Last Day

This day was one of the best at the festival.  The Pavilion wasn’t open, so we didn’t have to work.  We had free reign to see whatever films we’d like.  We got the schedule last night and I picked out the four that I wanted to see.  I chose Melancholia over Sleeping Beauty.  I wanted to see both, but Melancholia got much better reviews.  Genevieve and I woke up early and got to the line about an hour ahead of time.  The film started at 9am.  I don’t know if you guys have heard about the director Lars Von Trier, but he’s the one that called himself a Nazi during a press conference and said that he sympathized with Hitler.  For that, he’s been banned from Cannes forever.  The film, however, is explained as “a beautiful film about the end of the world.”  It really is just that.   I didn’t stay awake for the whole thing unfortunately.  I probably was awake for a little more than half of it (it’s longer than two hours).  The opening scene was phenomenal as everyone said and the plot was fantastic.  The cinematography is beautiful and I loved the music.  Also the ending was perfect.  I definitely want to see it when it comes out in the United States.

Right after that film ended, we jumped back in line for the same theater that was showing Tree of Life at 11:45am.  We didn’t have to wait long until they let people into the theater.  This was another long film (more than two hours).  It’s coming out soon in the United States, but I never have any time to see movies over the summer, so I wanted to see it while I was here.  It’s been getting mixed reviews.  At the first press screening of the day, the audience booed.  Some critics hate it, some love it.  Most of the interns despised it.  I just wanted to get my own opinion on it.  I stayed awake the whole time too!  It’s not as awful as everyone says, but I would not recommend this film to an average movie-goer.  It’s very, very deep and challenging to sit through… especially since about 45 minutes of it looks like a screen saver.  The film revolves around a family in the Midwest with three boys.  We learn in the beginning that one of them passes away, but a flashback shows us the beginnings of the family and childhood of specifically the oldest son, who’s played by Sean Penn in the present day.  The part of the film that revolved around the family was basically one giant montage.  There were bits of dialogue, but mostly it was just images of the family with music and some of the family member’s nondiagetic whispers that didn’t have any motivation to what was happening on screen.  The creation scene was long and it also included dinosaurs.  If it was going to include the dinosaurs, I just wish the CGI would have been better.  They could have cut the film off by a half hour too.  The last half hour dragged on forever and just seemed pointless to me.  Also, Sean Penn is barely in the film, at all.  So, since it’s coming out soon, I’ll give my recommendation.  I liked it.  I didn’t love it, for all the reasons mentioned above.  If you appreciate visual film, give it a try.  If you are looking to be entertained, I’d pass.  This is not a popcorn film.

I got a crepe from a stand before heading back inside for my third film.  I waited over an hour for this one just to be safe.  The next film was The Skin I Live In, a Spanish film starring Antonio Bandares.  I’ve heard GREAT things about it and it was one of the films here I was most looking forward to seeing, so I was pretty excited.  It definitely lived up to my expectations and like all of the director’s films, it was definitely crazy, out there, weird, insane, etc.  The plot twist in this was incredible and kind of disgusting at the same time, but it made for an entertaining thriller.  You were always on the edge of your seat in this one.  I don’t want to talk about the plot because I don’t want to give it away, but it’s absolutely crazy and I highly recommend this film as well.  I think it opens fairly soon too.

The last film I saw, and I contemplated not going, but I heard such good things, was Drive.  It’s the new Ryan Gosling film starring Carey Muligan and Christina Hendricks as well.  Of course, Ryan looked gorgeous as always, especially in this film.  Before we watched it, one of the girls I was with told me that she heard it was very gory, like Terrantino gory.  I didn’t think that was possible unless you were actually Terrantino, but, wow, it is.  It was not a typical Ryan Gosling film and the blood and body count was immense, but it was a very entertaining film to watch.  I thought it was great.  It didn’t seem like it fit into the rest of the competition films because it felt so Hollywood compared to the others.  We talked about the film afterward and all agreed that they’re going to edit it before it comes into theaters in September to make it even more appealing to a Hollywood film audience.  You know, play up the romance… play down the gore.  The music in it was great and overall, it was just an entertaining film and even though it was Hollywood, it was a nice change and a nice finish overall to the Festival.  The last time I watched the opening sequence to the Festival before Drive started (it’s a segment they play before every film, and they also play the music from it at the red carpet when the stars arrive), I wanted to cry!  I successfully saw four films on the last day and thirteen films total at the Festival.  That averages out to more than one a day.  I’m not ready to go back to America where I have to pay $10 to see a movie that’s probably not going to be good.  The artists who produced the work will not be sitting in the same room as me.  No one will clap at each name and company that appears in the opening credits.  No one will clap at the end.  People won’t walk out if the film happens to be terrible.  As much as I love previews, I really got used to not seeing them.  Now I’m going to be impatient in movie theaters.  It’ll be like watching the stars take forever walking up the red carpet: let’s get to the movie already!  So basically, I’m sad.

Emily, Genevieve, Emily, and I all skipped the final student party at the Pavilion to see Drive.  I think we made the better decision.  We stopped by for the last ten minutes, but they were already kicking the students out.  Every single one of them that came out was stumbling and smelled of alcohol.  Apparently, they were just getting rid of all their alcohol so everyone went a little heavy on the wine and beer.  Even though the four of us were saying hi to some people who were behind the bar, we got yelled at because we hadn’t left yet and we were hovering over the alcohol.  It was a little annoying and not the best way to end our time with the program, but we got over it and walked out of the Pavilion toward the main part of Cannes to get some dinner.  We wandered around the streets to try to find something affordable for our last night, but it really is hard to do in Cannes.  Eventually we found a restaurant on a back street and stopped there to eat.  Since Emily ordered a delicious omelet the other day for dinner, I knew I had to do it this time.  It was a mushroom and cheese omelet that came with fries and salad, and it was so delicious.  It amazes me how flavorful they are and how little grease there is.  After dinner, we ventured to a dessert shop around the corner and picked up a few things.  I ended up spending more on dessert than I did at dinner, but it was worth it.  I got a cupcake, chocolate-covered apple, and a chocolate-chip cookie.  I ate the apple right away and it was delicious!  I saved the other two for tomorrow to share with Katherine.  Before going back to La Bocca, we stopped at the Palais to pick up the sheet that announces the winners of the Awards.  The winners were more than disappointing.  Tree of Life won, which I think is ridiculous.  I mean, it was the only film here to get booed.  The Artist got a ten-minute standing ovation.  Obviously, I would have loved to see We Need to Talk About Kevin win, but every article I read leading up to the awards ceremony said it wouldn’t win because Tilda Swinton was a shoe-in for Best Actress and they like to spread the awards around amongst the films.  However, Kirsten Dunst won for Melancholia.  All she did was lie around naked in the film!  The only award I was really happy with was Best Actor which went to the Gene Kelly look alike in The Artist.  Oh well, I can’t complain about it forever, but I definitely still disagree.

