Jodie Kicks Cannes

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday May 27, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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Due to a conflict in her schedule, Jodie Foster, who was to have served as the head of this May's Cannes Film Festival jury, won't be attending the movie world's annual rite of spring at all, fest organizers announced over the weekend. The reason Foster gave was that she will step in for the injured Nicole Kidman in the movie "Panic Room," to be directed by David Fincher ("Seven" and "Fight Club," both with Brad Pitt). "Since shooting continues in May," Cannes festival chief Gilles Jacob said in a statement, "Jodie has asked us to postpone her presidency to another year. The embarrassment and regret she has expressed match the level of our disappointment, but everybody understands that for an actress, her work comes before anything else." In her statement, Foster, 38, said, "I hope with all my heart that it is only a postponement and that, if the festival honors me with another request, I will one day become president of a festival to which I owe so much." This year's festival runs from May 9 to 20.