Cannes Diary: Stars lined up for BBC rom com

The BBC is planning a film adaptation of Paul Torquay's romantic comedy Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, to star Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas. The script will be written by Simon Beaufoy, who wielded the pen behind the eight Oscars-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

Marilyn's story to be retold

The actress Naomi Watts is to star in Blonde, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's imaginary Marilyn Monroe memoir. The film, directed by Andrew Dominik, who directed Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, will shoot in January 2011. Dominik said he wanted to tell the story of Norma Jean as a "central figure in a fairytale, an orphan child lost in the woods of Hollywood, being consumed by that great icon".

Godard subtitles in 'Navajo English'

The legendary French film director Jean-Luc Godard, whose latest work, Film Socialisme, is showing at Cannes this week, has decided to run its subtitles in "Navajo English" as in old Westerns where the Native Americans spoke in choppy phrases. Because the drama takes place on a cruise ship where no one speaks the same language, Godard has fashioned his subtitles concisely to say the least. If a character is saying "give me your watch", the subtitle will read "You, me, watch."