John Travolta was visibly overcome on Friday night after receiving a surprise honorary Palme d’Or as he premiered his directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 72-year-old Hollywood superstar, who reflected on having worked in film ‘85% of my life’, said he was humbled to be presenting the film, which he noted was ‘the most personal thing I’ve ever done’.
Onstage ahead of the screening of Propeller One-Way Night Coach, an adaptation of his own 1997 children’s book of the same name, Travolta was then blown away when festival director Thierry Frémaux presented him with the prestigious lifetime achievement award.
The slack-jawed Grease actor touched his hand to his heart in immediate gratitude before accepting the prize as he shook his head and repeatedly mouthed ‘Oh my God’ and ‘wow’ amid rapturous applause.
He then held it up to show the audience in the room – including Metro – as the cheers continued, before kissing his fingers and pressing them to the Palme and then his heart again.
Hugging Fremaux as he held back tears, Travolta – wearing a dark suit and jaunty cream beret for the occasion – declared: ‘This is beyond the Oscar.’
‘Surprise complétement!’ he then exclaimed in French to the appreciative crowd, after being given back the microphone. ‘I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected.’
Turning to Fremaux, the Pulp Fiction star then added in disbelief, ‘You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this,’ with Fremaux responding: ‘We knew, we knew!’
‘This is a humbling moment, so thank you, Thierry, from the bottom of my heart,’ Travolta continued.
‘When I met with you in November, I had no expectation that my film would be accepted. And when Thierry said it was not only [accepted but] 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. 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.’
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Propeller One-Way Night Coach is set in the golden age of aviation – the 1960s – and follows young plane enthusiast Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) as they set off on a one-way, cross-country journey to Hollywood.
A true family affair, Travolta told the crowd that Eviston-Quinnett’s character was based on both his own mum and sister Ellen – who was in attendance, while the movie also stars Travolta’s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta.
The 60-minute film is financed, produced, directed, written and narrated by two-time Oscar nominee Travolta, a qualified aviator himself, who also makes an appearance as a retiring pilot. It is backed by Apple.
Taking to the stage again after the film’s screening, the actor – whose big breakthrough came with Saturday Night Fever in 1977 – shared his gratitude for being able ‘to do both’ when it came to his twin passions of performing and being a pilot.
He then emphasised that the ‘biggest compliment’ he received for Propeller One-Way Night Coach was Fremaux’s recognition and decision to ‘accept it, the first time in history, five months before all these decisions were [usually] made’.
Travolta confessed that he ‘thought I was going to die, I was so excited and thrilled’ as Fremaux revealed: ‘I was afraid that Berlin [Film Festival] could have stolen the film! I wanted to keep it for us.’
It was also revealed that making Propeller was something Travolta ‘daydreamed’ about doing for years.
‘Other people wanted to produce it and direct it but I thought it’s so personal, I don’t know if they can capture… I had to be – I know what I looked at, I know what I saw, and I wanted to give the audience that.’
Travolta was also asked if he planned to direct another movie.
‘It’s a very interesting question and I think the truth is that I do know how to do this. And for 55 years, I’ve watched other people do it well, I’ve watched them do it not so well, I’ve watched them do it mediocrely and I’ve watched mistakes – and I really believe I can navigate around all of that in anything I would choose to do.
But I really feel I have to have passion about the material to do again what I’ve done here. I could do it again, I just wouldn’t dare unless it was something delicious and inviting as this was.
Travolta has history with Cannes, first attending with Quentin Taratino film Pulp Fiction as part of the main competition in 1994; it re-ignited his then-languishing career and became one of his most popular movies.
He also attended in 1997 with She’s So Lovely and the following year with Primary Colours, while his most recent appearance was with Ella, son Benjamin and late wife Kelly at the 2018 premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Propeller One-Way Night Coach streams on Apple TV from May 29.
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