Foster quits Cannes jury

Jodie Foster: Hopes for a future role at the festival

Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster has pulled out as head of the jury at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival after taking up a last-minute film offer.

Foster is to replace Nicole Kidman, who withdrew from thriller The Panic Room due to a knee injury.

"Since shooting continues in May, Jodie has asked us to postpone her presidency to another year," said festival president chief Gilles Jacob.

The Cannes film festival, which takes place between 9 and 20 May, has long been considered one of the foremost dates in the movie world's calendar.

'Heavy heart'

Foster, a fluent French speaker after spending part of her childhood in France, said she had a "heavy heart'' over pulling out of the presidency.

"I hope with all my heart that this is only a delay and that I will be able to one day be - and this time for sure - the president of the jury of a festival to which I owe so much," she said.

Foster, 38, will take the lead role in director David Fincher's thriller alongside Forest Whitaker and Jared Leto.

Foster is the winner of two Academy Awards, for Silence of the Lambs and The Accused.

She has also acted as producer and director on a number of films.

She first attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 for the screening of Taxi Driver, which went on to win the festival's highest award - the Palme d'Or.