Neon has scheduled an October 18 release for Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora.
‘Anora’: Cannes Review
Mikey Madison stars as a sex worker from Brooklyn who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch, triggering a tumultuous series of events. The film also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, and Yura Borisov.
US box office currently trails 2023 by more than 23% after a disappointing start to the summer season and embattled cinema owners will welcome the addition of a well-reviewed film that has been described as Baker’s most commercial to date.
Anora marks the fifth year in a...
‘Anora’: Cannes Review
Mikey Madison stars as a sex worker from Brooklyn who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch, triggering a tumultuous series of events. The film also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, and Yura Borisov.
US box office currently trails 2023 by more than 23% after a disappointing start to the summer season and embattled cinema owners will welcome the addition of a well-reviewed film that has been described as Baker’s most commercial to date.
Anora marks the fifth year in a...
- 6/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sean Baker’s screwball sex worker comedy Anora, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, will receive a fall theatrical release by distributor Neon.
Baker’s film about a young sex worker’s romantic entanglement with the son of a Russian oligarch will get a theatrical release starting Oct. 18, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The fall release places Anora in contention for awards consideration.
The fall release for a top Cannes award winner has worked for Neon before, having had an impressive track record releasing earlier Palme d’Or winners like Parasite in 2019, Triangle of Sadness in 2022 and last year Anatomy of a Fall.
Baker’s past credits include The Florida Project and Red Rocket. The director’s low-budget features about people overlooked by society have become critical hits and awards season contenders.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney writes of Anora in...
Baker’s film about a young sex worker’s romantic entanglement with the son of a Russian oligarch will get a theatrical release starting Oct. 18, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The fall release places Anora in contention for awards consideration.
The fall release for a top Cannes award winner has worked for Neon before, having had an impressive track record releasing earlier Palme d’Or winners like Parasite in 2019, Triangle of Sadness in 2022 and last year Anatomy of a Fall.
Baker’s past credits include The Florida Project and Red Rocket. The director’s low-budget features about people overlooked by society have become critical hits and awards season contenders.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney writes of Anora in...
- 6/4/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neon has dated their fifth Cannes Palme D’Or winner Anora for Oct. 18 per Comscore in what will be a limited release.
October is the traditional launch pad for Neon with their Palme D’Or winning fare including 2019’s ultimate Oscar Best Picture winner Parasite (Oct. 11), 2021’s Titane (Oct 1), 2022’s Triangle of Sadness (Oct. 7), and last year’s Oscar winner Anatomy of a Fall (Oct. 13). Of the five, and granted it was pre-pandemic, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite did the best at the domestic B.O. with $53.3M, arguably the fourth highest grossing foreign language (and foreign produced) movie stateside after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life Is Beautiful and Zhang Yimou’s Hero.
Anora follows a high class stripper from Brooklyn, played by Better Things‘ Mikey Madison, who falls in love and soon marries a Russian oligarch’s son. The family has problems with her and complications ensue. Some critics have...
October is the traditional launch pad for Neon with their Palme D’Or winning fare including 2019’s ultimate Oscar Best Picture winner Parasite (Oct. 11), 2021’s Titane (Oct 1), 2022’s Triangle of Sadness (Oct. 7), and last year’s Oscar winner Anatomy of a Fall (Oct. 13). Of the five, and granted it was pre-pandemic, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite did the best at the domestic B.O. with $53.3M, arguably the fourth highest grossing foreign language (and foreign produced) movie stateside after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life Is Beautiful and Zhang Yimou’s Hero.
Anora follows a high class stripper from Brooklyn, played by Better Things‘ Mikey Madison, who falls in love and soon marries a Russian oligarch’s son. The family has problems with her and complications ensue. Some critics have...
- 6/4/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sean Baker’s “Anora” is betting big with a fall release date.
The feature, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2024, will be released October 18 from Neon, IndieWire can confirm. The limited release window makes “Anora” primed for the fall festival circuit, with possible inclusions at Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF, which concludes right before “Anora” will hit theaters.
“Anora” stars “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” breakout Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer and sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). Writer/director Baker previously helmed Oscar-nominated film “The Florida Project,” groundbreaking iPhone movie “Tangerine,” and Simon Rex’s career-best “Red Rocket.”
