Variety: James Gray’s ‘Paper Tiger’ to Premiere at Cannes; Jane Schoenbrun’s ‘Camp Miasma’ Also Selected

Speaking of Cannes, here’s Variety’s Elsa Keslassy, a writer with close connections to the festival, who usually has the goods when it comes to what might play in competition.

Yesterday, I spoke of the notable absence of U.S. films vying for a competition slot. Two of the titles I mentioned as actual possibilities have now been confirmed by Keslassy as playing at Cannes. The first one is James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” which has been submitted and will, in all likelihood, play in competition.

As I wrote last week, and despite the trades claiming it wouldn’t go, Gray’s film was only being perceived as “unfinished” as part of a deliberate narrative to avoid the stigma of a perceived Cannes rejection and preserve its value ahead of a potential launch at another festival. Now that Cannes has seemingly accepted the film — there’s no hiding anymore.

I get it — by framing the absence from Cannes as a timing issue rather than a selection outcome, backers wanted to maintain leverage with buyers and protect commercial perception. In the end, this will be Gray’s sixth film to play at Cannes.

“Paper Tiger” stars Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller, and Adam Driver; the plot centers on two brothers chasing the American Dream, only to become ensnared in a seemingly perfect scheme that unravels into a nightmare. As their world collapses into violence and corruption, their family finds itself under threat from the Russian “Mafiya,” pushing their bonds to the breaking point.

Furthermore, found inside Variety’s report, Jane Schoenbrun’s “Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” will be part of the “official selection” for this year’s 79th edition of Cannes. No word yet on where it will screen — Competition? Midnight? Un Certain Regard?

Regardless, this is a huge deal for Schoenbrun, who has only directed two films so far: “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and “I Saw the TV Glow.” This latest one, produced by MUBI, stars Gillian Anderson & Hannah Einbinder.

The plot centers on the revival of the notorious ‘Camp Miasma’ slasher series. This time, however, the story takes a darker turn when the new director develops an intense fixation on the enigmatic actress who originally portrayed the “final girl.” As the obsession deepens, the two women descend into a frenzy of psychosexual mania.

The competition lineup is starting to become a little clearer. We now know what’s ready, what isn’t, and with that, these twelve titles seem destined for Palme d’Or contention.

Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodovar)
Fjord (Cristi Mungiu)
Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Her Private Hell (Nicolas Winding Refn)
Parallel Tales (Asghar Farhadi)
Paper Tiger (James Gray)
Sheep in the Box (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer)
1949 (Pawel Pawlikowski)
Out of This World (Albert Serra)
The Loved One (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

By request — these are the thirteen other films that might have the best chance at cracking competition:

Hope (Na Hong-jin)
Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov)
It Will Happen Tonight (Nanni Moretti)
Histoires De La Nuit (Lea Mysius)
Strawberries (Laïla Marrakchi)
The Dream Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)
Circles (Michel Franco)
Hot Spot (Agnieszka Smoczyńska)
The Costume (Corneliu Porumboiu)
Everytime (Sandra Wollner)
Wake of Umbria (Carlos Reygadas)
Let Love In (Felix Van Groeningen)
Bucking Fastards (Werner Herzog)

More …

Après (Kirill Serebrenikko)
Double Freedom (Lisandro Alonso)
Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)
The Man I Love (Ira Sachs)
The Costume (Corneliu Porumboiu)
The Diary of a Chambermaid (Radu Jude)
Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun)
Hot Spot (Agnieszka Smoczyńska)
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning (Clio Barnard)

French contenders …

Red Rocks (Bruno Dumont)
Un Bon Petit Soldat (Stéphane Brizé)
15/18 (Cédric Kahn)
L’Objet du Délit (Agnès Jaoui)
Histoires de La Nuit (Léa Mysius)
Milo (Nicole Garcia)
Mémoire de Fille (Judith Godrèche)
Notre Salut (Emmanuel Marre)