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Emma Thompson on her new film — and the idea the female orgasm has to be performative

Mary Louise Kelly

Jonaki Mehta

Courtney Dorning

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson star in the film, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. Nick Wall/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson star in the film, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.

In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Emma Thompson plays a woman who decides to embark on a journey of sexual self-discovery and acceptance.

This period of introspection unfolds almost entirely inside one room with two people: Nancy Stokes (Thompson), a recently widowed woman who is reckoning with her marriage that lasted three decades without her experiencing a single orgasm, and Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), the young sex worker who she has hired to teach her what she's been missing.

The Academy Award and BAFTA-winning actor spoke with All Things Considered and described the joy of portraying a woman on screen who is focused mostly on one thing: her own pleasure.

This interview with Mary Louise Kelly has been lightly edited for length and clarity. It contains some adult content.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande film trailer.

Interview highlights

On why she wanted to play this character

She's bliss, she was bliss from beginning to end. She's a decent, ordinary, responsible woman. She represents an awful lot of women in my country. She's unintentionally, mostly funny. But the situation that she's in was irresistible to me. It was so unusual, I've never seen these two people in this situation, ever. It's sort of irresistibly delicious. It's delightful. It gives so much pleasure. And yet, there's so many conversations that can come out of it, that go very deep into the female experience, and the male experience of sex.

On what resonates for women who have watched the film

What resonates is the idea that the female orgasm somehow has to be performative. Because the female orgasm is there to convince the man that he's managed it, he's achieved it, he's done the thing he's supposed to do for the woman.

To be honest, brutally honest, an awful lot of men don't concern themselves with female orgasms, they don't care. It's remarkably kind of un-emotionally developed. And yet a sort of shared experience that leads to that kind of intense and releasing pleasure is actually available to us all.

And it would be nice if we could find a way towards it that was a little bit more skillful. And Leo is very, very skillful. What's so wonderful about the story is that Leo is not there to give Nancy her orgasm, that's not his purpose.

McCormack, Thompson, and film director Sophie Hyde attend the Good Luck To You, Leo Grande premiere in New York City. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva hide caption

McCormack, Thompson, and film director Sophie Hyde attend the Good Luck To You, Leo Grande premiere in New York City.

Another thing that's so irresistible about the film is that Leo's interested in pleasure for its own sake, and a feeling that it's something that everyone can have, but that a lot of people find difficult to access, which we know to be the case.

So therefore, for Leo, the examination of pleasure, particularly of female pleasure, is intimately connected with the fact that it would make the world a better place. And I feel that he's right about that. How he says, "Oh, imagine how much less BS there would be." And I also imagine how much less sexual violence there would be.

On the role of nudity and representing an older woman at peace with her own body

It is radical because normally, the bodies that we choose to put on screen have been treated in some way. They're either bodies that conform to what we've decided is the ideal, which is impossible for most people to achieve, which is why most women will look in the mirror, or not look in the mirror, because they experience a kind of loathing or hatred, or at the very least a dissatisfaction.

Thompson says she found her character to be "irresistibly delicious." Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images hide caption

Thompson says she found her character to be "irresistibly delicious."

Oddly enough, I went quite into sort of the past. I thought, "How am I going to do this?" I don't know how to do this, because I can't do it. But how does Nancy get there? What's going on inside her? And I decided that because she had experienced this joy, that suddenly she's looking at her body without any filters.

She's seeing it for the first time as her home, the place where she lives, the place where she can experience joy on her own or with someone else should she choose. And when I was trying to work out how I wanted her to stand, I went and looked at all the old medieval pictures of Eve in the Garden of Eden because I thought, "Well, she wasn't self conscious." It was all male artists, but at the same time, all those medieval Eves and Adams, they just stand with one leg slightly bent, very relaxed. And that's what I took for my inspiration for her stance.

On how the role changed or liberated her in her own life

I think what it did for me, certainly, was it made me re-recognize the waste of time that non-acceptance of one's body is. It's a waste of our time. And God knows I've wasted a lot of time. And of course, that's not my fault, actually. Because the iconography that surrounds us is absolutely inescapable. They gave me the opportunity to put my body where my mouth is, and to allow a film to be made that I hope will be of some assistance, indeed, to young women, and indeed to young mothers whose 8-year-olds are saying, "I don't like my thighs." So everything about it, I hope, will give people a release and a kind of desire to appreciate themselves, to appreciate their bodies, and what their bodies can do for them and not to continually want them to be something else.

This interview was adapted for the web by Manuela Lopez Restrepo

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Emma Thompson and the Challenge of Baring All Onscreen at 63

The actress made the choice to disrobe. Still, she says, it was the most difficult thing she’s ever done in her four-decade career.

If “you want the iconography of the female body to change,” Emma Thompson said, “then you better be part of the change.” Credit... Charlotte Hadden for The New York Times

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By Nicole Sperling

• Published June 15, 2022 Updated June 18, 2022

It’s the shock of white hair you notice first on Emma Thompson, a hue far more chic than anything your average 63-year-old would dare choose but one that doesn’t ignore her age either. It’s accompanied by that big, wide smile and that knowing look, suggesting both a wry wit and a willingness to banter.

And yet, Thompson begins our video call by MacGyvering her computer monitor with a piece of paper and some tape so she can’t see herself. “The one thing I can’t bear about Zoom is having to look at my face,” she said. “I’m just going to cover myself up.”

We are here across two computer screens to discuss what is arguably her most revealing role yet. In the new movie “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” directed by Sophie Hyde, Thompson is emotionally wrought and physically naked, and not in a lowlight, sexy kind of way.

Thompson plays Nancy, a recently widowed, former religious schoolteacher who has never had an orgasm. At once a devoted wife and a dutiful mother harboring volumes of regret for the life she didn’t live and the dull, needy children she raised, Nancy hires a sex worker — a much younger man played by relative newcomer Daryl McCormack (“Peaky Blinders”) — to bring her the pleasure she’s long craved. The audience gets to follow along as this very relatable woman — she could have been your teacher, your mother, you — who in Thompson’s words “has crossed every boundary she’s ever recognized in her life,” grapples with this monumental act of rebellion.

“Yes, she’s made the most extraordinary decision to do something very unusual, brave and revolutionary,” Thompson said from her office in North London. “Then she makes at least two or three decisions not to do it. But she’s lucky because she has chosen someone who happens to be rather wise and instinctive, with an unusual level of insight into the human condition, and he understands her, what she’s going through, and is able gently to suggest that there might be a reason behind this.”

Thompson met the challenge with what she calls “a healthy terror.” She knew this character at a cellular level — same age, same background, same drive to do the right thing. “Just a little sliver of paper and chance separates me from her,” she quipped.

Yet the role required her to reveal an emotional and physical level of vulnerability she wasn’t accustomed to. (To ready themselves for this intimate, sex-positive two-hander that primarily takes place in a hotel room, Thompson, McCormack and Hyde have said they spent one of their rehearsal days working in the nude.) Despite a four-decade career that has been lauded for both its quality and its irreverence and has earned her two Academy Awards, one for acting (“Howards End”) and one for writing ( “Sense and Sensibility” ), Thompson has appeared naked on camera only a few times.

She said she wasn’t thin enough to command those types of skin-baring roles, and though for a while she tried conquering the dieting industrial complex, starving herself like all the other young women clamoring for parts on the big screen, soon enough she realized it was “absurd.”

“It’s not fair to say, ‘No, I’m just this shape naturally.’ It’s dishonest and it makes other women feel like [expletive],” she said. “So if you want the world to change, and you want the iconography of the female body to change, then you better be part of the change. You better be different.”

For “Leo Grande,” the choice to disrobe was hers, and though she made it with trepidation, Thompson said she believes “the film would not be the same without it.” Still, the moment she had to stand stark naked in front of a mirror with a serene, accepting look on her face, as the scene called for, was the most difficult thing she’s ever done.

“To be truly honest, I will never ever be happy with my body. It will never happen,” she said. “I was brainwashed too early on. I cannot undo those neural pathways.”

She can, however, talk about sex. Both the absurdities of it and the intricacies of female pleasure. “I can’t just have an orgasm. I need time. I need affection. You can’t just rush to the clitoris and flap at it and hope for the best. That’s not going to work, guys. They think if I touch this little button, she’s going to go off like a Catherine wheel, and it will be marvelous.”

There is a moment in the movie when Nancy and Leo start dancing in the hotel room to “Always Alright” by Alabama Shakes . The two are meeting for a second time — an encounter that comes with a checklist of sexual acts Nancy is determined to plow through (pun intended). The dance is supposed to relieve all her type-A, organized-teacher stress that’s threatening to derail the session. Leo has his arms around her neck, and he’s swaying with his eyes closed when a look crosses Nancy’s face, one of gratitude and wistfulness coupled with a dash of concern.

To the screenwriter, Katy Brand, who acted opposite Thompson in the second “Nanny McPhee” movie and who imagined Thompson as Nancy while writing the first draft, that look is the point of the whole movie.

“It’s just everything,” Brand said. “She feels her lost youth and the sort of organic, natural sexual development she might have had, if she hadn’t met her husband. There is a tingling sense, too, not only of what might have been but what could be from now on.”

Brand is not the first young woman to pen a script specifically for Thompson. Mindy Kaling did it for her on “Late Night,” attesting that she had loved Thompson since she was 11. The writer Jemima Khan told Thompson that she had always wanted the actress to be her mother, so she wrote her a role in the upcoming film “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

“I think the thing that Emma gives everybody and what she does in person to people, and also via the screen, is that she always somehow feels like she’s on your side,” Brand said. “And I think people really respond to that. She will meet you at a very human level.”

The producer Lindsay Doran has known Thompson for decades. Doran hired her to write “Sense and Sensibility” after watching her short-lived BBC television show “Thompson” that she wrote and starred in. The two collaborated on the “Nanny McPhee” movies, and are working on the musical version, with Thompson handling the book and co-writing the songs with Gary Clark (“Sing Street”).

