Focus Features had the final slot of the Official Selection here in Cannes this evening with Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t!, a dark comedy reuniting Margaret Qualley with the filmmaker on the heels of last year’s Drive-Away Dolls. Coen & Co. received a 6.5-minute ovation in the wee hours of the morning.
“Fun finish to the festival, yah?” said Coen to a lively crowd.
“It’s short for a movie that started after midnight,” added Coen about the movie’s 90-minute running time, “very humane!”
Qualley takes on the titular role of Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church led by a preacher played by Chris Evans.
Aubrey Plaza and Charlie Day also feature prominently in the cast, which additionally includes Billy Eichner, Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Kristen Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Browne, Alexander Carstoiu and Christian Antidormi.
Coen directed from his script written with wife Tricia Cooke, the veteran editor who has cut such Coen Brothers classics as The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Cooke also co-wrote Drive-Away Dolls.
Said Cooke tonight following Coen, “More queer cinema, all the time!” to big cheers.
Focus releases domestically on August 22. Universal Pictures International is handling overseas distribution.
Producers on the project are Coen, Cooke, Robert Graf and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
Coen has been bringing movies to Cannes’ Official Selection since the 1980s, starting with 1987’s Raising Arizona which he co-wrote with brother Joel who directed.
Notable Cannes titles from the duo have also included Barton Fink (1991/Palme d’Or, Best Director, Best Actor); The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996/Best Director); O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000); The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001/Best Director); The Ladykillers (2004/Jury Prize); No Country for Old Men (2007); and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013/Grand Prize). In 2022, Ethan Coen brought his documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind for a Special Screening.
Because it’s a midnight screening at Cannes, the black tie and classy dress attire rules don’t apply. However, there was a definite mix in the crowd.
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