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Cannes 2008
"The really famous ones are the nicest"...starspotting at the bar and on the beach
by Grainne Harrington
Article published on the 2008-05-17 Latest update 2008-05-17 16:39 TU
Scarlett Johansson - Sightings of George Lucas and Dustin Hoffman have been notched up, but still no Scarlett...
© Warner Bros. France
Friday 16 May
Cannes is no longer sunny. In keeping with the sombre choice of films this year (main themes so far: apolcalyptic epidemics, war, imprisonment and death), the sky darkened today and it rained on the party all day.
Last night on the Croisette, it was a different story – a balmy evening brought out both stars and star spotters. The big party last night was for Kung Fu Panda. Walking past with friends on the way to dinner, we stopped for a while to watch the madness. The party was on the beachfront, and outside the barriers, the crowds waited, hoping for a glimpse of a famous face, or trying to get in by whatever means necessary. The Californian blonde in charge of the guest list is far more terrifying than any of the enormous bouncers. One filthy look from her is enough to send the most courageous gatecrasher scuttling away.
A few of the crowd actually succeeded in getting through. The Blonde walks up to two of them and says "You’re good", in a matter-of-fact way, and leads them through the barrier. The rest of the people here are obviously not "good", but I’m not sure it bothers them that much. Every time a famous person (or someone who looks like one) goes past, the crowd starts to scream with delight. Dustin Hoffman gets the biggest roar, closely followed by George Lucas.
Further back towards the Palais des Festivals, the real cinéphiles are out, avoiding the stars. There’s a huge screen on the beach, and classic movies are being shown every night. A full audience watches from the deckchairs. We stop for a while and watch Bonnie and Clyde. The people there seem a million miles from the screaming fans just a short walk up the beach.
Down at the film market underneath the Palais this morning, things are in full swing. Every country in the world seems to be represented here, though some seem to be having more success than others. The people from Kazakhfilm look a little bored, and the various Bollywood stands are also empty. I have a chat with a young American director called Adrian Westbrook who’s trying to sell a feature film here. I ask him what it’s like to pitch a film to the big producers at Cannes.
"Usually, you’ve everything worked out already, you’ve practiced your pitch, then once you walk into the room and this guy looks at you and says 'Sell me your film', you suddenly forget everything you wanted to say. It definitely takes a certain kind of personality. It’s not as easy as it seems."
I leave Adrian to get back to his pitching and head down to the Martinez hotel, where the Palme d’Or jury has been staying. There’s a huge crowd of people outside, hoping to get a glimpse of a star coming out. This is where you apparently have the best chance of seeing Sean Penn or Penelope Cruz. Even if all they do is get into a car and drive off, it’s enough for this lot.
Christian and Martine have been here for two hours. They live in Cannes, so this is a bit of a hobby for them.
"We come every year, so we can tell which ones have put on weight, which ones have had plastic surgery", says Christian. "If you look in the magazines, they all look great, but my God, some of them look terrible in real life - even my wife looks better!" Martine doesn’t hear this.
"The really famous ones are the nicest", she says with authority. "The ones who are the least famous are always so rude, they don’t even come over and say hello." She shakes her head in disgust.
I go across the street to the Chunga bar, where the dedicated star spotters spend entire days. Roger, the owner, is wearing enormous dark glasses, despite the rain and the fact that we’re inside. He tells me Sean Penn came in the other night. He’s not impressed. "He wouldn’t even sign an autograph for the girl who sings in the bar. I mean, he was polite, but I thought that was a bit much." Clearly, these Hollywood types have a lot of work to do if they want to impress the locals. Tough crowd.
