First Teaser for James Gray’s NYC Film ‘Paper Tiger’ with Adam Driver
by Alex Billington
August 10, 2026
Source: YouTube
“It’s New York. Everyone’s on the take all the time.” Neon has revealed the first look teaser trailer for the film Paper Tiger, the latest NYC drama created and written and directed by filmmaker James Gray (We Own the Night, Ad Astra, Armageddon Time). This premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival playing in the Main Competition, though reviews were quite mixed (here’s mine). The story follows two brothers who pursue a lucrative business opportunity in 1980s Queens (involving the Gowanus Canal), only to find themselves caught up in a scheme involving the Russian mafia, which ends up terrorizing their suburban family and puts their own sibling bond to the test. Adam Driver stars as Gary Pearl, the older brother and a former cop, who now is a fixer around the city. Miles Teller co-stars as Irwin, Gary’s younger brother. His wife Hester is played by Scarlett Johansson, with Gavin Goudey & Roman Engel as their sons. Also featuring Victor Ptak as Simeon Bogoyavich, an intimidating Russian mob boss. Neon drops this into theaters in November after playing at a few more festivals this fall, including a homecoming at NYFF. Good film! I’m a fan of it even though it’s not the best of the year, Driver’s complexity makes it all the worthwhile.
Here’s the first look teaser trailer for James Gray’s NYC film Paper Tiger, direct from Neon’s YouTube:
“Let there be wealth without tears; enough for the wise man who will ask no further.” –Aeschylus (from Agamemnon). In James Gray’s deeply felt and intense drama, two brothers (Adam Driver & Miles Teller) become entangled in a business scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through the dangerous world of the Russian mafia, family bonds begin to fray with life-altering consequences. Paper Tiger is both written and directed by acclaimed American filmmaker James Gray, director of the films Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra, and Armageddon Time previously. Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira, Anthony Katagas, Raffaella Leone, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem, Andrea Bucko. This initially premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (read our review). Neon will release James Gray’s Paper Tiger film in select US theaters starting November 13th, 2026 this fall. Looks good?
