Maybe we can scratch off James Gray's films being selected in the future for the Cannes Film Festival.
The writer-director of "Two Lovers" recently told Variety “The critical establishment [of Cannes] is stuck in 1968. (…) They are protectors of the status quo.” And yet, Gray had the luxury of premiering his 2013 film “The Immigrant” during the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Gray was at the Marrakech Film Festival when he said those things about Cannes, reminiscing about his experience at the legendary festival:
He continued to explain his thoughts by claiming that "‘The Immigrant’ was different from the all the other movies in competition that year. I’m not saying ‘The Immigrant’ is good, but it was me trying to do Puccini in a field where they were all trying to still do 1968,” said the filmmaker.
He continued, “I think people mistake form for content.(…) That’s a problem with these festivals. They want something on a surface taking big risks.”
That surely means his upcoming "Ad Astra," which was rumored to show at Cannes, might not make the cut. The sci-fi epic, which stars Brad Pitt, is“far from finished,” according to Gray. “I’ve been very insistent because I didn’t want to be up against a release date.” The film is now slated for May 2019, which is usually a date that would perfectly coincide with a Cannes premiere.
The story being told in “Gold Mountain” feels right at home for Lee — especially after his tech-obsessed filmmaking of the last 14 years (“Life of Pi,” “Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk,” “Gemini Man”).