READ MORE: The Indiewire 2015 Cannes Bible
“Anyone has as much right to boo as they do to ovate,” said “Sea of Trees” star Matthew McConaughey rather matter-of-factly at today’s Cannes press conference for the film. In it, the recent Oscar winner plays a suicidal American who travels to the “suicide forest” at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan with the intention to kill himself.
The quote came late in the discussion, following an earlier instance where a bearded and tanned McConaughey defensively told the press that he “likes” the film and “liked the experience of making it.” Asked what being at Cannes with “Sea of Trees” means to him, he said, “I look at this as a sort of dessert… no matter what we’re declared now, here it is, thanks for having us, hope you enjoy.”
“I read one review this morning and it was very definitive,” Van Sant said later, when probed about the negative reception to his film. “I was imagining everyone [had the same opinion]. It was like, now I know where we stand.”
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