Here are some photos from the Cannes photocall for Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. Blunt wore this pretty, summery Peter Pilotto dress for the photocall. I like it, but that’s mostly because I’m relieved to see something summery and season-appropriate at Cannes. Blunt caused a lot of headlines at today’s press conference because she chatted about several hot topics. One, she talked about gender equality in films (the studio wanted to make her character into a dude). Two, she talked about Tom Cruise and how pro-woman he is (that’s interesting). Three, she talked about how stupid it was for the Cannes Film Festival to ban flats on the red carpet. Did they seriously do that? Some highlighted quotes:
Blunt on working with a lot of dudes: “It’s something that I’ve become quite used to in films. There aren’t a ton of chicks around.”
In praise of Tom Cruise: “I’ve actually worked with a lot of great male actors, like Tom Cruise for example. He is very empowering to females in a huge way. I thought [when I got to set], Oh it’s going to be a boys club. But he was someone who was very much about my character being a girl. It was refreshing.”
Playing strong characters: “I get [told] a lot, ‘You play a lot of tough female roles,’ but I don’t really see them as tough. I think there are plenty of strong women out there and I don’t think they can be compartmentalized as being one thing. ‘You’re tough.’ What, because I have a gun? I found [my Sicario] character strangely quite damaged and vulnerable and she is struggling with this role of being a female cop. Certainly, the morally questionable things that she is having to experience with these guys. It’s not safe. And you see this girl going through pretty much the worst three days of her life. And she is trying to maintain face through most of it.”
The idea of playing a character that could have been male: “I wasn’t really thinking about adjusting to making it more masculine. I think [the character] is definitely trying to survive in a male-driven industry. The F.B.I. agents that I spoke to sound like me. They sound like normal girls, and they go home and watch Gosford Park and Downton Abbey. They’re great girls. You definitely want to have a beer with them.”
The Cannes ban on flats: “I think everyone should wear flats to be honest. We should not wear high heels anyway. That’s just my point of view. I prefer wearing converse sneakers. That is very disappointing. You kind of think that there’s these new waves of equality and waves of people realizing that women are just as fascinating and interesting to watch and bankable.”
Apparently, some women have been turned away from the Cannes red carpet for wearing flats. WHICH IS INSANE. Of all the crazy stuff that’s “allowed” on the red carpet, Cannes organizers are taking a stand on… flats? RLY? As for the rest of it… I’m surprised at how she consistently defends Tom Cruise – they worked together on The Edge of Tomorrow and they seemed to genuinely get along. Which just goes to show you, Tom Cruise is definitely a nutburger and a central part of a dangerous cult, but he also inspires a lot of loyalty with his friends.
PS… Josh Brolin apparently just got engaged to his personal assistant. He and Diane Lane divorced a few years back, and I feel like Brolin is a major mess, but we haven’t heard much about him lately. So I don’t know what to say about it. I bet he’s cheating on his fiancée though.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
It’s not just her, Simon Pegg was waffling on about how much he liked Tom in a recent interview in the Sunday Times- religious affiliations aside, folk who work with the man like the man.
Don’t forget Renee Z ‘s Oscar acceptance speech. She thanked Tom Cruise.
Yes, I remember that! I wondered if it was a dig at Nicole given that Nicole actually co-starred with her on the film for which she won and the Tom/Nicole divorce was still very fresh. Strange to thank your co-stars ex for teaching you humility while blanking out the co-star.
I read that Nicole Kidman and Renee Z were close during Cold Mountain (lonely shoot in Eastern Europe, they would hang out and watch movies at night). But Tom Cruise undeniably gave Renee Z her start in Jerry Maguire, she wouldn’t have had anything close to superstardom without that film. If Cameron Crowe and Cruise had not been supportive of her, she wouldn’t have shone like she did in her breakthrough movie. So when she reached the pinnacle (the Oscar), she thanked the person who started her on the path. It was appropriate imo.
