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Cannes: May 'Le Force' Be with You
The Force is with this year's Cannes International Film Festival. The final installation in George Lucas's Star Wars epic, which opens in the States on May 19, is the must-see screening of the famous film fest.
All will be clamoring for a first look at Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, starring Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen, when it shows on Sunday. But even more in demand: an invitation to the glamorous Star Wars fete to be held aboard the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary 2, which is anchored off Cannes' yacht-filled harbor. During the party, Lucas will be honored with Cannes' "Trophy of the Festival."
But movies are only half the story at Cannes. There are also the celebrity appearances (witness Scarlett Johansson, who's here promoting Match Point, the latest Woody Allen flick), parties galore and, of course, silly publicity stunts. On Thursday morning, Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter, Kiera Chaplin, was scheduled to ride down the festival's main drag on a horse to hype her starring role in Lady Godiva – Back in the Saddle. (Local police halted the stunt before it could happen.)
Also in town to show their latest offerings: directors Gus Van Sant, David Cronenberg, Jim Jarmusch, Atom Egoyan and Wim Wenders. Making his debut as a big-screen director is actor Tommy Lee Jones, with a drama set in his native Texas called The Three Burials of Meliquiades Estrada, in which he also appears.
