Cannes 2008: Eastwood, Indiana Jones and Soderbergh generate excitement
Story by Jack Foley
CLINT Eastwood’s latest directorial outing, Changeling, is among the early highlights making its appearance at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 14 to 25 in the luxurious south of France.
The thriller, set in the 1920s, follows the story of a woman whose son is kidnapped. It stars Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich and Amy Ryan.
It’s one of several keenly-anticipated Hollywood films making its bow at the festival, along with Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour biopic of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, named Che, and the latest Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which will be shown out of competition
This year’s jury is lead by actor Sean Penn and also contains actress Natalie Portman and former Harry Potter director, Alfonso Cuaron. Festival favourite Quentin Tarantino, meanwhile, will be giving a film directing masterclass.
Other celebrities rumoured to be attending include Penelope Cruz, Woody Allen, Benicio Del Toro and the main cast of Indiana Jones.
A total of 19 directors will compete for the festival’s top prize, the coveted Palme d’Or, including Eastwood, Soderbergh and Wim Wenders, as well as Brazil’s Walter Salles, China’s Jia Zhangke, Israeli Ari Folman and Argentina’s Pablo Trapero.
Being John Malkovich screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is also in the running for his directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, which finds Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman attempting to build a life-size model of the Big Apple.
Last year’s winner was acclaimed Romanian abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.
Outside of the competition, Kung Fu Panda, the latest animated comedy from Dreamworks, will also receive its premiere, boasting a voice cast of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman.
While Woody Allen’s latest romance Vicky Cristina Barcelona, starring Oscar-winning Spanish stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, is also expected to be among the major draws.
Films in competition:
Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey / France / Italy)
Le Silence De Lorna (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, France / Belgium)
A Christmas Story (Arnaud Desplechin, France)
Changeling (Clint Eastwood, USA)
Adoration (Atom Egoyan, Canada)
Waltz With Bashir (Ari Folman, Israel)
La Frontiere De L’Aube (Philippe Garrel, France)
Gomorra (Matteo Garrone, Italy)
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, USA / France)
My Magic (Eric Khoo, Singapore)
La Mujer Sin Cabeza (Lucretia Martel, Argentina / Spain)
Serbis (Brillante Mendoza, Philippines)
Delta (Kornel Mondruczo, Hungary / Germany)
Linha De Passe (Walter Salles, Brazil)
Il Divo (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
Leonera (Pablo Trapero, Argentina / South Korea)
The Palermo Shooting (Wim Wenders, Germany)
24 City (Jia Zhangke, China)
Che (Steven Soderbergh, USA / Spain / France)