Cannes Day Three: Allen, Moore, Tyson

Mike Jones uses a Qik phone to shoot my brief interview with Michael Moore about his follow-up to Fahrenheit 9/11.

We were supposed to get a photo, interview and video clip and rush back in time to get it into the paper and post onlne: But Moore came to the Carlton too late. We talked to the film's co-financier/distribs--Overture's Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett, and Paramount Vantage's Nick Meyer and Amy Israel--until Moore came. As soon as we split, the filmmaker was thronged by the press.

Both Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and Bono turned up in Cannes to support Sean Penn's The Third Wave.

The Cannes Croisette features a string of hotels, from the Majestic, pres de la Palais, to the Martinez at the other end. The trick is to find the various constantly changing plages that go with the hotels. Wednesday night we were searching for the 3.14 plage, then Friday it was the Plage de Palmes, all the way out by the marina. Bobby Rock, Stephen Raphael and I had to climb over a wet fence to get to the Toronto Film Fest party without having to go the long way around. I have an annual Cannes ritual: asking Toronto cinephile Noah Cowan what the fest theme is. His answer: "Prison films and the aftermath of war." Hunger, Waltz with Bashir, Blindness...hmmm.

I greeted my hosts, Fest honchos Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey. I met Col Needham, the founder of IMDB, who was attending his first Cannes, as excited a schoolboy. As I left for the Woody Allen movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I greeted Ira Deutchman of Emerging Pictures and director Whit Stillman, who enjoys writing while in Cannes. "I made a picture in Barcelona!" he yelled after me.

Miss the line for the jammed Palais press screenings and you lose. You basically have to shove your way in; I got a good seat. It's a good Woody Allen. He's back in comic form, except for a dunderheaded narration. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem steal the movie from the two callow American girls summering in Spain (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson). Here's Todd McCarthy's positive review. The press seemed to like it as we milled around our press boxes talking amongst ourselves.

Had a lovely dinner at Le Cave and scurried to find a taxi for yet another run at a beach party, this time a fair distance away down the coast. ICM's Jeff Berg and Cannes fest topper Thierry Fremaux (above) hung around for more than an hour waiting for James Toback and Tyson (below). He turned up well after 1:30 AM and said he was "intimidated" by all the cameras on the red carpet. Hard to imagine. He's a powerful guy with a Maori tattoo on his head. The movie played well; here's Todd's upbeat review.

Comments

[marychan]

Thank you very much, Anne.

What did Overture's Chris McGurk and Paramount Vantage's Nick Meyer and Amy Israel talk about for Michael Moore's movie? (I was surprised that Paramount Vantage finance this movie; I thought that major studios and Mochael Moore wouldn't work together again)

[Anne thompson]

we were talking about the cannes market actually

[marychan]

Hoping we will lget more infos sonner....

Still, thank you so so so much, Anne!