Kevin Spacey to Make Surprise Appearance in Cannes to Accept Award

Kevin Spacey is about to return to the Cannes Movie Pageant for the primary time in virtually a decade to gather a lifetime achievement honor.

The 2-time Oscar winner was final in Cannes in 2016, when he served as emcee for the amfAR gala and ripped into Donald Trump, then not even the Republican’s confirmed presidential nominee. A lot has occurred since, with Trump having been elected twice and Spacey’s profession nosediving following a number of allegations of sexual misconduct.

However having been discovered not liable in a civil lawsuit in New York in 2022 and acquitted in a legal case in London the next yr, the actor is now heading again to Cannes, the place he’s as a consequence of arrive on Sunday. On Tuesday he’ll obtain a particular lifetime achievement award on the Higher World Fund’s gala, including to the same honor he acquired in Italy final yr.

Spacey’s go to to Cannes, which Selection understands might even embody a purple carpet look on the Palais, is more likely to trigger one thing of a stir. However that’s the entire level. The complete journey — and his receiving of the award — has been orchestrated by the producers of conspiracy thriller “The Awakening” through which he stars and is being offered on the competition.

The British indie movie — in regards to the uncovering of a sinister world cabal that controls the world (and is run by Spacey) — was the primary film the actor shot after being cleared of fees within the U.Ok. in 2023, his final trial.

“We’ve not just kind of crowbarred him in. It makes sense. It’s not ‘House of Cards,’ but it’s very in line with that kind of character,” mentioned producer Matt Hookings of Camelot Movies, including that bringing him to Cannes is all a part of his firm’s “guerrilla marketing” to deliver consideration to the movie, which additionally contains viral movies promoted by Spacey’s co-stars.

“So if anyone speaks to him, he could say he’s in Cannes and receiving an award, but he’s also here with ‘The Awakening,’ so the film gets plugged,” mentioned Hookings, who added that claims Spacey can be assembly with consumers.

Whereas flying and accommodating Spacey and his small crew is an costly outlay for a small indie manufacturing firm, touchdown him the award from the Higher World Fund — which has given related honors to the likes of Kevin Costner and Sharon Stone over the previous few years — proved to be comparatively straightforward.

“The guy that runs it is a big fan of Kevin and I just said, ‘Look, here’s a crazy idea: if I asked him to come, what can you do for him?,’” mentioned Hookings. “So it kind of happened organically.”

Added the producer: “A lot of people really like him, so you’ll have a lot of people going, ‘This is really cool.’ And then you’ll have some people that’ll be like, ‘What the fuck is he doing here?’ But hopefully the people who say, ‘What the fuck is he doing,’ when they realize why he’s here they’ll give him a seocnd chance.”