Cannes 2007 Part 2

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May 25, 2007Au RevoirCANNES -- May 25, morningThe festival still has two more days to go, but everyone is leavingalready. The market is over and most journalists are headed home.Outside the Palais, the crowds can be thicker than ever. Inside thePalais, it's a ghost town. Instead of pushing your way through throngsof journalists, you stroll through empty hallways, walk into moviestwo minutes before they begin, wait two minutes in the press roomfor a computer instead of 20 and get your mail without jostling forposition alongside dozens of people. The festival is all but over. --Michael GiltzPosted at 06:34 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)What's In A Name?CANNES -- May 25, early morningYou would think the title of a movie would be one area there wouldbe no confusion on. But as I've mentioned before, the new DenysArcand film is L'Ages Des Tenebres in French and every poster for itin town includes the English language title, The Age of Ignorance.Then the pr people behind the film sent out an email saying, "Thereseems to be some confusion about the translation of the title inEnglish" and insisted we all call it Days of Darkness. I finally saw thefilm and even on the print it says The Age of Ignorance. And why saythere seems to be confusion? Why not just say, "We've changed ourminds. Please use Days of Darkness as the English language titlerather than implying we all stupidly got it wrong?In any case, the closing night film is usually a dog, but this one isn'thalf bad. I quite liked Arcand's Barbarian Invasions. This isn't asgood, but it's interesting. Our hero is a Walter Mitty-esque publicservant with a wife focused like a laser on selling real estate (she eventakes phone calls in bed) and two daughters oblivious to him. Heescapes into fantasy sequences of being a famous writer or politician,with beautiful women invariably begging him to take them, take themVisit our other sitesAdvocate.comOut.comOutTraveler.comPopnographyAdvocate GenQMr SardonicAdvocate InsiderOut.com StyleListHereTV.comGayWired.comAdvertisement CategoriesBingham Cup 2008BooksCannes 2008Cannes Film FestivalCelebsCoachellaComic-Con 2007Current AffairsFashionFilmFilm FestivalsFood and DrinkAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 1 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMnow, take them roughly. The film is bookended with RufusWainwright -- dressed like a prince of the realms -- singing somearias I was unfamiliar with. At one point, our hero begins to sing,drowning out Wainwright with his caterwauling. Wainwright takescontrol even in someone else's dreams and says simply, sir, shut up(or please be quiet or something, but he definitely brooked nointerruptions).The story gets more fact-based when our hero's wife leaves him andhe dates a woman obsessed with medieval fairs and her status as aprincess in that world. He finds out living out a fantasy isunsatisfying too and heads for the country for refuge. Nothingremarkable, but not bad. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 06:30 PM in Cannes Film Festival | Permalink | Comments(0) | TrackBack (0)Director Of "Watermelon Woman" Resurfaces AtCannesAfter the vicious boos for We Own The Night, my friends and I decideto hit La Pizza -- the local cheap restaurant good enough to succeedin New York -- for one last dinner. Afterwards, I try to hit a late nightmarket screening of a movie but it doesn't have English subtitles so Ileave. After working on some stories, a group of us head out fordrinks at Grand Hotel until they flick the lights on and off, turn themcompletely out and finally turn them on very brightly to get us toleave.On the way home, I make the nightly check on Zanzibar. Its triumphover Le Pink seems complete. Le Pink has some clients whileZanzibar is filled to the brim. (Mind you, most everyone standsoutside since the bar is tiny and the night is so hot. Also in its favor:Zanzibar seems to serve drinks until the last customer is ready toleave, sometimes till 5 in the morning. Perhaps the chief of police isgay? The bar itself was born in 1885 and has been variously describedto me as one of the oldest in Cannes, one of the oldest in France(which seems unlikely), one of the oldest gay bars in France, and oneof the oldest gay bars in the world. In any case, it's pretty old. Theroof is very low with sloping alcoves here and there. Behind the barare faux classical statues, one of a cherub, the other of a woman, Ibelieve. There are paintings drawn on the actual wall (obviouslypretty recent), depicting the sailors. One shows two sailors who seemto have become buddies, another shows a sailor looking for a buddy,and another shows a young man with his shirt opened to his waistand playing the accordion. If the man outside my window from noonto 10 p.m. looked anything like this guy, I would find him far lessannoying.We step outside and who should be sitting there but director CherylDunye, of The Watermelon Woman. Naturally, my new gayroommate has already met her; in fact, she calls out his name whenIowa Caucus 2008LesbianMusicOutfest 2008PartiesPoliticsProvincetown Film Festival 2008Queen Mary 2 Historic CrossingReligionScienceSexSportsSydney Mardi Gras 2008Taylor Hanson for The AdvocateTelevisionThe DinahThe HRC Logo ForumThe L WordTheaterTravelRecent PostsMTV Video Music Awards... Cheap, Or What?Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles: 30 Years YoungEric McCormack Auctions Off Porsche for ProjectAngel FoodWhat is the Advocate Insider? On 90210!OUTFEST REVIEW: Another Gay SequelAwards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, and Mama"Sordid Lives" Screens to a Sold-Out CrowdOUTFEST REVIEW: The World UnseenOUTFEST REVIEW: The Lost CoastOUTFEST REVIEW: Eleven MinutesRecent Commentscelebrity picture on OUTFEST REVIEW: The LostCoastvimax on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamapenis enlargement pills on Michael Guest is all smilespenis enlargement on Michael Guest is all smilespenis enlargement on Amman SegregatesLou on Cruise programming we missed...michaelj72 on "XXY" -- Another Terrific Queer FilmAt Cannesvigrx on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamavimax on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamaomar on Amman SegregatesArchivesAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 2 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMwe're going by and we chat for a minute. She's in Cannesreconnecting with people. After Watermelon, she made the very goodTV movie Strangers Inside, which was a festival favorite for many gaycineastes. Then came the Eddie Griffin comedy My Baby's Daddy,which did not make good use of her talents. Dunye upped and left forAmsterdam, but she's working on material and is ready to dive backin. And that's some of the best news I've heard the entire festival. --Michael GiltzPosted at 01:17 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals,Food and Drink, Lesbian | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack(0)The First Real Boos Of The Festival Photo: GettyCANNES -- May 24, eveningOne of the great traditions of Cannes is booing. At the critics'screening, if people really like a film they'll applaud strongly. If theyreally don't like it, they'll boo. If they hear people applauding whenthey don't think a movie deserves it, they'll boo as well just to makeclear that not everyone agrees. It might only seem the worst of theworst would deserve booing, but it's very common. It took me a yearor two to get used to it (and I still rarely boo; silence seems just asdamning to me), but I can let a "Wooo" hen necessary or particularlydispleased.But this Cannes has been so solid -- even the unsuccessful films havesome interesting elements - that almost no booing has occurred. Tilnow. James Gray debuted his first film since The Yards in 2000. Ithas a terrific cast, including Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, EvaMendes and Robert Duvall. Unfortunately, it also has a very familiarscript about two brothers, one a cop and the other working in a clubcontrolled by the Russians and not wanting to get involved in policeinvestigations. Violence ensues. Two very good scenes appear: one ina drug raid, the other in a car chase. And Gray is clearly talented. Butsomehow it never becomes even remotely emotionally compelling.September 2008July 2008June 2008May 2008April 2008March 2008February 2008January 2008December 2007November 2007September 2008SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930 Subscribe to this blog's feedAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 3 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMThe ending is also extremely thudding and obvious, which sparked achorus of lusty "Boos!" Frankly, I think the critics were just luckythey could finally unleash their inner beast on something. Coldcomfort for Gray, but there you are. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 12:58 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)"You, The Living"CANNES -- May 24, morningClearly, this is not the festival where I see a lot of films. Normally, I'dhit around 40 movies. This year, I'll be lucky to hit 25. With theAmFAR benefit late into the night, lots of free drinks and thenheading to the Hotel Grand for a nightcap with friends in the hope ofrescuing the evening (covering parties is exhausting and just not myidea of fun), well, getting up at 7:45 for Alexandra, a film by theglacially paced director Alexander Sokurov.Besides, I want to get in line early for You, The Living, one of mymost anticipated films of the fest. It's by Ry Andersson, whodelivered Songs From The Second Floor in 2000, still a movie thatlingers in my mind as utterly original. His new film is very similar:the scenes contain one static camera shot, with the energy andexcitement and humor developing from the characters that pop inand out of the frame. And his production design is extraordinary,each one a work of art. If a daughter is bending over her elderlymother, you'll soon notice her handbag bending over the arm of thecouch nearby, a subtle echo that celebrates and undercuts themoment. Plot? There is not plot, though a large drunken woman whokeeps bawling "Nobody understands me!" while her biker boyfriendand dog patiently