Cannes to open with glitz, glamour and dash of scandal

MOSTLY "OLD EUROPE", AMERICAN ENTRIES

Ang Lee's producer works without formula

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"The interesting thing for me is how much this lineup relies really on 'Old Europe' and America - there are a few Asian films, no German films, very few from Scandinavia and not much from Eastern Europe or Russia," said Scott Roxborough, Berlin bureau chief for The Hollywood Reporter. 

"So it's a lot of familiar faces but also familiar areas - lots of French films, as you always have, a fair chunk of American films and others from places we've seen before."

But a party is a party and there is something for every taste. Cannes will host the world premiere of the "How to Train Your Dragon 2" sequel to the animation blockbuster, as well as a blast-from-the-past showing of a restored version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" cult horror classic from 1974.

The festival also is known for controversy and already has one for this year: its opening film, "Grace of Monaco", starring Nicole Kidman as American actress Grace Kelly who married Prince Rainier of Monaco and died after crashing her car in 1982 in hills above the principality, not far to the east of Cannes.

For months, the trade press has been reporting that the film's French director, Olivier Dahan, and producer Harvey Weinstein, who owns the American distribution rights, have been sparring over the final cut.

This month the Monaco royal family weighed in, calling the film a "farce". Prince Albert and his sisters - Kelly's children Caroline and Stephanie - said a trailer "confirms the totally fictional nature of this film".

Asked about the dispute last month, Thierry Fremaux, the festival's director, alluded to French law which stipulates that a film's director decides on the final cut.

"We're in France, and at Cannes, the only version is the version of the director," Fremaux said.

A whiff of scandal is good for business and Cannes has reliably produced its share ever since the 18-year-old bikinied Brigitte Bardot allowed Hollywood leading man Kirk Douglas to play with her hair in a famous 1953 photo shoot on the beach.

The festival is a media magnet and Cronenberg, who won a jury prize at Cannes in 1996 for his film-noir "Crash", says that is exactly what independent producers, like him, want.

In a telephone interview he said he would probably do at least 500 interviews in Cannes, providing publicity for his new movie the likes of which he could not get anywhere else.

"As an independent we can't afford to send the cast all over the world ... (So) it's a fantastic venue to promote a movie."

The "wow" and name-recognition factors for Cannes are what seem to set it apart.

"It has a magical ring," said British screenwriter Stephen Beresford, whose film "Pride" will be shown out of competition.

"When you ring your mum and say your film's got into a film festival, when you say 'Cannes', she knows what you mean."

 

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