James Gray paper tiger It will receive its North American premiere as an opening night film at the 2026 New York Film Festival.
The crime thriller, scheduled for release on September 25, stars Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson. The film had its world premiere at Cannes and will be released by Neon in November.
Gray’s latest semi-fictional take on his family life growing up in 1980s Queens stars Johansson and Teller as parents Hester and Erwin when Irwin’s flamboyant brother, Gary (Adam Driver), drags Irwin into a shady money-making endeavor involving the Russian mafia, putting Hester and Erwin’s children in danger.
In his review of the Cannes Film Festival, Hollywood ReporterCalls leading film critic David Rooney paper tiger“a drama of almost overwhelming power.”
“Calling it a sequel would be reductive, but the haunting drama is a companion piece to 2022’s Grey’s, Armageddon timerooted back in the director’s childhood. But it is closer in theme and tone to his first film in 1994, Little Odessa“This gives Grey’s ninth and arguably best film a satisfying, full-circle consistency,” Rooney writes.
paper tiger It is Gray’s fourth film to be selected by the New York Film Festival, Next Immigrant, Lost City of Z and Armageddon time.
“I am so grateful to be returning to this wonderful festival,” Gray said in a statement. “This deeply personal film is rooted in New York City; from my upbringing to the family experiences that changed my life. To be here, in the heart of art and film, with the cast and crew — many of whom are New Yorkers — is a privilege. Thank you to the entire New York Film Festival team. It’s a great honor.”
paper tiger It was originally set to star Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong in the roles of Johansson and Teller in the film Armageddon time reunited, but scheduling conflicts caused Hathaway and Strong to drop out. Instead, Johansson and Driver will reunite after 2019 Marriage storyalthough the two only share a few scenes.
“James Gray has been a fixture at the New York Film Festival for many years, and we are thrilled to welcome him back as the opening night filmmaker with the finest achievement of his career,” said Dennis Lim, Artistic Director of the New York Film Festival. “paper tiger It’s a film of enormous emotional power, at once endearingly realistic and grandly mythical, and confirms James as one of the great New York filmmakers – one of the great filmmakers – of our time.
Talk about the movie’s THR Before Cannes, Johansson described it as “a big story inside a small story.”
Johansson added of her character: “I liked the idea of Hester being feminine, soft and graceful because she has a lot of sass in her.” “She loves fashion magazines, going to the movies — she loves romantic comedies and everything romantic — and shopping. All of these things are an important part of who she is and how she presents herself.”
Johansson was unable to attend the Cannes premiere because she was filming director Mike Flanagan’s new film The exorcistBut Gray tried to call her during the applause.
The 64th New York Film Festival is scheduled to run from September 25 to October. 12.
