Entertainment
Cannes Film Festival Day 1 Recap: Demi Moore vs. AI
Is it really time for the Cannes Film Festival? Already?
Incredibly, it is.
And with only one day down in the prestigious film festival, there has been a surprising amount of heat generated – with a movie star’s comments on the artificial intelligence, the return of a festival favorite and an eerie lack of Hollywood representation.
Grab your nearest croissant and let’s get into it.
Addressing the Robot in the Room…
During a Tuesday press conference held at Cannes with this year’s jury, led by the South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook (whose film “No Other Choice” appeared at the festival last year), jury member Demi Moore was asked about artificial intelligence and weighed in on the subject. Because controversy is just as much a part of the Cannes experience as starlets on the beach or overtly formal screening attire.
“The reality is that to resist, I always feel that against-ness breeds against-ness. AI is here, and so to fight it is, in a sense, to fight something that is a battle that we will lose,” she told reporters. “So to find ways in which we can work with it, I think, is a more valuable path to take.”
Moore continued on the subject: “To your question of ‘Are we doing enough to protect ourselves?’ I don’t know. I don’t know the answer to that. My inclination would be to say probably not. Part of art is about expression. So if we start censoring ourselves, then I think we shut down the very core of our creativity, which is, I think, where we can discover truth and answers.”
Other members of this year’s jury include Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel, recent Oscar nominee and “Hamnet” director Chloé Zhao and actress Ruth Negga.
… and Gaza
Another obviously hot button topic was also touched upon by the Cannes jury member Paul Laverty, a Scottish screenwriter who wrote the scripts for Palme d’Or winners “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” and “I, Daniel Blake” (both directed by the legendary Ken Loach). As the press conference was winding down, he expressed solidarity with Hollywood stars who have spoken out against Israeli forces’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Can I just leave one tiny thing?” Laverty asked at the press conference, before telling those gathered, “The Cannes Film Festival has a wonderful poster. Yes, and isn’t it fascinating to see some of them like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza? Shame on Hollywood people who do that. My respect and total solidarity to them. They’re the best of us, I look up to them.”
He then made a dark joke about hoping that the festival doesn’t get bombed because the stars are on the official posters for Cannes. One of the more striking posters interpolates an image of Sarandon and Geena Davis from Ridley Scott’s masterpiece “Thelma & Louise.”
In February, Sarandon announced that she was fired by her agency “specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza, for asking for a ceasefire.” Bardem and Ruffalo have been similarly outspoken but still maintain their high-profile Hollywood jobs, with Ruffalo appearing in this summer’s “Spider-Man” movie and Bardem returning for the third “Dune” movie this Christmas, among other projects.
Elsewhere in the press conference, Park Chan-wook asserted that both political art and non-political art are valid works.
“Just because a work of art has a political statement, it should not be considered an enemy of art. At the same time, just because a film is not making a political statement, that film should not be ignored,” Park said, via translation. “Even if we are to make a brilliant political statement, if it’s not expressed artfully enough, it would just be propaganda. So what I want to say is that art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other — as long as they are artistically expressed, they are valuable.”
Did Neon Leave Anything for Anybody Else?
It’s become something of a given that Neon, the independent film company founded in 2017 by Tom Quinn and Tim League, snaps up the buzziest titles of the festival, usually before Cannes even starts. Over the years they acquired the distribution rights to six (!) Palme d’Or winners – “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and eventual Academy Awards powerhouse “Anora.” Last year they had the rights to “It Was Just an Accident,” which also won the Palme d’Or.
This year Neon has a staggering amount of movies in competition at Cannes – from South Korean director Na Hong-jin’s hugely anticipated “Hope,” to Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” (starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) to James Gray’s period crime movie “Paper Tiger” to Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s sci-fi-ish “Sheep in a Box” and the French fantasy “The Unknown.”
But there are still plenty of titles worth getting excited about that weren’t already snapped up by Neon. In fact, we ran down 12 of the buzziest titles that are still up for grabs. There’s “The Birthday Party,” from Léa Mysius, whose last film as a director was “The Five Devils,” an unsung masterpiece and one of the very best movies of the past few years and who contributed to the screenplay for “Emilia Pérez,” which garnered Mysius an Oscar nomination. Her new movie is based on a novel by Laurent Mauvignier and is in competition.
