First day impressions

Just got home from the first day - not a great start, rain started right on time for opening red carpet, and then didn't stop until now. Seems tomorrow will be the same.

A pity, opening with "The Great Gatsby" sounded like a great idea - but even the opening red carpet ceremony wasn't quite what was expected - nothing comparable to the Can Can Dancers they brought in for "Moulin Rouge" in 2001.

Anyway, a few pix from the first evening:

First Trailers for 2013 Cannes Film Festival

The first trailers are now available on the official 2013 Cannes Film Festival site. Only four commpetition films for now, but presumably this list will be complete once the festival starts on May 15.

• "Only God Forgives" with Ryan Gosling
• "The Past"
• "The Great Beauty" - new movie from Director Paulo Sorrentino
• "A Castle in Italy" - directed by Valeria Bruni, sister of Carla Bruni (wife of former French president Sarkozy)

Cannes Film Festival 2013 Program Announced

Here it is, fresh off this mornings press conference - on first look, it looks quite strong!

First reactions of interest include

• a prediction that the "golden palm" Cannes Film festival top prize will be hashed out between Soderberg, Sorrentino and Refn ("Drive" director, in the Cannes Festival Program with another movie starring Ryan Gosling)
• the observation that only one woman director is part of roster (after last year's zero women)<.li>

Opening night film: The Great Gatsby, dir Baz Luhrmann

Closing night film: Zulu, dir Jérôme Salle

In competition

Jury chair: Steven Spielberg

• Only God Forgives, dir Nicolas Winding Refn
• Borgman, dir Alex Can Warmerdam
• La Grande Bellezza, dir Paulo Sorrentino 
• Behind the Candelabra, dir Steven Soderbergh
• La Venus a la Fourrure, dir Roman Polanski
• Nebraska, dir Alexander Payne
• Jeune et Jolie, dir François Ozon
• La Vie d'Adele, dir Abdellatif Kechiche
• Wara No Tate, dir Takashi Miike
• Soshite Chichi Ni Naru, dir Kore-Eda Hirokazu
• Tian Zhu Ding, dir Jia Zhangke
• Grisgris, dir Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
• The Immigrant, dir James Gray
• Heli, dir Amat Escalante 
• Le Passe, dir Asghar Farhadi
• Michael Kohlhaas, dir Arnaud Despallieres
• Inside Llewyn Davis, dir Ethan and Joel Coen
• Un Chateau en Italie, dir Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi

Un Certain Regard

Jury chair: Thomas Vinterberg

• The Bling Ring, dir Sofia Coppola
• L'INCONNU DU LA, dir Alain GUIRAUDIE
• BENDS, dir Flora LAU
• L'IMAGE MANQUANTE, dir Rithy PANH
• LA JAULA DE ORO, dir Diego QUEMADA-DIEZ
• ANONYMOUS, dir Mohammad RASOULOF
• SARAH PRÉFÈRE LA COURSE, dir Chloé ROBICHAUD
• GRAND CENTRAL, dir Rebecca Zlotowski
• FRUITVALE STATIO, dir Ryan COOGLER
• LES SALAUDS, dir Claire DENIS
• NORTE, HANGGANAN NG KASAYSAYAN, dir Lav DIAZ
• AS I LAY DYING, dir James FRANCO
• MIELE, dir Valeria GOLINO
• OMAR, dir Hany ABU-ASSAD
• DEATH MARCH, dir Adolfo ALIX JR

Cinefondation

Jury chair: Jane Campion

Special screenings

• Weekend of a Champion, dir Roman Polanski 
• Seduced and Abandoned, dir James Toback
• Otdat Konci, dir Taisia Igumentseva
• Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, dir Stephen Frears
• Stop the Pounding Heart, dir Robero Minervini

Midnight screenings

MONSOON SHOOTOUT, dir Amit KUMAR
BLIND DETECTIVE, dir Johnnie TO

Homage to Jerry Lewis

MAX ROSE, dir Daniel NOAH

Out of Competiton 

• ALL IS LOST by J.C CHANDOR
• BLOOD TIES by Guillaume CANET

[source: The Guardian]

Cannes Film Festival 2013 Program: US stars to attend in full force?