The release of “Anora” on October 18 proves that Neon has high hopes for the Palme d’Or winner. Neon has released a trio of Palme d’Or winners before, all in October and all going on to be Oscar-nominated.
Neon released “Parasite...
The feature, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2024, will be released October 18 from Neon, IndieWire can confirm. The limited release window makes “Anora” primed for the fall festival circuit, with possible inclusions at Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF, which concludes right before “Anora” will hit theaters.
“Anora” stars “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” breakout Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer and sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). Writer/director Baker previously helmed Oscar-nominated film “The Florida Project,” groundbreaking iPhone movie “Tangerine,” and Simon Rex’s career-best “Red Rocket.”
The release of “Anora” on October 18 proves that Neon has high hopes for the Palme d’Or winner. Neon has released a trio of Palme d’Or winners before, all in October and all going on to be Oscar-nominated.
Neon released “Parasite...
- 6/4/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Cannes Film Festival 2024: Read All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews, Including Palme d’Or Winner ‘Anora’
Read all of Deadline’s Cannes Film Festival reviews below, including Palme d’Or winner Anora.
The New York-set romantic dramedy charts the story of a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official Competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored a 10-minute ovation earlier this week. It was one of a number of critically praised films this edition. Check out all our reviews below.
All We Imagine as Light ‘All We Imagine as Light’
Section: Competition
Director: Payal Kapadia
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya KAdam, Hridhu Haroon
Deadline’s takeaway: And at a time when so much attention is being paid to the lives of the haves and the have-nots amid such financial imbalance worldwide, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight...
The New York-set romantic dramedy charts the story of a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official Competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored a 10-minute ovation earlier this week. It was one of a number of critically praised films this edition. Check out all our reviews below.
All We Imagine as Light ‘All We Imagine as Light’
Section: Competition
Director: Payal Kapadia
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya KAdam, Hridhu Haroon
Deadline’s takeaway: And at a time when so much attention is being paid to the lives of the haves and the have-nots amid such financial imbalance worldwide, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight...
- 5/29/2024
- by Pete Hammond, Joe Utichi, Damon Wise, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival concluded on Saturday with an elegant closing ceremony at the Palais des Festivals. Under the spotlight were the esteemed jury members, led by acclaimed filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig, who took the stage to announce the winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or.
The star-studded red carpet saw appearances by Festival President Iris Knobloch and Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux, along with jury members Pierfrancesco Favino, Nadine Labaki, Lily Gladstone, Juan Antonio Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Ebru Ceylan and Hirokazu Kore-eda. Each brought a unique perspective to this year’s diverse jury panel, reflecting the global influence of cinema.
Gerwig, known for her directorial successes Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie, led the jury through a competition that featured 21 films from around the world as its president. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of storytelling in bridging cultural divides and praised the high caliber of entries.
The star-studded red carpet saw appearances by Festival President Iris Knobloch and Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux, along with jury members Pierfrancesco Favino, Nadine Labaki, Lily Gladstone, Juan Antonio Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Ebru Ceylan and Hirokazu Kore-eda. Each brought a unique perspective to this year’s diverse jury panel, reflecting the global influence of cinema.
Gerwig, known for her directorial successes Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie, led the jury through a competition that featured 21 films from around the world as its president. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of storytelling in bridging cultural divides and praised the high caliber of entries.
- 5/29/2024
- by Lauren Ramsey
- Uinterview
Cannes awards have become hugely influential in subsequent awards races, especially the Oscars. The top honor, the Palme d’Or, confers prestige and a stamp of approval — this year from the Competition jury led by multi hyphenate Greta Gerwig — that awards voters take seriously.
Palme winners “Parasite,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Anatomy of a Fall” were all Best Picture Oscar contenders and won Oscars. And they were all picked up by specialty distributor Neon before they won their Cannes prize. Neon did not break its streak. It acquired two eventual prize-winners before the closing ceremony: Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” the first American film to win the prize since Terence Malick’s “Tree of Life” in 2011, and Iranian dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which took home a special award.
Thus “Anora,” from veteran indie filmmaker Baker (Cannes entry “The Florida Project...
Palme winners “Parasite,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Anatomy of a Fall” were all Best Picture Oscar contenders and won Oscars. And they were all picked up by specialty distributor Neon before they won their Cannes prize. Neon did not break its streak. It acquired two eventual prize-winners before the closing ceremony: Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” the first American film to win the prize since Terence Malick’s “Tree of Life” in 2011, and Iranian dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which took home a special award.
