Cannes Chief Thierry Fremaux Breaks Down 2023 Lineup: Jonathan Glazer’s Surprise Film, Convincing Martin Scorsese to Enter Competition and Johnny Depp Controversy

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cannes Film Festival’s longtime director Thierry Fremaux sat down with Variety following the announcement of this year’s lineup, which includes a bevy of star-studded period movies, including Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Jonathan Glazer’s “Zone of Interest.” Along with a raft of politically-minded films, there’s also a record six movies directed by female helmers in competition, including newcomers like Senegalese direcotr Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s feature debut “Banel et Adama.” Fremaux said his only regret this year is to miss out on “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” but he’s keeping high hopes to convince Scorsese to vie for a second Palme d’Or 47 years after winning his first with “Taxi Driver.” He also revealed that as many as two or three movies are expected to be added to the competition next week, after Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week announce their respective lineups. How late did you make your last phone call last night?  We went to bed late, but slightly earlier than usual.

We’re going to add more films in a few days. You did manage to keep a few surprises — like Jonathan Glazer’s A24 movie “Zone of Interest,” his first film since “Under My Skin.“ Yes, Jonathan is a great filmmaker whose work we follow, and I especially follow him because I love the work of the writer Martin Amis.

The film is freely adapted from Amis’ novel, which is personal. It’s quite a challenging film because it’s in German and Polish.

And it shows also that A24 continues to propose this genre of cinema. Martin Scorsese’s film is also along the lines of big, popular yet director-driven films of the past, like David Lean and Cecil B.