The Premiere of Rome; Hollywood on the Tiber finally gets its own film festival. And Venice is not at all happy about it.

Byline: Barbie Nadeau

In one of the most captivating scenes from the 1953 Oscar-winning movie "Roman Holiday," a young Audrey Hepburn hops on a Vespa and weaves through the ancient cobblestone streets of Rome. With Gregory Peck hanging on amorously, they glide past monuments, ruins, fountains and marquees that look exactly the same today. In countless films since, including "Three Coins in the Fountain" and Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita"--and even such modern-day flicks as "Ocean's Twelve" and "Mission Impossible: 3"--the Italian capital has served as an unequivocal, if uncredited, film star in its own right. But Rome is more than a picturesque backdrop. With more than 3,000 blockbusters--including "Ben-Hur," "Cleopatra," "War and Peace" and Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"--filmed or produced by the uber -creative CinecittA Studios over the years, Rome possesses an unparalleled cinematic heritage.

It may seem long overdue, then, that the so-called Hollywood on the Tiber is finally getting its own film festival. Beginning Oct. 13, the city will play host to thousands of actors, directors and film buffs during a nine-day celebration of movies and the people who love them. Nicole Kidman will inaugurate the event with the premiere of her film "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," directed by Steven Shainberg. Martin Scorsese will be debuting "The Departed," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson (review). Other premieres at the festival include the fantasy thriller "The Prestige," about a fatal battle between two stage magicians, starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and David Bowie, and the drama "The Hoax," starring Richard Gere. Italy's favorite homegrown screen siren, Monica Bellucci, will also be premiering two films, the period piece "N.: Napoleon & Me" and the "The Stone Council," a thriller set in Mongolia. To round out the event, the organizers are honoring Sean Connery with a retrospective, and Isabella Rossellini will pay tribute to the contributions of her father, Roberto, to Italian cinema.

But not everyone hopes the Rome FilmFest will be a resounding success. Chief among its detractors: the organizers of the 63-year-old International Venice Film Festival, the first and longest-running festival in the world. Davide Croff, president of the Venice Biennale, which oversees the Venice festival, complained that the Romans have resorted to "cannibalism," and the daily newspaper Liberazione wrote that they have "invested millions to destroy Venice." The dates are close--Venice runs the first week of September--meaning the two festivals will vie for films released at the same time of year. Also, say the Venetians, Rome has reneged on a series of friendly agreements--including breaking a promise not to publicize its festival too soon before Venice's. In retaliation, Venice ...