Hollywood Industry News Roundup — May 25, 2026

📷 Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Memorial Day weekend dispatches — the AMAs take over Las Vegas, American films get shut out at Cannes, Cannes wraps its most contested edition in years, and Hollywood's LA mayoral race heats up. Here's everything shaping the industry today, May 25, 2026.

01. 2026 AMAs Tonight in Las Vegas — Taylor Swift Nominated Eight Times But Won't Attend

The 2026 American Music Awards are taking place tonight, May 25, in Las Vegas — and the night's biggest name is conspicuously absent. Taylor Swift, nominated for eight awards, has confirmed she will not be in attendance. The ceremony, one of the year's most-watched music events, will nonetheless draw some of Hollywood's biggest crossover stars as the entertainment industry's music and film worlds continue their annual collision at awards season's more populist end.

02. Cannes Shuts Out American Films — What It Means for Oscar Season

The jury has spoken at Cannes 2026, and American films have been shut out entirely — a result that has sent Hollywood strategists scrambling to recalibrate their awards-season thinking. Deadline's coverage frames the result as a reflection of a broader tension: Hollywood's commercial dominance and the festival circuit's increasingly deliberate turn toward international and arthouse voices. Tilda Swinton, speaking from the Croisette, pushed back on critics calling it a down year, arguing the selection reflected the future of cinema rather than its past.

03. Sebastian Stan on Fjord and The Batman II — Breaking Baz @ Cannes

Sebastian Stan made waves on the Croisette this week, speaking to Deadline about two highly anticipated projects: Fjord, his upcoming arthouse drama, and The Batman II — confirming his involvement in the DC sequel that has had fans speculating for months. Stan's ability to straddle prestige festival fare and blockbuster franchises makes him one of the most strategically positioned actors working today, a rare bridge between the Cannes circuit and the Marvel-DC multiplex machine.

04. Hollywood Unions Back LA Mayoral Incumbent — Chris Pratt's Wild Card Campaign Gets Trump Nod

Los Angeles' mayoral race has become Hollywood's most watched local political drama. A coalition of IATSE unions, the American Federation of Musicians Local 47, and Hollywood Teamsters have backed the incumbent candidate for a second term. Meanwhile, Chris Pratt's insurgent campaign — which has drawn surprising financial support from Hollywood heavyweights — received an unexpected boost when President Trump expressed hope that Pratt would 'do well,' a statement analysts suggest could actually hurt Pratt's chances in the heavily Democratic city.

05. AI Actress, Trademark Law, and the Blake Lively Aftermath — Hollywood's Legal Week in Review

Hollywood's legal landscape is shifting fast. SAG-AFTRA's union reached a peace treaty this week with digital actress Tilly Norwood — an AI-generated performer — in a precedent-setting deal being watched closely across the industry. Separately, the bizarre lawsuit over Tung Tung Tung Sahur may become the first major test of whether trademark law can protect AI-generated creative work that copyright won't. And on the Blake Lively front, her lawyers have signalled that the It Ends With Us settlement is merely the opening act — with attorneys' fees, treble damages, and potential punitive awards still in play against Justin Baldoni.