Laughter echoed through the Cannes Film Festival Monday night, thanks to Michael Angelo Covino’s open marriage comedy Splitsville, starring Dakota Johnson, which wrapped its world premiere with a hearty six-minute standing ovation.
The warm reception tugged at the filmmaker’s heartstrings—literally. As the audience kept clapping, Covino teared up, receiving a sweet hug and kiss on the cheek from Johnson.
Covino, clearly touched by the love in the room, shared a sentiment that might just become a Cannes catchphrase, “We need to keep making comedies for Cannes, plain and simple. Because laughter should be seen in a theater, not on a television screen.”
Hard to argue with that when a room full of attendees is still clapping six minutes in.
Splitsville dives into the chaos of modern relationships with a tangled tale of two couples.
The film stars Johnson and Covino as Julie and Paul, an open-marriage duo who claim to have unlocked the secret to happiness—until their close friend Carey (played by Kyle Marvin), newly reeling from wife Ashley’s (Adria Arjona) request for a divorce, accidentally tips the entire situation into a full-on relationship mess.
Rounding out the ensemble cast are Nicholas Braun, David Castañeda, Charlie Gillespie, Simon Webster, Stephen Adekolu, Tyrone Benskin, and O-T Fagbenle. Covino and Marvin co-wrote the script, with Dakota Johnson also stepping in as a producer.
And speaking of Johnson, the Fifty Shades actress is fresh off another cinematic experience.
While promoting Splitsville at Cannes, she also confirmed that she “just finished filming” Verity, the latest movie adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel.
“I didn’t know what Verity was before I was sent the script, and it’s based on a Colleen Hoover novel that I guess is quite popular,” she told Variety.
When asked about her role, Johnson didn’t hold back on the juicy details.
“People are really into it,” she said. “I’m basically the bad guy I think and it’s so fun.”
According to the official synopsis, she plays a ghostwriter hired by Josh Hartnett’s character to finish the book series of his wife Verity, played by Anne Hathaway.
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