Cannes 2010: Lineup reveals a heavy dose of auteurs, with a dollop of celebrity

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After a 2009 that saw few American filmmakers or stars on its program, the Cannes Film Festival announced a lineup that includes a number of U.S. and celebrity-heavy films while also keeping its traditional focus on international auteurs.

The lineup unveiled in Paris on Thursday in the early morning hours in the U.S. includes ‘Fair Game,’ the thriller about the Joe Wilson-Valerie Plame incident from ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ director Doug Liman and starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts; ‘Biutiful,’ the Javier Bardem vehicle about a policeman and a drug dealer from ‘Babel’ director Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu; ‘Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,’ Oliver Stone’s sequel to his 1980s-defining film, this one starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin and Carey Mulligan along with original star Michael Douglas; and Woody Allen’s comedy ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,’ also starring Watts, as well as Brolin and Freida Pinto. (‘Fair Game’ and ‘Biutiful,’ which will also be seeking U.S. distribution at the festival, will play in competition; the other two will play out of competition.)
The lineup also includes more prestige -- and, to some American filmgoers, less immediately recognizable -- work from the likes of Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano (‘Outrage’), Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (‘The Certified Copy’), British director Mike Leigh (‘Another Year’), French notables Bertrand Tavernier and Jean Luc Godard (“La Princesse de Monptpensier’ and ‘Film Socialisme,’ respectively), and Romanian up-and-comer Cristi Puiu (“Aurora”), who helped usher in the Romanian film renaissance five years ago. Eclectic British director Stephen Frears will also unveil his graphic-novel adaptation ‘Tamara Drewe,’ which stars Bond girl Gemma Arterton.

The Un Certain Regard section will be studded with a Sundance hit, ‘Blue Valentine,’ the Ryan Gosling-Michelle Williams romantic drama that went over big in Park City, Utah, this year. Derek Cianfrance’s film occupies a spiritually similar slot to that held by ‘Precious’ at last year’s Cannes. That film was also a Sundance phenomenon that played in Un Certain Regard, before going on to awards acclaim in the fall.

Several internationally known actors will also unveil their directorial efforts at the festival, including France’s Mathieu Almaric (‘Tournee’) and Mexico’s Diego Luna (‘Abel’), with the latter’s film also playing this last year’s Sundance. The U.S. independent-film festival rarely shows much crossover with Cannes, though this year will also see the 1990s Sundance darling Gregg Araki premiere his new film, the sex-infused science-fiction tale ‘Kaboom’ at Cannes, where it will play out of competition.

All films join the internationally inflected big-budget Universal release ‘Robin Hood,’ a reunion between ‘Gladiator’ collaborators Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe that was previously announced as the festival’s opening night selection.
Julian Schnabel’s ‘Miral,’ a story about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that follows up his 2007 Cannes hit ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,’ was not on the announcement list, as some had predicted it would be, although it’s likely several more festival selections will be named in the coming weeks.

Terrence Malick’s much-ballyhooed and long-gestating ‘Tree of Life’ was also not included in the lineup, negating the rumors, for now, that the Brad Pitt film would make a Cannes debut. It could still be added later -- ‘we’re crossing our fingers,’ festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux said at the announcement -- but if it isn’t, look for yet another round of rumors about Malick’s exacting process. The movie is starting to feel a little like Philip Seymour Hoffman’s creations in ‘Synecdoche, New York.’

Last year at Cannes saw several high-profile American films -- including ‘Up’ and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ -- mixed in with a heavy dose of international work, a reflection of the changing dynamics of both U.S. and global film making. This year continues that trend, although ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘Wall Street 2’ give the festival a big-release flair as well.
Tim Burton heads the jury for this year’s Cannes, which gets under way on May 12.

The lineup announcement on Thursday by Fremaux was marred by a boycott from several news agencies, including Reuters and the Associated Press, who were protesting the festival’s new red-carpet video policy. The protesting outlets say the policy favors French broadcaster Canal+ and pay-TV service Orange, with which Cannes has deals. Now that’s an international drama.

-- Steven Zeitchik (follow me on Twitter.)

The full list after the jump.

In competition:

Mathieu AMALRIC TOURNEE

Xavier BEAUVOIS DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX

Rachid BOUCHAREB HORS LA LOI
Alejandro GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU BIUTIFUL

Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN UN HOMME QUI CRIE
IM Sangsoo HOUSEMAID

Abbas KIAROSTAMI COPIE CONFORME
Takeshi KITANO OUTRAGE

LEE Chang-dong POETRY
Mike LEIGH ANOTHER YEAR

Doug LIMAN FAIR GAME
Sergei LOZNITSA YOU. MY JOY

Daniele LUCHETTI LA NOSTRA VITA
Nikita MIKHALKOV UTOMLYONNYE SOLNTSEM

Bertrand TAVERNIER LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL LOONG BOONMEE RALEUK CHAAT

Un Certain Regard:
Derek CIANFRANCE BLUE VALENTINE

Manoel DE OLIVEIRA O ESTRANHO CASO DE ANGÉLICA
Xavier DOLAN LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES

Ivan FUND, LOZA LOS LABIOS
Fabrice GOBERT SIMON WERNER A DISPARU

Jean-Luc GODARD FILM SOCIALISME
Christoph HOCHHÄUSLER UNTER DIR DIE STADT

Lodge KERRIGAN REBECCA H. (RETURN TO THE DOGS)
Ágnes KOCSIS PÁL ADRIENN

Vikramaditya MOTWANE UDAAN
Radu MUNTEAN MARTI, DUPA CRACIUN

Hideo NAKATA CHATROOM
Cristi PUIU AURORA

HONG Sangsoo HA HA HA
Oliver SCHMITZ LIFE ABOVE ALL

Daniel VEGA OCTUBRE
David VERBEEK R U THERE

Xiaoshuai WANG RIZHAO CHONGQING

Out of Competition:
Ridley Scott ROBIN HOOD

Woody ALLEN YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

Stephen FREARS TAMARA DREWE
Oliver STONE WALL STREET - MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

Gregg ARAKI KABOOM
Gilles MARCHAND L’AUTRE MONDE

Special Screenings:
Charles FERGUSON INSIDE JOB

Sophie FIENNES OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW
Patricio GUZMAN NOSTALGIA DE LA LUZ

Sabina GUZZANTI DRAQUILA -- L’ITALIA CHE TREMA
Otar IOSSELIANI CHANTRAPAS

Diego LUNA ABEL