Ok so were back in London from Cannes Film Festival & Monaco Grand Prix
But first Cannes... http://www.festival-cannes.fr
Great time great people, great films, and the occasional sot (usually drunk or stoned) that we all have to put with at times..
We arrived at the private Cannes-Mandelieu Airport. On the jet travelling down, the crew and I imbibed on a steady diet of cocktails, beer, wine, sandwiches and lots of other stuff knowing that our captain & co-pilot left us alone to our own devices and the stew stayed in galley with a blind eye
As we do shooting for our own channel and act as stringers (a gun for hire in TV terms) for Bloomberg, DPA German news service, German television, CNN, NPR, Associated Press etc, we get pretty much to do what we want as long as we get the shot. However, as Director, I make sure that the boys only get the positive shots and none of that paparazzi crap that is commonly seen on TV these days. My attitude is that theres enough pain in the World so who needs to see 'high profile people' messing up?
Ok, so the opening day we stumble a bit out of the jet to be greeted by our van driver who takes us to the Majestic Hotel on the Croisette where we set up camp with what seems like a ton of camera and editing equipment.
First film up was The Da Vinci Code. If you liked the book- see the film, great stuff. Toms a bit stiff in it at times, but Ian McKellen makes up for in in a great performance. Great supporting cast as well. See it.
Next was Brick, Film Noir meets modern American high school.
Pedro Almovadar, never disappoints and his current muse Penelope Cruz delivers a fine performance in another quirky film.
Other films that we saw were-
Once in a lifetime: a soccer film about Pele
Down in the Valley: Ed Nortons a whacked cowboy chasing a Lolita in So. Cal
Wal-Mart: The High costs of low price, shocking- never shop there again
Lemming: French couple, in an Upper-middle-class psychological weirdness.
Enron: The smartest guys in the room- no wonder they got life.
X-Men, The last stand: If youre a fan, see it. Lots of action
Tales of Ordinary Madness: Remake of the life of Charles Bukowski, erections, ejaculations and exhibition.....
We covered another 200 films from all over the World, not to mention the parties, champagne, yachts, lookers, hookers and hangers on....
Lunch was usually at Nikki Beach, (www.nikkibeach.com) were we ran into the likes of Bono, Sir Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Oliver Stone, Penelope Cruz, Meryl Streep, Clint, Tom, Denzel, Sting, Liv, Sharon, Mick, Giorgio and all the rest...
..and sponsors? try Chopard, Ferreti Yachts, Remy Martin, The W South Beach, Cointreau, Piper Heidsick Champagne, Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphyre, Peroni, Evian, Coca Cola, LEBLON cachaca, and Range Rover, to name a few, with everyone vying for that one moment of their 15 minutes.
The parties?
How about the:
"Bollywood Brunch," hosted by L'Oreal icon Aishwarya Ray
"MIRAMAX" private party for A-listers only (yea, right)
Press Conference for "Bug," starring Ashley Judd
Brunch for Oliver Stone honouring the 25th anniversary of "Platoon"
"Devil Wears Prada" brunch
Launch and fashion show of/for Elizabeth Hurley's swimwear line
Press Conference for "Peaceful Warrior," starring Nick Nolte
Festival Closing party hosted by The W South Beach Hotel & Residences
About ten, Private BBC events
Private event for "Babel," starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett
Bangkok Film cocktail party, attended by the Princess of Bangkok
HBO private cocktail party
Official Cannes party for "Trophee Chopard," honouring up-and-coming faces in the Cannes Selection, hosted by Penelope Cruz and Sir Elton John
Famous touring party "F*** Me I'm Famous," with Cathy and David Guetta, hosted by Rossy Di Palma
Cocktail party for "Played," starring Val Kilmer
Private Lenny Kravitz concert for 200 celebrity VIP's
Roberto Cavalli Party
Launch of "Whitehall Magazine"
A paparazzis wet dream indeed...
It get so crazy down there its hard to catch up, non-stop.
And after covering all of that, then its on to the Century Club for more debauchery and fun....
Cannes is a great place, think of a sleeping little French Seaside Village that has been taken over by a marauding group of filmmakers, creatives, party goers, and other glittering folks setting up virtual cities under huge tents for the seen, be-seen and the has been.....
After 10 days of this it was back on the jet fro the ride back to London, where we were met with chilly winds, rain and 50 degree weather vs. the 95 degree sun, we left a scant two hours ago....
Ah, the sober reality of coming back home.....
But I do suggest any creative or visualist get down there even if it's just once.....
Ps- do you know where the term Paparazzi comes from? In the Fellini Film, La Dolce Vita, the photographer who rides the Vespa chasing Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, and Anouk Aime, all over Rome's name is Paparazzo. (or loosely translated bug in Italian). Going a bit deeper, Fellini read about a group of Photographers led by an Italian photographer Tazio Secchiaroli and some young colleagues in the late 1950s, their beat was the bars and clubs of the Via Veneto in Rome, they realised that the Italian magazines were becoming bored with staged photographs of the famous, and were prepared to pay good money for candid or surprise shots. Tazio became famous on a single night in 1958 when he snapped the enraged former King Farouk of Egypt overturning a restaurant table, and the actor Anthony Steele reacting in fury while Anita Ekberg waited for him in a car.