With the official announcement just a few days away, rumors are flying around on who will make it onto the program for the Cannes Film Festival 2013 and compete for the prestigious "Golden Palm" of the Cannes Film Festival.
For those who can't wait for April 18, the day of the official announcement of the 2013 Cannes Festival program, the usually well-informed local newspaper Nice-Matin ran an article in its weekend edition on the hottest candidates for the this years festival program.
One category: "les americains" - whether there is suffient or too much US participation is always a hotly discussed topic. For one, US films often mean Hollywood stars will attend the festival, ensuring excitement with the general public and the paparazis.
So how will the 2013 Cannes Film Festival fare? Well, it seems Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are likely to attend for Steven Soderbergh's "Behind the Candelabra" who is likely to be selected for the festival program. Also attending will be Justin Timberlake as star of likely slected "Inside Llewyn Davis" by the Cohen brothers.
And it seems Brad Pitt will be back as well (see his 2012 appearance in video below), in Steve McQueen's "Twelve years a slave", also including Michael Fassbender. Also, Joaquin Phoenix is rumored to attend as part of the cast in James Gray's "Nightingale". Last, but not least, Hollywood legend Robert Redford might come as part of J.C Chandor's "All is lost".
But that's not all: there will be Leonardi DiCaprio for the already confirmed opening film "Gatsby" by Baz Luhrman as well as Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom for the also already confirmed film "Zulu" by Jerome Salle.
So it seems that 2013 Cannes Festival Jury President Steven Spielberg had a positive effect on US attendance - it looks as if this year will be a great year for stars from the US will show up in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival program.
[source: Nice Matin]

Cannes Film Festival Poster Revealed; Program will be published April 18

Today, the official Cannes Film Festival 2013 poster was revealed.

Continuing what has become somewhat of a tradition - using classic movie stills - the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Poster shows Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward kissing in a carefully arranged pose in a shot taken in 1963 on the movie set of "A New Kind of Love".

Check out the video introducing the poster below

Festival de Cannes 2013 : l'affiche, version... par Telerama_BA

The official Cannes Film Festival 2013 program is expected for April 18.

Leonardo di Caprio "Gatsby" to open 2013 Cannes Film Festival - confirmed!

The 2013 Cannes Film Festival will be opened glamorously and in style by Leonardo di Caprio and his latest movie, "The Great Gatsby". This is the second Cannes Film Festival opening film for "Great Gatsby" director Baz Luhrmann after "Moulin Rouge" in 2001. Cannes opening films are generally more "crowd pleasers" than the standard Cannes fair of art house flicks.

The author of the book that the movie is based on - Scott Fitzgerald - has a deep relationship with the French Riviera - he pretty much put the region "on the map" with America's 1920's young-and-in crowd (in particular Juan-les-Pins, a few miles away from Cannes).

Prepare yourself for this year's Cannes Film Festival opening film and check out the "Great Gatsby" trailer below.

Top 10 Movies of Steven Spielberg, 2013 Cannes Film Festival Jury President

So "one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world" (according to the Internet Movie Database) has been named Jury President of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival - an event not exactly known for its focus on commercial success. We'll let the experts speculate on whether this means "the return of Hollywood glamour" to the Cannes Film Festival, or "sellout of world cinema to US majors".

Instead, let's have a look at the top 10 of Spielberg's long list of movies:

10. The Sugarland Express

This was not only Spielberg's first theatrical film, but was also in competition at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Award for Best Screenplay that year.

9. Saving Private Ryan

8. Lincoln

This years Spielberg movie that didn't win an Oscar.

7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

You can even catch the full movie below

6. Raiders of the Lost Ark

5. The Color Purple

Another Cannes Film Festival entry of Steven Spielberg - it ran out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.

4. Schindler's List

3. Jurassic Park

2. Jaws

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

This gets the top spot, since its historic 1982 world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival is what apparently got Spielberg the jury presidency this year.

Cannes Film Festival: the 2013 Oscar nominees

There's often much talk about the Cannes Film Festival being somewhat irrelevant to the "real world" film business, and understandably so, given the festival's focus on film as a form of artistic expression rather than a way to fill box office coffers. However, when looking at Oscar nominations, Cannes Film Festival movies have been doing quite well over the last few years in terms of nominations and even Oscar wins (remember "The Artist"? - first shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 before going on to win the Oscar for best picture in 2012).

So how are Cannes Film Festival 2012 films doing at the 2013 Oscar nominations? Quite well, looking at the offical list of Oscar nominees.

This years best picture award nominees include no less than two Cannes Film Festival 2012 movies - golden palm winner "Amour" and golden camera winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild".

Best Actress nominees also include two nominations for Cannes Film Festival films (and incidentally, the same as nominated for best picture: Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour" and Quvenzhané Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild".

So the 2013 Oscar's look promising for Cannes Film Festival 2012 "veterans" - check for yourselves in the trailers below.

Leonardo di Caprio "Gatsby" to open 2013 Cannes Film Festival?

Will the 2013 Cannes Film Festival be opened glamorously and in style by Leonardo di Caprio and his latest movie, "The Great Gatsby"?

The rumor has been swirling for a few weeks now, and has received new support over the holiday period by a number of tweets in which Festival prez Gilles Jacob expressed his admiration of the story, but admits he hasn't seen the film yet ...

