Cannes Judge Irons Hoping To Stay Awake
by James Morrison, PA News in Cannes, Press Association Newsfile
May 10, 2000
British actor Jeremy Irons today confessed he hoped the movies competing at this year's Cannes Film Festival would be exciting enough to keep him "awake".
The Oscar-winning star, who is one of the 10 official judges at the star-studded event, told a press conference he was "easily bored" as both an actor and a viewer.
But Irons, star of The Mission and Brideshead Revisited, said he was confident the 23 films competing for the coveted Palme d'Or at the 53rd annual festival would live up to expectations.
"I'm easily bored as an actor, I'm easily bored as an audience," he said. "So I hope that somehow the films will keep me excited and awake.
"I will have to be a little more focused on my intellect. I look forward to being excited and surprised."
Irons, sporting a full beard and looking dapper in a cream suit, was seated next to another judge, pregnant British beauty Kristin Scott-Thomas, who starred in The English Patient.
Staying quiet for much of the press call, the French-based actress, who wore a long floral dress, spoke briefly to say she was looking forward to being able to share views on the competing films with other judges.
German actress Barbara Sukowa (corr) stepped into the current debate over international film funding, saying she felt it was important to retain a sense of identity in movies.
Irons said he believed the "culture" of a director andor writer was more important than the sources of financial backing for a film in determining its character.
But Sukowa said: "Personally, I do see a problem in these many films that are co-productions."
She said difficulties could sometimes arise when different members of the production crew came from different countries, adding: "Finally, these kinds of films lose...they lose everything.
"They don't have any continuity and you don't know which world you are in."
Other major cinema names on the jury include American director Jonathan Demme, who made The Silence of the Lambs, and Indian writer Arundhati Roy.
Its president is French film-maker Luc Besson, whose films include The Fifth Element and Joan of Arc.
Of the 23 movies competing for this year's Palme d'Or only one, Bread and Roses by veteran director Ken Loach, is a British entry.
And just four, including Joel Coen's period movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, starring George Clooney, and James Ivory's The Golden Bowl, featuring Uma Thurman and Nick Nolte, hail from the United States.
Asked if he felt this represented a "seismic shift" in the appreciation of films, Irons said: "Choosing 20 films can't be easy.
"I think it would be short-sighted to draw those conclusions."