Some of Hollywood’s most notorious abusers, groomers, and controversial actors are taking their business to Cannes film festival, hoping to make a comeback.
Cannes film festival is set to wrap up this weekend, after two weeks of premieres, pitches, and awards. But amongst the glitz and glamour, several actors and producers are taking the opportunity to revive their careers which have been shrouded in controversy.
One of the high-profile figures hoping to make a comeback is Kevin Spacey, attempting to overcome allegations of sexual misconduct towards underaged boys with the noir drama Peter Five Eight.
“The feedback is very good. People say it’s a quality film, but it’s really, really early on [in the deal-making],” said the president of sales for Hollywood-based company Vantage Media International, J.D. Beuafils.
Next up was James Franco, who was accused of sexual exploitation by five different women, and admitted his intentions on meeting a girl in a hotel room he knew was seventeen-years-old.
Franco is looking to distribute a low budget romance titled June and John, shot by director Luc Besson, who, would you believe it, has been accused of rape by multiple actresses.
Another film which has more of a chance to break into the American market is the Alec Baldwin-starring psychological thriller False Awakening. This is Baldwin’s first film since he fatally shot Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop-gun on the set of Rust.
Since the event that took its toll on Baldwin’s career was likely an accident, allowing his film to be pitched at the festival can’t really be criticised. But providing a comeback path for several men who have admitted to, or have multiple allegations of sexual misconduct isn’t a particularly good look.
But should we be surprised? It was only two years ago that Roman Polanski – a man who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, then fled to France before he could be imprisoned – won multiple Cesar awards (the French equivalent of an Oscar), and this year, showcased his new film at Cannes.
