トム・クルーズ、カンヌで名誉パルムドール受賞　「劇場愛」語る

【カンヌＡＦＰ＝時事】米俳優トム・クルーズは１８日、第７５回カンヌ国際映画祭で名誉パルムドールを受賞した。最新作『トップガン マーヴェリック』をめぐっては、劇場公開にこだわったことを明らかにした。（写真は第７５回カンヌ国際映画祭で『トップガン マーヴェリック』の上映会に先立ち、名誉賞「パルムドールドヌール」を授与された米俳優トム・クルーズ）
　『マーヴェリック』は、１９８６年の大ヒット作『トップガン』の待望の続編。２０２０年のカンヌ映画祭で初上映される予定だったが、新型コロナウイルスの流行を受けて通常の形での映画祭開催が取りやめとなり、公開が延期されていた。
　欧州でのプレミア上映となった今年のカンヌ映画祭で、クルーズは観客を前に「私は大スクリーンで上映するために映画を作っている」と強調。「その経験がたまらない。同業者にもぜひ、味わってほしい」と語った。
　ストリーミング配信は考えなかったのかとの質問に対しては、「全く考えなかった」と即答。
　「私たちは今ここで一つになっていますよね。話す言葉も、文化も違う。それでも同じ経験を分かち合えている」と、「劇場愛」を訴えた。
　「映画館が大好きなんだ。映画が公開されると必ず出掛ける。帽子をかぶり、他のお客さんに交じって。映画館のオーナーとも多くの時間を過ごしてきた」
　クルーズは実際、新型コロナ感染が拡大していた２０２０年夏、クリストファー・ノーラン監督の作品『テネット』をお忍びで観賞し、宣伝に一役買ったこともある。
　「劇場に行くと、ポップコーンを売っている人などいろんな係の人にこんなふうに声を掛けるんだ。大変な仕事だね。私たちも『ミッション：インポッシブル』の続編を作っているし、『トップガン』続編も公開されるからねと」
　『マーヴェリック』は２７日、全世界で同時公開される。「ミッション：インポッシブル」シリーズの続編２本は２０２３年と２０２４年に公開の予定だ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/05/19-14:15）

Tom Cruise received an honorary Palme d'Or and gushed about his passion for cinema as he made his first visit in 30 years to the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday for the launch of Top Gun: Maverick.
The French Air Force display team streaked across the sky over the red carpet as the stars headed into the screening for the long-awaited sequel to Cruise's superstar-making 1986 blockbuster.
The movie was supposed to premiere at the French Riviera film fest back in 2020 before it was cancelled by the Covid pandemic and the film's release delayed multiple times.
Cruise was adamant it was worth waiting for cinemas to be back in full swing, and said he never considered releasing Top Gun: Maverick via a streaming platform.
That was not going to happen, ever, he told a Cannes audience in a talk ahead of the premiere.
I make movies for the big screen. Cinema is my love, my passion. I always go to movies when they come out. I'll put my cap on and sit in the audience with everyone.
Fans lined balconies and stood on roofs along the Cannes seafront to catch a glimpse of the stars, while others held up signs begging for a last-minute ticket to the screening.
- 'No to war' -
Earlier, the festival's main competition got going with a movie from Russian dissident Kirill Serebrennikov, who has been forced into exile since the invasion of Ukraine.
His entry in the race for the Palme d'Or, Tchaikovsky's Wife, is unlikely to improve his standing with the Kremlin given that it shines a light on the legendary composer's homosexuality -- a story that remains taboo for Russian conservatives.
No to war, he said after the premiere.
I am totally convinced that culture and people of culture can help ensure that this war ends, added the director, who was unable to attend the festival for two previous nominations due to a controversial court case that barred him from leaving Russia.
The war has already been a major theme at the festival, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky making a surprise video appearance at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
There will be a special screening on Thursday of Mariupolis 2, a documentary about the conflict by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed in Ukraine last month -- reportedly by Russian forces.
Ukraine's beleaguered film-makers will get a special day at the festival and one of its most promising directors, Sergei Loznitsa, will show The Natural History of Destruction, about the bombing of German cities in World War II.
- 'Emotional wallop' -
Meanwhile, Cruise's fight is to boost cinemas as they struggle to emerge from the pandemic.
His 39 films as a lead actor have pulled in just shy of $8.5 billion (8 billion euros) worldwide, and Box Office Pro estimates Top Gun: Maverick could add as much as $390 million in the United States alone.
Critics have been mostly giddy in their reviews, with Empire magazine praising its slick visuals, crew camaraderie, thrilling aerial action, a surprising emotional wallop and, in Tom Cruise, a magnetic movie-star performance as comforting as an old leather jacket.
The Cannes Film Festival continues to be a popular launchpad for big budget spectacles, with industry insiders noting that its new sponsor TikTok has added another level of social media buzz this year.
Cruise received his surprise honorary Palme as he entered the theatre for Wednesday's screening.
He was last in Cannes in 1992 for the premiere of Far and Away with his then-wife Nicole Kidman, and is the only Hollywood megastar of that era to have maintained his box office power, even as he prepares to turn 60 this year.
In the history of cinema... he has one of the highest success rates, festival director Thierry Fremaux said.
This is someone that we haven't seen on streaming platforms, TV series, or doing adverts.... He is someone who is devoted to cinema.