Cannes 2020 Postponed…
With the worldwide pandemic far from resolved, the 2020 edition of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival has been postponed indefinitely.
The latest edition of the world’s most famous film festival was scheduled to begin on May 13. Instead, festival organizers are looking at new ways to keep the festival alive this year…
As The Guardian reported yesterday:
“The Cannes film festival appears to have halted any plans for a physical edition for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but is aiming to sponsor screenings at other festivals and cinemas of the films that would have been selected for the festival.”
In an interview with Screen, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux said he “could never have imagined” something like the cancellation of the festival, which was originally due to start tomorrow and was “overcome with a great sense of melancholy and nostalgia.”
He added: “Under the circumstances, a physical edition of Cannes 2020 is hard to envisage, so we’ll have to do something different … Everyone understands that [it is] impossible this year.”
Frémaux said that, at the beginning of June, Cannes would announce a list of films that would have screened in the 2020 festival; titles he mentioned included Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods out of official competition – since Lee had been the head of this year’s jury.
Lee’s film will now premiere on Netflix in June.
When will the prestigious Cannes Film Festival be back? Still not clear, but it reminded me of the 12 times I attended the festival -including 20 years ago, when I was there with Joan and Melissa Rivers!
Joan and Melissa’s Cannes Fashion Review!
My wife Alex and I shot with Joan and Melissa for years, creating the “Live From The Red Carpet” award live events as well as the “Fashion Review” series.
20 years ago, we took Joan and Melissa to the film festival to review the celebrity red carpet fashions, and that year I managed to convince the famed Carlton Hotel to allow us to shoot the show on their famous dock!
Yes, we filmed a TV special on the end of the Carlton Hotel’s dock!
It was a blast to take Joan and Melissa to the world’s most illustrious film festival to talk fashion – and salary:
Joan and Melissa were a pleasure to work with – no one worked harder! We shot in Cannes several times with them, and Joan was as recognizable there as anywhere – always stopping to pose for pictures, sign autographs, or just have a nice conversation with fans – she NEVER turned anyone down.
This is Alex at the shoot as well – she had a great relationship with Joan and Melissa!
You can see more of our Cannes adventures with Joan and Melissa by clicking on my story here:
I got to hang out with some big stars in Cannes – like the time my Host Michael Castner was interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger:
That’s me in the orange shirt on the left…you can click here to see the entire story of Arnold’s interview, with one of the funniest moments with the Superstar ever!
In addition to being the world’s most prestigious film festival, Cannes was also a film marketplace, so it was not unusual at all to have discovered Adult Film Star Jenna Jameson there as well!
We gave Jenna her first mainstream press exposure ever, and I had the chance to film with Jenna all over the world, including with Arnold, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone!
You can click here to see more of those “Wild On” travel adventures!
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Categories: Art, Books / Media, Cannes Film Festival, Cult Movies, Exotic Travel, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Memoirs, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, TV Show
johnrieber 
What great memories! I saw Joan Rivers live in SanFrancisco in the early 70’s. I never laughed so hard. She was the best!
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And she was the NICEST person…so much of her act was just that: an “Act”!
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That’s good to know.
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So many great things being cancelled. Thanks for sharing these fascinating memories John. You and Alex should write a book!
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Going to Cannes must have been amazing for you! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, as so many incredible films have screened there. Sad they’ve had to cancel this year, but it’s definitely for the best.
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Yes, it’s an incredible experience but there are no options this year – the entire world has been put on “hold”! Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Wow, this is Armageddon for sure! Thanks for sharing your amazing memories there – so cool
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Thanks for reading and commenting!
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It is a great shame, John, that Cannes has been cancelled. Maybe they will do an on-line conference or something. Not the same but better than nothing. You certainly have hobnobbed with the rich and famous.
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We had a lot of fun at that festival – I went 12 times! Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Great memories, John. You have lived a full and enviable life! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, that was a great trip with Joan and Melissa…I still can’t believe I convinced the Carlton to let us shoot the entire show from their dock! In the middle of the film festival! Thanks for commenting!
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