Daniel Craig talks about portraying William Lee in Queer, stepping outside the boundaries of James Bond, while director Luca Guadagnino talks about experimentation, directing films back to back, and more

Daniel Craig was the longest-serving actor to portray James Bond. So, when he chose to play William Lee in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, some thought he took the role to explore vulnerability, far removed from the alpha masculinity of Bond. Clarifying that Queer was just another character for him to explore and not to establish that he is more than just Bond, Daniel says, “I couldn’t have done this while I was doing Bond—it would have felt reactionary, like a statement about Bond rather than about me and what I truly wanted to do. Now that I’ve moved on from Bond, I can take on films like this, but that’s not how I see it.”

On the importance of casting Daniel Craig as William Lee, Luca Guadagnino, who adapted Queer from William S Burroughs’ 1985 novella, says, “It was absolutely essential. There’s something beautiful about knowing that a perspective is irreplaceable—that there’s only one way to see it. In this case, Daniel’s interpretation of William Lee is that perspective—it couldn’t be anyone else’s.” Guadagnino elaborates, “In filmmaking, you only have one point of view. You can set up five cameras, cover everything, and trim it later—but that’s not cinema. Cinema is about making a choice and fully committing to it.”

Having portrayed vigour and virility with finesse as James Bond, Daniel portrays susceptibility, queerness, and loneliness in Guadagnino’s film. However, the actor says these emotions are universal to all. “I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced true loneliness, but I’ve certainly felt lonely. I’ve felt desire, lust, and an intense yearning for someone,” he reveals, confessing that these emotions drew him to the film. The actor then adds, “Burroughs’ writing is all about the unspoken, the undercurrents bubbling beneath the surface. What fascinated me were themes like drug use, alcohol, and masculinity—such rich, layered aspects to explore as an actor.” While most actors share their method behind portraying certain emotions onscreen, Daniel credits his co-star Drew Starkey for being able to truly embrace vulnerability as William Lee. “Drew Starkey is a wonderful acting partner—he’s an incredibly talented, sensitive actor who knows his craft, works hard, and is fully present with everyone in the room, striving to make each scene the best it can be. When filming something so intimate, I rely on everyone in the room. It’s never just one person’s effort; it’s a collective gesture, a shared commitment to portraying something as sensitively and beautifully as possible.”

For Guadagnino, 2024 was a fulfilling year with the release of Challengers in the first half and Queer in the second. On directing films back-to-back, the director says, “I love to work—I enjoy it immensely. Over the years, I’ve learnt how to manage my time effectively. It’s not just about organisation, it’s about knowing how to plan and execute. I’ve always wanted to do this, ever since I was a lonely boy dreaming of the very work I’m doing now. I wouldn’t trade it for leisure time. This is what I’ve always wanted, and it’s my life.” The director then goes on to comment on Queer being labelled an experimental film. “I love the reception—it’s beautiful and generous. I’m not sure I’d call my films experimental, though. I enjoy experimenting, bending my own rules, and pushing boundaries. But at the same time, I honestly saw Queer as an endearing love story,” he explains. While it is commonly understood that the character of William Lee is based on William Burroughs, Daniel begs to differ. “I made a conscious decision not to do a Burroughs impersonation because I’m not playing Burroughs—I’m playing a creation of his, William Lee, with all the complexities that entails. I wanted to capture something of his essence, but I also wanted to create something new.” He acknowledges the challenges of finding Lee within himself. “I worked on the accent, focused on the script, and did all the necessary preparations. I tried my best to embody the essence of William Burroughs while inventing a new character,” he details.

Queer is as much a film about t physical intimacy as it is about emotional depth. When asked which aspect stood out more to them, Luca responds, “They are completely intertwined,” with Daniel nodding in agreement and adding, “I don’t think you can separate the two.” Luca then explains, “When they make love for the first time, you see Lee’s tentativeness, his sheer excitement, and the mix of fear and tension—all of which are deeply emotional. Then, when their bodies collide, there’s a powerful release, an energy unleashed.” While Queer was received with a standing ovation in Venice and many more places, it was banned in Istanbul. When asked if they intended for the film to be political, Daniel says, “I’ll say there’s a political statement in every piece of art. I don’t think there’s any more or less of it in this film,” following which Luca signs off by saying, “Everything has an ideological or political dimension in one way or another. I don’t think something should be political simply because of its themes, but rather because of its aesthetic.”

