Sans Hollywood, Is Cannes Kaput?

Now that it’s confirmed that mainstream Hollywood will have virtually no presence at next month’s Cannes Film Festival, European movie makers have achieved a modified version of the cinematic purity they’ve sought since last year’s GATT discussions.

“Les Patriots,” “Grosse Fatigue” and other home-grown movies can command center stage at this year’s festival without the distractions of a half-naked Madonna ascending the red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals, Sylvester Stallone being sucked into a Cote d’ Azur mob or an oversized Arnold Schwarzenegger balloon symbolically deflating on a barge.

But with America relegated to a supporting role this year, Cannes may also find its own cachet deflated, much as the European theatrical business could be undercut if the European Union follows through on threats to enforce tough restrictions on the inflow of American films.

Cannes regulars have acknowledged for decades that the festival derives much of its international media appeal and pizazz from Hollywood--the most definitive book on Cannes is titled “Hollywood on the Riviera”--no matter how many prestigious films the organizers showcase.

That explains why the controversial “Basic Instinct” got the coveted opening slot at Cannes two years ago and why the taut but vacuous “Cliffhanger” received a special screening last year. This year’s Hollywood lineup consists of independently produced films such as Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” low-budget studio releases such as Paramount’s “The Browning Version” and Columbia’s “I Like It Like That,” and movies that have already failed domestically, such as “The Hudsucker Proxy” from Warner Bros.-PolyGram and “Serial Mom” from Savoy Pictures.

After the selections were formally announced Thursday, sources suggested that festival director Gilles Jacob may still have a surprise up his sleeve, such as a glitzy last-minute addition. But Jacob said he’s satisfied with the lineup. He noted that “Hudsucker Proxy” was produced by Joel Silver, “one of the greatest producers in Hollywood,” and that “Serial Mom,” which he identified in writing as “Serial Mother,” stars the well-known Kathleen Turner.

Besides Turner, the stars committed to Cannes so far are few. They include Clint Eastwood, president of the 47th annual festival jury, “Pulp Fiction” co-stars Bruce Willis and John Travolta, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Gerard Depardieu. A salute to director Robert Altman (“MASH,” “Nashville,” “The Player”) could also turn up some big names. Yet even the chronically dull MIP-TV market recently produced such A-list celebrities as Prince Edward and the Duchess of York.

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Hollywood will be better represented behind the scenes, where the usual amount of international deal making will take place, and on billboards and walls throughout Cannes, where low-budget American films tend to be shamelessly promoted. A number of those Hollywood deal makers believe top studio films are being withheld from Cannes in retribution against the French, who successfully lobbied for the entertainment industry’s exclusion from protection under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

No one would publicly fess up to such collusion, and a Motion Picture Assn. of America representative in Paris denied the rumor Thursday. But it’s curious, at least, that no major studio has stepped forward with a star-studded picture, especially since Cannes has been called the world’s greatest promotional vehicle by no less an authority than Schwarzenegger.

He’s one of many regulars who will not be on hand this year. The superstar’s publicist says he’s unable to attend because he’s gone directly from filming “True Lies” to filming “Junior.” Pat Kingsley, who represents stars such as Tom Cruise and Jodie Foster, said none of her major clients are expected to be there. Asked why, she said she had to take another call.

The studios, for their part, claim they’ve little to gain from Cannes this year. Some say it’s because the festival is too expensive. Others insist their best films won’t be ready in time, or that the crush of publicity at Cannes often undercuts their marketing efforts on the home front.

In fairness, participants point out that Hollywood’s presence at Cannes has seesawed in the past. Only eight of the 62 films at last year’s festival were American, though some of the titles were mainstream. The number was roughly double that of the year before.

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In a written response to questions from The Times, Jacob said one problem is that release dates for major Hollywood films often conflict with the mid-May staging of Cannes. He also hinted, without saying it outright, that the available films this year were disappointing.

Jacob denied that GATT played any role in determining the quality of American films available to him. He refused to share his own opinion on the quota issue, saying, “I have my personal feelings concerning the problem of quotas, but at the post where I am, we have in France that which one calls the obligation of reserve.”