Wife of Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert, center second row, joins others in giving the two thumbs up at the American Pavilion at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 23, 2013. Film critics and festival-goers congregated on the Cannes beach Thursday to raise their thumbs to the late critic Roger Ebert. Before his death in April, Ebert was a frequent presence at Cannes. In 2009, the festival named a conference center at the American Pavilion after the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic. AP Photo/Nekesa Mumbi Moody Film critics and festival-goers congregated on the Cannes beach to raise their thumbs to the late critic Roger Ebert. The tribute Thursday followed a panel discussion about Ebert's impact on film criticism. Chaz Ebert, the critic's wife, has been at Cannes throughout the festival this year, presiding over coverage for RogerEbert.com and filing "Postcards from Chaz to Roger." For years, Chaz accompanied her husband to the festival, but this year, she's carrying on their tradition alone. "Knowing Roger," she said, "he'll be looking down and he'll see everyone's thumbs." Sharon Stone proved she can literally stop traffic on Thursday. The actress caused a backup of several cars on the busy Croisette street as a throng of at least 200 people waited outside the Roberto Cavalli store for her to emerge. A security guard kept fans at bay, drivers could only wait as it took at least several minutes for Stone to leave the store. Before she jumped in her awaiting car, she waved to the crowd and blew a kiss in true movie-star fashion. In a statement, the 58-year-old Ang said: "It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I've seen and one about which I was very excited. Ang added: "Because I cannot give 100 percent to this exciting project at this time, I cannot allow myself to do anything that may affect the potential for this exciting new series. Lee's rep, David Lee, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the director was exhausted after spending four-and-a-half years helming the "Pi" production, which earned his second best-director Oscar, and another project. Even directors can get a bit star struck. First-time director Flora Lau, who brought her new movie "Bends" to the Cannes Film Festival, admitted she was a bit intimidated when she first met its stars, Carina Lau and Kun Chen. The drama follows affluent housewife Anna and her chauffeur Fai, who is trying to find a way for his wife to get from Shenzhen in mainland China, which has a one child policy, into Hong Kong in order to give birth to their second child. The movie revolves around a moment where the main character has a violent criminal in his sights and must decide whether to shoot.