Ewan McGregor, Jean Paul Gaultier tapped for Cannes jury
French film fest jury includes actors, filmmakers and cinephile fashion designer
Actor Ewan McGregor, filmmaker Alexander Payne and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier will help pick the winner of the Cannes Film Festival's top prize.
The trio will join Italian filmmaker and jury chair Nanni Moretti on the feature film jury that will choose the winner of the festival's Palme d'Or from this year's 22 competing entries.
Both McGregor and Payne are coming off recent film successes: the Scottish actor for his touching performance in the romantic comedy and father-son drama Beginners and the American director for his Oscar-winning family drama The Descendants.
The nine-member jury will also include:
- British filmmaker Andrea Arnold, who directed Wuthering Heights and was a previous Palme d'Or contender for Red Road and Fish Tank.
- Prolific French actress Emmanuelle Devos.
- Haitian director and former culture minister Raoul Peck.
- Palestinian actress and filmmaker Hiam Abbass, seen in Miral and an award-winner for her role in 2008's Lemon Tree.
- German actress Diane Kruger, whose credits include Troy, Inglourious Basterds and the National Treasure films.
French designer Gaultier, who has designed costumes for films, is the only non-industry member of the Cannes jury, but his presence reflects "a tradition of inviting people who we know are cinephiles but who are not necessarily in cinema," said festival director Thierry Frémaux.
The 2012 Cannes Film Festival opens May 16 with the coming-of-age comedy Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson.
Along with Moonrise Kingdom, other notable films screening in competition at Cannes include Ken Loach's The Angels' Share, Walter Salles' On The Road and Cosmopolis, the latest from Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg.
Winners of this year's festival will be announced during a closing ceremony gala on May 27.