I can see that. Cruise’s entire universe, from what I gather, is acting and Scientology. I imagine him very dedicated to both.
Agreed, he seems very gung-ho about these things.
Yes. And if he can cross the streams and recruit some high profile actors along the way… all the better.
I love Emily’s outfit. And I love Emily. But… Anyone who publicly endorses Tom Cruise at this point in the game loses me a little bit. Maybe it’s just me, but after everything that’s recently come to light I can’t get behind him in any way. But I do still love you, Ruthie PigFace Draper (go watch Dan In Real Life if you haven’t seen it).
Edit: I guess I shouldn’t say “recently come to light” because it’s been pretty well known that the cult is a cult.
Totally agree which sucks because I love her so much. And while it’s great he was pro her female character, what about the actual females in his life? You know, the ones he had file their teeth. Or the one he hasn’t seen in over a year. Or his ex wife who he alienated from her children. Or the other ex wife who needed burner phones to get away from him? Yeah. Not so much.
Whatever he’s yuck, no amount of celebrity endorsement will help sell the Cruise as a normal nice guy.
Is it just me or is Benicio del Toro having issues opening his eyes?
Saw an article on the BBC on the whole flats thing — how stupid. If it’s a nice dressy pair of shoes, flat or heeled, it shouldn’t a problem.
He’s always looked like he needed a nap.
Does Cannes have specific requirements for men’s footwear? If not, then this is a completely sexist, misogynist rule for the film festival to have. This makes me ragey. I injured my leg years ago and cannot wear heels at all anymore — a chunky two inch heeled boot or oxford (lots of support) is as much as I can do. High heels don’t work for all women. Ugh.
Cannes rend carpet bans men without ties and there is also a stuff about men shoes
Then how did Matthias whatever who was with Diane Kruger get on the red carpet? Could they not send him back to the hotel to change? I’m conflicted on the heels vs flats thing. On one hand, they want to have a dress code for the festival that’s the organizers call. But then again, flats are a really specific thing to single out. Whatever.
I read that a man who was wearing grey shoes with a black tuxedo was stopped and given a warning.
He looks like he’s having a bad allergic reaction to something. :/
yeah but does Suri feel empowered by her (absent) father? And what about that cult-sponsored girlfriend who he had physically modified to suit his preferences – does she feel empowered?
Just saying, the man has a different attitude at work on set; in private he sounds deeply Mysogynistic
most sociopaths can “turn it on” when necessary.
Plus everything to this.
Seriously. How empowering is Tom Cruise to women who suffer from mental illness, post-partum depression or suppression through one of the more disturbing cults we’ve seen in recent history? Not to mention chicks who are burdened with their own original thoughts.
Gah. His Today show appearance still makes smoke come out of my ears.
I have such a hard time separating him from his work side and his coo-coo cult- I love slave labor side. Maybe he does have a fantastic work ethic, maybe he does want to empower female co-stars, who knows but his connection to scientology and all that brings has forever tainted him in my eyes. What happens and how you behave behind closed doors when the world isn’t watching speaks much more to me than what you do in the public eye.
I feel the same. I mean, you know, the whole slavery thing in scientology doesn’t seem to empowering to me … but i’m not a famous person so what do I know?
What is up w Benicios eyes? I used to find him attractive, but ugh…
How about what’s going on with his child with Stewart chick?
Kid’s three. She looks just like him. I assume he’s involved (but not photographed very often), because I think Kimberly would’ve thrown a (public) fit.
except when they insult his cult leader and he punishes them. except for that, yeah…
I don’t care how nice he is, he’s a f*cking nutbar…most sociopaths are “really nice”, too, when they want to be.
Of the many crazy things claimed in the GC documentary, the part about the chosen girlfriend’s ‘insulting’ the head honcho because she had a headache???
Oh, for the love of aliens, please cure my headache so I can bow down to your revered guest, Tommy.
Why would they ban flats? It just seems silly.
Banning flats would make more sense if Tom Cruise was actually present.
ok, you win…we can all go home now.
