An appearance by Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds star Christoph Waltz at the Cannes Film Festival was reportedly interrupted by a man who fired two gunshots.
Police took the man, who may have fired blanks , into custody immediately. It was initially believed that the disturbance was caused the fireworks.
This occurred in the middle of a live broadcast of Le Grand Journal (a nightly news and entertainment program) with Oscar winner Christoph Waltz and Daniel Auteuil on the Martinez beachfront set.
Security rushed the two actors — who are members of the Cannes jury — off the stage, and the obviously frightened audience also began bailing (see embed below). “After the incident, Canal Plus said on the air that two blanks were fired from a gun and the man had been holding something that looked like a grenade.”
The gunshots are not audible in the footage, however. One witness claimed he heard police say “run, he has a gun.”
No one was reported injured in the disturbance. The show resumed shortly thereafter.
Last night, in another incident, a total of $1 million in jewelry was apparently stolen from a hotel room in Cannes, according to local police. The room belonged to a Chopard employee, the company that serves as an official sponsor to the festival and lends jewelry to movie stars who are in attendance. The robbery occurred at Novotel Hotel in central Cannes, and police said the robbers took a safe right off the wall and carried it away.
The Cannes Film Festival, perhaps the most prestigious of such events in the world, began on May 16 and will run until May 26.
[top image via cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com ]
Watch the panic that temporarily comes over the Le Grand Journal audience following what is reported to be shots fired during the Christoph Waltz interview:
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