Quelle Horreur! Cannes Film Festival Bans Selfies on Red Carpet

Quelle horreur! Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux has taken a direct shot at one of the staples of modern celebrity culture, banning selfies on the red carpet of this year’s event.

“The triviality and slowdown of flow caused by the disorder of selfies ruins the quality of the red carpet,” Fremaux explained in an interview with Le Film Francais magazine posted Friday.

Fremaux also announced plans to eliminate all press and public screenings of films ahead of the official premiere at the Palais in the French Riviera resort city.

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Critics will instead attend screenings at 7 p.m. at the same time as the premiere screening — or the morning after, in the case of 10 p.m. premieres.

“It will be absolute suspense,” Fremaux said.

The move followed years of criticism that reviews that hit before the official screening often put a damper on the buzz of the premiere itself, when filmmakers and star don tuxes and gowns to climb the long red staircase outside the festival’s main theater.

This year’s festival runs from May 8-19.