#SHOWBIZ: What to look out for at the Cannes film festival
The glitz and glamour of the Cannes film festival returns to the French Riviera this week.
Here is AFP's selection of the issues, stars and films likely to dominate on and off the red carpet during the May 13 to 24 extravaganza:
More MeToo
He's never been a mainstay of the festival and hasn't made a film in three years, but French cinema legend Gerard Depardieu is likely to be one of the biggest talking points on Day 1 of the festival — for all the wrong reasons.
A judge is Paris is set to hand down a verdict in the first of two criminal trials involving the 'Cyrano de Bergerac' star over sexual assault allegations.
The problem of sexual violence in the film industry was the subject of a highly critical parliamentary inquiry into the industry that published its findings last month.
Trump
As for almost every public event nowadays, from elections to art exhibitions, it's hard to miss the outsized shadow of Donald Trump as he cranks up his "Make America Great Again" revolution.
The cinema industry is still reeling from Trump's weekend announcement of 100-per cent tariffs on foreign-made films, casting uncertainty over the future of overseas productions.
Will the big American stars at the festival dare to speak out? And will European filmmakers demand the same protections from US-made films, which still dominate the box office in many countries?
Hollywood stardust
Tom Cruise, who will attend the premiere of the last instalment of 'Mission: Impossible', and Robert De Niro, who will receive an honorary Palme d'Or, will be two of the biggest Hollywood stars in town.
Cruise has made a point of avoiding politics throughout his career, and De Niro struggles to find words harsh enough to describe Trump who he has branded "evil", a "pig" and a "dog" in the past.
Other American actors in attendance are Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington, Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, while Jeremy Strong and Halle Berry are on the jury.
Stars-turned-directors
As well as appearing in Wes Anderson's latest film 'The Phoenician Scheme', Scarlett Johansson is set to present her directorial debut 'Eleanor the Great' in the secondary Un Certain Regard competition.
She will be up against fellow American actress-turned-director Kristen Stewart, who will also showcase her first film behind the camera, 'The Chronology of Water', in the same category.
Harris Dickinson, 28, who recently appeared as Nicole Kidman's lover in 'Babygirl', completes a trio of stars-turned-directors at Cannes with his film 'Urchin'.
Gaza
A day after Cannes announced that a documentary about Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna was set to be screened at the parallel ACID festival, her home was bombed by the Israeli army, killing her and 10 relatives.
The outrage over her death has increased interest in the film, 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk' by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, which reveals Hassouna as a luminous but increasingly fraught figure.
Palestinian twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser will showcase their latest film 'Once Upon a Time In Gaza', a tale of murder and friendship set in the war-torn territory, in the Un Certain Regard section.
Main competition
More than 20 films are competing for the coveted Palme d'Or for best film in a selection that includes some Cannes stalwarts, as well as a new generation of directors.
Perennial favourites Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who have two Palme d'Ors already, return with their latest film 'Young Mothers' about five young women in a maternity home in their native Belgium.
Motherhood looks set to be a recurring theme in Cannes, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s is the backdrop for two in-competition films, 'Alpha' by Julia Ducournau and 'Romeria' by Carla Simon.
British actor Josh O'Connor will head up the red carpet in two contenders, 'The History of Sound' by South Africa's Oliver Hermanus and 'The Mastermind' by Kelly Reichardt.
Two Iranian films, 'A Simple Accident' by Jafar Panahi and 'Mother and Child' by Saeed Roustaee, will also be closely scrutinised — in Cannes and by Iran's censors.
Both filmmakers have faced legal problems and prison terms over their past work.
