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The Journal
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Quiz: How much do you know about Cannes Film Festival?
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL took place this week – meaning more painfully long standing ovations and dramatic tears over movies no one has been able to see yet. Yes, clapping for 15 straight minutes is totally normal and not at all weird. Advertisement As the staple film calendar event comes to an end today, we wanted to ask you: How much do you know about Cannes Film Festival? What's the longest standing ovation in Cannes Film Festival history? Alamy Stock Photo 12 minutes 15 minutes 19 minutes 22 minutes And what was the film that garnered the longest ovation in the film festival's history? Alamy Stock Photo Requiem for a Dream Gladiator Pan's Labyrinth The Departed Which 2019 Cannes Film Festival screening was unexpectedly upstaged by a red carpet marriage proposal? Alamy Stock Photo The Lighthouse Portrait of a Lady on Fire Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo Pain and Glory During the festival, films are screened at the exclusive Grand Théâtre Lumière. How many seats does the theatre have? Alamy Stock Photo 1675 seats 1232 seats 2309 seats 2563 seats How many times is the red carpet on the stairs changed throughout the festival week? Alamy Stock Photo Once daily Three times a day Five times a week Four times a day Which American actress features on the jury for the festival this year? Alamy Stock Photo Halle Berry Sandra Bullock Jodie Foster Julia Roberts Which film won the festival's esteemed Palme d'Or award last year? Alamy Stock Photo The Substance Emilia Pérez A Complete Unknown Anora Below are some of the more obscure Cannes winners. Three took the Palme d'Or, but which one scooped the Grand Prix award? Cité Films Bye Bye Monkey The Ballad of Narayama Chronicle of the Years of Embers Under Satan's Sun The film festival usually has a strict dress code - for what reason were a number of women reportedly turned away from the red carpet in 2015? Alamy Stock Photo They were not wearing dresses They were wearing too much jewellery Their outfits were too large to fit into seats They were not wearing high heels Which Irish film won the Palme D'Or shortly before its release? Alamy Stock Photo In the Name of the Father The Wind that Shakes the Barley Michael Collins My Left Foot Answer all the questions to see your result! Alamy Stock Photo You scored out of ! Palme D'Or winner You deserve a 22-minute round of applause for that Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy Stock Photo You scored out of ! Standing ovation You deserve at least a 7 minute standing ovation for that Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy Stock Photo You scored out of ! Casual film fan Who needs fancy film festivals anyway? You know the basics yourself Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy Stock Photo You scored out of ! You tried your best No need to break out the dress or tuxedo, looks like you won't be heading to Cannes any time soon Share your result: Share Tweet Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Journal
'One of my favourite places in the world' - Why Quail Hollow sets McIlroy up for absurd tilt at the Rory Slam
The 42 reports from Quail Hollow Golf Club THERE ARE MEANS of seeking relief in golf without turning to a rules official. For Rory McIlroy, his has usually been to make a trip to Charlotte and turn down Gleneagles Road to Quail Hollow Golf Club. It was here in 2010 that McIlroy underlined his arrival on the PGA Tour, winning his first title to a delightful Jim Nantz flourish from the commentary booth. Welcome to the big time, Rory McIlroy! That victory made him the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods, and he did it in characteristically stomach-swooping fashion. He eagled the 16th hole on Friday to make the cut right on the number, before he set a course-record 62 on Sunday to sprint home to a four-shot win. McIlroy poses with the trophy after his first Quail Hollow victory in 2010. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo That course record stood for five years until McIlroy took a further shot off it on Saturday en route to a seven-shot victory, still the largest winning margin in the history of the oft-renamed Quail Hollow Championship. The place has also been a balm in troubled times. McIlroy arrived here in May 2021 amid what qualifies as a slough in form by his heady standards. Without a win since November 2019, McIlroy had dropped to 15th in the world – his lowest ranking in 12 years – and was suffering from a familiar ailment known as an over-exposure to Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau was then in full Hulk mode, and McIlroy lost his swing as he was spending too much time trying to match Bryson for ball speed. But having missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters, McIlroy slipped into