Cannes Diary: Aliens and gut reactions

ALONGSIDE the Palme D'Or I would like to see a special award for La Grande Gaffe. The lifetime achievement award for a Cannes Gaffe belongs, of course, to former Conservative arts minister Stephen Dorrell, who came here a couple of years back and praised the then president of the festival jury, the exquisite actress Jeanne Moreau, as "a great Frenchman". He needed several bodyguards when he walked down the Croisette after that.

Heading the candidates so far this week is the beautiful actress - or, as Mr Dorrell might say, a splendid American chap, Winona Ryder. She told the world's press that a film "has to affect me gutturally. I have to feel it in my stomach".

Gets you right in the throat too, Winona.

Another favourite so far comes from the publicity material for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Several thousand packs were printed referring to that well-known extraterrestrial beat poet, Alien Ginsberg.