Costner, Gere, Demi Moore: Hollywood Icons on Cannes Comeback Trail 

Demi Moore. (Getty Images North America/AFP) 
Demi Moore. (Getty Images North America/AFP) 
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Costner, Gere, Demi Moore: Hollywood Icons on Cannes Comeback Trail 

Demi Moore. (Getty Images North America/AFP) 
Demi Moore. (Getty Images North America/AFP) 

This year's Cannes Film Festival hosts a trio of heartthrobs from the back end of the 20th century, making their comeback on the red carpet: Demi Moore, Kevin Costner and Richard Gere.

From "Ghost" to "Pretty Woman" to "Dances with Wolves", they are responsible for some of Generation X's favorite movie moments.

AFP looks at what they've been up to since.

- Demi Moore: ghost girl -

On the Croisette, 61-year-old Moore will be making her unexpected return in slasher-horror "The Substance", competing for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.

It has been a long time since Moore came anywhere near a Cannes red carpet, having appeared mostly in small TV roles and forgettable films since the early 2000s.

In her heyday, Moore was a global star after the weepie "Ghost" co-starring the late Patrick Swayze as a murdered businessman who watches over his grieving ceramicist girlfriend from beyond the grave.

Her baggy, androgynous look in that movie -- the dungarees and boyish crop -- helped define 1990s style, and she had other era-defining hits with steamy dramas "Indecent Proposal" and "Disclosure".

An Annie Leibovitz photoshoot -- showing off her pregnant belly on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991 -- was a stunning move at the time, since copied by Beyonce, Rihanna and others.

She proved her acting chops in meatier 1990s movies such as blockbuster courtroom drama "A Few Good Men" opposite Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

But since the turn of the century, Moore, who has a life-long passion for collecting dolls and bought an entire house to store her 2,000-strong collection, was in the headlines more for her tumultuous love life than her acting.

She formed two Hollywood power couples, first in the 1980s with "Die Hard" star Bruce Willis, father of her three daughters, and then with Ashton Kutcher, the latter union ending acrimoniously in 2013.

- Kevin Costner: forever West -

The soft-spoken 69-year-old is back in Cannes in his favorite genre, the Western, with the epic "Horizon: An American Saga".

Fans are hoping his fourth feature as director -- which is out of competition at Cannes -- will mark a return to form after a series of expensive duds in the 1990s trashed his Oscar-gilded career.

His directorial debut "Dances With Wolves", despite being a three-hour Western, was a global hit and in 1991 won the double Oscar whammy of best picture and director.

As an actor he captured hearts in smash hits "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) and as Whitney Houston's protector in "The Bodyguard" (1992).

Teaming up with big-gun directors also proved a winning formula, from Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991) to Clint Eastwood's "A Perfect World" (1993).

But then a string of ultra-expensive and hubristic flops -- especially "Waterworld" (1995) and "The Postman" (1997) made him into something of a laughing stock.

He continued to work in smaller roles, but invested more in music with his nostalgic country band "Kevin Costner & Modern West".

There has been a late resurgence in his 60s, however, thanks to the long-running hit neo-Western series, "Yellowstone".

- Richard Gere: zen charm -

Gere was the world's sexiest man according to People Magazine in 1999, when he was 50.

By then he had charmed audiences with his quiet seduction in "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982) and, of course, "Pretty Woman" opposite Julia Roberts.

He and supermodel Cindy Crawford were also the ultimate It-couple.

But progressively he gave up glamour for meditation.

Gere had been a Buddhist since he was 25, and increasingly used his fame to speak out, in particular against China's control of Tibet.

He developed a close friendship with the Dalai Lama and gave a fiery speech against China at the 1993 Oscars that got him barred from future ceremonies.

It also cost him movie roles in the 2000s as Hollywood sought to tap the vast Chinese market.

For his Cannes comeback, the 74-year-old has reunited with Paul Schrader -- who directed him in dark cult favorite "American Gigolo" (1980) -- for "Oh, Canada", playing a Vietnam War draft-evader haunted by his past.



Venice Film Festival Prepares to Greet Angelina Jolie and 'Maria,' Her Film About Famed Opera Singer

FILE - Angelina Jolie appears at the 77th Tony Awards in New York on June 16, 2024. Jolie brings opera singer Maria Callas to life in “Maria.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Angelina Jolie appears at the 77th Tony Awards in New York on June 16, 2024. Jolie brings opera singer Maria Callas to life in “Maria.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
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Venice Film Festival Prepares to Greet Angelina Jolie and 'Maria,' Her Film About Famed Opera Singer

FILE - Angelina Jolie appears at the 77th Tony Awards in New York on June 16, 2024. Jolie brings opera singer Maria Callas to life in “Maria.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Angelina Jolie appears at the 77th Tony Awards in New York on June 16, 2024. Jolie brings opera singer Maria Callas to life in “Maria.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Angelina Jolie has played an evil queen, a war correspondent, a hacker, an international spy and a sociopath and is now adding opera singer to her resume.
It’s not just any opera singer either: Jolie stars as the legendary soprano Maria Callas in a new film from Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín. “Maria” will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival Thursday night, The Associated Press said.
Larraín, a Venice regular, continues his to explore the lives of very famous women with tragic narratives attached to them. In 2016, he came to the festival with his Jackie Kennedy portrait, “Jackie,” starring Natalie Portman as the first lady in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination. In 2021, he returned with Kristen Stewart playing Princess Diana as she considered divorce over the Christmas holiday in “Spencer.” Both films earned their leads best actress Oscar nominations.
“Maria” is the so-called conclusion to this trilogy of historical women, though Callas may be a bit less known to younger generations who weren’t around for the headlines and scandals. Born Maria Kalogeropoulos, to Greek parents in New York and made her professional debut in Athens as a 17-year-old.
During her brief life she became one of the greatest opera singers of all time with her unparalleled voice and stage presence; but the accolades also came with the intense scrutiny of her life in the public eye, whether it was her exacting demands and “diva” behavior, her weight or her romantic life. Callas famously had a relationship with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis who left her for Jackie Kennedy.
She died in Paris at age 53 after a heart attack.
Larraín told Vanity Fair that Jolie trained for six months to prepare for the role. The singing in the film, which reportedly focuses on the final week of her life in 1977, is a blend of actor and the real thing.
Jolie has twice been nominated for acting Oscars. She won for her supporting role in “Girl, Interrupted," and was last nominated for her leading role in Clint Eastwood's “Changeling."
“Maria” was recently acquired by Netflix for distribution.
Jolie is expected to depart Venice before her ex-husband Brad Pitt arrives for the premiere of his film “Wolfs” on Sunday. Though legally single since 2019, they are still fighting over issues like custody, finances and a winery in France.
“Maria” is among the 21 features competing for the festival’s awards which will be announced on Sept. 7.