Cate Blanchett, Rachel Weisz, Matthew McConaughey movies to compete at Cannes

The latest movies starring Cate Blanchett, Rachel Weisz and Matthew McConaughey will be among those competing at the Cannes Film Festival next month, organisers said on Thursday.

Blanchett will appear in "Carol" with Rooney Mara, a lesbian love story set in New York, while Rachel Weisz will be in two movies: the Italian-directed "La Giovinezza" also featuring Michael Caine and Jane Fonda, and Greece's "The Lobster" with Colin Farrell.

McConaughey will be in the American film "The Sea of Trees" with Naomi Watts.

Films starring Benicio del Toro and Salma Hayek will also be vying for Cannes's Palme d'Or top prize.

Other movies chosen included several Asian picks -- "The Assassin" from Taiwan, "Umimachi Diary" from Japan, "Mountains May Depart" from China -- and an Australian version of "Macbeth" starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

Organisers told a media conference in Paris that they had so far finalised 16 films for the competition, but would be adding two to four more in coming weeks to have around 20 movies.

The Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to 24.