The Year Movie Stars Cried, Flirted, and Cosplayed for Fame

Movie-theater spokesperson Nicole Kidman once said, “We come to this place for magic.” She was talking about the movie theater, but increasingly, the bulk of that magic happens off the big screen and on our small ones, where we watch movie stars promote their movies in whatever way they possibly can. In an ever-changing, media-saturated landscape, press tours have become increasingly unpredictable, joyous, and strange. Celebrities are now required to eat a lot of chicken, speak to a lot of male podcasters, and attend their own look-alike contests if they want their projects to break out. Are the celebs nailing this new reality? Kind of, sometimes — the more they take risks, the more inclined we are to pay attention and ask questions. Who is wearing referential florals on the red carpet? Who’s crying? Why is Demi Moore’s dog Pilaf at every single event? It’s been a long year of short clips and big outfits and bizarre responses to easy questions. Let’s look back and hand out some end-of-year gold to the year’s most deserving press runs.

Overall 2024 MVP

Winner: Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

It’s easy to forget that merely nine months ago, Timothée Chalamet walked the Dune 2 red carpet in silver pants, giving run-of-the-mill interviews for the conclusion of his two-part sci-fi epic. As the release date of his long-awaited Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown approached, the actor chose instead to go for one of the least expected and most delightful press tours in recent memory, seemingly designed to win over any possible skeptics. He predicted college-football scores on game day, he hung out with the Minnesota marching band, he showed up in Dylan cosplay to the New York premiere of the film, he went on Theo Von’s podcast to ask the host if he’s “more elfish or Santa” (??), and did an interview with Nardwuar. His enthusiasm for the film transcended the usual chicken-based YouTube promos, and his nationwide tour, alongside late-night appearances, went on to prove his commitment to the film and his work. Chalamet proved himself game, eager, and willing to go for broke to get every demo in the theaters, shattering the mold and having a blast while doing it.

Best Fake Flirting

Winner: Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh (We Live in Time)

It wasn’t just that these two went through every interview calling each other “baby,” but that these two brought that flirtatious energy with everyone they spoke to. Kelly Ripa noted Pugh’s chemistry “with everything, a doorknob,” and who could forget Garfield’s long-awaited appearance on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date? Though one or both of them maintained that We Live in Time was a celebration of love above all, the press tour suggested that flirting is and remains the most special human experience around.

Worst Fake Flirting

Winner: Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You)

Were the stars of this modern-day Much Ado About Nothing having an affair? Are they really just friends? Nearly a year later, it’s hard to remember the secondhand embarrassment we felt watching their first promo video.

Most Prestigious Flirting

Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes (The Return)

The stars of Anthony Minghella’s Oscar-winning The English Patient reunited this year in The Return, a reimagining of the Odysseus myth that featured Ralph’s abs. But their latest collaboration was a chance to revisit the undeniably flirtatious energy between the two of them, evident in every conversation and every photo.

Best Charm Offensive

The Whole Cast of Anora

It’s one thing to take home a Palme d’Or; it’s quite another to maintain momentum for six whole months. How did Anora do it? Well, it helps that this is a movie that contains and is made by some of the most charming people in the industry. Consider star Mikey Madison and Sean Baker comparing their Brooklyn accents, “Russian Timothée Chalamet” Mark Eidelstein’s bold English-language debut, Yura Borisov’s piercing stare, or the cheerful enthusiasm of the IRL strippers who make up the film’s supporting cast. Anora’s cast is happy to be anywhere, and we’re happy to see them.

Best “Now What Are They Wearing?”

Zendaya (Challengers)

Cast your brain back to March during the height of “Zendaya spring” — the back-to-back red-carpet-palooza that was Dune 2 and then Challengers, where two months apart Zendaya wore a robot suit and then a bunch of tennis outfits. Though all of these outfits were memorable and beguiling, her Law Roach–styled tennis-themed run was inspired, playful, and thrilling. Each new premiere she attended had everyone guessing when she was going to show up dressed like a tennis ball.

Most Bizarre “Now What Are They Wearing?”

Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine, Nosferatu)

In isolation, Corrin is no less bold a wearer of expensive clothes than Zendaya, but when photographed on a red carpet alongside the most normal-looking people of all time (Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Hoult, etc.), they look truly baffling. This is not a complaint. Let’s keep whatever this is going.

Best Dressed, Ensemble

The Whole Cast of Dune 2

Florence Pugh’s chain mail, Anya Taylor-Joy’s ethereal angel, Timothée Chalamet’s flight suit, Austin Butler’s big coat … did we mention Zendaya’s Mugler robot suit?

Actors Who Had More Fun on the Press Tour Than They Did in the Movie

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga (Joker: Folie à Deux)

Joker: Folie à Deux was a no-fun, courtroom-centric non-musical was one of the fall’s biggest disappointments, but the weeks leading up to it gave us a lot of charming banter between its stars, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Phoenix quietly asked if he should call his co-star Gaga or Stefani, Gaga’s spit take — these two are fun together! Too bad about the movie.

