Cannes: Steven Spielberg Will Lead Jury From His Yacht, Polanski Film A Possibility, Short Films Announced

Here are some exclusive updates on Cannes 2013: Sources say Steven Spielberg‘s yacht has left Ft. Lauderdale and set sea for the Cote d’Azur. I’m told Spielberg will run the Cannes jury from the yacht, possibly screening films there instead of attending public screenings. I hope he does come to some of the screenings at the Palais. When Robert DeNiro was chief judge he was spotted constantly, and it gave the Festival a buzz.

The Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reported last month that the Seven Seas is “at 282 feet long, it would soar 28 stories tall if set on end. Its cost: $200 million. It boasts luxury amenities for 12 guests, with a crew of 26. There is a large master stateroom with a study and private deck, a helipad, indoor cinema and an infinity pool with a 15-foot glass wall that converts to a movie screen so the director and his guests can take in a film while swimming.” …

…Roman Polanski was in Cannes last year for a tribute. But it’s been a while since he had a film in the festival. That may change today. Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux is screening Polanski’s take on the Broadway play “Venus in Fur” which stars Matthieu Almaric and Mrs. Polanski– Emmanuelle Seigner. The film is in French and would be Part 3 of Polanski’s “confinement series”– in “The Ghost Writer” everyone was stuck in that house on Martha’s Vineyard, then in “God Carnage” it was an apartment in Brooklyn. “Venus in Fur” takes place in a rehearsal studio.

SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION