Coppola, Cronenberg to compete at Cannes Film Festival

Coppola will bring his long-in-the-making passion project Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver, to the competition while Lanthimos teams up with Emma Stone after the success of Poor Things with Kinds of Kindness.

Cronenberg will pull in horror fans again with The Shrouds starring Vincent Cassel.

Strikes by actors and writers in Hollywood in 2023 made it a difficult year, forcing filming and post-production work to shut down for months and leaving gaps in 2024's movie schedule.

Other directors unveiling their new films in competition include Italy's Paolo Sorrentino with the Naples-set Parthenope, Brazilian Karim Ainouz's erotic thriller Motel Destino and France's Jacques Audiard with Emilia Perez, a musical set in a Mexican cartel starring superstar singer Selena Gomez.

With The Apprentice, Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi, known for Holy Spider, looks at Donald Trump's early years as a real estate tycoon with Sebastian Stan of superhero movie fame playing the former US president.

This year also marks the return of several big-name Chinese directors, festival director Thierry Fremaux told reporters on Thursday.

They will include Cannes veteran Jia Zhangke in the main competition with Caught By The Tides and Peter Chan's She Has No Name screening out of competition.

The festival will open on a lighter note with the previously announced opening film The Second Act - a French comedy directed by Quentin Dupieux and starring Lea Seydoux.

Organisers had built up anticipation ahead of Thursday for this year's line-up by announcing George Miller's new Mad Max film and a Western starring Kevin Costner would be premiering.

In addition, Hollywood legend George Lucas is set to walk Cannes' Croisette to receive an honorary Palme d'Or this year.

The 2024 festival runs from May 14 to 25.

Australian Associated Press