Cannes promotional stunts, once a feature of the festival, go missing

CANNES, France (AP) — You can get nostalgic about almost anything at the Cannes Film Festival, even Jerry Seinfeld on a zip line in a bumblebee costume.

For many years, Cannes has played host not just to an endless stream of artistically ambitious movies, but also to some of Hollywood's most extreme promotional gambits. With so many films packed into the 12-day festival, and with much of the world watching, there are high stakes to standing out in Cannes.

But in recent years, the Cannes marketing stunt has turned into an endangered species. Hopes that Tom Cruise might revive a dormant tradition passed with the relatively sedate premiere Wednesday of “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning.”

Would Cruise parachute into the Palais? Could he ride an airplane wing to the premiere? Nothing so elaborate came to pass. Cruise and company walked the red carpet while serenaded by an orchestra playing the “Mission: Impossible” theme.

Along the Croisette this year, there's a noticeable lack of the kind of grand advertisements Hollywood has often trotted out for the festival. Paramount Pictures has a “Mission: Impossible” installation outside the Carlton Hotel, but — as has been true for several years — Hollywood rarely still seeks to make big marketing splashes in Cannes.

Even though Apple Studios' upcoming Formula One action drama “F1,” distributed by Warner Bros., might seem like a natural fit, with the Monaco Grand Prix just days away, “F1” — at least so far — has made no pit stop in Cannes.

Things could change. Cannes runs until May 24. Someone might yet arrive by parasail over the Mediterranean, as T.J. Miller did in 2017 for “The Emoji Movie,” or do ninja kicks with a troupe of giant pandas, as Jack Black did in 2008 for “Kung Fu Panda.”

But for years, the circus-like quality of Cannes has been in decline. That's owed partly to budgetary constraints and shifting marketing priorities for major studios. For Cruise and “Final Reckoning,” Cannes was just one stop on a worldwide tour.

Plus, some of those who were most devoted to bringing Hollywood entertainment to Cannes are no longer regulars here. While head of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg made sure his films left a mark in Cannes, whether with models wearing “Trolls” wigs or Seinfeld's “Bee Movie” zip line.

Is the absence of such things anything to lament? Probably not, but they did add to the crazy-things-will-happen nature of Cannes, giving the festival the feel of big tent extravaganza. It could be counted as one small, superficial way that movies aren't quite the carnivalesque show they once were.

For now, though, we can say we'll always have when Sacha Baron Cohen, for “The Dictator,” rode a camel down the Croisette. Ah, the memories.

This story has been corrected to report “F1” is from Apple Studios, not Universal.

Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. He's seeing approximately 40 films at this year's festival and reporting on what stands out.

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.

FILE - Actor Sacha Baron Cohen poses with a a camel during a photo call for The Dictator at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - Actor Jack Black, centre, and Tatsuya Yamaguchi, left, participate in a stunt on the Carlton beach pier for the film "Kung Fu Panda" during the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - Actor T. J. Miller poses with characters during the photo call for the film The Emoji Movie, at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, dressed as a bee, glides through the air connected to a wire during a publicity stunt for the film "Bee Movie," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday, May 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Tom Cruise, center, poses with the Greg Tarzan Davis, from left, Keleigh Sperry, Linda Bruckheimer, Jennifer Connelly, festival director Thierry Fremaux, and Jon Hamm after French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the red carpet at the premiere of the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

FILE - French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the premiere of the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, File. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

FILE - Dolph Lundgren, from second left, Jason Statham, and Harrison Ford ride atop an armored vehicle during a photo call for The Expendables 3 at the 67th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2014. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Actor T. J. Miller poses with characters during the photo call for the film The Emoji Movie, at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, center, poses as he arrives for a photo call for The Dictator at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - American comedian Jerry Seinfeld glides through the air connected to a wire during a publicity stunt for the film "Bee Movie," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday, May 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Actors Jack Black, right, and Tatsuya Yamaguchi participate in a stunt on the Carlton beach pier for the film "Kung Fu Panda" during the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a New Year's Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks.

Trump's order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities.

The increases, which were set to take effect Jan. 1, come as the Republican president instituted a broad swath of taxes on imported goods to address trade imbalances and other issues.

The president has said the tariffs on furniture are needed to “bolster American industry and protect national security.”

The delay is the latest in the roller coaster of Trump's tariff wars since he returned to office last year, with the president announcing levies at times without warning and then delaying or pulling back from them just as abruptly.

The Trump administration on Wednesday also signaled it may back away from a steep tariff proposed on Italian pasta that would have put the rate at 107%. The U.S. had threatened to add a heavy tariff on Italian pasta makers after the U.S. Commerce Department launched what it said was a routine antidumping review based on allegations that the pasta makers sold product into the US at below-market prices and undercut local competitors.

A final decision on the sanctions was scheduled for Jan. 2, with the option of extending it.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that based on a new review, the rates would be lowered to between 2.26% and 13.89% for the pasta makers because they had addressed many of the department's concerns. A final decision is now set for March 12.

Italian farm lobby Coldiretti and another food industry association, Filiera Italia, welcomed the development. The two lobby groups had strongly objected to the original tariffs and urged the Italian government to intervene.

The two associations said the original proposed tariffs would have doubled the cost of a plate of pasta for American families, “opening the door to Italian-sounding products and penalizing the authentic quality of Made in Italy.”

They reported that in 2024, Italian pasta exports to the U.S. amounted to €671 million ($787 million).

“Coldiretti and Filiera Italia will continue to defend our premium pasta exported to the U.S. market, which we have also supported with a strong campaign in the international media,” the associations said in a statement.

Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks at a New Year's Eve celebration at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)