Cannes Opening Night: Festival Workers Briefly Protest Red Carpet, Deadline Shut Down From Filming
Around a dozen Cannes staffers, covertly stationed next to the red carpet, blew whistles and held red Sous Les Écrans La Dèche placards as the Cannes jury led by Juliette Binoche made their way into the opening night gala.
More from Deadline
Matt Rife To Star In Comedy 'The Escort' For 'Wedding Crashers' Director David Dobkin; Upgrade & UTA Launching For Cannes Market
Mubi Deep Dive: Founder Efe Cakarel & Content Boss Jason Ropell Lift The Lid On Rapid Growth & Next Steps...But What Does The Industry Think?
Maya Hawke & Rhys Ifans Set For Aisling Walsh's Lucia Joyce Biopic As The Veterans Boards Sales - Cannes
The protest was almost immediately shut off by armed police. We captured footage of the brief demonstration, which you can view below. However, Deadline's journalist was barred from filming the demonstration by a festival official. The official told us on the ground, 'Sometimes you're allowed to film but sometimes not.'
We broke the news earlier today that Cannes staffers were planning protests at this evening's opening ceremony to raise awareness of their working conditions. The group of protestors is organized under the unofficial union Sous Les Écrans La Dèche, which includes 300 film festival workers from across France, including staff who work on the Cannes Official Selection, the festival's Marché du Film, and parallel sections of Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week.
The group's main objectives are the same as we reported ahead of last year's Cannes Film Festival, during which they executed similar small demonstrations. They want to be included in France's unique unemployment insurance program for entertainment workers and technicians. Known as Intermittence de Spectacle, the scheme supports entertainment workers on short-term contracts with an unemployment benefit when they are between jobs or projects. The payments are funded through taxes paid by employers. Due to quirks in the regulations, many workers at French film festivals have long been excluded from the unemployment benefit. Instead, they are hired and handed flat short-term contracts. The collective is campaigning to be included in the scheme, citing the inherent seasonal nature of the work.
The Sous les Écrans la Dèche movement has some high-profile supporters. French filmmaker Justine Triet wore the group's bright red pin on her suit lapel as she walked the red carpet for Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall at Cannes in 2023. This year's Cannes Film Festival jury member Payal Kapadia was wearing the same pin as she debuted All We Imagine as Light on the Croisette in 2024.
Cannes opens this evening with Leave One Day by first-time French filmmaker Amelie Bonnin. The festival runs until May 24.
Best of Deadline
Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025
2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Quentin Tarantino finally reveals why he ‘pulled the plug' on ‘The Movie Critic' as his 10th and final film
Been there, done that. Director Quentin Tarantino, 62, has finally revealed why he decided to scrap 'The Movie Critic' as his 10th and final film. 'No one's waiting for this thing, per se,' the famous filmmaker began on Friday's episode of 'The Church of Tarantino' podcast. 'I mean, I can do it whenever I want. I mean, it's already written. So okay, let me just not start it right now.' 7 Quentin Tarantino at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on May 17, 2025. FilmMagic 'Let me try writing it as a movie, and let me see if it's better that way. And I was like, 'Oh, okay, no, I think this is going to be the movie.' And then it wasn't,' he continued. 'I pulled the plug on it. And the reason I pulled the plug is a little crazy.' 'The Movie Critic,' which the 'Pulp Fiction' director announced in March 2023, started as an eight-part series before Tarantino reworked the script into a feature-length film. However, in April 2024, it was revealed that the 'Kill Bill' filmmaker had abandoned the movie for a different project. 7 Quentin Tarantino at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on May 13, 2025. AFP via Getty Images 'But there was a challenge that I gave to myself when I did it,' Tarantino continued. 'Can I take the most boring profession in the world and make it an interesting movie?' 'Every Tarantino title promises so much, except 'The Movie Critic,'' he explained. 'Who wants to see a TV show about a f–king movie critic? Who wants to see a movie called 'The Movie Critic'? If I can actually make a movie or a TV show about somebody who watches movies interesting, that is an accomplishment.' 7 Quentin Tarantino at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on May 17, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Tarantino also dispelled 'bulls–t' rumors that 'The Movie Critic' was a direct sequel to 2019's 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,' which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in the leading roles. 'It's a spiritual sequel to 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' insofar as they take place in the same world and they take place in the same town,' he clarified. 'But there were no crossover characters. Cliff Booth was never in 'The Movie Critic.' That's all a bunch of bulls–t. That never was the case ever, ever, ever.' 7 Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2019's 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.' ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection Before scrapping it for a different mystery project last year, Tarantino revealed that 'The Movie Critic' was set in 1977 California and 'based on a guy who really lived but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.' But unlike his eight other movies, and despite not being a direct sequel, Tarantino admitted that 'The Movie Critic' would have been too similar to 'Once Upon a Time…' 7 Quentin Tarantino in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 1, 2025. SL, Terma / BACKGRID 'I wasn't really excited about dramatizing what I wrote when I was in pre-production, partly because I'm using the skillset that I learned from 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' of 'How are we going to turn Los Angeles into the Hollywood of 1969 without using CGI?'' he explained. 'It was something we had to pull off. We had to achieve it. It wasn't for sure that we could do it,' Tarantino added. ''The Movie Critic,' there was nothing to figure out. I already kind of knew, more or less, how to turn L.A. into an older time. It was too much like the last one.' 7 Quentin Tarantino at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on May 13, 2025. GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Meanwhile, there is a 'Once Upon a Time…' spinoff sequel in active development at Netflix – although the 'Reservoir Dogs' filmmaker is only writing and producing the project. 'The Adventures of Cliff Booth,' which sees Brad Pitt reprise his 'Once Upon a Time…' character, is being directed by David Fincher. 7 Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.' ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection Tarantino ended the podcast by insisting that he is not worried about releasing his 10th and allegedly final film – and that fans shouldn't be worried either. 'It's a little crazy to listen to podcasts and hear all these amateur psychiatrists psychoanalyze as if they f–king know what they're talking about about what's going on with me, about how I'm so scared, alright, of my 10th film,' Tarantino said. ''Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm so fragile about my legacy. What's going on? I'm paralyzed with fear!,'' he concluded. 'I'm not paralyzed with fear. Trust me.'
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
e.l.f. Cosmetics, under fire for Matt Rife ad, says 'we missed the mark'
Move over, American Eagle: popular beauty company e.l.f. Cosmetics is the latest brand to come under fire for an ad campaign. The budget beauty brand shared the campaign on Aug. 11, starring comedian Matt Rife and drag queen Heidi N Closet playing the role of lawyers. The video is set at the fictional 'Law Offices of & Schmarnes," a play on the real-life law firm Cellino & Barnes. In a parody of the real firm's iconic commercials of the 1990s and 2000s, Rife and Closet act as 'affordable beauty attorneys" who have gone to "e.l.f. court for millions of clients, helping them to access beauty products they deserve at prices that won't injure their livelihoods." 'I know a thing or two about red flags. And pricey makeup? You deserve better than that,' Rife says in the ad, which ends with the pair encouraging viewers to call '1-855-COLD-HARD-LASH." Many fans quickly took issue with the inclusion of Rife, who has previously sparked controversy and backlash from women, particularly after a domestic violence joke he made in his debut Netflix special. Here's what to know about the latest incident involving e.l.f. Who is Matt Rife and why is he controversial? Rife, 29, gained widespread popularity in 2022 when videos of his stand-up comedy, specifically his crowd work, went viral on TikTok. He had previously appeared in a few small roles on reality and traditional television, making it to the semifinals of the comedy competition show "Bring the Funny" in 2019. Rife had ruffled some feathers with his quips over the years, but the real backlash came with the release of his Netflix special "Natural Selection" in November 2023. The special, which received mixed reviews, was what Rife himself described as an attempt at appealing to a male audience after his rise to fame was largely attributed to female supporters. "And that's one thing that I wanted to tackle in this special was showing people that, like, despite what you think about me online, I don't pander my career to women," he said in an interview with Variety. "I would argue this special is way more for guys." Rife opened the special with a joke about domestic violence, telling a story about visiting a "ratchet" restaurant in Baltimore with his friend and noticing a female server had a black eye. As the story goes, the duo wondered why the establishment wouldn't keep the server in the kitchen to avoid customers seeing her injury. "Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn't have that black eye," he quipped. "I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing." Continued backlash Rife's response to subsequent backlash landed him in even deeper water when he posted a fake apology on his Instagram story. "If you've ever been offended by a joke I've told, here's a link to my official apology," he wrote alongside a link that led to a website selling "special needs helmets." These jokes, paired with several others disparaging women throughout the special, left a bad taste in the mouths of people who were once his core audience. Rife, who later faced a controversy over allegedly making inappropriate comments to a 6-year-old child online, acknowledged again on an episode of the "BFF's