The plan was to go to the beach when we got back to our hotel, but I needed to pack and we were all so tired.  After I finished packing, I tried to skype my mother, but failed.  I went to bed fairly early so I could easily wake up and make it to Nice smoothly.

Day Off

FINALLY!  MY DAY OFF!  Emily and I both had the day off so we thought we would start the day by seeing a movie before going to the beach.  After getting nine amazing hours of sleep, we left for Cannes for an 11:30am press screening of Beloved, a French musical.  It is the closing night film, but the press screenings for this particular film take place a day before.  Emily and Genevieve, who also came with us, had tickets to the film, so I just waited in the rush line.  It was practically empty so we got into the Lumiere without a problem.  I even got a seat right in the center of the balcony.  There were so many empty seats too.  The film itself was very cute in the beginning and I loved it.  It could have done without the singing, especially since it didn’t dominate the film (there were only six songs), but some of them were cute.  The film stretched from the 1960s to the present and followed the relationships of a mother and her daughter.  Like I said, the beginning was adorable, but once the 2000s hit some of the material was a little unnecessary.  I don’t want to get too into it, but maybe I will… It’s not like it’s going to be released in the United States anyway.  Was bringing September 11^th into it really necessary?  Was bringing AIDS into it really necessary?  What about suicide… with an overdose of AIDS medication… after you have a three-some with a gay man and his boyfriend… after you beg one of them to have your baby?  Exactly.  It just got to be too much.  I like the 60s part when it was about the mom being a hooker and meeting her husband on the job… that was cute, sort of.  Well, interesting to watch.  The film was also too long.  It was about two and a half hours and it should have ended after the daughter committed suicide, but it just went on and on and on after that.  I was sick of watching them mourn over her death.  Nothing else happened except the mourning of her death for another 45 minutes.  Enough already, right?

After the film, Emily and I went to a flea market, but since we were going to the beach, we didn’t end up buying anything.  I was really considered buying some artwork, but I didn’t want to carry it around with me all day.  We got lunch at a little street-side café and I finally got to eat escargot while I’m in France.  It was delicious, but a little bit of a struggle clamping the shell.  I’m just strong enough for that!  We took the ferry from Cannes to Ile Marguerite, which is supposed to be an adorable island with no cars and beautiful beaches… well, there were no cars.  The view of Cannes from the island was gorgeous, and the ferry ride was great because we got to be next to some of the most amazing yachts in the world.  The island pretty much consisted of a fort and a village and beaches lined it, except the beaches were rocky.  We found an area that was out of the way of people and filled with leaves instead of rocks to lay out for about an hour and half.  The water was beautiful and the perfect temperature.  We came back on the last ferry to Cannes and decided to go to the beach there before heading back to the hotel.  I swear, it NEVER gets dark in Cannes, so we were lying out on the beach until 8pm and it was still warm and sunny enough to be there.  I love how many strawberries they eat in France!  I got a bowl, which they sell at about every food stand, and eat those on the beach.  So refreshing!  Obviously, this was the perfect day off!

We walked back to our hotel together and decided to get ready before going out again.  I ended up spending a large amount of time packing and showering that I lost track of time.  Emily’s roommates and I ended up just staying in La Bocca and going out for dinner and drinks at a local restaurant.  It saved us so much money not paying for a taxi!  I got seafood pasta, which was good for a little bit, but it got to be too much after awhile.  I’m really going to miss getting loads of bread with every meal and ordering cheap wine for dinner.  Dinner ended up being really fun and I was really happy that we didn’t spend all of the extra money to go back to Cannes.  We also got to go to bed early.  We had a big day ahead of us.  They replay every single film in competition on the last day so I wanted to catch as many as possible.  I picked out four films: Melancholia, The Tree of Life, The Skin I Live In, and Drive. I’m sure tomorrow’s blog entry will just be filled with reviews of these films since that’s all I’m doing.

This Must Be The Place

I had the early shift at work and I was really excited for it!  I love getting off early so I have the whole day ahead of me!  However, the shift starts at 7:30am… and Jay and I didn’t roll in until 7:45am.  We thought it was bad until we noticed that we were some of the first people there.  Not only did people show up for work about an hour late, but some didn’t even come in at all.  I guess that’s what they get for throwing us a party.  The Festival is winding down, so not a lot of people came into the Pavilion at all.  We don’t start serving food until 11am anyway, so the interns spent the majority of our morning sitting around, hanging out, using the computers, sitting on the beach, etc.  It was an easy morning and was perfect for such a nice day.  I ended up getting off work really early, at 11am.  I was thinking about going to see The Skin I Live In at 11:30am for the next day screening, but apparently it was the longest line for a next day screening thus far at the Festival. Instead, I ate lunch at the Pavilion and then went back to the hotel.

Once I got back, I ended up seeing Sarah, a girl who also works at the restaurant who actually had off work, about to head to the beach.  She waited for me to buy a beach towel and sunscreen for a zillion dollars and change into my suit.  We then went to the beach in La Bocca together.  We were at the beach from about 1pm until 5pm.  It was so hot out, so I reapplied sunscreen about every half hour, but that didn’t stop the sun from burning my skin to a crisp with an uneven sunburn. Whoops?  It doesn’t hurt that bad and it’s already starting to turn into a tan, so I’m not complaining.

After I came in, I showered and got ready for a night in Cannes at the red carpet. Emily, Genevieve, and I rushed the 7:30 red carpet premiere for This Must Be The Place, a new Sean Penn film.  As I watched the stars of the film walk down the carpet and up the stairs, I began to think about how exciting this was when I saw the cast of We Need to Talk About Kevin do it and even Pirates of the Caribbean 4, but now after I’ve seen so many… it’s all the same.  Yeah, it’s cool to see the celebrities, but they’re not that up close and it takes them forever to walk.  I just want to see the film.  Don’t get me wrong, the red carpets are a great time, but after awhile, they’re all the same and kind of blur together.

