It’s effect on the box office is usually minimal, but ask almost any filmmaker, and they will tell you they love being recognized at the Cannes Film Festival. With all of the film festivals going on world wide, the Cannes film festival is still the most prestigious. It is also the only one that requires men to wear tuxedos at the evening screenings of the films in competition.

I was hoping the bosses at Screenhead would send Richard and me to Cannes so we could continue our popular dialogue on Death Proof. That’s not going to happen. However, a revised version of Death Proof will be in competition this year. For those who forgot, Quentin Tarantino was the big prize winner at Cannes for Pulp Fiction. The opening night film, My Blueberry Nights is the English language debut of Wong Kar-Wai. Coincidentally, Wong recieved his first major introduction to U.S. audiences when Tarantino “presented” Chungking Express.

The Coen Brothers were big winners for Barton Fink which did mild box office when it was released. O Brother, Where Art Thou? received no awards, was given mixed reviews, and then surprised Disney by becoming a word of mouth hit. Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film, No Country for Old Men will premiered at Cannes befoe the rest of us get to see it. A frequent Cannes favorite, Gus Van Sant, will also show his newest film Paranoid Park.

Cannes newbies include James Gray with We Own the Night. Based on his last film, The Yards, I’m looking forward to this one. Also David Fincher’s Zodiac is in competition. This year Cannes has a larger number of films of the twenty that hope to be prize winners. The festival begins May 19th.