`Star Wars' team expected to make splash on Riviera  May 08,
2005|By Michael Wilmington, Tribune movie critic.  On Wednesday,
the Cannes Film Festival -- the French Riviera event which,
since 1946, has often epitomized the art, kitsch and splendor of
the movies -- starts up once again. Spreading over 12 days, the
fest will pack the streets and screening rooms in the swank,
sunny resort city movie buffs remember fondly from Alfred
Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief."  Cannes isn't the oldest or the
largest film festival, but, though you can get arguments, it's
definitely the most prestigious and often the best. It's the
fest that sets the tone and agenda each year for many movie
critics, critics' groups and, eventually, Oscar and industry
voters. Once again, the fest impresses this year for the sheer
range of the moviemakers and talent attending, headed by George
Lucas and his "Star Wars" team, in town for the Cannes premiere
screening of "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."  The
2005 talent ranges from B