Cannes 2007 Part 4

SEO TEXT: Article Content for Search Engines

May 21, 2007"St. Trinian's" Press Conference Photo: GettyCANNES -- May 20, afternoonVisit 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/4/ 1 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMThe press conference for St. Trinian's was scheduled for 3 p.m. ButRupert Everett and Colin Firth (and the others associated with thefilm) were all delayed hours during their flight from London. (They'restill filming the movie and should be done next week.) The pressroom at the American Pavilion (located behind the massive Lumiereright on the water) was absolutely jammed, with reporters lined upalong the wall when the seats ran out.It's a remake of a an amusing series of films from the late 50s into1960, with two hoped-for revivals in '66 n '80 that didn't stick. Thethree originals are really great fun, with the rather wild students at anall-girls boarding school running roughshod over anyone with theiranarchic spirit. The head mistress was played deliciously in drag byAlistair Sims. (British men DO love to don a frock.) And obviously forthis sequel Everett will be doing the same. The reckless abandon ofthese movies should be really bracing -- a celebration of beingcreative and free-spirited rather than just naughty for naughty's sake.The two lead students came in their student uniforms looking quitenaughty indeed. And Everett and Firth were in fine form, sharinghow they really despised each other on Another Country (Everettdoes admit to being hopelessly, ruthlessly ambitious) and finallybecame friends many, many years later. Firth also said not being ableto get into a party or film (thanks to the mercurial and unmovingsecurity) is a Cannes tradition for the talent. He said that when theycame as young men to promote Another Country, he and Colin (andthe others) arrived to popping flashbulbs, waved to the crowd, walkedup part of the red carpet, stood for the mob of photographers poisedthere, walked to the top of the red carpet stairs, turned and waved tothe massive crowd cheering their every gesture and then turned towalk in for the world premiere of their movie, only to be stopped by aguard who demanded their tickets. They'd forgotten them and noamount of begging and pleading would get them in until someone ranback to the hotel and got them. Delicious.That came from Firth, but if you haven't read Everett's memoir yet,it's very entertaining too. Firth says he'd like to become a writer andEverett says (not wholly convincingly to me) that he's ready to chuckin acting basically and just write, though he was delighted to hearShrek 3 had done bang-up business (the biggest animated filmopening weekend of all time at $122 million) since Shrek 4 will beeven more of a retirement fund.Posted at 07:47 PM in Books, Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film,Film Festivals | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Wandering The MajesticCANNES -- May 20, afternoonAfter my Coen brothers round table, I head over to the Majestic.Have you got a picture of Cannes in your head yet? There's agorgeous Mediterranean bay filled with yachts. Sitting on the edge ofIowa 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/4/ 2 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMthe bay is the massive Palais complex, several massive buildingshousing tons of space. The Lumiere is the premiere single screentheater, seating thousands. Next to it is the Palais proper, which hasnumerous floors containing screening rooms, a press conferencearea, mailboxes for the journalists (overflowing with leaflets andlavish color booklets promoting movies), a WiFi area for journalistswith laptops, a press room where people can wait and use one of thedozens of computers available, a bottom floor filled with marketerbooths and another building behind it with more screening roomsand more companies hawking movies so obscure they only dream ofbeing straight-to-DVD releases.Next to the Palais proper is the Debussy, another very nice theaterthat seats maybe 800 people. Now in front of the Palais and all alongthe waterfront is the Croisette, the main drag. In front of the Lumiereis the red carpet and from the first day of the fest, the middle of theCroisette across the street is taken over by fans. They arrive withstepladders and place a claim on their spot. They stay there all daylong and when a movie is premiering and celebrities arrive in a limo,they perch on their stepladders to see over any obstacles and waveand yell and cheer and take pictures, surrounded by dozens orhundreds of other people who overflow in every direction, especiallyat night.The waterfront past the Croisette is a public promenade, with aclassic film shown every night on the beach with free attendance. Onthe other side of the beach are the hotels, with the Majestic the mostfamous. That's where many journalists head every morning to pickup