We’ve had news this afternoon that Joaquin and Jeremy Renner arrive on the Croisette at Cannes later today (Wednesday) for Friday’s screenings! Exciting but us here at JPC never believe Joaquin’s going anywhere until we see him in the flesh! So keep an eye out….. we will report back!

Cannes: James Gray on ‘The Immigrant,’ Marion Cotillard and Returning to the Fest (Q&A)

Cannes keeps inviting him back, but the director admits a fondness for Venice, confesses he didn’t know Marion Cotillard’s films and advises travelers to never check their luggage.

Even though he’s just 44, James Gray will be bringing his fourth film to the Cannes competition on Friday when he unveils The Immigrant. The film stars Marion Cotillard as a Polish immigrant who arrives in New York City’s Ellis Island in 1921, quickly falls under the sway of a small-time pimp — played by Gray regular Joaquin Phoenix — and then looks to a magician (Jeremy Renner), to rescue her. Gray, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, documentary filmmaker Alexandra Dickson, and their three small children, spoke with THR about what led up to his fourth trip down the red carpet.

The Hollywood Reporter: How long have you been playing with the idea for The Immigrant?

James Gray: I was working on another project, which never got made, and as is so often the case my mind started to wander. My grandparents used to tell me stories about their trip to Ellis Island from Russia and life on the Lower East Side of New York. My brother had discovered a whole treasure trove of family history not long ago that he shared with me and I thought, “What a great subject for a movie some day.”

THR: With all the immigrant stories you could tell, how did you settle on this particular one?

Gray: There were stories that my grandfather had told us about a character named Max Hochstim, who was a very mercurial and enigmatic guy, a pimp who had small-time connections to Tammany Hall and to Ellis Island, and that’s how he would recruit women.

But I thought to make a movie about that guy would be pretty spirit-crushing, because he was such a dark and miserable person. But I thought if I make the movie about one of his victims, that might be more interesting, especially since so few films are about women and are from a woman’s point of view. And then in doing the research I found this wonderful photograph by a photographer called Lewis Hine of a young woman in the great hall at Ellis Island. Her face meant so much to me — it was so evocative.

THR: This is your fourth movie with Joaquin Phoenix. It’s turning into one of the great actor-director partnerships.

Gray: I never, of course, set out to steal from the idea of Toshiro Mifune and Kurosawa or De Niro and Scorsese. I simply enjoyed working with him so much. I found him so intelligent that he seemed to understand what I was going to tell him before I even said it. It’s a very rare thing. So when you find someone like that, you keep on going back to them.

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THR: How did you cast Marion Cotillard?

Gray: I had never seen anything she’d been in. She is the life partner of Guillaume Canet, who wanted me to help translate dialogue for this movie Blood Ties, which is showing in Cannes ironically enough. We would go out to dinner, and so I met her, and I thought she has such an amazing face. My wife said, “You don’t know who that is? She’s an actor, she’s won an Oscar.” I know it seems unlikely, but when you have young children, you really never go to the movies. We have a 7, 5 and 3-year-old. But I loved her face and I loved her attitude because she was quiet, but she had a total feistiness that somehow came through anyway. And her whole role is conceived as someone who says very little, but somehow conveys will.

THR: Your previous movies have been very contemporary, but here you’re doing a period piece that’s more melodramatic. Why the shift in tone?

Gray: I had been to see an opera, Puccini’s Il Trittico, directed by William Friedkin in L.A., which includes the one-act opera Suor Angelica. It seemed so emotional. There was no wall between you and the story, you and the characters. It was unabashedly direct emotionally. And I thought, “That’s something very beautiful to pursue for a film.”

THR: Your background is Russian Jewish. Why make your heroine a Polish Catholic?

Gray: Most Polish immigrants at that time were Roman Catholic. I thought that’s interesting, because the Catholic tradition is so rooted in redemption, in the possibility of forgiveness. All of these things played into the conception of film in a very beautiful way, because I had been inspired by that Puccini opera, which is about a nun. Also she would be a total outsider, even when she came to the Lower East Side. It would flip the conversation on its head for her to be an outsider there. But mostly because of this notion of redemption.

