Cannes, Day 10: 10 on 10

I woke up this morning in a daze from the after party from the night before. I turned to the clock and saw that it was 8:30 and released a heavy groan. But I figured, hey, might as well check out the ticket portal, and I managed to snag an orchestra seat for the HBO produced Hemingway and Gellhorn at the nighttime premiere. With that, I went back to bed, sporadically woken up by people passing through the room until I finally managed to get up to play pool with Rawson before our meeting at noon.

The meeting was very helpful in fleshing out thoughts about the final paper and serving as a forum for any discussion about the festival as a whole. Sandwiches were served and all. We then left, having to go pick up the tickets and needing food. We ended up going to this amazing natural gelato place called Amorino, which apparently has a location in NYC (a dangerous tidbit of information). Arthur's cousin came as well, which was great.

Then Hayley, Sharon and I decided to try the McDonald's. Arthur said that the nuggets were way better here and real chicken. I never eat fast food so this was a big deal for me. As it would turn out, Arthur spoke in the truest form of bullshit. The nuggets were the same! But we powered through, went back to our rooms to nap, and then got ready for the premiere.

We managed to snag tickets for Cosmopolis in all of five minutes, but it was raining so we sprinted inside. It was our tenth red carpet on day ten. Pretty cool, right?

The film itself was very eh, but Sharon had a great time sitting right behind Alexander Payne and Ewan McGregor! Read about the film here.

We then ran and got food (Arthur and Rawson went back) and went back for the premiere of Hemingway and Gellhorn. I got pretty close to the cast this time. The film was enjoyable - very TV movie - and there were some major flaws, but it was interesting at the very least. Read more about that here.

We got back, and now I'm ready to call it a night. We are having breakfast fairly early tomorrow to say goodbye to Rawson! I can't believe I have only two days left...

Cannes, Day 9: My Date with Nicole

Today was an incredible day, star-studded and full of... very interesting films. I woke up in the morning and immediately opted to check my ticket portal, and to my excitement, I discovered that Post Tenebras Lux had available invitations! I couldn't have been more excited, so without even considering whether or not I wanted to see the film, I snatched up a ticket to be picked up later.

Rawson and I had a quick breakfast before we made our way to the Salle du 60 in order to see the 11:00 showing of On the Road, the adaptation of the beat novel by Jack Kerouac. It was a 2 hour and 40 minute movie, so we were well aware that we wanted to be in this theater, with its comfortable seats and extra leg room, rather than sit through the premiere the night before. I stopped into the ticketing room to pick up the one I had reserved, which was quite an exciting experience. I felt so important.

We sat in line for awhile, under the harsh, beating, unforgiving Mediterranean sun. Fortunately, I remembered to lotion. Hayley and Sharon arrived to meet us, and had remembered to pick up a copy of Screen. We made our way into the screening and proceeded to sit through a faithful and fairly well-done adaptation of the book that went on forty minutes too long, which I'll tell you more about in my review.

After, we stopped to see if more tickets for the premiere of The Paperboy were available. They weren't. So we grabbed some lunch and headed back. I needed to change into my tux early in order to be ready for The Paperboy after Post Tenebras Lux.

We were running a bit late, so we sprinted to the Lumiere. I was uncomfortably sweaty, but the cool theater quickly remedied that. The film was odd, confusing, beautiful, and... I'm not really sure what to make of it. Here are my thoughts, but I may need to re-evaluate them soon.

We then began begging for The Paperboy. I was with Rawson in the orchestra, and we quickly found tickets for Sharon, Arthur, and Hayley, although Sharon was in serious panic mode. But we knew we would get in, especially after one of the members of the jury, Raoul Peck, wished us luck with our begging. The tickets that flew into our hands were no surprise. We shmoozed for a bit, took some pictures, and I got a mint chip soft serve cone (yum!). We then went inside. Rawson and I were able to go in immediately, and walked the red carpet with our faces plastered on the jumbotron (according to others. We weren't paying attention). Unfortunately, the others did not get into the main theater, but were able to see the film in the Bazin.