Thus “Anora,” from veteran indie filmmaker Baker (Cannes entry “The Florida Project...
- 5/26/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival was officially closed yesterday, May 25, 2024, as the prizes for the movies and the actors were awarded at the closing ceremony. It was a very exciting and content-filled event, and we have also reported on numerous movies that had their premiere at Cannes, some of which were received well, while others… not so much. But, of course, what everyone wants to know is who won the Palme d’Or, the most important award at Cannes, and we can finally confirm that Neon’s film Anora won the award for the best in-competition movie shown at the festival.
Several interesting facts can be said about this movie and its victory, so we are going to discuss them in the upcoming paragraphs, while here – we can only congratulate Anora and all the people involved with the project on a major success.
Anora was written and directed by Sean Baker,...
Several interesting facts can be said about this movie and its victory, so we are going to discuss them in the upcoming paragraphs, while here – we can only congratulate Anora and all the people involved with the project on a major success.
Anora was written and directed by Sean Baker,...
- 5/26/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Hollywood veteran George Lucas looks on benevolently as Sean Baker receives his Palme d’Or for Anora from Greta Gerwig’s Cannes jury Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
Visibly shaking in front of Greta Gerwig’s Cannes Film Festival jury, American director Sean Baker lifted his Palme d’Or for Anora from the hands of George Lucas and went down on his knees to kiss the ground in front of the Star Wars legend who had just received his own honorary Palme from fellow veteran Francis Ford Coppola in the closing ceremony of this year’s 77th edition.
Mohammad Rasoulof, special jury prize for The Seed Of The Sacred Fig: “My thoughts are with members of my team who are not here”. Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival Baker who has had two previous films launch at the festival - The Florida Project and Red Rocket - has...
Visibly shaking in front of Greta Gerwig’s Cannes Film Festival jury, American director Sean Baker lifted his Palme d’Or for Anora from the hands of George Lucas and went down on his knees to kiss the ground in front of the Star Wars legend who had just received his own honorary Palme from fellow veteran Francis Ford Coppola in the closing ceremony of this year’s 77th edition.
Mohammad Rasoulof, special jury prize for The Seed Of The Sacred Fig: “My thoughts are with members of my team who are not here”. Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival Baker who has had two previous films launch at the festival - The Florida Project and Red Rocket - has...
- 5/25/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Often, the juries at the Cannes Film Festival will try to make a political statement in their choices for the winners of the world’s most famous film festival. Not this year. At least, not in the way they might have.
I rather thought that director Mohammad Rasoulof would take the Palme d’Or for his stirring The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. It deals with the oppressive regime in Iran and the crisis in one family, where the daughters rise up to protest against the wishes of their father, a judge handing out death sentences for those who make their voices heard.
Plus, the back story of Rasoulof’s own daring escape from his home country after making this movie in secrecy and also being handed an eight-year prison sentence, is also a strong one.
He made his way to Cannes, where his film deservedly received a rapturous welcome...
I rather thought that director Mohammad Rasoulof would take the Palme d’Or for his stirring The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. It deals with the oppressive regime in Iran and the crisis in one family, where the daughters rise up to protest against the wishes of their father, a judge handing out death sentences for those who make their voices heard.
Plus, the back story of Rasoulof’s own daring escape from his home country after making this movie in secrecy and also being handed an eight-year prison sentence, is also a strong one.
He made his way to Cannes, where his film deservedly received a rapturous welcome...
- 5/25/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
“We really led with our hearts for everything we watched,” said 77th Cannes Film Festival Jury President Greta Gerwig on what was a fiercely competitive year.
In a Cannes that delivered a Demi Moore comeback pro-femme horror film Substance, a ground breaking trans noir Spanish-lingo musical in Emilia Perez, Francis Ford Coppola’s $120M passion project Megalopolis, it was Sean Baker’s dark romantic comedy about a sex worker, Anora that transcended this year’s jury.
“It was an embarrassment of riches this year in terms of cinema,” exclaimed Gerwig, “we (the jury) could have been talking into next week.”
Anora follows a stripper who falls for a Russia oligarch’s son. He loves her so much, he marries her, much to the chagrin of his family. Chaos ensues.
Said Gerwig on why they chose it: “There was something that reminded us of a classic, there were structures of Lubitsch and Howard Hawks.
