OK, here we go. Pictures and commentaries directly from Quentin Tarantino live at Cannes. I found them at the official Cannes Film Festival site, so this is absolutely true and official news:
The traditional jury press conference, attended by President Quentin Tarantino and members Emmanuelle Béart, Edwidge Danticat, Tilda Swinton, Kathleen Turner, Benoît Poelvoorde, Jerry Shatzberg, Tsui Hark and Peter Von Bagh, presented a group looking forward to watching the work of others.
Quentin Tarantino on what a good film is made of: “There is no set answer, especially with 19 films never seen before. It would be wrong to have a criteria, we’ll know it when we see it.”
Quentin Tarantino on what the Festival means to him: “When I first heard of Cannes, I was eight or nine years old. I must have read an article in the newspaper about the winner. As a cinephile, for me Cannes is heaven…all right. If you love cinema, Cannes is heaven and three times here I have gone to heaven. I dreamed about coming to Cannes with my first film, Reservoir Dogs, and I did. My next dream was to win the Palme d’Or and I did with Pulp Fiction. And my next dream was to be on the jury and here I am president of the jury, all right! So if there is another level of heaven…”
Jerry Schatzberg on jury duty: "I come to Cannes for the food, drink and women…fantastic interchanges, anecdotes, laughs…”
Benoît Poelvoorde on jury duty: “I’m not happy. I’m very disappointed to not have been appointed president of the jury. I spoke with Thierry [Frémeau, Festival artistic director], but no such luck. I have had a film selected by Gilles Jacob in the past and I didn’t win a single prize. And I intend to get my revenge and therefore I intend to see that a mediocre film wins.”
Tsui Hark on jury duty: "I’m happy to know that I’m in heaven. I think of myself as the devil in the group and it’s good to know there are others…”
Quentin Tarantino on Kill Bill:
“Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2 will be shown as one version, the Japanese version, on the Sunday after the awards. The is the best way for Kill Bill in Cannes, as a giant 4 hour opus.”
Quentin Tarantino on the showbiz union strikes:
"I don’t understand it. I’m not a French citizen. My concern is to watch the films here at Cannes.”
“When I first heard of Cannes, I was eight or nine years old. I must have read an article in the newspaper about the winner. As a cinephile, for me Cannes is heaven…all right. If you love cinema, Cannes is heaven and three times here I have gone to heaven. I dreamed about coming to Cannes with my first film, Reservoir Dogs, and I did. My next dream was to win the Palme d’Or and I did with Pulp Fiction. And my next dream was to be on the jury and here I am president of the jury, all right! So if there is another level of heaven…”
The Cannes International Film Festival is officially open. It was Pedro Almodóvar and his film crew representing Bad Education (La Mala educación) who had the honors of being the first to do the red carpet walk for this 57th edition. The celebrities arriving for the opening ceremony included Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres (Culture Minister), Marc Tessier (president of FranceTélévisions), producer Jacques Perrin, director Christophe Barratier and actors Max Von Sydow, Gérard Jugnot, Laetitia Casta, Natacha Régnier, François Berléand and Vincent Perez, the latter who is in Cannes promoting the Un Certain Regard opening film from director Léa Fazer entitled Bienvenue en Suisse.
The union strikers were also up front and centre, in the spirit of “negotiation”. And of course, all the jury members paraded up the red carpet as did jury president Quentin Tarantino accompanied by Sofia Coppola. The finale of the this red-carpet walk was marked by the presence of Pedro Almodóvar and his two young leading actors Fele Martinez and Gael Garcia Bernal.
Laura Morante, Mistress of Ceremony, presented the opening ceremony and jury. A very enthusiastic Tarantino announced: "I love cinema and it’s an honour for me to be president at this magnificent festival. VIVE LE CINEMA!!! " It was Pedro Almodóvar who had the honours of announcing the 57th edition of the Cannes Festival officially open, and who dedicated the event to the victims of the Madrid terrorist attacks last March. Dim the lights, start the projectors…