a free copy of the trades placed there every day (Variety,Hollywood Reporter, Le Film Francais, etc.). Inside the Majestic,you'll also find the first floor bursting with conference rooms. That'swhere you head to find the major pr firms, the people you need to geton the list for if you want to go to the big parties or in-demand roundtables or other events. I'm wandering there to (finally) get mycredentials for the Golden Compass events. I'm walking down a hallwhen a door opens and someone steps out. Clearly it's a screeningroom because bursting out of the room are screams and the sound ofgunfire and explosions.This too, pretty much sums up Cannes. People are lined up at thePalais to see three hour art films and across the street people areholed up in little rooms watching quickie exploitation flicks thatmight actually turn a profit. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 07:28 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)The Coen Brothers At CannesSeptember 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/4/ 3 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMPhoto: GettyAfter XXY, I rushed over to the Noga Beach to chat with the CoenBrothers. Here's how a round table works: Journalists show up at alocation -- often at Cannes it's a patio area on the beach, by a pool orin a conference room. You might find 30 journalists there from allover the world. Everyone devours the free nibbles (croissants andcoffee) or orders lunch or grabs a drink or frankly anything andeverything at hand. The talent there will sometimes be having lunchat the same time. But I never eat because I hate the idea of chewingaway while they're talking. I'm there to pay attention to them.Everyone else thinks I'm an idiot for turning down free food and I'veno doubt that not a single celebrity has ever thought, 'How nice thatthis man is at least focusing on me instead of their veal cutlet.'Anyway, we get grouped by tables, with 5-6 people at a table with one(or two) chair(s) tilted forward so we know that's where the talent isgoing to sit. Then each table gets a turn with the director followed byone star followed by another star followed by a writer or producer orwhomever. Then the war begins. Old pros belt out one question afteranother, steamrolling over any newbies who try to maintain somepoliteness or are struggling to speak in a second language. My friendsAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 4 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMbasically mocked me for caring about the "weak" ones, saying they'vegot a job to do and if someone has come to Cannes and is too lame ortoo timid to speak up and get their questions heard, then theydeserve to be drowned out.In some cases, especially with people no one is interested in (thewriter, the producer, the marketer -- sorry, guys) there is often a lullin questions that needs to be filled. People say, "You're at Cannes; ifyou're not ready to fight for your question, you shouldn't be there." Isay, no matter where you are, no matter who you are, you should bepolite and considerate to others and behave decently. I am clearlywrong on this. Anyway the people rotate every twenty minutes. Ifthere's a big star, once they've hit a table, you might see half or moreof the reporters leave to head to the next event, leaving the writer tobe queried by just two or three folk.The Coens were polite, but aren't much on anecdote, either becausethat's how they are or to discourage interest in them and their lives.Presumably, they just want to make movies and be left alone. And it'sworking. Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem were very funny; clearlythey are guys who don't take themselves seriously. Later, at the partyfor the film's premiere, Bardem was described as putting a napkin onhis head and dancing around wildly. No one blinked an eye. At most,someone might have said, indulgently, "Actors." But my favoritemoment came when we were discussing weighty issues like violencein cinema when a waitress dropped off a massive iced bucket of rose.That about sums up Cannes in a nutshell. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 07:14 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack(0)"XXY" -- Another Terrific Queer Film At CannesCANNES -- Sunday, May 20 -- early afternoonThe 60th Cannes Film Festival already produced one delight: thecoming-of-age drama Water Lilies by a talented young Frenchdirector who promptly came out to The Advocate. Now we've gotanother winner.XXY is an Argentinian first feature by Lucia Puenzo about an inter-sexed, or hermaphrodite child named Alex. Presented to the world asa girl, Alex is a 15 year old teenager who has breasts and a penis. Herparents have moved her (again) from Buenos Aires to a small townon the Uruguayan coastline. Often instinctively treated cruelly byothers, Alex is a troubled but confident young woman. Her parentswrestle with