Conjuring up all the glamour of the event, Jungen recounts the history of the Cannes Film Festival from an American perspective surveying the complex interplay of talent, money and corporate clout. He traces the growing influence of the Hollywood studios on the festival's rise to the key film event. Case studies of film (including "The Birds", "Easy Rider", and "The Da Vinci Code") and of the creation of stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, profit from the author's experience of visiting the Cannes Film Festival over more than twelve years.