CANNES FILM FESTIVAL DIRECTOR DISCUSSES SECURITY AND A-LIST GUESTS

Sean Penn's "The Last Face" about aid workers in Africa will compete at the Cannes Film Festival - along with movies about interracial marriage in 1950s America, illness and poverty in working class Britain and cannibal fashion models in L.A. - in a high-glamour yet socially conscious lineup announced by festival organizers Thursday.

The 49 selected films come from 28 countries, including Iran, Brazil, Egypt, Israel and South Korea, with 20 of them running for the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the French Riviera festival, held under heightened security after recent deadly Islamic extremist attacks on France and Belgium.

"The festival has been under security measures for many, many years, so it will be, of course, something we pay attention to - not only we the festival, but the French government," said the festival's director Thierry Fremaux. "I'm sure that everyone is working in the same feeling to make the festival safe, for sure, secure, but also to be a wonderful, friendly moment."

This year, top stars expected to grace the famed red carpet at the May 11-22 festival include Marion Cotillard, Shia LaBeouf, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster and George Clooney. This edition will also see the return of numerous Cannes favorites such as directors Pedro Almodovar, Ken Loach, Jim Jarmusch and the Dardenne brothers.

"When you mention big Cannes, Cannes big names. It's not Cannes big names only, it is world cinema big names and Cannes is the greatest film festival in the world and it's an honor for us to welcome all those great artists," said Fremaux.

"I think it is a good sign, the sign that it is always good for these people to be in Cannes. I must confess that, to me, and from Pierre Lescure, the president of Cannes, and the team, it's still very important that Cannes can be the place to be, still, and I think we will show that it is," he added.

Penn's latest directorial offering, which stars Theron and Javier Bardem, is likely to get top attention, alongside the festival's wackiest entry, the Danish horror film "The Neon Demon" (Nicolas Winding Refn) about beauty-obsessed, flesh-eating models.

Other films at the festival include "Loving" by American director Jeff Nichols, about a black-white couple in the U.S. in the 1950s, and British director Loach's "I, Daniel Blake," about a working-class man in northern England struggling with poverty and injury.

Spanish director Almodovar's "Julieta" is also competing, and young Canadian director Xavier Dolan has a new entry with "It's Only the End of the World" about a dying author — the second time the rising star has had a film in the running for the Palme d'Or. It stars Cotillard and Lea Seydoux.

American auteur Jarmusch returns to the Rivera with "Paterson" — a yarn about a bus driver and a poet set in New Jersey.

"Basic Instinct" director Paul Verhoeven features among the lineup with his first French-language film "Elle," a psychological thriller starring actress Isabelle Huppert.

This year's festival has a markedly American flavor, and opens with Woody Allen's 1930s Hollywood film "Cafe Society," starring Stewart and Eisenberg. It's showing out of competition.

Of the 20 films running for the top prize, three were made by women: Germany's Maren Ade with "Toni Erdmann"; the U.K.'s Andrea Arnold with "American Honey," starring LaBeouf; and France's Nicole Garcia with "From the Land of the Moon," starring Cotillard alongside Louis Garrel. The festival organizers have been criticized in previous years for failing to include a wider selection of films directed by women.

For the first time there will be no closing film. Instead the festival will rescreen the winning film.

The jury is presided over this year by "Mad Max" director George Miller.

Paris, 14 April 2016

1. Medium shot (left-right) Pierre Lescure (Cannes Film Festival President) and Thierry Fremaux (Cannes Film Festival Director)

2. Wide shot Pierre Lescure and Thierry Fremaux

3. Cutaway photographers

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Director:

"I think this festival will be, well, first I don't know what it will be, because we are going to make it together and it's like the selection. The selection is - we love the movies we picked up - we don't know how they will be received and we know that we have surprise, positive surprise and sometimes (not), unfortunately, but, in a way, it is also the legend of Cannes. Sometimes some films will be very discussed and maybe we will have some fight with the festivals-goers about some films."

5. Pan from Cannes Film Festival sign to Thierry Fremaux being interviewed

6. Wide shot Thierry Fremaux talking to press

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Director:

"When you mention big Cannes, Cannes big names - it's not Cannes big names only, it's world cinema big names and Cannes is the greatest film festival in the world and it's an honor for us to welcome all those great artists. And, for me, I'm very proud to have Woody Allen to open the festival, to have Steven Spielberg - and Steven Spielberg he doesn't come (to the festival) so often - and so it's great to have him for sure, and Pedro Almodovar, Ken Loach, all these people - they are great auteurs."

FILE: Cannes, 15 May 2015

8. Various shots Woody Allen, Emma Stone and Parker Posey

FILE: Cannes, 15 May 2013

9. Medium shot Steven Spielberg and Nicole Kidman

FILE: Cannes, 22 May 2014

10. Medium shot Ken Loach

FILE: London, 13 December 2012

11. Medium shot Rossy de Palma and Pedro Almodovar

Los Angeles, 13 April 2016

12. Medium shot Sean Penn

Paris, 14 April 2016

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Director:

"I think that this festival will show how strong cinema is in the world of a lot of different images. I mean cinema was the first art of motion pictures and then now we are living in the world of the TV series. But the films, it's hard to make a good movie and I'm sure that this festival will show, this selection, will show the vitality and the good health of the creativity of the filmmaker in the world. And not only in our world - France, United States or the occidental world - but really from all over the world, because almost 30 countries are inside the official selection."

