NATALIE'S NUDENOGGIN
Natalie Portman had her head shaved onscreen for the November drama V for Vendetta. "I can't stop rubbing my head," said the actress, who has grown fond of her shorn statement. "It's so soft, I might keep it for a while."

Imperial troopers stormed the red carpet at the Star Wars: Episode III premiere.

"It seems that every time I'm here, I reach another platform of my success," said Sith's straight-shooting Samuel L Jackson.

Sith's Cannes do touched a soft spot in director George Lucas (patting Portman's pate): "Cannes is where we first signed the deal for the original Star Wars."

A 35-ft.-tall hot-air Gromit stood guard at the Carlton Hotel to promote October's Wallace & Gromit movie.

Scarlett Johansson (wearing Imitation of Christ Couture) toed the line at the premiere of her Woody Allen-directed drama, Match Point.

In his first visit since 1992, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang's Robert Downey Jr. noted, "It's a better time to be clear and accountable than to be fogged out. I speak from experience."

PARIS! FRANCE!
In town to plug her upcoming comedy National Lampoon's Pledge This!, the Hilton heiress embraced the fest's unique brand of excess

At the festival to plug L'Oréal, Eva Longoria stopped the show at the Where the Truth Lies premiere. The Sophia Perrey dress, she said, is an old one from her own closet.

Juror Salma Hayek (at the Match Point party) said the awards selection process was "going great. I will never get tired of movies."

Hayden Christensen showed up for Star Wars and The Decameron, costarring Mischa Barton, who called the fest "the whirlwind."

On May 12 she arrived in nearby Nice for her three day publicity juggernaut.

On May 13 she appeared live on French TV

Hilton (at an HBO/New Line Cinema cocktail reception May 14) insisted her party days are behind her. "I'm not into that anymore," she told People. "I'm tired of all that."

Hilton, in Roberto Cavalli on May 13, promised that "everybody will love" Pledge This! "It's hot sorority girls in college. Très hot, très sexy,"

Hilton wore a gold Julien Macdonald gown to the May 14 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang premiere, then hosted a bash at Le Bâoli. "There's nothing that has compared to this night," she said.

Jason Lynch. Bryan Alexander and Nancy Wilson in Cannes