THR: So were you hoping for another slot at Cannes?

Gray: Not at all. In fact I had hoped to be getting the film ready for Venice last year, but that couldn’t happen because the movie has quite a bit of effects work. So then it was a question of going to Berlin or Cannes. Most of the money came from Wild Bunch, and they said, “If we can get in Cannes, let’s do that.” At least in America, the narrative is I’m a Cannes favorite. But, in fact, I’ve had my best experience in Venice, both with the audience and the jury. It’s an unbelievable honor to be invited to the Cannes competition, but it’s never been by design.

THR: Do you have any Cannes rituals?

Gray: I do two things now. One, I always bring my clothing with me in a garment bag. I never check it, because the first three times I went, it got lost. The second thing: have no expectations. The first time, with The Yards, I certainly didn’t think I would win the Palme d’Or, but I certainly didn’t think I would be booed. The response was very mixed, and I was so profoundly disappointed. So now I just hope some people enjoy the film, and I’m going to enjoy the fact that I’m there.

Wednesday, November 20th, 2013 (limited). Hopefully more to follow!

Cannes 2013: Harvey Weinstein presents autumn preview … but remains the star

This year’s Majestic Hotel party sees host of films showcased and stars including Nicole Kidman join producer on stage

Around Oscar time this year, cheeky host Seth Macfarlane noted that the race being now run, and the winners and losers more or less apparent, thousands of dejected actresses were at least spared the burden of saying they found Harvey Weinstein attractive. But on Friday night here in Cannes, the cyclical business of finding Harvey sexy – for both men and women – began again in a big way as the great man unveiled his slate of upcoming projects at his annual party at the Majestic Hotel.

At this same bash last year, things were far more subdued: a few cocktails, a few trailers and we were all back outside, milling about on the Croisette in pretty short order. This, by contrast, was a massive event, with around nine or 10 films being showcased and stars of all varieties joining Harvey on stage, including an elfin Rooney Mara (the lead of his Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), martial arts legend Yuen Wo-ping and the impossibly elegant Nicole Kidman, the star of his Grace Kelly biopic, Grace Of Monaco.

Harvey began the evening by thanking a string of his subordinates and junior executives and then said: “Is Nicole ready yet?” A corporate person at the back having apparently signalled yes, Harvey then said: “Ladies and gentlemen – Nicole Kidman!” We all turned around for Nicole to make her way up the aisle. Nothing. No Nicole. The person had apparently jumped the gun.

“They’re all fired. All those guys I thanked,” wisecracked Harvey after a heavy silence. “I’m gonna get a new team.” We in the press corps chortled appreciatively: and the executives matched us laugh for laugh. After Harvey was left to improv some more comments on his slate, Nicole finally showed up, made some gracious remarks about working on the movie, and then Harvey raucously commented on the elephant in the living room, as she stood beside him. Nicole Kidman was here both as a Weinstein team player and as a member of the jury, sitting in judgement on some Weinstein films in competition: James Gray’s The Immigrant and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives.

“After this evening is over,” said Harvey cheerfully, “Nicole has to return to her fellow jurors to decide which film of mine is going to win the Palme D’Or.” There was a brief pause during which we craned our necks to appreciate Nicole’s diplomatic smile. Harvey added: “I’ve certainly given Steven Spielberg enough money over the years! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Then it was time for the clips, largely trailers, which had the unfortunate effect of making almost every film look outrageously cheesy, even Ryan Coogler’s gritty Fruitvale Station, which having watched in its entirety, I know to be a different proposition from the sucrose emotion-grabber it appeared to be.

