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ISSUE 14 – 2026

August 20, 2026

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Onslaught, The End of It, The Man I Love

When I was preparing to shoot Rebecca Hall in New York for this issue’s cover story, I asked my friend, and Rebecca’s recent co-star in The End of It, Noomi Rapace, to describe the actor. Her response was immediate. ‘Rebecca is one of the kindest, most classy, gentle, fun actresses I’ve ever worked with,’ she said in a voice note. ‘She’s a brilliant leader on set, I will do anything with her, go anywhere with her. She has such a balance between an ocean of wisdom and something really childlike, naive and playful.’ I found this to be entirely true when I flew to NY to hang out in Washington Square, ride the subway and grab a bite to eat in a Greenwich Village Thai diner with Rebecca in July. As the daughter of a theatre director and an opera singer, she was taught not to take on projects for their commercial appeal and to pursue art for the joy it brings her personally. As we discussed her acting career, her recent art exhibition, her directing and the three scripts she currently has finished on her desk, I felt that she really let me into her real world, life and process. I’d spent time with a multi-disciplined, curious, smart creative who pours herself into everything she does, whether acting, writing, directing or painting. And that was motivational to me. 

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Onslaught, The End of It, The Man I Love
Rebecca Hall photographed by Greg Williams

Elsewhere in the issue, I made cocktails with Leslie Mann, took in a football game in Como with Damien Lewis, strolled Westminster Bridge with Eve Hewson, hit the Croisette beach with Jay Lycurgo and hung out in Cannes with Diego Calva. And I revisited shooting Matt Damon nearly 30 years ago on-set of The Talented Mr Ripley where The Odyssey actor was contemplating Homeric verse even then, in a moment that now seems like pure kismet. Artistic drive and ambition are inspiring to me and this issue is full of both…
I hope it inspires you too. Enjoy the issue!

BUY ISSUE 14 HERE

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GREG WILLIAMS
Founder, Hollywood Authentic

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CLUB KID

May 18, 2026

Jordan Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Reggie Absolom

Words by JANE CROWTHER

Jordan Firstman is a knowingly bratty, provocative presence on social media and one might expect his first film to debut at Cannes to be a baiting, meta, Marmite affair that courts controversy. What’s unexpected is that his queer, specific take on Chaplin’s The Kid is universal, warm, funny and full of soulful hope. Like Anora (also produced by Alex Coco), Club Kid transcends its sweary, druggy NSFW settings with vibrant characters and hell-for-leather performances. One doesn’t have to know what being grundled is or the details of Clare Danes’ connection to the Philippines (though ‘normies’ will learn) to understand or fall for it. 

Firstman is front and centre as New York party promoter Peter, who enjoys his events as much as his punters. Collabing with party girl Sophie (Cara Delevingne, excellent), Peter gets the right people, and drugs, in a room – and he does all of them. An intoxicating pre-title sequence literally tags us along for this ride, starting with an Uber ride and descending to the strobing rooms and glitter cannons of Club Labor. For a decade, he exists in a blur of MDMA, GBH, coke and sex, until Sophie tires of his chaos and a figure from his drug-hazed past arrives on his doorstep with the product of an orgiastic night in tow; a 10 year-old British kid, Arlo (Reggie Absalom). Like Three Men and A Baby but with more queens, fisting chat and inappropriate slogan tees, Peter must learn to be a father and, in the process, learn the value of a created family.

That sweet through-line is constantly juxtaposed with salty bitching, inventive swearing and laugh-out-loud moments (a dairy intolerance vomit, the unlikely May-December romance between Peter’s houseguest and the OAP downstairs, a UK lawyer who likes Drag Race). And paternal love isn’t the only tenderness nurtured. In trying to gel with Arlo, Peter meets child psychologist Oscar (Diego Calva, emitting pure warmth) and discovers a relationship doesn’t have to be limited to one night stands. The two men have incendiary chemistry; a fizzy moment where they decide not to kiss in Central Park is magic while Oscar’s embrace at a point of emotional turbulence for Peter will prompt tears. There’s also strong solidarity from Peter’s ‘freak’ friends group which is heartwarming to watch; especially DJ Saffron (Saturn Risin9) who teaches Arlo the decks and his ex Devon (Nigil Whyte) who mixes parental advice with sex suggestions. Even bitchy coke queen Sophie operates with a morality code, albeit one of being strung out around the clock. 

Club Kid may open a window of a super cool NY community (and their slang) but it also has something to say about Peter Pan lifestyles and responsible parenting, there’s a moving earnestness at play amid the snark. And though Arlo seems something of a fantasy child (he’s not messed up by a family tragedy, accepts Peter immediately and is just so damn cute), the lack of character depth here can be excused by the authenticity elsewhere. Sincere, saucy and loaded with tunes (from Rihanna to Ethel Cain), Firstman’s film was understandably snapped up at Cannes. Like last year’s Pillion, this is a filthy-gorgeous crowd-pleaser with immense heart.

Words by JANE CROWTHER
Image courtesy of A24
Club Kid premiered at the 79th Cannes Film Festival