Cannes by star-lite

It is one of those rare years when the Cannes marketplace lacks an all-powerful title -- a film that, thanks to its star power, demands the undivided attention of U.S. buyers and creates the almighty buzz that can transform a film mart into a high-stakes arena.

Freed from the obligations of a feeding frenzy, execs are treating this edition of Cannes less like a Barney’s warehouse sale and more like a back-to-school shopping run. Many blame fest topper Gilles Jacob, who has not visited Hollywood in five years, for the paucity of brand-name titles.

“There is a sense that there are a lot of films that you need to see and that Cannes is less about finding acquisition-type movies,” said Artisan Entertainment’s Jeremy Barber, who was recently promoted to exec VP, acquisitions and productions. “Cannes is more about finding the next generation of filmmakers.”

While the current market lineup may lack high-gloss, high-anticipation entries, there are still plenty of titles to fill acquisition execs’ shopping lists.

Among them are Franchise Pictures’ “Auggie Rose,” starring Jeff Goldblum and Anne Heche; Lakeshore Intl.’s “Delivering Milo,” starring Bridget Fonda; Nu Image/Millennium Films’ “How to Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog,” starring Robin Wright-Penn and Kenneth Branagh; and “Anasazi Moon,” starring Gary Oldman and Skeet Ulrich.

Also on the docket are “Luckytown,” starring James Caan and Kristen Dunst, from A-Plus Entertainment; IAC Film’s “Shiner,” starring Michael Caine; and Overseas Filmgroup’s “Relative Values,” starring Julie Andrews and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

That’s plenty of screenings to keep buyers bleary-eyed, but not enough to stop complaints that there’s nothing big to pick up. Meanwhile, sellers moan that it’s harder than ever to put together attractive packages.

Admittedly, buyers and sellers are both renowned for their capacity to grumble. But you’d be hard-pressed to say they’re wrong.

“I think it’s grim,” said the William Morris Agency’s Cassian Elwes about the state of the acquisitions marketplace. “It’s mostly European and Asian films out there, and there are very few American films available. For acquisitions people, it’s kind of slim pickings.”

Another agent adds, “The studios’ need to share costs, along with the creation of the European mega-companies, has created an environment where big movies with big stars is what people want.”

Case in point is Initial Entertainment Group’s “Dr. T and the Women,” directed by Robert Altman and starring Richard Gere, Helen Hunt and Liv Tyler. The comedy has screened for buyers over the last two weeks, and a domestic deal was expected to be in place before the fest’s start.

And, as any studio exec could tell you, cobbling together material that attracts major star power isn’t as easy as it may sometimes look -- to say nothing about bringing together independent financing that can make such projects happen.

One of the buyers’ first stops will be Roland Joffe’s “Vatel,” which stars Gerard Depardieu and Uma Thurman and holds the opening-night slot of the fest.

Eyeing ‘Fast Women’

Competition titles earning buyers’ look-see are “Fast Food, Fast Women,” a comedy by Amos Kollek (son of longtime Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek), and “Bread & Roses” by Cannes fest perennial Ken Loach. Several Asian films have also made buyers’ hit lists, including Wong Kar-wai’s “Untitled,” Edward Yang’s “Yi Yi” and Lee Chang-dong’s “Peppermint Candy.”

A handful of documentaries also under consideration includes Barbara Kopple’s “A Conversation With Gregory Peck,” which is repped by Good Machine Intl.

Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart makes his feature debut with “Honest,” which stars Brit-pop band All Saints, while Denys Arcand, helmer of the 1989 Cannes Jury Prize-winning “Jesus of Montreal,” returns to Cannes with “Stardom,” the fest’s closing-night film.

‘Dancer’ prance

One of the films generating the strongest buzz is “Dancer,” the feature bow from legit helmer Stephen Daldry. Early viewers have compared the Directors Fortnight film to “Shine” for its emotional impact, but the film was quietly taken out of play late last year.

Pic was announced at Cannes 1999 as a BBC production; Working Title-backed Tiger Aspect Films came on as a producer on “Dancer” in December under its lower-budget banner WT2 Films. With WT2’s involvement, “Dancer” will now be released by a Universal indie outpost, although it’s unclear whether it will go to USA Films or the nascent Universal Classics.

Some buyers have already screened Un Certain Regard entries “Famous” -- Griffin Dunne’s digitally produced mockumentary, viewed as light but attractive -- and “The King Is Alive,” by Kristian Levring, which some buyers describe as strong arthouse fare.

The list of English-language titles also includes the Fortnight entries “Mallboy” from Oz filmmaker Vincent Giarrusso and the U.K. titles “Some Voices” by feature tyro Simon Cellan Jones and “Purely Belter” by “Little Voice” helmer Mark Herman.

“Every buyer I’ve talked to seems down, like there really isn’t a lot to buy,” said one top agent. “But people say that at every festival and end up walking away with something.”