Well – finally after months and months of careful planning – and it nearly all going to hell in a handbasket at the very last minute due to a rash (an allergy to Jaffa Cakes I never realized I had) and a broken suitcase – I got here!
The Cannes Film Festival kicked off yesterday in the glorious Riviera sunshine and the place was swarming once again with delegates, producers, press and tourists – all trying desperately to pretend they are more important than most of them really are. The majority of people also seemed to by carrying huge balloons in red, blue, yellow and green to celebrate this year’s opening film – the Pixar 3-D animated film Up about an old man who decides to ‘move house’ - quite literally - with the help of 10,000 balloons. Haven’t had a chance to see it yet I’m afraid as for me the first day was spent running around like a mad thing cultivating 8 blisters on the soles of my feet, running from PR company to PR company in the usual battle to get signed up for interviews with ‘the talent’. 10% of the time it yields fruit but 90% of the time the blisters are the only thing to show for my effort. But that is Cannes and I must confess I love this annual trip regardless! Anyways – I have successfully lined up a number of interviews and later in the week will be speaking to Eric Cantona and Ken Loach amongst others so not too shabby! Yes it is hard on the old feet but it is worth it when you get to partake of the free booze on the beach which I was to enjoy later yesterday evening after getting all my preliminary errands out of the way.
PR Company DDA PR hosted a drinks reception on one of the beautiful private sections of the beach and long-lost pal from the US and I hot-footed it down there to get a good seat – giving the feet a necessary rest as by this time they were now numb with pain as I had switched to towering heels for a bit of evening glamour (and I am a shorty so it was very necessary). About seven glasses of rose later we knew the barman by name and he knew our orders equally well and we were mingling like pros with the rest of the guests. We spent part of the evening with the director and producer (they are also the screenwriters) of a one-day-hopefully-to-be-released British film – the name of which I can’t print as it is a profanity beginning in F and ending in K with a U and a C in between. We saw a fast-paced intriguing promo trailer which the guys had with them and it looks really cool from what I could see. Bit of a Guy Ritchie influence to it (as in Snatch and Lock Stock – not the other dreadful stuff) I thought but the writers didn’t agree. It’s one to look out for if they get a distributor and it’s about the music industry. Will find out more about and give the low down at a later date.
So today has been taken up so far with my first screening and press conference of the festival. Caught a wonderful British film from Red Road director Andrea Arnold – one of the few female directors in this year’s festival. The film stars Michael Fassbender who played Bobby Sands in last year’s Hunger and newcomer Katie Jarvis who landed the role when casting directors stumbled across her in a train station in Essex having a barney with her boyfriend across the station platform. The film is about a teenage hip-hop dancer who develops a crush on her mum’s new boyfriend (played by Fassbender). Really enjoyed the film and it was all the more enjoyable for the fact than Fassbender is shirtless in a number of scenes. The film is interesting, without getting all ‘film criticy’ in that it is very much filmed from the perspective of a woman with a mainly female cast so the women aren’t objectified but interestingly the lead male character is in a way. A switch from most Hollywood films.
So that’s the excitement so far – no celebrity spottings as yet but I think that will all change soon with the first of the big parties. It seems a little quieter here than other years – perhaps because of the recession or perhaps not as many people arrived for opening night as it was an animated film rather than a serious artsy film.
Anyway – I’m off to get something to eat and think about tonight’s activities. First stop is a Variety and Europacar event to Honor Billion Dollar Producers at Terrazzo Martini. Not sure what that is or means but will let you know tomorrow. Then perhaps on to the VIP Room where Bob Sinclair is performing later.
More tomorrow
XoXo
The Queen Bee
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