Then, the magic happened. Rawson and I got aisle seats, so when the cast and director arrived, they walked right by us. John Cusack smiled directly at me (which Rawson can confirm via video). The rest of the cast filed suit - Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, Macy Gray, and of course, the statuesque Nicole Kidman, one of my favorite actresses with looks that I can only imagine are what the Greeks used to imagine Aphrodite.

The film itself was very good, with stellar performances by everyone, particularly Kidman, which you can read more about here. The applause was enormous, lasting for almost twenty minutes. The cast walked by us again on their way out, and when Nicole walked by, I said, "You were amazing." She smiled at me and said, "Thank you." My heart dropped and I was on cloud nine. In fact, I'm still not fully prepared to write the review because the experience of the premiere was so incredible.

We left with our usual crew and went back to dinner at the place from the night before. We had a great time, but everyone was exhausted, except for me. So when they all opted to go home, I met up with Zoe, and the two of us managed to go to the after party for the film! As we entered, we brushed shoulders with an exiting Reese Witherspoon and her husband. The celebrities had left, but we had a great time with the copious amounts of free food and the most delectably dry champagne. After a full night of fun and conversation, we parted ways, and I collapsed on my bed after a thoroughly fulfilling day.

Cannes, Day 8: I Can Barely Recognize the Sun

Today was a day that we decided would be film free, a day of sun, beach, and the pure, unadulterated outdoors. And by pure, unadulterated, I mean highly commercialized and crowded beaches, but either way that was simply the way it had to be. We needed to rejuvenate after seeing 20 films.

So when I woke up, Rawson and I grabbed a quick breakfast before joining the rest of our group for a meeting with Jeff Berg, the head of ICM. We discussed the rise of digital media and the affect it will have on the industry as well as the way that film and television has to be reinterpreted in a constantly shifting world. While I found that valuable, as it quickly became clear that this discussion is THE current discussion pervading the industry,what I found most valuable was his reassurance that the liberal arts background I am getting at Penn is what his company seeks in new employees. Maybe I will get a job after all!

After the meeting, Hayley, Sharon and I ran straight to the beach and spread out, soaking in some rays (heavily screened, of course). We hung out there for awhile until Rawson and Arthur later joined us, at which point Arthur finally gave me the courage to submerge myself in the frigid water. Once I was in, it was thoroughly refreshing, although the purple under my fingernails indicated minor frostbite. We swam for awhile and then went back to warm up.

Next on our list was Haagen Dazs, in an effort to provide Hayley with her very first Mint Chip Dazzler, something I hold near and dear to my heart. Unfortunately, we got there only to realize that they didn't have mint, and, even worse, they seemed to have specials that served ice cream in... moderation. It was far beyond my comprehension, but Rawson and I got this amazing cookie thing so I was content.

We got back, and Arthur and I beached a bit more while everyone else went inside. Then we showered, changed, etc. in preparation for dinner. We found this amazing hole in the wall on our favorite cobblestone street, in what was probably our best dinner yet. For an appetizer I had an upside down apple tart with seared foie gras. Yes, you read right. I was in heaven. Being the generous soul I am, I let everyone try a bite. Arthur loves foie gras and died a little bit. For the others (Hayley, Sharon, Rawson), who had never tasted it before, it was a jaw-dropping experience.

Next I got a full sea bass, head included, followed by a chocolate mousse. And we had a giant bottle of rose. A perfect dinner. We left, trying to go to a screening, but we failed, alas. On our way back, we played foosball, at which Sharon and I kicked Arthur and Rawson's asses, much to our surprise. After, we went back and played some ping pong. Arthur, despite his claims at being a nationally ranked player in France, still failed miserably against me (as did Rawson), but the two of them had an excellent, highly competitive match. Arthur won by the skin of his teeth.

The three of us tried to watch Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and got through quite a bit of it before Rawson announced that it was bedtime. He has yet to see the Crazy 88, so I'm excited for him to experience that, as Arthur and I have both seen the movie around 3 trillion times. I think we should have finished the movie, so I'll just say to Rawson, "Silly rabbit. Trix are for. Kids."

Cannes, Day 7: Pathetic Fallacy is such a real thing.

