The Berlinale Film Festival is not exactly known to have a pro-Hollywood bias. In spite of this aspect, or possibly because of it, stars like Sigourney Weaver, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchet and Javier Bardem are expected in Berlin.
Sound the alarm! Call the police! Dress up! They are coming! All of them! Berlin is chic and different. So is the Berlinale Film Festival. Listing all stars who said they would show would mean we would have to copy the entire Los Angeles phone book. Let’s try anyway.
Likable Brits
Hellen Mirren will be here to receive the deserved Honorary Golden Bear for her life time achievement. Indeed she has been convincing in any role she has played, whether it was the main character of a motion picture or a side role. Her British compatriot Jeremy Irons will be heading this year’s Berlinale Jury. So, he better show.
These two likable Brits are only two of a million well known guests. Are there even enough expensive suites in Berlin’s hotels? Cate Blanchett will not stay at a hostel in some Kreuzberg backyard. Her appearance was announced. The Australian actress will reportedly attend screenings of two episodes of her TV series ‘Stateless’.
Willem Dafoe, a living Hollywood legend, plays the main role in the Italian, Mexican, German co-production ‘Siberia’. He will be here for the world premiere of that flick and is not going to sleep in some ‘airbnb’ ramshackle hut either. Neither will Salma Hayek, who is coming to Germany for the premiere of ‘The Roads Not Taken’.
Currywurst and Culture
So you believe more superstars will be boarding steel birds in order to cross the ocean? Damn right. Elle Fanning and Javier Bardem are coming for the same reason, as they are part of ‘The Roads Not Taken’ as well. Will Bardem bring his wife Penélope Cruz? Aún no sabemos. Pero esperamos que sí. ¡Bienvenidos!
Hey! What about the South Korean actress Kim Minhee? She is part of ‘The Woman Who Ran’ and will be in Berlin. Our Italian hero Roberto Benigni will come for ‘Pinocchio’. Oh, hell! We almost forgot Johnny Depp who portrayed the legendary American photographer and journalist W. Eugene Smith in ‘Minamata’. By the way: Never translate Depp’s last name into German, since the result would neither be appropriate nor accurate.
Sigourney Weaver will be right here in the city of Currywurst and culture because she is part of ‘My Salinger Year’, yet another masterpiece that will celebrate its premiere at the Berlinale. Hooray! She plays the literary agent Margaret.
No Cigar Jokes
There is at least one more American star, but one of a different kind. She defeated Donald Trump in 2016 in the popular vote, but did not become President anyway. She lived at the White House with William Jefferson Clinton, her husband. (No Levinsky or cigar jokes here. You came to the wrong place. Well, maybe next time.) And she was Secretary of State under Barack Hussein Obama. So, does Mrs. Clinton want to become an actress? No. This is about the documentary ‘Hillary’. She is expected at the Berlinale too. Over and out.
More information on the Berlinale Film Fest can be found on their website.
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