Scorsese expanding World Cinema Foundation

CANNES, France, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. movie director Martin Scorsese said at the Cannes Film Festival in France he has signed deals to expand his World Cinema Foundation.

The "Goodfellas" director said Friday at a news conference he has reached deals with a movie Web site, the Auteurs, and the distributor, B-Side, that will widen the availability of his foundation's films, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Scorsese, whose group also signed a DVD distribution deal with the Criterion Collection, said the Auteurs Web site will now feature a foundation area while B-Side distributes World Cinema films worldwide.

The director's foundation focuses on restoring the world's endangered films, a mission Scorsese says is never easy.

"Film preservation is always an uphill battle, and no matter how smoothly things go in the restoration process, there's never enough time," the director said.