278 – Annette

Coming out of the COVID-led doldrums of 2020, the Cannes Film Festival loomed large as a “movies are back!!” starting gate for global cinema. Its opening film, Annette, was a long-in-development rock opera with music by cult fave Sparks and directed by visionary auteur Leos Carax, returning to the Croisette with his first film in nearly a decade. With Adam Driver at the helm as a batboy shock jock comedian who falls in love with opera star Marion Cotillard to disastrous results, the film is a bizarre fantasia about destructive creative ego and features a puppet as the titular baby singer. Though the film drew raves and buzz around Driver and Sparks’ score, Annette was alas too freaky for the Academy. This week, we talk about Driver’s career and how his unique physicality makes him a worthy successor to Carax’s usual collaborator Denis Lavant. We also talk about the other famous castings while the film sat in development, the 2021 Original Song contenders, and Simon Helberg’s supporting performance. Topics also include Baby Annette in the gay stan wars, Carax’s filmography, and the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Follow Us on Twitter!@Had_Oscar_BuzzJoe: @joereidChris: @chrisvfeil