Director Riley Stearns says he didn't realize he was making a perfect movie for 2019 when he started writing "The Art of Self-Defense " four years ago.
But his darkly comedic riff on toxic masculinity starring Jesse Eisenberg as a timid and "weak" man who takes up karate just kept becoming more relevant. The Harvey Weinstein allegations broke during the shoot in 2017 and the #MeToo movement became a phenomenon.
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This image released by Bleecker Street shows Imogen Poots, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Imogen Poots in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Alessandro Nivola in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Jesse Eisenberg, left, and Alessandro Nivola in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
"It was kind of weird that this idea that I had been feeling was very personal to me was really starting to spread into a direct discussion," Stearns said. "More and more people are relating to the film in ways that I originally wouldn't have intended, which is hugely humbling and very interesting to see."
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Imogen Poots, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
"The Art of Self-Defense" is currently in 540 theaters nationwide, where it's finding a healthy audience amid all the flashier blockbusters and superhero films in the multiplex.
Eisenberg's character Casey Davies is mocked even for his "feminine" sounding name. After getting brutally beaten one night by hoard of masked motorcyclists, he stumbles on a local dojo run by an over-the-top alpha played by Alessandro Nivola and signs up for classes. And things take an unexpectedly dark turn.
"There's an absurdity to him because he's timid in such an extreme way and aggressive in such an extreme way," Eisenberg said. "Casey is a product of this very unusual world. As much as I loved the character I also loved the world he exists in which is a world where people speak in this very unusual, blunt, earnest way."
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Imogen Poots in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
Imogen Poots plays the film's sole main female character, an instructor at the dojo who despite all her skills has not been promoted to black belt. Sterns did this knowingly, but also made a concerted effort to make sure his below the line team was predominantly women.
"It's a film about men, starring men, written by a man. Everything about it was so overtly masculine, which I knew, I was making fun of it, but still at the end of the day was not going to be on the side of films passing the Bechdel Test," Stearns said. "My intent then was to say, let's find the best people for the job to take on these department head jobs but also really try to focus on finding the best women for the jobs as well, to really try to counteract that. I just knew I didn't want it to be a set full of men. It was really important for me to have that female perspective."
Both Stearns and Eisenberg see some of the changes happening in the industry as many wake up to the injustices women have been subject to for too long. Soon after filming "The Art of Self-Defense," Eisenberg found himself on the set of "The Hummingbird Project," with Salma Hayek and Erika Rosenbaum, who both allege Weinstein sexually harassed them.
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Alessandro Nivola in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
He remembers that the day that Hayek was writing her New York Times op-ed on set about the alleged harassment , something else happened in another department.
"This guy on set made some misogynistic comment in the wardrobe department and was fired on the spot," Eisenberg set. "And I remember thinking, 'This is amazing. This day fully crystalizes the changes that are possible: Two women bravely telling their stories about a person with outsized power in our field and another guy having to be held accountable for something he did that was awful on set... I just thought, if this is sustainable this is great."
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
This image released by Bleecker Street shows Jesse Eisenberg, left, and Alessandro Nivola in a scene from "The Art of Self-Defense." (Bleecker Street via AP)
HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those killed so people could pay their respects.
Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.
Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people described as “combatants” accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.
Those injured and the remains of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and the U.S., with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”
“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”
Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were an example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”
“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.
“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.
When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.
Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.
A demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.
“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.
In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.
The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived four years in Venezuela.
“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”
A day before the remains of those killed arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.
The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.
“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.
The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