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Opinion: Tim Cook should have known Trump would eventually sour on him and Apple
Tim Cook tried. He tried really hard. Tried deftly to stay on Donald Trump's good side, such as it is. Tried to avoid the glare of a president who'll gut you if you dare disagree. Who'll sic the Department of his justice on you if you don't waltz to his whims or nod approvingly at his nuttiness. Tried to dodge the crosshairs of Trump's tariff two-step with China, which would significantly impact the world's most valuable company's bottom line – likely jacking up the cost of your next iToy. In January, the soft-spoken, Alabama-born Apple CEO sat discreetly among the numerous business moguls who attended the president's indoor inauguration. Understandably so, whether he wanted to be there or not. Indeed, Cook was occasionally captured with the expression of someone who'd just gulped down a tablespoon of Castor Oil. Back in the day, that nasty stuff cured all. At least for a time. And for a time, Cook succeeded. During Trump's first term five years ago, he called Cook a 'great executive' (mainly because Cook called him when many other business leaders didn't) and was persuaded to offer Apple at least a temporary exemption from any tariff against Chinese-made imports. In February, Trump giddily praised the CEO when Apple announced it would invest US$500bil (RM2.1 trillion) in the US over the next four years. Plans included hiring people and expanding facilities in nine states, as well as building a new AI server production factory in Texas and a training academy in Detroit. 'THANK YOU TIM COOK AND APPLE!!!' the president all-capped on Truth Social. One sceptical Wall Street analyst – is there any other kind? – touted Cook's delicate navigation of Trump's mindfield of tariff irrationality, yet poked the CEO just a tad, calling him '10% politician, 90% CEO.' Indeed, a day later, Cook tiptoed along the Trump tightrope after Apple shareholders overwhelmingly voted (97% overwhelmingly) to fully retain the company's policies and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion – those dirty words Trump is trying to soap-scrub from our lips. The president fumed over the vote on Truth Social: 'Apple should get rid of DEI rules, not just make amendments to them. DEI was a hoax that has been very bad for our country. DEI is gone!' Cook affirmed to shareholders: 'We'll continue to work together to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work.' Yet he also acknowledged that Apple might have to tweak its policies under the weight of legal challenges. He really tried. But he should have known. Heck, he had to have known. I'm not just saying so because Trump's petty proclivities are as transparent as cheap tissues, but because I've twice been able to sit down with Cook during his visits to Alabama. Been able to look him in the eye and talk about the value of education, about his appreciation of Rev. Martin Luther King, about Alabama. He's deep-thinking and approachable. In 2018, he told me: 'How do we as a state – I'm not a resident any longer but an 'interested outsider' – how do we give everyone equal access to a quality education so that everyone can realise the American Dream?' And he meant everyone. Two years later, Cook was in Birmingham to celebrate Apple's investment in transforming a historic downtown building into a coding incubator called Ed Farm. 'It's important that people know the art of the possible,' Cook told me that day, 'and the way to do that is to learn to code, even if you have no desire to code' He likely knew. Knew that only a slight slight – even a perceived slight – could cause his standing with Trump to slip and land on its iTush. Never mind that Cook may have had better things to do last month than board the presidential party plane for Trump's CashApp-me tour of the Middle East. To watch him be fawned over and open gifts like a birthday kid, including the used US$400mil (RM1.7bil) Boeing 'gift' from Trump's new besties in Qatar. An aircraft at least one expert believes might be a security risk. Possible listening devices on the plane, said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory and an aviation analyst to NPR, could compromise all of us. Air Force One (the real one) is built for 'basically surviving a worst-case scenario like a nuclear war, or to avoid an aggressive pursuer,' he said. '(It is) more survivable and far more capable than a traditional passenger jet.' Even a US$400mil one. Cook missed the trip, and suddenly he's the bully's bullseye. Top dogs at Nvidia, BlackRock, OpenAI, Citigroup and the semiconductor company AMD scanned their boarding passes and tagged along. They knew. Cook should have known. At one event in Riyadh, Trump turned to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and said, 'I mean, Tim Cook isn't here, but you are.' It was over, right then. Cook was cooked. We all should have ordered every iThing right then because it was coming. It came. Last week, after Apple side-stepped the China tariff by deciding to build more iPhones in India, the president slapped a 25% tariff on Apple products. Period. Not on an industry. Not on a category of products. On your next iPhone. Between that and da plane (homage to late actor Herve Villechaize, who made the phrase famous at the start of each episode of the cult-fav TV show Fantasy Island ), Cook should have known. This may be Cook's only saving grace (beyond continued silence): Trump recently earned the moniker TACO from folks at the Wall Street Journal : Trump Always Chickens Out on tariffs. So Trump could flip on Cook, re-embrace the Apple CEO – and spare us beleaguered iPhone users. Until then, Tim, here's another acronym: TABU – Trump Always Betrays You. You should have seen it coming. – News Service