News Credits: Cinema Express

The hit musical Mamma Mia! is returning to Broadway this summer after a 10-year intermission.

The musical – with casting to be announced later – will begin previews at Broadway‘s Winter Garden Theatre on August 2, with an opening night set for August 14. The limited engagement will run through February 1, 2026. (The musical will take up the temporary residence at the Winter Garden following the exit of Good Night and Good Luck with George Clooney, which runs at the venue from April 3 through June 8.)

The musical originally ran on Broadway from October 2001 to September 2015.

Since then, productions of the musical have appeared around the world, including North American and international tours, London and Toronto engagements, among others.

Mamma Mia! features music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus of Abba, book by Catherine Johnson, and direction by Phyllida Lloyd.

News Credit : Deadline.com

Marvel knows fans will go either way on this choice, but top brass lay out their reasoning.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1 and 2.

It’s a bold move to bring back a main character from the original Daredevil series only to kill them off, but the Marvel team felt they had to do it for the revival, Daredevil: Born Again.

The opening of the Disney+ drama, which dropped two episodes of its freshman season on Tuesday, begins with a welcome sight for fans: Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page, and Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson back together on screen for the first time since leading Netflix’s Daredevil. The trio walks out of their newly formed law firm — fulfilling a dream they had from the end of that original series — and head to their favorite after-hours haunt, Josie’s bar.

Then all hell breaks loose in Hell’s Kitchen.

Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), a.k.a. Bullseye, a familiar antagonist from the Netflix era, makes an explosive entrance on Daredevil: Born Again. He opens fire on Matt’s friends outside the bar, kickstarting a new “oner” in which Matt, now suited up as the Man Without Fear, battles Bullseye through Josie’s, out the back door, up the adjoining apartment building’s staircase, and onto the roof. The pulse-pounding sequence plays out to the thrum of Foggy’s struggling heartbeat after Matt’s best friend was hit by gunfire.

When his heart eventually stops, Matt crosses the line he never thought he’d cross: he tries to take a life by throwing Bullseye off the roof. Though Mr. Poindexter walks away after hitting hard pavement, Matt “still had the intention,” Daredevil: Born Again executive producer Sana Amanat tells Entertainment Weekly. “So how do you deal with that?”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel TV, goes deeper in unpacking this moment. “Matt has to make a deal with the devil, in a way, himself,” he says. “In order to be righteous, he has to assume a certain amount of toxicity of his own. The battles that he wages for ultimate justice often come with collateral damage. And that felt like a really crucial core to Matt’s character arc and to Daredevil: Born Again. The death of Foggy was something that we really agonized over. It’s not totally dissimilar to the death of Gambit in X-Men ’97. Both characters represent something essential to the core idea so that their loss actually has a huge impact on the universe that the story’s living in. So it wasn’t something we took lightly.”

Winderbaum notes how the team pored over Daredevil comics to find precedent, citing how Bullseye actually kills Karen in the source material. That’s why, Amanat points out, they brought Poindexter back. “Ultimately, that was the intention: Foggy being so integral to Matt, Matt realizing he needs to put away the mask, Matt starting a new life. The only reason he would ever do that is if his best friend dies,” she says. “Otherwise, this man will always come back to [violence], because [Foggy’s] been his moral compass for so long. That is the only thing that made sense for us narratively to be able to tell that story.”

It’s the story that now defines Matt’s arc on Daredevil: Born Again season 1, and perhaps beyond. “It sends Matt into a real state of freeze,” Winderbaum says. “You find a Matt Murdock who is trying to uphold the virtues of Foggy in Foggy’s absence, but the pressure’s going to come to bear and he’s going to explode, which you see at the end of the second episode.” She’s referring to the sequence wherein two corrupt cops beat up Matt, who then gives into his violent tendencies and maims them once first blood is drawn.