the familiar Quail Hollow embrace and found himself two shots clear of Abraham Ancer standing on the 72nd tee. And such are the blissful effects of Quail Hollow, the place even lulled McIlroy into listening to his caddie. When McIlroy went out of position off the tee, his genius tendencies left him considering a wildly risky rescue shot before being talked down from the ledge by Harry Diamond, who instead told him to take a penalty drop and sign for a tournament-clinching bogey. Diamond won the argument. . . and McIlroy won the tournament. McIlroy signed off by describing Quail Hollow as one of his favourite places in the world. Diamond presumably agreed. There followed another win here last year, putting his foot on Xander Schauffele's throat with a storming Sunday finish to win by five shots. Schauffele went on to win two of the year's remaining three majors. Away from the victories, stats guru Justin Ray crunched the numbers for the best cumulative score to par at Quail Hollow since McIlroy debuted in 2010. McIlroy is 102-under across 50 rounds, with Rickie Fowler the next closest on -47, followed by Phil Mickelson on -44. Though McIlroy didn't defend his latest Wells Fargo title last week, he said he didn't feel like he was defending it either. Hosting the PGA Championship this week left the Tour event dereacinated, and so it popped up in Philadelphia instead. Advertisement Hence McIlroy says this week feels more like a title defence instead. While not strictly true, there is a sense that McIlroy's at least playing with what the Americans would call home field advantage. His snug course fit here is summed up by Brooks Koepka's description of Quail Hollow as a 'bombers' paradise.' Only Aldrich Potgieter and Niklas Norgaard are driving the ball further than McIlroy on the PGA Tour this year, and while the equivalent stats on LIV are patchy and unreliable, we have enough evidence at this point to say only really DeChambeau can live with McIlroy off the tee. McIlroy's power game thus gives him the muscle to wrestle the course into submission. Quail Hollow's primary defences are firm greens and, this week, thickened rough mowed back in the direction of the tee. McIlroy's distance gives him greater control when attacking those greens, while he has greater power than most to punch out of that rough. These are merely the blatant advantages as the course, in golferspeak, fits his eye. It is built for his signature right-to-left draw, and while McIlroy was extremely inaccurate off the tee in Philadelphia – finding only eight fairways across the closing two rounds - he attributed this at least partly to the lack of architecture around the Philadelphia course. He feels more comfortable when he has targets, he explained, be they grandstands, TV towers, or great big advertising logos, which he has always found easily around Quail Hollow. 'I would argue he's the best driver of the ball I've ever seen, and that is extremely important here,' said Justin Thomas when asked as to why the course suits McIlroy so well. 'But I think his shot shape, I think this golf course fits a high draw really, really well. That's a tremendous advantage or threat at any golf course, but I feel like a place like this, where it doesn't necessarily require a lot of thought or strategy off the tee, it's generally pulling out driver and just I need to hit this as far and straight as possible, and he's really, really good at that.' Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship when it was last held at Quail Hollow, at which McIlroy finished in a tie for 22nd place that was mitigated by a rib injury. Ahead of that event, he said he didn't have anything left to prove, as questions began to accrete about a major drought then in its third year. Rory McIlroy salutes the crowd as a Masters champion. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Nobody quite expected they were asking those questions in merely the prelude part of The Great Longing. The drought was adrenally at the Masters last month, which McIlroy says has freed him up and he is now, in his own words, playing in majors with house money. 'I'm a little scared of what it could do for him moving forward', says Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin. 'To get through that, now he knows how to and I wouldn't be shocked to see him roll off two or three more Masters in the next five years. I also wouldn't be shocked to see him go for a grand slam in one year.' A Rory Slam really is an absurd ambition, though his comfort at Quail Hollow has bred the chatter. McIlroy has proven he can win around Quail Hollow beneath all weather and in all moods, and with the major millstone finally left shattered and in dust at Augusta, the stars are present and ready to be pushed into line. Written by Gavin Cooney and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here .
The Journal
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Who is going to the pope's funeral (and who definitely isn't)?
