*** ----> Hitch halts controversial Netflix film's Cannes premiere | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Hitch halts controversial Netflix film's Cannes premiere

Cannes : The premiere of the first of two controversial Netflix movies at the Cannes film festival had to be stopped Friday amid whistles and jeers when the curtain malfunctioned hiding part of the screen. 

Some critics had earlier whistled at the start of $50-million creature feature "Okja" when the Netflix's logo appeared on screen.

The screening giant has refused to show both its films in the running for Cannes' top prize in French cinemas, sparking a bitter row which has overshadowed the start of the festival.

"Ha, this (film) is really not made for the cinema," one spectator shouted as the screening was stopped for eight minutes to solve the technical hiccup. 

"Okja", about a young country girl who tries to save a beast created by an unscrupulous multinational company, had been touted as a possible winner of the Palme d'Or.

But a clash between Netflix and French cinema owners may have already put it, and the other film purchased by Netflix, "The Meyerowitz Stories" with Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, out of contention.

Netflix sparked uproar in France by refusing to put the movies on general release there, where subscription services must wait three years to stream films after they show in cinemas.

Spanish director and jury president Pedro Almodovar dropped a bombshell Wednesday by suggesting they should not win anything.

He said he could not imagine "the Palme d'Or nor any other prize being given to a film, and then not being able to see that film on a large screen".

But his fellow jury member Hollywood star Will Smith took a strongly opposing view, singing Netflix's praises to reporters.