The schedule for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival has been announced and the American representation is at it’s lightest since 2006. Of the notable films on this years schedule: Quentin Tarantino will be screening his Inglorious Basterds, Sam Raimi will be screening his finished print of Drag Me To Hell, Ang Lee brings Talking Woodstock with Emile Hersch, Liev Schreiber, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan to France, and Terry Gilliam will bring the real last Heath Ledger film, Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. And, of course, UP’s historic opening spot.

But what does the WGA have to do with this craziness…

From Variety:

Confirming prognostications, Cannes Official Selection looks relatively light on U.S. fare this year. At a packed press conference in Paris’ Grand Hotel, fest program director Thierry Fremaux, flanked by Cannes president Gilles Jacob, told journos Thursday that Hollywood WGA strike could have been responsible for the lighter U.S. presence.

So what can we blame the WGA for, really? This year’s summer movie season? It looks like Wolverine, T4 and Star Trek might save us from what could have been a schlock-filled, half-written summer.

However, now we’re supposed to turn our focus to the smaller indie and auteur films which were in production during the horrid strike.

I love writers and all, but the film industry has been doing a pretty good job of mumbling: “well, with the writer’s strike” whenever something comes up light or underwhelming.

At least we should only have one year where that’s the excuse.

Check out the rest of the Cannes Schedule HERE.