Having just had the lovely first poster for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom this morning, we now have more great news for the film in the form of its world premiere.
Anderson’s latest offering will be released in the UK at the end of May, but before then, Cannes have announced that Moonrise Kingdom will be opening the 65th Cannes Film Festival on 16th May, taking the same slot Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris held at last year’s festival.
If you haven’t already seen the first trailer for the film that surfaced in January, I’d highly recommend watching it now. Anderson is one of my favourite writer-directors, and I cannot wait to see what he brings us with his first feature since 2009’s highly critically acclaimed Fantastic Mr. Fox, and his first live-action feature since 2007’s brilliant The Darjeeling Limited.
“Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.”
Twice Oscar-nominated Anderson co-wrote the script with past collaborator Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited), and assembled a fantastic cast that includes (as mentioned in the synopsis above) Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and introduces Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the leading children.
Cannes will be running from 16th May to 27th May, by the end of which we here in the UK will be able to see Moonrise Kingdom in our cinemas, with its release here set for 25th May, a date that cannot come fast enough for me.
The festival’s full line-up will be announced on 19th April, and it will be interesting to see what other films will be making their debut at this year’s Cannes. Let us know your guesses in the comments below. Here’s the full press release from the festival’s official website:
“MOONRISE KINGDOM, the new film by American Wes Anderson, will open the 65th Festival de Cannes on Wednesday, 16 May in the Grand théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals, with the Jury presided over by Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti in attendance.
Produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson for Focus Features and Indian Paintbrush, MOONRISE KINGDOM includes in its cast Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman as well as Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman playing the pre-adolescents.
It is directed by Wes Anderson, who also co-authored the screenplay with Roman Coppola. The sound track was composed by Alexandre Desplat.
MOONRISE KINGDOM was filmed on an island in New England. It recounts a tormented and surprising story of children and adults during the stormy days of the summer of 1965.
Born in 1969, Wes Anderson is the director of Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2011), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s General Delegate, commented: “Wes Anderson is one of the rising powers of American cinema, to which he brings a highly personal touch, particularly in MOONRISE KINGDOM, which once again is a testimony to the creative freedom in which he continues to evolve. Sensitive and independent, this admirer of Fellini and Renoir is also in his own right a brilliant and inventive filmmaker.”
Gilles Jacob, President of the Festival, is glad to proclaim: “With Wes Anderson opening the 65th Festival de Cannes, young American cinema will be celebrated on the Croisette.”
Distributed in France by Studio Canal, the film will be released in cinemas on 16 May, the same day as its screening in Cannes. For the second consecutive year, with the agreement of its partner Canal+ and the support of the Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français, the Festival de Cannes will make the Opening Ceremony available to all the cinemas that request it, so that spectators can experience “live” the full programme of the opening night of the Festival. In the USA, the film will be released on 25 May.
The official selection (Competition, Un Certain regard, Out of Competition) will be announced on Thursday, 19 April. The 65th Festival de Cannes will run from Wednesday 16 May to Sunday 27 May 2012.”
Source: via The Playlist.
