Director Jacques Audiard holds the Palme d’Or award for the film Dheepan as he poses for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 24, 2015. (AP Photo)
PARIS (AP) --
France's president says his country's strong showing at this year's Cannes film festival is no accident — suggesting it's partly thanks to government subsidies.
France has had long dry spells without prizes at Cannes. This year, unusually, five French films were selected for competition. The jury, led by American directors Joel and Ethan Coen, handed three prizes to French winners, including the top prize for Jacques Audiard's migrant drama "Dheepan."
Hollande said the prizes demonstrate "the effectiveness and originality" of French film financing "which I absolutely want to preserve and defend on a European level."
France argues that subsidies offer viewers more diversity than Hollywood blockbusters. French resistance to limits on film subsidies affected talks toward a major U.S.-EU trade deal.
Television producer Mark Burnett, left, looks on as President Donald Trump arrives for the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 2, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with "The Apprentice," is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration.
"With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role," Trump announced Saturday.
Burnett, who was born in London, helped produce hits like "Survivor" and "The Voice," but is perhaps best known for teaming up with Trump for "The Apprentice," which first aired on NBC in 2004.
Trump had been well-known in real estate and pop culture circles for decades. But the show helped again make him a household name — though Trump severed ties with NBC in 2015, the same year he launched his first White House run.
The selection of Burnett continues Trump's trend of filling out his incoming administration with people who have high-profile backgrounds in television or politics, or both — including his choice to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," and ex-television doctor and unsuccessful Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz.
Trump's first campaign in 2016 was rocked by allegations about his conduct on "The Apprentice" and other appearances during his association with NBC, notably in footage in which he said he could sexually assault women and get away with it because he was a "star."
Almost a decade after he left his reality TV role, Trump's television career remains central to his biography and political rise. The show presented Trump Tower to tens of millions of people as a symbol of power and success before Trump launched his first... Read More
