, and even appeared in a British political ad in 1979 celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s victory as prime minister on May 4 that year.

For some fans, the official Star Wars Day comes on May 25, the date of the first film’s release. The Los Angeles City Council even declared the date to be Star Wars Day in 2007, although the California Legislature voted in 2019 to designate May 4 as Star Wars Day.

How has it spread?

May the 4th caught on informally among fans through inside jokes shared on social media and viewings of the films to mark the occasion. Businesses eventually joined in on the fun, with brands ranging from Nissan to Jameson Whiskey running ads or posting on social media about it.

Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, embraced the day as a way to further promote the franchise with merchandise, special screenings and other events surrounding the brand.

Not all Star Wars fans are enthused about how ubiquitous the once-underground joke has become. Chris Taylor, a senior editor at Mashable and author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, labels himself a “May the 4th grinch” in part because of its commercialization.

“I love a good dad joke as much as anyone, but my God you can take it too far,” Taylor said.

In western Germany, a Protestant congregation held a Star Wars-themed service Sunday, German news agency dpa reported. Pastor Samuel Dörr and some of his congregants wore costumes and decorated their church in Bensberg.

How is it being celebrated this year?

The day is being celebrated on a large and small scale this year. Disney+ is launching the new series Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld on the date, and it comes as the second season gets underway for another franchise series, Andor.

It also follows the announcement that a new stand-alone Star Wars film installment starring Ryan Gosling will be released in 2027.

Disney marks the day with the launch of new Star Wars merchandise, ranging from lightsaber sets to jewelry.

Most Major League Baseball teams have marked the day in recent years with special events incorporating Star Wars characters. For example, the San Francisco Giants sold special tickets for Saturday’s game that included a bobblehead portraying pitcher Logan Webb as “Obi-Webb Kenobi.”

It’s hard to find a place where May the 4th celebrations aren’t occurring, from bakeries serving cookies with a Star Wars theme to concerts featuring the memorable scores of the films.

It’s a town-wide celebration in New Hope, Pennsylvania, which shares its name with the subtitle of the first Star Wars film. The town of about 2,600 people, located 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia, plans to have costumed characters throughout town with restaurants serving themed items like a “YodaRita.”

“I would always joke around and wish people ‘May the 4th’ — but taking it to this level, I’ve definitely upped my Star Wars nerdiness,” said Michael Sklar, president of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce.

The White House posted an AI-generated image of a muscular Donald Trump in a jedi robe and wielding a red lightsaber. The image on X was accompanied by a Star Wars-themed broadside.

“Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion — you’re the Empire,” the White House posting said.

Nicolas Cage Recalls Moment He “Could Have Died” While Training for ‘The Surfer’

by admin | May 4, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

Nicolas Cage didn’t have the easiest time while training for his new psychological thriller, The Surfer.

The Oscar-winning actor recently told Entertainment Weekly that he not only had limited time for surf lessons ahead of filming in Australia, but was also up against Mother Nature the entire time.

“I have surfed, but every time I’ve attempted surfing, I’ve been pounded to smithereens,” Cage recalled. “I surfed down on Sunset Beach. When I was trying to learn, my teacher gave me a shortboard. I said, ‘Look, I want a longboard.’”

However, the longer board wasn’t much help as he “just got pounded” by the ocean waves and even “got stuck in the rip tide” at one point. “They said they saw my board, they call it ‘tombstone,’ like that triangle top,” the actor explained, noting when the top of the surfboard sticks straight up out of the water.

“I’m climbing up the leash as I’m somersaulting, and I could have died,” he added. “Now I have a young kid, I don’t know if I want to do it anymore.”

Despite the challenges, though, Cage is still open to giving it another try. “The goal,” he said, “is to retire, surf, drink red wine and eat spaghetti.”

The Surfer follows a man, played by Cage, who returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. However, when he’s humiliated by a group of locals, the man is drawn into a conflict that pushes him to his breaking point.

The film, directed by Lorcan Finnegan, is currently playing in theaters.

Far East Film Festival: Yihui Shao’s Feminist Drama ‘Her Story’ Wins Top Prize

by admin | May 3, 2025 | Articles, Hollywood Reporter Articles

Her Story, Yihui Shao’s feature dramedy that became something of a feminist phenomenon in China, scored another big win by securing the top prize at the 27th Far East Film Festival (FEFF), which concluded Friday night in the northern Italian city of Udine. The film, which grossed almost $100 million at China’s box office and inspired a thousand think pieces about its radical and refreshing themes, received FEFF’s Golden Mulberry Audience Award. Her Story stars Song Jia and Zhong Chuxi, and tells the story of two single women who become neighbors, and despite their contrasting personalities and circumstances, become fast friends.

FEFF’s second most coveted audience award, the Silver Mulberry, went to Anselm Chan’s Hong Kong family drama The Last Dance. Like Her Story, The Last Dance was a box office phenomenon in its domestic market, and is currently the highest grossing Hong Kong film of all time. Set during the pandemic, Chan’s film tells the story of a wedding planner who switches careers and gets involved in the funeral business and opens himself up to questions about the meaning of life. The Last Dance, which stars Dayo Wong, Michael Hui, Michelle Wai and Chu Pak Hong, also took home FEFF’s Black Dragon critics prize.

The third place Crystal Mulberry went to China’s Like a Rolling Stone by director Yin Lichuan, securing a 1-2-3 for Greater China at this year’s FEFF. As with Her Story, Like a Rolling Stone is another strongly feminist, female-directed Chinese drama that tells the story of a middle-aged woman (Mei Yong) who escapes an abusive relationship and goes on a life-affirming road trip.

Elsewhere, the jury-decided White Mulberry prize, given to the best debut film, was awarded Diamonds in the Sand by Filipino director Janus Victoria. The Mulberry for best screenplay award went to the Japanese psychological thriller Welcome to the Village by Jojo Hideo.

FEFF’s Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Taiwanese actress and singer Sylvia Chang and Hong Kong auteur Tsui Hark this year.

The awards ceremony closed the 27th edition of FEFF, which saw 77 films screened in Udine this year, including 12 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 23 European premieres and 19 Italian premieres from 12 countries. The festival says a whopping 65,000 people attended the various FEFF events in 2025.

“Never before have we so strongly felt the affection and closeness of the people of Udine and the city’s pride in the festival,” said FEFF founders Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche in a statement. “Yes, if we add up the number of audience members at the Teatro Nuovo and the Visionario, we come up with a figure of 65,000 – but it would be truly impossible to count all the people actually affected by the Asian mood!”