The 68th annual Cannes Film Festival is getting under way in the south of France.
This year’s festival is being held from May 13 to 24.
Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman are among the notables due to attend.
Other stars, among them Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey, are expected to appear during the 12-day event.
Sienna Miller and Jake Gyllenhaal will sit on a competition jury headed by sibling duo Joel and Ethan Coen.
Cannes Film Festival officially kicks off later with a gala screening of French drama La Tete Haute (Standing Tall).
France is well-represented in the race for the festival’s top prize, making up five of the 19 Palme d’Or entries.
Yet this year’s line-up has been criticized for including a number of films by European film-makers that feature both Hollywood stars and English-language dialogue.
They include Youth, from Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino, which stars Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel as old friends vacationing in the Alps.
Another contentious title is The Lobster, from Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos, which was shot in Dublin and has a cast headed by Colin Farrell.
A more welcomed development this year is the festival’s perceived championing of female film-makers.
La Tete Haute director Emmanuelle Bercot is only the second woman to win the coveted opening night slot since the festival began in 1946.
Director Agnes Varda, who made her name during the French New Wave of the 1960s, will become the first woman to receive an honorary Palme d’Or.
Natalie Portman, meanwhile, is presenting a special screening of her feature directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, about the early years of Israel.
Hotly anticipated titles this year include a new film version of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender in the title role.
Also included in the competition line-up is Todd Haynes’ Carol, in which Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara play lovers in 1950s New York.
Films screening out of competition include Woody Allen’s latest, Irrational Man, and Amy, a documentary about Amy Winehouse that has been called “misleading” by the late singer’s father.
Mad Max: Fury Road will also have a special screening on May 14, the same day the latest installment in the apocalyptic action series opens in cinemas.
Gravity movie leads this year’s BAFTAs, scoring 11 nominations including best film and best British film.
Sandra Bullock is up for best actress, while Alfonso Cuaron is nominated for best director.
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave had 10 nods, with five in the main categories including best film, best director and best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o also landed supporting nominations.
American Hustle equaled 12 Years a Slave‘s tally, with nominations in all the acting categories for its stars Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
The 1970s drama, about two con artists who get entangled with the FBI, is also up for best film, with David O. Russell nominated for best director and original screenplay.
Chiwetel Ejiofor will compete for his award against Christian Bale, Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips, Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street.
The best actress category will see Sandra Bullock challenge Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine, Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks and Judi Dench for Philomena.
The nominations saw Judi Dench set a BAFTA record, with her 15th acting nomination.
That puts her one ahead of Meryl Streep, who was overlooked in the best actress category for August: Osage County.
BAFTA 2014 winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on February 16
Other movies competing for best film include Captain Phillips and Philomena, while the latter is also nominated for best British film alongside Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Saving Mr. Banks, The Selfish Giant and Rush.
Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks and Rush all qualified for the British film category because they were either filmed in the UK, utilized British effects companies or employed other British talent, from writers to producers.
The rules are set out by the BFI’s cultural test, which determines which films are eligible for UK tax relief.
The best director category mirrored that of the Directors Guild of America – which announced its film nominations on Tuesday. Both bodies shortlisted Steve McQueen, Alfonso Cuaron and David O. Russell alongside Paul Greengrass for Captain Phillips and Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street.
Notable snubs in the acting categories included Robert Redford for sea drama All is Lost and Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club – both of whom have been tipped for Oscar consideration this year.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on February 16.
Italian film distributor BiM Distribuzione has apologized after releasing unauthorized posters which promoted white actors over black actors in Twelve Years A Slave.
Unofficial posters for the film gave prominence to white stars Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt over the film’s leading man, Chiwetel Ejiofor.
BiM Distribuzione apologized for the “inappropriate” promotional material.
“We are very proud of the film and regret any distraction this incident may have caused,” a statement said.
“We apologize for creating and releasing unauthorized posters for 12 Years A Slave in Italy featuring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in a manner inconsistent with approved advertising materials,” said BiM on Friday.
BiM Distribuzione has apologized after releasing unauthorized posters which promoted white actors over black actors in Twelve Years A Slave
“All inappropriate materials have now been withdrawn.”
12 Years A Slave tells the true story of New Yorker Solomon Northup who was kidnapped and sold into the slave trade in 1841.
Protagonist Solomon Northup is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, earning him a Golden Globe nomination earlier this month.
Michael Fassbender, who has attracted strong notices for his supporting role, plays a sadistic plantation owner, while Brad Pitt – who is a producer on the film – has a minor role as a laborer.
The posters, which appeared across Italy earlier this week, prompted a widespread criticism on social media, for their focus on Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt.
Responding to criticism, sales agent Lionsgate’s Summit said, earlier in the week, that the posters in Italy were not authorized or approved by the producers of the film.
A statement said the company was “investigating and taking immediate action to stop the distribution of any unauthorized posters and to have those posters currently in the marketplace recalled”.
Jude Law is the latest star to quit troubled production Jane Got a Gun, which has already had director Lynne Ramsay and Michael Fassbender exit the project.
Jane Got a Gun made headlines earlier this week when Scottish director Lynne Ramsay did not arrive on the Santa Fe set for the first day of shooting.
Lynne Ramsay was swiftly replaced by Warrior director Gavin O’Connor, but this did not stop Jude Law also leaving the project.
Michael Fassbender was the first to pull out, citing scheduling conflicts.
The Hunger star’s role was taken by Australian actor Joel Edgerton, who remains with the western alongside its leading lady Natalie Portman and Brazil’s Rodrigo Santoro.
Jude Law is the latest star to quit troubled production Jane Got a Gun, which has already had director Lynne Ramsay and Michael Fassbender exit the project
According to showbiz website Deadline, Jude Law only signed on to the film in order to work with Lynne Ramsay and did not wish to remain following her exit.
That earlier departure drew an exasperated response from the film’s producer Scott Steindorff, who said he was “shocked and disappointed” by Lynne Ramsay’s no-show.
Lynne Ramsay has made no comment about her involvement in the film or the reasons for her departure.
Jane Got a Gun tells of a woman, played by Natalie Portman, who turns to an ex-lover to help her defend her farm against her outlaw husband’s former associates.
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