Mayor Bass Issues Directive To Help L.A. Filmmakers; Darren Aronofsky's AI Partnership; Jodie Foster's New Movie; Scarlett Johansson's Directing Debut
LA Mayor Karen Bass takes action to protect Hollywood jobs. What exactly went wrong with HBO Max? Plus, Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut sparkles in Cannes.
It's Tuesday, May 20th. Here's what you need to know.
📽️ Today's Headlines
In an effort to keep entertainment jobs in Hollywood, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive today, hoping to reduce regulations for film and TV productions. (Deadline)
Warner Bros. tried to compete with Netflix by adding tons of Discovery content to HBO. They packaged the whole thing together and renamed it Max. It didn't go so well. (Bloomberg)
Visionary director Darren Aronofsky has launched a partnership with Google's DeepMind AI group. The plan is to provide AI assistance to directors. (Variety)
Vie Privée, Jodie Foster's latest film, received a 10 minute standing ovation at Cannes today. The movie, directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, is playing out of competition. (Deadline)
Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, earned rave reviews from the audience at Cannes. The film features Thelma star June Squibb, who steals the show at the age of 95. (Variety)
🎙️ Now Hear This
Surviving A Hollywood Plague
The Prestige Junkie podcast sits down with Richard Rushfield to discuss the existential crisis the film industry is in. Again. (Prestige Junkie Podcast On Spotify)
💰 The MovieNewsPro Stock Index
Market Close: Monday, May 19th, 2025
Total Value $103,993.85
Today's Change $1,024.65 (1.00%)
Total Gain/Loss $3,993.83 (3.99%)
Positive day for movie stock. Lionsgate and Warner Bros. outpaced tech giants Amazon and Apple. Overall, the index gained 1.00% for the day. The MNP Index is up 3.99% since May 12th, a very good jump out of the gate.
Disclaimer: The MovieNewsPro Stock Index is a virtual index - there are no actual funds invested. Sector index total value dollar amounts are based on an initial hypothetical investment of $100,000 on May 12th, 2025. We are not licensed investment advisors and our information should not be used as investment advice. Invest wisely.
🍿 Film Festivals
Cannes Film Festival, France - May 13-24
Marche du Film, France - May 13-21
Seattle International Film Festival, US - May 15-25
Docaviv, Israel - May 22-31
Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, Canada - May 23-31
Krakow Film Festival, Poland - May 25-June 1
Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, US - May 27-June 1
Nippon Connection Film Festival, Germany - May 27-June 1
Mendocino Film Festival, US - May 29-June 1
📺 Watch This Tonight
The Apartment (1960)
Directed by Billy Wilder
So many great Billy Wilder films, so little time. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a Christmas movie? Yes!
Disclaimer/Transparency
MovieNewsPro is a film industry news monitoring service. All stories have been previously reported elsewhere and are not exclusive stories to MNP. All information is believed to be accurate at the time of reporting. MovieNewsPro uses a full array of technology to gather information, including machine learning, automation and artificial intelligence throughout its business monitoring, editing and reporting process.
