Other news from Cannes

Martin Scorsese told a news conference that escalating fees paid to top stars threaten to put the film industry out of existence. He said that he was generally relieved to find that his own films were unaffected, with most actors willing to take a salary cut to work on more interesting projects. But he added that stars ought to be concerned about the effect of greedy demands on the industry that sustains them and that they should ask themselves, "How many more things do we need in our lives?" Robert McKee, the screenwriting guru, lambasted current screenwriting standards in an interview with The Times in Cannes. He said that Hollywood movies put effects before a decent script, whereas European cinema was interested in painterly camerawork at the expense of dramatic tension. He also said what most people already know - that 95 percent of Hollywood films produced today are mediocre and that classic works are being "cannibalized" when they fall into the hands of a hack adapter who is "likely to drag the genius down to his level." Interestingly, McKee's first feature, based on Noel Coward's Hay Fever, is being promoted at Cannes. In another press conference to launch Primary Colors, the film which opened the Festival, John Travolta revealed that he turned down a request from Bill Clinton to re-enact his adulterous, Clinton-esque role in the movie at a White House party. "I was invited to a party as the President and do a speech," he said. "I declined, because I decided that it was best to leave the character on the screen and not go and do parties. However, it was a very funny and interesting invitation. I think it was to show his sense of humor about the whole thing. I understand that the President is anxious to see the film and would like to see it, but in private."