Today, we really wanted to see some in competition films, aka Brad Pitt was going to be at the premiere of his new movie Killing Them Softly at 7, so we (Sharon) had to get in. We started off our morning with another in competition film called The Angels' Share, which was tense, but still fun and lighthearted. While I really liked the movie and had a very enjoyable viewing experience, it was definitely not one of the best films around. In the context of the series of small depressions that most films create every day, however, we all loved it. Read my full review here.

Then, it was sushi time. And the sun had come out! My mood had changed after the film from down to up and the sun only reinforced that jubliance, hence the title of my blog. The sushi was odd, but very good, although I have never encountered such slow service at a sushi place. Then again, the fact that my stomach was eating itself probably contributed to the slowing of time. After, we had gelato. I had four scoops. It was wonderful.

Rawson and I returned to change, and eventually Hayley came back as well. As we questioned Arthur about his claim to being a national ping pong champion, Hayley emerged, looking great for Brad. We made our way over, and I was all set to beg, when I got a phone call from Sharon saying that we had gotten all the tickets. It was awesome. Rawson, Sharon, Hayley and I spent some time taking pictures, which was great because we all looked fantastic. Then, it was time to walk the red carpet.

We showed them our tickets and stepped onto the red carpet. We looked around and paused. Oh hey P. Diddy! Yeah, we were casually walking the red carpet with him. Not necessarily my celebrity of choice, but still very cool.

We got inside the theater and Brad emerged from his car. First, let me say that people had camped out all day in order to see this man, who looked awful with his long hair and beard. Whatever happened to the Brad of Thelma and Louise? He milked the crowd for awhile. Sharon thought it was nice of him to acknowledge his fans. I thought it was self-indulgent and narcissistic, and that it detracted from the rest of the stars of the film. Angelina wasn't with him. I thought Sharon was going to cry. But when he entered the theater, she still took pictures of him on the jumbo tron. When we looked at the picture, however, we realized that the one person in the background we could see was none other than our very own Hayley Brooks.

The film turned out to be very mediocre. A full on disappointment, especially after having very high expectations. Read the full review here.

After, we met up with Zoe (who was also in the screening) for dinner, which was really fun. We laughed and talked and I had a bit of whisky because that was about 50% of The Angels' Share so I felt an obligation. We walked out, and saw that there were fireworks across the street, so we watched those for some time, until the smoke and residue filled up the entire city. No longer so pleasant.

When we got back, we changed and Arthur, Rawson, Sharon, Hayley and I went to the beach and hung out there for an hour. There's nothing better than night beaching with friends, having the waves crashing around us as we stare into the lights of Cannes. What a way to end the night.

Cannes, Day 6: Tears on Tears

Day 6 of the festival was not one to particularly remember, except for a single film that blew me away.

The morning began with a nice little fruit salad from the place across the street and a walk over to the palais in order to see one of the in competition films, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!. Due to the exclamation mark, I made the (fair) assumption that it would be a rather upbeat and exciting movie. I was wrong.

Most people fell asleep or walked out of the film (aka all my friends except for me, Takara, and Ari). I could understand their point. It was rather boring, but at the very least I could appreciate its very meta aspirations. Alas, it was somewhat painful to sit through, but you can read my full review here.

After the screening, we ran over to the Salle du 60 (which was no longer blown away) to meet Rawson and Arthur because they had left the earlier screening 20 minutes before it ended. We got there and stood in the drizzle as we waited for Amour. 

The movie was unbelievable - definitely the best in competition film I have seen to date, although it has received far less publicity than many of the American films (damned celebrity culture!). I was crying for literally an hour and a half of the 2 hour movie. After, Rawson told me that the entire time he wanted to ask me if I wanted to leave, but wasn't sure if that was rude. Here is my full review of the film.

After, we grabbed a quick lunch and returned to the Lumiere in order to beg for tickets to In Another Country, which starred the lovely French actress Isabelle Huppert, who was also a supporting cast member in Amour. The movie was fine, but didn't really have much of a point, which you can read about here.

What was most exciting about seeing the film was that after, we were right next to Isabelle, and to see the French fawn over her was a truly fun experience, as she is a great actress who deserves fame, not as a member of the cult of celebrity, but rather as an acknowledgment of her breadth and talent.

