Sorry for the delay in writing my final entry in my Cannes diary. It's been a whirlwind of activity since Saturday. We've shifted from competition-mode directly into market-mode, meeting with back-to-back meetings with sales agents, financiers and other potential co-producers for future projects.
But back to Friday: I didn't think we needed a car to pick us up for the 10-minute walk to the Martinez but I'm not walking in heels. Plus, it's too much entering the hotel on foot as it's a zoo outside with hundreds of fans waiting outside the barricades trying to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars coming and going.
The Martinez is the collective pickup point for the delegation of any film in competition, the cars making the slow but short drive from there to the bottom of the steps of the Palais. I headed into the bar to meet up with my date for the evening, Tia, who is in town for Vanity Fair, where she is the U.K. Associate Publisher.
We had a quick glass of champagne before heading up to the seventh floor Chopard terrace but not before seeing Julianne Moore, Mads Mikkelsen and Gael Garcia Bernal among others chilling on the terrace. (I finally had a chance to chat with Julianne with whom I've worked with a couple of times a few nights later at the Maps to the Stars premiere.)
The Chopard lounge was magical, overlooking the bay of Cannes at sunset.
The party was hosted by the charming and lively Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of Chopard. She knows how to throw a party! Lots of champagne flowed and it was a surprisingly relaxing time. Scott Speedman and Kevin Durand arrived early to the celebration while Rosario Dawson and Mireille Enos arrived towards the end after going through hair, makeup and wardrobe in preparation for the red carpet. Ryan Reynolds didn't make it to the event as he was waiting for his wife, Blake Lively, to finish getting ready for the red carpet.
We were informed late in the afternoon that Ryan and Blake were going to need a van to transport them from the Martinez to the Palais. A bigger vehicle was required for Blake's dress. It was a "statement piece," we were told. When I saw Blake downstairs I immediately understood. She was wearing an incredible black-and-white Gucci gown with an enormous skirt. Statement indeed!
It would have been a wrinkled mess if she had to cram into a sedan. Unfortunately, for some reason the van didn't arrive in time and panic ensued. There was also last-minute change in pickup location and Simone and I, having come down from the party last, didn't know where the new pick-up spot was. We had thought everyone had left without us! Eventually the additional van arrived and after many harried phone calls we found the pickup spot around the corner. Thankfully, the whole entourage of cars had waited for all of us to arrive before departing.
I was so not prepared for our greeting as we arrived at the bottom of the red carpet: thousands of screaming fans to see our cast and hundreds of screaming photographers and camera crews to film us walk up the steps of the red carpet. The noise level was deafening!
Then into the theatre with a video camera in tow, the whole red carpet is filmed and projected on the big screen of the Palais to the almost two-thousand audience members inside. This included the members of the Palme D'or jury which includes Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe and Gael Garcia Bernal, who only a couple of hours ago was dressed casually on the Martinez terrace and now looking dapper in his tux.
I am a huge admirer of all of them, but tried not to think about the fact that our work is being judged by them. Speaking of judging, earlier in the day there was a press screening of the film and the reviews were beginning to come in. We received many very positive reviews, but as is often the case, we received some negative reviews.
Some of these reviews were proper critiques of the film and although I may disagree with what they are saying I respect the critic's opinion. However, some of these reviews got personal, which I take offense to. In Cannes, it seems certain critics take great pleasure in being vicious and try to out-do each other in the cattiness department. Anyway, the reaction to the film at our screening was nothing short of remarkable and contrary to some reports there was absolutely no booing in the premiere screening. We received an eight-minute standing ovation!
Off to Silencio, where we took over the rooftop terraces for our after-party.along with about 350 of our closest friends and colleagues. It was jam-packed. I think we were probably over-subscribed by about 150 people.There is an art to party-crashing. An art that I haven't quite mastered but it was great to mix it up with all sorts of actors, directors and producers (as well as professional party-goers) that I wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. The party started to wind down around three and I finally made it out of there around 4.
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