The director who made his name with the cult film Donnie Darko has defended his new movie starring Buffy the Vampire star as a porn star.
from CityBeat 96.7
Southland Tales is set in 2008 in Los Angeles on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster.
Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar, 29, plays Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality TV show.
The film is one of 20 films in competition for the Film Festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or.
American director Richard Kelly said Southland Tales was "meant to be experienced like a puzzle".
"I always thought that the film was going to push buttons and I think it’s going to continue to," he added.
Gellar described the film, which also stars former wrestler The Rock, as "a step up" from Buffy and a "wonderful learning experience".
She said the idea of a porn star with a talk show once seemed "ridiculous" but with the American cult of celebrity it "now seems very real".
Other stars in Cannes included singer Avril Lavigne, Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte and William Shatner, promoting their new film Over the Hedge.
Nolte appeared to almost fall asleep during the press conference and at one point played a harmonica.