Coppola's 'Megalopolis' among entries for Cannes Film Festival

CANNES

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola will return to the Cannes Film Festival with his long-awaited epic "Megalopolis," 45 years after winning a Palme d'Or for "Apocalypse Now", organizers said on April 11, announcing a line-up that includes major names of world cinema.

The 77th edition of the festival on the French Cote d'Azur, considered the most prestigious in the film industry, runs from May 14 to 25.

This year's competition for the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, includes another team-up between Emma Stone and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos - "Kinds of Kindness" - just weeks after Stone's Oscar win for their Frankenstein-style satire "Poor Things."

"The Apprentice,” a biopic about the early years of Donald Trump by Iran-born director Ali Abbasi, is also expected to draw attention.

But all eyes are likely to be on Coppola's "Megalopolis," marking the return of "The Godfather" director to Cannes at the age of 85.

He has self-funded "Megalopolis," said to be a Roman political drama transplanted to modern-day New York, starring Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker and other stars.

Only 19 entries of the main competition were announced on April 11 there are usually around 22 though more may be added.

Among the more intriguing entries is "Emilia Perez," a musical comedy about a Mexican cartel boss undergoing a sex-change operation, with popstar-actor Selena Gomez in a supporting role.

Writer-director Paul Schrader reunites with his "American Gigolo" star Richard Gere for "Oh Canada," and Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino pens another love letter to his native Naples with "Parthenope," starring Gary Oldman.

Canadian horror maestro David Cronenberg returns with what is billed as his most personal film yet, "The Shrouds," with Vincent Cassel.

Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov is to tell the true story of a radical Soviet poet "who became a bum in New York, a sensation in France, and a political antihero in Russia" in "Liminov: The Ballad of Eddie".

"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic franchise, will get its world premiere at the festival, playing out of competition.

So will Kevin Costner's new opus, "Horizon, An American Saga," in which the veteran star plays alongside Sienna Miller in the first of a planned series about the American West.

Meanwhile, George Lucas, the man behind "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones," will receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the closing ceremony.