"Oh p..., he's here!" Behind the barriers installed in front of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), Ava and Irene do not believe this Saturday: Leonardo DiCaprio is half a dozen meters from them. "I filmed it!" screams Ava before throwing herself into her girlfriend's arms.
Around these teenagers of 16 and 17 years old perched on a flower box, thousands of Cannes residents and festival-goers had gathered for the climb of the steps of the team of Martin Scorsese's latest film, "Killers of the Flower Moon", in which DiCaprio and Robert De Niro play. From the balconies of the buildings overlooking the Palace, dozens of people were also waiting for the arrival of the three American stars.
When the trio arrived, at 18:15 p.m., it was undoubtedly DiCaprio who was the most acclaimed. Smiling in a black suit and bow tie, the star of "Titanic", "Inception" or "Aviator" lent himself for several minutes to the game of autographs and selfies, while Scorsese signed some posters and De Niro, short hair and sunglasses, went straight to the red carpet.
Palais des Festivals, Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), this Saturday. Leonardo DiCaprio poses for photographers on the red carpet. LP/Fred Dugit
For more than an hour, the speaker of the red carpet had made admirable efforts to make the crowd wait. "We are waiting for the historic presentation of the new feature film by one of the greatest filmmakers in history," he said, emphatic, while commenting on the arrival of Tomer Sisley, Salma Hayek and ... "Imane, first year film student at the University of Paris VIII".
Around the stepladders of autograph hunters, the rain of the day had soaked the lawn. A young Asian woman held up her phone, barefoot in the mud so as not to damage her shoes. "The tension is palpable at the edge of the red carpet... like in a Martin Scorsese movie," the speaker said.
Palais des Festivals, Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), this Saturday. Martin Scorsese surrounded by his actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. LP/Fred Dugit
"We're waiting, nerves raw," he said later. Before announcing several times: "Cars are approaching", "Other cars are approaching"... Behind their signs "Leo, let me take a selfie please" or "Leo, do you remember me?" ("Leo, let me take a selfie, please" or "Leo, do you remember me?"), the fans were seething.
After posing for them, Leo and his classmates walked the red carpet. The screening of the film, which tells the story of how Americans robbed and killed Native Americans in the early twentieth century, began a good half hour late. The general public will not discover "Killers of the Flower Moon" in theaters until October 18.