The Vernacularist

Free Paris

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download

Cannes Festival review

The festival was terrific. Here are the pics of me and my classmates at Cannes. It was a week of beautiful weather, long lines for movies and great evenings out with new and old friends. We had some great discussions with executives at Variety, Nielsen, Sony Classics Pictures, and The Weinstein Company who talked about the growing pains of the film business during this digital revolution.  Film is really the laggard within the media and entertainment industry because the traditional distribution system through theaters is so ingrained in the industry.  No one, except maybe the consumer (and 2929 Entertainment), wants it any other way. Variety was our sponsor, and they were absolutely amazing at helping us navigate the festival. 

Although we never got to a formal red carpet premier -- tickets were impossible to get -- we all got to see several movies in the Grand Lumiere theater.  I expected a little more gradieur from the theater, but walking up the red carpet steps was fun still. 

Talk about luxury, there were over a hundred yachts in the bay (this pic is just a sliver of the bay).  Everywhere you looked, you could see ginormous boats.  We all wanted to jump into the ocean with a plastic bag protecting our black tie dress and swim out to a yacht and just see what happened.  Of course, we never did it.

We partied at M1nt most nights. DJ that played hip hop and house. Pool, mansion, tents & couches, and signiture drink all included. One night, Harvey Weinstein even showed up with his entourage and held court in the tent next to us. Every night, people were there to unwind and party after long days of movies and sun.

A highlight was working the door for the Variety party. It was fun to see what people tried to do to get into the party. Everyone had a story or a business card.  Of course, we had staff from Variety to determine whose case warranted appeal.

Unfortunately, we had to wait in long lines for all the movies.  Our badges let us into films but buyers badges and press badges had preference over our badges for many of the screenings.  This meant we had to arrive 1-1.5 hours ahead of schedule to get at the front of the line. Hey, beggars can't be choosers and it was totally worth it. 

The movies were everything between great and awful. Here are my picks and pans:

• Sicko, (Dir. Michael Moore):  A great exposition on the failures of the American health system for those who are insured -- not those uninsured, which usually gets the screen time.  Absolutely, Michael Moore is not a journalist.  But he is a great story teller who has something important to say.  See the film, regardless of your feelings about Moore.
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Dir. Julian Schnabel):  A beautiful film from the bestselling book by and about Jean-Dominique Bauby. Besides the powerful story behind Bauby's rare illness, Schnabel shoots this film with an oversaturation to the colors that's breathtaking.
• A Mighty Heart (Dir. Michael Winterbottom): Angelina Jolie plays Marianne Pearl during the tragic story of the death of her husband, Daniel Pearl. I've never seen Angelina become someone else like she did in this role.  Marianne Pearl is a very distinct character -- in style, tone and voice -- and Angelina hits it very well  On the other hand, the editing of the film seemed choppy.   It's as if the Director needed to have certain scenes in the film, regardless of the rhythm.

Pans:

• Ulzhan: TOO LONG.  It's a Kazakh film about a man who lost his family and goes on a cleansing journey.  He finds a female companion along the way to help guide his journey to the mountains.  It was well shot, but the plot takes forever to get you nowhere emotionally.
• U2 3D:  This 3D film of U2's live show is really just a teaser for their live shows.  It makes you want to see the band play life, and a 3D film isn't a good enough substitute to shake it off. I really thought the Director didn't use the 3D effect enough to make the movie special.