If you were wondering how the film United Passions got that Cannes Film Festival leaf logo and "Selection Officielle" notation in the trailer, look no further than Cyrano de Bergerac himself, Gerard Depardieu. The French film star played World Cup creator Jules Rimet in the movie, and according to Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, Depardieu went to bat for the film with festival organizers.The quotes get even better after that. Apparently, festival organizers didn't screen United Passions as they do with other submissions, but instead merely played it on the beach to a general admission audience. Fremaux continued:
"Gerard Depardieu was very insistent. He really wanted us to show it," said Fremaux, speaking Monday by telephone. "I'm not saying we did it to keep him happy, but let's say that he insisted a lot."
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My French is a little rusty, but here is a rough translation of that last quote: Ah, the beach. Sure you can show your garbage film on the beach. Just be prepared for my comments a few months later making sure everyone in the world knows this is a terrible, terrible piece of work and in no way represents the kind of product we here at the Cannes Film Festival endorse. This film is like the caricature artist who hangs outside of the Louvre, OK?OK, so Fremaux made it clear that United Passions isn't Cannes material, but is the film really that bad?"At the beginning, I said 'Out of the question,' because the film lacks the quality to be part of the official selection," he told the AP. "Then they said, 'Why not on the beach?' I said, 'Ah, the beach. Yes, it's a festival. It's football. It's the general public. OK.'"
[Associated Press]"I don't find the movie horrible at all," he said. "It should have been a television movie."