After being canceled last year due to the pandemic, the 2021 Cannes Film Festival has been taking place over the last week or so in yet another sign that parts of the world are slowly returning to some degree of normalcy.
A bunch of new movies have had their debut at the glitzy event on the French Riviera, where a jury led by Spike Lee will choose the winners.
Among the films is the latest from quirky auteur Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch, which received a nine-minute standing ovation from the audience (Cannes viewers are famous for either clapping — or booing — feverishly in response to movies).
The movie features a star-studded cast that includes Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, and Frances McDormand.
Also starring are Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, and Bill Murray, who joined Anderson for a photo on the red (blue?) carpet on Tuesday.
The photo's meme potential was definitely helped by the fact each of them was wearing an outfit that spoke to their personalities: Murray as the veteran slacker, Anderson as the intellectual dandy, Chalamet as the young hipster, and Swinton as the space queen from the future sent back in time to save humanity.
Like the Dolly Parton challenge of last year, the four looks instantly became a meme.
Tiktok-LinkedIn-Instagram-Twitter
It worked with our favorite bands and musicians...
the bends, ok computer, kid a, amnesiac
troye sivan, beck, david bowie, brian wilson
...and our favorite movies and TV shows.
roman, kendall, shiv, connor
Mad Max, Road Warrior, Fury Road and Beyond Thunderdome
It had strong pandemic vibes.
Zoom presentation attire, remembering how I dressed before Zoom, imagining how I'll dress after Zoom, how I'll actually dress after Zoom
And could almost be political.
2016 Bernie, 2020 Biden, 2016 Hillary, 2020 Yang
There were also some very niche ones that I don't quite understand but seem to have found their intended audience.
Four types, literature festival edition: bestselling enfant terrible, mid-career midlister, hotshot editor who has their own imprint now, crime writer who got famous 30 years ago
Free verse, Villanelle, Ekphrastic, Limerick
ICBMs. Bombers. SSBNs. NNSA weapons activities.
EFF, Public Knowledge, CDT, ACLU
Hell, it even works for this story.
pitch, first draft, final proof, comments section
Anyway, in conclusion...Tilda Swinton.
The French Dispatch will be released in the US on Oct. 16.