• Todd McCarthy reviews Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York and reports it is a "wildly ambitious and gravely serious contemplation of life, love, art, human decay and death."

• After the critical drubbing Steven Soderbergh's Che received, Anne Thompson speculates that the film will neither sell easily nor remain in its current form.

• Variety delivers photos of Madonna and other from AMFAR's annual Cinema Against AIDS benefit.

• Diane Garrett and Anne Thompson report that despite relatively cautious buying this year, deals were still to be made -- IFC purchased six this year, including Arnaud Desplechin's Competition entry A Christmas Tale.

• A die-hard Indiana Jones fan delivers Variety his first-hand account of getting past the velvet rope to meet his idol, Steven Spielberg.

For more Cannes news, check out Variety's Festival Central.