The film festival’s organisers revealed Thursday that a record six female directors will compete for the Palme d’Or in Cannes in May, with the film festival promising a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers and award-winning filmmakers.
The world’s most prestigious film festival had already secured several extravagant Hollywood premieres, including new Indiana Jones and Martin Scorsese films, as well as Johnny Depp’s return feature.
Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” one of 19 films competing for the top prize Palme d’Or from May 16 to 27, will send a slew of stars to the red carpet, including Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, and Scarlett Johansson.
Six female directors, including Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher and Austria’s Jessica Hausner, break the previous year’s record of five.
Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are slated to star in ‘May December,’ directed by Todd Haynes, who astonished Cannes with his lesbian thriller ‘Carol,’ starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, with the latter winning best actress.
The opening night film, ‘Jeanne du Barry,’ stars Depp as French king Louis XV, in his first appearance since a dramatic defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard including harsh charges of domestic abuse.
Depp will be joined by his daughter, Lily Rose Depp, who stars in ‘The Idol’, a TV series playing out of competition, produced by musician Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye. It has had a tumultuous production with reports of major rewrites and re-shoots.
As if that was not enough to inflame social media, the star and director of ‘Jeanne du Barry”, Maiwenn, had a criminal complaint lodged against her last week for allegedly assaulting a journalist by yanking his head back and spitting in his face in a Paris restaurant.
Star of the moment, and so-called ‘Internet Daddy’, Pedro Pascal is also expected alongside Ethan Hawke for a “queer Western” short film by Spain’s Pedro Almodovar.
