Chelsea On The Rocks : Cult director Abel Ferrara was a huge presence in the independent American movie scene of the 1990s thanks to gritty classics like Bat Lieutenant and King Of New York, but he has been sadly absent in recent years. Fortunately for film fans, Ferrara will return to the international film scene with this new documentary about the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Ferrara’s movie will document the amazing list of personalities and artistic voices that have emerged from this legendary residence, including Bob Dylan, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Miller, Joni Mitchell, Dee Dee Ramone, Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams, Milos Forman, Janis Joplin, Donald Sutherland, Dennis Hopper, Andy Warhol, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Courtney Love, Jimi Hendrix and Sid Vicious (who allegedly murdered Nancy Spungen there). The movie will feature interviews with current and former residents.

This is by no means a definitive list of the movies appearing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (perhaps none of the future prize winning films even made the cut), but it does give a good indication of the strong line-up coming to Cannes this year. While almost all of the films have been announced the films set to open and the close the festival have not been revealed yet. Rumor has it that those spots will be occupied by Children Of Men director Fernando Meirelles’ upcoming thriller Blindness and Barry Levinson’s Hollywood comedy What Just Happened? (featuring jury prez Sean Penn), but its unclear who will get those screenings just yet. Regardless, May will be a thrilling month for international film fans and money-hungry paparazzi. So, if you haven’t booked your flight yet, get off your ass and do it.–PB, News Extensions

Update: As expected Fernando Meirelles’ Candian thriller Blindness and Barry Levinson’s satire What Just Happened? have been selected as the opening and closing films of the festival. See? We do know what we’re talking about.