We went back after the film to change, but Hayley and I ended up taking a two hour nap. We met up with Zoe for a 9 o'clock dinner reservation, which was really fun. Arthur had to leave early to go to another reservation at a club. Dinner was delicious and affordable, for Cannes at least. After, a few of us tried to meet Arthur at the club, which may as well have been situated in Timbuktu, only to discover that we were way underdressed. Can't these clubs make up their minds about dress codes? At least the walk was beautiful.

We took a cab back to the hotel and crashed. Hayley slept in my extra bed and we pillow talked for awhile. A great end to a great day.

Cannes, Day 5: Water, Water, Everywhere.

Today was a rather melancholy, single film day.

We woke up rather early to go see Thomas Vinterberg's film The Hunt, another one of the many in competition films we have seen so far. It was wonderfully done, full of tension, drama, and excellent acting. Definitely one of the best competition films we have seen. Read my full review here.

We then got in line to see another film, until Hayley and I got a text from a producer we had met while begging for tickets the very first night. He wanted to have lunch with us! So we booked ourselves over to the Majestic, where we met with him while sipping some Perrier. I was an incredibly interesting experience to hear the trajectory his career took over the course of his life and how he finally ended up in film. He essentially gave us a lesson on Producing 101, explaining to us the different facets of production and how to become a successful producer. He then proceeded to tell us in full detail the careers of many of his favorite producers, explaining to us that we need to understand those we wish to emulate.

2 hours later (yes, the meeting lasted two hours, which was incredibly nice of him), we ran over to meet everyone else through a torrential downpour in winds that should be classified as a tropical storm at the very least. I wanted to go to a screening at the Salle du 60, but apparently the tent "blew up" according to one of the guards. That freaked me out for a bit, until he explained the wind "wooshed" and the tent went "clap."  Mildly different to be blown over than to be blown up.

So we went back to the rooms and decided to have an inside evening, which was so much fun for all of us. A few sing-alongs later, it was bedtime. Here in Cannes, we were able to find fun, even as rain poured from a gray sky.

Cannes, Day 4: (Red Carpet)^3

Each day just seems to get more and more exciting, doesn't it?

This morning began with a venture to a little theater called the Star with Takara in order to see Michel Gondry's new film, The We and the I. After several missed turns and a few drops of rain, we found the theater, only to be told to return in an hour. We sat in a cafe, in which I wrote a review while eating an omelette as Takara sipped her coffee.

We went to the movie, and although they tried to turn us away (they didn't understand what the passes meant), we got in thanks to the help of one of the producers. The film was interesting, attempting to explore the urbanscape within the confines of a single bus, but I am still unsure of my final feelings about it. Read my review here.

We got out of the screening but had to sprint back to the college in order to make a group meeting with Gregory Quinn, the head of corporate development for Caribbean Cinema, a large exhibition company in the caribbean. We sprinted so fast in fact, that Takara's legs came out from under her while in the middle of a conversation. I turned to see why she wasn't responding and found her on the ground. Don't worry, though. She was fine.

We made it to the talk, which was very interesting, focusing on what it takes to run movie theaters, where the revenue comes from, and how the industry is changing. There was a particularly strong focus on the shift from traditional 35 mm film to digital, and how shifting patterns are leading to challenges within exhibition.

After that, we hung out for  a little bit before getting changed to go to the premieres. It was tux time, and I was ready, prepared to go to three premieres.

The first was Lawless, which I was concerned about making because it was in high demand with such a star-studded cast. I began begging early, and Sharon and I shared our initial frustrations. That is, until some guy walked up to me and handed me a ticket, simply saying "You're a lucky guy." And I thought to myself, he's so right.

Sharon found a ticket as well (Hayley had already gone in with some older gentleman), and so the two of us walked up the steps of the red carpet into the balcony. That was red carpet #1. The film itself was very average, and you can read my review here.

