‘The Mastermind’ Makes Off With 8-Minute Ovation At Cannes Premiere

It may be the last day of the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection lineup, but there’s still plenty of action at the Palais. Josh O’Connor was in town this evening for the world premiere of Kelly Reichardt’s latest, The Mastermind, which received an 8-minute ovation and is the final movie in the Competition. It will be followed later tonight by the Midnight showing of Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t!

Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza) also stars in The Mastermind. Set in a sedate corner of Massachusetts circa 1970, the story follows JB Mooney (O’Connor), an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief, who plans his first big heist. When things go haywire, his life unravels.

Also in the cast are John Magaro, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann, Amanda Plummer, Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, Javion Allen, Matthew Maher and Rhenzy Feliz.

Mubi will distribute in select territories, retaining rights in North America, UK, Ireland, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Benelux, Turkey and India. The Match Factory is handling international sales.

This is Reichardt’s second film in Competition after 2022’s Showing Up. Her Wendy and Lucy was in Un Certain Regard in 2008.

In-demand Brit actor O’Connor was in Cannes earlier this week with Oliver Hermanus’ The History Of Sound and has been cast in Steven Spielberg’s next project. Haim will next be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and alongside Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in A24’s The Drama.

The Mastermind producers are Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani and Vincent Savino of filmscience.