Cannes 2019 is still two months away but rumors are swirling about the lineup.
For one, I have heard, from more than a few sources, that Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” is a lock. The film is set to bring a star-studded cast to the Croisette including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, and Lena Dunham.
However, the question still remains as to whether it will play in competition or out of competition.
Other almost sure-things include Pedro Almodovar’s “Dolor and Gloria,” Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite,” Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardennes’s “Ahmed,” and Ira Sachs’ “Frankie.” I also hear that Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” will almost certainly not be happening, the VFX will just not be ready on time. Netflix has given up on that film for Cannes, rather deciding to concentrate on unveiling Scorsese’s mob saga during fall festival season. The main talking point between the two parties is now the Safdie Brothers’ upcoming “Uncut Gems,” which has Netflix currently holding international rights for the film.
With all that being said, a question mark still remains when it comes to another potential American movie making its debut at the festival: James Gray’s “Ad Astra.”
In a THR interview, Gray admitted “We’re trying, we’re certainly hopeful. The issue is a little bit out of our hands because the shots come in from the VFX houses and right now our delivery date is late April, early May, which is really, really cutting it close. You want your visual effects to be so good that nobody thinks about them, that people don’t think of them as visual effects. We have hopes, but the whole team, Plan B and Brad [Pitt] and, thankfully, New Regency, have been fantastic through this.
“We’re all just anxious to put out the very best movie, and whether we actually get to make Cannes on May 18 — or whatever the hell the day is — is of secondary concern to getting the film to look exactly right. And I’ve been wonderfully blessed with great support from them. That’s where the focus is now and we’re just sort of keeping our fingers crossed.”
“Ad Astra” began filming in August of 2017.
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