Spike Lee has taken the announcement that his new movie “Highest 2 Lowest” will premiere at Cannes Film Festival into his personal palms.
Just over an hour after the pageant revealed its lineup — which didn’t embody “Highest 2 Lowest” — the legendary director took to Instagram to interrupt the information himself.
“Bon Jour. Good Morning. Whaddup❓Da New SPIKE LEE JOINT-HIGHEST 2 LOWEST Starring My Brother DENZEL WASHINGTON Has Been Invited To Da 2025 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (In The Out Of Competition Category),” Lee wrote below a photograph of a patch that claims “Highest 2 Lowest 2 Cannes.”
Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” — a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller “High and Low” starring Denzel Washington and hailing from Apple Original Films and A24 — was extremely anticipated to be introduced on Thursday morning as a part of Cannes’ lineup. However, yearly there are just a few movies which are revealed later within the run-up to the fest.
In a humorous second throughout Thursday morning’s presser, Cannes creative director Thierry Fremaux stated that somebody was texting him to say he had forgotten a movie — maybe it may have been Lee. Variety has reached out to Cannes Film Festival, A24 and Apple for remark.
It’s not the primary time the celebrated director has jumped the gun by way of bulletins. At Cannes in 2021, when Lee served as jury president, he by accident learn out the title of the Palme d’Or winner — “Titane” — initially of the awards ceremony quite than the tip, resulting in confusion and, in the end, a quite much less suspenseful finale.
“I have no excuses, I messed up,” he stated on the press convention afterwards. “I’m a big sports fan. It’s like the guy at the end of the game in the foul line, he misses the free throw, or a guy misses a kick.” As it occurs, “Titane” director Julia Ducournau may also be attendance once more this yr along with her observe up “Alpha.”
Lee joins a stacked lineup for this yr’s Cannes, which incorporates movies from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster and Kelly Reichardt in competitors. Though Lee stated “Highest 2 Lowest” is premiering out of competitors, that means it gained’t be eligible for the distinguished Palme d’Or, it’s in good firm within the part alongside Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Vie Privée” starring Jodie Foster.
“Highest 2 Lowest” additionally stars Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice and ASAP Rocky. Plot particulars have been stored below wraps, however like Kurosawa’s “High and Low” it’s loosely primarily based on Ed McBain’s 1959 novel “King’s Ransom,” which follows a rich man pressured to decide on between reaching a private ambition or saving the lifetime of a kidnapped little one.
Alex Ritman contributed to this report.