Cinema News: Highlights from our Jan. 8 issue

January 7, 2026 | View in browser

From left to right, Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jesse Plemons of

By Matt Brennan

Editor in Chief, The Envelope

Not to offend Larry David by saying it as late as Jan. 7, but: Happy New Year!

The turning of the calendar also signals that Phase I of awards season is coming to a close. With the Golden Globes and a big weekend of parties on the horizon, I'm proud to share our last issue — and my last letter from the editor — until after the Oscar nominations.

I'll be back in February to unveil our three issues in Phase II. And be sure to keep an eye out Friday for Glenn Whipp's newsletter, which will have more on our Jan. 8 cover subject, George Clooney.

Digital cover story: 'Bugonia'

Fans of Yorgos Lanthimos' misanthropic comedies will forgive the Michael Haneke pun in my coverline for Michael Ordoña's story on "Bugonia," starring Emma Stone as a healthcare CEO and Jesse Plemons as the conspiracy theorist who believes she's an alien invader. And not simply because Haneke's own brand of bleak absurdism seems to have rubbed off on Lanthimos. Funny games — well, 'silly games' — are at the core of Lanthimos' distinct creative process.

"It makes it light," the filmmaker explained. "You don't take yourself too seriously. You don't take the material seriously. You're gargling and doing lines, whatever. It's a way of the actors getting the dialogue in them in an unconscious way, not fixed with a kind of intellectual baggage, so it's freer and it has more possibilities. And they feel comfortable with each other."

Small roles, big performances

Envelope copy chief Blake Hennon sent up a cheer when Lisa Rosen's recurring spotlight on the brilliant-but-unheralded turns that we love in movies came across his desk, and rightly so. In a flash, a film can make an indelible impression, and it's often thanks to those who fall outside the usual pundit predictions.

This year's participants include real-life siblings Jacobi and Noah Jupe ("Hamnet"), Paul Thomas Anderson stalwart April Grace ("One Battle After Another") and one-scene wonder Hadley Robinson ("The History of Sound").

The shot of the season

Thanks to contributor Daron James, the back page of every Envelope features an unforgettable frame from a film or TV series, accompanied by an explanation from the artists behind it. And while all are striking, I'm glad to say we're ending Phase I on my favorite.

Perhaps it's that "Breathless" was one of the first movies that made me fall in love with movies. Perhaps it's Richard Linklater's courageous decision to have his protagonist wear dark sunglasses throughout the movie. Perhaps it's the charm of actors Guillaume Marbeck and Zoey Deutch. It's probably all of the above. But whatever the reason, the final shot of "Nouvelle Vague" is, for my money, the best single shot I saw in 2025.

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