We ended up getting into the film, but we were put into the overflow room.  I wasn’t too concerned about it because it wasn’t a film I was dying to see.  The film itself was not very good either.  Sean Penn, of course, does a phenomenal job in his role, but when does he ever produce poor work?  Never.  I could see an Oscar nod in his future for this film.  The film was a mess and kind of unnecessary though.  The main plot was the worst of all the plots, and the subplots were so random and undeveloped.  None of the content really intertwined or connected, which was disappointing.  They didn’t even get to the main plot until about 45 minutes into the film, I loved it up until then.  During the first 45 minutes, they spent all of this time introducing these small plots that they barely ever referred to and weren’t really necessary to the story.  Anyways, I thought the film was okay, not bad or good, when it first ended.  After I thought about it more, it was definitely not something I would recommend.

In order to avoid the crowd, we walked out of the Artist’s Entrance where all of the celebrities walk in and out of.  We needed to go back in after we realized we wanted to go out to dinner at the other end of the Palais, so we walked back inside the entrance and we spy none other than Rosario Dawson.  I’m surprised we saw her though because of how much of a twig she is.  Her dress was absolutely stunning though!  I was really tempted to tell her how much I loved her in Josie and the Pussycats, but I was convinced out of it.  Oh well…

The three of us ended our night at Café Roma, yet again.  I got a puff pastry with ice cream dessert, which was wonderful.  Emily, on the other hand, got an omelet and I got to try some.  It was the most delicious omelet I’ve ever had.  There was absolutely no grease, whatsoever, and it had so much flavor to it.  I was so jealous and wish I would have gotten one.  After we spent our night conversing in this outdoor restaurant right outside the Palais, we went back to our hotel.  I was asleep by midnight, which made for a glorious night’s rest.

The Artist

The Artist was playing again today at 12pm, but my work shift was 11-5.  On Sunday, they play all of the competition films again, but I didn’t want to wait until then to see this film.  This was the one film I was most looking forward to seeing at Cannes.  I talked to my boss and she let me come into work early, leave for the film, and then come back to work.  I was so happy… as long as I got into the theater.  At around 11:30am, one of the staff members of the Pavilion and I left work so we could go see the film.  We waited in a long line, nervous that we would get denied once again.  Finally, after letting in all of the buyers and press, we were in.  It was unreal and I could not contain my excitement.  All of the times I’ve waited for this film better be worth it, I thought.  And guess what?  IT WAS WORTH IT!  It was an INCREDIBLE film!  I explained the film earlier, but wow!  It was definitely the most unique film I’ve seen at Cannes so far.  Not because it’s in black-and-white.  Not because it has a 4:3 aspect ratio.  And not because it’s silent. The film is a clean-cut narrative.  It’s simple.  It does not leave you guessing.  It’s not complicated.  It’s all out there to simply entertain you.  Nothing is ambiguous. It does not make you think.  It’s just a happy, funny film (despite the ending, which does make you tear up a little).  WHY DON’T THEY MAKE MOVIES LIKE THIS ANYMORE?!  The narrative had a very 1940s/1950s feel to it and everything else about it was so enjoyable.  The plot was very similar to Singin’ in the Rain, which, of course, is one reason to love it.  When the main character first came on screen, I immediately saw a resemblance to Gene Kelly and the character was so similar to Don Lockwood.  I couldn’t believe it.  It’s upsetting though, because a film like this would be so hard to market to the United States.  It’s something uncommon and not something that would appeal to an everyday audience.  Hopefully, the Weinstein Company does something with it and it gets a somewhat wide release.  I recommend this film to everyone… even if you don’t think you’ll be able to sit through a silent, black-and-white film.  You’ll get used to it.  It’s like reading subtitles, kind of.  You forget that it’s even silent… well… until the sound and dialogue actually comes, but I won’t give it away and get into that.

I got back to work, but it wasn’t very busy.  Molly, the supervisor of the coffee shop, and I just ordered some food and ate because there was really nothing else to do.  After I wandered around the restaurant for the next few hours, I finally was off work.  I had plans to rush The Skin I Live In, but I wasn’t in that much of a hurry to get back, so Tara, Emily, and I decided to go walk around the International Village and check out all of the other countries’ pavilions.  Not everyone’s is as big, but some are a lot nicer.  With nicer couches and tables and some are on a patio, not on the beach, which gives it a better view, I think.  The people we met at the Abu Dhabi Pavilion were so nice and talked to us for a long time.  They even gave us a free bag!  A few of them were from Morocco and told us that Morocco was only two hours away.  Emily and I immediately got excited, since our day off was coming up, until we realized that was by plane.  We moved on to other pavilions on our side of the Village.  It was like traveling through Epcot in Disney World; every country was represented in a unique way.

We went to the shuttle station afterward and I ended up waiting there for over a half hour.  The transportation system here is unreal and the people here can be incredibly rude about getting on a shuttle.  There are limited seats, and just because you were there first does not mean you get on the next shuttle… or the next… or the next, which is what happened in this case.  The shuttle drivers don’t exactly favor the American students as they do their own people, which is unfortunate for those who have been waiting a lot longer… like a few other students and me.

I got back to Cannes about a half hour later than I planned to, but I made it to the premiere of The Skin I Live In, a Spanish film by the same director as Volver, a film I love.  Pedro Almodovar.  During the red carpet, I got to see Antonio Banderas, who was pretty cute, but was looking a little old.  He was very entertaining on the carpet though, which was refreshing.  I’m tired of seeing the actors take forever to walk up and just stand there to be photographed.  Antonio basically danced his way up the carpet.  It was cute.

I didn’t get into the film, so I didn’t know what to do for the next two hours.  I went back to the Pavilion to see if anyone wanted to get dinner, but most people attended a Super 8 film screening that some of the students made and put on. Afterward, they had a cocktail party for them that I couldn’t attend since I wasn’t watching the films.  One of the bartenders got me a glass of wine though and I just hung around for an hour or so.  We had a Karaoke party planned for us at 9:00, but I was so hungry for dinner so I finally completed a lifetime goal of mine!  I went to a nice restaurant BY MYSELF and ate BY MYSELF!  It was so independent of me and amazing!  I ordered some of that tortellini that I couldn’t stop thinking about and a glass of wine.  I think the waiter felt bad for me, so he gave me another drink for free.  I had no idea what it was, but it tasted good.  Apparently, he had no idea how much I was loving it.  It was so French and professional of me.

The Karaoke party was underway by the time I got back to the Pavilion.  They gave us discounted/free drinks and played loud music for the interns… which turned into a mess.  I pretty much just spent the night observing, but I did have a lot of fun.  The party went until 11:30pm and they kicked all of us out, so we all traveled to Morrisson’s, an Irish pub, in a herd.  The bar was filled with interns and there was a band playing which made for a good night.  I had a lot of fun and it was nice to finally be out and have a few drinks while I’m at it, but I still wanted to get a fair amount of sleep.  Dana, Grace, and I took a taxi home around 1am, but stopped at the pizza shop across the street from our hotel for a late-night snack.  We requested to have the cute guy who works there to take our order, so we attempted to flirt with him for a long time until we actually decided on food.  Before we could even make a decision, the owner of the shop gave us an entire bag of gummy bears to eat.  He must have loved us.  After we finished eating the food we did eventually order, we came inside and went to bed.

