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Denzel Washington, Spike Lee and A$AP Rocky brought New York City to Cannes for the world premiere of their neo-noir crime thriller “Highest 2 Lowest,” which earned a five and a half-minute second standing ovation. Rihanna also drew plenty of attention as she sat with Rocky during the screening, even though she avoided the red carpet and the cameras.
Lee, who always dons a talked-about red carpet look, wore an orange and blue-striped suit and jacket and matching hat to the premiere as an homage to his beloved New York Knicks. Washington, in a more traditional suit, jacket and tie, spent extra time on the Croisette, slapping hands with fans like a professional athlete on game day.
Before the premiere, Lee presented Washington with an honorary Palme d’Or, calling the actor “my brother from another mother.”
Plenty of stars who do not appear in the film were on hand. Jason Momoa walked the carpet with his girlfriend, “Splitsville’s” Andria Arjona. The “Aquaman” star held up Arjona’s dress to make sure she didn’t trip on the Palais steps. Ed Norton, who starred in Lee’s “25th Hour,” was also there to support his former director, as was fellow filmmaker Wes Anderson (he premiered his latest film, “The Phoenician Scheme,” at Cannes the night before). A$AP Rocky cut a shiny look, with big gold hoop earrings, gold teeth and blinged-out custom Ray Bans.
“Highest 2 Lowest,” an English-language remake of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film “High and Low,” is set in modern day New York and stars Washington as a music mogul tied up in a life-or-death ransom plot. Rocky plays Yung Felon, an aspiring rapper who will stop at nothing to achieve his dream. Alongside Washington and Rocky, “Highest 2 Lowest” stars Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice (in her film debut), Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, Aubrey Joseph, Michael Potts and Wendell Pierce. The screenplay was penned by William Alan Fox. After premiering at Cannes, “Highest 2 Lowest” will get a theatrical release starting Aug. 22 via A24 and will stream on Apple TV+ Sept. 5.
Lee has a long history with Cannes, first competing for the Palme d’Or in 1989 with his now classic comedy-drama “Do the Right Thing.” Other Lee joints to premiere at the festival include 1991’s “Jungle Fever,” “Summer of Sam” in 1999 and “BlacKkKlansman,” which won the festival’s Grand Prix in 2018. In 2021, Lee served as the president of the competition jury, which that year awarded Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” with the Palme d’Or.
“Highest 2 Lowest” marks two-time Oscar winner Washington’s first time at Cannes Film Festival and the second for Rocky, who was in the cast of the coming-of-age film “Dope” which closed the Director’s Fortnight section in 2015.
English (US) ·