Cannes Line-Up Announced

[Eric]

According to Cannes, the Tarr is 2:12 and the extended Death Proof is 1:50.

The shortest competition film (barring the possibility of last-minute editing on anyone's -- ahem, WONG, ahem -- part) is Kim Ki-Duk's Breath (oh boy). The longest is Zodiac.

[Sonic Youth]

I bet both seem twice as long as each other, depending on which one you're watching at the time.

[Eric]

Either way, I bet it doesn't seem half as long as the extended version of Death Proof.

[Sonic Youth]

Is the Bela Tarr longer or shorter than five hours?

[FilmFan720]

Cannes lines up American feast
Fest picks several titles by U.S. auteurs
By ALISON JAMES
PARIS — The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a U.S.-rich lineup replete with much-awaited pics by major auteurs for its 60th anniversary edition, which unspools next month.

Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," David Fincher's "Zodiac," James Gray's "We Own the Night," Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" (in a version with an extra 10-15 minutes of footage), and Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park" — five high-profile American titles — will battle it out for the Palm d'Or, against the likes of Emir Kusturica, with "Promise Me This," Mexico's Carlos Reygadas with the unusual Mennonite love story "Silent Light," and "Persepolis," an animated film by French-based Iranian auteur Marjane Satrapi, bringing her own autobiographical graphic novel to the bigscreen.

The fest will also boast plenty of star wattage this year — provided they all turn up.

From Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, in out of competition titles "Ocean's Thirteen" and "A Mighty Heart," to pop icon Norah Jones, in Wong Kar Wai's Cannes opener "My Blueberry Nights," and Bono, expected for the screening of the filmed concert "U2 3D," the red carpet looks set for some serious celebrity wear-and-tear.

There also will be doses of controversy and debate, again of U.S. origin, with out-of-competition special screenings of Michael Moore's latest docu "Sicko," and "11th Hour," an ecological docu produced by Leonardo Di Caprio.

Abel Ferrara's strip club set "Go Go Tales" is lined up for a midnight screenings.

For die-hard docu fans with time on their hands, the festival will be screening Lynn Novick and Ken Burns' 14-hour long "The War."

Back in the main competish, France has three titles, "Une Vieille maitresse," Catherine Breillat's first ever competition film, Christophe Honore's "Les Chansons d'amour" and American Julian Schnabel's French-language autobiography adaptation "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

Other Europeans in competition include Fatih Akin, with "Auf Der Anderen Seite," Austrian Ulrich Seidl's "Import/Export," Romanian New Wave helmer Cristian Mungiu's "4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," Bela Tarr's "The Man From London," with Tilda Swinton, and two Russian titles, Alexander Sokurov's "Alexandra" and "The Banishment" by Lion d'Or winning Andrey Zvyagintsev.

Israel is repped by Raphael Nadjari's "Tehilim," while three Asian titles made the cut, Japanese helmer and former Camera d'Or winner Naomi Kawase's "The Forest of Mogari," Korean Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" and Kim Ki- duk's "Breath."

Despite the roll call of auteur names in the lineup, there are some 13 directors competing for the Palme d'Or for the first time this year, artistic director Thierry Fremaux said.

At a press conference in the chic Hotel Crillon, overlooking the Place Concorde, the topper said: "The choice is always difficult but this is a rich year for the festival."

Some 49 films make up the official selection this year with 22 in competition, chosen out of 1,600 candidates from 95 countries, Fremaux said. Including shorts some 3,983 films were submitted this year, up 22%.

