Dominique Deruddere's EVERYBODY'S FAMOUS, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2001 Academy Awards, is a charming Belgian film about the lengths to which people will go to achieve fame and fortune. Josse De Pauw stars as Jean, a factory worker who dreams about becoming a successful songwriter, supplying would-be hits to his daughter, Marva (Eva van der Gucht), whom he drags through talent contests in which she performs terribly. Marva has no self-confidence; overweight and antagonistic, she never pays much attention to her father's schemes to make her a star. But everything changes when the factory closes down, Jean's car conks out on a country road, and he receives help from a woman on a bicycle--who just happens to be the latest pop sensation, Debbie (Thekla Reuten). Jean sees his chance--he kidnaps Debbie, holding her hostage with a very strange ransom request. Writer-director Deruddere has fashioned an engaging comedy of desperation, filled with marvelous costumes, terrific music, and well-developed characters. Josse De Pauw is eminently likable as Jean, a proud man struggling to get ahead in life while his wife and daughter--and the world as a whole--mock him. Audiences will leave this film unable to get the chorus of "Lucky Manuelo" out of their heads.