Quentin Tarantino to head Cannes jury

CANNES, France, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino has been selected to preside over the jury at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, event organizers announced.

Tarantino is a festival veteran, having won the top honor, the Palmes D'Or, in 1994 for his cult classic "Pulp Fiction." An earlier work, "Reservoir Dogs," was nominated for the top prize in 1992.

"For a filmmaker and film lover, there's no greater honor than to be on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival," Tarantino said in a statement.

To be president of the jury, the 40-year-old Tarantino said, was "the crowning achievement of a lifetime spent in cinematic obsession, a magnificent obsession."

This year's festival is scheduled for May 12 to May 23 in the south of France.