The legendary actor, director and artist Dennis Hopper got to see his 20 year old son, Henry, make his film debut. Henry told me last night that Dennis was able to watch a rough cut of him in Gus van Sant’s “Restless” before he died last year. Dennis could only have been proud of Henry, who really is made into a star in van Sant’s film, which premiered last night in Cannes. “Restless” is sort of like “Harold and Maude” meets “Love Story.”

For van Sant, it’s a real indie love story that will connect strongly with young people, I think. Mia Wasoskowska, of “Kids Are All Right” fame, is a knockout. Schuyler Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek, is terrific. But thanks to van Sant, Henry Hopper’s first film ever is a star turn. The blonde, blue eyed young man resembles closely his father Dennis and his mom, actress Katherine La Nasa, who proudly accompanied Henry to the “Restless” premiere.

So what next? Henry tells me that he’s done some art installation work on pieces curated by James Franco. Like Franco, he’s also into art and into exploring all aspects of entertainment. “It took him a month to agree to make this film,” his manager, Ilene Feldman, told me last night. “He may never do anything again, or take off like a rocket. It’s all up to him.”

“Restless” will be launched this fall from the Toronto Film Festival.

PS “Restless” is produced by Bryce Dallas Howard, following in the footsteps of her father,Ron Howard. She did a great job. More on Bryce later today….

The third day of Cannes is upon us, but before we set sail: Tilda Swinton, receiving rave reviews, of course, on “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Tilda — and this is EXCLUSIVE to this column–is getting ready to make a vampire movie with the great director Jim Jarmusch. The announcement will come shortly, probably here at Cannes. And yes, Tilda herself will be putting the bite on unsuspecting strangers. Will all the vampire films and TV shows out there, you can bet that Jarmusch–whose resume includes such classics as “Broken Flowers” and “Down by Law” will have the most interesting and hip take of all. A very exciting move…

…Brian DePalma is back. Also EXCLUSIVE to this column, DePalma is on track to make an American version of a French film, “Crine d’Amour”  that played at Cannes last year. DePalma’s thriller will be called “Passion.” It’s been a while since DePalma went to work. His last films were “Redacted” and “Femme Fatale.” His classics are numerous, from “Dressed to Kill” to “Body Double.” Hopefully, “Passion” will see return to his Hitchcockian best…

…”Cannes is slow,” say the cab drivers and our ever intrepid regular driver, Sebaastian. There’s worry that the crowds are not particularly thick, and that business may be off. It probably doesn’t help that the weekend schedule is lighter than usual, with all the big action starting on Monday. The Saturday night premiere of “Pirates of the Carribbean” should help, however. But at least Woody Allen’s group–Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen–have stuck around. And once Gus van Sant’s “Restless” screens some more, Mia Wasokowska and Henry Hopper are going to be very much in demand…

Tilda Swinton is such a fascinating on screen presence that “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is a mesmerizing jolt of weirdness. Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes feature is all about Kevin, the bad seed child of Tilda and John C. Reilly. Ezra Miller is Kevin as a teen, although the child who plays Kevin for half the film is disturbing enough to warrant note. The idea is that Reilly is the clueless father. Swinton is tortured by this child. She has him evaluated but he’s fine, doctors say. Unfortunately lots of foreshadowing indicates that Kevin commits violent, horrific crimes as a teen. Why? Who knows, including Kevin? He’s just sick. Ramsay has made an interesting film but has trouble with tone. Is this horror, camp or reality? If it’s the latter, the recent “Beautiful Boy” is more to the point. But as suspended menace, “Kevin” is uncomfortably unforgettable.

I don’t which actors have signed contracts for the “Gotti” movie you’ve heard so much about. But there’s a new sheriff in town–a new director actually. Oscar winner Barry Levinson — “Rain Man,” “Diner,” “Tin Men,” “Wag the Dog”–is in, and he’s about to do a severe overhaul to make “Gotti” an epic hit. John Travolta remains, and Levinson is bringing in Al Pacino as John Gotti Sr.’s mentor. But a new screenplay is going to be written by Levinson’s “Bugsy” collaborator James Toback.

“Gotti” is about to make a sharp turn and become more like the highly praised and much awarded “Bugsy.” Good idea.

So far no character has been sketched or discussed for Lindsay Lohan. I’d also wager that Kelly Preston–Mrs. Travolta–won’t remain. The whole look and feel of “Gotti” has just been notched up from potential shlock to major motion picture. Levinson is a class act. I’m told producer Mark Fiore knows this, and will let Levinson make something important here. Levinson is telling friends that the “Mafia is coming to an end. John Gotti Jr. did his time and now he wants out. This may be the last Mafia movie of all time.”

Levinson arrives in Cannes tonight for meetings on the movie. Meantime, I am told that the movie his son, Sam, showed at Sundance–“Another Happy Day”–produced by and starring Ellen Barkin, has a distributor that will be announced shortly. In any case, now “Gotti” is a big deal.