Wrong post…LOL
😛
It does slightly but I respect any event with a dress code. Maybe flats are equivalent to baseball caps for dudes.
I bet if somebody like say Nicole Kidman or Angelina Joli wore flats they wouldn’t ban them.
great bit from the Hollywood Reporter on flat gate:
“Despite such assurances, security might be on alert for shoe-based irregularities at Wednesday night’s red-carpet screening after Sicario director Denis Villeneuve said he was planning to stage his own protest over “flatgate.”
“Benicio [Del Toro], Josh [Brolin] and I will walk the steps in high heels,” he told the press conference.
Tha F*ck? No flats? What is this?!! I think actresses should just stick together and wear flats, like ALL OF THEM. That’s not going to happen, but Cannes wouldn’t ban them all, right? This is so stupid I can’t even process this piece of information properly. Wait, actresses in flats and tuxedos, I would like to see that actually.
Well, if they’re such feminists and feel strongly about wearing flats, they should wear them. They are slaves to fashion and will wear anything their stylists tell them to. Walk the walk or shut up.
Slaves to fashion is a really good way to put it. They want the access to the designers but then loose any freedom in therms of really calling the shots. I like to see the dresses but I would admire an actress who would actually wear suits many times because they felt like it. Men get away with it but girls HAVE to dress up for men, performing all the time. I’m sure many don’t even think about this. Feminists my *ss:/
“Well if they’re such feminists and feel so strongly about wearing flats, they should wear them.”
Or maybe flats are comfortable? Maybe some tall women don’t want to be 6 inches taller? There are millions of reasons a woman could want to wear flats. I could be misinterpreting your comment, and I apologize in advance if I am. But it almost comes off like you’re putting down flats AND feminism? But again, I could just be misreading.
EDIT: I think I may have misread. Disregard me. Lol
I think meme is pointing the finger to the actresses for their hypocrisy. If they feel like wearing flats (for whatever reason) they should do it and not conform to this stupid rules. Because they talk the talk about feminism but their actions don’t really reflect their concerns. That was my interpretation though.
@sofia, that’s exactly what I mean. I think Shambles realized she misread my post.
@ Sofia, after reading both of your discussions, I saw that as well. I misinterpreted when I first read Meme’s comment. My apologies for being too quick to get up in arms.
@Shambles, you are forgiven!:D This subject just makes our blood boil a little hahaha
@Shambles …I’m quick to get up in arms about stuff too LOL
It might be more fun if the men all wore high heels in solidarity, too.
That’s a great idea actually:D
Just a quick note about the hypocrisy: I read on another website that there was no written rule about the shoes, this was something some people found about when they arrived and Emily was asked about it, she didn’t know it was a thing. This changes things a little because actresses are not told they can’t wear flats and so I presume they did what they always do or the sort of thing they usually wear.
If she feels that strongly about not wearing heels, why didn’t she wear flats? Anna Wintour banned selfies from the Met Gala and people took them anyway. What were the people at Cannes going to do? Drag her off the red carpet for wearing flats?
Supposedly they turned away a director’s wife because of her lack of wearing heels and even complained to women who were visibly walking with canes that they were supposed to wear heels.
Sometimes the world is so stupid it stuns me into silence.
I would bet that “director’s wife” is not the same as “Star of the film”. The actresses have power and this is a small example of how they decide no to use it while talking about feminism. How disappointing.
To be fair, life is already pretty tough for actresses however A list they are. Actresses are viewed as easily disposable add to that the fact their careers already have a very short life cycle and you end up with a room of women asking whether THIS is really the issue they want to throw it away for. They are afterall there to sell a film and while Russell Crowe can choke an Oscar producer and still get cast for a big profile lead roles, the actress who pisses off Cannes producers may find it harder to catch baity roles if her films are unofficially blacklisted at or if her studio feel she brought negative attention to the film she was selling.
I think if someone does step up, it wont be the younger high profile actresses. It will be an older woman with an entrenched legacy who isnt afraid of career repurcussions.
