CANNES '08 | Gray and Gwyneth

James Gray's "Two Lovers" stirred audiences and buyers after last night's competition screening at the Cannes Film Festival, dividing some. The film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow (left), Joaquin Phonenix, and Vinessa Shaw (right), features the trio at the heart of a love triangle. Gray explained at today's press conference that he conceived of the film for his leads. "I had [Phoenix] in mind from the start, the same thing is true for Gwyneth," James Gray (center) offered. "I was very fortunate that they were both willing to submit." Probed about the nature of his atypical love story, Gray explained, "When you are dealing with a subject like love, there is an inherent preposterous idea...It's such a heightened state, almost of delirium. It lends itself to people acting insane," Gray noted, adding that he hoped to achieve a level of comedy with the film. "There was an intent to put some of that into the film. But I also greeted that as the challenge of the picture."