Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johnson and Tom Cruise are among the Hollywood stars bound to hit the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which starts on Tuesday. Cannes is among the most prestigious festivals in the film calendar, and allows premieres to productions that often go on to earn awards and acclaim.
The 78th Edition of the Cannes Film Festival launched with a special tribute to Robert De Niro, who injected some much-needed star power on a quiet opening night. The main attraction (French Musical Comedy- “Partir un-Jour”) took a backseat to paparazzi scrambling to land a shot of the star of ‘Taxi Driver,’ who made the trek to France to accept and honorary Palme d’Or from Leonardo DiCaprio.
Previous winners of the Palme d’Or, the festival top prize, such as Sean Baker, and Quentin Tarantino, strode the red carpet, together with actors and models like Julia Garner, Eva Longoria, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Heidi Klum. However, Tom Cruise, who is in town to premier ‘Mission Impossible- The Final Reckoning,’ was nowhere to be seen.
In the last couple of years, Cannes has re-established itself as the main launchpad for award contenders. Anora won the Palme d’Or last May before going on to win best picture at the year’s Oscars. Four of the last five Palme d’Or winners have been nominated for best picture.
This year’s jury is led by French screen star Juliette Binoche and includes fellow actors Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong. Among the top contenders for the Palme d’Or this year include Scottish director Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel Die My Love, which stars Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.
Cannes’ opening night celebration of cinema draws global attention. But the movies that kick off the festival, such as the Johhny Depp historical epic ‘Jeanne du Barry’ or the Lea Seydoux and Louis Garrel comedy ‘The Second Act,” quickly fade from memory.
Wes Anderson’s new film The Phoenician Scheme has the most star-studded line-up at Cannes this year, with Johansson, Benicio Del Toro, Tom Hanks and Benedict Cumberbatch all featuring, as well as Riz Ahmed, Bryan Cranston and Richard Ayoade.
Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone appear in Eddington, a pandemic-era dark comedy Western from Ari Aster.
“Partir un-Jour,’ which screened early to some critics, may continue the tradition after getting mixed reviews. A high-profile film journalist walked to her seat and whispered under her breath, “I will suffer through this.”
