INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

George Clooney Leads A Star-Studded Lineup At Cannes Film Festival

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 19:13 PST, Apr 20, 2016

George Clooney will be among the star-studded lineup at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to People. The 54-year-old Gravity actor will join such familiar Hollywood faces as his Money Monster co-star Julia Roberts, Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, and many others.

Organizers of Cannes 2016, which will be held this May, previously announced the opening night of the film festival would feature Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, and Jesse Eisenberg in Woody Allen’s Café Society, but they have just announced the expanded list of stars that includes George Clooney.

The 69th Cannes will be welcoming back a few celebrities, including George Clooney, who last showed up at the festival in 2007 for his movie Oceans 12. It will be Clooney’s first walk down the red carpet of Palais des Festivals et des Congrès since his marriage to wife Amal.

According to the festival’s official schedule, George Clooney and Roberts will open the Cannes’ second night in Jodie Foster’s Money Monster, which hits theaters May 13. This is Foster’s first directorial project since 2011’s The Beaver, starring herself, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mel Gibson. It will be Roberts’ debut at Cannes.

Twilight star Kristen Stewart, meanwhile, will be representing two films at the festival this year – something even George Clooney has never done in his acting career. Stewart will promote Café Society and Personal Shopper, directed by Oliver Assayas, who had previously worked with the 26-year-old actress.

Ryan Gosling, who starred alongside George Clooney in 2011’s The Ides of March, and Russell Crowe will be backing their crime comedy The Nice Guys, which hits theaters May 20. The plot of the movie is centered around two mismatched detectives in 1970s Los Angeles.

The festival’s official schedule also includes such names as Sean Penn and Charlize Theron in their film The Last Face, in which they costar alongside Cannes-winner Adèle Exarchopoulos. Adèle won the Cannes best actress prize for Blue Is the Warmest Color in 2013.

Money Monster, directed by Foster, brought George Clooney and Julia Roberts together after a 12-year break, according to ET Online. The two last shared the screen in 2004’s Oceans 12.

In the intense crime thriller movie, George Clooney portrays Lee Gates, a television financial expert, who hosts a show produced by Patty Fenn, played by Julia Roberts. Clooney’s character then uncovers the truth behind some big-money corruption after an outraged gambler, who lost a fortune after following Gates’ tips, holds him hostage during a live broadcast.

The Oscar winners – George Clooney and Roberts – sat down to talk about their recent film in a behind-the-scenes clip. Roberts said the movie’s plot describes how people can feel in control and not in control of their lives at the same time, adding that her character plays a huge role in the plot, even though she is not the one held hostage by the disgruntled gambler.

“She is trying to stay calm and collected and connected to Lee [George Clooney] to keep him calm and understand what’s going on in the studio, and at the same time trying to find the people and try to find out what’s really going on.”

Foster, who directed the movie, said George Clooney was the perfect fit for the role, as the actor himself is always eager to explore the darker side of issues. Clooney, meanwhile, said he loved starring in the film that describes how the “world of money” has gotten out of control.

“And when those things go wrong, the little guy gets scr*wed.”

Apart from George Clooney and Roberts, the movie also stars Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), Dominic West (The Wire), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), and Caitriona Balfe (Outlander).

[Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images]

Share this article: George Clooney Leads A Star-Studded Lineup At Cannes Film Festival
george clooney blake lively kristen stewart julia roberts
More from Inquisitr