To the producer, the film is the encapsulation of a writer really understanding her actress.

“It felt to me like Katy knew the instrument, and she knew what the instrument was capable of within a few seconds,” Doran said. “It isn’t just, over here I’m going to be dramatic. And over here, I’m going to be funny, and over here I’m going to be emotional. It can all go over her face so quickly, and you can literally say there’s this feeling, there’s this emotion.”

Reviewing “Leo Grande,” for The New York Times, Lisa Kennedy called Thompson “terrifically agile with the script’s zingers and revelations,” while Harper’s Bazaar said Thompson was “an ageless treasure urgently overdue for her next Oscar nomination.”

The obvious trajectory for a film like this should be an awards circuit jaunt that would probably result in Thompson nabbing her fifth Oscar nomination. But the film, set to debut on Hulu on Friday, will not have a theatrical release in the United States.

Thompson doesn’t mind. “​​It is a small film with no guns in it, so I don’t know how many people in America would actually want to come see it,” she said with a wink.

That may be true. But more consequently, because of a rule change by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that reverts to prepandemic requirement of a seven-day theatrical release, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” is not eligible for Oscar consideration, a reality that the director Sophie Hyde is not pleased with.

“It’s really disappointing,” Hyde said. “I understand the desire to sort of protect cinema, but I also think the world has changed so much. Last year, a streaming film won best picture.” She argued that her film and others on streaming services aren’t made for TV. They are cinematic, she said, adding, “That’s what the academy should be protecting, not what screen it’s on.”

Thompson, for one, seems rather sanguine about the whole matter. “I think that, given the fact that you might have a slightly more puritanical undercurrent to life where you are, that it might be easier for people to share something as intimate as this at home and then be able to turn it off and make themselves a nice cup of really bad tea,” said Thompson, laughing. “None of you Americans can make good tea.”

In an earlier version of this article,   Emma   Thompson misstated how often she had appeared naked on camera. It was   a few times, not just once. When asked to clarify, she said: “One forgets,” before adding, “No body doubles here.”

How we handle corrections

Nicole Sperling is a media and entertainment reporter, covering Hollywood and the burgeoning streaming business. She joined The New York Times in 2019. She previously worked for Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and The Los Angeles Times. More about Nicole Sperling

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• <i>Good Luck To You, Leo Grande</i> Is the Perfect Movie For Anyone Who Feels Invisible

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande Is the Perfect Movie For Anyone Who Feels Invisible

O lder women’s bodies, not to mention their sexuality, are something no one wants to think or talk about, least of all older women themselves. What everyone tells you when you’re young eventually becomes true: at a certain age—maybe 50, maybe 60—you become invisible to most other people on the street, especially men. But at that point, you may find, it’s other women your age and older who look at you more. We look to see what others are doing with their hair, how they’re dealing with the post-middle-age tummy situation, what colors they choose now that some of the old favorites no longer suit. In my experience, it’s less like competition and more like camaraderie. We’re all being not looked at, together.

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande —from Australian director Sophie Hyde, with a script by Katy Brand—is the first great movie, in a long time, for the invisibles. Emma Thompson plays Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow whose sex life did the trick for her in the conceiving-children department—she has two, now grown—but which has otherwise been distinctly routine and unsatisfactory. And so she has hired a sex worker, a handsome charmer named Leo (Daryl McCormack, from Peaky Blinders ), to see if he might help her find whatever has been missing, if it’s findable at all.

When Leo comes to the hotel room she’s rented, they spend a great deal of time talking—or, rather, Leo, one of those people who has a gift for putting others at ease, tries to tease her out of her fluttery nervousness, which carries more than a whiff of judgment about Leo himself. She asks him if his mother knows what he does for a living, a subject he clearly doesn’t want to talk about. She wants to know if he’s a damaged runaway with a hard-luck story. In this misguided way, she seems to be assuaging her own guilt and shame. It takes nearly forever, but Leo finally makes her see that social-working her way toward an orgasm is not going to work.

The first visit, or at least as much as we see of it, ends with a kiss. But there are second and third visits, during which Nancy slowly lets down her guard while Leo does all the work of loosening her grip on her own self-degrading ideas about her looks, her aging body, her life. They spend time in bed—there’s sex in Leo Grande, I think, or maybe it’s really just more the suggestion of sex. In any event, the movie is sexy, not least because it revels in the idea that great sex comes from a connection that goes beyond what’s merely physical—and this can be true, of course, even when the sex is paid for. Leo loves what he does, and he’s good at it, because he likes talking to women and finding out what they want and need. Nancy is the one who tries to hang onto her shame and projects it onto him, almost to the point where he gives up on her. His patience in bed is infinite, but when Nancy crosses a line into his private life, we too suddenly see him as a human being with certain fragilities, in addition to being a gorgeous companion for hire, a person adept at playing different roles to please different people.

Read more reviews by Stephanie Zacharek

Hyde and Brand tackle all of these delicate ideas with agility and humor, and the repartee—including the arguments—between Nancy and Leo feel lived in, like rumpled sheets. McCormack is wonderful, playing a guy who’s confident in his own beauty without being a jerk about it. There’s a fantastic moment when, on his way to meet Nancy for the first time, he stops to check his reflection in a shop window, straightening his coat with a look that tells us he knows how fine he is.

But the trick is that as much as he likes the way he looks, he’s still more interested in looking at others. And when his gaze falls on Nancy, she can hardly find joy in it. When we first see her, she’s entering that hotel room in a dowdy skirt, with prim shoes that don’t help (she’s a former religious-ed teacher, and she dresses like it.) She changes into a pair of suede kitten heels—much better. And after Leo arrives, she gets up the courage to slip into the bathroom to change into a slinky peignoir ensemble—having forgotten, of course, to remove the price tag under her armpit, as Leo later discovers, teasing her about it.

Thompson has always been a terrific actor , but she reaches a new plane here, a place where her vulnerability as a person and her confidence as a performer mesh into something glorious. She’s unafraid to explore Nancy’s prickliness—some of the things she says to Leo are simply awful, betraying a deep judgmental streak. The film is beautifully shot—never has hotel-room light looked so meltingly sensual and luxurious. And that serves Thompson well, too. She’s gorgeous to look at, not because she has no wrinkles (she does), but because her skin is so luminous. Every wrinkle-obsessed 20- or 30-year-old needs to see Good Luck To You, Leo Grande to unlock an essential secret before it’s too late: you can have a dull, expressionless face with zero wrinkles, but great skin plus wrinkles is actually a fabulous look.

The movie’s most exhilarating moment comes at the very end, a moment in which Nancy surveys herself in the mirror, almost fully nude. We see everything she does—the sagging skin around the stomach, the breasts that have given up trying to defy gravity. Thompson, who is 63, has talked about this scene in interviews , stressing how difficult it was for her, a woman who has always been unhappy about her body, to bare all in this way. But she must know—or let’s hope she knows—that the look on her face, on Nancy’s face, as she surveys and at last makes peace with this weathered landscape of a body, is like the click of a light switch. To spend even a moment being miserable in our skin, as we all are at times, is to disrespect how far it has taken us. We know that in our hearts, but Thompson puts the truth right out there, for everyone to see.

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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande review: Emma Thompson finds more than sex in tender, taboo-breaking dramedy

Thompson's retired widow hires a male escort, then gets more than she bargained for in the charming Sundance breakout Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.

Leah Greenblatt is the critic at large at Entertainment Weekly , covering movies, music, books, and theater. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and has been writing for EW since 2004.

Insisting that a film about hiring a male escort is actually about intimacy sounds like some kind of reverse Pretty Woman fantasy. And Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (on Hulu June 17) seems at first like it might be another, more familiar kind of movie: How Emma Got Her Groove Back . But Sophie Hyde's two-handed chamber piece turns out to be bolder and sweeter and less predictable than that: a tender coming-of-late-middle-age drama with a quietly radical idea of self-acceptance at its center.

Emma Thompson stars as Nancy Stokes, a sensible-looking widow who decides, after a passionless 31-year marriage, to finally find out what all the fuss is about by hiring a young Irishman who calls himself Leo Grande ( The Wheel of Time 's Daryl McCormack) to do the job professionally. When he shows up to her tastefully generic hotel room, Leo seems like the full package: a golden-skinned Adonis who gently deflects her steady stream of neuroses and breezily uses words like "empirically." (That last bit especially is catnip to Nancy, a retired teacher).

He may be an expert, but she makes it clear he shouldn't get his hopes up; she's gone a whole lifetime without an orgasm, and two hours with a handsome stranger won't change that. But she would like before she dies to feel the touch of a man who does things differently, which doesn't sound hard: For three decades, her late husband's lovemaking had all the intensity and eroticism of an oil change. To attempt to fix that, though, Leo will first have to break down an emotional wall so well constructed that even as he's trying to kiss her neck, Nancy can't seem to stop piling on the bricks.

If she didn't, there wouldn't be much of a movie. And the consummations that follow in several separate sessions happen tastefully off-screen, at least initially — secondary to the long, looping conversations that become their foreplay. She admits that she might not crazy about her grown son ("boring") and daughter (flighty, bohemian, always in a crisis); he allows her to grill him on his education and upbringing (his mother believes he works on an oil rig). But Hyde (who made 2020's great, underseen Animals ) and writer Katy Brand have a longer game in mind beyond Nancy's big O.

