With Brad Pitt (and Angelina Jolie likely in tow) and Sean Penn pretty much guaranteed to hit the Cannes Film Festival this year for Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree of Life,” paparazzi are going to be out in full force, and when reports surfaced last week that the Queen Of Pop herself was headed for the Croisette with her latest directorial effort “W.E.” we can only imagine that photogs thought they had struck gold. But alas, Madonna won’t be hitting the south of France this spring.
THR reports that while Madonna still plans to screen footage for invited buyers/distributors at a private screening next month at the European Film Market, the film is not expected to be completely finished in time for Cannes. Instead, “W.E.” will likely bow on the fall film festival circuit and we’d guess a Venice or TIFF premiere is likely.
Starring Abbie Cornish, Oscar Isaac, Andrea Riseborough and James D’Arcy, the film tells the parallel stories of the love affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, which led to the royal’s abdication, and the contemporary story of a woman, Wally Winthrop, with romantic problems of her own in addition to an obsession with the life of the Duchess of Windsor. With “The King’s Speech,” Kate Middleton and Prince William getting married and Madonna’s movie we’re gonna have our fill of Brit royalty in 2011, thankyouverymuch. So anyway, look for “W.E.” this fall but don’t feel too bummed about Cannes, because it should be a pretty remarkable line up this year if the tea leaves turn out to be right.