The nominations for the prestigious Palme d'Or award at this year's Cannes film festival have been announced, with Clint Eastwood going up against Gus Van Sant and British director Peter Greenaway.
Clint's new drama Mystic River tells the heart-wrenching story of three childhood friends reunited by the death of one of their daughters. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Laurence Fishburne lead the cast in what is probably the most high-profile of the 20 shortlisted films.
Cannes organisers take pride in the fact that major stars and big budgets count for little when the award is being decided, however. It is widely recognised that outstanding artistic merit is the only way to garner the Palme d'Or, with major productions often losing out to small budget, independent movies. Last year the trophy went to Roman Polanski's harrowing holocaust drama The Pianist.
There will be no shortage of glamour at the week-long event as a galaxy of stars jet in to take part. Previous winner Lars Von Trier is in the running again with his latest flick Dogville which stars Nicole Kidman. The Australian star is expected to attend, as is her ex-husband Tom Cruise.
And Tom's new love Penelope Cruz will likewise be in town, as the festival is to open with her French-language movie Fanfan La Tulipe. She'll have some competition in the style stakes, however, as the judging panel will including top Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Meg Ryan.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
