Tuesday was the opening night ceremony for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And as far as I’m concerned, they could’ve made it the closing night as well, at least for the red carpet. Why? Because there’s no chance that anyone can top the movie star entrance of Messi ascending those famous steps. Yes, ladies and gentlepooches, the Border Collie breakout star of last year’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall returned with his BDE (what? Big Dog Energy, get your mind out of the gutter!) to show the puppies how it’s done. For Messi wasn’t just part of the cast of the winning film last year; he was singled out for his performance with the Palm Dog trophy. And now he’s back posing like a pro up the Palais. What. A. Dog. (And I’m saying that like Peggy Lee in Lady and the Tramp.)
Cannes Film Festival officials are notoriously strict when it comes to enforcing protocols for black-tie ensembles on guests before they are allowed to ascend the iconic Palais steps. However, at Tuesday’s glamorous opening night ceremony, one guest managed to sneak by security on four legs sporting nothing but a coat of fur. But at least he nailed the black-and-white part.
Messi the dog — an awards season sensation following a breakout turn in Justine Priet’s Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall — made a splash on the red carpet last night by strolling in front of photographers and lapping up loads of attention ahead of appearances by Meryl Streep, jury president Greta Gerwig, Jane Fonda, Juliette Binoche and the cast of the opening night film The Second Act.
It marked a triumphant return for the Border Collie who won last year’s Palm Dog trophy, and yet another buzzworthy showing for the pooch who stole scenes everywhere from the Oscar nominees luncheon (hello, Ryan Gosling!) to the Academy Awards ceremony. The dog, who played Snoop in Triet’s critically acclaimed pic, also sat for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter alongside his trainer Laura Martin who also attended Tuesday’s ceremony. She and her canine collaborator caused quite the stir, which can be seen below.
Um, instead of suggesting Messi was underdressed for the venue, how about we praise him for always being black-tie ready?! Come on, throw him a bone here! No really, someone throw that good boy a bone, aside from the prop one he carried all by himself before making his way up the stairs. And speaking of, those stair photos are too much. He stops midway to give them options. “You need standing shots? I can give you four AND two footed.” He’s like Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita! I hope he schmoozes, networks, and books lots of new projects while he’s there. And I wouldn’t be opposed to a high fashion editorial with Messi and Anya Taylor Joy coming out of this trip, either. That’s the high wattage pack he runs with now.
Messi is adorable and I completely understand why he is so loved. However, as a former dog mom, I can’t help but question him being up front and center in Cannes. A dog doesn’t need to be in the midst of so much commotion, cameras, people—that’s not great for animals, though Messi does handle it well.
Have you never seen Westminster or any dog show? They’re far more chaotic than walking a red carpet.
@ML – I had the exact same reaction (and dog shows freak me out too). One of my pups is an introvert and the other would love this attention, but only until she got tired of it.
Dog trainers for the movies search long and hard for those rare dogs who love the attention and thrive in this sort of chaos.
ML, you brought up such a good point. There are lots of dogs who would be really stressed by this. As a dog trainer, at first glance these pictures didn’t concern me, his body language is relaxed. BUT, I went back and looked at each picture, to check I was right. His ears, in every picture, are in the same position and look relaxed. He’s not drooling and when his tongue Is out his mouth is relaxed, so no issue there. When he’s standing his tail is a calm position, which shows he’s alert but not excited. It tells me he’s paying attention to his person, but ignoring all the movement, noise, people, to both sides of him, which is awesome. I think this works for him because of his personality, but also his training. He’s been taught to focus on his person/trainer and respond to her. What commands she gives him, and how she responds to the environment. Is she calm? Yes. Then so is he. Is she upset? Then he would be too. His body language is important, but also that he’s looking down the steps, likely at a person he trusts the entire time, to help him navigate this crazy place. And if they know what they are doing, they will pull him out if they see any signs of stress. I hope that helps.
Agreed, ML. I’m not outraged or anything but eh, is this really the best place for him? It reminds me a bit of social media influencers who carry their cats up mountains in a backpack or take their pugs into remote locations as if they’re meant to walk 20 miles a day. It always feels like it’s more for the owner than the pet.
That being said, Messi is so cute and hopefully he gets a lot of decompression time after all this excitement. If he’s on the red carpet for 30 minutes or whatever, I think he’ll be ok in the end.
For border collies, their literal job is to inflict order onto chaos and they seem to relish it. Not worried about this particular dog.
Agree, ML. Surely Swann Arloud is enough for anyone! Was he there? It’s a great film, and this dog is in a stand out scene, but the red carpet stuff seems unnecessary.
They could at least have put a bow tie on him, like they did at the Oscars.
🎀 😁
Messi, like most dogs, is a born entertainer, and, from the looks of it, seems to soak it all up.
Such a beautiful, soulful face!
Messi needs to be in all the things. His performance as Snoop was riveting and heartbreaking
AWWWWW… I love dogs. Who’s the best boy!!!
I love him!
I have to say though, I hope his popularity does not lead to a significant surge in border collie popularity overall. They are great dogs, but they are very very smart and very very work-driven. I’m used to labs and goldens, who are ranked pretty high in terms of intelligence and work drive, but border collies are a whole different level and you really need to know what you are doing as a dog owner if you have one.
I LOVED Anatomy of a Fall and am recommending it to everyone. I guess Messi’s performance was very subtle and nuanced (a true award winner!) because I didn’t notice him too much in the movie– I was so engrossed with the film. Maybe next time he can be the true star of a film, as he deserves.