The 2019 Cannes Film Festival will open Tuesday, May 14 with the world premiere of Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die.” The movie is backed by Focus Features and stars Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Danny Glover, Rosie Perez, Chloë Sevigny, and more. The star-studded ensemble cast made “Dead Don’t Die” a no-brainer for opening night. The film will premiere in competition.
“The Dead Don’t Die” stars Driver, Murray, and Sevigny as local cops who must spring into action when a zombie outbreak begins impacting the town’s citizens. The movie is the latest Cannes opening night selection, following Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows,” Arnaud Desplechin’s “Ismael’s Ghost,” and Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society.” Focus Features last opened Cannes in 2012 with the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom.” The indie distributor picked up rights to “Everybody Knows” last year as well.
Jarmusch has a rich history with the Cannes Film Festival, making an opening night slot extra special. The director was last at Cannes in 2016 with two movies: “Paterson,” an intimate character drama starring Driver that premiered in competition, and “Gimme Danger,” a documentary about the rock band The Stooges that debuted out of competition.
The filmmaker has also been at Cannes with films such as “Only Lovers Left Alive,” “Broken Flowers” (winner of the Grand Jury Prize), “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “Dead Man,” “Mystery Train,” “Down by Law,” and “Stranger Than Paradise” (winner of the Golden Camera prize). Jarmusch’s short film “Coffee and Cigarettes” won the Best Short Film prize in 1993.
Focus will release “The Dead Don’t Die” in theaters June 14. The 2019 Cannes Film Festival runs May 14 – 25.
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