- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday May 21 2003 10.31 BST
The action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger made an appearance - and said he felt it was important to visit Europe to promote his work.
The cast of The Matrix Reloaded, including Keanu Reeves, arrived en masse before heading for London for the film's UK premiere. Kevin Costner was also there and Clint Eastwood is expected.
Other A-list stars who clearly were not afraid to fly included Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan and Jackie Chan. Tom Cruise, who was singled out for special attention by Mr Howells as one of the "swashbuckling" heroes more fearful than "grannies from New York" was not present but his girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, excused him on the grounds of prior filming commitments.
A festival spokeswoman said: "I do not know what this man is talking about. We have many big American stars here."
Schwarzenegger, who is in Cannes to promote Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, said earlier in the week that it was essential for movie stars to visit Europe. "I come from Austria and I know the world is a big place," he said. "If you want to be successful, you have to reach out to people all over the world."
It is not the first time Mr Howells has caused controversy. Earlier this year his remarks about the band So Solid Crew following a shooting in Birmingham were criticised by the music industry and his comment that last year's Turner Prize entries were "conceptual bullshit" made waves in the art community.
Asked if Tony Blair agreed with Mr Howell's assessment of stars such as Cruise, the prime minister's official spokesman said: "You can't criticise ministers on the one hand for being programmed automatons and on the other take issue if they say things that perhaps are a little bit more interesting than usual."