You are probably right. Sometimes perceived power may not translate into much power at all. I just wrote above how I found out that there was no written rule about this, Emily was just asked because some guests were denied the entrance because they were not wearing heels.
Oooh, ’empowering to females’, eh? FEMALES.
don’t forget “girls”
I hate that so much. Makes me gag every time.
Tom is always praised about his congeniality. A local reporter said that he was extremely attentive to her in his interview, no flirting shit, just very welcoming, and honestly it seems ginwine.
sociopaths are really good at appearing genuine. they are charming, and manipulative (without seeming like they are manipulating you).
I didn’t know he has so much creepy facts about him. Did he hurt or abuse anyone? I’m completely clueless about his dark side.
Tom is just a really good actor. He cares about what people think and has the self discipline to keep the image going for the public. I bet he’s a monster in private though.
This is great and all but why does she continue to refer to grown women as girls???
I know, right?! It’s a pet peeve of mine, and I cringe every time I hear a women talk like that.
yea that made me cringe as well. She just had a baby, a career woman, and experienced. Girl she is not.
Tom Cruise always had this INTENSE niceness about him. he signs autographs for fans atbetter rates than others and makes an effort to meet them, but its really more like someone doing things he thinks will be perceived well.
some actor mentioned how Tom would watch American Football with them and get up everytime another guy stood up like showing chivlary for a lady when she leaves the table but guys watching football and drinking get up a lot, so did Tommy.
several people have described him basically as very nice but also very odd. like an alien that came here and that has to adopt human social interactions.
so i buy that he is nice to her and not a big old macho. if he really is empowering to women? i doubt it. thats typical hollywood PR talk where every co star is amazingly talented and a brilliant human being.
also the flats rule is dumb. i can understand that there are certain rules like not showing up in casual clothes but heels as a must is ridiculous.
I’ve never heard the football story! Reminds me of my coworker who’s bad at reading social cues, so he constantly has to go over the top polite inorder to not accidently offend people. i kinda feel bad for him. It must be so exhausting. Still doesnt absolve him from all the cult stuff though.
might not remember this very well, but I think Adam Carrolla is the one that told that story(or someone that looks a lot like Adam)…
never heard of that guy but i googled it and he is the one talking about it. the story is even better, Tom also brought his mom:
“So Tom Cruise came to Jimmy Kimmel’s house to watch football when you were there. He brought cupcakes and his mom. Did anything about him seem like a normal guy?
He comes across as a guy who’s battling to be normal, like he’s from another planet, and he’s studying guys and saying, “What would a guy do in this situation?” Then he mimics the behavior of an American male in front of other American males. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but he comes across as uncomfortable in his own skin.”
i think this whole alien thing and “studying american males” is spot on.
And bringing his mom really sounds like “empowering to females” LOL
According to Mary Harmon ( American Psycho’s director),Bale is inspired to act Patrick Bateman by Cruise after to see him in Letterman show ” very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes”
Rob Lowe had a story in his memoir about Tommy wanting to best whoever was doing back flips (there was a contest among the cast). I’ve also heard Tommy paying for some kids’ prom dinners because it reminded him of when he was younger. Of course this was when he was with Nicole and it was prenut time.
Heather Locklear briefly dated him and she told the press that when they went out dancing, he started doing the Risky Business dance exactly like the movie. She was pretty embarrassed.
I really think he’s socially awkward and eager to please. If he wasn’t caught up with that horrible cult, I’d view him as a harmless dork. Too bad. I can’t support him and although his movie with Emily got good reviews, I won’t watch it.
Maybe tom is just a really nice guy and thats the reason why CO$ got him so easily 🙁 i still like him as an actor. And its sad that he is in this cult. The flats? Huge sexism !!!!! Totaly not ok!!!
Tom’s nuttiness aside with Scientology, I’ve never heard of an actress not liking woking with him. I do think he is supportive and inclusive to his female co-stars and is supportive in that way, and I think he is kind to those on set. It’s sad he has lost himself in that cult regarding his personal life.