Peter Fonda, Jason Mraz, Faye Dunaway, Stellen Skarsgard, Ryan Gosling

I decided to take my time in the morning because I have been so tired of trying to see films and not getting into them.  When I make plans to see them, I make sure I have nothing to do for the next two hours, so when it doesn’t work out, I have all of this time to spare with nothing to do.  I spent some time on the internet in the morning catching up on things and then made my way into Cannes for a 12pm showing of The Artist.  This showing was held in a 250 seat theater, so I had to get in, right?!  Wrong.  Only buyers and press got in again!  First of all, there are not that many buyers.  Second of all, this film has been showing for days, why are you just seeing this movie for your article NOW?!  On my way back to the International Village, I stopped and got a salad from a street vendor. During the mere two minutes when I was ordering, I forgot what thon meant and figured everything would be fine.  Of course, it was tuna… which I haven’t eaten since I was a kid because I didn’t like it.  I thought, well I like tuna on my sushi, maybe this will be okay.  It wasn’t.  Oh well.  My French sucks.  I’m over it.  I’ll start learning their language when they stop being rude to me when I try, which seems to be the case.

I was fine with not being able to see The Artist this time, out of the MANY I’ve tried, because the Pavilion was hosting a panel with Jason Mraz and Peter Fonda about their new documentary called The Big Fix.  Not a lot of people were that excited for it, but Peter Fonda, really?!  I feel as if I’m one of the few film majors in the world that actually appreciates classic film.  It’s so unreal to me that so many of the interns in the program don’t even care all that much about film history.  Every time I ask them what their favorite films are they rant out a bunch of artsy films that I’ve never heard of.  Cool.  I like Titanic.  It won 11 Oscars and is one of the top grossing films of all time.  That’s not good enough for you?  Anyways, the panel was not that interesting so after I caught my glimpse of them and snapped a few photos of Peter Fonda and the attractive Jason Mraz, I went into work for my 2-8 shift.  However, Jason Mraz and Peter Fonda’s panel was just the beginning of an incredible day…

A very familiar face walked into the Pavilion and sat herself down in the VIP section.  I could not put my finger on it and a lot of people thought it was Jane Fonda, except I saw her the other day and she looked a lot younger than this woman.  All of a sudden, an order came in for Faye Dunaway.  FAYE DUNAWAY! Only the most beautiful actress of all time.  She’s on the poster for the Festival this year.  She played Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde.  She’s Faye Dunaway.  FAYE DUNAWAY!  AH!  This did not seem real.  This just defines the fake life I’m living.  Seriously… FAYE DUNAWAY!  I went up to the girls working the VIP section so I could get a closer look.  The girls, who are in the hospitality program, didn’t even care, and just shrugged and said yes when I asked if they got to talk to her.  WHAT?!  Now that really upsets me.  I’m having a heart attack all over the pavilion and they don’t even care!  It’s FAYE DUNAWAY!  After pretty much stalking her as I pretended to check on tables for an hour, we learned that apparently she was in a good mood (a rare case for the most beautiful actress in the world) and we were allowed to take her picture.  I didn’t have time to get my real camera so I only snapped a few on my iPod.  Who cares?!  She was so cute and actually nice when we got to see her.  There were only few of us who were snapping photos because, again, no one really cares about classic cinema.

As if this day couldn’t have gotten any better, Stellan Skarsgard came into the Pavilion for a roundtable.  I was working so I couldn’t sit in, but I got to check in and watch from the door, which was good enough for me.  I had no idea who he was so I had no interest in even going, but when I saw him I instantly recognized him.  I think he is most famous for True Blood, but he was also in Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest and he played Bootstrap Bill, Will Turner’s father. It was cool that we got to see him, but our next visitor might be one of the coolest.

So remember when I said I took Ryan Gosling’s order and it was a struggle, blah blah blah.  We all had a mishap, possibly due to our lack of sleep, or slaving away in the hot sun, or the amount of films we’ve seen, but all of us at the Pavilion were mistaken.  Ryan has a legit twin.  Well, not legit, but it is absolutely insane how much they look alike.  That “Ryan” is now considered to be the fake Ryan.  The REAL Ryan came into the Pavilion for a panel for his new film Drive.  I stared him for a decent amount of time when he was lounging around before his panel and it is absolutely unfair how good looking this man is.  If you think he’s good looking in film, you should see him in person.  It is absolutely disgusting how attractive he is. How is it even possible?  Suddenly, the fake Ryan did not look so hot, but the resemblance was still there and it creeped me out when I saw them right by each other.  For his panel, they raffled off ten seats in the conference room for students to attend, since these are more geared towards industry professionals.  You had to be present for the raffle to accept your seat though.  Sadly, I did not get picked, but Emily did and she got some great photos for me.  I stayed outside and watched the interview on the television instead.  I definitely got my Ryan.

Work ended at 8 and I wanted to see Melancholia at 10:30 for the red carpet premiere.  I rushed back to the room, changed, and then came right back to Cannes.  I got into the rush line and got to see the stars come out.  Unfortunately, no one from the rush line got into the premiere.  People with tickets didn’t even get in.  These premieres are starting to get insane and I don’t understand why because I thought people were heading home.  Guess not?  I found a few interns waiting in the line and we all decided to go to the Petit Majestic, a bar, instead.  We walked all the way over there and got a table.  I order some wine while everyone else drank beer and we all just talked film.  We got onto the subject of Distribution and how studios make money off of their films and what not.  I’m not going to go into any detail here, but I contributed so much into the conversation and gave a large amount of historical background information.  One of the interns turns to me and says, “You took a really good film history course.”  Or I just really like and appreciate film history?  But then again, it’s true.  I did learn a lot in that class.  It’s interesting to hear about other school’s film programs.  Some have a focus, some don’t.  Some are in the art department (like Denison’s), some are in communications.  Some are even in the business school.  Some just learn production, some learn both production and studies.  Some learn TV and film, some just film.  Denison’s program seems very unique to a lot of others I’ve heard about, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing or not.

After I had my glass of wine, I was too tired to stay out, so I just took a cab back to the hotel and headed to bed.  What a fantastic day!  I really really don’t want this experience to end, and it’s sad that it’s nearing.

Terrible Film, Great Parties

I didn’t have to work until 2 today, so I wanted to go see a film before work.  I did want to sleep in a little, so I missed the 10am film I wanted to see.  It was Return, a film at the Director’s Fortnight, which isn’t TECHNICALLY a part of the Cannes Festival, but is.  It’s confusing.  These films are a separate competition started after the protests at the Festival in the 1960s.  Apparently, the protests had something to do with the festival not really being about the art of film anymore and simply because of the business.  This is still true and it definitely something I never expected coming here.  It’s kind of sad that if you are not “interested” in buying the film or are a part of a distribution company, it’s close to impossible to see a film here.  Today is a great example of that.  So since, I missed Return, I decided to to try to see the next day showing of the Tree of Life.  After watching many people with press badges show up late and still get in while a crowd of people wait outside.  Tired of waiting, I walk a few feet over to the Lumiere theatre to see if I could still rush The Beaver’s 11am showing.  The men in suits told me that the theatre was closed.  Being snobby, I asked if it was closed or full.  They didn’t answer, but many other people with press badges were still arriving late and going into the theatre.  I gave the men dirty looks and then walked away.  The Artist was playing in a smaller theater about a fifteen minute walk away.  I tried to get in, but I didn’t… once again.  Only buyers got in, but they told all of us waiting that they were showing it again tomorrow in a much bigger theater.  Even though I didn’t get in, I was relieved that I would finally be able to see it tomorrow.

I had two more hours to spare before work and I really wanted to see a film, so I checked the guide and found an Un Certain Regard film showing at noon that I could catch.  Un Certain Regard is another competition here at Cannes, so all of the films are chosen to be here.  They have to be good then, right?  The film is Outside Satan, a French film that I knew nothing about, but saw anyway.  Within the first few minutes, people immediately started to walk out… and with good reason.  How does this film even exist?  There was not a motivated plot, not even in the least bit.  I watched two characters, one named “The Guy” and one named “The Girl,” walk around the French countryside, which was actually beautiful (and the only good part of the film), and kneel sometimes.  I’m guessing they were praying to Satan, even though it wasn’t explicitly stated.  After about 10 minutes, The Guy shot The Girl’s stepdad, which I thought would start a plot, but sadly, it did not and it wasn’t even talked about after it happened.  I fell asleep and I think that was the only reason why I stayed, so I had somewhere to nap.  I woke up to the only noise that was made throughout the entire film (because there was barely any dialogue), which was a very graphic sex scene in the middle of the grass.  It looked like sex, but suddenly it looked like rape, so I was so confused!  It was the most disturbing and graphic thing I’ve ever seen.  Then, it looked like he killed the girl during it (which wasn’t even The Girl, it was a random girl who wasn’t in the movie besides this scene), but then all of a sudden, she woke up and climbed into a pond and swam.  It was the WEIRDEST thing I’ve ever seen.  I walked out with about ten minutes left of the film.  It was not worth being late for work for.

I got to work and didn’t really do much… as usual.  I ended up sitting in a roundtable with the Aerosmith’s Music Producer, which was great for me.  He spent the majority of the time talking about scoring films, which is not something I want to do, but it was definitely interesting.  He said one of the best film score’s of all time, in his opinion, is American Beauty’s.  So glad we have that in common.  A pleasant surprise from this roundtable was learning that he scores rides for Disney World.  He scored the entire ride and queue, which includes all of the alley and recording studio noises, not even music, for Rock N Roller Coaster.  He also scored Mission: Space.  He scored a lot more, but those were the two he went into detail in.  I was loving it and he was such an interesting man.  I talked to other amazing people too during work.  A producer was very helpful and gave me some great advice.  He told me that a lot of people come to LA without experience and if I work in Cleveland as PA for about a year, I can actually go to LA with experience and it will be easier to get a job with the contacts I’ve made.  The Avengers is filming in Cleveland this summer, and he gave me the contact information on how to get on set, so I can’t wait to work on it when I go home.

After I spent the afternoon faking work and eating Nutella Banana Paninis and strawberries that I bought from random stands at the Festival, it finally came time to go to my first Invitation Only party.  It took forever to print out the invitations and find the venue, but Emily and I left straight from work and made it there.  It was on the roof of the Marriott hotel on Croissette Street, so it was amazing.  It’s called the Nikki Beach Terrace, so it has a pool, hot tubs, and beds with pillows up there.  It was so nice and we were loving the open bar.  The champagne was delicious and refreshing, compared to Andre, obviously. The servers made sure there was never an empty glass in our hands, so we ended up with three glasses total by the end of the party.  We also ate so much food and it was all so delicious.  We just sat on one of the beds and just enjoyed ourselves while we were there.  A few boys came up to talk to us, but some of them were creepy, like wearing sunglasses when it was dark out… come on.  Leather jacket in 100 degree weather? Um… what?  Anyways, a producer came up to talk to us that was actually really cool.  He asked us what we were interested in, and I told him Development.  He replies by telling me that he is actually hiring someone for Development soon, but I still have one more year until I graduate.  I told him I was going to start applying for jobs in November, but he is planning on hiring within the next six months.  He said if things don’t work out, he’ll keep me in mind.  What a downer.  I want a job now!  He felt bad that we were only invited to this party, so he gave us his contact information and invited us to a villa party that started around 1am.  We were so excited!

Emily and I left the party… a little buzzed from the champagne… and went to Cafe Roma, an outdoor restaurant across from the Palais.  We ordered these crazy drinks that they fill with candy and fruit.  They were too strong to drink, but they were at least fun to look at.  Emily got a Thai Salad and I got the most delicious tortellini that I’ve ever had.  I still can’t stop thinking about it… it was that good.  Dana and Grace met up with us for dinner and we discussed our plans for the night.  We were all going to go to the villa together, but they got out of work at 10:30pm and were exhausted.  We found another girl, Katie, at the restaurant, so since Dana and Grace weren’t coming, she could fit in the cab and the three of us headed to the villa in the hills together.  It wasn’t too far, but it was a gated community filled with mansions, so after we got the gate code, we headed up the hill and found the house… which had a name. It was so nice and had an amazing patio.  We were a little nervous at first because there weren’t a lot of people there, but the crazy party turned into a chill get-together to get rid of the alcohol that was leftover from their last crazy party.  It was just a production company from New York that we’ve seen around the Pavilion and it was actually a really good time.  They had a fire going and we just sat in comfy chairs and talked.  They were so interesting and helpful.  I love how willing people in the industry are to give advice to students… it’s definitely helped me enjoy my time here.  After spending a few hours with these people and drinking another glass of champagne, we decided to head out… pondering whether or not we should go to a club… but actually just went back to the hotel.  I’m glad I finally got to go out and actually have a great night.  The party was fantastic and sitting out on the patio was so relaxing.

