Do you think Brian Grazer's personal trouble signals any hidden meaning as to whether the film will be HUGELY successful, or not?

The Di Vorce Code

...or are we Da Vinci-ed out?

I was in Barnes & Noble standing in front of three large displays of every conceivable Da Vinci Code tie-in, trying to figure how to maneuver around it, when a clerk asked me if I needed any help?

"Do you have anything on The Da Vinci Code?" was all I could think of asking, being the wiseass.

"I'm new here, but let me check." she said, not seeing the forest for the murdered trees made into these books...

I just don't get the whole Da Vinci Code thing. I've no interest in the book and, as for the movie, the trailer leaves me stone cold. For some reason, I keep associating the hoopla over this with the hoopla over The Name of the Rose way back when. Now that was a fun read.

At any rate, about this lineup. There certainly is a lot of Europe in there. And only one Asian film in the Competition.

What, no Inland Empire? Shocking.

That's right! Damn, I wonder what happened... Or didn't happen...

Well, Turkey's a dual-continent nation, so make that one and a half from Asia. Were there no more Cannes-worthy films from that region this time around, or was the quota filled when Wong and Zhang were put on the jury?

I figured "IE" just wasn't finished in time...right? Surely at this point David Lynch could turn in a Mentos commercial and still make it into competition.

Variety reported weeks ago that the Lynch wasn't going to be ready. The surprising omission here is Aronofsky's The Fountain, which several different reports had cited as a dead cert for a spot somewhere in the Official Selection.

True, Alison - he could on his own merits, naturally, and having been Jury Prez not that long ago wouldn't hurt, either. So either the film's not ready or he's quietly thinking a Toronto premiere might have more impact. [grin]

And you're right, too, of course, Brian, though I'd very much like to see Turkey eventually join the EU.

Meantime, the issue pops up in the FAQ...

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Let's return to the composition of the Official Selection. What is striking is the strong European presence in selection...

Indeed, Europe remains great motion-picture continent. Over recent years, we've sense[d] an East wind rising. The 2006 selection confirms it: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania are again present. Let it be recalled that it was the Romanian film by Cristi Puiu that walked away with the prize of Un Certain Regard in 2005.

We also find in the 2006 edition of Un Certain Regard films from the Scotland, Norway, Italy and Spain. With its masters present in Competition (Almodovar, Moretti, Kaurismäki, Loach), Europe recalls, if need be, that it does indeed possess a truly great motion picture industry.

- Asian cinema confirms its importance...

There would be a lot to say on the fundamental contribution of films from Asia over recent years. From an artistic point, a great festival can no longer exist without Asian films. From the point of view of the industry, professionals come in ever greater numbers to the Festival. In 2006, we find China in Competition, Out of Competition and in Un Certain Regard. Cannes continues to pay particular attention to the films of this continent, from India to China. And to its artists: from this standpoint, Wong Kar Wai's choice as Jury President represents a strong signal which we wished to send out.

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So there's your "quota," Brian, just as you suggested: on the jury but not in competition.

I'd be the last to disparage the state of European cinema at the moment, and in fact, it's been tiresome for me over the past couple of years to see the flimsiest of Asian productions get massive fanboy coverage while truly engaging European work goes ignored - at least in the virtual circles I find myself spinning in.

But the ratio in the Cannes competition here doesn't seem quite right, either. Maybe it's meant as a corrective of sorts, maybe not. Maybe it's just the way the cookie crumbled. Whatever the case, it's noticed.

md'a "slipped," as they used to say, and is right, too. The more you look at this list, the more you wonder: What actually happened.