‘The Roses’ director Jay Roach. Photo: Dan Steinberg Photography.
‘The Roses‘ tells the story of a couple, Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman), and what happens when stress and resentment start to take over their lives.
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Director Jay Roach joined Moviefone for a cooking class at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica as a celebration of the fact that Searchlight Pictures’ ‘The Roses’ is now available to buy on Digital.
When ‘The Roses’ came to Jay Roach, Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch were already attached to the project. He explains why they were the perfect choice to play this couple.
Jay Roach: I could just imagine them as a couple and they each have such specific personal mythologies and coping strategies and somehow Benedict’s enjoyable confidence and his comfort in his own skin, seeing that undermined by the story early and then seeing Olivia who’s so easygoing but then gets a little taste of success. I just somehow, with this great screenplay I got, and at the same time that they had developed and they had never worked together, I had a sense that they might get on and they might also have really excellent battles and conflict and the stuff that keeps you suspenseful like, oh how’s that gonna work out? So that’s how I felt about it. I’m such huge fans of both of them so it was a pretty easy equation to solve.
Jay Roach Explains What The Biggest Challenge Of Filming ‘The Roses’ Was
Jay Roach attends ‘The Roses’ home release event. Photo: Searchlight Pictures
With a movie like ‘The Roses’, there are a lot of aspects that go into it – including big fights that cause the couple to destroy things. When asked what the most important thing to get right was, director Jay Roach reveals it was the food.
Jay Roach: The most important thing for us was to get the food right. I wasn’t that much of a foodie but everybody around me were all foodies like, you can’t mess this up, make sure you get this food right. And so we just wanted to make it seem authentic that she really cared about the food as a whole, her restaurant’s growth and expansion is a big part of the story and so you had to believe that people would want to eat that great food. We had to shoot it in a way that made it seem delicious and we had a great food consultant, Ali Dhabu is an amazing chef in London and we shot in his restaurant. So we always had the comfort that we could pull it off. But I also found it interesting to then turn the food into a weapon sometimes. She throws cake, we have one crazy point, they end up spiking each other’s food, it’s an interesting primal thing. We all love food and we all love the sensation of great smells and great tastes but what happens when that turns into part of the battle, you know? And so that was the challenge.
‘The Roses’ digital release event. Photo: Dan Steinberg Photography.
What’s the story of ‘The Roses’?
Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids.
But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing –– as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites.
In theaters on August 29th is ‘The Roses’, the new adaptation of Warren Adler’s 1981 novel about a married couple whose relationship descends into frustration, deception and all-out war.
Jay Roach and ‘The Favourite’s writer Tony McNamara go a different route for ‘The Roses’, which for much of its running time is a portrait of a seemingly blissful couple whose public façade hides simmering resentments, but is more cold war until it truly ignites in the third act.
McNamara has long shown a talent for writing believably toxic relationships with enough of a farcical edge to keep it all from being too brutal –– except when it needs to be. His screenplay for ‘The Roses’ is the perfect fodder for two British stars (American audiences may sometimes react the way their marriage counsellor does in the first scene, taken aback by the sheer comic vitriol on display) to trade barbs like consummate pros.
And Roach, who has blended comedy and drama to winning effect (but also knows how to make farce serve story), was a solid choice to make this, keeping out of the cast’s way and working with them to develop the dynamics in very funny, sharp ways.
While you do sometimes wonder whether the film would have been better set in the UK, the disconnect between the leads and their American friends/co-workers does add some spice to the story.
This one really works because of its firecracker central pair; Cumberbatch and Colman may not totally convince as a couple deep in the throes of love and family, but when it comes to subversive, scathing dialogue, they are experts.
As Cumberbatch’s character sees his professional architect career (and ego) crumble even as his wife’s chef ambitions flourish, they craft excellent performances, bouncing off one another.
There is a deep bench of comedy performers backing them up, but the standouts here are certainly Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon as Amy and Barry, friends of the couple whose own marriage has seen better days. Credit also to Allison Janney, who pops up for one scene as Colman’s ruthless divorce lawyer, stealing every moment she’s on screen.
‘The Roses’ may be more a skirmish than a war, but it is also a reboot that justifies its existence with a very different type of caustic relationship clash and superlative performances from its leads.
It may not always be a feel-good movie, but that’s not the intent. And it’ll certainly make you laugh.
Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids.
But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing –– as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites.
Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
Disney brought several movies to its CinemaCon 2025 presentation.
The likes of ‘Tron: Ares,’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ and more were showcased.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ also showed footage, alongside Pixar’s Elio, Freakier Friday and the new, live-action/CG ‘Lilo & Stitch
While it is still looking to rebuild its fortunes, Disney can at least look back on 2024 as one with several big hits, especially ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
But it will have to prove that this year’s slate can match past successes. Luckily, the Mouse House has more strings to its bow than even the likes of Universal or Warner Bros., and heavy hitters including Pixar, Marvel and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ series primed and ready with new entries, plus the return of ‘Tron’ to the grid… er, cinemas.
Following the usual stuff about sponsors and theater owners (got to play to the crowd!), the Disney presentation signaled the end of CinemaCon’s studio events and began with the traditional sizzle reel of upcoming movies, framed in amusing fashion by having ‘Lilo & Stitch’s titular blue troublemaker wander through the rest of the slate.
Getting the presentation off to its formal stage start was Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment.
He was joined by Andrew Cripps, head of theatrical distribution at the studio to unveil the typically packed schedule of movies the studio will have across the rest of the year, and to extol the fact that Disney movies are Disney movies are typically in theaters an average of three weeks longer than any other studio.
2025’s live-action ‘Lilo & Stitch’. Photo: Walt Disney Pictures.
The latest animated-to-live-action conversion project faces additional pressure following ‘Snow White’s poor showing at the box office this past month. With Disney bosses pushing pause on a planned ‘Tangled’ live-action movie, ‘Lilo’ will need to perform in order to keep that particular strand of the company’s strategy alive beyond ‘Moana,’ due next year.
Some fresh, sneak peek footage from the new movie was screened for the crowd, featuring Stitch on a trip with Lilo and family; they go to a restaurant where the little blue alien causes the requisite chaos even as Lilo tries to teach him to behave. Some of what was shown has already popped up in the trailer, including Stitch squirting her with a soda gun.
(L to R) Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan were ushered on stage to promote this sequel to the 2003 original, which moves the story forward and features even more body-switching chaos than last time as Curtis’ Tess and Lindsay’s Anna Coleman switch places with their teenage daughter/granddaughter.
Curtis and Lohan cued up a look at some brand new footage from the movie, which according to the duo has been playing well with test audiences.
Curtis says that the film was…
“Made to be seen on a big screen.”
The scene played showed Tess and Anna trying to win back Anna’s boyfriend –– but in different bodies.
‘Freakier Friday’ brings body swap chaos to theaters on August 8th.
(L to R) Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
The studio went all out with a light show to promote the third ‘Tron’ movie, and also brought Jeff Bridges and new franchise face Jared Leto to the stage.
Bridges said,
“To be back on the grid was incredible, and working with Jared… It was a great time.”
For his part, Leto said he was obsessed and this was everything he wanted from a movie. It took him to a world he had never seen before.
Leto described his character, Ares:
“An advanced program that crosses over to real world to fulfill his directive.”
After confirmation of Nine Inch Nails doing the music for the new movie, we got a look at some new footage.
What was screened was a look at Ares riding his bike in the real world, with Bridges’ Kevin Flynn narrating. We also see him ask Ares, “Are you ready? Because there is no coming back…”
‘Tron: Ares’ departs the grid for our world on October 10th.
With ‘The Amateur’ due on screens next week, its chunk of the presentation was minimal, limited to a full version of the scene in the pool we glimpse in the trailer, but show full-length here. It was followed by the trailer.
‘The Amateur,’ as mentioned, will find a way into theaters on April 11th.
Elle Fanning at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.Photo: Disney.
The new ‘Predator’ movie from ‘Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg immediately looked interesting, since the Predator creature is more of a protagonist in this one, and it takes place on a new planet where he’s been exiled and must fight his way back.
Star (no, not as the Predator!) Elle Fanning arrived on stage to confirm that this movie breaks new ground in the ‘Predator’ universe. She also said something unprecedented happens. Her character is not being chased, she teams up with Predator and you see him in new light.
She cued up the first trailer for the new movie, which sees the Predator battling a giant, nearly invincible beast with Fanning’s help.
‘Predator: Badlands’ stalks into cinemas on November 7th.
