The Great Gatsby to open Cannes Film Festival
The Great Gatsby will open the 66th Cannes Film Festival on May 15, playing out of competition in the official selection. This magnificent drama is the ideal aperitif to a year's worth of films shown in the glamorous Festival, which lasts little more than one week until May 26.
Leonardo DiCarpio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan star in The Great Gatsby, Warner Bros. latest adaptation of F. Scott Firzgerald's 1925 novel. This Warner Bros. production was originally due for release last December 25, but the launch was re-scheduled for May 10 to avoid going head to head with another DiCaprio starrer Django Unchained.
Gatsby will be the second film to screen in 3D at the festival after Up in 2009. It premieres in France the day the festival commences.
The film was directed by Baz Luhrmann, best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! Originally from Sydney, the film director, screenwriter and producer is also renowned for his movie Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.
Luhrmann's career has brought him to the French Riviera before. His Moulin Rouge! opened Cannes in 2001, while his Strictly Ballroom screened in Un Certain Regard in 1992.
Last year, Moonrise Kingdom was the film to open the festival, which took place from May 16 to May 27. The President of the Jury was the Italian film director Nanni Moretti. This year, the President of the Juri will be the American film director Steven Spielberg.
The Cannes International Film Festival was founded in 1946 and is one of the most prestigious and publicised film festivals in the world. The invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.