Steven Spielberg to head Cannes Festival jury

Organizers of the Cannes International Film Festival said late Wednesday night that the Oscar-winning director will serve as jury president at its 66th edition, which runs May 15-26, says the Hollywood Reporter.

“My admiration for the steadfast mission of the festival to champion the international language of movies is second to none," Spielberg said in a statement. "The most prestigious of its kind, the festival has always established the motion picture as a cross cultural and generational medium.”

Spielberg, who takes the reins from Italian writer-director-producer Nanni Moretti, most recently directed Lincoln, which festival organizers noted is a box office hit in France, where it has been seen by more than 1 million people.

Spielberg is no stranger to the Cannes festival. His first film,Sugarland Express, won best screenplay there in 1974, and his classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial had its world premiere at the fest in 1982 as the closing-night film. The Color Purple was shown as a noncompetition film in 1986.

Festival president Gilles Jacob noted in a statement that Spielberg is a "Cannes regular" and that he's asked the director to head up the jury several times.