wait nearby is a recurring character. Dream-likemoments, and songs are interspersed in what is -- for Andersson -- avery droll, amusing tone. The first half hour of this 94 minute film issheer joy. It loses a little steam and the finale is heavy-handed even ifthe symbolism isn't intended. But when someone asks you who tocompare Andersson to, you simply shake your head and say youcan't.Did I mention the New Orleans jazz band, the apartment that movesdown the street like a train, the doggie tied up in its leash, the manannoyed by a tuba player who gets so frustrated he keeps poundingthe roof of his apartment until the light fixture falls and plaster rainsdown on him, the bartender who calls for last rounds and insults hiscustomers as "homeless bastards" but then reminds them "Tomorrowis another day?" Since his last film barely got released in the US (andonly two years later), this is the joy of Cannes: being able to see a filmlike this right away.Posted at 12:14 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Advocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 4 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMMay 24, 2007AmFAR With Sharon Stone -- Part Two Photo: GettyCANNES -- May 23, eveningSo I finally arrive at the annual AmFAR auction/dinner. And who isin front of me in line? Catherine Deneuve, who couldn't be botheredto give her fellow AmFAR-ian a lift. Oh well, I try to be gracious. Thisis as close as I've ever come to a truly major red carpet arrival photoshoot. Dozens of photograhers wait across the street snapping peopleas they get out of their car. And dozens more stand behind abarricade and snap dozens of shots of each star as they stand in frontof an AmFAR banner showing off their outfit. The blinding flashesand screams of the photographers are really startling. I forgot tomention, but at the Hotel Martinez, as I watched celebs assaultedwith attention, I really did get a sickening sense of how unhealthy allthat focus must be. It was exhausting and it was only for an hour andwasn't even directed at me.Anyway Deneuve finally moves on and my shoe friend, Spanishfriend and I walk in front of the same bank of photographers. NotAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 5 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMONE of them wastes even a single digital shot on the off chance thatone of us might be someone. They know better and we burst outlaughing at the extreme difference. (Or should I say indifference?)But now I can't get inside. I've got my ticket but haven't a clue as tothe last name of my benefactor, so they don't know what table I'm at.I have to stand by the entrance table, so I get a good look as SharonStone pops out for some fresh air in her gorgeous sparkling goldoutfit. Mischa Barton also creates some waves. And this stunningyoung French man I spotted at the Martinez who I dubbed theDauphin smiles impishly and casually gets anyone and everyone topose for his little digital camera. I don't think he's a model, butwhatever he does I'm sure his life is one of ease and beauty. If they doa French Brideshead Revisited, he's a natural. How can I capture hisinnate sense of ease and privilege? How's this: he looks as if he'sspent his entire life in a jewel-encrusted case with luxurious redvelvet lining.Finally, I'm allowed in just as the auction begins. Stone strides thestage like a jaguar, cajoling and demanding that people bid more foreach item for sale (about 15 in all). The Ocean's 13 guys (not all ofthem) pop in for a moment to plug one item and then head back toCannes for a premiere. Kylie Minogue sings (after 20 people chip in$10,000 each to make it happen). Julian Lennon ends the show with"Stand By Me." And Marilyn Manson's wife Dita Von Teese does herburlesque act in a spangly cowboy outfit with pasties and pink bootsand a giant spangly tube of MAC lipstick she rides as if it were amechanical bull.It's very hot in the room, dreadfully hot and everyone complains thatthe food is always bad but getting worse. I did enjoy the endlessstream of champagne, wine and cognac. Not a smart combination,but a fun one, served by a fetching wait staff. It turns out I'm seatednext to a very friendly journalist for Variety, based in France, and wehave a fine time chatting, aided and abetted by another woman at ourtable who really knows her stuff and IDs every celeb in sight. Soonenough it's all over and I head back outside and wait for the shuttletaking journalists back to town. Who's standing next to me, waitingfor her car to arrive? Catherine Deneuve. Is she stalking me? And ifshe needs a ride, I just don't know what I might do or say. All in all,more than $7.5 million was raised for AmFAR. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 06:47 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Fashion, Film,Film Festivals, Parties | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)AmFAR With Sharon Stone -- Part OneCANNES -- May 23, eveningAfter coming down from my Clooney, Pitt and Damon event, I headback to Cannes proper and start filing several stories. I have a ticketfor the annual AmFAR auction/party led by Sharon Stone, who'sturning this into a second career. (She's doing a similar event at theAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 6 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMDubai Film Festival this December.) But it's only for the red carpet,which means I would stand alongside a bank of screamingphotographers and try to yell out questions to the celebs. Not my ideaof fun at all. The best part of AmFAR is hearing Stone cajole theaudience into giving more and seeing all the stars close up. Plus, Ireally do have a ton of stories to file and they keep asking for more. Ijust can't make the deadline for the bus, but that's okay since I wasgoing to skip it anyway. But then suddenly I get a ticket for the actualauction and dinner. All I have to do is throw on a tux and rush all theway to the other end of the Croisette to the Hotel Martinez and meetmy benefactor.I do, arriving 8 minutes late. I have no last name, no phone number,my cell phone died and none of my roommates are home to checkemail, which is how we (very quickly) communicated. So afterstanding there for 40 minutes and walking up to every guy in a tuxand asking if he was Gary (something I even did to QuentinTarantino; hey, he had his back to me) I finally decide he must haveleft or given new instructions so I RUN back home all sweaty only tosee he's just sent me an email wondering where the hell I am. Heagrees to leave the invite with the concierge and I rush back and thenask the doorman for a cab. "Dificil" he says, pointing to the endlessline of limos picking up celebs to take them to AmFAR and thecrowds that block the streets all around the hotel. Masses of peopleline the street behind barricades (most of them just tourists or localsand not professional photographers). When a celeb comes out theyscream out their names. Sometimes the celeb poses, more often theywave briefly and jump into the car, saving the money shot for thepros at the event. People then boo them or beg "roll down thewindow." There are even people sitting on the roof across the streetcheering any celeb that notices them.The doorman calls for a taxi repeatedly but they can't get through,aren't answering their phone, etc. I wait for an HOUR. WhenCatherine Deneuve appears (looking lovely but in an unfortunatetiger print dress), the crowd goes crazy. I'm about ten feet away fromwhere these people stand waiting for their car and I almost go overand ask for a lift. Surely she would say yes? I'm wearing my brandnew used tuxedo, after all. Finally, finally a taxi arrives and I share itwith a guy and girl. Turns out they're not a couple; he's Spanish andclaims to be producing Steven Soderbergh's "Che" biopic and sheworks in shoes and is here at the fest trying to get stars to don hershoes and cursing the fact that lengthy hemlines almost always makethe shoes invisible. Both politely nice and fun to see him slowly tryingto charm her.But best of all is our cabbie. He unnerves me a bit in Cannes properby driving too fast for the narrow streets jammed with people. Butonce he gets going on some semi-major roads, he's a dream. The roadis packed bumper to bumper for miles, but there are what I can onlycall charming little strip malls along one side and he heads off theAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 7 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMroad, tears through as many parking lots as he can before hitting adead end, then rides back onto the shoulder of the highway passingmiles of cars before back onto our private strip mall highway. We aresaving easily an hour of driving time and arrive at AmFAR evenbefore the party begins. Tres bien. --Michael GiltzPosted at 06:33 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals, Parties | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)The Rat Pack Photo: GettyOkay, just one interview Wednesday: a one-on-one with GeorgeClooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt for the New York Daily News. Ittakes place at the Hotel Du Cap, a super-exclusive hotel about 30minutes away from downtown where the REALLY rich and powerfullive. I was here yesterday for Jolie and now I'm here again today forOcean's 13. The gang is doing overseas press (mostly TV) and a fewUS ones. There must be 20 cabanas by the sea, with the numberingCOMPLETELY out of order, so that cabana 17 is next to cabana 22and in front of cabana 54. Everyone has to find out where to go againand again. The number of publicists is frightening, with publicistsrepresenting each of the dozen stars, the studios, the producers andoutside firms to handle it all. Out on the water, speedboats arebobbing up and down as papparazzi try to snag a picture of a celeb.Really, it's madness. The actors are grouped together in seeminglyendless combinations of people: this TV outlet gets Damon, Pitt andCheadle; that outlet gets Clooney, Damon and Barkin; someone elsegets Garcia, Cheadle and Pitt and so on and so on. Finally, my turncomes with the uber-pairing of Clooney, Damon and Pitt. They're allring-a-ding-ding and fun and the 25 minutes goes by in a flash andthen I head back to the real world and they stay right where they are:at the center of everything. