Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' will open the Cannes Film Festival
'The Great Gatsby' is scheduled to hit US theaters May 10, five days before it will open the festival on May 15.
Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured) stars in the film 'The Great Gatsby.'
Lee Jin-man/AP
After having had its release date moved up several months, director Baz Luhrmann’s take on F. Scott Fitzgerald classic “The Great Gatsby” will open the Cannes Film Festival in May.
“The Great Gatsby” is scheduled to hit US theaters May 10, five days before it will open the festival on May 15.
“It is a great honor for all those who have worked on The Great Gatsby to open the Cannes Film Festival,” Luhrmann said in a statement, according to USA Today. "We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts.”
Luhrmann’s version of the classic novel stars “Django Unchained” actor Leonardo DiCaprio as the title character, “An Education” star Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, and Tobey Maguire of the “Spider-Man” films as narrator Nick Carraway.
According to Reuters, DiCaprio's return to the festival in association with the film will be his first appearance there since 2007.
Films that have opened the Cannes Film Festival over the past few years are often critically acclaimed and have gone on to be nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, and other awards. The 2012 opener, Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” snagged a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination and a Best Musical or Comedy Golden Globe nomination. Director Woody Allen’s film “Midnight in Paris,” which opened the 2011 festival, earned Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations and won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar as well as the Best Screenplay Golden Globe. It also snagged Best Musical or Comedy and Best Director Golden Globe nominations.
Bucking the trend was the 2010 Cannes Film Festival opener, director Ridley Scott’s take on “Robin Hood,” which was critically panned. However, Pixar’s well-received animated film “Up,” which was the rare animated film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, opened the 2009 festival.