Susan Sarandon Says Still Losing Roles Over Gaza Stance

Susan Sarandon waves as she leaves the Excelsior Hotel, during the 83rd International Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Susan Sarandon waves as she leaves the Excelsior Hotel, during the 83rd International Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Susan Sarandon Says Still Losing Roles Over Gaza Stance

Susan Sarandon waves as she leaves the Excelsior Hotel, during the 83rd International Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Susan Sarandon waves as she leaves the Excelsior Hotel, during the 83rd International Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

US actress Susan Sarandon said Sunday she was still having roles "taken away" from her in Hollywood because of her outspoken criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.

The "Thelma & Louise" star was dropped by her agency UTA in November 2023 over controversial remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally which she later said she regretted.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where she has a role in Italian film "The Echo Chamber", she claimed the "narrative" around the Gaza war and the United States' support for Israel had "completely changed".

"There's a lot of things that people are aware of now," the Oscar winner told a press conference, referring to the extent of US financial and military aid for Israel.

"I've still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that's the power structure," she added.

"I think there has been a change in terms of the understanding of the situation and the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists and who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.

"But I found my family, I found my people, and I'm okay," she added to a round of applause.

The veteran star of "Dead Man Walking" has been one of Hollywood's most outspoken pro-Palestinian campaigners and critics of the Gaza war alongside others such as Marc Ruffalo, Richard Gere and Joaquin Phoenix.

Many others have signed open letters criticizing Israel's conduct of the war, which has left around 73,500 Palestinians dead and 174,500 injured since October 2023, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

The premiere of "NAZA" -- about the killing of civilians in Gaza -- by two Israeli directors looks set to be one of the most emotionally charged moments of the Venice festival when it premieres on Thursday.

Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won an Oscar for 2024's "No Other Land", which documented the displacement of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers.

Sarandon was dropped by United Talent Agency for telling a rally that Jewish Americans were "getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country" because of rising anti-Semitic violence.

She issued a public apology, saying her choice of words had been a "terrible mistake" because they implied "that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true".



'Godfather' Star Al Pacino to Receive Life Achievement Award from Actors' Guild

FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
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'Godfather' Star Al Pacino to Receive Life Achievement Award from Actors' Guild

FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Celebrated actor Al Pacino will receive a lifetime achievement award for his career achievements and humanitarian work next year, the actors' union SAG-AFTRA has announced.

The American actor, best known for playing Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" films is the 62nd recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. The union will present the award to him in Los Angeles at the 33rd Actor Awards on February 28, 2027 as part of a ceremony to be live-streamed on Netflix.

Pacino's recognition follows a career spanning more than six decades across film, television and stage. He is known for numerous memorable characters, including real-life police officer Frank Serpico ⁠in 1973's "Serpico," Miami ⁠mobster Tony Montana in 1983's "Scarface" and more recently Hollywood agent Marvin Schwarz in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

The award is presented annually to an actor who embodies the "finest ideals of the acting profession," according to the union.

"I wondered and wandered most of my life but have always felt at home with a script ⁠and my fellow actors," Pacino said in a statement from the actors' union.

"It's the work and the actors along the way that have been among the greatest joys of my life. It's an honor to be recognized by SAG-AFTRA in celebrating the journey," he added on Thursday.

Pacino won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in the 1992 film "Scent of a Woman," and has also won multiple Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards.

"Like so many actors, I have spent my life in awe and appreciation of the ⁠force of ⁠nature that is Al Pacino. When you watch him perform, you are witnessing a student and a master," SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin added in the statement.

Pacino also participated in the "America: A Tribute to Heroes" telethon following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and in 2009 received the Arthritis Foundation's Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award for his charitable work.

The 86-year-old actor was born Alfredo James Pacino in New York. He struggled throughout the 1960s to find steady work before his eventual film breakthrough in 1972's "The Godfather."

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, influencers and other entertainment and media professionals.


Ailing UK Director Mike Leigh Wishes He Could Make ‘100 More Films’

English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
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Ailing UK Director Mike Leigh Wishes He Could Make ‘100 More Films’

English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)

British filmmaker Mike Leigh told AFP Thursday he regretted he could not make "another hundred films" because of ill health, as he attended the London premiere of his prize-winning latest work.

Leigh, 83, has myositis, an autoimmune disease that affects the muscles, and now uses a walking stick.

"It's only because I have a medical condition that makes it difficult to do stuff, but otherwise I'd love to make a hundred more films," he told AFP on the red carpet at the London Film Festival ahead of the screening of his film, "Tender Loving Care".

"But it may not be possible, just from a practical point of view."

Leigh won the top prize last month at the San Sebastian film festival for the drama about social workers supporting vulnerable people, expected to be his last feature.

He won top prize at the Cannes film festival in 1996 for "Secrets and Lies" and at Venice in 2004 for "Vera Drake".

Actress Alice Bailey Johnson, one of the new film's stars, said she was "heartbroken" at the prospect that this could be the socially engaged filmmaker's final work.

"But if it is, then I can't express how honored I feel to be part of it," she told AFP before the screening.

"It's just a wonderful moment, and I will treasure it forever."


Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Indian authorities ‌have asked Bollywood actor Imran Khan to leave the country by the end of the month, saying he breached immigration laws after joining a protest against the election commission chief, local media reported on Thursday.

-Khan, 43, is a US citizen, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Under Indian law, foreigners' participation in political protests may be treated as a violation ‌of immigration and ‌visa rules.

- Khan was given ‌until ⁠October 28 to ⁠leave the country, the Times of India newspaper said

- The actor participated in a rally in Mumbai on October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list revisions that critics and opposition parties ⁠say favor Prime Minister Narendra ‌Modi's party

- "Apparently I’m ‌going for a drive," the actor wrote on ‌his Instagram on the same day, with ‌a picture of him posing with a victory sign in the back of what looked like a police van

- A complaint was filed against ‌him at a police station in Mumbai, saying Khan had breached the ⁠law, ⁠and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, a federal government agency responsible for tracking and monitoring foreign nationals in India, sent him a notice to leave based on the complaint, the Indian Express said

- Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters

- A nephew of actor Aamir Khan, and hailing from an illustrious film family, Imran acted in several hit Bollywood films from 2008 to 2015, before suddenly retiring.