CANNES 2007: OFFICIAL SELECTION

OPENER
"My Blueberry Nights," Hong Kong-France-China, Wong Kar Wai

CLOSER
"The Age of Darkness," Canada, Denys Arcand

IN COMPETITION
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," Romania, Cristian Mungiu
"Alexandra," Russia, Alexander Sokurov
"Auf der anderen Seite des Lebens," Germany-Turkey, Fatih Akin
"The Banishment," Russia-Belgium, Andrey Zvyagintsev
"Breath," South Korea, Kim Ki-duk
"Les Chansons d'amour," France, Christophe Honore
"Death Proof," U.S., Quentin Tarantino
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France, Julian Schnabel
"Import/Export," Austria, Ulrich Seidl
"The Man From London," Germany-France-U.K.-Hungary, Bela Tarr
"Mogari No Mor," Japan, Naomi Kawase
"No Country For Old Men," U.S., The Coen Brothers
"Paranoid Park," France-U.S., Gus Van Sant
"Persepolis," France-U.S., Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Promise Me This," France-Serbia, Emir Kusturica
"Secret Sunshine," South Korea, Lee Chang-dong
"Silent Light," Mexico-France-Netherlands, Carlos Reygadas
"Tehilim," France, Raphael Nadjari
"Une Vieille Maitresse," France, Catherine Breillat
"We Own the Night," U.S., James Gray
"Zodiac," U.S., David Fincher

OUT OF COMPETITION
GALA SCREENINGS
"A Mighty Heart," U.K., Michael Winterbottom
"Ocean's Thirteen," U.S., Steven Soderbergh
"Sicko," U.S., Michael Moore

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
"Boarding Gate," France, Olivier Assayas
"Go Go Tales," U.S., Abel Ferrara
"U2 3D," U.S., Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington


UN CERTAIN REGARD
"Am ende kommen touristen," Germany, Robert Thalheim
"L'Avocat de la terreur," France, Barbet Schroeder
"El Bano del papa," Uruguay, Enrique Fernandez and Cesar Charlone
"Bikur Hatizmoret," Israel, Eran Kolirin
"California Dreamin'," Romania, Cristian Nemescu
"Calle Santa Fe," Chile, Carmen Castillo
"Et toi, t'es sur qui?," France, Lola Doillon
"Kuaile Gongchang," Thailand, Ekachai Uekrongtham
"Magnus," Estonia-U.K., Kadri Kousaar
"Mang Shan," China, Li Yang
"Mio fratello e figlio unico," Italy, Daniele Luchetti
"Mister Lonely," U.S., Harmony Korine
"Munyurangabo," U.S., Lee Isaac Chung
"Night Train," China, Diao Yi'nan
"Les Pieuvres," France, Celine Sciamma
"Le Reve de la nuit d'avant," France, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
"La Soledad," Spain, Jaime Rosales


SPECIAL SCREENINGS
"11th Hour," U.S., Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners
"He Fengming," China, Wang Bing
"Retour en Normandie," France, Nicolas Philibert
"The War," U.S., Ken Burns



60th ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTES
"Boxes," France, Jane Birkin
"One Hundred Nails," Italy, Ermanno Olmi
"Roman de gare," France, Claude Lelouch
"Ulzhan," Germany, Volker Schlondorff

CANNES CLASSICS — DOCUMENTARIES ON CINEMA
"Brando," U.S., Mimi Freedman and Leslie Greif
"Lindsay Anderson, Never Apologize," U.S., Mike Kaplan
"Maurice pialat l'amour existe," France, Anne-Marie Faux and Jean-Pierre Devillers
"Pierre Rissient," U.S, Todd McCarthy

COMPETITION SHORTS
"Ah Ma," Singapore, Anthony Chen
"Ark," Poland, Grzegorz Jonkajtys
"The Last 15," U.S, Antonio Campos
"Looking Glass," Sweden, Erik Rosenlund
"My Dear Rosseta," South Korea, Yang Hae-hoon
"My Sister," The Netherlands, Marco Van Geffen
"The Oate's Valor," U.S., Tim Thaddeus Cahill
"Resistance aux tremblements," France, Olivier Hems
"Run," New Zealand, Mark Albiston
"To onoma tou spourgitiou," Cyprus, Kyros Papavassiliou
"Ver Llover," Mexico, Elisa Miller