A fascinating Variety interview with Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux is making the rounds.
We had already mentioned that Polanski’s “The Palace” would most likely be going to Venice, despite being submitted for both fests. Fremaux is being polite when he claims Polanski’s film isn’t ready.
As for Woody Allen, Fremaux is hopeful about “Coup de Chance” premiering at Cannes, adding “we will position ourselves depending on the situation”.
I think we can probably expect it there. If Fremaux was leaning on not selecting Allen’s film then he would have probably given a response akin to the one he gave for the Polanski.
I had reported on 03.09.23 that Allen’s film was indeed submitted for Cannes and that it was now up to Fremaux. I don’t particularly think Cannes would be averse in selecting Allen’s film, despite the inevitable American backlash that might occur. Unlike, say, Roman Polanski, Allen is still very well-liked by the French.
Also, despite Pedro Almodovar saying his 30-minute western “Strange Way of Life” would open this year’s festival, Fremaux has nixed those rumors. It’s not. The speculation can commence again as to what’s opening the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
We also already knew that Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons, would be at Cannes. This will be the first time Scorsese screens a film there since “After Hours.”
The entire lineup gets announced on April 13th.
It gives me no pleasure to report that this is one of the worst films of Schrader’s career. Wooden acting, Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella are badly miscast, the script is dull, the photography is flat; nothing works.