(Paris) Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson at Wes Anderson? A series with Lily-Rose Depp and music star The Weeknd? The controversial return of Woody Allen? The bets are open before the announcement on Thursday of the selection of 76e Cannes film festival.
One month before the start of the race for the Palme d’Or, the general delegate Thierry Frémaux will reveal the names of the elected officials from 11 a.m., in a cinema on the Champs-Élysées.
The 76e edition (May 16 to 27) has already ensured the presence of cinema monuments, starting with Martin Scorsese, with his film-fleuve Killers of the Flower Moonand his favorite actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro.
And, after Tom Cruise last year for Top Gunanother blockbuster veteran, Harrison Ford, will climb the steps, whip in hand, for the 5e part of the saga, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Cannes will also see a great comeback which will not fail to cause ink to flow, that of Johnny Depp, after the judicial soap opera which pitted him against his former wife Amber Heard, against a backdrop of accusations of domestic violence and then of mutual accusations of defamation, settled with blows of millions of dollars.
The former “pirate of the Caribbean” was chosen by French actress and director Maïwenn to play Louis XV in Jeanne du Barryscreened at the opening of the festival.
Big names and rising stars
Wes Anderson, a regular on the Croisette, is approached. After The French Dispatchhe once again brought together a procession of stars, from Tilda Swinton to Adrien Brody via Tom Hanks, for Asteroid City.
Pedro Almodovar will probably also be there, with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, the actor of the series The Last of Us. The Spaniard has offered himself these two stars for a short film which he considers to be a “queer western”.
The suspense remains as to the rest of the selection, between big names of the 7e art, such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Aki Kaurismäki or Ken Loach, rising stars, from Justine Triet to Alice Rohrwacher, and films that have been fueling the buzz for months, such as the Barbie candy pink with Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
The place of female directors in the official selection and in competition, which is still very much in the minority, will be scrutinized, as will that of diversity. And the question of the fate reserved for artists targeted by accusations of sexual violence continues to hover.
Thierry Frémaux seemed to rule out, in an interview with varietya presence of Roman Polanski’s latest film, shot in Switzerland, which would not be ready anyway.
Could Woody Allen be selected for his 50e film, the first shot in French? The 87-year-old filmmaker saw almost the entire industry turn its back on him when his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, accused him of sexually abusing her as a child. Woody Allen denies these accusations for which neither of the two investigations launched resulted.
Waiting for the jury
In a world where actors and directors alternate on the small and big screen, Cannes could also make room for a highly anticipated series, The Idolcreated by Sam Levinson (Euphoria) and The Weeknd, who shares the bill with Lily-Rose Depp. His filming was accompanied by controversy.
In terms of feature films, Cannes stands out from other major festivals by only accepting in competition films released in cinemas in France, before being put online.
Netflix still refuses to comply with the rule, shunning Cannes for the Venice Film Festival. But a return to favor in dark rooms could begin: Apple TV + is now forging partnerships with majors to release its most emblematic films on the big screen, such as the next Scorsese or Napoleon by Ridley Scott.
Thierry Frémaux and the new president of the Cannes Film Festival, Iris Knobloch, will probably also be questioned about the composition of the jury. We only know its president, Ruben Östlund, a Swedish director who won his second Palme d’Or last year with Without Filter.