source: BBC
The star’s directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach has premiered at Cannes – and one critic dubbed it a ‘disaster’. It’s the latest example of an A-lister heading behind the camera with baffling results.
At the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night, the festival’s dapper organiser, Thierry Frémaux, introduced a screening of John Travolta’s new film Propeller One-Way Night Coach – the first he has directed. “I have a theory about films made by actors,” said Frémaux. “They’re always intimate, unique, personal, and full of ideas of cinema.”
Well, maybe. But, is that just a tactful of way of saying that such films aren’t any good? Certainly the reviews for Travolta’s film have been mixed to say the least: one critic dubbed it a “disaster”. And is it a coincidence that films directed by established actors are often seen at prestigious festivals like Cannes, and then rarely ever seen again?
It should be said that actors-turned-directors are some of the most successful film-makers in cinema history, from Charlie Chaplin to Clint Eastwood to today’s favourites, including Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele. But this is a different phenomenon. There are certain actors who reach a certain level of fame, and realise that they can get their quirky passion projects financed – or, if push comes to shove, they can finance those projects themselves. Even better, their films will be welcomed by festivals, however weird, ill-judged or, in Frémaux’s words, “unique” and “personal” they may be.
