--- description: These five films are sparking chatter in southern France, and among film fans worldwide title: Cannes Film Festival 2015: Big News, Matthew McConaughey image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt475dd45c04429007/6987ecd2cd68483bb909db23/458045746.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Are the Movies Already Making News at Cannes  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2015 3:41 PM CUT  US actor Matthew McConaughey poses on the red carpet for the European premiere of the film "Interstellar" in London on October 29, 2014. US actor Matthew McConaughey poses on the red carpet for the European premiere of the film "Interstellar" in London on October 29, 2014.Leon Neal—AFP/Getty Images  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2015 3:41 PM CUT The Cannes Film Festival began today in France, and it’s already dominating movie-lovers’ conversations the world over. Tomorrow, _Mad Max: Fury Road_ will screen there in anticipation of its May 15 release. But Cannes isn’t, or isn’t _entirely_, about big budgets and big stars. Here are some of the biggest pieces of news to have emerged so far. * [_The Sea of Trees_](http://deadline.com/2015/05/matthew-mcconaughey-sea-of-trees-lionsgate-roadside-attractions-cannes-1201425830/ "undefined"), the latest film by _My Own Private Idaho_ director Gus Van Sant, has been acquired by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as an American journeying to Japan’s [“Suicide Forest.”](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/24/last-call-3 "undefined") IndieWire has the [first clip](http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-matthew-mcconaughey-journeys-through-gus-van-sants-sea-of-trees-in-first-clip-20150513 "undefined") from the film. * Lionsgate also acquired [_Genius_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/13/lionsgate-genius-colin-firth-nicole-kidman "undefined"), a film starring Colin Firth as the book editor Max Perkins; Jude Law appears as Thomas Wolfe, and Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney also appear. These acquisitions represent an ambitious festival for Lionsgate, a studio known for its franchise fare (including _The Hunger Games_ and _Divergent_ series) and past Academy Awards success stories like _Crash_. * The news out of Cannes isn’t just about art flicks: The festival also plays host to a film market where the right to distribute less studiously classy projects are sold. One of the first of those is [_Ratchet and Clank_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-paul-giamatti-john-goodman-795274 "undefined"), a CGI film that will star Paul Giamatti and John Goodman. It’s based on a PlayStation game, the sort of adaptation that has historically had mixed results. (For every _Tomb Raider_, there’s a _Super Mario Bros_.) * And, of course, some of the films being promoted at Cannes don’t even exist yet. The long-awaited [Maria Callas biopic](http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-noomi-rapace-as-maria-callas-in-biopic-directed-by-niki-caro-20150513 "undefined"), now to be directed by _Whale Rider_‘s Niki Caro, has a first promotional image in advance of its filming. Noomi Rapace, of _Prometheus_ and the Swedish _Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_ franchise, certainly looks the part. * Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, both of whom have won acting awards at Cannes in past years, will be appearing together in a [newly-announced biopic of Pablo Escobar](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-javier-bardem-penelope-cruz-795332 "undefined"), one that will be distributed by French company EuropaCorp. Perhaps it’ll screen at the festival this time next year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3857145/cannes-film-festival-2015-movies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3857145/cannes-film-festival-2015-movies/"},"headline":"These Are the Movies Already Making News at Cannes","datePublished":"2015-05-13T15:41:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:09:57.002Z","description":"These five films are sparking chatter in southern France, and among film fans worldwide","url":"https://time.com/3857145/cannes-film-festival-2015-movies/","keywords":["movies","Cannes","Nicole Kidman"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt475dd45c04429007/6987ecd2cd68483bb909db23/458045746.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt475dd45c04429007/6987ecd2cd68483bb909db23/458045746.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-CINEMA-INTERSTELLAR","caption":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-CINEMA-INTERSTELLAR","creditText":"Leon Neal—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3857145/cannes-film-festival-2015-movies/","name":"These Are the Movies Already Making News at Cannes"}}]}] ```