Most Stress-Inducing Press Tour

Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa)

“I knew I was going to need the two years that it took for the movie to come out to deal with it,” Taylor-Joy said of her arduous time on Furiosa. The press tour surrounding George Miller’s hotly anticipated follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road hammered home the tedious exhaustion the cast went through, which — while filming in the desert doesn’t sound peachy — undercut the rigorous fun of Hemsworth’s red-haired Dementus and Taylor-Joy’s steely turn as Furiosa on the big screen.

Least Expected WWHL Guest:

Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

What’s crazier — that Fiennes and co-guest Stephanie Hsu did a scene from RHOSLC or that he had actually already been a guest previously?

Best Cast TikTok

Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos (Twisters)

“I don’t know where you’ve been, because it’s a big deal. There’s green everywhere you look,” Daisy Edgar-Jones told Glen Powell when he admitted to not having heard of “brat summer.” A few days later, Edgar-Jones, Powell, and co-star Anthony Ramos were all out there doing the “Apple” dance just like everyone else on TikTok. This single video launched both this dance and Twisters into the stratosphere.

Mostly Likely to Be Crying Again

Andrew Garfield (We Live in Time)

Garfield spent much of his press tour for 2021’s Tick, Tick … Boom! — about the life of late composer Jonathan Larson — tearing up over the recent passing of his mother. When he returned to the front lines of movie promotion for We Live in Time — a film in which he plays the husband of a dying woman — Garfield went full waterworks. He cried talking to the New York Times, he talked crying with Elmo. In a promo landscape rich in memes and brevity, Garfield’s genuine emotion provides a breath of fresh air and a reminder of why art matters.

Most Likely to Be Crying AGAIN

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked

Anything and everything makes these two cry, even if they don’t know what’s going on.

Most Memed: Wicked

A side effect of having one of the most relentless marketing campaigns of all time is that Wicked has had almost a whole year of being in the public eye. Cue a relentless barrage of memes that would be inarticulate to anyone prior to November, from “holding space” to singing Ethan Slater’s name, from fan-edited posters to “Defying Gravity” riff competitions.

Best Memed: Conclave

Enough said.

Weirdly Memed: Civil War

For a movie about political violence, police brutality, PTSD, and the ethics of journalism, a whole lot of people got a whole lot of mileage out of a single image of Jesse Plemons wearing heart sunglasses.

Most Absent From Press Tour

Peter Dinklage, Wicked

While his Wicked co-stars have been bursting into tears and listing their four Letterboxd favorites, Dinklage — who voices Dr. Dillamond (the new “drip king”?) — has been conspicuously absent. To his credit, he’s been shooting Roofman with Channing Tatum, which sounds way more fun than answering questions about a goat anyway.

What Would Have Been DVD Bonus Material on an Otherwise Streaming Movie

The Idea of You’s music video

The Michael Showalter–directed (?) romantic comedy (?) about a divorced mom played by Anne Hathaway and a boy-bander played by Nicholas Galitzine pads out its “will they, won’t they” with a few glimpses of fictional band, August Moon. To promote the film, the studio also released a music video for one of the band’s catchiest tunes, replete with 1D-style school uniforms and polite mischief. Did this song wind up on my Apple Music Replay? No comment.

Best Human-Animal Duo

Demi Moore and Pilaf, The Substance

Demi Moore’s adorable and/or slightly scary micro-Chihuahua Pilaf made the rounds with her all year as she promoted the high-octane, gross-out horror flick The Substance. Pilaf went to Cannes, Pilaf met Lady Gaga on The Graham Norton Show, Pilaf got … her own magazine spread? What’s next, Pilaf at the Oscars? (Please let there be Pilaf at the Oscars.)

Second-Best Human-Animal Duo: Fred Hechinger and Sherry, Gladiator 2

Move over, Daisy Edgar-Jones: There’s a new “It” girl, and her name is Sherry and she is a little monkey!

Best ’Tude

Mike Leigh, Hard Truths

Leigh took the time at the Toronto premiere of Hard Truths to say what many of us were thinking: that his star Marianne Jean-Baptiste was snubbed at the 69th Oscars for Secrets & Lies. In a directorial landscape rich in self-importance and self-seriousness, Leigh’s refreshing dry humor — see: his Bond pitch — and ability to cut through the bullshit of press tours is part of what makes his films so undeniably real and enjoyable. Though Baptiste didn’t make it into the Golden Globes nominations, here’s hoping that the slow rollout of Hard Truths into the New Year gives Leigh more opportunities to pop off.

Worst Overall Vibe

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, It Ends With Us

The long-awaited Colleen Hoover adaptation made big bucks this summer, despite its serious subject matter and tonally bizarre press tour, at once both lecturing viewers and hawking products. It’s one thing for a film to focus on sexual violence and domestic abuse — it’s quite another for the production to mirror the book’s themes, as director and star Justin Baldoni purportedly harassed Blake Lively throughout and after It Ends With Us’s release. That the movie was so marred with contentious and unsafe labor disputes such that no one could earnestly stand by the film’s ethos during its promotion gave the whole affair an unpleasant ubiquity in the summer movie landscape.

The “Kate Berlant in Don’t Worry Darling Honorary Award” to Beloved Comedienne Just Trying to Make Her Way Through a Drama-Filled Press Tour

Jenny Slate (It Ends With Us)

She brought her niece to the premiere — this is someone who just wants to be left alone.