The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival kicked off last week, but many eyes have been locked in on one actor.
“Grease” star John Travolta made it all the way to France for the event the way only a Hollywood legend could: piloting his own plane.
Instead of chatter about the movie, Travolta’s presence on the red carpet sparked a lot of chatter about his appearance.
Travolta flew in to premiere his directorial debut, “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” — a film in which his daughter, Ella Travolta, also starred.
He snapped pictures on Friday, May 15, wearing a black suit with white buttons, a white shirt and a white tie. To add a little pizazz, he put on a white beret.
Though the outfit was stylish, fans couldn’t help but notice something was different about the 72-year-old.
One person on Page Six wrote, “it took a split second to recognize him. I guess hes wearing the beret because it’s France. He looks good.”
On TMZ’s Instagram page, one person made the comment that Travolta looked like another famous actor.
They said, “Samuel Travolta Jackson, pointing out that, “He got that beard died.”
They’re referring to Travolta’s “Pulp Fiction” co-star Samuel L. Jackson, who has also frequently sported a beret.
Two other predicted, “He got a black barber! !!! I can always tell,” and “He just hired some black woman.” Some even wondered, “What young girl, he dating got him feeling young again.”
Others credited his new look to surgery. One person said, “Compliments to his plastic surgeon.” Another typed, “These Surgeons are getting better and better.”
Travolta has never admitted to getting surgery.
Still other folks were in awe because it was his first appearance at the festival in 32 years since appearing alongside his late wife, Kelly Preston, in 1994 when Pulp Fiction won the prestigious Palme d’Or.
With the evolution of his looks, fans suspect he’s had some sort of work done. What’s changed most about his appearance is his hair.
From the length of it, to the color, to the placement. For instance, he’s currently bald with a beard, but he’s also had a full head of luscious hair with a clean face before.
As for his actual face, for many, it looks generally the same. But over time his skin has maintained a fairly smooth surface with only light wrinkles. The glossy areas of his skin only fuel the rumors that he might have had Botox or a facelift.
But the two-time Oscar-nominated actor ignores the rumors and instead seems to remain focused on his craft.
The “Saturday Night Fever” star wore multiple hats for his “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” directorial debut.
The film he wrote, narrated, and produced is an adaptation of his eponymous 1997 book. It tells the story of a young boy who aspires to be a pilot, traveling to Hollywood with his mother on a life-changing journey.
Travolta credited his new look to film directors before his time during a CNN interview.
‘I’m a director this time,” Travolta stated. “So I looked up pictures from the twenties, thirties, fourties, fifties, sixties, and the old-school directors wore berets, and the glasses. And I thought, ‘That’s what I’m doing. I’m doing an homage to being a director, so I’m going to play the part of being a director.’”
Upon going to the film festival to show the movie, Travolta also received a major surprise: the honorary Palme d’Or, the most prestigious award at the festival, given to directors of the best feature film in the official competition.
A teary-eyed Travolta said after receiving the lifetime achievement honor, “I can’t believe this. You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this. This is a humbling moment. This is beyond the Oscar.”
He confessed that he “cried like a baby” when the festival head Thierry Frémaux told him the film was making history.
“This is the blueprint of my life and everyone that was in the movie is sitting in the audience right there, my family, and this is why this film exists and why I exist as an artist because of that group of people right there,” he said.
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will premiere on Apple TV on May 29.
