NAMES IN THE NEWS : ‘Cyrano’ Star to Go to Moscow

PARIS — Gerard Depardieu, star of the European blockbuster film “Cyrano,” will travel to Moscow next month to promote the movie featuring what some critics say is his best performance.

“Cyrano” is vying for the coveted Gold Palm award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It stars Depardieu as the long-nosed dreamer who breathes his passion and poetry into the empty head of a simple soldier to woo the beautiful Roxanne.

At a cost of about $19 million, “Cyrano” is France’s most expensive cinema production. It was Depardieu’s 60th film role and has been called his strongest work by many critics.

The film adapted from Edmond Rostand’s theater classic was directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau.

Depardieu will be accompanied by Theirry de Beauce, secretary of state in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and will also travel to Czechoslovakia and Hungary, where the movie was filmed.