Cannes 2009 Lineup

[Milkyway]

Cannes unveils lineup

Heavyweight auteurs vie for Palme d'Or

PARIS -- It's official: Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee and Pedro Almodovar will face off with Jane Campion, Ken Loach, Michael Haneke and Park Chan-wook in Cannes' biggest heavyweight auteur smackdown in recent years.

All have snagged Competition berths at next month's 62nd Cannes Festival, whose Official Selection was unveiled Thursday.

This year's Competition is heavy on European fare but the lightest Yank presence since 2006. Asia makes a strong showing.

Cannes has given competition berths to Quentin Tarantino's World War II actioner "Inglourious Basterds," toplining Brad Pitt, and Lee's "Talking Woodstock," a comedic take on the legendary concert, with Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Emile Hirsch.

Sam Raimi's feel-good horror movie, "Drag Me to Hell," already a highlight in an unfinished version at March's SXSW fest, scores a Midnight Screening slot.

Terry Gilliam screens Out of Competition with "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." Of other U.S. pics, Lee Daniel's "Precious" plays in Un Certain Regard.

Competition includes Almodovar's "Broken Embraces," Jane Campion's "Bright Star" and Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric."

Amping up the auteur factor, Competition will also feature Lars von Trier's "Antichrist," Austrian Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon," Isabel Coixet's "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo" and Italian Marco Bellocchio's "Vincere."

Confirming prognostications, Cannes Official Selection looks relatively light on U.S. fare this year. At a packed press conference in Paris' Grand Hotel, fest program director Thierry Fremaux, flanked by Cannes president Gilles Jacob, told journos Thursday that Hollywood WGA strike could have been responsible for the lighter U.S. presence.

As already announced, continuing its support for ground-breaking studio toon pics, fest opens with Pete Docter and Bob Peterson's Pixar movie "Up," the first time an animated film, let alone a Digital 3-D one, has kicked off Cannes.

Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" leads a strong Asian presence in Competition. He has joined by more Asian titles: Johnnie To's "Vengeance," Brillante Mendoza's "Kinatay" and "Face," a French-set extravaganza from the Taiwan-based maverick. China's Lou Ye ("Summer Palace") is back at Cannes with a reportedly torrid young love triangle tale, "Spring Fever."

Otherwise this year's Cannes Competition belongs largely to Europe.

Alain Resnais' "Les Herbes folles," Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet," Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" and Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void" fly the flag for France, which has one of its biggest Competish presences in recent years, especially if one includes co-production.

Competition is given spread by a sprinkling of newish directors such as Brit Andrea Arnold, who segues from acclaimed debut "Red Road" to teenage girl drama "Fish Tank," and Competition is rounded up by Palestine's Elia Suleiman, "The Time That Remains," a six-decade Palestine family saga.

Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora" snared an out-of-competition placing.

Cannes' 62nd edition closes May 24 with Jan Kounen's "Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky."

Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week will be fully announced Friday in Paris.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

OPENER

“Up,” U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

CLOSER

“Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky,” France, Jan Kounen

IN COMPETITION

“Bright Star,” Australia-U.K.-France, Jane Campion

“Spring Fever,” China-France, Lou Ye

“Antichrist,” Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier

“Enter the Void,” France, Gaspar Noe

“Face,” France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang

“Les Herbes folles,” France-Italy, Alain Resnais

“In the Beginning,” France, Xavier Giannoli

“A Prophet,” France, Jacques Audiard

“The White Ribbon,” Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke

“Vengeance,” Hong Kong-France-U.S., Johnnie To

“The Time That Remains,” Israel-France-Belgium-Italy, Elia Suleiman

“Vincere,” Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio

“Kinatay,” Philippines, Brillante Mendoza

“Thirst,” South Korea-U.S., Park Chan-wook

“Broken Embraces,” Spain, Pedro Almodovar

“Map of the Sounds of Tokyo,” Spain, Isabel Coixet

“Fish Tank,” U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold

“Looking for Eric,” U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach

“Inglourious Basterds,” U.S., Quentin Tarantino

“Taking Woodstock,” U.S., Ang Lee

OUT OF COMPETITION

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” Canada-France, Terry Gilliam

“The Army of Crime,” France, Robert Guediguian

“Agora,” Spain, Alejandro Amenabar

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS

“A Town Called Panic,” Belgium, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar

“Ne te retourne pas,” France-Belgium-Luxembourg-Italy, Marina de Van

“Drag Me to Hell,” U.S., Sam Raimi

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

“Petition,” China, Zhao Liang

“L’epine dans le coeur,” France, Michel Gondry

“Min ye,” France-Mali, Souleyumane Cisse

“Jaffa,” Israel-France-Germany, Keren Yedaya

“Manila,” Philippines, Adolfo Alix Jr., Raya Martin

“My Neighbor, My Killer,” U.S., Anne Aghion

UN CERTAIN REGARD

“Samson & Delilah,” Australia, Warwick Thornton

“Adrift,” Brazil, Heitor Dhalia

“The Wind Journeys,” Colombia, Ciro Guerra

“Demain des l’aube,” France, Denis Dercourt

“Irene,” France, Alain Cavalier

“Independance,” Philippines-France-Germany, Raya Martin

“Le Pere de mes enfants,” France-Germany, Mia Hansen-Love

“Dogtooth,” Greece, Yorgos Lanthimos

“Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats,” Iran, Bahman Ghobadi

“Eyes Wide Open,” Israel, Haim Tabakman

“Mother,” South Korea, Bong Joon-ho

“The Silent Army,” Netherlands, Jean van de Velde

“To Die Like a Man,” Portugal, Joao Pedro Rodrigues

“Police, Adjective,” Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu

“Tales from the Golden Age,” Romania, Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru

“Tale in the Darkness,” Russia, Nikolay Khomeriki

“Tzar,” Russia-France, Pavel Lounguine

“Nymph,” Thailand, Pen-ek Ratanaruang

“Precious,” U.S., Lee Daniels

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1118002762&cs=1