John Travolta received a massive honor at the Cannes Film Festival — and it was one he wasn’t expecting. Ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, the acclaimed actor began to cry as he was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or, the Cannes equivalent of a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars.
“I am completely surprised!” Travolta exclaimed in French as the theater roared with applause.
“I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected,” he continued as he turned toward Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival. “You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this.”
“We knew, we knew!” Fremaux replied.
“This is a humbling moment. So, thank you, Thierry. From the bottom of my heart,” Travolta said. “This is beyond the Oscar, really.”
Showing his gratitude for Fremaux, Travolta said that he had “no expectation” that Propeller One-Way Night Coach would be accepted as part of the Cannes Film Festival.
“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,” Travolta said. “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 has received two Oscar nominations for Best Actor over his decades-long career — first in 1978 for Saturday Night Fever and again in 1995 for Pulp Fiction.
As for his prior appearances at the Cannes Film Festival, Travolta has attended screenings of Pulp Fiction, She’s So Lovely and Primary Colors. Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, in which Travolta starred, received the Palme d’Or in 1994.
Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which marks Travolta’s directorial debut, is based on his 1997 illustrated children’s novella of the same name.
The autobiographical, Apple-produced, family adventure film — which Travolta refers to as the “most personal film he’s ever done” — is about a young airplane enthusiast named Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett), who embark on a cross-country journey to Los Angeles during the golden age of aviation. Travolta’s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, stars as charming flight attendant Doris in the film.
“This was the blueprint of my life, and everyone that was in the movie is sitting in the audience right there. My family. And this is why this film exists and actually why I exist as an artist, because of [those] people right there,” Travolta said following the film’s screening.
Prior to the film’s screening, Travolta walked the red carpet with Ella Bleu by his side. Travolta looked dashing in a black suit with a cream-colored wool beret and sleek pair of glasses, while Ella Bleu stepped out in an elegant black gown.
Propeller One-Way Night Coach will be available to stream on Apple TV starting May 29.
