Pedro Pascal decides to bring musical twist to Newport Film Fest - The News International

Pedro Pascal will bring the sound of the cello to closing night at the Newport Beach Film Festival, with his new music drama Behemoth! chosen to bring down the curtain on the event’s 27th edition.

The 51-year-old The Last of Us and The Mandalorian star plays gifted cellist Alex Serian in the film, written and directed by Tony Gilroy.

Behemoth! will screen on 22 October as the finale of the California festival, which runs from 15 to 22 October, before Searchlight Pictures releases the movie in US cinemas on 4 December.

Tony and production designer Jade Healy will attend closing night and take part in a conversation before the screening.

Gregg Schwenk, CEO and executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival, said, “We couldn’t have picked a better way to celebrate 27 years of Newport than closing with a filmmaker as exciting as Tony Gilroy.”

“This film has a deeply personal story about what music demands of the people who live inside it – and having Tony and Jade here in person for Q and A is exactly the kind of up-close experience that makes Newport unlike any other festival in the country,” they added.

Pedro’s character, Alex, is a former child prodigy who leaves his position with an orchestra in Chicago and returns to Los Angeles after two decades away. He finds work recording Hollywood film scores while confronting unfinished family business and memories from his past.

The movie features a star-studded cast including Olivia Wilde, 42, Eva Victor, 32, Alexa Swinton, 17, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, 50, JoBeth Williams, 77, Margarita Levieva, 46, Hank Azaria, 62, and Will Arnett, 56.