Cannes: Cruz, Bardem were paid equally for ‘Everybody Knows’

CANNES, France – Penelope Cruz says she and her husband Javier Bardem were paid equally for the Cannes Film Festival opener “Everybody Knows.”

In the film, the Spanish-language debut of Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, Cruz and Bardem play former lovers dealing with the kidnapping of a daughter. Asked Wednesday at a press conference in Cannes if they were paid the same, Cruz replied, “Actually, yes.”

Shortly after “Everybody Knows” opened the Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features acquired the film. The specialty division of Universal Pictures said Wednesday that it will distribute it in the U.S. and much of the world.

Farhadi has won two Academy Awards for best foreign language film, for “A Separation” and “The Salesman.” Producers said they will also aim for the Oscars with “Everybody Knows.”