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 06:16 PM in Cannes Film Festival | Permalink | Comments(0) | TrackBack (0)Advocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 8 of 117/22/09 4:38 PM"The Golden Compass Party"CANNES -- May 22, eveningAnd finally the last of the Golden Compass events. I had to file myAngelina Jolie story for another publication, not to mention theregular stories I do every week that still had to be done even thoughI'm in another country. The result? I didn't head to the event till 11p.m. I'm still bitter over missing the Lord of the Rings party back in2001 (people still talk about how amazing and lavish it was), soGolden Compass is going to be my recompense.The free shuttle picks people up at two locations on either end of theCroisette. One of them is near my house so I head out there and thenwander around like a fool for half an hour. No signs, no assistant totell you where to go or what to do. Turns out the shuttle wasn'tstopping there. So I had to head all the way to the other end of theCroisette (about a 20 minute walk since the crowds weren't bad) andI arrived at the party just before midnight. It was held at a lovely villathat now serves as the local library, a fitting setting for a movie basedon a book that begins in Oxford. Unfortunately, the party was alreadydead. Very few people, three-quarters empty dance floor, whole areasof the site devoid of people, four or five bar areas that were simplyempty of customers and everyone complained about the tiny littlebits of food. Aparently, Daniel Craig and Eva Green were there veryearly but had long since disappeared. Ultimately, the party would berated 2 1/2 martini glasses out of five, which was being nice, I think.Not the best way to end the day and not the best final impression forGolden Compass with the media. People on the shuttle say things toeach other like, "What the hell is a golden compass anyway?" I startto explain but they don't really want to know. None of this will matterif the movie delivers and from the extended trailer I saw, it does. Buta shame, nonetheless. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 05:50 PM in Books, Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film,Film Festivals, Parties | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)May 22, 2007Angelina Jolie, Alone (Almost)Advocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 9 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMPhoto: GettyCANNES -- May 22 afternoon, and then late afternoonA classic Cannes experience. I got in a shuttle bus with just a handfulof journalists and we were allowed to scuttle into the servant'sentrance at the Hotel Du Cap. Many powerful studio execs andcelebrities stay along the Croisette. But the Hotel Du Cap is evenmore exclusive and secluded (about 20 minutes away by cab) andtruly a glimpse into another wealthier world. George Clooney iswalking the grounds, looking dapper. Don Cheadle is on the patiohaving a drink. And I'm attending an "intimate" press conference in abeach-side cabana with Angelina Jolie and director MichaelWinterbottom (above, far left).Jolie looks far more beautiful in person than I ever realized by seeingher in films. Just lovely. And smart and poised. But after it was over,we were whisked away again to the entrance of a restaurant. (Thehotel itself is one or two football fields away along a grand driveway(the word is inappropriate) that looks like something out ofVersailles.) Half the journalists clamber into the first van and thenanother five of us wait for the second. And wait. And wait. Franticphone calls are made and we still have to wait. Our initial appearanceflustered the doorman, who tried to get the pr people to have usstand, oh I don't know, around the corner among the bushes?Anywhere but where we were: the place where you stand and wait foryour Rolls or cab or (if you're a journalist) your free van ride.The publicist had disappeared after defending our honor at the start.But after half an hour had passed, we were asked to move ten feet tothe bench on the other side of the driveway. Fair enough. Then one ofthe journalists spotted a producer he knew who was walking into therestaurant. They semi-shouted at each other from 15 feet away, neverdreaming of moving closer to each other and the gulf betweenreporters and the wealthy people we interview was never starker. Aguy came up in a red Ferrari and the valet drove off with suchpanache and speed that even the owner couldn't help but smile.Finally, after nearly an hour of tapping our toes, a van arrived and wewere plunked back down in the real world again. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 02:49 PM in Books, Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film,Film Festivals | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Community Guidelines | LegalNoticeAdvocate.com © 2008 Regent Entertainment Media Inc. All RightsReserved.Advocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 10 of 117/22/09 4:38 PMAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/2/ 11 of 117/22/09 4:38 PM

📄 Cannes 2007 Part 2

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