Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Cannes Can't: What the Cancellation of Festivals Means for Hollywood
Bill Murray walks down the steps as he arrives for the screening of the film "The Dead Don't Die" during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images)
()
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
The Cannes Film Festival, held every May in the French Riviera, isn't just a venue for important premieres, yacht parties and celebrity-filled red carpets. It's also the home of one of Hollywood's biggest movie markets, where hundreds of independently financed films try to find a distributor.
With Cannes now postponed indefinitely and the prospects for other fall festivals uncertain, Hollywood sales agents are scrambling to find new ways to auction their films and bring them to audiences hungry for new content.
The organizers of Cannes, who previously had postponed this year's festival from May to June, said this week they have canceled the festival's parallel Critics' Week and Directors' Fortnight programs. There are now no plans for Cannes itself this year, since French President Emmanuel Macron has banned large public gatherings until mid-July.
Support for LAist comes from
As of now, the three biggest fall film festivals -- Venice, Telluride and Toronto -- have not yet canceled or rescheduled their dates, which run consecutively from Sept. 2 to Sept. 20. The trio of gatherings have become the launching point for almost all of the recent best picture Oscar winners, including "Green Book," "The Shape of Water," "Moonlight" and "Spotlight."
The Oscar-winning South Korean film "Parasite" won the Palme d'Or award at Cannes before going mainstream in the US. (John Phillips/Getty Images)
()
The most recent winner of the top Academy Award, "Parasite," premiered at Cannes. Its domestic distribution rights were sold to Neon in 2018 at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, a massive industry gathering focused on global film sales.
VIRTUAL FESTIVALS
Cannes has an equivalent market to AFM, called the Marché du Film, which will now be held virtually. Sales agents and potential buyers will watch new releases online, and bid on them over email and video chat applications. Similarly, movies that were supposed to premiere at the canceled South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin will now be streamed later this month toAmazon Prime customers.
Josh Braun, whose sales agency Submarine specializes in highbrow documentaries like the Oscar-winning "American Factory," said he's trying to duplicate the energy of a crowded film festival sales screening by holding online viewings more or less simultaneously. He told me via email:
"We are taking a methodical approach to screening films virtually for buyers at pre-scheduled times with the goal of getting reactions relatively quickly from each of them. For the moment, screening on password-protected links is the only way to screen films for buyers during a pandemic. Overall, this is a slower process, but it's working for us."
Support for LAist comes from
One veteran buyer, however, said some filmmakers and sellers have been reluctant to participate in virtual festivals, not only because they fail to mimic the hype and excitement of a live screening but also because honest audience enthusiasm is difficult to discern online.
With the nation's movie theaters padlocked with no immediate prospects of reopening, it's unclear how and when all of the new movies will be released. But one thing is for certain: they won't have a black-tie blowout in Cannes.
WE LOVE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist