May 18 2022
For the first time in three decades, Tom Cruise will attend the Cannes Film Festival for the release of “Top Gun: Maverick”.
Cruz was greeted Wednesday with loud shouts from the assembled crowd to see the American star.
Tom! Tom! Fans who stood outside the palm-lined festival venue shouted as the actor got out of the car wearing a blue suit and sunglasses.
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Myles Teller and Tom Cruise attended the photo shoot for “Top Gun: Maverick”
The film was supposed to premiere at the French Riviera Film Festival in 2020, before it was canceled due to the Covid pandemic and the film’s release was delayed several times.
Cruz last attended the 1992 premiere of “Far and Away” with his then-wife Nicole Kidman.
He’s the only Hollywood star of the era to maintain his box office power, even as he’s on the cusp of turning 60 this year.
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Cruise with American actress Jennifer Connelly
“In the history of cinema, (Cruz) has achieved the highest success rates,” festival director Thierry Frémaux said.
“This is someone we haven’t seen on live streaming platforms, TV series, or ads… He’s loyal to cinema,” he added.
Cruz was adamant about waiting for cinemas to return, and said he had never considered releasing the film on a streaming platform.
“This will never happen,” he told an audience who was speaking before the premiere.
“I make films for the big screen. Cinema is my love and my passion. I will put on my hat and sit in the audience.”
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Danny Ramirez, Greg Terzan Davis, Christopher McCurry, Jerry Bruckheimer, Joseph Kosinski, Jennifer Connelly, Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm and Louis Pullman pose for the photo shoot for “Top Gun: Maverick” at Cannes
His 39 films as a lead actor have grossed nearly $8.5 billion worldwide, and Box Office Pro estimates that “Top Gun: Maverick” could add up to $390 million in the United States alone.
Critics were mostly cheerful in their reviews of the film, with Empire magazine lauding its “hilarious visuals, crew, thrilling air action, sudden emotion, and Tom Cruise”.
The Cannes Film Festival continues to be a popular launch pad for big-budget shows, and industry insiders noted that new sponsor TikTok added a new level of social media buzz this year.
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Film director Kirill Serbrennikov at the screening of “Tchaikovsky’s Wave”
The festival’s main competition kicked off on Wednesday with Russian dissident Kirill Serbrennikov’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wave,” which is competing for the Palme d’Or, and won a standing ovation at the festival’s official premiere.
The film tells the story of the Russian composer’s marriage to Antonina Milyukova, which ends up once it becomes clear that Tchaikovsky, who was gay, is not interested in a relationship with her.
Asked when he arrived at the screening whether the film was political, Serbrenkov said that “all art, especially today, is a kind of politics.”
“Our political manifesto is about art, freedom and, of course, the fragility of human nature,” he added.
Serbrennikov, 52, missed last year’s Cannes festival due to a travel ban after being convicted in 2020 of embezzling funds at Moscow’s Gogol Center Theatre.
He was allowed to leave Russia six weeks ago and is now living in Berlin.
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Alyona Mikhailova, Odin Lund Byron, Kirill Serbrenkov, Philip Avdeev and Oksmiron attend the “Tchaikovsky Wave” show
“I am absolutely convinced that culture and people of culture can help ensure the end of this war” between Russia and Ukraine, Serbrennikov said.
The war was already a major theme at the festival. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared on video at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
“Will cinema remain silent, or will it speak? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, everything depends on our unity,” said Zelensky, the former comedian.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses guests at the opening ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, on May 17, 2022
There will be a special screening of “Mariopolis 2,” a documentary about the conflict by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvidaravicius, who was killed in Ukraine last month.
A day in Cannes will be devoted to the work of Ukrainian filmmakers. A film by promising director Sergei Loznitsa will be shown, “The Natural History of Destruction”, about the bombing of German cities in World War II.