Next up was The Sapphires, an Australian film telling the story of four Aboriginal girls who sing for the US Army during the Vietnam War. Magically, Takara had already gotten us all tickets for that and for Dracula, which was playing at 12:30 (although Zoe got me mine!), so we were set. We got nutella/banana paninis, except for Rawson who said no to the bananas (damned allergies), and made our way inside. Of course Hayley didn't finish hers in time, so I ate half.

The movie was very fun and light and I really enjoyed it, although I can only think of it as a lesser Dreamgirls. You can read my full review here, but it was a really nice break from most of the other movies I have been seeing.

Last on the list was Dracula 3D. We already had our tickets so we just swooped into the line. We walked the red carpet for the third time, went inside and picked up our ridiculous 3D glasses. The cast and director were there, of course, as in the other two screenings, but we were initially disappointed by the failure of the film to deliver the promised 3D. Then the lights turned on and we discovered that there were technical difficulties. The screening resumed, in an... interesting reinterpretation of the classic. Here's that review.

Most people in our group left as the movie started. It was, after all, a 12:30 AM screening. Takara and I walked home and discussed the film, at which point I got a nosebleed. Apparently I was experiencing the gory movie in 5D the whole time and didn't even know it. By then it was now. 3:30 in the morning, so I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I have to catch up on actually writing some of these reviews.

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.

Cannes, Day 2: A Bit Rusty, but Ready for More

Today we set our alarms for 6:30. Yes, folks, you heard me right. I was out the door by 7 AM. A feat for me, but I can proudly attribute that to my dedication to the festival and getting in every possible screening.

Hayley, Sharon, Rawson, Arthur, Takara, Jaycee, Ari and I all sat outside waiting for tickets for the 8:30 screening of the Main Competition French film De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone), a film by Jacques Audiard starring the wonderful Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts set to premiere later that night. Cotillard has already established herself as one of the top A-list actresses in the US and, with an Academy Award under her belt - a true force to be reckoned with. Schoenarts is Belgian and relatively unknown, but after this film, he can expect to find success.

I sat on the side, mournfully wasting away in my exhaustion, while Sharon, high on caffeine, rapidly grabbed three invitations to the screening and passed one to me. We begged for a bit, but ultimately surrendered, although everyone eventually got in via last minute access.

I'm so grateful that I remembered my glasses, because I would not have been able to read the subtitles without them. Here is a link to my review of the movie, which was bound to make a splash in France, where nationalism pervades the industry.

Cannes, Day 1: Begging in Tuxedoes

This morning began with a delicious pastry from a little place just down the road along the beach with two other members of the trip, Rawson and Arthur. We could hardly contain our excitement for the day ahead and the start of what was sure to be an incredible festival. Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson's new film was all set to open and all of us were determined to find our way into one of the two screenings that evening.

We had a meeting with Nicola at noon, in which he described the access that our passes provided us, which is pretty high, considering we are essentially the least relevant people at the festival (according to some). After the meeting, a group of us walked with Nicola into town and picked up the last of the free bags, after which we ran to the MonoPrix, a dollar store type of shebang, in order to pick up white boards to help us in all of our begging needs. Of course, I made the immediate decision that Hayley and I needed to have multicolored pens. Only 4 more euros, but totally worth it.

We split into pairs, and Hayley and I began our trek out into the glamorous lobbies of the hotels housing the film elite. We were a bit confused at first, unsure of how to approach the people casually lounging about, so we decided to casually browse the free Variety magazines on the table. After summoning our courage, we began to approach people, asking them if they knew of any extra tickets lying about. I got to give out my awesome Rear Window inspired business cards.

 While we were unsuccessful in our search, we met a nice artist who invited us to his art show next Thursday, some wonderful producers from Brisbane, and a sound producer from Montreal. Some people were very cold, leading to the following encounter with what we had perceived to be a nice older couple.

Hayley: Hi! I'm Hayley and this is my friend Adam! We were wondering if you knew of any tickets for tonight that were lying around?
Me: We're students from the US, and we're here on a program where we get to go to the film festival!
Man (with some sort of accent): That's very nice.
Hayley: Yeah, it's really exciting. What are you doing here?
Man: Well, I am trying to buy a movie from this woman.
Hayley: Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't want to interrupt!
Man: Yes. Please don't do that .


So... that was mildly awkward.