Has social media killed the film star?

French actress Catherine Deneuve and the US directors Joel and Ethan Coen were united in a backlash against social media at the start of the 68th Cannes Film Festival.

Deneuve, 71, star of the opening night film Standing Tall, said the amount of information readily available on social networks was undermining the whole concept of film stars while the Coen brothers defended the practice of watching films at the cinema over small screen alternatives.

More than 50 years after coming to fame in Les Parapluies de Cherbourg which won the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, in 1964, Deneuve said the way actors received widespread coverage on social media “didn’t enable people to dream any more about these people”.

She said: “The private lives of actors and actresses are displayed all over the globe. People even post up their own private photos on the social networks. I find this a pity.

“Being a star entails glamour and secrecy. You have to keep something for yourself.” But she said without such overexposure: “There could still be stars.”

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