Variety
01 May 2001
Celebs to revel in Cannes schizo-glitz
Hotel du Cap in Antibes to serve as remote backdrop
By ADAM DAWTREY
LONDON -- A vast, three-day media
junket for "Lord of the Rings," including a
20-minute screening of footage and climaxing May 13 in a party
at a "top-secret"
chateau location -- known to all the Cannes locals as the Chateau
Castellaras --
atop a hill in a private village for 1,000 invitees, looks set
to be the highlight of the
"other" Cannes this year.
You know, the one where you don't have to
pretend to care about the beautifully
crafted Japanese films in competition, or the wearisome Gallic
navel-gazing in the
Directors Fortnight.
This is the Cannes that the rest of the
world is really interested in -- the hype and
hoopla, the stars and the parties, the sneak peaks at blockbuster
movies, and of
course the alternative festival, otherwise known as the market,
which takes place in
the cinemas along the Rue d'Antibes.
This year's Cannes promises to be a particularly
schizophrenic experience. The
Hollywood studios have been welcomed back into the official selection,
just at the
moment when looming strikes and the threat of U.S. recession are
making it hard to
justify extravagant parties and trans-Atlantic trips by execs.
Exclusivity rather than ostentation seems
to be the watchword, with several major
events removing themselves to hard-to-reach locations far outside
town, and
planning to severely restrict the guest list.
The Hotel du Cap in Antibes is the spiritual
home of the "other" Cannes, where stars
and studio execs pay suitcases full of cash to keep their distance
from the hoi polloi
on the Croisette. Vanity Fair is throwing a Saturday night (May
12) bash there, and
William Morris and INStyle magazine are co-hosting a soiree there
as well May 16.
The annual MTV party (also May 12) has moved
from the Palm Beach Casino to
Pierre Cardin's spectacular art deco villa miles away west toward
St. Tropez on the
outskirts of a private village, in an attempt to avoid the 12:30
a.m. Croisette curfew
that closed the party down early last year.
The annual Cure by the Shore charity bash May 19 has also relocated to Monaco.
New Line is bringing the entire "Lord
of the Rings" cast (except Cate Blanchett,
who's filming) and director Peter Jackson, and jetting in planeloads
of journalists
from around the world to meet them.
DreamWorks, too, is understood to be inviting
just 150 lucky bigwigs to its "Shrek"
party on May 12, in what looks set to be a hugely overcrowded
party weekend.
Fox however does not look to be going the
exclusive route for its large-scale fest
opener "Moulin Rouge," building its own temporary structure
for the event on the
Pantiero a stretch of esplanade overlooking the port adjacent
to the Palais des
Festivals.
For the Brits and the Australians, the market
will be the only festival this year, their
movies completely shut out of the official sections. That means
there will be several
world premieres of British and Australian movies in the market,
with attendant cast
and hoopla.
FilmFour is hosting a special event to preem
John McKay's toyboy comedy "Crush,"
which Andie MacDowell will attend. Beyond Intl. has a private
screening of
"Lantana," starring Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey,
from "Piano" producer Jan
Chapman.
Expect also a private screening of Jan Sverak's "Dark Blue World."
Capitol will bow Sandra Goldbacher's "Me
Without You." The Isle of Man Film
Commission is hosting a soiree for the pic, with Trudi Styler
and possibly Anna Friel
in attendence.
The Brits are taking a different tack this
year for corporate entertaining. Neither BBC
Films, FilmFour nor Pathe Pictures is hosting the usual lunches,
with the BBC
switching to an evening cocktail and FilmFour opting for a series
of more select
receptions at its new villa.
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