Netflix Buys Julianne Moore-Natalie Portman drama ‘May December’ at Cannes for $11 million

Jordan Hoffman
·3 min read
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Netflix took out its big red checkbook at the Cannes Film Festival, and bested the competition during what Deadline has referred to as an “old-style, all-night auction.” The prize was “May December,” the new drama from director Todd Haynes. 

The film stars Natalie Portman as an actress visiting a woman upon whose life her next character is based. That person is played by Julianne Moore (in her fifth Haynes film after “Safe,” “Far From Heaven,” a small role in “I’m Not There,” and “Wonderstruck”) who achieved some tabloid notoriety after going to prison for seducing a 13-year-old boy when she was a grown woman. Now it is 20 years later, and she and the boy (now played as a man by Charles Melton) are still together, raising a family in Maine. (Sounds like a prestige version of the Adam Sandler flick “That’s My Boy.”)

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The project was received with great praise at Cannes (it currently boasts a 93 percent score on ye olde Tomatometer) with many critics highlighting its comedic side. (It apparently leans into its “tawdry” nature.) 

The Netflix deal is just for North American rights, which is a bit unusual for the world’s biggest streamer. 

“May December” was written by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, and produced by Haynes’s longtime producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler of Killer Films. Also in the mix is Will Ferrell and his Gloria Sanchez shingle. 

In 1998, Haynes’s “Velvet Goldmine” won a special prize at Cannes for “Best Artistic Contribution.” “Carol” and “Wonderstruck” also debuted at Cannes, as did “The Velvet Underground,” out of competition. Haynes was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the 2003 film “Far From Heaven,” as was Julianne Moore for Best Actress. Cate Blanchett got a Best Supporting Actress nod for her turn as Bob Dylan (in D.A. Pennebaker sheen) in “I’m Not There,” and Blanchett and Rooney Mara both got Oscar nominations for their work in “Carol.” His last project, “The Velvet Underground,” a documentary about the legendary New York City band, was distributed via Apple TV+.

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