Additionally, there is the debut feature from “I Love LA” star Jordan Firstman called “Club Kid;” “Close” director Lukas Dhont’s “Coward,” a drama set during World War I; “Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern,” a documentary that features appearances from Dern’s daughter Laura, Quentin Tarantino and Alexander Payne; director Guillaume Canet’s latest team-up with Marion Cotillard called “Karma;” and “Diamond,” a film noir set in Los Angeles that was written, directed and stars Andy Garcia (Vicky Krieps, Brendan Fraser, Rosemare DeWitt, Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman also appear).
So, yes, there is still plenty on the table after NEON has hit the buffet. Read our article for the full list.
A Largely Hollywood-Free Cannes
Unlike past Cannes Film Festivals, which have seen the premiere of Hollywood films like “Shrek” (yes seriously), “Inglourious Basterds” (in a slightly different configuration than would hit movie screens a few months later) and, more recently, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which arrived at the festival last year, this year’s line-up is noticeably Hollywood-free.
The decision for the major studios to skip Cannes is even more baffling when you consider the fact that juggernauts like Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” Andrew Stanton’s “Toy Story 5” and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” are just around the corner, all hitting theaters around the world in just a few weeks.
We got into the shocking absence of Hollywood heavy hitters in this week’s Reel to Real column and have come to the conclusion that big Hollywood movies have never been more at risk and that a debut at Cannes has never been riskier. Look no further than “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which Disney premiered at Cannes a few years ago; after a lukewarm critical reception at the festival it underperformed at the box office. This maybe would have been fine had the movie not cost upwards of $400 million, recouping only $384 million worldwide.
You can see why Hollywood is skittish. But hey, nobody plays it safe quite like Tinseltown.
Guillermo Returns
Guillermo del Toro, who lights up pretty much any film festival he attends with his creative spirit and his love of the craft, returned to Cannes not with a new movie but with a restoration of a beloved favorite – his Oscar-winning fantasy “Pan’s Labyrinth.” The movie, set during the Spanish Civil War and featuring some of the most iconic creature designs in cinema history, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new 4K restoration, which del Toro was on hand to present.
“Twenty years ago, making this movie was like going against everything at all times. It was the second worst filmmaking experience of my life, the first one being ‘Mimic’ with the Weinsteins. That was horrible,” del Toro said during his introduction of the film. He described the film as being “very difficult in pre-production, no one wanted to finance it, and in production we had everything that could go wrong, go wrong. If I see you on the Croisette, I’ll tell you. And then, in post-production it was equally difficult.”
The film originally debuted at Cannes in 2006, before going on to being a sleeper hit and surprise Oscar winner, which established del Toro as one of the most visionary filmmakers of his generation, and led to films like “Nightmare Alley,” “Pacific Rim,” the Best Picture-winning “The Shape of Water” and, most recently, “Frankenstein.”
Addressing the bleak political climate that “Pan’s Labyrinth” is being re-released into, del Toro still found optimism.
“I feel and I think, like the girl Ofelia in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ if we can just leave a mark, if we can put our faith against our faith and our strength against our strength, there is hope. And the last thing we can have is to give to one of the two forces: we can give to love, or we can give to fear. Never, never, never give to fear,” del Toro said.
More Cannes!
If you can’t get enough of the Cannes Film Festival (and, really, can you be blamed for such an impulse?), we recommend checking out our Directors Portfolio, with famous directors from this year’s festival sending in their own portraits – everyone from Ron Howard (pictured above) to John Travolta and everyone in between. The photos are absolutely beautiful and, as awards editor Steve Pond said, “these faces are the heart of the Cannes Film Festival.”
Additionally, critic Ben Croll looks back at how the Cannes Film Festival has served as a pipeline from international actors to Hollywood stardom. It’s a fascinating, informative and (most importantly) entertaining look at how performers from around the globe can go from relative obscurity to appearing in the biggest Hollywood blockbusters around.
Just look at Sandra Hüller, who appeared in two of Cannes 2023’s buzziest movies – the eventual Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” and the Oscar-winning “The Zone of Interest,” before co-starring one of the biggest and best movies to come out of Hollywood this year, “Project Hail Mary.”
That’s it for today but we’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t forget to take your croissant!
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EXCLUSIVE: Orange County Choppers Originals is headed out of the garage and travelling to Europe.
Hearst Networks has bought UK rights to the ‘reborn’ ob doc series from Off The Fence, which has boarded the show after striking an agreement to represent it worldwide (excluding the U.S.).
