Being a fan of director Roger Michel and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi, who last collaborated on The Mother (2003), I’m quite interested in seeing their latest, Venus. It costars Peter O’Toole (who’s said to give an elegant and spirited performance in it), Leslie Phillips, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave and Jodie Whittaker . Miramax has the U.S. distrib rights for the London-based drama, which is being described as “a wry, affectionate coming of very-old-age story.” (It’s partly about active libidos among the over-70 set.) Venus is being test-screened in Manhattan Thursday night but I’m going to have trouble making that one, so I wrote McDonald + Rutter, the London p.r. firm, and asked about any Cannes market screenings that may be happening. “We don’t know of any market screenings” and “it’s still in post-production,” I was told. Of course, if ,em>Venus ios being test-screened in New York City two days from now and they’ve already test-screened it in Covent Garden in late April, it’s very close to being finished and of course they’ll be be showing it at a market screening or two in Cannes. If anyone can tell me about any happening during the festival, please get it touch.