McCormack's Leo may be entirely too dreamy to believably be bookable by the hour (if a show like Bridgerton doesn't immediately pick him up, they're crazy), but he's remarkably winning in the role, bringing layers that belie his character's early, easy charm: when Nancy, drunk on her new empowerment, crosses a line, he reclaims his time with a hurt and fury that shocks her. And Thompson is, unsurprisingly, a force: alternately brittle and vulnerable and mordantly witty, her whole body vibrating with a lifetime's worth of sublimated desire. When she stands exposed and alone in front of a mirror in the movie's already-much-discussed final shot , it feels less like a prurient shock than it should, maybe, to see the two-time Oscar winner this way: Imagine the small miracle of allowing a 62-year-old woman to gaze at her full, unadulterated self on screen, and like what she sees. Grade: B+

Follow EW's ongoing coverage out of Sundance here.

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Good Luck To You, Leo Grande Review: Emma Thompson’s Sexual Awakening Comedy Is As Seductive As It Is Heartfelt

It's pretty woman with a smart twist..

When it comes to the depiction of life over 50, Hollywood has provided the message again and again that men can hold exciting lives and still even be action stars, from James Bond to John Wick to Arnold Schwarzenegger , often alongside heroines decades younger than them. Yet for women, it’s been deemed profusely boring to be in one’s skin once you reach the middle ages. Now mind you, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is nothing like the aforementioned movies, but it is a rare (and grounded) approach to a woman in her second act of life, taking the lead and finally getting some action with a much younger gent opposite her. 

In a somewhat of a Pretty Woman role-reversal, a widowed Nancy ( Emma Thompson ) hires an upscale, and strikingly handsome sex worker who goes by Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) for a couple hours, but she suddenly doesn’t know how to go through with it. Her nerves take over and she tells him the whole thing “feels controversial all of a sudden.” Charming immediately with Thompson’s usual razor-sharp comedic timing and the soft and calming presence of McCormack by her side, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande gets realistic about how difficult it can be for a generation of women to become empowered in sex when its often been a subject of so much shame and restraint to own one’s power over finding pleasure in it. 

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande has a small, intimate feel to it that compliments its story. 

The British comedy, which premiered at Sundance and will become available exclusively on Hulu, takes place entirely in the nondescript hotel room where Nancy meets Leo Grande after a life of routine and unsatisfying sex with one man throughout her life, her late husband, who died two years prior. Nancy is a school teacher who nervously scoffs at Leo’s question of “what her fantasy is” upon entering, responding anxiously that her expectation was simply the bare minimum of getting some. Yes, the comedy starts off incredibly awkward as Leo Grande attempts to set the mood and Nancy’s insecurities flood the air of the fancy hotel room. Not every single beat works, and sometimes it feels like a moment drags, but at its core, there’s a tightly focused perspective both on Nancy and Leo Grande. 

And throughout the film by newcomer director Sophie Hyde, Leo Grande is an intimate and focused concept. In its simplicity, it feels like a two-hander play at times that, with its players rising to the weight in the film they must hold, and aside from a bit of confusing tension in the middle of the film, hold attention. The development of their characters and their growing dynamic keeps one on their toes, and its pacing remains thoughtful throughout. 

Emma Thompson gives an especially great and vulnerable performance that is perfect for her usual charms.

Emma Thompson is often the best part of any movie she’s in, though often as the supporting role or right alongside another leading role. In 2021's Cruella , she was the villain to Emma Stone ’s wild turn to evil Disney royalty. Then there’s the classic example of Love, Actually , where she broke all our hearts during the massive ensemble holiday classic. In Leo Grande , it feels like a rare occasion for Thompson to fully take the stage and help say something meaningful and special, and in the comedy, she does just that. Aside from the actress literally baring it all physically, her performance itself matches this in vulnerability, and even bravery. If there’s one thing you take away from Leo Grande , it’s how on top of her game Thompson continues to be, and perhaps you'll wonder how underutilized she’s also been in the past. But that’s certainly not all there is to take away from it. 

With Nancy, Emma Thompson is able to dive into a storyline women of her caliber, age or really any for that matter have had the opportunity to express. What Leo Grande illustrates is unique because it’s just not a topic we’ve seen pulled apart the way this movie, and Katy Brand’s script, does that with a grounded and realness that feels rebellious to the typical Hollywood ideal.  

Leo Grande is surprisingly sexy, and distinctively forwards the conversation around sex and body positivity. 

Through Nancy’s character, there’s an expression of stigma that comes with asking for what one wants in sex, especially through the eyes of a middle-aged woman who came from a religious and slut-shaming background. But through her eyes comes the topic that not only speaks to her age or situation particularly, but one of women being taught to be ashamed of their bodies, their sex appeal and ability to ask for more, both in the bedroom and their larger visions in life. 

The movie is not only about empowerment of Nancy either; it also has a sharp perspective for its sex worker, Leo Grande. Between Nancy attempting to get all fixed up and ready in the bathroom before things get hot and heavy, there’s also little moments focused on Leo as he fixes his shirt and position in bed. As the movie progresses, Leo is also given a full scale arc that shows attention to the complexities of sex workers and more realistic depictions of these people that also defies stereotypes. Leo Grande empowers its sex worker character just as much as his customer throughout its delicately handled story. With that, the way the unique dynamic of Nancy and Leo is approached is with authenticity rather than fantasy. 

When it comes to the sex scenes and nudity in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande , there’s a natural tension the movie builds that feels natural to the story and in complete service of it. And when Leo Grande gets sexual, it's sensual and naturally seductive thanks to incredible chemistry, build up (foreplay if you will) and payoff. In other words, Leo Grande knows what it's doing.

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

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‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ Review: Emma Thompson Hires a Male Escort in Touching, Sex-Positive Two-Hander

David ehrlich.

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Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures releases the film on Hulu on Friday, June 17.

Former schoolteacher Nancy Stokes ( Emma Thompson ) is about as comfortable with her sexuality as she is with the aging body that has been forced to suppress it her entire life. So when this recent widow splurges a chunk of her savings on a night in a hotel with London’s finest male escort — hoping that he might introduce her to the elusive orgasm that her late husband never bothered to look for, and that she’s always been too ashamed to find on her own — a part of her is naturally repulsed by how well things turn out.

Not only is the young man who comes to her room “aesthetically perfect,” Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) is also clever, charming, and convincingly attracted to the post-menopausal prude who’s hired him for the evening. But what really gets under Nancy’s skin is that Leo seems to love his job. He isn’t dirty or desperate, nor is he doing sex work to put himself through school; on the contrary, he’s one of the most beautiful people who Nancy has ever seen in the flesh, he embraces his profession with the same ardor that he does his clients, and he articulates the virtues of giving pleasure with all the self-actualized calm of a wellness podcast.

Nancy expected a human dildo who could give her an orgasm off the assembly line in exchange for her pity — someone repugnant enough to justify a lifetime of bad sex (with the same man) and a career spent chiding her students about the length of their skirts. What she gets is a warm and well-adjusted stranger who is more responsive to her needs than even she has ever allowed herself to be. And Nancy can’t help but resent Leo for that. While his flawless skin and Abercrombie model physique are agonizing enough on their own, it’s his confidence and compassion that send her over the edge; every flicker of pleasure that Leo gives her leaves Nancy more upset that so much of her life has been surrendered to shame.

Possibly the sweetest fairy tale about a sex worker this side of “Pretty Woman” — if much less retrograde, never quite as broad, and ultimately far more interested in interrogating the strictures of its fantasy — “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” is a touching little two-hander that does right by its title character even if the lion’s share of the conflict in this audience-friendly charmer hinges on Nancy’s seesawing relationship with herself. Closed off one minute and yearning to be held the next, the film likewise teeters between the staccato iciness of Harold Pinter and the momcore joy of Nancy Meyers without fully surrendering to either one of them, a back-and-forth which produces its own kind of uneasy fun.

Of course, it’s all a bit hard to swallow at first. Not only is Leo enough of a people-pleasing dreamboat to make Jude Law’s Gigolo Joe seem like some Windows 95-era vaporware by comparison, but even Nancy is a shade too perfect in her self-deprecating nervousness. Unobtrusively directed by Sophie Hyde from a slim yet peppery script by Katy Brand (whose single-location piece was neither adapted from a play nor written with COVID restrictions in mind), “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” never feigns neo-realism, but its banter tiptoes along the fine line between breaking the ice and breaking the spell. “A very fine vintage,” Leo smirks after watching Nancy pour a glass of wine. “It’s just from the minibar,” she responds, before realizing that her new friend isn’t talking about the drink.

Leo is pure fantasy, Nancy is a splash of cold water to the face, and they balance each other out so well that even the most natural moments between them can’t help but feel schematic. As they get to know each other across four rendezvous in the same hotel room, their respective masks will slip off, their roles will start to blur, and the film around them will become more affecting as a result.

If the getting-to-know-you phase is less nuanced than the later parts when Nancy and Leo effectively start cosplaying a gender-reversed “Closer,” the film’s two lead actors (in a cast of four) game out a lifetime of mystery in every shot. Thompson is unsurprisingly excellent as a woman whose sexual disappointments betray a deeper self-denial. Her Nancy is funny even when she has one foot halfway out the door, and as compelled by Leo’s body as she is confused by the wisdom he brings to it; both the film and Thompson’s performance are at their best whenever Nancy, a retired educator who’s awed by all that this young man is able to teach her, still insists that she knows better than him (“Sometimes I wonder if what you young men need is a war,” she offers in response to Leo’s overdeveloped self-understanding).

For his part, Leo turns out to be more than just the mellow pectoral dream guy he plays on the job, but the loveliness of McCormack’s potentially star-making performance is that he never lets his character feel like he’s lying, even when he’s eliding the truth. Leo isn’t shy about indulging his client’s dreams, but that doesn’t mean their time together is somehow illegitimate. While his name might be fake (and the backstory it covers up a bit threadbare), the intimacy he’s there to provide is real as can be, and the movie around him is able to withstand its more fantastical impulses because it strives to make those fantasies real as well.