In any case, it looks like a strong candidate: it's opening date (mid-may) is around the Festival opening date, the director Baz Luhrmann has had opening films in the past (remember "Moulin Rouge"? It opened the Cannes Festival in 2001), and Cannes opening films are generally more "crowd pleasers" than the standard Cannes fair of art house flicks.

Also, the author of the book that the movie is based on - Scott Fitzgerald - has a deep relationship with the French Riviera - he pretty much put the region "on the map" with America's 1920's young-and-in crowd (in particular Juan-les-Pins, a few miles away from Cannes).

True or not, prepare yourself for the eventuality of "The Great Gatsby" opening the Cannes Film Festival 2013 by checking out the trailer below.

2012 Winners and Awards

Palme d'Or:
"Amour"
Grand Prix:
"Reality"
Prix de la Mise en Scene (best director):
Carlos Reygadas, "Post Tenebras Lux"
Prix du Scenario (best screenplay):
"Beyond The Hills"
Camera d'Or (best first feature):
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Prix du Jury (jury prize):
"The Angel's Share"
Prix d'interpretation feminine (best actress):
Cosmina Stratan and Christina Flutor, "Beyond The Hills"
Prix d'interpretation masculine (best actor):
Mads Mikkelsen, "The Hunt"

All 2012 Festival Trailers Available

A hidden, but pretty key gem on the sometimes a little hard to navigate official Cannes Festival site are the trailers of all films in the 2012 Festival (added link to top menu to make it easier to find).

All is there - competition films, side programs, even "Cannes Classics".

Here are some straight links to some of the most highly anticipated films by the "general public":

• Cosmopolis starring the "rob" part of robsten - Robert Pattinson. Trailer looks promisingly gruesome, dangling rats (or is it mice? does it matter?) included, in line with Director Cronenberg's past oeuvre.
• On the Road - on to the "sten" part, Kristen Stewart. Based on Jack Kerouacs famous novel.
• Madagascar 3 - which suitably starts out in nearby Monaco

The "most mysterious trailer" award, though, goes to "Holy Motors" - see for yourself why.

Cannes Film Festival: Who is Who on Twitter

The Cannes Film Festival is one of the best-covered media events each year. Thousands of journalists from all around the world write even more articles every day covering film screenings, a little scandal here and a celebrity sighting there.. The number of journalists attending the Cannes Film Festival is approaching or even exceeding the number of journalists at the Olympic games.

But journalism is so ... yesterday in these times of the "real-time Web". Is it possible to get some news straight from the source? Are there Cannes key players using their twitter accounts to give first hand impressions on what's going on at the Cannes Film Festival?

Here's a shortlist of the most interesting or prominent Cannes Film Festival tweeters and non-tweeters we came across for now (later updates not precluded), what they write about, and whether they are worth following.

• Hiam Abbass - the Palestinian actress and jury member is not on twitter 
• Andrea Arnold - well there's a few of folks on twitter that share the name with this Director and jury member, but none of them seem to be her.
• Emmanuelle Devos - twitter draws a complete blank for the French actress who sits on the jury
• Thierry Fremaux -  second (or first now?) in command at the festival and designated to succeed Gilles Jacob - comments on his personal festival highlights while still carving out time for his passion for Bruce Springsteen. Worth following - again, tweets mostly in French
• Jean-Paul Gaultier - film jury member for ten days and fashion designer otherwise - mostly tweets and retweets about himself - follow him, and you won't miss any appearance of a JPG dress on the red carpet. If that's not your pretty special interest, don't follow.
• Gilles Jacob - festival president since God created the world or even before -  uses the cute twitter handle "jajacobbi" to tweet cheeky pics of Sean Penn and for witty exchanges with his Cannes insider buddies. Worth the follow if you read French. 
• Diane Kruger - no discernible twitter presence for the German actress/jury member
• Ewan McGregor - realizes that as jury member he needs to keep mum about the films he's watching and got slammed for saying film selection is "brilliant". Don't expect any revelations if you choose to follow.
• Nanni Moretti - Jury President - doesn't seem to have a known presence on twitter yet. 
• Alexander Payne - again there's a few matches for this jury member but no clear hit - could he be "married 5 kids and self employed farrier for 15 year" or rather "Director of bin.com, Microsoft "? The search goes on .
• Raoul Peck - no known tweets from the film director from Haiti sitting on the jury

Alec Baldwin's after-midnite film shot at Cannes Film Festival

Walking along the Croisette after midnite, ran into Alec Baldwin walking slowly along the Croisette towards the Carlton Hotel and being filmed chatting to a corpulent, very hollywood-looking companion. It seems this is part of the work on Baldwin's Cannes Film festival documentary called "Seduced and Abandoned" which is following Baldwin and his partner looking for funding for a movie during the festival, interviewing several director's along the way to determine the current state of cinema - deadline.com has all the details.