In a Cannes that delivered a Demi Moore comeback pro-femme horror film Substance, a ground breaking trans noir Spanish-lingo musical in Emilia Perez, Francis Ford Coppola’s $120M passion project Megalopolis, it was Sean Baker’s dark romantic comedy about a sex worker, Anora that transcended this year’s jury.
“It was an embarrassment of riches this year in terms of cinema,” exclaimed Gerwig, “we (the jury) could have been talking into next week.”
Anora follows a stripper who falls for a Russia oligarch’s son. He loves her so much, he marries her, much to the chagrin of his family. Chaos ensues.
Said Gerwig on why they chose it: “There was something that reminded us of a classic, there were structures of Lubitsch and Howard Hawks.
- 5/25/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
It just had to be, didn’t it.
U.S. distributor Neon only had two movies in the Competition: Anora and The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Neither could have fared any better with the critics and both won prizes tonight.
It was Sean Baker’s Anora that stormed to the top prize on the Riviera, making it a remarkable five Palme d’Or wins in a row for Tom Quinn’s outfit Neon.
“The future of cinema is where it started: in a movie theater,” said Baker, accepting his Palme d’Or. You can watch the acceptance speech below.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall won last year, following the US distributor’s previous acquisitions Triangle Of Sadness, Titane and Parasite.
Palme d'Or X five. Merci, Cannes. pic.twitter.com/FimbVR1kUw
— Neon (@neonrated) May 25, 2024
New York-set romantic dramedy Anora is about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms...
U.S. distributor Neon only had two movies in the Competition: Anora and The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Neither could have fared any better with the critics and both won prizes tonight.
It was Sean Baker’s Anora that stormed to the top prize on the Riviera, making it a remarkable five Palme d’Or wins in a row for Tom Quinn’s outfit Neon.
“The future of cinema is where it started: in a movie theater,” said Baker, accepting his Palme d’Or. You can watch the acceptance speech below.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall won last year, following the US distributor’s previous acquisitions Triangle Of Sadness, Titane and Parasite.
Palme d'Or X five. Merci, Cannes. pic.twitter.com/FimbVR1kUw
— Neon (@neonrated) May 25, 2024
New York-set romantic dramedy Anora is about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms...
- 5/25/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Sean Baker’s “Anora” has won the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, a jury headed by Greta Gerwig announced on Saturday.
The win for Baker’s freewheeling film about a stripper and the son of a Russian oligarch becomes the fifth consecutive Palme winner to be distributed by Neon, which previously handled “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane” and “Parasite.”
TheWrap’s review said of the film, “It’s one of the most entertaining movies to play in Cannes this year, and also one of the most confounding: part character study of the title character (Mikey Madison), a sex worker from Brighton Beach who falls for rich Russian playboy Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn); part look into the world of the super-rich, an arena Baker has studiously avoided in films like ‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Red Rocket’; part escalating nightmare comedy reminiscent of ’80s gems...
The win for Baker’s freewheeling film about a stripper and the son of a Russian oligarch becomes the fifth consecutive Palme winner to be distributed by Neon, which previously handled “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane” and “Parasite.”
TheWrap’s review said of the film, “It’s one of the most entertaining movies to play in Cannes this year, and also one of the most confounding: part character study of the title character (Mikey Madison), a sex worker from Brighton Beach who falls for rich Russian playboy Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn); part look into the world of the super-rich, an arena Baker has studiously avoided in films like ‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Red Rocket’; part escalating nightmare comedy reminiscent of ’80s gems...
- 5/25/2024
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Cannes — Nine years after being named one of Variety’s Directors to Watch, Sean Baker won the Palme d’Or for “Anora,” a rowdy whirlwind romance between an exotic dancer (Mikey Madison) and the obscenely rich son of a Russian oligarch (played by Mark Eydelshteyn). Baker is the first American filmmaker to cinch the festival’s top prize since Terrence Malick earned the Palme for “The Tree of Life” in 2011.
“Anora” is Baker’s third film to debut at Cannes, following “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” He accepted the award from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola, whose “Megalopolis” went home empty-handed. Coppola also presented an honorary Palme d’Or to his friend and fellow legend George Lucas, whom he called his “own kid brother.”
Baker dedicated the award to “all sex workers, past, present and future,” underscoring the importance of “making films intended for theatrical exhibition.