the question of whether they made the right decision notto have Alex medically assigned to one sex at an early age. Hermother invites a plastic surgeon friend to visit -- along with his wifeand sexually curious son -- hoping for a conversation about theunspoken topic.Advocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 5 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMAlex (a terrific Ines Efron) takes charge and immediately asks Alvaro(also exceptional Martin Piroyansky) if he wants to have sex. Alvaro,who has been wrestling with feelings of being gay, is probablyrelieved to find himself attracted to Alex and after initial shyness,they begin to make out.In a really remarkable scene early in the film, Alex then turns Alvaroover and begins to penetrate him. His confusion, surprise and arousalmakes for an extraordinary moment perhaps never seen in themovies, with an inter-sexed person taking charge of their identitywithout apology while a young gay man begins to accept who he is aswell. The entire film is about acceptance, as Alex more and moreresists taking pills to keep her from growing a beard or the possibilityof surgery and wants to be accepted and loved as she is.The adults are secondary, though still important. But the teens arefront and center and make this story riveting. Made with assuranceand skill, this is an exceptional film. Not since Boys Don't Cry has amovie dealt with issues of gender and sexuality in so bold andforthright a manner. It won't have the box office or Oscar impact ofthat film, of course: it's not in English and the heroine (withoutspoiling anything) does not suffer a tragic death, the sort of "sadvictims" finale that often makes people on the margins acceptable toa wider public. But you won't want to miss it. I liked the movie somuch, I made myself late for another interview and stayed for theQ&A. I also arranged to speak to the director and star on Thursday solook for that chat later. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 05:33 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals,Lesbian, Sex | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)Todays' Color Is GreenAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 6 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMPhoto: GettyCANNES -- May 20, morningActually, the color of the entire festival is green this year. When themedia picked up their badges during the first day, a friendly womanat the exit pointed out a brand new recycling bin that would belocated throughout the Palais and urging us to help them recycle.Recycling bins now appear in the streets, one for bottles and anotherfor paper with the phrase on the side: "A small gesture for a bigproblem." (I am very roughly translating since I am not evenremotely fluent in French.) To top it off, Leonardo DiCaprio broughtThe 11th Hour to the festival. His documentary got mixed reviewsand is not expected to be the same commercial force as Al Gore's film.But it will have a good life on DVD and is notable for a very positivefinal section that deals numerous radical but doable changes that canbe made to stop or slow global warming. And members of the "11thHour Green Team" wandered throughout Cannes handing outleaflets. Remember when nature freaks ate granola and had longhair? These kids are fresh-faced and handsome, as if Abercrombie &Fitch models were trying to get people to support bio-diesel fuel.Good marketing move, I say. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 04:57 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals, Politics, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack(0)How Many Directors Does It Take To SaluteCannes?CANNES -- May 20, early morningNo, that's not the start of a joke. It's the question raised by ChaconSon Cinema, the first screening of the day. It's a compilation of shortsby 30 directors asked to celebrate going to the movies in 3 minutes orless. The hit to miss ratio was very good for this sort of thing. And theAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 7 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMones that were bad were entertainingly so. Perhaps the most notablewas Jane Campion's. We haven't heard from her in a while.Unfortunately the short she delivered was a definite oddball,featuring a woman dressed up as a bug that a cinema worker is tryingto squash. Very bizarre. For most of the shorts, the applause variednaturally by how much people liked the film and the director. ForCampion's, the appearance of her credit caused a disturbed murmurto ripple through the crowd. How to sum up this sound? It seemed tosay, "Oh, where has she been? And what the heck was that?" At thepress conference, Roman Polanski stormed out because the questionswere so idiotic. But attention also focused on Michael Cimino, whohad been rumored for years to have undergone a sex changeoperation and appeared here looking at the very least