The John Travolta-starring “Gotti” film is finally set to premiere, and believe it or not, it’s going to the Cannes Film Festival.
“Gotti,” which is directed by one of the guys from “Entourage” (Kevin Connolly, to be specific), has been the subject of a little bit of controversy over the last 6 months or so. And now, in an odd twist of fate, the seemingly-troubled film is getting a premiere at one of the biggest events in all of film, as an out-of-competition selection at Cannes.
The film was originally scheduled for release last December. However, after zero marketing was done for the film and rumors swirled that “Gotti” didn’t turn out that great, Lionsgate sold the rights to the film back to the production company. Then, later it was announced that the film would actually see its release in June, with the controversial MoviePass coming along to invest in the film, as well.
A cynical person might suggest that the main driving force behind the film’s selection was so that Cannes could add Travolta to their Masterclass series, “Rendez-vous with…” You see, Cannes also announced that Travolta, along with Christopher Nolan, Ryan Coogler, and Gary Oldman would be taking part in the series that takes place during the festival.
There’s a bit of controversy around the announcement, as there are some noteworthy things about the four creators selected. First, and foremost, is the clear lack of women in the grouping, which is focused on English and American filmmaking. This comes after there was a bit of outcry, from people like Jessica Chastain, after last year’s festival about the lack of female representation at the event.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux has voiced his thoughts on female representation at the festival in an interview, where he said, “The Cannes selection is based on artistic values, not social ones. When it comes to the question of women, the festival prefers to work collectively with associations, personalities and artists to look at what can be done. There will be more and more films by women in Official Selection in years to come because more and more women are coming through the ranks.”
However, this year, the Masterclass series features four guys. There’s always next year, we suppose.