The China Mail - Cannes Film Festival to unveil line-up

The full line-up for the 77th edition of the festival, which runs from May 14 to 25, is due to be announced around 0900 GMT.

There has been a lot of talk that "The Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola will return with his long-gestating epic "Megalopolis" starring Adam Driver.

It is already known that "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga", the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic franchise, will get its world premiere at the festival on the Cote d'Azur, playing out of competition.

So will Kevin Costner's new opus, "Horizon, An American Saga", in which the veteran star plays alongside Sienna Miller in the first of a planned series about the American West.

In a statement this week, Costner said he had been working on the project for 35 years.

"I can't think of a better place than Cannes to reveal to the world the result of such a wonderful adventure. The French have always supported films and believed deeply in filmmaking," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, George Lucas -- the man behind "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" -- will receive an honorary award at the closing ceremony.

Some 20 films normally compete for the coveted Palme d'Or, which can give a major boost for arthouse films such as last year's winner "Anatomy of a Fall", which went on to win an avalanche of awards, including best original screenplay at the Oscars.

The glamour of the French Riviera is also a favourite launchpad for big Hollywood productions. "Top Gun: Maverick", "Elvis" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" are among the recent big hitters to launch their campaigns in Cannes.

A months-long strike by Hollywood actors and writers last year means there are fewer blockbusters ready to launch than normal.

But the return of Coppola to the Cannes Croisette would certainly get film fans salivating.

He has twice won the Palme d'Or -- for "The Conversation" (1974), and, controversially, for "Apocalypse Now" (1979), which was not even finished when it was shown at Cannes.

Other possibilities in the race for the Palme include the latest team-up between Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos -- "Kinds of Kindness" -- just weeks after Stone's Oscar win for their Frankenstein-style satire "Poor Things".

Jessica Chastain and Mexican director Michel Franco are also rumoured to compete with "Dreams", similarly following hot on the heels of their critically lauded drama "Memory".

Bound to generate a lot of interest would be "Emmanuelle", a new take on the erotic tale that was a sensation in the 1970s. This updated version comes from Audrey Diwan, who won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival with abortion drama "Happening" in 2021.

R.Yeung--ThChM