“And believe me, the absence of Foggy is something that looms large over the entire season and is a big part of the culmination of the season,” Winderbaum adds.

Everyone at Marvel seems to know the death of Foggy could be a risky move. Amanat recognizes how even their own internal conversations went to either end of the reactionary spectrum. “He’s a man in grief,” she says of Matt. “He is a man who lost his identity because he lost the person who has, in some ways, helped him define that identity. It’s heartbreaking to me that we had to do that. It was tough. It was really, really tough. But at this point, 10 years later, we have to move forward. We have to be able to start telling a new narrative.”

At the very least, this won’t be the last we see of Foggy, she confirms. “He and Deborah are coming back for season 2 in different ways,” Winderbaum adds. (Daredevil: Born Again season 2 has already set up shop in New York.) “But we’re excited to work with him again…. I don’t see a Daredevil season without him in some regard.”

News Credit : Entertainementweekly.com

Diablo Cody, who wrote the 2009 film, first championed a sequel idea in 2024.

Amanda Seyfried is on board for any “Jennifer’s Body” sequel, which could come sooner than later. The actress, though not confirming the film, told Bloody Disgusting that a “Jennifer’s Body 2” could be in the works soon.

“I think we’re making another one,” Seyfried said while on the red carpet for “Seven Veils.” “I didn’t confirm it! I said, ‘I think.’” IndieWire has reached out to representatives for Seyfried, screenwriter Diablo Cody, and director Karyn Kusama for further comment.

“Jennifer’s Body” was released in 2009. While the feature barely broke even at the box office, the now-iconic film is considered to be a feminist horror classic. Seyfried stars as Needy, whose best friend Jennifer (Megan Fox) is the high school queen bee. However, after Jennifer is sacrificed by the lead singer (Adam Brody) of a band touring through town, she is left as a half-girl, half-demon who feasts on unsuspecting boys to survive.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody told Bloody Disgusting in 2024 that she is “not done” with the world of “Jennifer’s Body” during its 15-year anniversary. “I want to do a sequel. I am not done with ’Jennifer’s Body,’” Cody said. “I need to partner with people who believe it in [sic] as much as I do and that hasn’t really happened yet. I need someone to believe in it who has a billion dollars.”

In 2024 while talking about her “Lisa Frankenstein” script, Cody told IndieWire about renewed interest in a potential “Jennifer Body’s” sequel. “I had no idea people would get so excited about that,” Cody said. “I was delighted to see the response, I’m going to clip those articles and show them to all the people who are like, ‘We don’t think this is such a good idea.’ Bring it into the people that I need to green light it.”

She told IndieWire that the renewed chatter around a potential sequel really excited her. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career, it’s like total validation,” she said of the continued fandom around the film. “It came late, I’m OK with that, I’ve made my peace with that. I went through a lot when that movie came out, just personal attacks. It was about more than just the movie. … I always believed in it, but I did lose my confidence. If people hadn’t rediscovered ‘Jennifer’s Body,’ I would not have written ‘Lisa Frankenstein.’ With that whole area, that genre, I kind of felt unwelcome in it, because I had flopped so hard on my last attempt.”

Meanwhile, Seyfried next stars in Mona Fastvold‘s upcoming “Ann Lee” musical, which centers on the founder of the Shaker Movement in the late 1770s. The musical biopic is co-written by Fastvold and her “The Brutalist” collaborator and real-life partner Brady Corbet.

Seyfried told Vanity Fair that shooting Fastvold and Corbet’s secret indie film after wrapping the upcoming Peacock limited series “Long Bright River,” was tough. “I went to hell and back,” Seyfried said of the demanding back-to-back projects. “Oh, my God. What the fuck? Even my assistant’s like, ‘You need to take a break,’” Seyfried said. “We could only do [‘Ann Lee’] in the summer. … We moved everybody to Budapest, including my dog. Then we did a crazy thing. We did a crazy thing.” She added of the musical, “I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.”

News Credits: Indiewire