Stephen Follows

What do Cannes first-timers get wrong?

Here is a 36-page guide I wrote for Raindance on how to best navigate the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film. Download your free copy below: Every spring, around this time, my inbox develops a ...
Stephen Follows

What the data says about who should be the next James Bond

Predicting who will be the next James Bond has become one of the great communal conversations. Whether that’s via prediction markets, professional bookmakers, newspaper headlines, or just down the pub ...
Stephen Follows

What does the Marché du Film 2026 programme say about the film industry?

I gathered every conference session at the Marché du Film over the past three years (742 events, 1,664 speakers) to see who ...
Stephen Follows

Which film directors have the most consistent visual style?

Andrew Sarris, in his 1963 essay “The Auteur Theory and the Perils of Pauline” reflected on the emerging idea of a film auteur like this: After a given number of films, a pattern is established, and ...
Stephen Follows

Is the over-50 action star boom peaking already?

Over a third of action lead roles in the 2020s are going to actors aged 50 and over. It is the highest share on record. But ...
Stephen Follows

Did Parasite change how audiences think about South Korean cinema?

Next month’s Cannes Film Festival will see a very strong showing from the South Korean contingent. Park Chan-wook is presiding over the jury, and the country has two films In Competition: Hope (호프) is ...