androgynous.Jane Campion stood next to him, perhaps in solidarity, perhapshoping to simply put the negative reaction to her short behind her. --Michael GiltzPosted at 04:50 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)May 19, 2007Sneak Peek at SundayThe next four days are absolutely frantic, with every interview, pressconference and party conflicting with something else I really reallywant (or need) to do. Sunday I'm going to squeeze in some or most ofthe following: watch the compilation film Chacun Son Cinema, whichfeatures shorts from an amazing collection of major filmmakers; thenI have to choose between the intersex drama XXY and Caramel(which features at least a little lesbianism); the round table for theJoel and Ethan Coen movie is at 1:30 p.m.; the Rupert Everett/ColinFirth press conference and round tables for the comedy St. Trinian'sare at 3 and on; several more screenings are all in the early evening,not to mention the first screening of footage from The GoldenCompass with the St. Trinian's party capping it off. But maybe not forme: I still haven't received my invite. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 08:19 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)U2 Rocks CannesAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 8 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMPhoto: GettyI just came from a friendly mob of people outside the Lumiere. U2'sconcert film U2-3D debuts tonight and the band promised to performone or two songs on the red carpet. So the streets -- which are usuallyfilled with tourists and kids and locals hoping for a glimpse of a celeb-- were throbbing with a massive audience looking for a good concert.Most every balcony in the hotels opposite the Lumiere were filledwith folks hoping for a better view. (Someone outside my window justshouted out "Where is Bono?") Everything ran late and everywhere Ilooked more people were streaming towards the fans waiting forarguably the biggest band in the world right now. A TV crewcomposed of two young women in cocktail dresses sprang into actionas the excitement mounted. One of them clambered onto a concretebox holding up a tree (in high heels no less) and shouldered the TVcamera while the on-air talent (also in a lovely dress) delivered hershort piece. A British woman nearby was not having a good night asshe argued incessantly over her cell phone. "How can I feel yourespect and love me when you tell me I'm nasty?" she asks, quitereasonably in my book. She storms off stage right and I put her out ofmy mind. Ten minutes later she is headed in the other directionwalking beside a man who is absolutely furious at her and curses,"Stop asking me the same f---ing question!"Finally, at about 12:44 (a solid hour late, or right on time if you're in aCannes frame of mind), U2 arrives, poses for photographers and thenblasts through "Vertigo" and "Where The Streets Have No Name."Then they went inside and watched themselves perform in 3-D. Is itboring or fun for them to watch one of their own concerts, I wonder.There's often a (terrible) deejay providing a little entertainment forthe fans in between arrivals, but I've no idea if a band has actuallyAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 9 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMever performed on the red carpet before. History in the making, or atleast a little silly fun. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 08:12 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Celebs, Film, FilmFestivals, Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Fashion Victims and Missing FathersCANNES -- May 19, early eveningI spent the afternoon writing articles, transcribing tapes, dealing witheditors and trying to arrange more interviews. Yet another exampleof being so busy covering the fest that I don't have time to attend thefest. I just miss the screening for the Leonardo DiCaprioenvironmental documentary, so I decide to head to the market andgive myself a rest from art films and just watch a movie. A gay movie,to be exact. It's a German flick (I believe) called Fashion Victims, andthe poster made clear one character was gay and I thought, what thehell? Kind of an odd duck with the high school senior hero frustratedin his desire to take a trip by his manic, over-controlling dad who getsa suspended license and needs his son to act as a chauffeur while hestruggles in the garment business. Junior just happens to fall for thehandsome new employee at dad's firm who could push pop outcompletely with his modern ideas. It's a very modest little flick, withthe interesting angle being that the kid doesn't blink an eye when thehunky employee hits on him, plus no one comments on the older guybeing probably a good ten years older than him and when his parentsrealize he's gay, they accept it with matter of fact indifference. It's justanother movie and that's something since not so recently