5 days ago
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Director James Gray had 1 tiny occupation during the Cannes 2026 premiere of Paper Tiger connected Saturday night: Scarlett Johansson did not reply his FaceTime call.
Following the film’s premiere astatine the Grand Palais, the transgression play received a lasting ovation lasting astir 7 minutes, with Gray attempting to telephone Johansson truthful she could witnesser the assemblage absorption remotely. The actor, however, is presently filming a caller The Exorcist task and was incapable to be the festival successful person. Gray jokingly waved his telephone toward the assemblage arsenic the telephone went unanswered.
Johansson stars alongside Miles Teller and Adam Driver successful the 1980s-set drama, which follows 2 brothers pulled into escalating struggle with the Russian mob aft a failed concern strategy successful Queens. Teller and Driver attended the Cannes premiere alongside Gray, receiving large cheers from the assemblage during the post-screening ovation.
Addressing the assemblage afterward, Gray reflected connected his agelong narration with Cannes. “Cinema needs you guys much than ever,” helium said, praising the festival’s continued value for theatrical filmmaking and autarkic cinema.
Paper Tiger marks Gray’s sixth premiere connected the Croisette pursuing films including Armageddon Time, The Immigrant and We Own the Night. The movie is besides backed domestically by Neon, which is presently seeking a grounds seventh consecutive Palme d’Or victor astatine Cannes.
This year’s Cannes has mostly leaned toward auteur-driven planetary cinema implicit large workplace premieres, with standout reactions already greeting Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All Of A Sudden and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland. The 2026 assemblage is headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook.
