President Clinton invited John Travolta to join him in a double act at a White House party, where the actor would repeat his impersonation of the President in the film, Primary Colors. Travolta revealed the story of the invitation at a Cannes press conference on the opening day of the film festival yesterday, causing great excitement among the American media. "The President asked me to come to a party at the White House and do a speech with him," Travolta said. "It was a very funny and very interesting invitation. I think he wanted to show his sense of humour at the whole thing of the film. I was very tempted, but I withheld my urge."
Primary Colors, in which Travolta and Emma Thompson play thinly disguised representations of Bill and Hillary Clinton, was the opening attraction at the 51st Cannes Film Festival last night. In the film, Travolta's hair is dyed grey and he speaks in an Arkansas accent.
Meanwhile, over 12,000 delegates and 3,500 journalists have descended on the Cote d'Azur town of Cannes for the 12 days of the world's biggest film festival. The festival was opened last night by Travolta and Thompson, along with the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan.