Last night's opening party took place in a hangar in the old harbor, decorated ŕ la The Fifth Element. A party that cost 9 million francs and included a catwalk parading the costumes made by Jean-Paul Gaultier for Luc Besson's film. There were probably as many people attending as there were outside looking through the wire barrier.
Today's red-carpeted steps were set aglow by Gary Oldman and his team arriving for the evening projection of Nil by Mouth, his first film as a director and that seems to have a good chance at the Palme d'or or Camera D'or. Set in the Suburbs of London, this partly autobiographical film deals with drugs, alcohol and violence. The cast is made up of British theatre actors, unknown to the greater public. As for the leading actor Ray Winstone, Oldman has dubbed him the next Al Pacino.
Much to the delight of the young fans, Michael Jackson arrived in Cannes today for the midnight showing of his 38 minute clip entitled Ghosts (out of competition) based on his song 2Bad. He arrived at his hotel (Carlton ) with his face masked, yet managed to raise his hand in acknowledgement to the screaming fans. The Jackson impersonators with masked faces were also circulating in Cannes today. The Carlton Hotel has a mere 30 security guards devoted to Jackson's protection and have supplied him with a private elevator in response to the singer's request.
Other than Michael Jackson, the Carlton is also lodging the jury president Isabelle Adjani and director David Lynch. Sean Penn, Helmut Newton, Claudia Cardianle and Gina Lollobrigida prefer the Hotel Martinez, while other big names like Bruce Willis and Demi Moore have checked in at the Eden Roc or the hotel at Cap d'Antibes.
For this 50th edition, 30,000 accreditations were given for the festival and film market, including 4,000 journalists. The Cannes festival is the most mediatized event following the Olympics. And with more stars per square foot than probably ever seen before, the city of Cannes has been transformed into the mecca of cinema.
Marco Bellochio's Il Principe de Hombourg (The Prince of Hamburg) - also showing today - is expected to bring an old-style European touch to the festival. It was adapted from a classic by Kleist, looking into the romantic dilemma of duty versus liberty.
The Taste of Cherry by the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is back in the running. Last month, the Iranian government refused the film to be shown at Cannes, stating that it should first be shown at the Fajr (Dawn) festival in Tehran next February. Apparently negotations were successful and it will run in the competition. However, Zhang Yimou's Keep Cool did not make it past the Chinese authorities and will be replaced by Philippe Rousselot's Le Baiser du Serpent (The Serpent's Kiss).
The line-up for 9 May
Official Selection:
A Certain Regard:
Directors Fortnight:
Critics Week:
Faraw by Adoulaye Ascofare (Mali)
