Kim Basinger’s bedroom eyes aren’t the only thing smoldering around Cannes. Maybe it’s because everyone is tired. Maybe it’s because the “haves” walk so freely in front of the cordoned off “have-nots.” Maybe it’s because you simply cannot have a saint around without a devil being nearby.
Whatever the reason, fights are igniting and hotel rooms are getting robbed. Yes, even with all the riot police shipped in from all over France. It’s the seedy side of seaside Cannes, where petty thieves mix with pretty women.
Police are investigating a melee that broke out as dawn was breaking at the Palm Beach disco where the tres late, after-hours fete for Dave Stewart’s (one party is never enough) “Honest” was held. Unnamed club-hopping youths wheeling around in convertibles were among the slightly wounded. Ah, drama.
In contrast, the Italian Film Commission, whose beautiful land has lured many American filmmakers, threw a lovely happy hour soiree in the private outdoor club on the terrace behind the Palais. Who could resist the wine, the charm, the beautiful lighting and the wine? Not Julianne Moore, who is currently shooting “Hannibal” in Tuscany with Anthony Hopkins.
(Italy is very “in” these days — actually, it has been since the Roman Empire. Kim Basinger is here with “I Dreamed of Africa,” in which she plays una Italiana from Venice, without ever changing her accent. Not to worry, she is as multi bellissima as always.)
The classy Catherine Deneuve, a Cannes figure almost as necessary as the Palais itself, stars in “Dancer In the Dark,” directed by Lars Von Trier (“Breaking the Waves“). Lars promises that his next film will not only be shot dogma-style (that’s the latest moviemaking trend from Denmark, where everything must be shot in real reel time), but also that it will be a porn film.
Hmmm, the costume budget should be reasonable.
