James Gray's Paper Tiger played in Competition at the 2026 Festival de Cannes 1, where it premiered 4, and its soundtrack is now out. Lakeshore Records released it on November 13, according to the album's Qobuz listing, which credits the recording to Neon Rated Music under exclusive license to Lakeshore 3. The festival's credits name Christopher Spelman as the film's composer 1.
The 14-track album runs about 22 minutes, and it credits Giacomo Puccini alongside Spelman on nine tracks, including the introduction to Il Tabarro 3.
The film
Gray wrote and directed Paper Tiger, a 115-minute US film starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller 1. It's set in Queens in 1986, where an ex-cop played by Driver pulls his younger brother, played by Teller, into a canal cleanup deal tied to the Russian mob 67. It's Driver and Johansson's first film together since Marriage Story 2.
Cannes framed it as Gray going back to the world of his first feature, Little Odessa 2. It was his sixth film in Competition, following The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant and Armageddon Time 2.
The composer
Spelman's agency, GSA Music, says he has scored five films for Gray, Paper Tiger among them 4. His credits there also include Armageddon Time, The Lost City of Z, The Immigrant and Two Lovers, all directed by Gray 4. The partnership started earlier, in a different chair: Spelman was Gray's musical consultant on The Yards (2000) and We Own the Night (2007) 5.
That's a working relationship that runs from Gray's first Cannes Competition film to his latest 25.
For how a director and composer build a working relationship like this one, see our guide to what film scoring is, and for what else is landing before Christmas, check Drop Watch.