Scorsese to Do Double Duty in Cannes

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday April 10, 2002 12:00 PM EDT

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"Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" director Martin Scorsese, who's currently editing his epic "Gangs of New York," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis, is about to catch spring fever. Variety reports that Scorsese, 59, will be joining other movie icons including Woody Allen, David Lynch and Catherine Deneuve at this May's annual Cannes Film Festival -- where he will serve as chairman of the short-film jury and offer a 17-minute preview of his long-awaited upcoming movie. The $100 million "Gangs" is set in New York before the Civil War and stars DiCaprio as an Irish immigrant who becomes embroiled in gangland violence and political corruption, Diaz as a seductive pickpocket and Day-Lewis as a xenophobic gang leader. Originally scheduled to have opened last Christmas, the picture was the subject of a front-page article in The New York Times last weekend. In the piece, it was said that Scorsese and Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein were feuding over the project, particularly insofar as its three-hour running time. Both men denied any animosity between them (and the picture, according to the Associated Press, will come in at 2 hours, 40 minutes). As for the delay, Lois Smith, a publicist for Scorsese, told PEOPLE.com, "What better time to release a picture like this than at Christmas. When is it supposed to come out, in summer, when only the kiddies are going to the movies?" In his Park Avenue offices in New York, Scorsese also recently offered PEOPLE.com a sneak peak at a scene in the picture, that of a political riot featuring DiCaprio. The period look and detail were rich, colorful and action-packed.