Fifty years of Cannes...with that alluring combination of sex sun and
cinema has brought increasing crowds each and every year and to celebrate,
the French are putting on an eleven day anniversary party.
Red banners silk screened with the golden palm and the number 50 are everywhere
-- all the stores window displays contain the 50 poster, strips of film,
cans of film, anything and everything to tie their storefront to the festival
and the festival to their store. The Chamber of Commerce should be proud.
The billboards announcing films showing, films to be made, films that someone
hopes might get financing join together to cover the walls of the normally
sedate Majestic and Carlton Hotels. Kiosks run down the median of palm trees
parallel to the beach advertising more films. It is official - the Festival
has taken over Cannes.
Tonight, May 7, the 50th Festival du Film officially opens and today the
workmen were busy putting the finishing touches on the red carpeted stairs
where the band will greet with stars and the honored guests as they enter
the theater to see Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element", starring
Bruce Willis.
Today, producers, writers, photographers and distributors poured into the
Palais to get their official credentials that will allow them access to
everything that matters and while at first the crowds looked daunting, the
lines moved much quicker than they do for Splash Mountains and the French
behind the counter were actually polite, accommodating and efficient.
Some other changes of note are that cell phones are now everywhere and there
is a pavilion where you can get your e-mail. For someone who remembers the
days when we had to take apart a phone to send a fax to the home office,
this is truly revolutionary. And as I walking the familiar streets today,
shaking my head over what looked a little more seedy than years past, a
young friend here for the first time commented on how exciting and glamourous
it all looked to him. I remembered my first Cannes 20 years ago when I had
that same look of excitement in my eyes and an older Englishman said to
me, "Oh darling, it isn't anything now, you should have seen it when..."
I told him then and there I didn't care, I loved it now.
I'm grateful to have someone stop me from saying the same thing today and
remind me of the excitement of the first day of Cannes, when you know so
many possibilities are still in front of us.
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