A friend of mine is an airline pilot, and she had a private pilot friend who worked for the rich and famous for a chartered private jet. This was back when Tom was still married to Nicole. She said that her friend said Tom was by far the nicest celebrity he had ever flown for. Nicole he said was quiet.
I can’t listen to or respect anybody who supports Tom Cruise at this point. We know what COS is and what they do. We know Cruise is a total flake and a mysoginist. We know he’s pretty much chosen his cult over his daughter and his last two wives. Narcissists are charming and beguiling – it’s part of the trickery. I think a person must be dumb to really think just because someone is nice to them or makes their character playing somehow easier, means he’s actually a good guy. Really? She sounds like just another psychophant fan-girl kissing butt to make it in the industry.
not to mention Katie and Suri.
His personal life is a mess, but I can see that he can be very professional, a team player, and enthusiastic about his work.
Totally agree.
A man can be a joy to work with and a complete bastard in his personal life. And vice versa.
I also think his dedication to COS is a mental illness at this point, so there is no telling how it would manifest.
I feel the same about the mental illness thing.
Agree with all the above. There are people who show a far more balanced side of themselves either at work or in their personal lives, but not both.
With that said, I think TC is broken in some way (perhaps from his childhood) and he has allowed himself to be manipulated for at least the past 15 years.
I just think Tom has two faces-his work face/public persona, and a private face. The private is so screwed up that he probably prefers the public presentation of himself., He is so so so strange, I wish someone would write a good biography about him. TC just seems like a shell, no real “there”, there. And yet I do think he’s a gifted actor. Rainman and Jerry mcguire come to mind. I really wanna know what happened in this guys childhood…how do you even GET that messed up?
Pervs in the industry.
He apparently had a very strained relationship with his father, and he attended numerous schools. He probably never felt any roots in any one place for very long.
His uncle (his father’s only brother) was a very respected attorney who did consultant and speaking engagement work. I never had the opportunity to meet him, but know a couple of people who did. They said only nice things about the uncle, who died several years ago. His firm was founded by Tom M. the second, who is Tom’s grandfather. So, you have the uncle who was apparently very stable and successfully kept the family law firm going for years.
I don’t know if Tom’s father was a wanderer, the ne’er do well or what, because some sources claim he grew up in near poverty.
Hi Cindy-was going to post about an EXCELLENT TC biography written by Andrew Morton a few years ago (same author who wrote Princess Diana’s biography.
I honestly didn’t have high hopes and actually checked it out of my local library so I wouldn’t have to pay with my hard-earned $$.
I just scanned it, looking for info on how/why he broke up with MR
& NK, COS, all the high and low points. It was so interesting and so extremely well-written that I then read it cover to cover. TWICE.
Book is (as far as I can tell) extremely well-researched and covers his childhood quite thoroughly, always putting into context how he grew up and how it still affects his behavior today.
Author doesn’t gloss over all of the factors that shaped TC growing up. He gives a surprisingly sympathetic, yet not sugar-coated portrayal of TC. Tom’s mother escaped with Tom and his siblings from the alcoholic abusive father, and it appears Tom never got over his being abandoned, being approved of and the incredible ANGER he felt about his dad.
I urge you to read the book 👌
Emily Blunt is such an underappreciated actress! I LOVE her!!!
She’s one of my biggest girl crushes.
Loved her entire outfit!!! Had no clue about the flats “issue” … it’s silly and let’s be honest most heals are awful! Even when shoes are designed by or with the cooperation of women it seems that part of the allure is that the woman’s feet don’t fit properly on the shoes….
Beno… Beno … Beno …. WTH! Sorry, but he looks awful… lack of sleep or whatever else, change your routine … honestly.
Tom Cruise was raised in an all-female household and has great manners. I am not at all surprised to find that Emily likes him. Add Graham Norton to his fan base.
Emily looks just beautiful here and really brightens up the blah colors the guys are wearing.