“Anora” is Baker’s third film to debut at Cannes, following “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” He accepted the award from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola, whose “Megalopolis” went home empty-handed. Coppola also presented an honorary Palme d’Or to his friend and fellow legend George Lucas, whom he called his “own kid brother.”
Baker dedicated the award to “all sex workers, past, present and future,” underscoring the importance of “making films intended for theatrical exhibition.
- 5/25/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has a lot going for it on the way to a potential Palme d’Or win: strong reviews, an anguished political call-out against Iranian oppression, and Rasoulof’s own status as an exile who just fled his home country and was finally able to attend Cannes after all. (Read our interview with the director here.)
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
- 5/24/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Up to this point, Mikey Madison––the fearless, explosive 27-year-old lead of Sean Baker’s Anora––is best-known for her chilling turn as the deranged killer in the 2022 Scream reboot. Before that she was the shrieking Manson girl in the finale of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. (Remember the one Rick Dalton torches in the pool?) Beyond this point, however, the world will know her for Anora. And they will know her.
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Anora writer-director Sean Baker has said sex workers should be decriminalised in a lively press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” Baker told a press conference after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s a sex worker...
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” Baker told a press conference after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s a sex worker...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Anora writer-director Sean Baker said sex workers should be decriminalised in a lively press conference on Wednesday.
The American writer-director was talking to reporters after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” said Baker. “It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s...
The American writer-director was talking to reporters after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” said Baker. “It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Director Sean Baker and his Anora star Mikey Madison have spoken about the “collaborative” process of portraying sex workers in a film that he acknowledged hearkens back to the captivating love story in Pretty Woman.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
- 5/22/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At a Cannes press conference for his new film “Anora” on Wednesday, Sean Baker discussed his affinity for making films about sex workers — and teased his next film.
“Anora,” which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday, follows a strip club worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. When asked about how sex workers came to be the subject of the last five of his movies, Baker said after making 2012’s “Starlet,” he was “introduced to the adult film world.”
“I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world. If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.”
Baker said...
“Anora,” which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday, follows a strip club worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. When asked about how sex workers came to be the subject of the last five of his movies, Baker said after making 2012’s “Starlet,” he was “introduced to the adult film world.”
“I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world. If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.”
Baker said...
- 5/22/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
One of the things Sean Baker does exceptionally well is draw us into a vivid and highly specific milieu, nurturing our affections for characters who are rough-edged, to put it mildly, and then whip up a vortex of steadily escalating chaos. The writer-director is like a conductor of raw symphonies about people from the marginalized fringes caught in a dizzying whirl, sometimes of their own making and sometimes not. Sex workers have been a big part of Baker’s gallery of outsiders, which makes Anora a fine addition to his terrific body of work.
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
- 5/21/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Baker returned to the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday with Anora, his New York-set romantic dramedy about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Patrick Hipes and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sean Baker’s previous film, 2022’s Red Rocket (2022), began with *Nsync’s Spotify-topping “Bye Bye Bye,” but Anora starts with the slightly lesser-known “Greatest Days” by British boy band Take That. Musically, it’s a bold choice, at odds with the frenetic spirit of what for over half its running time is a high-decibel screwball comedy that spends a lot of time in its establishing scenes in a New York strip joint.
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The uncut gem of this year’s Cannes competition, “Anora” is a rowdy Safdie-style movie about two cultures (Russian and American), two languages (Russian and English) and two currencies (money and sex). Like countless Hollywood fantasies that have come before, it tells the story of how young people from different worlds fall in love, run into immediate obstacles and deal with the consequences — except the couple in this case consists of a New York stripper and the reckless son of a Russian oligarch. How long would you give it?
Director Sean Baker describes “Anora” as a Cinderella story, but that’s only true to the extent that his Walt Disney World-adjacent “The Florida Project” could be seen as a fairy tale. Baker’s subversively romantic, free-wheeling sex farce makes “Pretty Woman” look like a Disney movie. It follows on the (knee-high boot) heels of four other films in which...
Director Sean Baker describes “Anora” as a Cinderella story, but that’s only true to the extent that his Walt Disney World-adjacent “The Florida Project” could be seen as a fairy tale. Baker’s subversively romantic, free-wheeling sex farce makes “Pretty Woman” look like a Disney movie. It follows on the (knee-high boot) heels of four other films in which...
