Lars von Trier: I Love Being 'Persona Non Grata'

'I understand Hitler,' he said, deadpan, at news conference

(NEWSER) - The always controversial Danish director Lars von Trier really pulled out all the stops at his Cannes press conference today, calling himself a Nazi and claiming to sympathize with Adolf Hitler. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the whole thing appeared to be a joke, albeit an uncomfortable one, as the audience as well as the stars of his latest film Melancholia stared at him in horror. The director "sincerely" apologized afterward, adding, "I am not anti-Semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi." Cannes officials said von Trier explained that he "allowed himself to be egged on by a provocation" at the news conference, adding, "He presents his apology." And thus, "end of silly controversy," adds Michael Glitz at Huffington Post . More»

'You can't be sorry about something that's fundamentally you,' he tells GQ

(NEWSER) - Lars von Trier apologized almost immediately for calling himself a Nazi and claiming to sympathize with Adolf Hitler at Cannes this year, but it turns out the Danish film director is actually not sorry. “To say I'm sorry for what I said is to say I'm sorry for what kind of a person I am, I'm sorry for my morals, and that would destroy me as a person. It's not true. I'm not sorry. I am not sorry for what I said,” he explains to GQ . “I'm sorry that it didn't come out more clearly. I'm not sorry that I made a joke, but I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear that it was a joke. But I can't be sorry for what I said—it's against my nature.” More»

Kirsten Dunst takes top acting prize for Von Trier film

(AP) - Terrence Malick's expansive drama The Tree of Life won the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival today, while Kirsten Dunst took the best-actress prize for the apocalyptic saga Melancholia. The Palme d'Or prize was accepted by two Tree of Life producers for the notoriously press-shy Malick, who has skipped all public events at the glamorous Cannes festival. More»

Festival organizers declare him 'a person non grata'

(NEWSER) - Lars Von Trier may have apologized for his bizarre “Nazi” comments during yesterday’s Melancholia press conference, but the Cannes Film Festival organizers apparently don’t care. After a special Board of Directors meeting today, they issued a formal announcement labeling Von Trier “a persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately,” Deadline reports. The statement—which effectively bans him from Cannes—calls Von Trier’s remarks “unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the Festival.” More»

The latest from Woody Allen, Gus Van Sant, Pedro Almodóvar, and more

(NEWSER) - Cannes kicks off on Wednesday, and the Daily Beast rounds up 10 of the most buzzed-about movies featured at the 64th annual film festival:

• The Tree of Life: From filmmaker Terrence Malick, the story of a Texas boy (played in adulthood by Sean Penn) torn between the worldviews of his father, played by Brad Pitt, and his mother, played by newcomer Jessica Chastain.
• Melancholia: Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's version of an Armageddon story, which centers around two sisters (played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg) who are drifting apart.