THE FUNERAL OF the late Pope Francis will take place this morning at St. Peter's Square as world leaders, royals and worshippers descend on Vatican City to pay their respects. It is expected that 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs will be among thousands of others in attendance as the 88-year-old Argentine pontiff will be laid to rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome after 12 years as head of the Catholic Church. Thronging crowds of mourners filed into St. Peter's Basilica this week where the pontiff has been lying in state. The doors of the venue were left open until 5:30am on Thursday morning due to unprecedented numbers. Francis was famed for his tendency to break from church norms established and nurtured by the 265 popes who preceded him. He shifted the Church's focus from opposing practices such as abortion and same-sex marriage to instead engaging in advocacy for climate change action, immigration and LGBTQ causes. He simplified papal funeral service procedures last year, meaning today's ceremony will not follow the tradition of having three different coffins placed inside one another, instead opting for a wooden coffin lined with zinc. Here is a list of the notable figures attending the ceremony. President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The trio are representing Ireland at the funeral of the late pontiff, along with Higgins' wife Sabina. Higgins received Francis at Áras and Uachtaráin in 2018 during his state visit to Ireland. He said this week that he was 'struck by the generosity' of the pontiff and said his attendance at the funeral will be in an effort to promote 'our shared humanity' in the areas of peace and sustainability. The Taoiseach described Pope Francis as an 'exceptional leader' who has 'a special place in the hearts' of Irish people, while the Tánaiste remembered him as a 'beacon of hope' and a 'voice for the voiceless'. The Government has confirmed that flags will be flown at half-mast today across all public buildings out of respect to Pope Francis. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill has cut short a family holiday to make herself available for the papal service. Donald Trump and First Lady Melania US President Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump with Pope Francis in 2017. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo In a week that began with Francis meeting briefly with US Vice-President JD Vance on Easter Sunday at the Vatican, President Trump will attend the late pontiff's funeral as head of the American delegation commemorating him. Relations between the Vatican and both iterations of the Trump administration have been chilly at best, with the Pope often finding himself and his leadership morals at odds with his American counterpart. During the 2016 US Presidential campaign, Pope Francis was vocal in his opposition to Trump's proposal to build a wall across America's southern border with Mexico, declaring that anyone who wishes to build walls rather than bridges is 'not a Christian', a comment which Trump described as 'disgraceful'. The pontiff also stood firmly against the current US administration's policy proposals to cut humanitarian aid to the world's poorest people, in addition to its plans to carry out mass deportations. With this, he noted that in the Bible, baby Jesus and his family were themselves refugees in Egypt. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine Zelensky with Pope Francis in June 2024. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Ukrainian President paid tribute to Pope Francis this week, posting on X: 'His life was devoted to God, to people, and to the Church. He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity. He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians.' Following an October meeting with Zelensky, Francis wrote on X: 'All nations have the right to exist in peace and security. Their territories must not be attacked, and their sovereignty must be respected and guaranteed through peace and dialogue.' Advertisement The seating plan for the event has Zelensky and Trump seated separately in light of February's infamous White House spat, according to reports. Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Starmer praised Francis' 'humility' in advocating for 'the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten'. In a statement released by Downing Street, he said of Francis: 'He was close to the realities of human fragility, meeting Christians around the world facing war, famine, persecution and poverty. Yet he never lost hope of a better world. 'That hope was as the heart of his papacy. His determination to visibly live out his faith inspired people across the world to see afresh the church's teachings of mercy and charity.' Prince William Shutterstock Shutterstock The Prince of Wales has travelled to the service as a representative of his father, King Charles, as per custom. For the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, the King – when he was Prince of Wales – attended on behalf of his mother and Queen Elizabeth II. Emmanuel Macron, President of France Pope Francis and Macron in 2018. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Francis and Macron had clashed over efforts by the French President to enshrine abortion rights in the French constitution. Separately, Francis did not attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last December after being closed due to sever fire damage in 2019, prompting suspicions of a snub. The day after the Pope's passing, Macron wrote on X: 'From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest. To unite people with one another and with nature. May this hope be reborn endlessly beyond him.' Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President Von der Leyen meets Pope Francis in 2024. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Von der Leyen commended Pope Francis' 'love for the less fortunate' and said his legacy will lead to a 'more just, peaceful and compassionate world'. Joe Biden Pope Francis and Joe Biden in June 2024. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo A devout Catholic, the former US President is in the Vatican to take part in the celebrations of Pope Francis' life and legacy. Describing him as 'one of the most consequential leaders of our time', Biden praised Pope Francis' work for peace and the environment in a troubled world. In a statement, Biden said: 'He commanded us to fight for peace and protect our planet from a climate crisis. He advocated for the voiceless and powerless. He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church.' Other leaders attending Among the attendees are prominent representatives of global organisations and governments including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, Brazil's President Lula d a Silva and President of Pope Francis' homeland of Argentina, Javier Milei. Who's not going? Some figures who are not present for today's events at the Vatican include Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has instead opted to send culture minister Olga Lyubimova as his nation's representative. A spokesperson for Barack Obama confirmed that the former US President has no plans to attend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not travelled to Rome, instead sending the country's ambassador to the Vatican Yaron Sideman. This could potentially be due to recent tensions between Pope Francis and the Israeli Government in light of events in Gaza, after the late Pontiff allegedly used the word 'genocide' in 2023 – a claim the Vatican denied – to describe what is happening in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Today's funeral service starts at 9am. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
