Wednesday: Cannes Gets Political; Letterboxd Enters The TVOD Business; Max Is HBO Max (Again); Neon Hires Alison Cohen
Robert De Niro fired up Cannes with a political punch, while Letterboxd drops its own video store and HBO Max reclaims its full name—again. The Movie News Pro Stock Index ticked up today, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning grabbed all the attention.
It's Wednesday, May 14th. Here's what you need to know.
📽️ News & Views
Robert De Niro gave an impassioned political speech at Cannes yesterday. After receiving an honorary Palme D'Or, he implored "In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted." (Source: Deadline)
Letterboxd is launching a curated TVOD service—Letterboxd Video Store—aimed at its 20 million film-loving users, featuring themed rental shelves and spotlighting festival picks, global cinema, and undistributed gems. (Source: Hollywood Reporter)
So apparently Max is now HBO Max again. You're welcome, America. (Source: NBC News)
Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning premiered at Cannes with a 40 piece orchestra, garnering a five minute standing ovation. (Source: Variety)
Horror director (The Monkey, Longlegs) Osgood Perkins has signed a first-look deal with Neon. (Source: Hollywood Reporter)
Neon has named industry veteran Alison Cohen as General Counsel and President of Business & Legal Affairs, after her tenure at FilmNation overseeing all divisions and key partnerships. (Source: Deadline)
📈 The Movie News Pro Stock Index
Market Close: May 14th, 2025
Second straight up day for the Movie News Pro Stock Index. Fresh off a Lionsgate spinoff, Starz roared back 7% and the rest of the index was pretty flat. Paramount dipped 1.5% as the industry awaits news on their proposed merger with Skydance.
Noteworthy: We invested our remaining cash ($109), buying twelve more shares of WBD, leaving us with only sixty two cents in cash reserves.
Film Festivals
Cannes Film Festival, France - May 13-24
Marche du Film, France - May 13-21
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, US - May 14-18
Harlem International Film Festival, US - May 15-18
Ridgefield Independent Film Festival, US - May 15-18
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
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Al Pacino shines in this crime drama about a bank robbery gone wrong.
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. MovieNewsPro's Movie 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.
