James Gray’s Paper Tiger Roars Into Cannes With a Star-Studded Cast

Cannes is usually packed with artsy dramas and director flexes, but this year, they're giving us an actual thriller with some real star wattage. James Gray is back on the Croisette with his new film 'Paper Tiger,' and honestly, this sounds like exactly the kind of movie Cannes needed to spice things up.

What is 'Paper Tiger'?

So here's the setup: Miles Teller and Adam Driver play brothers who stumble into a 'too good to be true' scheme—you know where that's going. Instead of making bank, they get dragged deep into a world of Russian mobsters, violence, and all-around mayhem. Their family? Targeted. Their trust in each other? Falling apart, fast. And yes, betrayal hangs in the air. Scarlett Johansson rounds out the cast, which is proof enough this movie is going for broke with the casting.

The Strange Road to Cannes

'Paper Tiger' was pretty much a lock for the Cannes lineup (people in the know have been buzzing about it for weeks). But then, when they announced the festival slate a few weeks ago—crickets. No sign of Gray's movie, which had folks scratching their heads. Cannes director Thierry Fremaux came out to say it was all due to 'contractual issues.' Translation: probably some wrangling over distribution rights behind the scenes.

That's where Neon stepped in. The indie distributor scooped up 'Paper Tiger,' and, just to put it in perspective, this is one of six movies they're bringing to Cannes this year. Neon is also behind Arthur Harari's 'The Unknown,' Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord' (with Sebastian Stan), Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden,' Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box,' and Na Hong-jin’s 'Hope' (with Michael Fassbender). It's borderline ridiculous how much they're betting on this festival.

Why people care about James Gray at Cannes

If you're not familiar: James Gray is practically a Cannes regular at this point. The guy's been there with 'Armageddon Time' (which got slept on, IMO), 'The Immigrant,' 'Two Lovers,' 'We Own the Night,' and 'The Yards.' According to Fremaux, Gray's latest apparently has some serious 'Little Odessa' vibes—it was his first film, all about Russian mobsters in New York. So it's a return to roots, but with a much bigger budget, some famous faces, and, let's be real, a lot more expectations.

Gray's made everything from intimate dramas to sprawling adventure epics ('The Lost City of Z' if you need a reference), and no, I'm not just saying that because he's one of my favorites.

Cast & Crew Breakdown (for those keeping score)

• Director: James Gray
• Main cast: Miles Teller, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson
• Distributor: Neon
• Genre: Crime thriller, with a heavy Russian mob angle
• Festival premiere: 2024 Cannes Film Festival (Competing for Palme d'Or)

One last thing…

Even Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux had to weigh in, saying 'Paper Tiger' reminds him of Gray's early work:
'It feels like a throwback to Little Odessa.'

If you're into ambitious crime sagas with a killer cast, this is the one to watch. And with Neon stacking the Cannes deck, it'll be interesting to see how 'Paper Tiger' fares in a very crowded, very competitive year.