PARIS — Jerry Schatzberg’s classic drama “Scarecrow,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1973, will open the 4th edition of the Lumiere 2012 Grand Lyon festival.
The 85-year-old American helmer will be on hand at the screening of “Scarecrow’s” newly restored copy. It will be presented by Gallic thesp-turned-helmer Guillaume Canet (“Blood Ties”), alongside Lumiere fest prexy Bertrand Tavernier and topper Thierry Fremaux, who’s also Cannes Film Festival chief.
Canet, the opening night’s special guest, toplined Schatzberg’s last film, “The Day the Ponies Come Back,” and has said he has been inspired by Schatzberg.
Schatzberg’s most critically-acclaimed film, “Scarecrow” stars Gene Hackman and Al Pacino as two vagabonds who meet on the road and bond with one another in spite of their differences.
The Lumiere fest, which was created to celebrate movie veterans, cult films and shed light on lesser-known pics, will lure a flurry of top talent, including Max Von Sydow, Jacqueline Bisset, Lalo Schifrin, Tim Roth, Agnes Varda, Mark Cousins and Nicolas Winding Refn, among others.
Previous editions drew such film legends as Clint Eastwood and Gerard Depardieu.
Fest runs Oct. 15-21.