it wouldhave been a wrenching drama or an after school special and the kidwould NOT have dated a guy so much older or had sex right off thebat. Innocent and interesting, but banal.I followed that with Tehamil, (Psalms), an odd little Jewish filmabout a husband and wife and two sons. The husband disappearsafter a traffic accident mildly shakes up his boys. And the familystruggles with his bizarre, uncertain death for the rest of the film. Themovie was slow at first, but it started to sink in with me, showing theinability people can have to move on when a tragedy that such anambiguous form. I don't think a single other soul even appreciated asmildly as I did. It's a good example of how being in the wrongcategory can hurt a film. This is in Competition and thereforeeveryone will say, huh? This is one of the absolute bests? If it were inthe more modest Un Certain Regard category or even the separateline-up at Director's Fortnight, people would be much more willing toferret out its charms instead of critiquing how poorly it stands up tothe other Competition films. -- Michael GiltzPosted at 08:01 PM in Cannes Film Festival, Film, Film Festivals |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Swooning Over Julianne MooreAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 10 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMPhoto: GettyCANNES -- May 18, afternoonJulianne Moore is a terrific actress and she's also a star. (Those canbe -- and usually are -- two very different things.) She and directorTom Kalin were giving round table interviews on Savage Grace to theworld press at the Hotel Majestic beach. It's a pier extending out intothe gorgeous blue Mediterranean waters, with billowy white tentmaterial as awning to provide shade. The film, based on the real lifetragedy of a socialite stabbed to death by her son in the early 70s, isdue out in the US this November.Kalin politely answered question after question at table after table.But the stars are everything at Cannes and he was doubtlesslyamused to see people swarming when Moore sat down for her firstinterview after seemingly endless rounds of photography. Journalistscrowded onto one long table, a swarm of microphones and cassetteplayers and digital recorders swooped into position and Moorejokingly said, "It's too bad nobody showed up."Much of the questioning revolved around the scene of incest betweenAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 11 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMBarbara (Moore) and her son (Eddie Redmayne -- Matt Damon's sonin The Good Shepherd). In real life, both Barbara and her son Tonytold anyone and everyone that they had slept together -- Barbarabecause she wanted to "cure" Tony of his homosexuality; Tonyperhaps because her smothering love had been the center of hisentire life. In the movie, it's the quiet but devastating climax of theirtortured relationship.Kalin revealed that while artistically the scene wasn't the mostdifficult one to do, he did find it draining emotionally."I was hiding in the back of the lunch area, crying," admits Kalin,when Moore found him. "What's going on?" she asked him. Kalinexplained he was feeling distraught and moved by the intensity of itall. He'd insisted the final portion of the film be shot sequentially, sothe incest scene came right at the end of the shoot. He says Mooregave him some sweet but tough love to buck Kalin up: "You betterkeep it together," he says she told him. "You've got to shoot themurder tomorrow!" "Trust me," responded Kalin. "The murder is nota problem."And though he's a New Yorker and signed up for a domesticpartnership at City Hall (for legal reasons), Kalin doesn't feelcompelled to personally take advantage of the changing climate tovalidate his life."I'm in a 15 year relationship with the love of my life, Craig Paul, whois here," says Kalin. "We're thriving happily together. We live in NewYork City and also have a place in the Catskills. We're the proudparents of two dogs. We're hosting a family reunion in about amonth, seeing almost all of my siblings [Kalin has ten brothers andsisters] and some of my extended family."I think if I was heterosexual I probably wouldn't be married. I'm notopposed to gay marriage. Anyone who wants to be married should beable to be, legally. But in terms of defining my relationship? Going toa church and saying 'I do' doesn't seem particularly necessary. Thefact that we've survived fifteen years through thick and thin -- he'sthe anchor of my life."I'll give you more from Julianne Moore later. I've got a screening tohead to and can't transcribe the chat quite yet.-- Michael GiltzPosted at 09:23 AM 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/4/ 12 of 137/22/09 4:39 PMAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/cannes_ﬁlm_festival/page/4/ 13 of 137/22/09 4:39 PM

📄 Cannes 2007 Part 4

SEO TEXT: Article Content for Search Engines