Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, whose second feature All We Imagine as Light won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2024, has been named president of the jury for the 65th edition of Cannes Critics’ Week, organisers announced April 22. The parallel section, run by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, runs May 13-21 in Cannes and will screen 11 first and second features (from 1,050 submissions) and 13 short films (from 2,400 entries). Kapadia will be joined on the jury by Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin, French singer-songwriter Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu and Bangkok World Film Festival director Donsaron Kovitvanitcha. The panel will award the Ami Paris Grand Prize (best feature), the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award (best actor/actress) and the Sony Discovery Prize (best short). Kapadia, whose earlier works include acclaimed shorts and the documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing, said she saw the role as a way to defend independent and first films at a time when market forces threaten art-house cinema.

DC Studios on April 22 released the first full teaser for Clayface, an R-rated body-horror entry in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. Directed by James Watkins from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen — a rising actor who is brutally disfigured and transformed into the shapeshifting villain Clayface after an experimental medical procedure. Naomi Ackie co-stars alongside Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, David Dencik, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James. The trailer, debuted publicly after a CinemaCon preview, shows graphic practical and VFX-driven transformation imagery — bandaged hospital scenes, melting and reshaping faces, and a shadowed sequence in which Clayface forms a mace-like arm. Clayface is slated to open Oct. 23, 2026, moved into the Halloween season, and is positioned as the darker, horror-leaning follow-up to Superman and Supergirl within DCU: Chapter One. The clip underlines the studio’s intent to broaden tonal range across its slate while keeping the story grounded in Gotham City without revealing any Batman cameo.

Dave Mason, the English singer, songwriter and guitarist who co-founded the 1960s band Traffic, died peacefully at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada on April 19, 2026. He was 79. The family confirmed his passing in a statement posted to his social media accounts; no official cause has been disclosed. Born May 10, 1946, in Worcester, England, Mason wrote enduring songs including Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright?” and “Hole in My Shoe,” and scored a solo hit with 1977’s “We Just Disagree.” A sought-after session player, he contributed to landmark recordings by Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones and others. Traffic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. In recent years Mason’s health had declined: a serious heart condition surfaced in 2024 and a severe infection in 2025 led him to postpone and then cancel tours; he announced his retirement from touring in 2025. He is survived by his wife, Winifred Wilson, his daughter Danielle and other family members.

Netflix is in advanced talks to buy the historic Radford Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, sources told multiple outlets on April 22, 2026. Goldman Sachs, which took control of the 55-acre property after lender action earlier this year, is expected to sell the lot for roughly $330 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter; other reports have cited figures closer to $400 million. Radford — a nearly 100-year-old campus with 22 soundstages, backlots and dozens of office buildings — was owned by Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile after a 2021 acquisition that preceded occupancy declines, a mortgage default and plans for a stalled $1 billion renovation. Netflix is already a major Los Angeles tenant with large leases at Sunset Studios and Raleigh locations and has been expanding studio assets elsewhere, including ABQ Studios and a planned $1 billion build at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Industry sources say the sale, if completed, would be the first major production-campus transaction in more than five years and could reset valuations and lending benchmarks for studio real estate amid a prolonged production slump in the region.

James Gray’s new crime drama Paper Tiger will make its world premiere in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival after being added as a late entry, festival organisers and industry outlets reported on April 22, 2026. The film, written and directed by Gray, stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller as two brothers whose pursuit of the American dream becomes entangled with a violent Russian mafia plot that threatens their family. Neon has acquired North American rights, while France’s SND will handle local distribution and Vincent Maraval and Kim Fox’s The Veterans represent international sales. Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (RT Features) and Anthony Katagas (AK Productions) with a slate of executive producers, Paper Tiger reunites Johansson and Driver following their Oscar-nominated turns in Marriage Story. Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux had left the official selection open, saying contractual issues remained, but sources say those matters have been resolved in time for the May 12-23 festival. The acquisition bolsters Neon’s heavy presence at Cannes this year, bringing the U.S. indie’s tally of Palme d’Or contenders to six.

Lionsgate’s Michael, a biopic of Michael Jackson directed by Antoine Fuqua, is tracking for a major opening this weekend in North America, with domestic estimates at $65 million to $70 million from roughly 3,900 theaters (including about 1,600 premium large-format auditoriums). Some exhibitors predict the weekend total could climb toward $80 million. Internationally, Universal — handling most foreign markets except Japan (Kino) — is projecting $75 million to $90 million, putting a global opening in the roughly $140 million to $150 million range. The film’s production reportedly cost about $155 million plus an estimated $15 million in additional photography tied to legal and creative retooling; some outlets cite a $200 million figure. Early critical reception is poor (about 33% on Rotten Tomatoes), but strong advance sales, fan enthusiasm and sizable foreign demand have analysts forecasting a potential record opening for a music biopic and long-term franchise upside, despite controversies and selective coverage of abuse allegations.