Cannes lineup marks return of veterans

PARIS _ The Festival de Cannes on Tuesday unveiled a competition lineup strong on Croisette favorites, with six English-language movies from North America. Half of the 20 competing directors have previously screened movies In Competition, and four have won the Palme d'Or, Cannes' top prize.
Previous prize winners include Gus Van Sant, who returns with HBO Films/Fine Line's ``Last Days'' inspired by the demise of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain; and Lars von Trier, who will accompany ``Manderlay,'' the second part of his trilogy that began with ``Dogville.''
The U.S. contingent also includes Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut, ``The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,'' a contemporary Western played out in Mexico and the U.S. and written by Guillermo Arriaga; and Jim Jarmusch's ``Broken Flowers,'' starring Bill Murray as a jilted man who goes in search of his old flames, which Focus Features will distribute in the U.S. Murray and co-stars Sharon Stone and Jessica Lange are due in town.
Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's graphic novel adaptation ``Sin City'' rounds out American titles, with cast members Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba expected to climb the red carpet for the film's European premiere of the Dimension Films production.
Another North American flick comes from Mexico's Carlos Reygadas ``Batalla en el Cielo'' (Battle in the Sky) In Competition.
Flying the Canadian flag are David Cronenberg with his vengeance picture ``A History of Violence'' from New Line Cinema and Atom Egoyan's psychological thriller ``Where the Truth Lies'' from Serendipity Point Films.
Organizers also confirmed this year's worst kept secret, that ``Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith'' from 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm will have its world premiere May 15 on the Croisette. Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux said that he is delighted that ``one of the mythical sagas in cinema history'' will unveil its final act at Cannes.
And after his enthusiastic reception at Cannes in 2002 when he opened the festival with ``Hollywood Ending,'' Woody Allen is back with ``Match Point,'' on which he eschewed his usual Manhattan locations for a London shoot. The movie stars Scarlett Johansson, who is expected to attend.