‘Completely different’: Truth behind iconic Cannes pic

It’s one of the most famous sights during the celeb-studded event: but industry insiders have pointed out a significant shift.

IN CANNES

In 2022, with Tom Cruise’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick about to hit screens and the painful impact of the pandemic still fresh, Hollywood had plenty of reasons to want to celebrate – and send a message that they were back in business.

With anticipation for the long-awaited sequel reaching fever pitch ahead of its Cannes Film Festival premiere, the studio spent big bucks erecting a massive pilot helmet along the main boulevard which displayed scenes from the film.

One of the marketing activations during the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Picture: Supplied

And as Cruise hit the red carpet at the iconic Grand Theatre Lumiere with co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller and Jon Hamm, eight fighter jets were bellowing red, white and blue smoke as they shot across the sky above.

French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France flew over the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. Picture: AP Photo/Daniel Cole

The cast watched on in awe from below. Picture: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File

Three years on, and Cruise and his unstoppable press blitz are back on the French Riviera – this time, for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. He’s once again been in top form, and critics are once again raving about his action-packed new movie.

But when it comes to the PR and marketing stunts? Well, it’s a bit of a different story.

In fairness, there was a tuxedoed a cappella group performing outside the theatre ahead of Wednesday night’s glitzy gala premiere, and an orchestra later playing the film’s theme music. A screen was also set up outside The Carlton, one of the town’s ritziest hotels, showing teasers.

Screens are set up outside The Carlton hotel, showing clips from Mission: Impossible. Picture: Supplied/Bronte Coy

(Back in 2007, the same venue saw Jerry Seinfeld, dressed as a bee, literally zip-line from its rooftop to promote Bee Movie.)

But for one of the most talked-about (and expensive) films premiering at the high-profile industry extravaganza, there’s been little else in terms of buzzy promotions around the grounds of Cannes – let alone for the other films also having their debut.

“The main strip looks and feels completely different this year,” one executive film producer told news.com.au.

“I think it’s reflective of the changes in the film industry … the global downturn has hit us just like everyone else, which means the films may be there, but the marketing budgets will have taken a big hit.”

The film insider added: “Even just a few years back, you could barely walk along the footpath on Boulevard de la Croisette [the main street] because of all the people crowding around the activations outside the main hotels.”

Blake Lively promoted her film in 2016 … with fake sharks. Picture: George Pimentel/WireImage

Cannes has seen plenty of PR stunts, from the tacky to the gobsmacking – with particular incidents including when fake sharks were planted in the ocean behind Blake Lively during press for her 2016 horror flick In The Shallows and the time a producer enlisted three WWII-era tanks to help promote The Expendables 3 among the most memorable.

One film sales agent told news.com.au that while marketing budgets have been reduced, it’s also the reality that high-profile advertising stunts aren’t likely to hit their target audience at the film festival, where its largely industry representatives, not cinemagoers, who descend on the region.

“They’re [studios] choosing not to spend the money here, where the audiences aren’t based … It’s smarter spending to reflect the state of the industry.”

Originally published as ‘Completely different’: Truth behind iconic Cannes pic