\n
Gerwig heads the jury at the 77th edition of the festival – Copyright AFP Sameer Al-Doumy<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nAndrew MARSZAL<\/em><\/p>\nHollywood stars jetted into Cannes on Tuesday as the world\u2019s most famous film festival gets under way in dramatic circumstances, including a fugitive director\u2019s daring escape from Iran, and a looming cloud of fresh #MeToo allegations.<\/p>\n
The festival officially kicks off in the evening with an honorary award for Meryl Streep \u2014 just one of a host of international A-listers flocking to the sun-drenched Cote d\u2019Azur, where legendary directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola top the VIP guest list.<\/p>\n
Coppola\u2019s decades-in-the-making epic \u201cMegalopolis,\u201d an Ancient Rome-inspired saga set in a corrupt modern-day city, is the most anticipated of this year\u2019s entries for the top prize Palme d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n
\u201cCannes is important to him and he is important to Cannes. He comes as an artist,\u201d said festival head Thierry Fremaux, praising the 85-year-old director of \u201cThe Godfather\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMegalopolis\u201d is one of 22 films competing for the affections of a jury led by \u201cBarbie\u201d director Greta Gerwig.<\/p>\n
Richard Gere will star in Paul Schrader\u2019s \u201cOh Canada\u201d, recent Oscar winner Emma Stone reunites with Yorgos Lanthimos in \u201cKinds of Kindness\u201d, and Demi Moore tries her hand at horror in \u201cThe Substance\u201d.<\/p>\n
Outside the race for the Palme d\u2019Or, George Miller\u2019s latest \u201cMad Max\u201d instalment, \u201cFuriosa\u201d, will get its world premiere on Wednesday, while Kevin Costner returns to the Western genre with \u201cHorizon, an American Saga\u201d.<\/p>\n
But darker, off-screen plotlines have emerged on the eve of the festival\u2019s 77th edition.<\/p>\n
In a last-minute twist, director Mohammad Rasoulof \u2014 also competing for the Palme d\u2019Or \u2014 announced on Monday he had escaped in secret from Iran, just days after being sentenced to eight years in prison on security offences.<\/p>\n
Rasoulof had been under pressure from Iranian authorities to withdraw his latest film, \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig\u201d, from Cannes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am grateful to my friends, acquaintances, and people who kindly, selflessly, and sometimes by risking their lives, helped me get out of the border and reach a safe place on the difficult and long path of this journey,\u201d he wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Rasoulof\u2019s lawyer Babak Paknia told AFP that the director plans to attend the festival for the premiere next week.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Festive moment\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, France\u2019s film industry is in the midst of a belated #MeToo reckoning, with a string of accusations against its biggest star, Gerard Depardieu, and rumours in the run-up to Cannes of more accusations to come against high-profile figures.<\/p>\n
Actor Judith Godreche, who has accused two directors of assaulting her when she was a teenager, is presenting a short film, \u201cMoi Aussi\u201d (Me Too) aimed at encouraging more women to come forward.<\/p>\n
On Monday, nine women accused Alain Sarde, a major French film producer, of having raped or sexually assaulted them.<\/p>\n
His lawyer did not respond immediately to the allegations, which were published by ELLE magazine.<\/p>\n
Camille Cottin, star of hit television series \u201cCall My Agent!\u201d and an outspoken feminist, will host this year\u2019s festival.<\/p>\n
She said there were a lot of issues she would like to address in her opening speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s also supposed to be a festive moment\u2026 and I\u2019ve only got four minutes,\u201d she told AFP.<\/p>\n
Adding to the off-screen drama, a group of festival employees have called for a strike over pay and conditions that could cause disruption at the event.<\/p>\n
Festival head Fremaux insisted the focus this year will be squarely on the movies.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo controversies come from the festival,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cWe have taken care to ensure the main reason we\u2019re all here is cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Trump, Coppola, Stone \u2013<\/p>\n
Among the other entries for the Palme d\u2019Or is \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d \u2014 a biopic of Trump\u2019s formative years from Iranian-born director Ali Abbasi. It stars Sebastian Stan, known for playing the Winter Soldier in Marvel films.<\/p>\n
And \u201cEmilia Perez\u201d has quite the synopsis: a musical about a Mexican cartel boss undergoing a sex change to escape the authorities, directed by France\u2019s own Golden Palm winner Jacques Audiard. Pop superstar Selena Gomez appears in a supporting role.<\/p>\n
But the hot ticket is undoubtedly Coppola\u2019s \u201cMegalopolis\u201d, starring Adam Driver, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
There is a growing anticipation over whether the veteran director \u2014 who self-funded the lavish epic \u2014 can match his masterpieces of the 1970s, when he twice won the Palme d\u2019Or for \u201cApocalypse Now\u201d and \u201cThe Conversation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Film fans are also excited for new works from body-horror maestro David Cronenberg (\u201cThe Shrouds\u201d), Italy\u2019s Paolo Sorrentino (\u201cParthenope\u201d) and Oliver Stone (\u201cLula\u201d, a documentary about Brazil\u2019s president).<\/p>\n
Playing out of competition is \u201cShe\u2019s Got No Name\u201d, one of China\u2019s biggest-ever productions, which features megastar Ziyi Zhang tackling the highly sensitive topic of women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
Legendary Japanese animators Studio Ghibli \u2014 makers of \u201cSpirited Away\u201d, \u201cMy Neighbour Totoro\u201d and \u201cHowl\u2019s Moving Castle\u201d \u2014 will receive an honorary Palme d\u2019Or, the first offered to a group.<\/p>\n
And the festival will round off on May 25 with a final honorary award for \u201cStar Wars\u201d creator George Lucas.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Hollywood heads to Cannes as off-screen drama soars
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#Hollywood #heads #Cannes #offscreen #drama #soars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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