The new series – which aired in the U.S. on Discovery Channel, Discovery Turbo TV, Discovery+, and Discovery GO after launching in February – is the latest chapter in the motorbikes franchise that began in 2002 with American Chopper and is bases around the Orange County Choppers custom bikes business. A second season has been ordered, with the number of eps doubling to 12.
Prior to Orange County Choppers Originals‘ launch, there had been no new American Chopper episodes since 2020’s finale, American Chopper: The Last Ride. At one point, there had been a six-year gap due to legal problems between Paul Teutul Sr. and his son, Paul Teutul Jr., the father and son at the center of the series, but they were ultimately settled and the pair reunited on-screen.
The Hearst agreement, brokered by OTF’s SVP North America and Global Networks, Sam Thompson and Hearst Networks’ Acquisitions Manager, Hannah Gray, marks a first international deal for the revival.
Orange County Choppers Originals is based around Teutul Sr., founder and CEO of Orange County Choppers, who has spent over 30 years crafting custom motorcycles for major corporations and sports teams. The series shifts the focus to his workshop in Florida, where he reunites with some of the original team while introducing fresh talent. It also delves into his personal life, highlighting his charity work and passion for animal welfare and rescue on his hobby farm.
Hearst’s Gray said: “Orange County Choppers has everything we look for in great factual entertainment: big builds, strong characters and plenty of heart. With Paul Sr. back at the centre of the story, we’re excited to bring this new chapter to UK audiences.”
Orange County Choppers Original sees Teutul Sr.’s team design and build one-of-a-kind motorcycles for charitable causes, with each episode following them through engineering challenges, tight deadlines, and unexpected setbacks, culminating in auctions or raffles to raise funds and awareness.
Joan Kay, co-CEO of OCC said: “Everyone loves a comeback story and this one comes with the rebirth of an iconic brand and frankly, Paul Sr. is kicking ass. We’re very excited to partner with OTF on the global revival of the show as the company shares our values of working with entertainment with purpose and has an enviable reach and network of partners around the world across all platforms.
“This show isn’t just television, it has proved itself as a cultural phenomenon with the power to ignite fans and enthusiasts and turbocharge bike culture – we can’t wait for you all to see it.”
OTF’s Thompson said: “We’ve seized this opportunity wholeheartedly because the facts speak for themselves. There’s an existing fanbase hungry for more, with proven ratings, engagement, sponsorship and merchandising potential. We’re especially excited to have Hearst Networks on board as a quality broadcast partner and look forward to sharing the rollout of this rare gem.”
The American Chopper franchise has previously broadcasted in 160 territories in 35 languages worldwide, and OTF’s acquisition offers a new opportunity for buyers at MIPCOM in just under two weeks’ time in Cannes, France.
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The European Film Academy has named Beki Probst, Marin Karmitz and Sandra den Hamer as the first recipients of its new Community Award for an Outstanding Contribution to European Film Culture.
The award, paying tribute to “a decisive and continuous contribution over many years to the development and expansion of European film culture”, will be presented during the European Film Awards weekend in Athens in January 2027.
The trio will be presented with the award on January 15, on the eve of the main ceremony at the traditional Welcome Night gala dinner, taking place this edition at the Acropolis Museum housing some 4,000 artefacts dating as far back as 1,200 BCE.
Probst is best known internationally as the founder of the Berlinale’s European Film Market, having entered the cinema world as the founder with her Swiss husband of the Queenie Cinemas in Berne in the 1960s, which grew into a successful chain of arthouse cinemas still existing today.
Born into a Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul, Probst studied Law and Journalism and worked briefly as a film journalist.
From 1981 to 1988, she was the Berlinale delegate for Turkey and Greece and after initiating Locarno’s industry program, she was asked by Berlinale Director Moritz de Hadeln to start the European Film Market in 1988 in its current form.
Under her management, which continued into 2014, the EFM became one of the largest and most important international film market in Europe.
She has previously been feted with the Berlinale Camera, the Prix du cinéma Suisse, the French Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Karmitz is known as the founder of France’s independent exhibitor, producer, film financier and sales agent mk2 film. Born in Romania in 1938, Karmitz arrived in France as a refugee with his family in 1947.
After studies at the IDHEC film school in Paris, he worked as assistant director to the filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Jacques Rozier, Yannick Bellon and Pierre Kast. before directing his first short film, Nuit Noir, Calcutta, based on a screenplay by Marguerite Duras, in 1964.
