UPDATE 6:15am–All the films below were confirmed, including the Almodovar. Big surprise! Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver” will be shown.
The official Cannes announcement doesn’t come until tomorrow morning, but a lot of the Cannes Film Festival is shaping up very nicely. With Robert DeNiro heading up the jury, the list of films so far is excellent. I can confirm that Pedro Almodovar is coming with a thriller, “The Skin I Live In,” starring Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon avenging the death of his daughter.
Earlier today the Festival announced Gus van Sant‘s “Restless” will open Un Certain Regard (formerly the Directors’ Fortnight) starring Mia Wasikowska, Schuyler Fisk (the talented daughter of Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk), and Dennis Hopper’s son, Henry Hopper. (His mother is Katherine LaNasa, Hopper’s third wife.) We’re also going to have Woody Allen‘s “Midnight in Paris” as the Cannes-opener, the latest episode of “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” and Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” with Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and maybe Sean’s gf, Scarlett Johansson.
Jack Fisk, Schuyler’s dad, is also Malick’s long time production designer, so you can start to imagine the list of celebs on the Croisette this year. Also, Carla Bruni appears in Woody Allen’s film, so it could mean French president Sarkozy will be on the red carpet opening night. Sacre Bleu! Add those names to Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush— and that’s just a start.