...and the Paparazzi was born
And the next missive from our travels will come from the Monaco Grand Prix
But first Cannes... http://www.festival-cannes.fr
Great time great people, great films, and the occasional sot (usually drunk or stoned) that we all have to put with at times..
We arrived at the private Cannes-Mandelieu Airport. On the jet travelling down, the crew and I imbibed on a steady diet of cocktails, beer, wine, sandwiches and lots of other stuff knowing that our captain & co-pilot left us alone to our own devices and the stew stayed in galley with a blind eye
As we do shooting for our own channel and act as stringers (a gun for hire in TV terms) for Bloomberg, DPA German news service, German television, CNN, NPR, Associated Press etc, we get pretty much to do what we want as long as we get the shot. However, as Director, I make sure that the boys only get the positive shots and none of that paparazzi crap that is commonly seen on TV these days. My attitude is that theres enough pain in the World so who needs to see 'high profile people' messing up?
Ok, so the opening day we stumble a bit out of the jet to be greeted by our van driver who takes us to the Majestic Hotel on the Croisette where we set up camp with what seems like a ton of camera and editing equipment.
First film up was The Da Vinci Code. If you liked the book- see the film, great stuff. Toms a bit stiff in it at times, but Ian McKellen makes up for in in a great performance. Great supporting cast as well. See it.
Next was Brick, Film Noir meets modern American high school.
Pedro Almovadar, never disappoints and his current muse Penelope Cruz delivers a fine performance in another quirky film.
Other films that we saw were-
Once in a lifetime: a soccer film about Pele
Down in the Valley: Ed Nortons a whacked cowboy chasing a Lolita in So. Cal
Wal-Mart: The High costs of low price, shocking- never shop there again
Lemming: French couple, in an Upper-middle-class psychological weirdness.
Enron: The smartest guys in the room- no wonder they got life.
X-Men, The last stand: If youre a fan, see it. Lots of action
Tales of Ordinary Madness: Remake of the life of Charles Bukowski, erections, ejaculations and exhibition.....
We covered another 200 films from all over the World, not to mention the parties, champagne, yachts, lookers, hookers and hangers on....
Lunch was usually at Nikki Beach, (www.nikkibeach.com) were we ran into the likes of Bono, Sir Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Oliver Stone, Penelope Cruz, Meryl Streep, Clint, Tom, Denzel, Sting, Liv, Sharon, Mick, Giorgio and all the rest...
..and sponsors? try Chopard, Ferreti Yachts, Remy Martin, The W South Beach, Cointreau, Piper Heidsick Champagne, Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphyre, Peroni, Evian, Coca Cola, LEBLON cachaca, and Range Rover, to name a few, with everyone vying for that one moment of their 15 minutes.
The parties?
How about the:
"Bollywood Brunch," hosted by L'Oreal icon Aishwarya Ray
"MIRAMAX" private party for A-listers only (yea, right)
Press Conference for "Bug," starring Ashley Judd
Brunch for Oliver Stone honouring the 25th anniversary of "Platoon"
"Devil Wears Prada" brunch
Launch and fashion show of/for Elizabeth Hurley's swimwear line
Press Conference for "Peaceful Warrior," starring Nick Nolte
Festival Closing party hosted by The W South Beach Hotel & Residences
About ten, Private BBC events
Private event for "Babel," starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett
Bangkok Film cocktail party, attended by the Princess of Bangkok
HBO private cocktail party
Official Cannes party for "Trophee Chopard," honouring up-and-coming faces in the Cannes Selection, hosted by Penelope Cruz and Sir Elton John
Famous touring party "F*** Me I'm Famous," with Cathy and David Guetta, hosted by Rossy Di Palma
Cocktail party for "Played," starring Val Kilmer
Private Lenny Kravitz concert for 200 celebrity VIP's
Roberto Cavalli Party
Launch of "Whitehall Magazine"
A paparazzis wet dream indeed...
It get so crazy down there its hard to catch up, non-stop.
And after covering all of that, then its on to the Century Club for more debauchery and fun....
Cannes is a great place, think of a sleeping little French Seaside Village that has been taken over by a marauding group of filmmakers, creatives, party goers, and other glittering folks setting up virtual cities under huge tents for the seen, be-seen and the has been.....
After 10 days of this it was back on the jet fro the ride back to London, where we were met with chilly winds, rain and 50 degree weather vs. the 95 degree sun, we left a scant two hours ago....
Ah, the sober reality of coming back home.....
But I do suggest any creative or visualist get down there even if it's just once.....
Ps- do you know where the term Paparazzi comes from? In the Fellini Film, La Dolce Vita, the photographer who rides the Vespa chasing Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, and Anouk Aime, all over Rome's name is Paparazzo. (or loosely translated bug in Italian). Going a bit deeper, Fellini read about a group of Photographers led by an Italian photographer Tazio Secchiaroli and some young colleagues in the late 1950s, their beat was the bars and clubs of the Via Veneto in Rome, they realised that the Italian magazines were becoming bored with staged photographs of the famous, and were prepared to pay good money for candid or surprise shots. Tazio became famous on a single night in 1958 when he snapped the enraged former King Farouk of Egypt overturning a restaurant table, and the actor Anthony Steele reacting in fury while Anita Ekberg waited for him in a car.
...and the Paparazzi was born
And the next missive from our travels will come from the Monaco Grand Prix