Lee Daniels’s The Butler stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gains, the African-American butler who served eight US Presidents in the White House, and had a ringside seat at historical events. Shane Salerno’s Salinger is a drama-documentary about the legendary, reclusive author – and Harvey was teasingly hinting at a big revelation. Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster was another eagerly awaited movie, and the Brit entry was the heartwarmer called One Chance with James Corden as the reality-show singing star Paul Potts. The big items, though, were undoubtedly the Cannes entries: James Gray’s Immigrant showed a tense and unpleasant scene with Joaquin Phoenix’s character menacing the timid immigrant, played by Marion Cotillard. The biggest response from the invited audience undoubtedly was for Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, in which Kristin Scott Thomas’s sinister character invites her son, Ryan Gosling, to dinner with his girlfriend and proceeds to humiliate him over the size of his penis. It got laughs and gasps from the crowd – perhaps partly because we could all imagine all too clearly the eruption of violence that wouldn’t be long coming.

Last year, Harvey’s Cannes party gave us three films: Django Unchained, The Master and Silver Linings Playbook which in their various ways were hugely successful. It was the beginning of a huge year for Harvey Weinstein. So an awful lot is riding on all these. On the basis of these glimpses, the real award-frontrunners are going to be the big Cannes titles: The Immigrant and Only God Forgives. But then they are the sort of arthouse fare, like PT Anderson’s The Master, which did badly. It could be something hokey, like The Butler. But these clips could be deceiving in all sorts of ways. We shall see.

Now added to that The Wrap have revealed that Martin Short and Jena Malone will also be joining!

Short and Malone are expected to join Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro and Reese Witherspoon in the soft-boiled crime film, which follows a pot-smoking private detective named Doc Sportello (Phoenix) as he investigates a missing persons case that may have larger implications.

Malone will play a former drug addict who asks Sportello for help, while Short’s small role is being kept under wraps.

Warner Bros. is financing and distributing the comedic film, which Anderson is producing through his Ghoulardi Film Co. along with JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi.

While it has been years since Short was last seen on the big screen, he did voice key characters in Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” and he’s also set to star in the Public Theater’s one-night-only performance of “The Pirates of Penzance” in Central Park.

Owen Wilson is reportedly in negotiations for a role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s (The Master) upcoming crime thriller Inherent Vice, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon. Although Wilson’s representative declined to comment, it is believed he will play a lead role opposite the exceptional Joaquin Phoenix. Set in 1970 Los Angeles, Inherent Vice tells the Lebowski-esque story of pot-smoking private investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello (Phoenix) as he investigates the alleged kidnapping of a girl he used to date.

The LA Times reports that Spike Jonze will be there on June 22. The writer-director will talk about his eclectic career – he co-created the MTV series “Jackass” and now serves as creative director for Vice Media’s VBS.tv — and screen clips from “Her.” The sci-fi romance, Jonze’s first film since 2009′s “Wild Things,” stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely writer who falls in love with a Siri-like computer system.

It’s all happening!

Joaquin on the set of Her last year…

(Welcome to Cannes Check, your annual guide through the 20 films in Competition at next month’s Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on May 15. Taking on a different selection every day, we’ll be examining what they’re about, who’s involved and what their chances are of snagging an award from Steven Spielberg’s jury. We’re going through the list by director and in alphabetical order — next up, James Gray with “The Immigrant.”)

The director: James Gray (American, 43 years old). For whatever reason, sometimes an American filmmaker gathers more of a following among critics abroad than in his own home country, and Gray is one of those. A graduate of the USC film program, though otherwise (as plainly reflected in his films) a born-and-bred New Yorker, Gray got an early start on the European festival circuit: his 1995 debut feature, “Little Odessa,” won him the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival when he was just 25 years old. Since then, every one of his four subsequent features — he’s not exactly prolific — has been placed in Competition at Cannes. The French, in particular, groove to Gray’s low-key, 1970s-accented tales of crime and heartbreak in the Big Apple. As if to prove it, he has a writing credit on a second film in Cannes this year: Frenchman Guillaume Canet’s out-of-competition “Blood Ties,” a New York-set thriller.