- 5/21/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a hilarious yet touching drama in which a sex worker falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch, energized Cannes Film Festival with a 7.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday.
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
- 5/21/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Anora — or “Ani,” as she prefers to be called — is a brassy, 23-year-old Russian-American stripper who shares a small house with her sister in Brighton Beach. Ivan — or “Vanya,” as he uses interchangeably — is the 21-year-old son of a Moscow billionaire who stays in his father’s cocaine mansion on the far side of Brooklyn whenever he’s in New York, which if it were up to him would be always. She works seven nights a week at the Manhattan strip club where she’s the only Russian-speaker. Ivan, meanwhile, has clearly never worked a day in his life. She’s the child of a mom who lives in Miami and a dad who doesn’t exist, while he’s a hyper-juvenile nepo baby who may never be mature enough to graduate into a large adult son.
There’s probably an effervescent rom-com to be made about these two wildly...
There’s probably an effervescent rom-com to be made about these two wildly...
- 5/21/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Sean Baker is officially returning to Cannes with his new rom-com “Anora.”
While the plot details remain under wraps, the feature is billed as an adventure rom-com, with the first look image showing a neon-lit club scene. Baker writes and directs the feature, which will debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The cast includes Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karen Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. Drew Daniels served as director of photography and shot the feature on 35mm film. The feature was filmed in Brooklyn and will be released by Neon later this year.
“Making an independent film is never easy no matter how many you have under your belt!” Baker said in a 2023 press statement (via Variety). “I feel so fortunate to have been given the resources and support to fulfill my vision in an uncompromised way. Thank you to my collaborators including Glen Basner and the FilmNation team,...
While the plot details remain under wraps, the feature is billed as an adventure rom-com, with the first look image showing a neon-lit club scene. Baker writes and directs the feature, which will debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The cast includes Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karen Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. Drew Daniels served as director of photography and shot the feature on 35mm film. The feature was filmed in Brooklyn and will be released by Neon later this year.
“Making an independent film is never easy no matter how many you have under your belt!” Baker said in a 2023 press statement (via Variety). “I feel so fortunate to have been given the resources and support to fulfill my vision in an uncompromised way. Thank you to my collaborators including Glen Basner and the FilmNation team,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
2023 may not have been an excellent year for movies, but in spite of everything stacked against it (read: greedy conglomerates run amok), it turned out to be an excellent year of movies. While the fallout of the recent work stoppages will be felt for time to come, some of 2023’s losses will prove to be 2024’s gains, as much-anticipated but strike-delayed films like “Dune: Part Two,” “Drive-Away Dolls,” and Luca Guadagnino’s horny tennis drama “Challengers” have all secured fresh release dates in the first half of the new year.
Those titles will be joined by some of the most promising Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory, must-see work from some of the world’s greatest auteurs, and huge swings from essential artists ranging from new voices like Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow”) and Duke Johnson (“The Actor”) to venerated masters like Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Mike Leigh...
Those titles will be joined by some of the most promising Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory, must-see work from some of the world’s greatest auteurs, and huge swings from essential artists ranging from new voices like Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow”) and Duke Johnson (“The Actor”) to venerated masters like Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Mike Leigh...
- 12/29/2023
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
In what appears to be some pre-Cannes (and pre-Venice) shopping, while the early morning buzz had Neon landing Audrey Diwan’s (currently in production) Emmanuelle, we now learn that they secured Sean Baker’s eighth feature film currently in post, Anora. The distributor plan to launch the film in 2024 and all eyes are on a Cannes competition berth – where he premiered Red Rocket (read review) in 2021. Confirmed players on the romantic dramedy include Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. This is rumored to be about a sex worker and is set in an upscale part of Brooklyn.…...
- 11/2/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The plot of the romantic dramedy has not been revealed.
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Anora, the upcoming romantic dramedy from writer-director Sean Baker.
FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights to the film and has licensed the project to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
Neon is planning a 2024 theatrical release for the film, whose plot has not been revealed. The project shot on location in Brooklyn earlier this year and is currently in post-production. Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn,...
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Anora, the upcoming romantic dramedy from writer-director Sean Baker.
FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights to the film and has licensed the project to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
Neon is planning a 2024 theatrical release for the film, whose plot has not been revealed. The project shot on location in Brooklyn earlier this year and is currently in post-production. Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn,...