14. Medium shot Thierry Fremaux talking to media

15. Medium shot cameraman

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Director:

"The festival has been under security measures for many, many years, so it will be, of course, something we pay attention to - not only we the festival, but the French government, the city of Cannes and I'm sure that everyone is working in the same feeling to make the festival safe, for sure, secure, but also to be a wonderful, friendly moment."

17. Wide shot Thierry Fremaux

18. Pan from backdrop to Thierry Fremaux

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Director:

"George (George Clooney) is not a usual suspect in Cannes, it's not so often that we have him in Cannes, so we are lucky as well to have him and Julia Roberts for the first time. I think it's a good sign, the sign that it is always good for these people to be in Cannes. I must confess that, to me, and from Pierre Lescure, the president of Cannes, and the team, it's still very important that Cannes can be the place to be, still, and I think we will show that it is."

FILE: Los Angeles, 1 February 2016

20. Medium shot George Clooney being interviewed

Los Angeles, 13 April 2016

21. Director Garry Marshall and Julia Roberts speaking to reporter

FILE: Beverly Hills, 13 July 2015

22. Medium shot Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel

Los Angeles, 11 April 2016

23. Medium shot Charlize Theron posing for photos with fans

FILE: Los Angeles, 28 January 2016

24. Wide shot with zoom in to medium, director George Miller poses for photographers at G'day USA gala

SHOTLIST (including transcript):-

AP Entertainment

Paris, 14 April 2016

1. Wide shot press conference

2. Medium shot journalists

3. Wide shot Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director and Pierre Lescure, Cannes Film Festival president

4. UPSOUND (French) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director:

"Sean Penn from the United States came only once in the competition for a movie called "The Pledge", fifteen years ago in 2001. He comes with his movie called 'The last Face' with Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem, Adele Exarchopoulos and some others. It's a love story in times of humanitarian engagement in Africa."

5. Cutaway audience

6. UPSOUND (French) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director:

"Loving" is the new movie by Jeff Nichols of the United States. 'Midnight Special' is still in cinemas, it was presented in Berlin. This one will be presented during the Cannes competition. This is a little change of pace for him, it's about interracial marriage, one in particular, famous in the United States. A famous case in the United States with a black man and white woman who were chased out of the state they were married in. Their case ended up in the Supreme Court. The film is called 'Loving.'"

7. Cutaway audience

8. UPSOUND (French) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director:

"Ken Loach from the U.K. - who said that his last movie was his last movie - is saying this one is his last movie. He keeps telling me he's thinking about his last movie. This one is called "I, Daniel Blake." And when I say (Jim) Jarmusch is very 'Jarmuschian', this one is very 'Loachian' - Ken Loachian."

9. Cutaway

10. UPSOUND (French) Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director:

"The selection we are presenting is quasi-complete. We might make some adjustments in the days to come to be in tune with the news – a film that comes from Panama… (laughs after a comment from journalist saying this one is well financed). Yes, it's a movie that's was nicely financed."

11. Medium shot Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival director and Pierre Lescure

12. UPSOUND (French) Pierre Lescure, Cannes Film Festival president - on security at the festival:

"We've done everything we can to ensure the right balance is stuck between attention to security and, at the same time, allow this film festival to remain a place of freedom and pleasure."

13. Wide shot presser

CANNES LINE-UP ANNOUNCED IN PARIS

Sean Penn's "The Last Face" will compete at this year's Cannes Film Festival - along with movies about interracial marriage in 1950s America and cannibal fashion models in L.A. - in a high-glamour lineup announced by festival organizers Thursday (14 APRIL 2016).

20 films from 28 countries will compete for prestigious prizes at the May 11-22 festival on the French Riviera, being held under extra security after Islamic extremist attacks on both France and Belgium.

Penn's latest directorial effort, which stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem, is likely to receive plenty of attention, as will Danish horror film "The Neon Demon" by Nicolas Winding Refn, which explores the lives of beauty-obsessed models.

Other films at the festival include "Loving" by American director Jeff Nichols - about a black-white couple in the U.S. in the 1950s - and British director Ken Loach's "I, Daniel Blake," about a man struggling with poverty and injury.

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's "Julietta" is also competing, while young Canadian director Xavier Dolan appears with "Juste la fin du monde" about a dying author.

In a mysterious reference to the Panama Papers offshore investigations, festival director Thierry Fremaux said there also might be a late entry from Panama, "for those who follow current affairs."

Festival president Pierre Lescure said there are 500 security personnel assigned to the festival and they're working with national security authorities.

This year's festival has a markedly American flavor, and opens with Woody Allen's 1930s Hollywood film, "Cafe Society," starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, which is showing out of competition.

Other Hollywood heavy hitters - director Jodie Foster's "Money Monster" (starring George Clooney), Steven Spielberg's live action version of Roald Dahl's "The BFG" and Shane Black's thriller "The Nice Guys," which stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

For the first time there will be no closing film. Instead the festival will rescreen the winning film as an "experiment," Fremaux said.

The jury is presided over this year by "Mad Max" director George Miller.