The hot commodity in Cannes this year isn’t a breakthrough starlet, bad-boy director or esteemed auteur — it’s Amazon Studios.
The e-commerce giant’s fledgling film division turned heads across the industry last month by leading the festival lineup with five films, three of which will vie for the coveted Palme d’Or.
“When I was starting out as a producer, we always wanted to ordain ourselves by being selected by Cannes,” Amazon’s Head of Motion Pictures, Production and Acquisitions Ted Hope told TheWrap. “It means so much for us as a new company to have five films there.”
Woody Allen‘s “Café Society,” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, will formally open the festival with its world premiere, as the director has previously done with the 2011 hit “Midnight in Paris” and his lesser-known 2002 ensemble piece “Hollywood Ending.”
Hope is also thrilled to re-team Eisenberg and Stewart, as he produced their first joint effort, 2009’s “Adventureland.” “I’m not sure they’re Bogie and Bacall but it’s their third outing and the chemistry between them is undeniable,” Hope said.
Amazon also has a diverse and impressive competitive slate from directors Nicolas Winding Refn, Park Chan-wook and Jim Jarmusch. Refn’s latest, “The Neon Demon,” is an abstract horror-thriller with Elle Fanning, a marriage of “Black Swan” and a bevy of Instagram models that hopes to garner attention thanks to its dark and glamorous aesthetics. Korean director Park Chan-wook, of “Stoker” fame, brings his highly anticipated adaptation of the novel “The Handmaiden,” about a wealthy woman who falls in love with a thief. And Cannes regular Jarmusch returns with “Paterson,” starring Adam Driver as a bus driver with a secret gift for poetry. Jarmusch’s Iggy Pop documentary “Gimme Danger” will also premiere in the festival’s midnight section.
Amazon’s acceptance at Cannes (and dominance, for that matter) signals that the establishment might be warming to SVOD players and their big ambitions. Amazon has staged a full-on charm offensive, most recently with global theater exhibitors at April’s CinemaCon, and rattled Netflix’s cage by breaking out their Prime Video service as a cheaper, comparable alternative.
Bob Berney, who heads markeing and distribution, said there’s no set strategy. “I wish we could say it’s a plan and we have it all figured out, but we went for the visionary filmmakers. It so happens Cannes does, too,” Berney told TheWrap.
Don’t be surprised, however, if Amazon stays true to its brand and does some shopping while in France. “I think Amazon’s presence will be felt through the whole festival,” Hope said. “We don’t have to acquire to just acquire, we have a super-strong slate.
“But, yeah, if we can see this year’s ‘Son of Saul,’ we’re going to go for it.”
25 Buzziest Movies at Cannes 2016, From Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' to 'Purple Rain'
"Cafe Society"
The last time Woody Allen had Cannes' opening-night movie was 2011's "Midnight in Paris," which landed four Oscar nominations.
"Julieta"
Pedro Almodóvar's 20th movie focuses on women, an approach that has led to many of his most notable films.
"Loving"
Five years after winning Cannes' Critics Week competition with "Take Shelter," American director Jeff Nichols is back with a true story of an interracial Virginia couple fighting unjust laws in the 1960s.
"American Honey"
One of three female directors (versus 17 men) in the main competition, Andrea Arnold makes grimy, tough movies; her first film set in the United States deals with a runaway teenage girl and features Shia LaBeouf.
"The Neon Demon"
Nicolas Winding Refn’s last two Cannes movies have been the very good “Drive” and the very bad “Only God Forgives,” making this horror film with Elle Fanning and Keanu Reeves a fascinating risk.
"Personal Shopper"
Kristen Stewart became the first American actress to win France’s version of the Oscar, the Cesar, for Olivier Assayas’ last film, “Clouds of Sils Maria.” Now she’s back (playing, um, a personal shopper) in a new Assayas film.
"Slack Bay"
Adventurous French director Bruno Dumont will be going to Cannes for the sixth time with this comedic film set in 1910; if it's like his other work, it'll be divisive.
A documentary made with the cooperation of living entertainers runs the risk of being a sentimental puff piece, but directors Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens have an ace in the hole is the acid wit of Carrie Fisher, who’s not likely to countenance a sappy look at her life with her famous mother.
"Neruda"
Before Chilean director Pablo Larrain unveils his Jackie Kennedy biopic with Natalie Portman, he tackles another icon, Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda.
"Gimme Danger"
Here's another icon: punk-rock godfather Iggy Pop, who gets the documentary treatment from Jim Jarmusch (who's also at Cannes with his fictional feature film "Paterson").
"Elle"
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has made hits ("Robocop," "Basic Instinct") and bombs ("Showgirls"); his new film is a thriller starring Cannes regular Isabelle Huppert as a rape victim who stalks her assailant.
"The Last Face"
Sean Penn's fifth film as director, a romantic drama starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem, would likely be worth checking out even if it wasn't for the voyeuristic thrill of seeing Penn and Theron on the red carpet less than a year after their relationship broke up.
"The Unknown Girl"
The Dardenne brothers had a real movie star, Marion Cotillard, in the last film they took to Cannes, but now they’re back with their usual cast of unknowns and non-pros in this story of a doctor trying to discover the identity of a young woman who died.
"The BFG"
Recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance reunites with director Steven Spielberg for this Roald Dahl adaptation, one of the few Hollywood studio productions using Cannes as a launching pad.
"Aquarius"
Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho's 2013 film debut "Neighboring Sounds" was a small gem, raising expectations for his second outing as director.
"Dog Eat Dog"
With writer-director Paul Schrader (who directed "Affliction" and wrote "Taxi Driver") and stars Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, the closing-night film in the Directors' Fortnight section promises to be combustible.
"The Dancer"
Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, plays Isadora Duncan in Stéphanie Di Giusto's biographical drama about Duncan and modern dance pioneer Loie Fuller.
"The Red Turtle"
Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit won an Oscar for his animated short "Father and Daughter," and now he’s the first non-Japanese director to have a film released by Studio Ghibli.
"Risk"
On the heels of her Oscar-winning Edward Snowden documentary "Citizenfour," Laura Poitras turns to another controversial figure, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
"It's Only the End of the World"
Xavier Dolan’s sixth film is his fifth to go to Cannes, and his second in the main competition after last year’s daring “Mommy.” By the way, the Canadian director is only 27.
"The Transfiguration"
A first-time director gets into Cannes with an American indie horror movie? Michael O'Shea did, much to his surprise.
"Sierranevada"
Two heavyweight Romanian filmmakers are considered strong contenders for the Palme d'Or; the first is Cristi Puiu ("The Death of Mr. Lazarescu"), with this near-three-hour family drama.
"Bacalaureat"
The other Romanian director in the main competition is Cristian Mungiu, with a small-town drama that comes to Cannes nine years after his "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" won the Palme d'Or.
"Mal de Pierres" ("From the Land of the Moon")
French director Nicole Garcia, one of the three female directors in competition, cast Marion Cotillard in her adaptation of the Milena Agus novel about a woman at the end of World War II.