In 1965, he worked with Samuel Beckett on the adaptation of Comédie. In the same year, the feature was selected to open the Venice International Film Festival and shocked audiences with its avant-garde material.
He launched mk2 Productions in 1967 and made his feature-length directorial debut with Seven Days Somewhere Else (1968), followed by Comrades (1970) and Blow for Blow (1972), which were screened at international festivals.
He opened his first cinema in Paris in 1974 in response to Blow for Blow, about a group of textiles workers who take their factory boss hostage in protest at the work conditions, being shut out of mainstream circuits.
In 40 years, he would produce 108 films and distribute over 350 in theatres, among them Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours trilogy, for which he received a nomination for the European Film Awards 1994, twelve films by Claude Chabrol, Alain Resnais, Louis Malle, the Taviani brothers, Theo Angelopoulos, Lucian Pintilié, Gus Van Sant, Ken Loach, Abbas Kiarostami, Hong Sang-Soo, Michael Haneke, Walter Salles and Xavier Dolan.
Den Hamer has an extensive track record in the Dutch film industry.
From 2007 to 2023, she was the director of the Netherlands Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. Under her leadership, the re-named Eye Filmmuseum opened a brand-new museum building and a new collection centre in Amsterdam.
Its eclectic programming includes large retrospectives, international conferences and as well as exhibitions, exploring the work and careers of filmmakers such as Bela Tarr, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Alex van Warmerdam among many others.
Before that, Sandra den Hamer worked for 23 years at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, including roles as co-ordinator of CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund. From 1996 to 2007, she directed the festival.
She also served as President of the Board of the Association of European Cinematheques (A.C.E.). From 2023 to 2026. she was appointed interim executive director at the Netherlands Film Fund. Today she chairs the Board of the IDFA Institute and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.
Gathering 5,700 members from more than 50 countries across Europe, the European Film Academy oversees the annual European Film Awards, which alternates taking place in its home city of Berlin and another European city, which is Athens this year.
The 39th ceremony marks the second time it is unfolding in its new January slot, after the academy decided to shift it from a long-running December slot to integrate the awards more fully into the wider awards season.
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EXCLUSIVE: At least one BBC Studios indie will be throwing its hat in the ring to become the next producer of Doctor Who, with scripted boss Jamie Hall telling Deadline he “firmly believes” the entire BBC group should “reap the rewards” of the iconic sci-fi series.
Hall said “we’ve probably got one, potentially two companies” going for the multi-million pound tender, which if successful would bring the show back in house following two seasons made by Sony-owned Bad Wolf, starring Ncuti Gatwa. His comments followed BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell recently saying BBC Studios would be applying “with gusto.”
Hall wouldn’t reveal the names of the indies but said he would “100%” be happy for more than one to enter the race.
BBC Studios runs an in-house drama label, which made Doctor Who before Bad Wolf, while it also owns several scripted indies outright including Baby Reindeer maker Clerkenwell Films, Happy Valley producer Lookout Point and Sherwood indie House Productions.
While he hasn’t seen his labels’ proposals, Hall said he has been “very open” and honest with those keen to go for the tender because the process is “quite an onerous undertaking and costs quite a bit of money.” “I have to make sure that it doesn’t become a distraction from the day job,” he added.
If two BBC Studios labels enter, they will likely join Line of Duty producer World Productions, whose boss Simon Heath has previously indicated his ITV Studios-owned outfit is interested. More thoughts from producers can be found in our future Doctor Who analysis from over the summer.
Published a fortnight ago, the tender calls for a “relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring” new vision for the show that should premiere in 2028-29. Notably, it said it is happy for indies to pitch a series using “episodic writers” rather than a “showrunner model,” which would do away with how Doctor Who has been made in recent years.
After several years with Bad Wolf and after the termination of the just-ended Disney+ co-pro deal, Hall was adamant that Doctor Who “should sit within the BBC and the whole group should reap the rewards of it.”
Questioned on what he would want to see from a revamped Doctor Who, Hall harked back to the days when Matt Smith and David Tennant were playing the Doctor.
“It feels to me that there is an opportunity to get back to what the core offering was in that time,” he added. “It will be off screen for two or three years and that gives the audience a great chance to have a break then rediscover, while also bringing a new audience.”
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