Cannes 2010: Many stars, but only one legend

This year's Cannes will begin and end in ways to make us meditate on the themes of property and theft. Ridley Scott's new Robin Hood film will launch the festival on Wednesday with what we all hope will be a beefy and resounding twang; the closing film will be Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2 on May 23.

Both are out of competition, emphasising the Cannes habit of showcasing Hollywood movies in this relaxingly non-judgmental way. Glitzy American pictures will bring in the star-names and red-carpet glamour, but my first recognition has to go Stephen Frears' Tamara Drewe, based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds.

Mike Leigh is a great British auteur and former Palme D'Or winner, back with a new ensemble drama, Another Year, starring Lesley Manville and Jim Broadbent. Leigh's relationship with Cannes has been chequered. The festival famously turned down his 2005 film Vera Drake — Leigh took it to Venice where he won the Golden Lion and thumbed his nose at the French.

There is a strong Asian and Russian presence with films from Im Sang-soo, Lee Chang-dong and Nikita Mikhalkov — the latter returns with Burnt by the Sun 2, a follow-up to his most popular film.

The French presence looks interestingly low-key. Veteran filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier presents his period costume drama The Princess of Montpensier, and the actor and recent Bond villain Mathieu Amalric makes his directorial debut (in the main competition, no less) with Tourne, about American burlesque girls on tour in France.

Abbas Kiarostami is the Iranian director with impregnable status and esteem and respect will be paid to his new film, Certified Copy starring Juliette Binoche, his first made outside Iran.

Perhaps my favourite director in this year's line-up is the visionary Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul who returns with his intriguing sounding Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu returns with another drama of chance encounters and fate: Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem.

There is no doubt who is the biggest name. Fifty years after his first movie (Breathless, in 1960), the great man is back to put in a distinctively grizzled and inscrutable appearance. Jean-Luc Godard comes to Cannes in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, with a contribution to the portmanteau film Socialism. It will be a hot ticket.

And the legendary Portuguese director, Manoel De Oliveira, at 101 years old, has made a new film, The Strange Case of Angelica.

A list with big names and well-established egos: as ever, the fascination is in seeing who will triumph and which upstaged by the always unguessable tide of younger talent.

Gallagher makes a Beatles film

English musician Liam Gallagher is set to unveil a new film project about the final years of the Beatles at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.

Gallagher, who has been a fan of the Beatles, has reportedly acquired the film rights from Richard DiLello's memoirs.

Gallagher will announce the film project based on the book The Longest Cocktail Party: An insider's diary of the Beatles, Their Milion-dollar Apple Empire and Its Wild Rise and Fall at this 63rd edition of Cannes, reports contactmusic.com.

The singer has called DiLello's book "f****** brilliant".

— IANS