German director Wim Wenders has been named the head of the jury at the Venice Film Festival, which runs August 27-September 6. His latest film "Palermo Shooting" screened at last month's Cannes Film Festival to atrocious reviews. 

I must admit that as it was the second-to-last film to play at the Festival, I was a bit too tired to beg for a ticket. However, a handful of my fellow students did put forth the energy, but soon discovered that they were not going to be rewarded for this one. Aside from bad reviews shared in class, the group invented a new game: Would You Rather? The Palermo Shooting Edition. An example: Would you rather scoop out your eyes with spoons, or watch "Palermo Shooting" again? Ask any of my friends this question, and they will ask you for a spoon. 

So to hear that Wenders will be the head juror for the next big film festival fresh off of a failure is a bit strange. Wenders made his first appearance at the Venice Film Festival in 1972 with "Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter" (The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty Kick) and later won the Golden Lion for "Der Stand der Dinge" (The State of Things) in 1982.