The lineup unveiled in Paris on Thursday in the early morning hours in the U.S. includes “Fair Game,” the thriller about the Joe Wilson-Valerie Plame incident from “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” director Doug Liman and starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts; “Biutiful,” the Javier Bardem vehicle about a policeman and a drug dealer from “Babel” director Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu; “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,” Oliver Stone’s sequel to his 1980s-defining film, this one starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin and Carey Mulligan along with original star Michael Douglas; and Woody Allen’s comedy “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” also starring Watts, as well as Brolin and Freida Pinto. (“Fair Game” and “Biutiful,” which will also be seeking U.S. distribution at the festival, will play in competition; the other two will play out of competition.)
The lineup also includes more prestige — and, to some American filmgoers, less immediately recognizable — work from the likes of Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano (“Outrage”), Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (“The Certified Copy”), British director Mike Leigh (“Another Year”), French notables Bertrand Tavernier and Jean Luc Godard (“La Princesse de Monptpensier” and “Film Socialisme,” respectively), and Romanian up-and-comer Cristi Puiu (“Aurora”), who helped usher in the Romanian film renaissance five years ago. Eclectic British director Stephen Frears will also unveil his graphic-novel adaptation “Tamara Drewe,” which stars Bond girl Gemma Arterton. – from LATimes