John Travolta obtained a serious Cannes shock forward of the world premiere of his directorial debut “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” when the competition offered him with an honorary Palme d’Or, which is the Cannes equal of a lifetime achievement prize. Travolta was shocked and overwhelmed by the shock honor, holding again tears whereas saying: “This is beyond the Oscar.”
“Surprise complétement!” an emotional Travolta exclaimed in French as the gang erupted into rapturous applause. “I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected.”
Turning to Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, Travolta added, “You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this.” Fremaux responded: “We knew!”
“This is a humbling moment, so thank you Thierry from the bottom of my heart,” Travolta continued. “When I met with you in November, I had no expectation that my film would be accepted. And when Thierry said it was not only accepted but it was making history because it would be the first film ever accepted that early, I cried like a baby because I just couldn’t believe it. Because in my opinion, you are the most discerning person in the movie industry. I was just happy to be here! I never expected this. Thank you so much.”
Travolta, who has been nominated for one of the best actor Oscar twice, attended Cannes this 12 months to premiere “Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” his Apple-backed movie based mostly on his 1997 kids’s ebook of the identical title. The autobiographical household film — which he known as the “most personal film he’s ever done” — unfolds within the golden age of aviation as a younger airplane fanatic Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mom (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) set off on a one-way, cross-country odyssey to Hollywood. The film additionally stars Travolta’s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta.
Following the screening of the hour-long movie, Travolta strode again onstage for a dialog with Fremaux, the place he mentioned how his love of aviation was born in his childhood. Travolta stated he cried when Fremaux informed him he’d chosen the movie for Cannes 5 months forward of the competition — although Apple had already acquired the movie.
“Why this film exists and actually why I exist as an artist is because of that group of people right there,” Travolta stated, pointing to his household within the crowd. “My oldest sister, Ellen, was really this character, the lead in this film. But it’s really a mixture of my sister and my mother because they both influenced me so deeply, and they were responsible for all my hopes and dreams, and they watched me make them come true. So this is just a little taste of my origins and what it was like to be me when I was little. So I hope you enjoyed it. It means the world to me that you’re here.”
Cannes introduced earlier than the 2026 competition began that Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand can be receiving honorary Palme d’Or statues on the opening and shutting nights of the competition, respectively. However Cannes has gotten right into a behavior of giving out at the least one shock honorary Palme annually, with Spike Lee getting awarded final 12 months forward of the world premiere of “Highest 2 Lowest.”
Travolta’s prior historical past with the Cannes Film Festival embody screenings of “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “She’s So Lovely” (1997) and “Primary Colors” (1998). Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” gained the Palme d’Or, whereas Travolta’s co-star Sean Penn was awarded one of the best actor prize for “She’s So Lovely.”
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach” begins streaming Could 29 on Apple TV.
