Entertainment Desk

Two Hollywood legends made their comeback at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, as Kevin Costner launched his sprawling self-funded Western and Demi Moore returned in a gore-filled body horror flick.

The star-studded premieres arrived midway through the world’s most famous movie festival, where “Emilia Perez” -- a musical about a transgender drug lord, starring Selena Gomez -- is currently the talk of the town.

Hollywood icons Costner, Demi Moore make Cannes comebackEpic Western “Horizon, an American Saga” is a passion project for Costner, who told AFP he had started working on the screenplay in 1988.

Despite having enormous success with Westerns, including the Oscar-winning “Dances with Wolves”, “Open Range” and television’s “Yellowstone”, he could not find a studio willing to fund his script.

“But I loved it and so I decided I would write four, which is very American of me -- insane,” said Costner, who bankrolled the project himself.

The first film premiered at Cannes on Sunday in a special screening outside the main Palme d’Or competition. A second film has also been shot, and both will launch globally in theatres this summer.

“Horizon” follows multiple characters and storylines on the violent frontier, as Europeans establish settlements on Native American land.

Costner stars along with Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington.

Another veteran US star, Demi Moore, took centre stage in “The Substance”, a horror film that tackles the immense pressures society places on women to maintain bodily perfection as they age.

Moore starred in several hit movies in the 1990s, including “Ghost”, “A Few Good Men”, “Indecent Proposal” and “G.I. Jane”.

This year’s Cannes is a remarkable return to the red carpet, after years in which Moore has made headlines more for her marriages to Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher than her acting.

“The Substance”, directed by Coralie Fargeat, is among 22 films competing for the Cannes festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.

Also on Sunday, Ben Whishaw drew rave reviews for his portrayal of a radical Soviet poet in “Limonov: The Ballad.”

The Palme d’Or winner will be unveiled on Saturday, the festival’s closing day.