Cannes 2009: The global village, all in one French town
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The first Cannes Film Festival press screening for Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” was held at 8:30 a.m. in the midst of a gutter-filling downpour, and yet there were only a handful of empty spots inside the 2,300-seat Grand Théâtre Lumière early this morning. The turnout for the latest movie from the director of “The Piano” was remarkable given the circumstances (and all the late-night partying), but equally noteworthy was the film’s international provenance, an across-all-borders production history that is being repeated with many Cannes titles.
Campion’s first feature since 2003’s “In the Cut,” “Bright Star” follows the love story between the young romantic poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). The New Zealand-born filmmaker’s movie was backed by Australia’s Film Finance Corp., Britain’s BBC Films and UK Film Council and France’s Pathé Renn Productions. It will be distributed in the United States this fall by Bob Berney’s new (and still unnamed) American distribution company.
The second Cannes competition title screening to the press today is the horror movie “Thirst,” a co-production between New York’s Focus Features and South Korea’s CJ Entertainment, who are splitting all costs and revenues. Director Chan-wook Park’s story of a medical experiment gone wrong already has opened in South Korea, where it is generating blockbuster sales. It is scheduled to open in the United States in July.
“The future for people like us is to understand that it’s a big world out there, and you don’t have to speak one language,” said Focus CEO James Schamus. In addition to “Thirst,” Focus’ international co-productions include the Brazilian movie “Adrift,” and it recently released the Spanish-language titles “Sin Nombre” and “Rudo y Cursi.”
The potential global rewards for movies like “Bright Star” and “Thirst” cannot be told by U.S. theatrical grosses alone. Director Ang Lee (who is premiering his latest Focus movie, “Taking Woodstock,” in competition Saturday) released 2007’s “Lust Caution” to modest domestic revenues of just $4.6 million. But the NC-17-rated love story grossed $50 million in Asia alone.
— John Horn