The average sex worker may never be as beautiful as McCormack — the average movie star may never be as beautiful as McCormack — but a world that allows for pleasure and encourages people to share it with each other doesn’t feel so far out of reach. The only thing standing in the way is our shame, and while that isn’t as neatly conquerable in real life as it is on screen, it’s still encouraging when a nice morsel of a movie like “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” proves totally unafraid of looking at itself in the mirror.

“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. 

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‘roald dahl’s matilda the musical’ review: emma thompson goes big and bad in brashly entertaining netflix adaptation.

Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough round out the supporting cast with Alisha Weir in the title role in this film based on the stage musical, premiering at the London Film Festival.

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Like The Wizard of Oz or Peter Pan , the story of Matilda has endured in many different forms with tweaks and adjustments — first as a very English book for the young, then as an Americanized movie, and then a stage musical that’s now a film adaptation of that stage musical — precisely because it’s so damn weird.

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If it weren’t for the fact that it all unfolds in a world full of whimsy, chocolate cake and magical children who can read William Faulkner and Jane Austen novels before they start kindergarten, the story would end up with social workers and charges of child abuse. To put a finer point on it, it’s not that we, as a society, have become less tolerant of child abuse than people were a generation ago. But we do police representations of it with much more scrutiny, and that sort of makes the jocularity of Matilda a little — as they say these days — problematic.

Those familiar with the intellectual property at hand will know that Warchus and Co.’s theatrical adaptation departed a bit from Dahl’s source. It dispensed with characters like Matilda’s brother and the school’s deputy headmaster, and added in the bit where Matilda tells her librarian friend Mrs. Phelps the story of an acrobat and an escapologist that proves crucial later. So if the show was a bit different from the book, the film of the show is hardly different at all except that some of the songs have been cut and it has been squeezed down into a manageable, short-attention-span-friendly 117 minutes.

Meanwhile, trading theater spaces for real-world locations like massive stately home Bramshill House to stand in for Matilda’s school Crunchem Hall inevitably skews the film toward a more naturalistic feel. Ditto the use of visual effects instead of the old-school wire and lighting tricks the show deployed so effectively.

All that doesn’t make the end product worse or better, but it does make it different, and Warchus has been canny about who plays who and the how broad he’s let the cast get with the intrinsically over-the-top material. Irish moppet Alisha Weir, who was still a tween when this was filmed, anchors the picture with her irrepressible energy in the central role, projecting a righteous indignation at the injustices around her that’s rootable-for but still vulnerable.

As Matilda’s vulgar, TV-watching and ballroom-dancing parents, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough are right in tune with Thompson’s approach to caricature, with Riseborough in especially ripe comic form in the opening scene, where she refuses to admit she’s pregnant even as the contractions start. The gloriously gaudy costumes by Rob Howell and hair and makeup by Sharon Martin help, harmonizing with the production design’s palette of hot, sunny pastels.

Perhaps the most surprising performance is that of Lashana Lynch as kindly teacher Miss Honey, nearly the only adult (apart from Sindhu Vee’s Mrs. Phelps) who shows any kindness to Matilda. Although millions saw Lynch in the last Bond film No Time to Die , her performance was almost entirely overshadowed by the hoo-haw over the fact that she, a Black woman, was playing the latest agent to take the 007 designation. This should also be a good year for her on the back of her performance in The Woman King and, for a hot second earlier in 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . Here, she gets to show off a much softer side as the kind of good-hearted schoolteacher every lonely, bright child loved in grade school, and a strong set of lungs to boot, flaunted to good effect in her big solo for “My House.”

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Review: ‘Cruella’ is dazzling fun but shows too much sympathy for the de Vil

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It may seem counterintuitive, but the easiest way to enjoy “Cruella” — and it’s plenty enjoyable, even when it overstays its welcome — is to try and forget that it has much of anything to do with “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” The filmmakers, of course, do not always make this easy. In line with the Walt Disney Company’s nostalgia-tickling, franchise-building corporate imperatives, they have been tasked with revisiting that 1961 animated chestnut and spinning off a live-action origin story for its memorable fascist-fashionista villain, Cruella de Vil. And so they pile on the tie-in references galore. Those famous spotted dogs make an appearance. You’ll recognize key supporting characters from their names, like Roger and Anita, Horace and Jasper, and you’ll likely also pick up on a snippet of the original film’s signature tune: “Cruella de Vil / Cruella de Vil / If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will … ”

The muddled but intriguing revelation of “Cruella” is that the thing in question isn’t really all that evil. Like so many other storybook villains subjected to elaborate image makeovers, from “Wicked” to “Maleficent,” Cruella — played here by a wholly committed, glammed-to-the-nines Emma Stone — isn’t much of a monster. Certainly she’s a far cry from the shrieking fur-clad demon played by Glenn Close in 1996’s live-action “101 Dalmatians” (and its best-unmentioned sequel). She’s just impatient, perpetually misunderstood and unwilling to play by the rules of a world that fails to recognize her brilliance.

What this leaves us with, practically speaking, isn’t a prequel or an origin story so much as the product of an alternate timeline. By movie’s end, this Cruella seems as likely to skin a dog as she is to wear a T-shirt to the Met Gala. Puppycidal maniacs don’t make sympathetic protagonists — and “Cruella,” above all, wants you to sympathize.

To that end, our protagonist is introduced as a likably mischievous English tot named Estella (played by Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) who has keen fashion sense, a telltale black-and-white bob of hair and a loving mother (Emily Beecham) who tries to suppress her naturally rebellious streak. But then, before you can say “Lemony Snicket,” a series of ghastly incidents leave Estella tragically orphaned and running for her life on the streets of London. When we catch up with her several years later, she’s a seasoned grifter (now played by Stone), her hair dyed a less obtrusive crimson and her table piled high with magnificent sartorial creations. A master of DIY couture, she sews brilliant disguises for herself and her partners in crime, the bumbling Horace (Paul Walter Hauser, very good) and the sensitive Jasper (Joel Fry, ditto).

These scenes set us adrift in a 1970s London that, like the actual 1970s London, is considerably more racially diverse than earlier Disney entertainments might have bothered to register. The director, Craig Gillespie, and his cinematographer, Nicolas Karakatsanis, send their camera soaring and whooshing through the streets in a movie that surges with infectious punk energy. If the two-guys-and-a-girl antics pack some of the New Wave vitality of “Band of Outsiders,” the serpentine tracking shots and nonstop needle drops often seem to be channeling “Goodfellas.” (The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” is merely the most on-the-nose choice on a rebellion-themed soundtrack crammed with ’60s and ’70s hits like “Feeling Good,” “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and, fittingly for this leading lady, “Stone Cold Crazy.”)

Gillespie makes a pretty snug fit for this material after his darkly comic Tonya Harding biopic, “I, Tonya” ; you could think of this superior follow-up as “I, Cruella,” another cracked portrait of a downtrodden but determined young woman none-too-reliably narrating the story of her many rises and falls. But then, you could also see it as the latest variation on a classic fairy-tale template: The screenwriters, Dana Fox and Tony McNamara (a writer on Stone’s 2018 film, “The Favourite”), shrewdly position Estella as a kind of shabby-chic Cinderella, albeit one who dresses up for a different ball every night and dreams of revenge rather than Prince Charming.

Every Cinderella needs a wicked stepmother, and here that role falls to the imperious Baroness von Hellman, played by an impossibly elegant and diabolical Emma Thompson. (The Miranda Priestly vibes are far from coincidental; Aline Brosh McKenna, who receives a story credit here, also wrote “The Devil Wears Prada.” ) When Estella lucks her way into a job as a designer at the Baroness’ ultra-prestigious label, she initially can’t believe her good fortune — but then, through a series of cleverly interlocking revelations, she comes to learn that the Baroness is more than just an unusually demanding boss. She’s a dangerous narcissist and an unambiguous monster, someone who deserves to be humiliated, disgraced and finally toppled from her throne.

And so Estella unleashes her long-dormant alter ego, Cruella, who begins crashing the Baroness’ nightly galas with a succession of stunning gowns and a natural flair for shock-the-runway theatrics. Whether she’s strutting about in shiny black leather, incorporating wearable flammables or — in a jaw-dropping visual highlight — trailing a mile-long chiffon train from the back of a garbage truck, Cruella soon establishes herself as the glam-punk performance artist of the fashion world. Besides relying on muscle from Horace and Jasper, she borrows some queer-eye inspiration from Artie, a vintage dress-shop owner played by a fine if underused John McCrea. (The genius behind Cruella’s artistry is the endlessly inventive costume designer Jenny Beavan, in her most extravagant showcase since “Mad Max: Fury Road.” )

The battle of the Emmas is as hard to resist on-screen as it must have been on paper, even if it’s not exactly a fair fight. In the context of the story, Cruella’s headline-grabbing stunts make her a persistent thorn in the Baroness’ side; in terms of pure on-screen magnetism, it’s a different story. Few can do withering arrogance with more offhand conviction than Thompson, the kind of actor who can raise a glass to herself (“Here’s to me ”) as if it were the most logical thing in the world. She’s a total hoot. She also winds up illuminating a deeper conceptual flaw in “Cruella” and perhaps the larger cottage industry of recasting memorable baddies as tortured antiheroes. In a movie ostensibly about the origins of a great villain, it’s Thompson’s Baroness who comes off as the actual great villain.

Stone of course has trickier, more complicated notes to play. Curiously enough, her most satisfying moments belong to Estella, quietly biding her time and plotting her next move, rather than to Cruella, an indistinct presence who often seems in danger of being upstaged — sometimes upholstered — by her own couture. But if Stone has trouble navigating her inner Jekyll-and-Hyde dynamic, that’s largely due to the herky-jerky imprecisions in the script, which seems uncertain whether to make the emergent Cruella merely misguided, borderline unhinged or genuinely unscrupulous — and finally settles on a coy, unsatisfying mix of all three.

