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Elijah Wood, from left, and director Peter Jackson, recipient of the honorary Palme d’Or, pose for photographers during the opening ceremony of the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/Scott Garfitt\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
Jury member Demi Moore poses for photographers at the jury photo call at the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
John Locher\/John Locher\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
Jury members Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, left, and Demi Moore pose for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/Scott Garfitt\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
Jane Fonda poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Andreea Alexandru\/Andreea Alexandru\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
Peter Jackson poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
John Locher\/John Locher\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
Farhana Bodi poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/Scott Garfitt\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n
CANNES, France (AP) \u2014 The 79th Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday with politics, artificial intelligence and the shifting priorities of Hollywood taking center stage at the global film gathering on the French Riviera.<\/p>\n
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The festival launched with a tribute to director Peter Jackson, handing the \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d filmmaker an honorary Palme d\u2019Or. He was introduced by actor Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in Jackson’s fantasy franchise, one of many notable faces on the Cannes red carpet, including Bong Joon Ho, Joan Collins, Heidi Klum and James Franco.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI’ve never figured out why I’m getting a Palme d’Or. I’m not a Palme d’Or sorta guy,\u201d said the shaggy haired New Zealand filmmaker.<\/p>\n
Jackson was then serenaded with a rendition of the song \u201cGet Back,\u201d a nod to his lauded 2021 documentary about The Beatles. The director sat stage right mouthing the lyrics.<\/p>\n
Jane Fonda and the Chinese-Singaporean star Gong Li officially opened the festival, with Fonda declaring: \u201cCinema has always been an act of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a fitting observation for a film festival that has already seen politics take center stage. At the introduction of the jury that will decide the Palme d\u2019Or, Cannes\u2019 top honor, jury members spoke bluntly about holding a film festival during a time of geopolitical conflict.<\/p>\n
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The Palme d’Or jury weighs politics in film <\/p>\n
Paul Laverty, the Scottish screenwriter known for his films with director Ken Loach, pointed toward this year’s Cannes poster, of \u201cThelma and Louise,\u201d while discussing attending Cannes during what he called \u201cgenocide in Gaza.\u201d Quoting \u201cKing Lear,\u201d he said: \u201cMadmen lead the blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCannes has a wonderful poster,\u201d said Laverty. \u201cIsn\u2019t it fascinating to see some of them like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza? Shame on Hollywood people who do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nine-member jury is being presided over by Park Chan-wook, the South Korean filmmaker of \u201cOldboy\u201d and \u201cNo Other Choice,\u201d who said that politics and cinema go hand in hand.<\/p>\n
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\u201cArt and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other,\u201d said Park. \u201cOne cannot disqualify a film on the pretext that it has a political message. Just as one cannot reject a film because it would not be political enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other jury members include Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd, Ruth Negga and Demi Moore, who two years ago was celebrated in Cannes for her comeback performance in \u201cThe Substance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore spoke about a topic that’s already dominated conversation at this year’s festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is here, and so to fight it is to, in a sense, to fight something that is a battle that we will lose,\u201d she said. \u201cSo to find ways in which we can work with it, I think, is a more valuable path,\u201d she said. \u201cAre we doing enough to protect ourselves? I don\u2019t know. My inclination would be to say probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Hollywood takes a hiatus<\/p>\n
What isn\u2019t at Cannes has been as buzzed about as much as what is. Hollywood is largely absent this year.<\/p>\n
While recent blockbusters like \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d and \u201cElvis\u201d have touched down at previous incarnations, studio films this year have been either scared away by the possibility of a rocky reception or by the high cost of flying in A-listers to the Cote d\u2019Azur. The closest thing in Cannes’ slate is an anniversary celebration for \u201cFast & Furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cannes artistic director Thierry Fr\u00e9maux said Hollywood \u201cis reshaping\u201d in the midst of Paramount Skydance\u2019s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI hope the studio films will come back,\u201d Fr\u00e9maux told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n
Oscar season starts early<\/p>\n
Cannes has become better known for its lengthy standing ovations than its boos.<\/p>\n
This year, a long list of big-name filmmakers will have center stage. Among the filmmakers set to unveil new movies are Pedro Almodovar (\u201cBitter Christmas\u201d), James Gray (\u201cPaper Tiger\u201d), Na Hong-jin (\u201cHope\u201d), Pawel Pawlikowski (\u201cFatherland\u201d) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (\u201cAll of a Sudden\u201d).<\/p>\n
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If Cannes has waned as a global launchpad for studio releases, it has grown as a breeding ground for Oscar contenders.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Sean Baker\u2019s \u201cAnora\u201d won the Palme before winning best picture. Last year, Cannes selections like \u201cSentimental Value,\u201d \u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d and \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d went on to play prominent roles in awards season.<\/p>\n
More often than not, the specialty distributor Neon has been at the forefront of the Cannes-to-Oscars pipeline. Neon has backed the past six Palme d\u2019Or winners, an unprecedented streak that it may be poised to extend. The company is attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films in competition for the Palme d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n
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While Cannes may be light on big Hollywood movies, it isn\u2019t lacking in stars. Set to appear over the next two weeks are Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, Sandra H\u00fcller and many others.<\/p>\n
How much any of this will serve as backdrop for \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d remains to be seen. The fourth season of Mike White\u2019s acclaimed HBO series is based around a trip to Cannes. Last month, the show began shooting on the French Riviera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elijah Wood, from left, and director Peter Jackson, recipient of the honorary Palme d’Or, pose for photographers during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10341,10325,10508,10377,10333,10328,10340,10509,5,4830,10504,4785,10506,10327,10505,6898,10507,10503,10332,10501,10339,5471,28,144,10499,10337,10331,10326,138,146,143,6105,145,10334,10500,10335,10338,10330,10329,10502,10336],"class_list":{"0":"post-14086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-adam-driver","9":"tag-barbra-streisand","10":"tag-bong-joon-ho","11":"tag-cannes-film-festival-france-palme-dor-hollywood","12":"tag-cate-blanchett","13":"tag-chloe-zhao","14":"tag-demi-moore","15":"tag-elijah-wood","16":"tag-france","17":"tag-gaza","18":"tag-gong-li","19":"tag-heidi-klum","20":"tag-james-franco","21":"tag-james-gray","22":"tag-jane-fonda","23":"tag-javier-bardem","24":"tag-joan-collins","25":"tag-ken-loach","26":"tag-kristen-stewart","27":"tag-mark-ruffalo","28":"tag-michael-fassbender","29":"tag-mike-white","30":"tag-package-100024-ap-online","31":"tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","32":"tag-paul-laverty","33":"tag-pawel-pawlikowski","34":"tag-pedro-almodovar","35":"tag-peter-jackson","36":"tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","37":"tag-product-31388-premium-entertainment","38":"tag-product-33328-ap-premium-entertainment-other","39":"tag-product-33330-ap-premium-entertainment-movies","40":"tag-product-46986-ap-online-top-stories","41":"tag-rami-malek","42":"tag-ruth-negga","43":"tag-ryusuke-hamaguchi","44":"tag-sandra-huller","45":"tag-sean-baker","46":"tag-sebastian-stan","47":"tag-susan-sarandon","48":"tag-thierry-fremaux"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}