Jodie Foster has had to relinquish her position as the Cannes Int’l Film Festival jury president because she feels the need to go make a few dollars, $12 million to be exact.
In the wake of the Screen Actors Guild pre-strike production frenzy, Foster has stepped in to replace Nicole Kidman in Columbia’s “The Panic Room,” directed by David Fincher. Kidman had to bow out because of an knee injury. Columbia actually wanted Angelina Jolie as the replacement, but Jolie decided to star in New Regency’s “Life, or Something Like It” instead.
However, Foster‘s decision to exit as jury president has left Cannes president Gilles Jacob and his team in a bind, to say the least, as they now will have to scramble to find a replacement to run the 12-member jury. Still, the festival is handling the news gracefully.
In a statement to Variety, Jacob said: “The embarrassment and regret [Ms. Foster] expressed are equaled by our disappointment, but anyone can understand that for an actress, her profession comes first.”
As for Foster, she said to Variety: “I hope with all my heart that it is only a postponement and that, if the Festival honors me with another request, I will one day become president of a Festival to which I owe so much, and this time for good.”
The fact that Foster was picked for the prestigious position is a milestone in itself. The Int’l Festival has had a tenous relationship with the U.S. market in the past, and choosing Foster was perceived as an act of good faith by Hollywood heavyweights.
Now, unfortunately, the Festival has been set back considerably since finding a new president will undoubtedly cause more headaches. Foster was very easygoing about the other jury member selections, and the new president may be more particular.
Foster will next be seen in “The Dangerous Life of Altar Boys” directed by Peter Care, produced by her company, Egg Pictures.
