Why nothing ruins a film festival like famous people
By James Rocchi
Earlier
yesterday, I was trying to get from the press mailbox area to the
American Pavillion, and the easiest way to do that was to go out the
side exit on that upper floor, across the top of the Palais, by the
Salle Soixsianteme -- the theater "temporarily" added to the top of the
Palais 5 years ago -- but I couldn't do that, the brown-suited Cannes
ushers explained, as that area of egress was cut off. In 10 minutes the
cast of "Lawless" -- Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, et al --
were going to be coming in for their press conference; right now,
though, they were just to the right of where I wanted to go, being
photographed. Which is when I noted, via the miracle bon mot machine of
twitter (@jamesrocchi, if you like cooking and movies) that "Nothing
ruins a film festival like famous people."
(Also, please note: I'm not in any way groaning or complaining about being here, I assure you; it's just that, hey, if I'm talking about being at Cannes and what that's like besides the movies, then, yes, like any diary, it'll be a chronicle of the occasional victory and a thousand small defeats, a mix of frustration and elation. It's amazing being here, of course, but suggesting it's all sunshine, lollipops and les arcs du ciel is as wrong as saying it's the Bataan Death March with subtitles.)
And what I mean by that is that to me, "fame" and "celebrity" are ugly toxic industrial by-products of making art and entertainment (or worse, of making nothing at all -- Hi, Kardashians!), and should be treated as such. I couldn't go down past the photo area for fear that I might … what? That I might kiss Tom Hardy or challenge Jessica Chastain to an arm-wrestling match, or vice-versa? Walking by the Carlton hotel the day before, people were pressed against the stone-fence boundary of the dining patio, snapping pictures of .. who? I don't know. I'm not sure if they did. And that happens at every film festival, or some variation on it, and the fact that photographers and, rarely, regular people go, as Kanye says, cray around famous people can be a huge impediment to my actually doing my job and enjoying or seeing or actually getting to films. And I don't know why people go crazy for famous people, but they do, and it makes covering film festivals -- or, these days, covering film -- truly problematic.
A friend of mine, when I was talking about this, said "Well, what would you want people to do when they see someone famous?" I paused for a second and thought about it: "Uh, nod once, say 'Comrade ...' and move on?" I have no problem picturing that better world, but, to be honest, everyone is also wearing jumpsuits for some reason. In all seriousness, I like Cannes to be about movies, and when you have more importance placed on photos of pretty pretty people being pretty, it's just a distraction; I once listened to a photographer point his long lens at some luminary everyone was photographing and ask "Whozzat bird, then?" The "Bird" was Cate Blanchett, at Cannes for "Babel," and say what you will about even the lowest dregs of ink-stained wretch film writers, it's a fair bet that any one of them could have recognized her; that guy, snapping for cash, didn't know and didn't need to, and that is, I should think, a repudiation of everything a film festival is about.
(Also, please note: I'm not in any way groaning or complaining about being here, I assure you; it's just that, hey, if I'm talking about being at Cannes and what that's like besides the movies, then, yes, like any diary, it'll be a chronicle of the occasional victory and a thousand small defeats, a mix of frustration and elation. It's amazing being here, of course, but suggesting it's all sunshine, lollipops and les arcs du ciel is as wrong as saying it's the Bataan Death March with subtitles.)
And what I mean by that is that to me, "fame" and "celebrity" are ugly toxic industrial by-products of making art and entertainment (or worse, of making nothing at all -- Hi, Kardashians!), and should be treated as such. I couldn't go down past the photo area for fear that I might … what? That I might kiss Tom Hardy or challenge Jessica Chastain to an arm-wrestling match, or vice-versa? Walking by the Carlton hotel the day before, people were pressed against the stone-fence boundary of the dining patio, snapping pictures of .. who? I don't know. I'm not sure if they did. And that happens at every film festival, or some variation on it, and the fact that photographers and, rarely, regular people go, as Kanye says, cray around famous people can be a huge impediment to my actually doing my job and enjoying or seeing or actually getting to films. And I don't know why people go crazy for famous people, but they do, and it makes covering film festivals -- or, these days, covering film -- truly problematic.
A friend of mine, when I was talking about this, said "Well, what would you want people to do when they see someone famous?" I paused for a second and thought about it: "Uh, nod once, say 'Comrade ...' and move on?" I have no problem picturing that better world, but, to be honest, everyone is also wearing jumpsuits for some reason. In all seriousness, I like Cannes to be about movies, and when you have more importance placed on photos of pretty pretty people being pretty, it's just a distraction; I once listened to a photographer point his long lens at some luminary everyone was photographing and ask "Whozzat bird, then?" The "Bird" was Cate Blanchett, at Cannes for "Babel," and say what you will about even the lowest dregs of ink-stained wretch film writers, it's a fair bet that any one of them could have recognized her; that guy, snapping for cash, didn't know and didn't need to, and that is, I should think, a repudiation of everything a film festival is about.
