Cannes: Now More Than You'll Ever Need

The Cannes Film Festival started off with a bang with the usual snarky critics (that irresistable combination of sarcasm and cynicism only found in "sophisticated" cineastes) downgrading the latest popular fare. This year's victim being the Da Vinci Code.

The Independent Film Channel has a live webcam of the red carpet so you don't miss one minute of excitement. Here is a list of the official selection. The competition for the Palme d'Or includes a few films that should arouse the interest of Hollywood's eyes and ears such as Pedro Almadovar's Volver, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu's Babel, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation. These films and more will be judged by a jury of artists led by the illustrious Wong Kar-Wai and will include Elia Suleiman, Helena Bonham Carter, Lucretia Martel, Monica Bellucci, Patrice Leconte, Samuel Jackson, Tim Roth, and Zhang Ziyi.

French director Patrice Leconte had the most interesting thing to say on the jury proceedings: "I just hope that our choices don't fall into that category that I call the 'stairway syndrome. ' When the co-renters in a building cannot decide on a color, in the end they choose something neutral like beige. I hope that the Palme d'Or winner will be colorful."

But, Wong Kar-Wai would not miss a point to wax poetic either: The jury is sometimes like a mirror. It is our decisions, it is our selection and it reflects not only the film, but also ourselves. So it's subjective like all mirrors, they are sometimes distorted. Makes things look prettier or worse, so I hope today this Jury will be as clear as possible as a mirror. So in case there is an angel looking in, there won't be a monkey looking out.”

The Cahiers du Cinema gives you a look at the selection process for those curious.

If you haven't yet arrived at the airport in Nice, several journos have you covered as they blog from a cafe across the street from the Palais des Festivals. David Gritten covers the scene for the Daily Telegraph. Xan Brooks has you covered via the Guardian. And, Simon Houpt from the Globe and Mail gives you his candid perspective.

The New York Times covers the show casting aside the purists and the scenesters while acting as the cognescenti.

The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, and the Guardian (podcast included) are all offering carpet-to-carpet coverage.

The best place, besides the blogger gossip of course, to find the real scoop is perhaps the official site.