CANNES - May 9. His hair shorn to a close crop and sporting a goatee,
Gary Oldman made his second appearance in the press conference room in Cannes.
A mere actor yesterday in Luc Bresson's "The Fifth Element," Gary
Oldman was now presenting his directorial debut, "Nil by Mouth."
The tone was completely different. Much in keeping with his film, Gary Oldman
proved to be brutally honest, far more than the Cannes press was used to,
and they responded with the utmost respect. He went on about how autobiographical
or not autobiographical his film was. He described his own dysfunctional
family life in the South of London where he grew up, how alcohol had affected
his own childhood, how he himself became an alcoholic. "Nil by Mouth"
was well received at the press screening but shocked many at the Gala screening
in the evening. Blue rinses and beehives are not accustomed to such frankness,
And frankness was sorely needed at midnight, when we all checked out Michael
Jackson going up the red-carpeted stairs to present a half hour video clip
called "Ghosts" by Stan Winston.
Rumor had been rampant for days that Michael Jackson had been spotted somewhere
around Cannes. Actually, someone bumped into him (and his bodyguards) as
he was coming out from an ordinary Brasserie on the Croisette. Was it him?
In Cannes, you never know: so many people try to be somebody else's look-alike.
There was something slightly ridiculous in watching the King of Pop go up
the stairs wearing a bizarre uniform for a musical, a sort of throwback
to the 1980s. The crowd dutifully chanted "Michael! Michael! Michael!".
He smiled, we smiled, he waved, we waved, everyone was happy and the film
was mercifully short: at 1:30 am we were out of the main theater and on
to the parties.
There was another film in competition: "Heinrich von Kleist's The Prince
of Homburg" directed by Italian helmer Marco Bellecchio. "The
Prince of Homburg" is a well-known play, a classic of German literature.
I guess every generation has the right to revisit classics. Those of us
who have a certain age decided to skip this new incarnation, particularly
those who had seen French legendary star, Gerard Philipe and a young, very
young Jeanne Moreau on stage in Avignon in what is still considered the
*definitive* production of "The Prince of Homburg".
Copyright 1994-2008 Film Scouts LLC
Created, produced, and published by Film Scouts LLC
Film Scouts® is a registered trademark of Film Scouts LLC
All rights reserved.
