Jarmusch, Gomez, Murray talk modern horrors at Cannes

CANNES, France — The Jim Jarmusch zombie movie “The Dead Don’t Die” includes masses of flesh-eating zombies and an Earth thrown off its axis by “polar fracking.” But the teeming Cannes Film Festival, where “The Dead Don’t Die” premiered Tuesday as the opening-night film, has hordes and horrors of its own. Variety called it “a disappointing trifle.” The Los Angeles Times said it’s a “bleak, bone-dry shrug of a horror-comedy.” But it did bring one of the starriest premieres set to hit Cannes this year, including co-star Selena Gomez, who plays a teenager visiting Centerville. Jarmusch was drawn to her by her performance in Harmony Korine’s 2013 “Spring Breakers.” Jarmusch spoke highly of the 26-year-old pop star on Wednesday, calling her “incredibly admirable” for “encouraging young people to have their own will.” While the ills of social media play only a minor role in “The Dead Don’t Die,” Gomez went further on Wednesday, saying Instagram, where she has more than 150 million followers, is “pretty impossible” to make safe at this point. I don’t think people are getting the right information sometimes.” “The Dead Don’t Die” is aimed squarely at satirizing crass materialism along with inaction and disinformation in the face of climate change.