Cannes is underway, and it’s a quieter place without Lars Von Trier there. Despite guesses from some, the Danish auteur isn’t on the Croisette with his latest, “Nymphomaniac,” but it’s not because of the outrage he caused in 2010 with his comments about Hitler, but instead because the sex-laced two-part epic simply isn’t ready. Still, there is a presence of some kind, as the films’ backers have used the festival to unveil an image that shows the film’s starry cast in various suggestive positions.
The tableaux includes Von Trier himself (tape over his mouth, camera in hand) looking over much of his cast, including Charlotte Gainsbourg in the title role, Stacey Martin as her younger self, Stellan Skarsgard, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, Willem Dafoe, Uma Thurman, Connie Nielsen and Udo Kier (nowhere to be seen: Shia LaBeouf). There’s a certain amount of fun to be had in finding the not-exactly-hidden phallic images, and if there was every any doubt that this was going to be boundary-pushing, well, bear in mind that Slater, who’s staring up Gainsbourg’s skirt, is playing her father. Ick. The film’s producer Peter Aaelbaek Jensen has announced to Screen Daily that, while the film’s visual effects component means it’s still going through a hefty post-production phase, the first part of Von Trier’s opus will be released in Denmark on Christmas Day. That should make the conversations over Julefrokost (Danish Christmas lunch, Scandi-fans) interesting… This suggests to us that the rest of the world won’t be getting to see it until 2014, but you never know. Check the image out in full below.
Also getting some new images over Cannes are “Grace Of Monaco” and “Frank.” The former, a biopic of Grace Kelly starring Nicole Kidman, is unveiling some footage at the festival on Friday and has a couple of new images over at The Hollywood Reporter, while the latter, a rock’n’roll comedy from “What Richard Did” director Lenny Abrahamson, stars Michael Fassbender (under the giant papier mache head), Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scoot McNairy, all of whom are featured in the still below, courtesy of Screen Daily
Finally, “The Kings of Summer” is one of our favorites of 2013 so far, and lands in theaters in only a few weeks. The film, a charming coming-of-age comedy from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, is fresh, funny and touching, as we revealed at Sundance, and you can get a glimpse of what to expect from the images below, which come from Indiewire. It lands on theaters via CBS Films on May 31st.