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The Blog
You might think logically that the Cannes film festival is all about films. It's not. It's substantially about brands trying to hawk their names around the festival and ensure that they are associated with the most luxurious event of the year.
I said in my original blog about Cannes to expect the unexpected at the film festival. Well, who would have thought that Ronan Keating would be here for a film and that torrential rain would dampen the spirits of everyone at the festival - including Ronan?
The rain might still be here but there are no damp spirits in Cannes. It could be because Hollywood golden boy Brad Pitt has arrived in town. On the subject of his personal life, he said that Angelina Jolie is not here in Cannes with him as she's prepping for a new role and that rumours of an August wedding are false. "There's no date been set."
One week in and the team are still bearing up... just! We decided to have a night off - which in Cannes meant we watched a film. So we ordered pizzas and sat down to watch iLL Manors - Ben Drew aka Plan B's new film. Maybe not the wisest film choice for a night of switching off/escapism.
Films with black leads and supporting white casts might violate the unconscious expectations of critics. In previous decades the majority of black performers cast in movies were seen in subservient or stereotypical roles. Only in the last 10 years have black artists made progress in the variety of roles available.
With most interviews you're either talking to the actual real-life human being or their alter ego, which is actually more common than you'd think. A lot of A-listers in particular seem to come across like they're acting in interviews and just reciting a script given to them by their publicist. But with the comedy TV host Keith Lemon, I feel like I'm interviewing both him and his creator Leigh Francis and I struggle to understand which person I'm talking to.
In a passionate plea, Alan Partridge once shouted at his confused guests "Stop getting Bond wrong!" Skyfall looks like it's going to fulfil this demand and more besides - so for the 50th anniversary of the martini lover can Mendes manage to pull out the best Bond since Goldeneye?
It's not uncommon to be asked what it's like to work at the Cannes film festival, and I usually reply that "it's really quite exhausting." However, what I'm reminded of today is that it's also completely weird in an insane banana type way.
If a good-looking and talented Hollywood actor felt that his sexuality would destroy his chances of success, the shame is mostly ours. Because depressingly enough, he wouldn't be wrong.
It was a rather traumatic start to Day Two in Cannes. I wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep (already) or the early 8am trip to the cinema. But as I sat down to watch Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone, I had no idea of the emotional wreck I'd become exactly two hours later.
For the last year, British director Marcus Markou has been filming his self-penned feature Papadopoulos & Sons.
When I first saw She-Monkeys at last year's BFI London Film Festival I was impressed with the pace, structure and mood of this story, which escalates from adolescent drama to psychological thriller.
The 65th Cannes Film Festival promises to be one of the most celeby and the first night didn't disappoint. Director Wes Anderson opened with his new film Moonrise Kingdom. I've seen the film and can sum it up in a word... 'Kooky'!
Cannes has a few aces up its sleeves this year. Brad Pitt will be in town to premiere Killing Them Softly slap bang in the middle of the festival which will no doubt cause a flurry of media interest - "Will Angelina come? Will she do that leg thing again? Will they have engagement rings on? Do they fart and if they do, do their pumps smell of roses?"
The film industry has nurtured many hugely talented women directors - Sofia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow, and Catherine Hardwicke being just a few. The next generation of filmmakers should take inspiration from them.
Ealing's eighth film after Michael Balcon's arrival at the studio is one of those that is permanently stuck in the debate over what makes a film 'Ealing-esque' or, indeed, what makes a comedy an Ealing comedy?