It’s instructive that in “The Favourite,” one of a few recent films to feature as many ruffled gowns and sky-high wigs as this one, Stone nailed every nuance as another lowly young woman turned ambitious schemer. That movie reveled in its moral ambiguities; “Cruella,” trying to do something similar, is ultimately stymied by them. While its surface pleasures are dazzling — if a bit protracted, at well north of two hours — it finally suggests that memorable screen villainy and complex inner humanity may be forced into a kind of stalemate, at least when there’s a corporate-branded intellectual property involved. “Cruella” isn’t a bad movie, even if its heroine is nowhere near bad enough.

Rated: PG-13, for some violence and thematic elements Running time: 2 hours, 14 minutes Playing: Opens May 28 in theaters and streaming as PVOD on Disney+

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William fichtner, emily hall and caroline concannon on board for indie film ‘cutman’, ‘good luck to you, leo grande’ trailer: emma thompson finds surprising connection with a sex worker in searchlight-hulu dramedy.

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Searchlight Pictures today unveiled the trailer for its dramedy Good Luck To You, Leo Grande , starring Emma Thompson ( Love, Actually ) and Daryl McCormack ( Peaky Blinders ), which will stream exclusively as a Hulu Original in the U.S. starting June 17th.

The film from director Sophie Hyde follows Nancy Stokes (Thompson), who has led a full life. A retired schoolteacher and widower, she finds herself yearning for the one thing that has eluded her: a satisfying sexual experience. She decides to do something about that, with a plan that involves an anonymous hotel room and a young sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande (McCormack). Leo is confident, dapper and takes pride in being good at his job. He also appears to be intrigued by Nancy—one of many things to surprise her during their time together.

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande   premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance 2022 and was acquired by Searchlight out of the festival for around $7.5 million. Debbie Gray and Adrian Politowski produced the film, written by Katy Brand, who exec produced alongside Hyde, Julian Gleek, Mark Gooder, Alison Thompson, Nadia Khamlichi, Nessa McGill and Martin Metz.

Check out the film’s trailer by clicking above.

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2021, Comedy/Kids & family, 2h 14m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Cruella can't quite answer the question of why its title character needed an origin story, but this dazzling visual feast is awfully fun to watch whenever its leading ladies lock horns. Read critic reviews

Audience Says

With dazzling costumes, a great soundtrack, and a pair of terrific performances from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, Cruella shows a classic character in an entertaining new light. Read audience reviews

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Cruella videos, cruella   photos.

Academy Award (R) winner Emma Stone ("La La Land") stars in Disney's "Cruella," an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinemas most notorious - and notoriously fashionable - villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. "Cruella," which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella's flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar (R) winner Emma Thompson ("Howards End," "Sense & Sensibility"). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Violence)

Genre: Comedy, Kids & family

Original Language: English

Director: Craig Gillespie

Producer: Andrew Gunn , Marc Platt , Kristin Burr

Writer: Dana Fox , Tony McNamara

Release Date (Theaters): May 28, 2021  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Aug 27, 2021

Box Office (Gross USA): $86.1M

Runtime: 2h 14m

Distributor: Walt Disney

Production Co: Walt Disney Pictures, Gunn Films, TSG Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Estella, Cruella

Emma Thompson

The Baroness

Paul Walter Hauser

Emily Beecham

Catherine, Maid

Anita Darling

Mark Strong

John the Valet

Jamie Demetriou

John McCrea

Craig Gillespie

Screenwriter

Tony McNamara

Andrew Gunn

Kristin Burr

Executive Producer

Michelle Wright

Jared LeBoff

Glenn Close

Nicolas Karakatsanis

Cinematographer

Tatiana S. Riegel

Film Editing

Nicholas Britell

Original Music

Fiona Crombie

Production Design

Jourdan Henderson

Art Director

Alice Felton

Set Decoration

Jenny Beavan

Costume Design

News & Interviews for Cruella

All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, 20th Century, And Searchlight

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2021

Where to Watch the 2022 Oscar Nominees

Critic Reviews for Cruella

Audience reviews for cruella.

As a childhood fan of all versions of 101 Dalmatians, I went into this movie with piles of skepticism. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. It's been compared to Devil Wears Prada and Joker, and both are fair. To the Joker comparison, it feels like there's an earlier script that is much darker, as I kept seeing the places where the film could have gone a different more disturbing route if it had so chosen. But it is a Disney film, and it will pull back. I like Disney films, I like the Disney feel, but this is a film I feel could have been better without the Disney-fication But with stylish direction, a great ensemble cast, and a shockingly enjoyable performance from Emma Stone still works amidst the Disney tropes. I liked it.

Disney does "The Devil Wears Prada" in this reimagination of the iconic villain from "101 Dalmations" following the somewhat turbulent trend of Maleficent and you know what? It really worked for me. I especially love how the film utilizes the cultural phenomenon of 1970's Punk in the UK by marrying the aesthetic and spirit to Cruella's character and juxtaposing it against the conservative fashion world she battles. My only gripe with the film really is the titular protagonist plays it safe and never touches deep enough on the darker, "crueller" aspects of her character. Unfortunately expected in a Disney production but it would've made her epiphanic transformation into the 3rd act (or rather 5th act) much stronger and probably would've let the writers make the narrative thematically clearer. Cruella is a somewhat familiar story about a young woman who through misguided mentorship and hardship must come to terms with her past to find herself. Although somewhat muddled in the message it wants to send, the film finds a lot of fun and some twists along the way while tying up rather neatly. Also I originally thought Emma Stone was a little miscast in the role but by the closing of the film her vicious performance won me over 😈

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Total Recall

Emma thompson's 10 best movies, we count down the best-reviewed work of the beauty and the beast star..

TAGGED AS: Best and Worst

Emma Thompson ‘s done a ton of great work throughout her distinguished career, and taken on a wide variety of roles, but she’s never played a singing teapot in a tale as old as time — until now, that is. In honor of Thompson’s appearance as Mrs. Potts in this weekend’s live-action Beauty and the Beast  remake, we decided to take a fond look back at some of the brightest critical highlights from her fine filmography, and you know what that means: it’s time for Total Recall!

10. Primary Colors (1998) 80%

Based on a thinly fictionalized account of the 1992 presidential campaign written by Joe Klein (who hid, for a time, behind the nom de plume “Anonymous”), and featuring cameos by Geraldo Rivera, Charlie Rose, Larry King, and Bill Maher as themselves, 1998’s Primary Colors could easily have been overshadowed by the real-life circus that followed Bill Clinton’s administration during both of his terms — but director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May had been a creative team for decades, and their comfort with one another, as well as a terrific cast, made Colors  one of the better-reviewed films of the year. Thompson, tasked with providing a thinly disguised version of Hillary Clinton that was still layered enough to make sense in an ostensibly grounded drama, passed with flying colors; as Stanley Kauffmann wrote for the New Republic, “Sheerly as film, Primary Colors generally sizzles.”

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9. Dead Again (1991) 81%

An ambitious blend of romantic melodrama and neo-noir with supernatural overtones, Dead Again  found Thompson and co-star/director Kenneth Branagh playing dual roles in a fairly complex story about a detective who stumbles across a mute amnesia victim who may or may not have been his wife in a past life. The end result could easily have spiraled into soggy schmaltz or mystical mumbo-jumbo, but Dead Again  ultimately kept enough of its plates spinning to draw impressive praise from the majority of critics — including Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader, who wrote, “As the twists come thick and fast and the plot gets progressively more and more baroque, Branagh shows himself to be at least as intelligent as Brian De Palma in delivering over-the-top stylistic filigree.”

8.  The Harry Potter Franchise

The Harry Potter movies offered blockbuster franchise employment for a Who’s Who of British actors — including Thompson, who put in three tours of duty as the prophecy-dispensing Hogwarts professor of Divination, Sybill Trelawney. First appearing in 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Thompson returned for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix   three years later — and then helped usher out the series by reprising her role during the climactic Battle of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 . “In the 10 years since Harry’s first big- screen close-up, the spell has never been broken,” wrote the Denver Post’s Lisa Kennedy. “And we Muggles have been made better for the magic.”

7. The Tall Guy (1989) 86%

6. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) 90%

Kenneth Branagh’s second Shakespeare adaptation, Much Ado  united a colorful cast (including Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Keaton, and Branagh himself) to tell the tale of warring half-brothers (Reeves and Denzel Washington) whose squabbling serves as the backdrop to the star-crossed affairs of a group of friends, nobles, and relatives that includes former lovers Beatrice (Thompson) and Benedick (Branagh). As with most Shakespeare adaptations, Much Ado  didn’t make many waves outside the traditional arthouse crowd, but for the folks who saw it, it proved a deft, smartly rearranged version of one of the Bard’s lighter plays. Though some scribes took issue with the film’s eclectic cast, for most critics, its flaws were minor; in the words of the Washington Post’s Desson Thomson, “Director Branagh, who altered the play imaginatively for the screen, gives wonderful import to this silliness from long ago.”

5. Howards End (1992) 94%

For a couple of years in the early ’90s, it seemed like Thompson and Anthony Hopkins ruled the arthouse — and it started with 1992’s Howards End , a period drama adapted by the award-winning Merchant Ivory filmmaking duo from the E. M. Forster novel. Here, Thompson (who earned a Best Actress Oscar for her work) stars opposite Hopkins as a couple whose love affair blooms against the backdrop of upheaval in the British class system during the early 20th century — and threatens to be derailed by old secrets and machinations surrounding the titular estate. Calling it “Elegant and powerful, accommodating collisions of class and temperament with the grace of a perfect Edwardian hostess,” Time’s Richard Corliss wrote, “ Howards End  is the work to which all Merchant Ivory’s other films have pointed and aspired.”