- 11/2/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired North American rights to the romantic dramedy Anora, the latest feature from award-winning indie filmmaker Sean Baker (The Florida Project). It will be released in theaters sometime next year.
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the pic, shot on 35mm by DoP Drew Daniels, the synopsis for which remains under wraps. Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, and Baker served as producers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights, having already licensed to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
News of the acquisition follows Neon’s announcement of They Follow, a sequel to David Robert Mitchell’s cult classic horror It Follows, on which Mitchell is set to reteam with star Maika Monroe. Neon will produce, distribute and handle international sales. Other titles on...
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the pic, shot on 35mm by DoP Drew Daniels, the synopsis for which remains under wraps. Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, and Baker served as producers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights, having already licensed to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
News of the acquisition follows Neon’s announcement of They Follow, a sequel to David Robert Mitchell’s cult classic horror It Follows, on which Mitchell is set to reteam with star Maika Monroe. Neon will produce, distribute and handle international sales. Other titles on...
- 11/2/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon is getting in the Sean Baker business. The indie studio behind Parasite has taken North American rights to Baker’s romantic-dramedy Anora.
Mikey Madison stars in the film, which shot earlier this year in Brooklyn and is in post-production with an eye for a 2024 release. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Baker is known for crafting low-budget features examining people overlooked by society that emerge as critical hits and awards contenders. His filmography includes Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, which he shot during the pandemic for around $1 million. Baker produced his latest film with Samantha Quan and Alex Coco, with Anora sporting a a slightly heftier budget than his previous features.
FilmNation has global rights to Anora, which also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. Neon VP of acquisitions Jason Wald negotiated the deal with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner.
Neon...
Mikey Madison stars in the film, which shot earlier this year in Brooklyn and is in post-production with an eye for a 2024 release. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Baker is known for crafting low-budget features examining people overlooked by society that emerge as critical hits and awards contenders. His filmography includes Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, which he shot during the pandemic for around $1 million. Baker produced his latest film with Samantha Quan and Alex Coco, with Anora sporting a a slightly heftier budget than his previous features.
FilmNation has global rights to Anora, which also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. Neon VP of acquisitions Jason Wald negotiated the deal with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner.
Neon...
- 11/2/2023
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Sean Baker’s latest film, “Anora,” starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. The synopsis is being kept under wraps, but Neon is referring to it as a “romantic dramedy.” The movie was shot in 35 mm by cinematographer Drew Daniels with filming completed earlier this year; it is currently in post-production. It will be released in 2024.
“Anora” follows Baker’s 2021 film “Red Rocket,” which starred Simon Rex and premiered at Cannes and his 2017 film “The Florida Project,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe’s sensitive turn as the manager of a rundown Orlando motel. Both were released by A24.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Jason Wald with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the worldwide rights, and...
“Anora” follows Baker’s 2021 film “Red Rocket,” which starred Simon Rex and premiered at Cannes and his 2017 film “The Florida Project,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe’s sensitive turn as the manager of a rundown Orlando motel. Both were released by A24.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Jason Wald with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the worldwide rights, and...
- 11/2/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
FilmNation Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Sean Baker’s new romantic dramedy film “Anora.”
Following the acquisition, FilmNation sold rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in the rest of the world, excluding North America.
The film was written and directed by Baker, who is best known for directing “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project.” It shot on location at the beginning of the year in Brooklyn and stars Mikey Madison, who appeared as Manson Family follower Susan “Sadie” Atkins in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Plot details are being kept under wraps.
FilmNation previously worked with Baker on 2021’s critically heralded “Red Rocket.”
“Sean Baker is an American master unafraid to shine a light on the characters that have been left behind by American cinema,” said FilmNation CEO Glen Basner. “Working with Sean and his producers,...
Following the acquisition, FilmNation sold rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in the rest of the world, excluding North America.
The film was written and directed by Baker, who is best known for directing “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project.” It shot on location at the beginning of the year in Brooklyn and stars Mikey Madison, who appeared as Manson Family follower Susan “Sadie” Atkins in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Plot details are being kept under wraps.
FilmNation previously worked with Baker on 2021’s critically heralded “Red Rocket.”
“Sean Baker is an American master unafraid to shine a light on the characters that have been left behind by American cinema,” said FilmNation CEO Glen Basner. “Working with Sean and his producers,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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