Cannes, Day 3: A Day of Directors

Day 3 of Cannes was perhaps my most exciting yet - a day of interactions with cast and crew! After getting back and blogging late the night before, I could barely lift myself out of bed in preparation for the first Un Certain Regard film of the day, Beasts of the Southern Wild, but thanks to the help of my roommates, I was able lift myself up and make it into the line of the premiere.

We entered the theater, unaware that this was the official screening and that the entire cast and director were present. This was the first major feature of director Behn Zeitlin, and after the buzz about the film at Sundance, I could feel the tension in the air. What would be the consensus?

The lights dimmed and the movie began. The emotional journey it took me through was astounding and magical, with incredible performances all around. Read my full review of this amazing movie here.

The incredible cast and director of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The applause was thundering. For ten minutes everyone clapped their hands raw, gazing at the director, cast, and ridiculously talented little girl who captured our hearts. As we walked out of the theater, I found myself standing 2 feet away from them. My hands shook at the immense talent in front of me, but I racked up my courage, approached Behn Zeitlin, took his hand, and said, "That was incredible. You've made an amazing film." He smiled and said, "Thank you. I really appreciate that." Today, we discovered that Fox Searchlight picked up the film, easily the best film I've seen here, if not in recent years.

Shia LaBeouf presenting his short.

After that borderline Cloud Nine experience, I met up with Hayley and Sharon, who weren't present for that screening, and we went to a screening of Broken, the first film by Rufus Norris, a theater director. We waited in line for quite some time, and once we got in, we discovered that, to our surprise, Shia LaBeouf was there as well in order to premiere his new short film, HowardCantour.com.

The short was perfectly average in every regard. It showed insight into the mind of a disillusioned film critic, with almost the whole script as a voiceover. I think that he could have easily conveyed similar ideas without the overuse of voiceover, as the narrative structure had potential. The shots were very standard without anything special, and the production value wasn't particularly high. Shia came in, watched his movie, and left, without seeing the following film, which I found rather rude.

Then, we discovered that the entire cast and director of Broken was there, which was a really cool experience. I thought the film was very powerful, although I had some major issues with it, which you can read about in my review here.

The director and cast of Broken.

After, Hayley and I had noticed the screening of a film called Goats, produced by the same people who did The Kids are All Right starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Keri Russell and Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy), so we decided to check it out. On the way, we passed Alec Baldwin eating lunch at the Carlton.

We got to the screening and sat through the whole movie. What a piece of crap. It was about this young kid who lives in Tucson with his mother (Farmiga) and a man he calles the Goat Man (Duchovny) with whom he smokes weed all day, until he decides to go to an uptight all boys prep school. He gets back into contact with his long lost father (Burrell) and his new wife (Russell) and drama happens. The characters are ridiculous and crazy, the acting is rather terrible, and the plot was horrific. But after the intensity of the two earlier screenings, it was a nice break.

We met up with Zoe and walked for a bit, eventually getting crepes with her, Arthur and Rawson. Then, I had to run back and grab my tux before the premiere of the Italian film Reality. I changed, after some struggles involving a paper cut, a stubbed toe, and  a cut ankle, and made it back to the palais with just enough time to help Rawson tie his bow tie (hence why I have a clip on).

By then, everyone had tickets, so Rawson and I went from the side we were on in through the entrance and up the red carpet, passing by the italian celebrities before entering the theater and taking our seats. We watched the red carpet finish up, until the whole cast and crew entered.

The cast and crew of Reality were all thrilled, with
 many of them not being profession actors.

Then, the film began. I forgot my glasses, but the seats were close and the subtitles were bright enough for me to see perfectly well. The film was decent, went on twenty minutes too long, but you can read more abou that in my review here.

After the film, some people were hungry, but I wasn't (thanks to the crepe - did I mention I ate mine and most of Hayley's?), so Takara, Gary and I went to a bar on the way back and hung out for a bit. After we got back to the college, I realized that I had a desperate desire to listen to Portugal. The Man just as Whit entered the room. We stayed up for awhile watching the visualizer and chatting, until I passed out as Chris walked in the door after meeting Tim Roth. Overall, an incredible day, and I can't wait for Day 4!