Every year in May, the beautiful, the glamorous and the self-important flock to Cannes, a city on the French Riviera and host to one of the most prestigious film festivals on the calendar. There’s never any shortage of star wattage as actors, filmmakers and cashed-up producers converge, decked out in glittering gowns and tuxedos as they walk the red carpet or party on hired yachts. The 2024 event was no different with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Demi Moore, Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner, Isabelle Huppert and Michelle Yeoh strutting their stuff on the Promenade de la Croisette.
It was also, of course, about the movies. With 22 in the official competition for Cannes’ highest award, the Palme d’Or, to be awarded on Sunday Australian time, the attention was mostly on which films were a hit and which were a fizzer. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
The big, buzzy premieres included Costner’s three-hour long western Horizon: An American Saga, the first of four promised movies. He mortgaged one of his estates to self-finance the $US100 million ($151m) budget. It also stars Sienna Miller and Abbey Lee, and is an expansive story following a raft of characters making the perilous journey west at the end of the American Civil War.
The reviews ranged from mixed to negative, but that won’t stop Costner fans, especially those of his popular TV drama Yellowstone, flock to see him riding yet another horse. Australian distributor.