Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman is accusing Thierry Frémaux of censoring an interview conducted with the Cannes Film Festival boss.
The trade has made the claim that after a contentious interview with Frémaux, they were asked to remove content including potentially uncomfortable answers relating to diversity and controversial filmmakers.
Among the sections that were later watered down by the press department was a response to a question about whether the festival would welcome back Roman Polanski.
“Frémaux called the question “very interesting” during our chat and gave a measured, thought-provoking but also potentially problematic answer, in which he noted that the laws haven’t changed in France since Polanski won the Palme d’Or, implying that there wouldn’t be an ethical problem with the director’s attendance.”
Wiseman was also asked to remove Frémaux‘s response to a question about the lack of female filmmakers in competition.
Shortly after sending over the second part of the interview to the Cannes press office, Wiseman claims to have received an angry phone call from them claiming the Polanski question was supposed to be “off-record” and were then accused of pursuing “clickbait” and “trashy journalism.”
This morning I emailed the story to an acquaintance that works within the Cannes press office. This is what they had to tell me about the matter:
“Wiseman had a political agenda when he decided to interview Frémaux, he didn’t like the answers given and decided to turn his piece into an op-ed.”
Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is when it comes to the Polanski issue. If the crime he committed in the United States in the ‘70s is legal in France then what’s the problem? Every country has their own unique laws and they should be respected accordingly. Add in the fact that Venice boss Alberto Barbera has been very clear about his willingness to screen Polanski’s films and what you have here is a major “nothing burger” being accentuated for political damage by the U.S. press. Case closed.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.