Failed Attempts

After such a rough night, I was hoping to make up for it by catching some films before my 4-10 shift.  I love this shift because I have all day.  The film I was most looking forward to seeing was The Artist.  I think it is everything I love about cinema in one film.  It’s silent, black-and-white, and French.  It’s about the transition from silent to sound film.  Where can you find a film like that anymore?!  I understand that only film people will appreciate something like this.  Coming from someone who hasn’t seen a fantastic film in years and spends their time watching Casablanca, The Philadelphia Story, and Singin’ in the Rain, it’s about time.  Let’s bring cinema back to the classics.  Slow stories, grey tones, interesting content.  Thank God.  Now after I spent all this time raving about this film… I didn’t get to see it.  I tried to get into the 10am screening, but only buyers could get into it.  Even though the film is in competition, for some screenings, buyers have priority, and since the theaters are so small, no one else can get into them.  Disappointed, my roommate and I went back to the hotel to go back to sleep some more.  We were exhausted.

Right when I was about to go to sleep, I checked my e-mail and the distributor e-mailed me and wanted to meet one last time before he left the festival.  We agreed to meet at noon which meant that I would have to be showered and ready to go for work before I made my way back to the festival.  I rushed over to the Palais, checked my e-mail, and discovered that he hadn’t e-mailed me back with a place to meet.  Already upset that I could have been sleeping or at the beach, I decided to get some lunch at the festival.  I picked up a Nutella crepe and strawberries and went to the beach in Cannes.  The weather has been fantastic during the day, but it’s really cold at night.  Since I worked the night shift, I had to wear pants, so I was sweating so much at the beach.  Either way, it was still a nice, relaxing break.

I tried to go see another film at 2pm, so I made my way to the Market where it was being shown.  It’s a film called Michael from Austria that’s been getting pretty good reviews.  Of course, I didn’t get into this film either which just added onto my frustration.  I felt like I wasted my entire day.  With not enough time to watch another film and nothing else to really do in Cannes, I went to the Pavilion and took a nap in the student section. Afterward, I went into work.  I met a really interesting man while I was serving.  He is a professor at USC, but he also is a producer.  He produced the U2: 3D concert film among others.  We talked for a long time and he gave me some great advice. It’s amazing how much people are willing to share their insight in this business. They give out so many ideas on how to get started and which companies to work for.  I’ve been so relieved to hear that there are many development jobs in New York, which means I might not have to move out to LA, which is great news.  Either way, I think I’m going to plan a trip to either LA or New York for fall break to scope things out at least.  I also had an epiphany.  I really want to work in children’s film or television.  Apparently working with kids is actually great experience to have in that industry, which means summer camp wasn’t a waste!  Nickelodeon’s development and programming is also in New York as well, which is great to hear. The professor was telling me all about it.

Nicole, Tara, Emily, and I all wanted to try to go out again, but we were all on the late shift.  Emily ended up getting tickets to House of Tolerance, the 10:30 red carpet premiere.  We found a meeting place so that Tara, Nicole, and I could meet with her in Cannes.  Not being able to use a cell phone is the worst thing in the world and it seems impossible to make plans and keep them without one.  We got back to our hotel at 11:00, but we wanted to leave to go back out at midnight. Nicole wasn’t ready and when Tara and I told her to leave her computer to get ready, she still took a long time to get ready to go out.  When I went to get Nicole, we lost Tara when we came back down to the lobby.  Apparently she got sick of waiting and went to bed.  Emily, on the other hand, was waiting for about 45 minutes for us in Cannes and eventually went back to the hotel while Nicole was still getting ready.  It was the most frustrating night and I’m starting to realize why I like doing things by myself… because they actually get done and you don’t have to rely on other people.  I was very upset and went to bed at around 1:30am, if I would have known this was going to happen, I would have been in bed two hours sooner. Another ridiculous night.  Lesson learned: smaller groups.

This was by far my worst day in Cannes… it can only go up from here… right?

Martha Marcy May Marlene

I started out my morning by attending a market screening for the film Norman.  I got the invitations from the director.  I met him at work and then he e-mailed me. He seems like a really cool guy and someone I would love to keep in touch with. The film was a lot different than I thought it would be.  The trailer is on youtube, so just type in Norman trailer and I’m sure it’ll pop up.  The poster looked like it would be a typical teen comedy, but it had much deeper content.  I would imagine that it would be a difficult film to market though.  The cinematography and lighting represents the comedy genre, but the content is completely different.  I also think it would appeal to a younger crowd, but it would need to be edited.  I think they said fuck more than once.  I’m almost positive it’s only allowed once in PG-13 films, but I could be wrong.  However, I don’t know if the content is appropriate either.  It’ll be interesting to see where this film goes.  The music was done by Andrew Bird and it was really great.  I loved it.  A lot of buyers also seemed very interested at the end of the film as well.

I went into work next to get something to eat and find my roommate Danielle to go to the Martha Marcy May Marlene screening at 2pm.  A few others went with us and we got in line to see it an hour and a half early.  Thank god we got in!  This film has been getting rave reviews and did phenomenal at Sundance.  Elizabeth Olsen is in it and she also did a great job.  I really liked the film, but I didn’t love it.  The ending kind of threw me off, but it was definitely unique.  I think it’s a film worth seeing and it definitely sparked some conversation among the interns at the Pavilion.  I recommend it.  The fact that the people who worked on it are so young astonishes me and makes me very proud.

I had to work the 4-10 shift right after.  I also liked this shift because you have the whole day and the coffee shop and kitchen closes fairly early, so eventually you only have to get people drinks.  I chatted with a few interesting people.  It’s getting a lot easier to talk to people and I feel a lot more comfortable doing it.  For the most part, people are very friendly and they like to talk about their job and promote themselves too.  At one of my tables, I talked to an actor.  He was so nice! He was telling me all about the projects he’s worked on.  He was in Hotel Rwanda and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.  He was the African pirate in the scene where all of the pirates from around the world had a meeting.  He told me it was a fantastic experience and Johnny Depp was one of the sweetest guys. Eventually, at the same table, a familiar face walked in.  It was none other than Ryan Gosling.  Of course, I freaked out and didn’t know what to do because he was sitting at my table, but I had to take his order and act professional while I did it. All of the interns were going crazy and finding creative ways to snap pictures of him.  It was the biggest struggle in the world.  We also found out that he’s coming to give a panel about his film Drive on Wednesday and I’m so excited!  I hope I can get a picture with him!  At around nine, one of the girls, Emily, my roommate, Nicole, and I decided to be bad employees and just sit on the computers for the last hour of work.  I looked up a few things and watched a few trailers.  It was all film related at least.

