The 2013 Cannes Film Festival will open on Wednesday (May 15, 2013) with Baz Luhrmann's 3-D version of The Great Gatsby, a throwback to the roaring twenties adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic book of the same name. The announcement caused unrest earlier in the year given that Gatsby would already have been released in the U.S by the time Cannes came round (it was released last week) though there's a couple of other things to worry about.

The Great Gatsby opened in the United States to fairly lacklustre reviews, dampening the buzz surrounding the start of the 12 day Cannes Film Festival. The critics have already seen it. The critics didn't like it very much. "This dreadful film even derogates the artistry of Fitzgerald, who wrote "The Great Gatsby" while living on Long Island and in Europe," said the Wall Street Journal. It holds a score of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Nevertheless, champagne bottles will be popped, deals will be made and Harvey Weinstein will be wandering around deciding which movie to snap up as his next Oscar winner at this year's festival. Stars expected to attend include Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Ryan Gosling, Emma Watson and the legendary Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachan. "This is the hardest 10 days of the year for me. There are always three or four movies that are exceptional and you have to find them so it is a detective job," said Tom Bernard, co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics.

Several 'buzz' movies are competing for the Palme d'Or for best picture this year, awarded by a jury headed by Steven Spielberg. Steven Soderbergh's Behind The Candelabra stars Douglas as the gay pianist Liberace, while the Coen brother's Inside Llewyn Davis follows New York's gritty 1960s folk scene. James Gray's The Immigrant starring Joaquin Phoenix looks a good bet for the title, as does Alexander Payne's Nebraska.

Ethan CoenAlexander Payne
Ethan Coen [L] and Alexander Payne [R] Have New Movies Screening At The Cannes Film Festival