Strong, for the record, plays Jon Landau, Springsteen’s manager and producer. He said he sees the role as Lewis to Springsteen’s Clark.
White, meanwhile, explains that the movie charts Springsteen’s teenage years to around 1982.
Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere.’ Photo: 20th Century Studios.
We got a first look at the trailer for the new movie, which is directed by Scott Cooper. The footage wraps up showing Springsteen in concert performing ‘Born to Run.’
‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’ has yet to announce when it’ll be delivered to theaters.
(L to R) Emma Mackey and Jamie Lee Curtis at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
James L. Brooks’ new comedy drama stars Emma Mackey as an idealistic young politician who juggles familial issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over the job of her mentor, the state’s longtime incumbent governor (Albert Brooks).
She co-stars with Jamie Lee Curtis, and the latter returned to the stage alongside Mackey for the presentation.
Brooks, meanwhile, received the Cinema Vérité Award on stage and called for more movies to have a 35-day window in theaters.
Director James L. Brooks receives the Cinema Vérité Award at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
He also had a great quote about previewing movies with audiences:
“A woman came up to me and said the loveliest words: ‘they’re crying in the ladies toilet.’ Compare that to data.”
After Brooks’ emotional speech, we got a first look at the movie itself. The scene that played took place in a bar, where Curtis’ character takes Ella to meet her father, Woody Harrelson. They haven’t spoken in years after he dated her friend.
That was followed the trailer.
‘Ella McCay’ will be in cinemas on September 19th.
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From there, it was time to look at team Searchlight’s output, following a victory lap for the awards success of ‘A Real Pain’ and ‘A Complete Unknown.’ The studio arm’s new offering is…
Unlike the 1989 version, this Jay Roach-directed sees Cumberbatch and Colman as a successful chef and her businessman husband whose lives start to fall apart when he’s fired.
Things go from bad to worse, and as we saw in the trailer that played, it gets to the point where she has him at gunpoint.
‘The Roses’ fights for its place in theaters on August 29th.
Talking of guns, we moved on to one of the studio’s biggest… Marvel!
First up was the next movie from the prolific superhero franchise.
(L To R) David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
The ‘Thunderbolts*’ portion of the show kicked off with a funny bit about the cast being MIA –– Wyatt Russell appeared to have lost a lot of cash in the casino with co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus hoping the movie makes money so they can pay his debts!
The scene featured the Thunderbolts driving through New York as Harbour’s Red Guardian tries to bond with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). The team has to fight their way through bad guys to Avengers tower.
(L To R) Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Wyatt Russell in ‘Thunderbolts*’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
We got an extended look at the Avengers Tower scene where Louis-Dreyfus gathers the gang –– after having sent them to kill each other and being frustrated that they teamed up.
There was also a very brief look at the introduction of Sentry (Lewis Pullman). And following that? A sizzle reel of scenes from the movie, which appears to be full of chaotic fun.
‘Thunderbolts*’ heads to cinemas on May 2nd. Less than a month for this one, folks!
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That was followed by Marvel boss Kevin Feige, currently in the UK on the set of ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ (which is “days away from the start of production”) confirming the appearance of the original X-Men team in the new movie.
We also got our first look at Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, who cautions that planet Earth is “marked for death.” Kirby’s Sue Storm says they’ll “fight the threat as a family”.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ flies into theaters on July 25th.
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To switch tracks (but still be galactic rather than Galactus), it was the turn of the animation arm(s).
Zoe Saldaña at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Pixar’s latest finds a young lad dreaming of being abducted by aliens.
Zoe Saldaña, who plays the title character’s Aunt Olga, arrived on stage to talk about the new ‘toon.
A scene from the movie was shown in 3D, showing Elio brought on board an alien spaceship that is more like a living planet via a tractor beam, where he meets the vessel’s AI. He’s been recruited to join the universe’s smartest creatures to work together as a collective… But have they made a mistake? Elio meets and bonds with a young alien creature.
‘Elio’ heads into space (and theaters) on June 20th.
Ke Huy Quan introduces ‘Zootopia 2’ at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Thanksgiving sees the return of Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), the mismatched buddy duo of rabbit police officer and crafty fox. This time around, they’re on an undercover mission to stop a murderous reptile (Ke Huy Quan’s Gary).
