'The Americans are coming' to Cannes

Updated: May 16, 2012 - 9:31 AM

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Edward Norton, center, stars in "Moonrise Kingdom."

Photo: Focus Features,

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The 65th edition of the Cannes Film Festival opens Wednesday, and among the 22 films in competition, there's a particularly large American contingent, starting with the opening night film, Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom." The movie about adolescent love on the run brings a few new actors (Bruce Willis, Edward Norton) into Anderson's carefully orchestrated world.

Later, there's David Cronenberg's Don DeLillo adaptation "Cosmopolis," starring Robert Pattinson, and Walter Salles' ("The Motorcycle Diaries") anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac's beloved "On the Road." That film, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, stars Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund but has attracted more attention for its supporting roles, including Pattinson's "Twilight" co-star Kristen Stewart as Dean Moriarty's girlfriend.

There's also John Hillcoat's "Lawless," a Prohibition-era bootlegging tale starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, and Andrew Dominick's "Killing Them Softly," a crime film starring Brad Pitt as a mob enforcer. The unusually large U.S. group is rounded out by Jeff Nichols' "Mud," with Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, and Lee Daniels' "Precious" follow-up, "The Paperboy," a death row drama starring McConaughey, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman.

"The Americans are coming!" said Daniels.

Ellen to receive Twain prize

Ellen DeGeneres, the award-winning talk show host and comedian, has been selected by the Kennedy Center to receive this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. "It's such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize," DeGeneres said. "To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder ... why didn't I get this sooner?" DeGeneres, 54, the 15th recipient of the award, was chosen because her "special brand of humor has allowed us to find hilarity in the mundane and has kept us laughing for years," said center chairman David Rubenstein.

NEW GAY CHORUS LEADER

Ben Riggs, who has led the Denver Gay Men's Chorus since 2007, has been named artistic director of Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. He will become the organization's fifth director, succeeding Stan Hill, when he begins work in August.

SAPPY STERN

"This is going to sound all sappy," said Howard Stern during his debut Monday as a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent," giving a thumbs-up to one group that seemed to become dinosaurs and flowers in a dance-and-light performance. "But we are the greatest country in the world; we have the most creative people."

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

Actor Pierce Brosnan, 59

Actress Debra Winger, 57

Gymnast Olga Korbut, 57

Singer Janet Jackson, 46

Actor David Boreanaz, 43

Actress Megan Fox, 26