4. In the Name of the Father (1993) 94%

Thompson earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her work as a crusading defense attorney in this fact-based historical drama, which found writer-director Jim Sheridan dramatizing the travails of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), an Irishman falsely convicted as one of the so-called “Guildford Four” after a 1974 pub bombing carried out by the IRA. While some who were familiar with the real-life details of the case took issue with In the Name of the Father ‘s historical inaccuracies, critics overwhelmingly felt it held up as a thrilling and affecting viewing experience; as Kenneth Turan wrote for the Los Angeles Times, the end result holds up as “a model of … engaged, enraged filmmaking, a politically charged Fugitive  that uses one of the most celebrated cases of recent British history to steamroller an audience with the power of rousing, polemical cinema.”

3. The Remains of the Day (1993) 96%

Adapted from the Kazuo Ishiguro novel, Remains  tells the story of an implacable butler (Anthony Hopkins) and the comparatively hot-tempered housekeeper who grows to love him (Thompson) during their years together in a pre-World War II British estate. Not the stuff of blockbuster epics, obviously, but it picked up eight Academy Award nominations, gave Thompson the opportunity to wring incredible drama from an act as simple as a glance, and reaffirmed her status as one of the few stars capable of making the jump between the megaplex and the arthouse. Among Remains ‘ many appreciative critics was Variety’s Todd McCarthy, who wrote, “All the meticulousness, intelligence, taste and superior acting that one expects from Merchant Ivory productions have been brought to bear.”

2. Sense and Sensibility (1995) 97%

Jane Austen’s books have inspired countless films, but with 1995’s Sense and Sensibility , director Ang Lee proved there was still cinematic gold yet to be spun from her stories. Working from an Oscar-winning screenplay by Emma Thompson (who also starred as the noble Elinor Dashwood), Lee offered a faithful representation of Austen’s 1811 novel about the financial and romantic aftershocks that reverberate through a landed British family after their patriarch passes away. Bolstered by an excellent cast that also included Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman, Sensibility resonated with Jeanne Aufmuth of the Palo Alto Weekly, who echoed the sentiments of the vast majority of her peers when she asked, “Enduring love, heartbreak, undying passion and bitter betrayal. What more could you ask from Jane Austen, and for that matter, from a film?”

1. Henry V (1989) 98%

Want to star in a production of Shakespeare’s Henry V ? You can always take a page from Kenneth Branagh’s book and take the director’s gig, then cast yourself in the title role. Thankfully, there’s a lot more than ego at play in Branagh’s Henry V , which found him making his directorial debut while surrounding himself with an impeccable cast that included Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, and Robbie Coltrane. In fact, while a decently mounted Shakespeare adaptation is always a pretty safe ticket to the Fresh side of the Tomatometer, critics were unanimous in their praise for Branagh’s Bard; as Hal Hinson breathlessly enthused for the Washington Post, “Everything about this remarkable production is exhilaratingly unexpected.”

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Emma Thompson Plays a Fearsome Lady Boss in ‘Late Night’

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Watching Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling mix it up in Late Night will make you think you’ve died and gone to hilarity heaven. In Kaling’s woke script, the Oscar-winning British actress for Howards End plays Katherine Newbury, a late-night talk show host who takes a drastic step to stop her slide in the ratings. She hires Molly Patel (Kaling playing a shrewd variation of her TV persona), the first female to penetrate Katherine’s writing staff of white dudes. Too bored to remember their names, she assigns them all numbers. Charlie (Hugh Dancy), the writer who the married Katherine’s been bonking on the side, gets more than numerical attention. What we’ve have here is a one-woman dictatorship. Out of that simple, sometimes simplistic premise, Thompson, Kaling and up-for-anything director Nisha Ganatra spin comic gold.

The long-time lack of a female host on late-night speaks to the story’s relevance, but the film goes further by showing how Katherine has spent years in the trenches without helping other women rise in the ranks. Kaling, who struggled to build her own sitcom ( The Mindy Project ), knows about career obstacles to women and people of color. She also knows something needs to be done to fix it.

In outline, Late Night is a variation on The Devil Wears Prada with a lady boss striking fear into the hearts of her staff. Like Meryl Streep in that hit office comedy, Thompson can fire off one-liners with a lethal deadpan that takes no prisoners. The reliably terrific Denis O’Hare plays Brad, her harried second-in-command, who jumps when Katherine orders him to get a woman on staff pronto. The diversity hire he comes up with is Indian-American Molly, a chemical-plant efficiency expert from suburban Pennsylvania with no writing experience. What Molly does have as a fan of the show is the idea that Katherine can re-ignite her career simply by being herself.

And who’s that exactly? A woman who’s devoted 28 years to her talk show only to be told her days are numbered by network VP Caroline Morton (Amy Ryan) and that she’s about to be replaced by a male idiot (Ike Barinholtz) whose personality consists exclusively of noxious “bro” clichés. While Katherine does “stuffy” interviews with author Doris Kearns Goodwin, Fallon brings on “adorable” Robert Downey Jr. to wash a sheepdog. It’s late night as a new vast wasteland and the movie makes black-comic sport of it. Thompson lets us feel Katherine’s horror during an interview with a dim-witted YouTube star who delights in sniffing her dog’s butt. Sensing Katherine’s disdain, the airhead calls her the worst word possible word in an on-camera profession: “old.”

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It’s Molly’s idea to make that word work in Katherine’s favor. Talk to her audience honestly, about age, menopause and the fear of being replaced. Katherine is intensely private about her marriage to loyal Walter (a stellar John Lithgow), an emeritus NYU professor suffering from Parkinson’s disease. But when the tabloids implicate her in a sex scandal and embarrassing private emails are leaked, Katherine has only two choices: accept becoming ratings poison or fight back.

One guess about her decision. The romantic subplots in Late Night , one involving Molly and the aforementioned Charlie, are afterthoughts that drag down the momentum. Late Night lights up when Kaling puts her female warriors in the center ring and lets them rip. The actor-screenwriter is too savvy for tirades. But there’s no mistaking the heat in her subversive wit. And when the glorious Thompson (it’s high time for another Oscar) starts tossing Kaling’s verbal grenades like a virtuoso, this workplace satire is just the pointed fun we need.

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Sort by Year - Latest Movies and TV Shows With Emma Thompson

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. The Fisherwoman

Action, Thriller | Pre-production

A widowed fisherwoman who is trapped in a Minnesotan blizzard, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager, soon she realizes that she is the young victim's only hope.

Director: Brian Kirk | Stars: Marc Menchaca , Emma Thompson , Judy Greer , Gaia Wise

2. My Fair Lady

Drama, Musical, Romance | Announced

A poor young woman selling flowers on the street in London happens across a man that's an expert in language. The gentleman makes a bet with his colleague that he can take that young woman ... See full summary  »

3. Friends Forever (II)

Comedy | Pre-production

Four best friends decide to make a movie together. Believing in themselves is all they need to make their dreams come true.

Star: Darlena Roberts

4. Road Narrows

Drama | Pre-production

A daughter travels to her homeland of Mani, Greece to bring her ailing mother back to Boston with her.

Director: Fay Efrosini Lellios

5. James Ivory: In Search of Love and Beauty

Documentary, Biography | Announced

Chronicles the life and work of Oscar® and BAFTA® award-winning director and screenwriter James Ivory, one of our beloved independent filmmaking icons, who continues to lead an active and creative life well into his 10th decade.

Director: Christopher Manning | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter , Wes Anderson , Hugh Grant , Emma Thompson

6. Harrow Alley (TV Movie)

Thriller | Announced

Two guys try to survive the black plague in the 17th century.

7. Arctic 30

Drama | Announced

Follows the experiences of 30 Greenpeace activists thrown into Russia's prison system after protesting against drilling in the Arctic.

8. Settle Down

9. close up (2011– ) episode: emma thompson.

Documentary, Biography

Director: Martin Saint Charles | Star: Emma Thompson

10. Comic Relief: Funny for Money (2024 TV Movie)

179 min | Comedy

Join your hosts Joel Dommett, Maya Jama, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness, Rosie Ramsey, Romesh Ranganathan, David Tennant and, for one last time, Sir Lenny Henry for the funniest fundraising night of the year

Stars: Lenny Henry , Davina McCall , David Tennant , Joel Dommett

11. Ukraine on Fire 2 (2022– ) Episode: Muses Not Silent 20: Celebrities Stand with Ukraine! (2024)

Documentary, Drama, War

Celebrities from all over the world, as at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, inspired by the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, continue to support Ukraine with their words and donations, urging others to do the same.

Stars: José Andrés , Kevin Bacon , Bono , Richard Branson

12. Good Boy (IV) (2023)

16 min | Short, Comedy, Drama

Out of money and out of luck, Danny is determined to turn his life around, but the interventions of his anarchic mum and the reappearance of figures from his past threaten to derail him at every turn.

Director: Tom Stuart | Stars: Ben Whishaw , Dino Fetscher , Marion Bailey , Paul Chahidi

13. EE BAFTA Film Awards (2023 TV Special)

The best national and foreign films of 2022 are honoured at the 76th British Academy Film Awards held at the Royal Festival Hall within London's Southbank Centre.

Director: Marcus Viner | Stars: Florence Pugh , Austin Butler , Anya Taylor-Joy , Barry Keoghan

14. Live with Kelly and Mark (1988– ) Episode: Live's Annual Viewer's Choice Show (2023)

TV-PG | Talk-Show

Kelly and Ryan count down the most exciting moments from the past year on "Live", decided by viewers at home;

Stars: Kelly Ripa , Ryan Seacrest , Emma Thompson , Teresa Giudice

15. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

Nancy Stokes, a retired school teacher, is yearning for some adventure, and some sex. And she has a plan, which involves hiring a young sex worker named Leo Grande.

Director: Sophie Hyde | Stars: Emma Thompson , Daryl McCormack , Isabella Laughland , Les Mabaleka

Votes: 36,840

16. Matilda: The Musical (II) (2022)

PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

An adaptation of the Tony and Olivier award-winning musical. Matilda tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results.

