Woody Allen Heads for Midnight Madness in Cannes

Woody Allen, long a favorite of the French, is heading to a big success this week. His “Cannes-opener” so to speak, “Midnight in Paris,” opens the Festival on Wednesday with a bang. This highly anticipated film has great buzz, with my sources telling me from advance screenings that “Midnight” is Woody back in form a la “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and his classics from “Match Point” reaching back to “”Hannah and her Sisters,” “Annie Hall,” “Alice,” “Zelig,” and so on. “Midnight” has an all star cast featuring a cameo by Carla Bruni, first lady of France, as well as star turns by French sensation Marion Cottillard, Michael Sheen, Rachel McAdams, and two current Broadway stars–Nina Arianda and Allison Pill. I’m also looking forward to seeing Mimi Kennedy, who should have been in a Woody Allen movie years ago. Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson also co-star. PS There’s talk that Woody will be on screen again in his next film, to be shot in Rome, along with Roberto Benigni. Woody also turns up in a French film going to Cannes, called “Paris Manhattan,” in which he plays himself.