Cannes Film Festival sets lineup with Ari Aster, Wes Anderson and, yes, Spike Lee

PARIS (AP) — New films from Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, and Richard Linklater will compete for the Palme d’Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced Thursday.

Coming off a 2024 edition that produced the Academy Award best-picture winner “Anora,” as well as a number of Oscar contenders in “Emilia Pérez,” “The Substance" and “The Apprentice," the French film festival responded with a 2025 lineup full of big-name auteurs.

Thierry Frémaux, Cannes’ artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference in Paris with festival president Iris Knobloch.

Asked if he was under pressure after producing so many Oscars contenders last year, Frémaux said the festival organizers feel like an athlete putting his title back on the line.

“What happened last year was great," he said. “And what happened the year before was great. The last seven, eight years, Cannes and the films of Cannes were great.”

Entries include Aster’s “Eddington,” a pandemic-set Western starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone; Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme," starring Benicio Del Toro as a European profiteer and Linklater's appropriately French-language “Nouvelle Vague,” about Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave.

Julia Ducournau, whose “Titane” won the Palme d’Or in 2021, making Ducournau only the second female filmmaker to ever receive Cannes’ top honor, will return to the festival with the 1980s New York-set “Alpha,” about an 11-year-old with a parent who has AIDS.

Several high-profile films that some had hoped would show up in Cannes weren't announced Tuesday in Paris, including Terrence Malick’s long-awaited Jesus drama “The Way of the Wind,” Spike Lee’s Akira Kurosawa remake “Highest 2 Lowest,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.” New films by Jim Jarmusch and Kristen Stewart had also been expected in the Cannes lineup.

Asked about their absence, Fremaux declined to comment, saying he wanted to instead focus on the pictures which made the cut. He, however, said more films could be later added to the selection.

An hour after the press conference in Paris, however, Lee said on Instagram that “Highest 2 Lowest” is, indeed, going to Cannes, and screening out of competition. Representatives for the festival later confirmed that Lee's post was accurate, noting that the film wasn't announced in the press conference because Cannes was awaiting confirmation that the movie's star, Denzel Washington, would be in attendance. With that confirmed, “Highest 2 Lowest” will premiere on May 19.

Fremaux altogether announced 19 films vying for the Palme d’Or, six of which are directed by women.

Two films starring Josh O’Connor made it into the competition lineup: Oliver Hermanus’ “The History of Sound,” co-starring Paul Mescal, and Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind,” an art heist film set during the Vietnam War.

Other previously Cannes regulars coming back include two-time Palme winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The Belgian filmmaking brothers’ latest is titled “Young Mothers.” Joachim Trier, whose “The Worst Person in the World” was a highlight of the 2021 Cannes, is back in competition with “Sentimental Value,” which likewise stars Renate Reinsve.

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was imprisoned during the release of his last, secretly made film, 2022's “No Bears," and not released until he went on a hunger strike, will unveil his latest film, “It Was Just an Accident.”

Playing in the festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar is Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” starring June Squibb. Harris Dickinson, the “Babygirl” star, will also premiere his directorial debut, “Urchin,” in the same section.

Bono will also be coming to the Croisette for the premiere of “Bono: Stories of Surrender,” Andrew Dominik's film of the singer's one-man stage show. That will play in Cannes' special screening section.

Cannes earlier announced that “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” will launch at the festival, which three years ago bestowed an honorary Palme d’Or on Tom Cruise. This year, Robert De Niro is set to receive one during the festival’s opening ceremony.

Following in the footsteps of Greta Gerwig, Juliette Binoche will head the jury that decides this year’s Palme d’Or. Knobloch said it's the first time in 60 years that two women succeed each other in this role.

The festival runs May 13-24. The opening night film, playing out of competition, will be “Leave One Day,” the first movie by French director Amélie Bonnin.

Coyle reported from New York.

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, left, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux pose after a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, left, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux pose after a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch attends a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attends a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attends a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch attends a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, right, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attend a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, right, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attend a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday.

Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning.

Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the tank — that the temperature inside had dropped and that pressure had been released — was “incredibly positive news.”

However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, California, located south of Los Angeles.

Covey said falling temperatures and the release of pressure from the tank were allowing officials to “turn the corner on this incident” after days of concern about a possible explosion.

There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”'

After the tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.

The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.

The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.

The first goal of firefighters was to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.

Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers were set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said earlier.

As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who had said earlier that the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.

“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”

An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said.

Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.

Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.

Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.

Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed.

Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.

GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report.

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Emergency personnel work at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Cypress, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)