Director: Matthew Warchus | Stars: Alisha Weir , Emma Thompson , Lashana Lynch , Stephen Graham

Votes: 28,060

17. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (2022)

TV-MA | 174 min | Mystery, Thriller

A dying man's enigmatic last words send vicar's son, Bobby Jones, and his socialite friend, Lady Frankie Derwent, on a crime-solving adventure.

Stars: Will Poulter , Lucy Boynton , Daniel Ings , Jonathan Jules

Votes: 7,806

18. What's Love Got to Do with It? (2022)

PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

In London, an award-winning film-maker documents her best friend's journey into an assisted marriage in line with his family's Pakistani heritage. In the process, she challenges her own attitude towards relationships.

Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Mim Shaikh , Iman Boujelouah , Lily James , Emma Thompson

Votes: 9,826

19. The Lost Girls (2022)

TV-14 | 100 min | Drama, Fantasy

Like her grandmother and her mother Jane before her, Wendy must escape Pan's hold on her and the promise he wants her to keep.

Director: Livia De Paolis | Stars: Siobhan Hewlett , Tilly Marsan , Vanessa Redgrave , Amelia Minto

20. Ukraine on Fire 2 (2022– )

'Ukraine on Fire 2' is one-minute docu-series about the Russia's war on Ukraine.

Stars: Volodymyr Zelenskyy , Valerii Fedorovych Zaluzhnyi , Vitali Klitschko , Svyatoslav Vakarchuk

21. Kermode & Mayo's Take (2022 Podcast Series)

The new home of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. Coming early May 2022. They're back, and it's bigger, and better and larger-er and more-er. Film reviews, TV reviews, and all your conversation ... See full summary  »

Stars: Mark Kermode , Simon Mayo , Anna Bogutskaya , Robbie Collin

22. The Fringe, Fame and Me (2022 TV Movie)

88 min | Documentary

Stars: Jamie Sives , Maisie Adam , Stephen K. Amos , Bill Bailey

23. Climate Crisis: Hurricanes (2022)

60 min | Documentary

Hurricanes are bad news. Not only do they bring high winds strong enough to do significant damage and threaten lives, but they bring storm surges that temporarily and locally raise sea ... See full summary  »

Directors: Lucy Ciara McCutcheon , Roxane Schlumberger | Stars: Helena Bennett , Larry Berry , John Bourgeois , John Briggs

24. Ari Global show (2022– )

ARI GLOBAL SHOW - celebrity interview show featuring such stars as Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Eva Longoria, Gerard Butler, Samuel Jackson, Henry Cavill, Shaquille O'Neal, Ruby Rose, and others.

Stars: Ari Global , Emma Stone , Isabela Merced , Henry Cavill

25. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (2022) Episode: Episode #1.1 (2022)

TV-MA | 57 min | Mystery, Thriller

Along the rugged Welsh coastline, Bobby Jones finds a dying man at the bottom of the cliffs. As Bobby tries to ease his final moments, the dying man utters a mysterious question.

Director: Hugh Laurie | Stars: Conleth Hill , Will Poulter , Leon Ockenden , Daniel Ings

26. Leute heute (1997–2023) Episode: Episode dated 14 February 2022 (2022)

Documentary, Family, News

Stars: Tim Bergmann , Emma Thompson , Karen Webb

27. Días de cine (1991– ) Episode: Episode dated 18 February 2022 (2022)

Director: Gerardo Sánchez | Stars: Paula Alamillo , Raúl Cerezo , Laia Costa , María del Puy Alvarado

28. Sunday Today with Willie Geist (2016– ) Episode: Emma Thompson (2022)

News, Talk-Show

A Sunday Sitdown with actress Emma Thompson (movie " Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)".

Stars: Willie Geist , Emma Thompson , Ellison Barber , Rehema Ellis

29. Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014– ) Episode: Emma Thompson/Jack Quaid/Alyssa Stonoha, Mitra Jouhari & Sandy Honig/Jordyn Blakely (2022)

TV-14 | 41 min | Comedy, Talk-Show

Emma Thompson ( Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)); Jack Quaid ( The Boys (2019)); Sandy Honig , Alyssa Stonoha and Mitra Jouhari ( Three Busy Debras (2020)). Also: Jordyn Blakely sits in with The 8G Band .

Stars: Seth Meyers , Emma Thompson , Jack Quaid , Sandy Honig

30. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015– ) Episode: Emma Thompson/Evie Colbert/Tom Segura (2022)

TV-PG | Comedy, Talk-Show

Actress Emma Thompson (movies, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" and "Matilda"); First Drafts with Evie Colbert; comic Tom Segura;

Stars: Stephen Colbert , Emma Thompson , Evelyn McGee , Tom Segura

31. The View (1997– ) Episode: Emma Thompson/Keke Palmer/View Your Deal: Feel Good Friday (2022)

TV-14 | Talk-Show

Actress Emma Thompson (movie, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"); actress Keke Palmer (movie, "Lightyear"); Gretta Monahan shows hot items at affordable prices;

Stars: Whoopi Goldberg , Sara Haines , Joy Behar , Sunny Hostin

32. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015– ) Episode: Emma Thompson/Werner Herzog/Roger Waters (2022)

Actress Emma Thompson (movie, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"); filmmaker Werner Herzog (documentary, "Last Exit: Space"); Roger Waters performs;

Stars: Stephen Colbert , Emma Thompson , Werner Herzog , Roger Waters

33. Loose Women (1999– ) Episode: Episode #26.189 (2022)

Stars: Kaye Adams , Judi Love , Nadia Sawalha , Jane Moore

34. Girls on Film (2018– ) Ep 120: Emma Thompson Talks Good Luck to You, Leo Grande at Sundance London Film Festival (2022 Podcast Episode)

47 min | Talk-Show

In this very special #SundanceLondon episode recorded live from Picturehouse Central, Girls On Film open the festival with an episode all about GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE. Anna interviews... See full summary  »

Stars: Anna Smith , Emma Thompson , Daryl McCormack , Katy Brand

35. Ari Global show (2022– ) Episode: A-list Interviews 2 (2022)

Stars: Diego Boneta , Gerard Butler , Pedro Capó , Eugenio Derbez

36. Breakfast (2000– ) Episode: Episode dated 6 October 2022 (2022)

Stars: Ruth Jones , Carol Kirkwood , Naga Munchetty , Ian Rankin

37. The One Show (2006– ) Episode: Episode dated 25 October 2022 (2022)

Documentary, Talk-Show

Director: Phil Holmes | Stars: Zoë Ball , Konnie Huq , Jermaine Jenas , Emma Thompson

38. Hollywood Insider (2018– ) Episode: A Tribute to Michael Keaton: Recounting the SAG Award Winning Actor's Iconic Roles (2022)

Director: Pritan Ambroase | Stars: Alec Baldwin , Kenneth Branagh , Sandra Bullock , Tim Burton

39. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014– ) Episode: Emma Thompson/Guillermo del Toro/Ashley McBryde & John Osborne (2022)

TV-14 | 41 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show

Actress Emma Thompson (movies "Matilda the Musical" and "What's Love Got to Do with It?"); filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (movie, "Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio"); Ashley McBryde and John Osborne perform;

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40. Kermode & Mayo's Take (2022– ) Emma Thompson, Matilda the Musical, Bones and All, She Said & Pinocchio (2022 Podcast Episode)

81 min | Talk-Show

The monstrous Miss Trunchbull is played by Dame Emma Thompson in the new musical film 'Matilda the Musical' - Simon talks to Dame Emma about this extraordinary role, and how Emma's ... See full summary  »

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41. Made in Hollywood (2005– ) Episode: Empire of Light/Matilda the Musical/Something from Tiffany's (2022)

Interviews with the cast and filmmakers of Empire of Light (2022), Matilda: The Musical (2022), Something from Tiffany's (2022), and Father Stu (2022).

Stars: Kylie Erica Mar , Olivia Colman , Zoey Deutch , Colin Firth

42. Entertainment Tonight (1981– ) Episode: Episode #42.67 (2022)

TV-PG | News, Talk-Show

An interview with Collin Gosselin (TV series, "Jon and Kate Plus 8"); Jennifer Lopez's new album; Morris Day and the Time and Xscape at the BET Soul Train Awards; actress Katherine Heigl ... See full summary  »

Stars: Kevin Frazier , Nischelle Turner , Ben Affleck , Debbie Allen

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The latest news and up-to-date information on the COVID-19 pandemic; celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17's mission to the moon; Today toy drive with actress Emma Thompson and ... See full summary  »

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Recently Viewed

Screen Rant

Exciting new a24 horror movie with 90% on rotten tomatoes quietly continues a great emma stone trend.

While two-time Oscar-winning actor Emma Stone is most well-known for being in front of the camera, she's started an exciting trend as a producer too.

• Emma Stone's new trend of producing offbeat films has proven successful with acclaimed titles like I Saw the TV Glow .
• Fruit Tree, Stone's production company, focuses on unique projects, backing films like Problemista and series like The Curse .
• Stone's commitment to collaborating with visionary creators shapes her diverse film portfolio, showcasing her love for both dark comedy and drama.

While two-time Oscar-winning actor Emma Stone is most well-known for being in front of the camera, the Poor Things performer is starting an exciting trend when it comes to the projects she is producing as well. Stone first proved her knack for comedy with starring roles in Easy A before shooting the Amazing Spider-Man films. However, it is Stone's post- Spidey endeavors that have shaped her cinematic interests. From her work with director Alejandro González Iñárritu on the dark-comedy drama Birdman to Stone's multiple collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos , the Favourite actor has carved out a niche .

Stone's love of complicated roles that combine elements of drama, dark comedy, and the downright strange has also translated to her tastes as a producer. The actor's production company, Fruit Tree, may be relatively new, but it is already making a bold, promising name for itself by helping offbeat movies and TV series get made. Evidently, Emma Stone has a strong commitment to collaborating with visionary directors and writers , so her foray into producing is incredibly welcome. In 2024 alone, Fruit Tree has produced several acclaimed titles, from Julio Torres' debut feature Problemista to an upcoming A24 horror flick.

