Cannes 2004

Well, this blog is called "An Astronomer in Hollywood." So far, I've written a lot about Astronomy and a lot about my particular kind of filmmaking, but I seem to be lacking...Hollywood!

So due to popular demand, I have decided to post some photos from a trip to Cannes that I took two years ago with my best friend/partner in crime Carl.

So, here we are at the red carpet. No, seriously! See, you can totally tell: that blue blur is Uma Thurman, the black blur to her left is Quentin Terantino, and to her right, well (if I have to tell you), that's obviously Daryl Hannah. This was for Kill Bill Volume...whatever it was that came out in 2004...



Okay, I guess that wasn't very exciting. That was just the video projection of what was going on on the other side of the crowd that we were stuck behind. What was exciting was being on the red carpet:



No, seriously. It was a red carpet:



That was for Yimou Zhang's film "House of Flying Daggers." It was beautiful on the big big screen! It's fun to go to the red carpet screenings at Cannes. They screen the films several times throughout the day for the press. It's often easier to get into those screenings, but it's fun to do the red carpet at least once while you are there! The paparazzi snap your photos pretty viciously! Even if you are not a person People magazine would pay money to have on their pages, they can play off your vanity later and sell you the photo of yourself. I will expand on the cushy living a good paparazzo can make in my next blog.

If that wasn't glamorous enough for you, how's this:



Now for some serious film business shots. You've got to have the right 'tude if you're going to pass yourself off as a film producer:



I was showing one of my short films ("Snowbird") at the Short Film Corner in the Cannes Market. That wasn't the primary reason for attending the festival, but I wanted it to have a good screening. I wrote my posters and flyers out by hand. Tip: this works really well in the time of slick multi-colored glossy postcards. People could not resist picking them up! And yes, both cups of coffee and the pack of cigarettes are mine! I think we slept about 3-4 hours per night there:



By the way, I highly recommend this! There are no requirements for entering the Short Film Corner. Your films are not "judged" and "selected." You simply pay the entry fee and, voilà! You're in the festival. Not only that, but the entry fee is quite reasonable (70 Euros at the time) and you get festival acreditation which allows you to enter the market and attend film screenings. The Short Film Corner is available all day to producers and distributors who watch the films in little private booths. You also get a "theatrical" (video) screening with several other films. I was very pleased with the turnout for my film. In fact, it got to go to Paramount Classics (where they informed me that they don't "do" short films but to contact them as soon as I have feature work)!

Carl transformed his hair to match the carpet. It's unfortunate that we don't have a shot of him in his green satin scarf on the red carpet. Alas, it was hard enough to stop and take one photo when they are urging you up the stairs! Amusingly, the French have one very strict requirement for walking up the red carpet: Men MUST be wearing a black bowtie. No tie, no movie. Carl's was hidden under his scarf, so of course he got stopped (in the same manner as someone who has just set off the metal detector at the airport). He had to peel away his scarf and show his tie. The security guard nodded. Carl re-covered his tie and made his way to the carpet. I guess one doesn't need to be able to see the tie, you just have to have one...???

Anyway, Carl before:



And after:



And now we both have only one degree of separation:



The American Pavilion (where he was speaking with Nicole Kassell, Kyra Sedgwick and Benjamin Bratt about Kassell's film "The Woodsman") was cooking breakfast before he came in. It was kind of amusing when Carl and I looked at each other and said, "do you smell...bacon?" Seconds later, Kevin Bacon walked in the door.

I have to put some "real" photographs in here! We took a break from the festival to go visit l'île Saint Honorat. This is a small island run by monks. It was a nice break from the noise: