Cannes Prepares for a Quieter Festival

Economic woes put the breaks on Croisette craziness
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
Cannes Prepares for a Quieter Festival
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar gestures to photographers as he arrives for the film "No Country For Old Men," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, May 19, 2007.    (AP Photo)

The Cannes Film Festival opens tomorrow with a screening of the new Pixar film Up, but this year the glitzy two-week movie fest on the French Riviera may be a low-key affair, writes the Hollywood Reporter. Yachts have gone unrented, Vanity Fair has canceled its annual party, and movie execs are anxious about the dealmaking that takes place around the festival.

While the most attention is focused on the films in competition—which this year include works by Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, and Ang Lee, Reuters notes—hundreds more movies that have yet to find distributors are screened away from the hubbub. Bidding for films is likely to be restrained, and new platforms, such as online video, may supersede theatrical releases for many pictures.
(More France stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X