At Cannes, stardom belongs to the oldest celebrities

CANNES, FRANCE “Don’t kill the messenger!” pleaded the genial Didier Allouch, press conference moderator at the Cannes Film Festival.

“We’re going to start the press conference without Johnny Depp. Johnny will be late, but there will be Johnny.”

A collective groan issued from the film journalists in the room. Most of them had come to talk to Johnny Depp and nobody else but Johnny Depp about his new period romance “Jeanne du Barry,” despite the presence onstage of the film’s director and co-star, Maïwenn, and other cast members.

By this point on Wednesday afternoon, the press conference was nearly a half-hour late. A smiling and waving Depp finally showed up about 12 minutes later, making him 42 minutes late in all.

No apologies were made and none were required. Depp is a star and stars can do what they like — although, ironically, his most quotable remarks had him renouncing Hollywood stardom in light of the career setbacks he endured there while successfully suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard, for defamation.

He lost some big studio gigs during the ordeal, including a role in the “Fantastic Beasts” blockbuster. Depp’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise also reportedly risked cancellation at one point.

“Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all,” Depp said, measuring each word and looking businesslike in a three-piece charcoal suit and white shirt.

“I don’t feel boycotted, because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t feel much further need for Hollywood — I don’t know about you.”

The truth is, Depp couldn’t step out of the spotlight if he tried. At the age of 60, which he’ll turn on June 9, he’s a bigger star than ever.

He received a standing ovation from his Cannes audience this week — a gesture that brought him to tears — as he opened the 76th edition of the festival. He stars in a film in which he plays the 18th-century French King Louis XV, beating many French actors for the role even though he’s a self-described “hillbilly from Kentucky.”

Despite being close to retirement age, and looking every bit his age, Depp has no apparent desire to quit acting and no need to do so. He still draws a crowd, a benefit enjoyed by other big stars expected in Cannes before the fest ends on May 27. At least six of the major celebrity draws at Cannes 2023 are people of pensionable age or close to it.

Besides Depp there’s Harrison Ford, 80, starring in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”; Robert De Niro, 79, starring in “Killers of the Flower Moon”; Tom Hanks, 66, one of Wes Anderson’s ensemble stars for the comedy “Asteroid City”; Julianne Moore, 62, starring in “May December” and Sean Penn, 62, starring in “Black Flies.”

The oldest stars are shining the brightest at Cannes. One of the biggest stars of all, French acting legend Catherine Deneuve, age 79, graces the official poster for this year’s festival.

Far from turning people off as they get older there’s a new survey, much discussed in the industry, that suggests older stars are preferred by audiences, who want to see people they know and love on the big screen. It’s not that there isn’t any fresh young talent out there — see the sidebar of some Cannes contenders — but youth simply isn’t what motivates people to go to the movies.

The National Research Group survey asked moviegoers to name the stars they’d be most likely to pay to see at theatres.

Of the top 20 names, the average age is 58 and just one actor is under the age of 40. That’s “Thor” star Chris Hemsworth, ranking 20th, who will turn 40 in August.

No. 1 on the list is Tom Cruise, 60, the big draw at Cannes last year for the launch of his long-awaited flying ace sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

No. 2 is genre star Dwayne Johnson, 51. No. 3 is two-time Oscar winner Hanks, who will turn 67 in July.

There are just two women on the Top 20 list: Julia Roberts, 55, ranking No. 6, and Angelina Jolie, 47, ranking No. 18. There are also just two Canadian actors: Keanu Reeves, 58, ranking No. 11, and Ryan Reynolds, 46, ranking No. 13.

It’s clear that familiarity counts for more than trips around the sun for stars. This makes sense when you consider what it costs for tickets, popcorn, parking and babysitters for a movie night out.

People want to be guaranteed a good time when they shell out for a film, a fact that bodes well for all the films with senior stars premiering at Cannes 2023.

Some young talent to watch at Cannes ’23

Moviegoers may prefer to watch older actors, but they were all young at one time or another. And youth doesn’t have to be an obstacle: the right role and the right film can transform an actor from unknown to household name in a heartbeat.

In alphabetical order, here are five young actors at Cannes ’23, all under 40, who show stardom potential:

Lily-Rose Depp, 23

The daughter of Johnny Depp stars opposite Toronto pop star/actor Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye in “The Idol,” an upcoming HBO TV series billed as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood.” She plays a pop diva who comes under the dangerous sexual and career control of a Svengali type played by Tesfaye. If the show gets a great reception at its premiere here next week it could signal the launch of the next big TV must-see.

Lily Gladstone, 36

Indigenous actor Gladstone, who was born in Montana and raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation there, has received critical kudos for her work in Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women” and in 2019’s “First Cow.” She’s about to go to the next level in a major role as a member of the Osage Nation in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” based on the true story of whites murdering Native Americans for their oil-rich land. Gladstone plays Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in the film.

Charles Melton, 32

The model turned actor is best known for playing the hunky Reggie Mantle in TV’s “Riverdale,” but Melton has a chance to really show his acting chops in Todd Haynes’ “May December,” which is in the Palme d’Or competition. He plays the considerably younger husband of Julianne Moore in a drama about a couple that braved tabloid scorn about their mismatched ages 20 years ago, only to face trouble anew when an actor played by Natalie Portman enters their lives.

Talia Ryder, 20

She made her feature film debut in 2020 as the resourceful friend to Sidney Flanigan’s abortion-seeking teen in Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a drama that rocked that year’s Sundance and Berlin film festivals. She’s now turning heads at Cannes for her deadpan portrayal of a woman running from her life — as well as pursuing skinheads, neo-Nazis and religious zealots — in the road movie “The Sweet East.” Sean Price Williams’ directorial debut is a little unsteady, but Ryder exudes pure star energy throughout it.

Tye Sheridan, 26

Sheridan is a Cannes veteran despite his age. His film debut was playing one of the sons of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” the 2011 Palme d’Or winner. In 2012, he starred opposite Matthew McConaughey and Sam Shepard in Jeff Nichols’ Palme contender “Mud.” He’s back in the Palme race with a much meatier role, in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire gut-wrenching drama “Black Flies,” in which he plays a New York paramedic fighting exhaustion and disillusionment as he copes with trying to help the dregs of humanity. He comes across as a young Sean Penn, who just happens to be starring opposite him in the film. Greatness awaits Tye Sheridan.

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