Cannes:
The Cannes Film Festival opens Tuesday with an action-packed script that includes the return of a Hollywood icon, strike fears, a Donald Trump biography and the shadow of a #MeToo condemnation.
Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola returns with Megalopolis, an epic decades in the making, and is one of the most anticipated entries for this year's top prize, the Palme d'Or. Barbie is one of 22 films vying for the affections of a panel of judges led by director Greta Gerwig, who will announce their verdict on May 25.
Among those walking the red carpet were actors Richard Gere, Demi Moore and Kevin Costner, who star in the new film. Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep and Star Wars creator George Lucas will also receive honorary awards.
And George Miller's latest installment in the Mad Max universe, Furiosa, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, is also set to have its world premiere on Wednesday. But the 77th festival has a darker plot.
The French film industry is facing a belated MeToo reckoning, with a series of accusations against France's biggest star, Gerard Depardieu, and rumors that more accusations against celebrities are ahead of the Cannes Film Festival.
Actress Judith Godreche, who has accused two directors of assaulting her when she was a teenager, presents 'Me Too', a short film aimed at encouraging more women to get involved.
Meanwhile, one of the competition directors, Iran's award-winning Mohammad Rasoulof, <신성한 무화과의 씨앗>was imprisoned in his home country on security charges just days before announcing it. Strikes over pay and conditions that could disrupt events.
Trump, Coppola, Stone
Among the works submitted to the Palme d'Or is Iranian director Ali Abbasi's biopic 'The Apprentice', which depicts the coming-of-age story of President Trump. Sebastian Stan, famous for his role as the Winter Soldier in Marvel movies, plays the lead role.
And Emilia Perez has quite the synopsis. The musical about a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes a sex change to escape authorities was directed by France's Golden Palm winner Jacques Audiard. Pop superstar Selena Gomez appears in a supporting role.
But the hottest ticket is undoubtedly Coppola's Megalopolis on Thursday. The Roman epic set in modern-day New York stars Adam Driver as a pioneering architect trying to rebuild a crumbling city.
Director Lee, 85 years old <아포칼립스 나우>and <더 컨버세이션>Expectations are growing whether it can rival the masterpieces of the 1970s that won the Palme d'Or twice.
Elsewhere, Emma Stone
Movie fans are also looking forward to new works by body horror master David Cronenberg (Shroud), Italian Paolo Sorrentino (Partenope), and Oliver Stone (Brazil President Documentary Lula).
Away from the competition, Costner returns to his favorite genre, the Western, with the epic Horizon, an American Saga. And one of her biggest works of all time in China, She's Got No Name stars megastar Ziyi Zhang and tackles a very sensitive topic of women's rights.
Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animators behind Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle, will receive the honorary Palme d'Or, the first ever given to the group.
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