James Gray is a filmmaker with passionate supporters, and some detractors. The 53-year-old director has the kind of classicist filmmaking style that feels like a relic of the past. However, critics, especially the French, absolutely love him and that’s why he’s continued to make films all of these years.
Coming off 2022’s “Armageddon Time,” Gray is being honored at the Deauville Film Festival. The filmmaker told a masterclass audience that he’s currently prepping his next project, “Mayday,” a film about John F. Kennedy’s formative years as a Navy commander during World War II.
Last year, it was rumored that Bill Skarsgård was attached to play the young JFK. Gray is currently putting the finishing touches on the film, which had been originally penned by Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore. “Mayday” is said to focus on JFK’s evolution into a war hero and the turbulent relationship he had with his father.
The Queens-born filmmaker makes movies plucked out of time. Watching something like “Two Lovers” or “Lost City of Z,” a mysterious beauty is achieved, the kind of cinematic bliss that reminds us why we love movies so much. Don’t be surprised if “Mayday” hits Cannes in 2026.