Pod" podcast that while women were responsible for his success, he was steering away from catering to that audience. "Without women, I would've never gained the momentum I did on social media, and I'm so grateful for that," he said. "But in doing that, a lot of dudes didn't like that. ... I feel like my comedy is more for guys than women." e.l.f controversy Rife's alienation of his female audience is the crux of the criticism surrounding e.l.f.'s new ad campaign. With the brand and its products being overwhelmingly targeted at women, fans expressed confusion with Rife's involvement. Even without taking his past comments into consideration, said some netizens, Rife has never before been associated with makeup, cosmetics or the beauty space, unlike his commercial co-star. "Elf Cosmetics says on their 'elf cares' site that elf stands for empowering legendary females while also simultaneously hiring someone who makes light of DV," said one commenter underneath e.l.f.'s YouTube upload of the ad. "You can't claim diversity and feeling safe and inclusion while also wasting your marketing budget." "Literally any other guy could have done this, Matt rife sucks," said another. "So… Rife was the only one y'all could get?" said one more. "You didn't have the budget for a comedian who doesn't joke about abuse?" said a commenter under the brand's Instagram post. Another wrote, "Oooooh. Matt Rife? The guy who jokes about DV? In an ad targeted to women? That's, um. A choice." One commenter half-joked, "Who will you hire next? Andrew Tate? You just lost a lot of customers." Calls to boycott the brand have taken off on several social media platforms, with beauty influencers, including those who have previously partnered with e.l.f., leading the charge. Some even posted videos of themselves throwing out their e.l.f. products. Creators like James Welsh, Katie Raymond, Jillie Clark and Nikkie de Jager made videos and comments decrying the choice and publicly rescinding support for the brand. e.l.f. responds to backlash e.l.f. released a statement on its Instagram account on Aug. 15, offering an apology to its customers. 'You know us, we're always listening and we've heard you,' it said. 'This campaign aimed to humorously spotlight beauty injustice. We understand we missed the mark with people we care about in our e.l.f. community. while & schmarnes closes today, we'll continue to make the case against overpriced beauty." The post, which received more than 64k likes, was flooded with more than 6,000 comments, many of which were not satisfied with the veracity of the apology. "'Missed the mark' is a pretty loose way of saying 'we intentionally alienated our audience by hiring a man who torpedoed his career by alienating his audience,'" said one comment with more than 8,000 likes. "Are you seriously trying to add humour to your apology? Take down the original ads from all platforms. How tone deaf can you be?" said another. e.l.f. Beauty's Global Chief of Marketing Officer Kory Marchisotto told trade publication The Business of Beauty in an Aug. 14 interview that the brand was "surprised" by the poor reception. "Obviously we're very surprised,' said Marchisotto, who explained that they chose Rife because of the alignment between his TikTok followers and the brand's target audience. 'There is a big gap between our intention and how this missed the mark for some people." "We always aim to deliver positivity, and this one didn't. So we find ourselves in a position where, quite honestly, that doesn't feel good for us," she said. USA TODAY has reached out to e.l.f. and Rife for comment.
Elle
a day ago
- Elle
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reunite for ‘Highest 2 Lowest'—Here's How to Watch
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Spike Lee and Denzel Washington reunite for the fifth time in Highest 2 Lowest, a modern reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's revered 1963 thriller High and Low. Set in present-day New York, Lee casts Washington as David King, a music mogul pulled into a high-stakes ransom plot. Today's theatrical release arrives after the film premiered at Cannes Film Festival, where it earned a six-minute standing ovation (and a rare Rihanna red carpet appearance). This marks Washington and Lee's first film together since 2006's Inside Man, a collaboration Washington says was built on deep mutual trust. 'There was only one person to do this. And I'm sitting next to him,' the actor recently told Vanity Fair. Lee approached the project as 'a jazz reinterpretation of a great film,' adding, 'I knew if I was to do this, it had to be a reimagining. And it was right up my alley—a big, fat, juicy one coming down the middle of the plate. And I feel like I knocked it out.' Washington sees the project as long overdue in his career. 'In [most of] the time I've been an actor, I wouldn't even have been allowed to play a part like this. No white directors were hiring us, and no studios were hiring us,' he told Vanity Fair. 'That's why I called Spike. I trust Spike, and he trusts me.' Lee hopes audiences catch the film on the biggest screen possible. 'No matter how big that TV on the wall in your home is, see it in theaters first,' he says. Washington added, 'In the theaters, in the theaters, in the theaters. I'll keep saying August 15.' Not yet, but soon. After debuting in theaters today, the film will land on Apple TV+ on Sept. 5, 2025, just 19 days later. Until then, you'll need to catch it during its theatrical run. Take it from Lee—it's worth seeing on the big screen. GET TICKETS