We got off at ten and the five of us, Nicole, Jay, Tara, Emily, and I, who were on this shift decided to go out.  We had to get back to our hotel though to get ready. After drinking wine on the bus and coming back to put on some new clothes, we were ready to go at midnight and Tara and Emily’s roommate joined us.  We got back to Cannes and Jay took us to this bar where everyone hangs out in the street. It was very “college-like,” and we wanted to do something a little classier, so the girls went to Croissette street and checked out the Ritz Carlton, but we felt way too under dressed and young for that crowd.  We decided that we wanted to go to VIP Room, which is this huge club on the other side of town that a lot of the celebrities go to.  You tried to find a taxi for 2 hours.  We stopped 4, and all 4 turned us down.  One was from the Martinez hotel that they called for us, but they called one for only four people.  Once it showed it, the driver told us that he couldn’t take us and left.  The hotel told us we had to leave.  It was so frustrating.  Another taxi told us it was because the road was blocked… it was blocked because he was at a red light and the other street was driving.  Later, we found out that people will not serve you in Cannes unless you are wearing a gown basically.  Lesson learned.  It was the most frustrating night and at 2:30, we finally found a private driver who took us back to our hotel instead of the VIP Room, because even though it stays open until 7:00am, the bar closes at 2:00am.  Failure of the night.  Rough.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger’s Tide

I feel like each day here gets better and better.  I can’t believe some of the stuff that I’ve already done.  I feel so spoiled, but I can’t help but share these experiences with my family and friends.

I had the early morning shift again, from 7:30-1:30 and had to stay the whole time.  Everyone on our shift was either still drunk or so hungover.  I was neither.  Thank God.  I haven’t gotten drunk at all since I’ve been here because I FEAR a hangover.  I did have a lot of wine the night before, but I guess I lucked out.  The shift was not busy, and all of us spent the majority of our time talking about Ezra Miller.  This was when I learned that he is only 18… suddenly, I feel like a huge cougar.  Whatever.  He was adorable and really fun, and I’m never going to see him again.  All great qualities in a man.  Despite the fact that I was completely exhausted and would have loved to take a nap, I made my way to the Short Film Corner to watch some of the short films for the festival.  I had the opportunity to watch three films done by some of the students in the program and I was pretty impressed with their work, and obviously jealous that I can’t produce something like that.  I dozed off a little during the hour I spent there, but I managed to wake up for my next great adventure.

The UK Pavilion was hosting Lynne Ramsay, the director of We Need to Talk About Kevin, the producer of the film, and Tilda Swinton for a panel discussion about the film.  Jay, a student who works the same shift as me, went together and loved every minute of it.  Not only was I about fifteen feet away from them, but it was so interesting to hear the director’s take on such an ambiguous film.  I feel as if my interpretation almost shifted because of it.  Even though I’ve seen it twice, I kind of pathetically want to see it a third time before I leave.  I know this film doesn’t seem like a big deal to anyone because there isn’t even a trailer for it yet and Ezra Miller is pretty much a nobody (to everyone back in America, at least; he is the most discussed actor here at Cannes because of this performance) and Tilda Swinton is not a mainstream actress, but it has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and will be huge, I promise.  It won’t be released until September, I think.  I will guarantee you that I will be in at the Easton theater watching this film when it comes out in the fall… again.  It was incredible being in such a personal setting with very important people in the way of film and especially representing a film I very much admire.  If anyone knows me, I am very hard to please when it comes to recent film, but I have to say, I haven’t seen a film this good in YEARS!  Let’s talk about Tilda and how gorgeous she is.  She is so unique looking, but absolutely beautiful and very professional.  She is very tall and does not wear any make-up, whatsoever.  Not even to premieres.  I respect her so much as a performer.  Being that close to an Academy Award winner… wow.  Just wow.

I rushed back to the hotel to change into a formal gown so I could attend the Red Carpet Premiere at Cannes for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger’s Tide.  I met up with a girl I work with and we tried to make our way to the rush line for the film.  Neither of us had rushed before so we had no idea where it was.  The entire CITY was backed up because of this film.  We had to push our way through fans to get to the line, which was practically empty.  Very surprising.  The fans here are so pathetic and it is really the one thing that absolutely annoys me about being here.  The accreditation isn’t very expensive, about 300 euro, but you have to have a reason to attend the festival to receive one.  You apply and the festival can either accept or deny your request.  People not involved in the industry cannot attend.  Period.  Without that badge, you can’t see any films or get into the festival grounds.  Because of this, the streets and sidewalks are constantly filled with tourists who are here for the festival, yet can’t do a thing because they don’t have accreditation.  I’m tired of pushing through pissed off tourists because they can’t get anywhere without the badge.  All they are really here for is to see celebrities, which are very hard to spot in the first place.  These people stand outside of the red carpet, basically taking pictures of backs of heads because it’s so crowded and getting in people’s way.  While I think it’s so cool to see these celebrities, obviously, I am not here for that.  I love being able to see two films a day and great ones at that.  Film is an art form and a business here, and these visitors don’t even appreciate that.  Cannes is ridiculously expensive and more so during the festival.  I can’t think of any other way to describe these people, but pathetic.  To spend that much money to see a celebrity from so far away?  Really?  The times I’ve come across them has only been inside the festival, and still I’ve only met Ezra.  Whatever.  Enough ranting about the stinky tourists.

We had the opportunity to watch the entire red carpet.  Not only was the cast there, but also Jane Fonda, Woody Allen, Charlize Theron, and Kirsten Dunst.  Chelsea and I got into the premiere.  Apparently, unless the film is in French, it is very easy to get into the film without an invitation.  After picking up the world’s most comfortable 3D glasses, we sat in our orchestra seats, only rows away from the amazing and beautiful cast.  It really is a different experience seeing the film knowing the artists who created it are sitting in the same room as you… probably having an anxiety attack.  I know I would.  I didn’t care much for the film.  It was probably at the same level as the second.  Nothing can beat the first one.

After the film, we walked out and of course, Jane Fonda was only about three people behind us.  Everyone’s dress was insanely gorgeous and I was jealous of everyone’s there.  They all looked so stunning and expensive.  I’m sure everyone at this premiere was very important.  We wanted to have an early night, so we got dinner before heading back to the hotel.  We got beef fondue and some wine and it was absolutely delicious.  I could really go for some more.  The food here has been amazing.  It came with a salad and fries as well, and they were just as wonderful.  Everything is served with fries here, which I think is kind of weird.

