Actor Adam Driver is hot off the success of “Paper Tiger” at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by James Gray, the film tells the story of two brothers who become entangled with the Russian mafia while pursuing the American Dream. Since early reviews are praising Driver’s acting ability, it’s no surprise that he’s been tapped to star in Kenneth Lonergan’s latest feature.
Kenneth Lonergan earned an Oscar for best original screenplay for 2016’s “Manchester by the Sea.” The film also gave Casey Affleck a best actor win. Lonergan’s latest film might just give Driver another shot at an Oscar, as he received consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Jewish police officer infiltrating the KKK in 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” and Best Actor for his role as a theater director going through a divorce in 2019’s “Marriage Story.”
In Kenneth Lonergan’s latest film, “Tomorrow Is A Drag,” Driver will reunite with his “Megalopolis” costar Aubrey Plaza, as reported by Variety. Vanessa Kirby and Matthew Broderick are also attached to the project. Plot details are being kept under wraps for now, although Lonergan previously worked with Driver on the off-Broadway play “Hold On to Me Darling.”
‘Paper Tiger’ Gets A 10-Minute Ovation At The Cannes Film Festival
According to Deadline, James Gray’s new film “Paper Tiger” drew in a ten-minute standing ovation at the Grand Theatre Lumiere. Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and director Pawel Pawlikowski were some of the A-list stars leading the applause.
Emotional director James Gray thanked the crowd, saying, “There’s much more gray now in the beard, not just the name, but the beard. And I have learned finally to appreciate. But more I appreciate you, without you, there is no cinema, cinema needs you. And cinema needs you guys more than ever. Really. This is really an important time and Cannes is so important for that reason and you are important for that reason. So, it moves me greatly to see you here in this theater where I have many great memories. And I love you all, what can I say, I’m going to leave soon, so I can hide.”
‘Paper Tiger’ Stars Adam Driver, Miles Teller, and Scarlett Johansson
The film stars Adam Driver and Miles Teller as two brothers. Driver’s character is a divorced ex-cop with ties to the Russian mafia, and Teller plays a more straight-laced father to his two sons, while his wife, played by Scarlett Johansson, hides a secret of her own when her health struggles catch up with her.
NEON has acquired the rights to the film, which was first announced at last year’s Cannes market. The last time Gray was at Cannes was with 2022’s “Armageddon Time.” That coming-of-age film was widely praised upon its release, and it seems that Gray’s latest story about the American Dream will be no different. Reviews that have been coming out of Cannes have been overwhelmingly positive, with Driver’s acting drawing considerable praise.
Scarlett Johansson Opens Up About Working With Adam Driver
Although she was married – and divorcing – Driver’s character in “Marriage Story,” Johansson is married to Miles Teller’s character in “Paper Tiger.” Even though she shared a few scenes with Driver, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she would have loved to work with him more on the project.
“I would’ve loved to have had even more scenework with him, I love working with him,” she told the publication. However, that’s not to say she didn’t enjoy working with Teller.
“He’s so unexpectedly tender. I went away for a couple of weeks to do the press for Jurassic — I felt crazy to leave, but I had to go — and when I was gone, I’d get photographs of my makeup station from Miles and he’d be like, ‘Where’s Hester?’” she said of working with the “Top Gun: Maverick” alum.
The “Avengers” actress also told PEOPLE magazine that she had a “great” experience working with the actor back in 2025. “I love Adam as a person and he is an absolutely extraordinary actor,” she said at the time. “If I could make every movie with Adam Driver, I would.”
