Film star to miss Cannes red carpet: he is in prison
The breakout performance at the Cannes Film Festival this year is Aniello Arena's turn as a Naples fishmonger who becomes obsessed with appearing on a "Big Brother"-style TV show in "Reality." Associated Press says the star, however, will not be walking the red carpet at the Italian movie's gala premiere Friday, because he is in prison.
Arena is riveting in the film by "Gomorrah" director Matteo Garrone — lively, likable and lost — and many viewers were astonished to learn he is serving a life sentence for murder. He has worked for a decade with the respected Fortezza prison theater company but has never appeared in a feature film.
"I wanted him to appear in 'Gomorrah,' but the judge wouldn't allow it," said Garrone, whose bloody crime drama won Cannes' second prize in 2008. "We received the authorization for him to appear in the film (Reality) but he was not allowed to come here to Cannes."