I know that film festivals and, yes, film festival sponsors like press, but you'd think they'd prefer press about the movies;
my excitement about a film -- and, more bluntly, the quality of a film
-- isn't improved one iota by knowing Lana Del Rey was at the premiere,
or who she was wearing, or if Brad brings Angelina -- excuse me, if Mr.
Pitt brings Ms. Jolie -- to the first screening of "Killing Them
Softly." I know, I know, I sound like a crank, a snob, a ivory-tower
dwelling arse. But really, I'd just like to be able to get from point
'A' to point 'B' without being sent the long way around because I might
be John Hinckley Jr. Jr. Let's not even talk about how impossible it is
to get from one side of the Palais to the other when the street is
thronged with thousands of people neck-straining to see who's attending
the premiere at the Lumiere at stage right when all you want to do is
get to the Debussy on stage left. Maybe in the future, Cannes and other
film fests could have a new policy -- they show the movies, and the
movie stars stay somewhere a good couple hundred miles away (Nice is too
close; Toulon, maybe?) and conduct any interviews they have to do by
phone. It'll never happen, of course, but at Cannes -- and too many
other film festivals -- it's becoming increasingly hard to ignore the
rank burning stench coming off the red carpet when the sizzle of
celebrity so completely overpowers the real nourishment of moviegoing
that's supposed to be what everyone is truly celebrating.
Tomorrow: Rainy Days, Ovations and Outrage, and What Makes Cannes Amazing.
Tomorrow: Rainy Days, Ovations and Outrage, and What Makes Cannes Amazing.
Master, Silver & Django
About 100 minutes ago about 40 Cannes journos were shown longish footage reels from three late '12 Weinstein hot tamales -- Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (10.12), David O. Russell's The Silver Linings Playbook (11.21) and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (12.25). A screening of No starts in 30 minutes so this has to be quick. Can't-think, can't-breathe quick. Okay, here goes...the clock is ticking.
Fussy:
While the piece below from The Wrap is rubbish tabloid journalism, the quotes that I've lifted from it esp. the ones from Owen Gleiberman do ring true. Angelina has admitted that after her Mom's death she lost interest in acting -- and it shows. Her film choices of late have been motivated by outside interests: her children (Maleficent), a desire for a scenic vacation for her children (The Tourist), a need for post-pregnancy exercise (Salt), and her UNHCR work (In the Land of Blood and Honey. That would have been fine if she was more deeply involved in making sure that the films turned out the way she wanted them to. But while she is always praised for her professionalism and her total commitment to her roles, she has been less vigilant about the quality of the films themselves. That has been the difference between her and Brad and between Brad's now growing list of Academy-nominated films and her own still empty one.
The Counselor could have been one of her few purely artistic roles but that didn't work out. Of course, she has some interesting films in development and even Sin City 2 could be one if she gets around to doing it. But considering she has talked repeatedly about retiring, she can't be that happy with her filmography thus far. It would be different if she didn't have the talent, but she is one of the best of her generation. It is in fact a testament to her talent that she has been recognized even when the films she starred in weren't.
She is arguably more talented than Brad who only recently gained respect as a serious actor. But whereas the quality of his films have improved, hers haven't. Or at least not yet. So I do hope the next few years, maybe the last few of her career, will see her giving the kind of performances that she is truly capable of in films that will be worthy of those performances.
“Nobody can compete with Brange,” says Lainey Lui who writes the popular and snarky Lainey Gossip website. “Every journalist I know here is going to be up at the crack of dawn to make sure to get into the screening of Brad’s film and to track them all day long. Brad and Angelina play us all so well and they continue to play us. No one else can make their kind of headline. There just isn’t this level of excitement with Rob and Kristen.”
Owen Gleiberman, the veteran Entertainment Weekly film critic, says Stewart and Pattinson have to prove their worth outside “Twilight” before they even dream of knocking the Jolie-Pitts off their perch but had some sobering words for Jolie. Despite all her Cannes cachet, the larger-than-life narrative that has made her one of the most envied women in the world may have a down side.
“At this point, Angelina’s status as part of this royal supercouple has eclipsed her work as an actress,” Gleiberman says. “That’s much less true of Brad. He has established and re-established his credibility as a great actor. His double whammy last year with “The Tree of Life” and “Moneyball” was about the best work he’s ever done. He’s at the top of his game. But with Angelina, her life has overtaken her art and swallowed it.”
Newspusher Celebrity
EXCLUSIVE: Preparations underway for Brad and Angelina's summer wedding at Chateau Miraval http://dlvr.it/1blrKK
