Soderbergh over Spike? 'The Son’s Room' instead of 'Mulholland Drive'? No love for Truffaut or Varda? By and large, the world's most prestigious prize in cinema lands in the right hands — but not always.

Every year, around this time, the world’s most decorated and well-known actors, filmmakers, screenwriters and cinema world descend upon the resort town of Cannes in the southeastern French Riviera to attend one of the industry’s most prestigious annual events.

CANNES, France (AP) — Robert De Niro will receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a culmination for the 81-year-old actor whose history with the French film festival stretches back half a century.