82nd Golden Globe® Nominations Announced
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CANNES, FRANCE: Singers George Harrisson and Jane Birkin at Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France in 1968(Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images ) *** Local Caption *** George Harrisson;Jane Birkin
  • Festivals

Vintage Cannes:1968- Beatles on the Croisette

Cannes 1968  was the festival that never ended. It made perfect sense in a year marked by turmoil, drastic change, growth spurs, counterculture, and an explosion of creativity and talent, all at the same time. Before Cannes popped open like a ripe popcorn kernel, life was as glamorous as it could be on the Croisette – even the Beatles were there. Actually, half of the Beatles: George Harrison (with his wife, Pattie Boyd) and Ringo Starr (with his wife, Maureen Starkey). They were there to support American-British director Joe Massot’s Wonderwall, a psychedelic love story starring Jane Birkin (playing a character named Penny Lane) and Jack MacGowran. Wonderwall was Harrison’s first foray into movies – he composed the score and ended up contributing from his own pocket to partially fund the project. Wonderwall screened in Cannes on May 17th, 1968, but struggled to find a distributor – it would open in Great Britain in early 1969. The Beatles would split a year later. Massot would go on to direct the Led Zeppelin documentary The Song Remains the Same.