Oscar star Julianne Moore says she doesn't want to appear in films with 'explosions and guns' because of global conflicts

Published: 18:03, 16 May 2026 | Updated: 18:07, 16 May 2026 Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore says she doesn't want to 'engage' in films about 'explosions and guns' due to current global conflicts. Moore, 65, was speaking at the Cannes Film Festival where she was due to be honoured with the Women In Motion award by the Kering fashion group tonight. She said: 'I'm less and less interested in tragedy I would say. 'I think that particularly now at a time when things are really rough globally it's very difficult for me to invest in a story that I think is pretend; where I feel like the depth of the emotion, the measure of it, doesn't measure up to what's happening in the world.  I don't feel like I want to engage in it.' She went on: 'I don't like easy stakes. I don't like someone being murdered, I don't like explosions and guns, I don't like histrionics, I don't like things that raise the stakes without real feeling underneath.  'That really bothers me because that's just noise. I don't know how to play it, and I don't want to watch it.' Her next film is in a musical comedy by Jesse Eisenberg about a shy woman who gets involved in community theatre.  Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore says she doesn't want to 'engage' in films about 'explosions and guns' due to current global conflicts. Pictured: Julianne Moore attends Women In Motion talk at Carlton Hotel on May 16, 2026 in Cannes Julianne Moore attends the Kering Women In Motion: Julianne Moore Photocall at The Carlton Hotel on May 16, 2026 in Cannes, France She also has what she says is a 'small part' in the forthcoming film by former fashion designer Tom Ford, Cry to Heaven, which also features the singer Adele. 'Small part, lots of dresses,' she said. Moore, whose films include Boogie Nights, Still Alice and The Hours, added that Meryl Streep had set the 'golden standard' for women in film.  'She was the first woman I saw who appeared to be touchable and untouchable at the same time. There's something human and modern about her. I feel like she lit a fire in terms of how we could be and what we could do.' She bemoaned the lack of female representation – there are only five female directors at Cannes this year, two less than in 2025. The number of women in lead roles has fallen to 37 per cent in the highest grossing films of 2025, down from 47 per cent in 2024. She said: 'It's not endemic just to the film industry, it's global. I mean, there's not representation in C-suites, there's not representation in media, there's not representation in higher education. So there are lots of places where we don't have the representation we deserve.  'I feel like it's a bigger problem. And how do you change that? I don't know. It's like, how does a mouse get through a wall? One bite at a time.  'You do it slowly, steadily, mindfully, making choices, speaking up, using your privilege, hiring more, talking about alliances, changing things for us on set. I feel like women are each other's greatest allies, and that's the secret sauce.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.