Cannes is going to the dogs.
Messi, the breakout dog star of “Anatomy of a Fall,” is getting his own short program that will during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, producer D18 Paris announced. It will be set at the festival, but not part of the festival lineup. But hey, we say give him the the Palme d’Or too — though he’d probably settle for a Milk-Bone.
The program will allow viewers to experience the Cannes Film Festival from dawn until late night “through the eyes and the voice of Messi,” D18, which referred to the pooch as “the canine George Clooney,” said in a press release. In our book, that’s high praise for George Clooney.
“This will be an opportunity for Messi to ask his guest any questions with the innocence of a dog,” it continued. “When you’re the current international star, you can do anything… and Messi dares to do it all!”
Ruh-roh; what does that even mean? TV viewers in France — and those attending Cannes in person, we suppose — will find out soon enough.
“Messi: The Cannes Film Festival from a Dog’s Eye View” is a series of eight one-minute episodes. The program will be broadcast simultaneously on the French national TV channels France 2, France 3, Culturebox, and TV5 Monde every day starting May 13, 2024 and running for the duration of the festival. Cannes ends on May 25.
The Puppy Bowl’s got nothing on this one.
The idea for the short program came from Tim Newman (“Rapido”, “Eutrosh” with Jean-Paul Gautlier, “The girlie show”) who will produce for D18. It was “incarnated” by Raphaël Mezrahi, who will provide the voice for Messi wrote the program. Loïc Pourageaux directs; Laura Martin is Messi’s trainer and owner.
The series will be sponsored by TikTok — take that, pending government ban!
Messi (“Snoop” in the Justine Triet’s crime thriller) trained for his big “Anatomy of a Fall” scene for two months. If you don’t want to know what happens to Snoop in the film, stopped reading now. (The good thing is, it’s just a movie.)
“Even the simplest things take a lot of work,” Martin told IndieWire. The harrowing moment when Snoop is poisoned was prepared bit by bit.”
“It had to happen in steps. First, the simple laying down and having his head kind of immobile. [I] started there and then [we worked on] lifting the head and just letting it fall back without resistance,” she said.
Snoop is ultimately okay in the movie, and Messi is alive and well, clearly. How well? He’s not just traveling to the south of France to celebrate cinema, he did so in Hollywood last month. A sleepy Messi dutifully wore a bow tie for the Oscars ceremony. He wouldn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate “Anatomy of a Fall’s” Best Picture nomination and Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari’s Best Original Screenplay win for all the tennis balls at Wimbledon.
Good boy.