In a video introduction, we got Bateman changing the show’s title to “ZinemaCon” and there are animal jokes about theaters –– AMZ, Pandango, Fur D X, followed by giving other Disney movies critter-like makeovers (‘Thundercolts,’ ‘Sealio,’ ‘The Fantastic Fur.’)
‘Zootopia 2’. Photo: Disney.
Quan arrived on stage to discuss the sequel and his role as Gary the snake. And that Judy and Nick go to a therapy animal (played by ‘Abbot Elementary’s Quinta Brunson) to sort their strained friendship –– which we saw in a scene from the movie. That was followed by a scene of Nick and Judy at Marsh resort trying to track down Gary.
‘Zootopia 2’ goes wild in theaters on November 26th.
Zoe Saldaña at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
James Cameron appeared via video from New Zealand, where he’s still at work on the latest ‘Avatar’ outing. He was sorry he isn’t there in person, but he did tell the crowd he’d sent some footage.
He promised “increased emotional heart and soul,” and that the Sully family will be put through the wringer (again) as they face the Ash People. We’ll also meet the Wind Traders.
Saldaña (who has been part of the franchise since the 2009 original) returned to the stage to introduce the footage.
Zoe Saldaña at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
We saw Jake and wife Neytiri (Saldaña) flying a dragon creature to Wind Traders’ ship where Miles “Spider” Socorro (Jack Champion), the son of Miles Quaritch, lives now.
That preceded a reel of other scenes, including Jake telling Neytiri they can’t live in hate, humans attacked the Na’vi, a shot of the whale-like creatures we met in ‘The Way of Water,’ the return of Stephen Lang’s Quaritch and Varang, the Na’vi leader of the volcano-dwelling Ash People threatening Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine’s Na’vi avatar who was adopted by the Sully family.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ welcomes us back to Pandora on December 19th.
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And that’s all, folks!
(L To R) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wyatt Russell, and Hannah John-Kamen at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman will star in and produce ‘The Roses’.
Jay Roach is directing the new take on 1989 comedy thriller ‘The War of the Roses’
‘Poor Things’ Tony McNamara is aboard to adapt the William Adler novel.
Back in 1989, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner starred as the Roses –– Oliver and Barbara –– who seemed to be living the perfect life. But, as it turned out to darkly comic effect, that wasn’t exactly the case in ‘The War of the Roses’ the movie directed by Danny DeVito.
That story –– which was adapted from William Adler’s 1981 novel –– is headed back to our screens in a new incarnation. And this time, British actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are starring.
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What’s the Story of ‘The Roses’?
(L to R) Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in ‘The War of the Roses.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Here’s the official logline for the movie: “Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Theo (Cumberbatch) and Ivy Rose (Colman): successful careers, great kids, an enviable sex life. But underneath the façade of the perfect family is a tinderbox of competition and resentments that’s ignited when Theo’s professional dreams come crashing down.”
With Colman and Cumberbatch on board to produce as well as taking the lead roles, the new movie will be directed by Jay Roach, best known for the ‘Austin Powers’ films, though more recently applauded for the politically-minded likes of ‘Bombshell’, ‘Recount’ and ‘Game Change’.
Tony McNamara, who most recently wrote ‘Poor Things’ for director Yorgos Lanthimos (and also penned the director’s ‘The Favourite’, which saw Colman scoop an Oscar for her performance), is aboard to adapt the book.
“The Roses is a wildly funny, bigger than life, and yet deeply human story. With Jay at the helm, and Benedict and Olivia and Tony, we have a dream team bringing it to life.”
And this was the statement from SunnyMarch, Cumberbatch’s production company:
“We are thrilled to be working on this very special film with such an incredible team. We have been long admirers of Jay’s work and his vision and passion to tell this story is incredibly inspiring.”
Finally, this was the comment from Colman’s team at South of the River:
“We have been cooking this up with our friends at SunnyMarch for some time, and it has been an absolute thrill to see it spring into life under Jay’s passionate and thoughtful guidance. He and Tony are a match made in cinematic comedy heaven.”
When Will ‘The Roses’ Be in Theaters?
‘The Roses’ is still in development, so it has yet to find a spot on the packed Disney release schedule. And given that both Cumberbatch and Colman are in-demand actors, it may have to wait until their availability opens up.
(L to R) Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in ‘The War of the Roses.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
