Hollywood won't be making it to Cannes this year.
The world's most important film festival kicks off on May 12 with a lineup of new movies from some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in global arthouse cinema — Pedro Almodovar, Asghar Farhadi, Pawel Pawlikowski, Cristian Mungiu — but not a single film from a US major studio. There'll be no red carpet spectacle to rival last year's premiere of "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" or earlier Cannes launches like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mad Max: Fury Road."
Is Cannes giving Hollywood the cold shoulder? Not exactly.
There are US films in the lineup. In the Competition section, Ira Sachs brings the musical fantasy "The Man I Love," starring Rami Malek, alongside James Gray's "Paper Tiger," with Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Out of competition, John Travolta makes his directorial debut with "Propeller One-Way Night Coach," a passion project centered on aviation, and Andy Garcia directs and stars in the crime drama "Diamond."
Scarlett Johansson returns to Cannes this year with competition entry 'Paper Tiger'Image: SGP/Sipa USA/picture allianceWhat's missing are the big-budget studio tentpoles — the crowd-pleasing counterweight to Cannes' traditional diet of serious auteur cinema, the popcorn snack in-between the more filling movies.
