The 67th annual Cannes Film Festival starts off with a bang, but there's a bit of controversy surrounding Nicole Kidman's movie.
Nicole Kidman kicked off the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival -- arguably the most prestigious international festival for cinema -- Wednesday, May 14, 2014, on the French Riviera, premiering her much talked-about film Grace of Monaco. However, the film is stirring up controversy, and the actress is reacting.
According to ET correspondent Carly Steel, audience members at a press screening of Grace of Monaco could be heard laughing and even booing the film.
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Grace of Monaco also greatly upset some members of the Monaco royal family, who even asked photographers not to take pictures of the stars as they entered the premiere. Their requests were not honored.
Directed by Olivier Dahan (La Vie en Rose), Kidman, 46, plays the beloved Grace Kelly in the film, which focuses on her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s.
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Kidman, 46, addressed the controversy when speaking to reporters assembled at a press conference for the film. "Obviously, I feel sad, and I understand the protection of the privacy of their mother and father," said the actress, referring to Kelly and Rainier's children, who have been vocal opponents of the creation of the movie. "It's awkward … but the performance was done with love."
Grace of Monaco is not the only big film set to premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. This year brings a selection of 18 films, including the buzz-worthy Foxcatcher -- boasting an all-star cast including Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo -- which tells the true story of Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz (Tatum) who decides to get justice after schizophrenic John DuPont (Carell) killed his brother, Olympic champion Dave Schultz (Ruffalo).
Other famous faces attending this year's festivities? Twilight stars Robert Pattinson (for David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars) and Kristen Stewart (for Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria) though it's yet-to-be-seen if the exes will cross paths. Ryan Gosling will also make a rare public appearance to promote his directorial debut, Lost River, about a single mother (Christina Hendricks) who's swept into a dark underworld, while her teenage son discovers a road that leads him to a secret underwater town.
The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 14-25.