Cannes 2023
While the Indiana Jones star was out on a bike ride, a new ticketing system collapsed
Sun 21 May 2023 07:00 BST
Avid Indiana Jones fans, many in brown leather jackets and fedoras, staked out their positions in front of the Palais de Festivals long before the new adventure film premiered. But a “very excited” Andrew Scott happily waited on the beach, glass coupe in hand.
The acclaimed actor, best known on television as Sherlock’s nemesis and for raising the spirits in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’, toasted the reopening of the Carlton Hotel, a landmark on the fabled Croisette, which competes each year to host guest stars. Scott was in Cannes to see his girlfriend Waller-Bridge make her debut opposite Indiana Jones, but also to discuss new projects with producers. He is excited for the release of his next film, Strangers, a supernatural modern drama in which he stars alongside fellow Irishman and Bafta winner Paul Mescal.
Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Photo: Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd.
New intrigue now surrounds Harrison Ford’s fitness routine while filming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. His co-star Mads Mikkelsen suggested on Friday that the 80-year-old Ford confused the rest of the cast at the end of a long night shoot: “We were all completely exhausted and wanted to go to bed, but Harrison took his bike and I did.” did a 50k ride, so I think he would have had a few more ‘Indys’ in him.” However, Ford later accused Mikkelsen of lying to improve Ford’s image, to which Mikkelsen replied, “Then what? Did you bring the bike just for fun?”
The 76th festival saw fewer deals and glamorous promotions than usual due to the economic strains and the writers’ strike in Los Angeles. Restrictions mean that no one based there can suggest a future script. However, fans of British director and festival favorite Mike Leigh may be heartened by news of the sale of further European rights to his secret upcoming untitled film project at Cannes. The cast was originally rumored to be all black, but production was initially delayed by Covid. Filming is currently underway quietly on a suburban street in North West London. Festival deals signed four days ago sold the project to the regions of France, Italy, Benelux and Switzerland.
The queue, the “Bete Noire” of thousands of international film critics and journalists in Cannes, achieved the highest “Noire” status this year. Complaints about the system will never draw sympathy outside of the festival, but the recently introduced ticketing system faltered ahead of the sole screening of Pedro Almodóvar’s new short western Strange Way of Life. Loyal ticket holders waited in line for an hour only to see another group, all just waiting in hope, being let in instead. Festival organizers said the decision was forced by pressure from audiences. Clarity is certainly the first casualty of bureaucracy. On Wednesday, a longtime Palais official claimed she had no idea there even was a “last-minute queue”. In front of her office, 15 meters away, it meandered a third of the way down the Croisette.
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