I Saw The TV Glow Review: Justice Smith's Emotional Performance Elevates Coming-of-Age Horror Mystery

I saw the tv glow is another offbeat hit for emma stone’s production company, emma stone continues her trend of producing well-made, quirky comedies..

The latest film that Emma Stone's Fruit Tree has thrown its weight behind is I Saw the TV Glow . After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024, writer-director Jane Schoenbrun's second feature landed a distribution deal with A24 . The coming-of-age horror-thriller film stars Justice Smith ( Pokémon: Detective Pikachu ) and Brigette Lundy-Paine ( Atypical ) as Owen and Maddie respectively, young adults who bond over their shared love of a formative childhood TV series. After the show is canceled under mysterious circumstances, Owen and Maddie's reality begins to blur with the lore of the series.

Emma Stone's Fruit Tree banner first produced the feature film When You Finish Saving the World .

Under their Fruit Tree banner, Stone and her husband, Dave McCary ( Saturday Night Live ), serve as two of I Saw the TV Glow 's producers. Even though Stone does not appear in the film, the actor's notoriety is a surefire way for the off-beat film to gain momentum and find an audience. Of course, A24's best horror films of the past, which range from Under the Skin to Midsommar to Talk to Me , certainly help. While I Saw the TV Glow is not yet in theaters, early critical reviews have the film sitting at an impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Emma Stone’s Choice In Projects Continues A Promising Trend

The upward trend in quality of stone's production choices is a good sign, to say the least..

Even though Stone's banner is relatively new, other critically acclaimed Fruit Tree productions have hit screens ahead of I Saw the TV Glow . Most recently, Fruit Tree supported Problemista , A24's surrealist comedy film helmed by Julio Torres, who stars opposite Tilda Swinton. On the TV side of things, Fruit Tree was one of the groups behind Emma Stone 's surprise hit, The Curse , a satirical black comedy thriller starring Stone and writer/comedian Nathan Fielder. If anything, Stone's eclectic Fruit Tree projects have two things in common: her seal of approval and the fact that they are singular, exciting works.

I Saw the TV Glow premieres in theaters on May 3, 2024.

Every Upcoming Movie & TV Show Being Produced By Emma Stone's Company

The promising production company has more projects lined up in the coming years..

With the evident success of Stone's recent producing efforts, eyes will naturally turn to what else Fruit Tree will have producer credits on. While Fruit Tree is not as prolific as other producing companies in terms of sheer quantity, the quality of projects chosen by Stone and her partner McCary is enough reason to be excited. One project that Stone will be producing as part of Fruit Tree in 2024 is a movie titled A Real Pain . The film is written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg, who is linked to Stone via their work on the Zombieland movies.

A Real Pain premiered at Sundance 2024 and, like I Saw the TV Glow before it, received a highly positive critical reaction. The film sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, only providing further evidence of Stone's knack for producing good movies. Another project in the works under Stone's Fruit Tree banner is an HBO Max series titled Little Films . This series is created by Julio Torres, whom Stone worked with on Problemista, though a release date is yet to be confirmed for the comedy show.

Emma Stone's I Saw The TV Glow Success Proves She Needs To Star In Another Big Horror Movie

Stone's knack for producing horror-like movies proves she should lend her acting talents to the genre once more..

Emma Stone’s production of movies like I Saw the TV Glow, among others, proves that she needs to star in another horror movie. Throughout her career, horror has largely been a genre Stone has avoided. While she has starred in movies like Poor Things, Zombieland, and Zombieland: Double Tap , these films have been mostly comedies with horror elements. Poor Things especially is less of a horror, with the film's more strange elements drawing the comparison.

Cruella proved that Stone can excel in morally grey roles, even hinting at the actor playing a villain in a potential future horror movie.

Therefore, Stone should consider trying her hand at starring in a full-blown horror movie . I Saw the TV Glow is proof that Stone knows what formulates a good horror movie, despite only producing the film. Through this experience, it should be easier for Stone to pick out a strong horror movie to star in. This would make her even more of an accomplished actor in Hollywood and tick off another genre that she has conquered. While Stone has never acted in a proper horror movie, her past acting roles and her producing resume prove she would be excellent in one.

The aforementioned Poor Things certainly has stranger elements, which could easily translate to the genre of horror. The Zombieland movies also have their share of gore, another common element of horror-tinged projects. Similarly, Cruella proved that Stone can excel in morally grey roles, even hinting at the actor playing a villain in a potential future horror movie. All of these elements of Stone's prior acting career, as well as her well-produced horror movies like I Saw the Glow , prove how needed - and frankly excellent - Emma Stone would be in a big horror production.

I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow is a horror film by writer-director Jane Schoenbrun, released in 2024. A young man named Owen is introduced to a late-night TV show that reflects their reality. As the two begin to bond over the series, it suddenly is canceled, causing Owen's view of reality to shatter.

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Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie is a crime thriller that looks nothing like Poor Things

It already seems like Jesse Plemons will fit their vibe perfectly

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Share All sharing options for: Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie is a crime thriller that looks nothing like Poor Things

Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos are quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most exciting duos. The pair has already teamed up on two excellent movies, with Poor Things and The Favourite , and now it’s completing its collaborative trio with Kinds of Kindness . The movie’s first trailer was released on Wednesday, and it already looks like a fascinating change of pace from the duo’s previous work.

Kinds of Kindness ’ first trailer doesn’t clear up much about its plot. It’s bookended by Emma Stone’s character peeling out in a purple Challenger, with some pretty vague narration. In between, we get brief glimpses of the rest of the cast, including Jesse Plemons ( Game Night ), Willem Dafoe ( Poor Things ) , Margaret Qualley ( Sanctuary ), Hong Chau ( Watchmen ), Joe Alwyn ( The Favourite ), Mamoudou Athie ( Elemental ), and Hunter Schafer ( Euphoria ). Each of these scenes is short, gorgeous looking, and very cryptic. But it’s hard not to be excited by this bizarre crime thriller/comedy.

The trailer’s YouTube description is slightly more informative about the plot:

Kinds of Kindness is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Kinds of Kindness is set for release in theaters on June 21.

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‘Kinds Of Kindness': Watch Striking First Trailer For New Yorgos Lanthimos Movie Starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons & Margaret Qualley

Here’s the striking first trailer and image for Yorgos Lanthimos’ new movie Kinds Of Kindness , which has a June 21 release date.

The Searchlight Pictures charge stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer.

The movie is described as a “triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.”

The project, which is widely anticipated to debut at the Cannes Film Festival, reunites many of the team behind Oscar and box office hit Poor Things .

The original screenplay was written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, making this their fourth collaboration ( The Lobster, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, Dogtooth ). The movie was produced by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Kasia Malipan, and Yorgos Lanthimos.

More from Deadline

• Tony McNamara On The Challenge Of Adapting 'Poor Things' & His "Low Stress" Relationship With Director Yorgos Lanthimos: "We Just Understand Each Other In A Very Easy Way" - Storyhouse
• Emma Stone Reteam With Yorgos Lanthimos 'Kinds Of Kindness' Hitting Theaters This Summer

Emma Stone is teaming up with 'Poor Things' director Yorgos Lanthimos after they swept the Oscars. Here's what to know about their next movie.

• Emma Stone is starring in another Yorgos Lanthimos-directed movie this summer.
• Stone won an Oscar this year for her performance in Lanthimos' 2023 movie, "Poor Things."
• Here's what to know about their new movie.

Emma Stone is starring in another Yorgos Lanthimos movie, months after she won an Oscar for the director's last film, "Poor Things."

On Wednesday, Searchlight Pictures released the first teaser for "Kinds of Kindness," an anthology movie which was originally called " And ."

"Kinds of Kindness" was filmed in 2022 and will premiere June 21, six months after the release of "Poor Things."

"Poor Things" was not a box office juggernaut when released last year, making almost $113 million, according to Box Office Mojo . But the movie was a critical success, earning four Oscars , five BAFTA film awards, two Golden Globes, and numerous nominations across the awards season.

Stone won her second best actress Oscar at this year's Academy Awards after her stunning performance as Bella Baxter in "Poor Things."

Related stories

Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Margaret Qualley, who all starred in " Poor Things ," will appear in "Kinds of Kindness."

"Kinds of Kindness" is an anthology movie.

Unlike Lanthimos' previous films, "Kinds of Kindness" will have three different stories within the same movie.

In December 2023, Lanthimos told The Observer of the film: "It's a contemporary film, set in the US — three different stories, with four or five actors who play one part in each story, so they all play three different parts."

A synopsis provided by Searchlight Pictures appears to describe what the three main story arcs will be.

One focuses on "a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life." The second story is about a policeman whose wife disappears at sea. When the wife returns, the policeman believes she's a different person.

The final story follows a woman on a mission to find someone destined to become a "prodigious spiritual leader." It is unclear whether the stories will interact or be completely separate.

The new teaser hints that part of the movie will be in black and white, similar to "Poor Things."

The movie is filled with award-winning actors.

Along with the " Poor Things " stars — Stone, Dafoe, and Qualley —Lanthimos has recruited multiple fan-favorite actors. Oscar-nominated stars Hong Chau and Jesse Plemons, and Emmy-nominated star Mamoudou Athie have been cast in the movie.

Rounding out the main cast is Joe Alwyn, who worked on Lanthimos' previous film " The Favourite ," and Hunter Schafer, who is known for starring in "Euphoria" and the recent "The Hunger Games" prequel.

There are no details yet on which actors will appear in multiple stories within the anthology. However, the teaser seems to imply that Dafoe and Qualley will be playing at least two different characters.

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