I ended my night by skyping with Mom, Dad, and Kip, the cuddle monster.  It was great to finally speak with them other than texts and Facebook.  I went to bed at 1am, which is probably the earliest I have this I’ve arrived.  The amount of sleep I got, which was thankfully more than two hours, topped off this perfect day at the Festival.  I am still the luckiest person in the world and I’m so grateful for every second that I get to spend here.  Please don’t end.

AmPav Queer Party

I JUST HAD THE MOST AMAZING NIGHT OF MY LIFE! Well, so far.  Before I get into my night, let’s start with my day, which was also fantastic.  I worked my first morning shift, which was fine.  I arrived late, but they didn’t even notice.  The shift went by so fast.  For the first two hours, hardly anyone is there and for the rest of it, I was very busy.  I spent most of my day catching up on the trade presses, mostly to hear the buzz about We Need to Talk About Kevin and Sleeping Beauty. I also got to speak with many other interns about both the films.  We Need to Talk About Kevin was an absolute hit among the interns, but it also has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is so great and well deserved.  Sleeping Beauty, on the other hand, did not do as well.  50% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The interns that saw it yesterday were not impressed.  They said not a lot of people even went to the premiere because of such bad word of mouth from the press screenings earlier that day.  It was slow, boring, and the content didn’t relate.

During my break, I found out that the Glee cast is supposedly coming to the Pavilion tomorrow.  One of my bosses told me and he didn’t even seem excited. He also told me to keep it on the DL.  Oh well.  Also, lots of people kept talking about the guest list for tonight’s party at the Pavilion, the Queer Party.  Jason Mraz is attending and Lady Gaga was invited, but no one knows who is actually going to show.  I met a few more people at work and received some business cards. An important one is a distribution company who is trying to start a production side, which is great for me since I need a job in a few months, so they took my card and told me to keep in contact… I lost the card.  Shit.  Cool, right?  I’ll just go to their booth tomorrow.

After work, I tried to get tickets for Red State, a market screening for Kevin Smith’s new film, but they were saving the rest of them for buyers.  The people I knew who had tickets already ended up not even getting in because the theater only held 36 seats.  I went into the Majestic hotel to check out the companies in there.  Just as I was about to go in the elevator, I ran into the two men from the Distribution company I’m helping out.  We sat down and talked about two films they wanted me to see.  One is with 50 Cent and Ray Liotta and the other is actually a DVD copy so they gave it to me to watch.  They told me what to look out for in both films and how to base my decision.  They were actually waiting to have a meeting with a production company to buy their film.  I GOT TO SIT IN ON IT! During the meeting, I saw Harvey Weinstein.  No big deal.  In case you don’t know, Harvey Weinstein is one of the most important people in the film industry.  He does everything right.  Everything.  He is the best person to know.  However, he is known to be the biggest and most arrogant people in the film industry. Lucky for him, it doesn’t stop anyone from working with him.  I was trying not to pee my pants with excitement because I was introduced as a colleague, but really?! Harvey Weinstein on Day 3?! Amazing.  As if things couldn’t get any better, I got my first party invite for the 17^th.  I’m very excited and welcome to bring anyone I’d like.  Sounds great to me!  It’s from 7 to 10, and I have to work until 8, so I’ll just go afterward.

After the meeting, we debriefed and I was brought up to speed.  Afterward, he told me about which companies I should apply for and why.  He also told me how the work ethic is and what each company looks for.  He also said November is the perfect time to start looking and sending out those emails and searching for postings.  He has been fantastic and has given me some awesome advice.

I went back to the La Bocca after the meeting and stopped at two grocery stores on the way back to the hotel.  I got some strawberries, a baguette, pasta, sauce, and a bottle of wine all for under 8 euro.  So excellent.  I cooked myself dinner and watched the film.  I have my own thoughts about it, but I don’t think I should share since it’s for the company I’m helping out.  I will say that it is not the best of films… I showered and finally had the opportunity to take a nap!  I set my alarm to sleep for twenty minutes and didn’t hear it so I ended up sleeping for an hour and forty-five minutes.  Whoops.  I got ready and arrived at the party at midnight.  Now here for the good stuff…

I immediately found Dana and Grace.  We got a drink and made our way through the party.  I found Jay, a guy that works my shift and we went over to a quieter side to the party so we could hear each other.  I look over at one of my roommates for a second across the party and she’s giving me the eyes.  They keep darting over to the right of me.  I turn and Ezra Miller is standing literally right next to me.  I tried to remain professional, but I’m almost positive I had a heart attack.  Jay and I wanted to talk to him, but he didn’t know how or what to do.  He walked away, but I found Nicole, one of my roommates and we introduced ourselves to him and talked to him for about ten minutes.  We just talked about music.  We wanted to steer clear of talking about the film, seeing as he was hearing it from everyone.  After we talked, we got a picture.  Of course, mine came out blurry.  Ugh whatever.  I found Dana again and we joined Jay and another guy and just started dancing goofy-like, you know the typical Gabby moves.  Pointing fingers, hands in the air, you know, the usual.  And what happens?  Ezra comes up to us and starts dancing with us for two songs!  It was so much fun and his goofy dance moves were most excellent.  Probably not as fabulous as mine, but it was really fun and I couldn’t believe it happened.  Despite the fact that I watched him commit a massacre at a high school on screen two times yesterday, I was contemplating asking him if he wanted to come back to the Maeva, our hotel, and hang out in my bunk bed… but I didn’t think he’d be up for it.  Whatever.  He smoked like a chimney and is from New Jersey, but his goofy dance moves sold me.  I think I found myself a winner.  French husband/one-night stand (same thing?) goal.

Oh, maybe I forgot to mention that John C. Reilly was also at the party.  He was hiding in the corner and I heard, denying people of conversation and pictures.  I was not too interested, seeing as Ezra stole the show in We Need to Talk About Kevin.  We left shortly after all of this since the party was shutting down.  On our way out, I was stopped by the distribution company who offered to take me out drinking for the rest of the night.  You know, get us in anywhere.  Dana and I have to work in the morning, so hopefully we can tomorrow night! I came back to my room to type this up so I didn’t forget a detail of this experience.  Nicole got back and the first thing we asked ourselves was… Did tonight just happen?  She hasn’t even seen the film and she’s psyched, mostly because he was so nice.  What is really crazy to think about is the fact that it’s only been three days and we have eight more days of the festival to go…  Life has officially become fake.