Benicio is looking all kinds of rough. All nighter, perhaps?
Unfortunately, the “rumors” about Benicio’s life-style include some sad aspects… I would hope the look is due to an all nighter, but …
Yeah, sorry, Emily you lost me with that love for Tom Cruise. Cannot stand that sociopath, never will.
I think as an actress Tom would be a refreshing change from the usual creeps who would come on to you. He seems very asexual. That’s a positive in such a misogynistic workplace environment.
Work and private life are separate. He’s probably very charming in the workplace and to people he’s trying to impress. When he’s in the cult where he is considered a God and everybody is a slave to serve him, a different, quite evil, creature emerges. One which would not be tolerated in the real world surrounded by people who have an abundance of choice surrounding who to work or associate with.
I’ve worked for a while with Tom Cruise’s Italian dubber. He dubs him in most of his movies, a rare exception has been War of the worlds (fun fact, he also dubs Tom Hanks in most of his movies.) He always said Tom Cruise is good company, very loyal and extremely professional, and I have no reason to doubt his words.
Hmmm but all of the men are wearing flats
Ole Tommy Girl has some Tay-Tay level H’wood powers. Then again, EVERYONE is afraid of the ‘Tology docturn.
Yes, very empowering to women, which is why is said to REGULARLY visit Suri. 👀😄
Even the worst kind of human ‘usually’ doesn’t think that they are a bad person. They might do bad things but would revolt at being called a bad person (except for the obvious few that glory in being called bad). I have no doubt that he can be an awesome coworker with genuine feelings of kindness towards others. I do not think he views his bad actions as being awful towards others, he’s fully convinced that he’s doing the right thing within the (Scientology) world he lives in.
No, he shouldn’t be excused for it. I just think that he has had a long history before Scientology took hold of him, I think he always has probably aspired to being faithful to something and helping others. Even the Brooke Shield’s thing, he THOUGHT he was helping. It’s really sad and disturbing. As for Suri, unknowingly he probably is doing the best for her by staying away and not indoctrinating her psyche. Also, the slave thing, he THINKS it’s part of the Scientology hierarchy, they need to do their time for enlightenment or whatever they tell those poor souls.
🙁
if you think Tom Cruise is an example of the “worst” kind of human you must live in a bubble.
I really want to like Emily, but she sounds like a bit of an idiot here.
I get that there aren’t as many meaty roles for women and all that, but give me a break with the “yeah, i’m just used to it being just me and all the dudes, man.”
Tom Cruise gets high praise for simply treating a female character like a female character? That’s a pretty low bar, Em.
Carrying a gun = a tough character. Um, actually, yeah, very often, male or female. And I CANNOT with actors talking about their “vulnerable” and “damaged” characters. SO trite.
Sooooo, chicks should not be put in the “tough” box just b/c they have a gun, but real life FBI agents can be put in the “regular chick” box b/c they watch Downton Abbey?
The Cannes ban is obviously idiotic, but dear Emily, you sound like Goop talking about how “we” should never wear heels anyway. As if your ass doesn’t happily show up in heels on the regular. I’d rather hear Vicky Becks talk about how she can’t concentrate in flats. Because *that* I buy.
Emily is just giving me all sorts of eyerolls here.
I wonder how Josh Brolin’s kids feel about his engagement. Apparently, she is 28 – 2 years older than his oldest kid. I don’t know what I would do if my Dad came home with someone my age … then again, they are both adults.
Thierry Frémeaux, the head of the festival twitted this rule never existed and this was a rumor(“La rumeur est infondée”).
Actually, you can distinctly see that ,for the premiere of The Irrational Man, Inès de la Fressange wore flats. It’s even her trademark at Cannes, she wears flats every year and nobody has ever been upset. Other women did: Frédérique Bredin (a former french minister) wore ballet flats, Costa-Gavras’ wife didn’t have heels either etc..
Isabella Rossellini’s footwear (the cape dress), seemed also flat.