The talent: Gray isn’t the only name linking “The Immigrant” and “Blood Ties”: Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (Canet’s partner, incidentally) is in both films, and takes the lead here. Joining her at the top of the bill in what one of the Competition’s starrier entries are another two Oscar nominees: Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix, of course, is a Gray regular, having also appeared in the director’s last three films. The lower-wattage supporting cast has (obviously, given the subject matter) an international flavor, including players from Poland (Dagmara Dominczyk), Ukraine (Ilia Volok) and Armenia (Angela Sarafyan), as well as long-serving American hardman Antoni Corone. (Also, I don’t know how significant a presence burlesque performer DeeDee Luxe is, playing a character called Bandits Roost Tart, is, but those names are too fun not to type.)

As with Gray’s last film, 2008′s “Two Lovers,” the director co-wrote the script with the late Ric Menello, famed for his filmic hip-hop collaborations. Among his co-producers, meanwhile, is Greg Shapiro, who shared in the Best Picture Oscar for “The Hurt Locker” four years ago. Below the line, the name to get excited about is Iranian-born, Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji, whose long list of impressive credits — “Seven,” “Evita,” “My Blueberry Nights,” “Mindnight in Paris” — includes last year’s Palme d’Or winner, “Amour.” Editor John Axelrad also cut Gray’s last two films; he’s joined by Kayla Emter. Production designer Happy Massee, who evidently has a lot to work with in this period piece, has a music video background, and also worked on “Two Lovers.”

The pedigree: As I mentioned at the top, French Cannes patrons may place Gray higher up the auteur ladder than American ones — though “Two Lovers,” a small film which found a select group of devotees on both sides of the pond, arguably shortened the distance a little. Cannes programmers have certainly been loyal to Gray, though its jurors have been less generous: the director’s three previous Competition entries earned not one prize between them. He may be seen as a pet director of the French, though it’s still Venice that handed him the biggest (and earliest) coup of his career. The addition of three major stars in their prime — with Phoenix once more an object of critical fascination following “The Master” — lends extra cachet.

The buzz:

Strong. We’ve been waiting some time for “The Immigrant,” which was rumored to be ready ahead of last year’s Venice Film Festival — though it always seemed likelier that Gray would hold out for a fourth straight Cannes berth. Whispers from those who have seen the film (and it’s not just the Weinstein publicity machine) describe the film as a significant formal advance for the director, and it’s already being pegged as one to watch for the American awards season — which would be unfamiliar territory indeed for Gray. (You might speculate that the decision to change the title from the sexier, more evocative “Lowlife” to the nobler-sounding “The Immigrant” is not unrelated.) We’ll wait and see, though early stills have at least guaranteed us a visual treat.

The odds: Cannes oddsmaker Neil Young pegs Gray’s Palme chances at a healthy 8-1. Of course, advance excitement doesn’t necessarily translate into festival gold, particularly for a starry production guaranteed a life outside the fest — my gut feeling is that Steven Spielberg will be inclined to subvert expectations by crowning something on the less mainstream end of the spectrum. (Many US prestige pictures that are showered with awards later in the year leave Cannes empty-handed: think “L.A. Confidential” or “No Country for Old Men.”)  Still, as long as Cannes keeps selecting him, Gray’s awards duck has to break at some point: this could be his year to take Best Director, for example. Meanwhile, home favorite Cotillard — whom many expected to win at Cannes last year for “Rust and Bone” — will once more be in a crowded Best Actress conversation.

The Wrap has learned that Academy Award-winner Benicio Del Toro is now in active discussions to join the cast of Inherent Vice. A detective story set in 1970, the story centers on a pothead private eye named Doc Sportello (Phoenix) who starts investigating a kidnapping case involving a lost girl. Should Del Toro sign on he will play a friend of Doc’s who is “always trying to help the protagonist out of trouble.” The trade notes that it’s not a critical role in the movie, but that it has scene-stealer potential.

What is there to talk about? Just say yes Benicio!