George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of the all-star cast of the Hollywood caper movie Ocean’s Thirteen will tread the red carpet at Cannes this evening for the film’s world premiere and the Cannes Film Festival’s most celeb-studded night.

The actors feature with Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin in the third of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s series of heist films, which were inspired by the “rat pack” movies of the 1950s and 1960s.

Pitt and Clooney have built a close working relationship. “We’ve known each other too long – we know each other’s families – and it’s just an instantaneous rhythm that sets in”, he said.

“And, of course, the [Ocean’s] movies themselves have never been high drama... [fun] is the point of it,” he added.

The feature is one of the most highly-awaited entries in the official festival line-up, even though it is not in the race for the Palme d’Or prize.

The first film delighted audiences and raked in $450 million at box offices worldwide, and while some fans and critics were disappointed with Ocean's Twelve, it nevertheless reaped a sizeable haul of $363 million.

Speculation was strong this morning that Pitt would attend the premiere with partner Angelina Jolie. The couple have been in the Riviera resort for several days.

Jolie was presenting her latest movie A Mighty Heart, about the widow of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, in competition. Pitt co-produced the movie.

The Ocean’s cast have used the publicity surrounding the film to bring international focus to their social campaigning and netted millions at a boat party held to raise money for the victims of the Darfur conflict in Sudan.

Ocean’s Thirteen will be released around the world next month. The 12-day Cannes Film Festival wraps up at the weekend with a closing screening of French Canadian director Denys Arcand’s L'Âge des ténèbres [The Age of Darkness].

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