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<\/p>\nJohn Travolta received a massive honor at the Cannes Film Festival \u2014 and it was one he wasn\u2019t expecting. Ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, the acclaimed actor began to cry as he was presented with an honorary Palme d\u2019Or, the Cannes equivalent of a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am completely surprised!\u201d Travolta exclaimed in French as the theater roared with applause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe this. This is the last thing I expected,\u201d he continued as he turned toward Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival. \u201cYou said this would be a special night, but I didn\u2019t know it would mean this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew, we knew!\u201d Fremaux replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a humbling moment. So, thank you, Thierry. From the bottom of my heart,\u201d Travolta said. \u201cThis is beyond the Oscar, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Showing his gratitude for Fremaux, Travolta said that he had \u201cno expectation\u201d that Propeller One-Way Night Coach would be accepted as part of the Cannes Film Festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when Thierry said it was not only accepted but it was making history because it would be the first film ever accepted that early, I cried like a baby because I just couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Travolta said. \u201cBecause in my opinion, you are the most discerning person in the movie industry. I was just happy to be here! I never expected this. Thank you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travolta has received two Oscar nominations for Best Actor over his decades-long career \u2014 first in 1978 for Saturday Night Fever and again in 1995 for Pulp Fiction.<\/p>\n
As for his prior appearances at the Cannes Film Festival, Travolta has attended screenings of Pulp Fiction, She\u2019s So Lovely and Primary Colors. Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Pulp Fiction, in which Travolta starred, received the Palme d\u2019Or in 1994.<\/p>\n
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Travolta attends the Propeller One-Way Night Coach screening on May 15.<\/p>\n
(Olivier Chassingnole\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which marks Travolta\u2019s directorial debut, is based on his 1997 illustrated children\u2019s novella of the same name.<\/p>\n
The autobiographical, Apple-produced, family adventure film \u2014 which Travolta refers to as the \u201cmost personal film he\u2019s ever done\u201d \u2014 is about a young airplane enthusiast named Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett), who embark on a cross-country journey to Los Angeles during the golden age of aviation. Travolta\u2019s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, stars as charming flight attendant Doris in the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was 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 actually why I exist as an artist, because of [those] people right there,\u201d Travolta said following the film\u2019s screening.<\/p>\n
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Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta attend the screening of Karma in Cannes.<\/p>\n
(Marc Piasecki\/FilmMagic via Getty Images)<\/p>\n