Road trip comedy Little Miss Sunshine won the top prize at the Deauville festival at the weekend. The film, which was released here on Friday, stars Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as the nominal heads of a dysfunctional extended family who take their youngest across America to a child beauty pageant. Half Nelson, which stars Ryan Gosling as a high school teacher, was named runner-up and also won an award for emerging talent. The best screenplay award went to Sherrybaby, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a drug addict mother trying to care for her young daughter. The French festival focuses entirely on films made in the US and is now in its 32nd year. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest became only the third film to cross the $1bn mark at the worldwide box office at the weekend. Jerry Bruckheimer's swashbuckling pirate sequel is behind only Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in terms of overall box office. The film, which stars Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley, made an extra $2m last week in the US.
Horror director to watch, Eli Roth, is to get an acting part in Quentin Tarantino's forthcoming slasher flick, Death Proof, according to reports. The Hostel maker will be joined by Omar Doom, former singer and lead guitarist for the band Alister Doomington, and CSI's Michael Bacall. Kurt Russell has already been announced for the role of baddie Stuntman Mike, who hunts and kills women in his car. Death Proof is part of Grindhouse, Tarantino's two-for-one project with Robert Rodriguez, which is due for release next Easter.
