Cannes Diary #2: Sweet cruel nature and Hollywood's top gun

by Elisa Giudici

Did Tom Cruise save Cannes Film Festival on the very first day? Well, he surely helped the 75th edition with old school star power. Thierry Frémaux welcomed Tom Cruise as a king, a savior, or maybe just a big Hollywood player willing to lend all of his charismatic  in order to give a sense of a grandiose overture.

Considering how good reviews are for Top Gun: Maverick, Cannes needed Cruise more than Cruise needed Cannes. Nevertheless, the actor presented himself as an ally of festivals and theatres, a strong advocate of in-person cinematic experiences. In the dedicated Q&A, Cruise said that during the pandemic he reassured even the popcorn guy at his local cinema, who had phoned him to know if Top Gun Maverick could end up on a streaming platform as an exclusive. 'No way!' Wait, the popcorn guy at Cruise’s nearest cinema has his phone number? was my first reaction. Well, Cruise is for sure #TeamGoingToTheTheatre. He claims he goes regularly himself, wearing a cap so he's not recognized...

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Cannes at Home: Day 2 - Breakdowns and rebellions

by Cláudio Alves

The first day of Main Competition screenings saw the premiere of a few film by Kirill Serebrennikov, and a collaboration from Felix van Groeningen, and Charlotte Vandermeersch.  Tchaikovsky's Wife (read Elisa's review) marks the third time Serebrennikov competes for the Palme d'Or, but the first time he's been at the Croisette. In the last few years, he's forbidden from exiting Russia after being convicted of deviating state funds for the Gogol Center in Moscow, a subterfuge for punishing an artist who's consistently spoken against Putin's regime. The other screening was less politically charged in comparison. The Eight Mountains (read Elisa's review) is the first directorial collaboration of Groeningen and Vandermeersch, though they previously wrote the screenplay for Groeningen's The Broken Circle Breakdown. Moreover, it's Vandermeersch's debut as a director and is the first of five competition titles directed or co-directed by women – a record in Cannes history.

For the Cannes at Home miniseries, today's films are The Broken Circle Breakdown and Serebrennikov's Leto...

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Almost There: Timothée Chalamet in “Beautiful Boy”

by Cláudio Alves

Timothée Chalamet is the star of the moment, with two big projects now in theaters:Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. After his breakthrough as Call Me By Your Name’s Elio, the young actor’s rise was meteoric, resulting in a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar nomination and countless opportunities. Since 2017, though, Chalamet hasn’t been able to recapture the Academy’s attention despite having some buzzy projects. Until now, the closest he ever came to a second nomination was in Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy. The film was based on the real-life story of drug addiction and familial bonds detailed in David and Nic Sheff’s memoirs. Hollywood’s current favorite twink is heartbreaking in the titular role…

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Yes No Maybe So: Beautiful Boy

by Ben Miller

After a seemingly endless tease, we finally got the trailer for one of the most anticipated films of the year: Amazon Studio's Beautiful Boy.  Based on the memoirs of journalist David Sheff and his son Nic, the film follows David struggling through years of his son's addiction. Oscar-nominated Steve Carell steps into the role of David, while freshly Oscar-nominated Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) plays his son Nic. Let’s dive right in with another addition of Yes, No, Maybe So...

YES

• Love trailers that start out of nowhere!  My guess is that this diner scene is at least two-thirds of the way through the film

• Carell looks to be in a quieter grief-stricken dramatic role, like he had in Last Flag Flying last year.  If that performance is any indication of what to expect, I am in.

• Chalamet has really turned into a Hollywood wunderkind...

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