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Cannes Surprises John Travolta With Honorary Palme d'Or Before Directorial Debut

The career tribute signals his pivot to directing through an aviation memoir arriving on Apple TV+ on May 29.

Overview

  • Travolta received a surprise Honorary Palme d'Or on Friday minutes before the world screening of Propeller One-Way Night Coach at Cannes' Salle Debussy, calling the honor "more than an Oscar."
  • Propeller One-Way Night Coach is his first feature as a director and adapts a 1997 book he wrote about his early love of flying, with Travolta also serving as narrator, writer, and producer.
  • His daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, joined him at the festival and appears in the film as a flight attendant.
  • Cannes programmed the movie in the non-competitive Cannes Première section, and Apple TV+ will release it on May 29.
  • Festival notes highlight his aviation background, saying he started flying at 15, earned a pilot's license at 22, and has logged about 9,000 hours, and the honor follows one for Peter Jackson with Barbra Streisand slated to be recognized next.