Tarantino takes his Basterds to Cannes

Question: Why is Brad Pitt smiling?

Answer: He and director Quentin Tarantino are headed to the Cannes Film Festival in May to unveil their new film to the world, Inglourious Basterds.

The World War II film about a group of soldiers setting out to exterminate/scalp Nazis releasing to theaters Aug. 21 will also be competing in this year's festival. The official schedule will be announced April 23.

None of this is exactly new for Tarantino. After all, Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) in 1994, and 2007's Death Proof was in the running for the prestigious award. In 2004, Tarantino even served as the president of the jury at Cannes. (Word has it he left the other members speechless.)

But that's not all of the Basterds news this week. Take a look at some of the exclusive promotional pics by Brigitte Lacombe in Vanity Fair:

Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark

Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfuss