In Contention

‘Twas the night before Cannes

Written by

in

… and while plenty of creatures are stirring along the Croisette — not least some grim-faced papparazzi camping out overnight for their red carpet spot — there’s a palpable sense of a town collectively holding its breath, waiting for the crazy to hit.

As such, I have little to report from my first day in Cannes; I could regale you with tales of queuing for my press pass, haggling with PR folk for interview time and, more pleasantly, taking a time-out to eat cherries on the beach, but I don’t want to use up all my “A” material already. I can’t even fall back on epic stories of harrowing ash clouds and flight delays, unlike many of my American colleagues — indeed, I’m one of the few who can claim his plane landed in Cannes ahead of schedule.

Still, my journey did not pass entirely without hardship: it was raining heavily when I touched down in Nice this morning, and I got a little bit wet on exiting the plane. Such are the trials I endure for your sake, readers.

To keep it short, then, I’m here and I’m ready. Tomorrow serves up a relatively light first-day menu: thanks to the modern wonders of embargo-breaking, curtain-raiser “Robin Hood” already feels like yesterday’s news, while Matthew Amalric’s “On Tour” gets the Competition off to a presumably frisky start.

I’m hoping to catch both as early as my lowly press status will allow — predictably, given my Cannes freshman status, I have the dreaded yellow card, which puts me last in line for press screenings. But hey, I shall endeavor. Failing that, there’s always more beachside cherry-eating to be done. Stay tuned (both here and on my Twitter feed) for updates.

Comments

11 responses to “‘Twas the night before Cannes”

  1. Cal Avatar

    Let’s hope the cherries aren’t the highlight for long. The Amalric looks promising!

  2. Kristopher Tapley Avatar

    There are at least two double entendres in this post — that I can detect. Here’s hoping for more innuendo throughout the fest!

    (Good luck.)

  3. Guy Lodge Avatar

    Semi-intentional, but also both literal, I’m afraid.

  4. Jim T Avatar

    “on exiting the plane”

    Imagine what will happen when you see Blanchett at the premiere.

    Kris started it. :p

  5. AmericanRequiem Avatar
    AmericanRequiem

    hha, you went in the rain for us? my hero
    keep it up guy and see some good films

  6. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    I was being too much of a prude to notice the obvious (to everyone else but me) semi-intentional innuendos laced in this fun little write-up, but regardless I am happy for you Guy and look forward to your coverage and your…umm…cherry eating. (;^P)

  7. Patryk Avatar
    Patryk

    And I thought nothing could compare to last year’s coverage…

  8. Mr Betty Draper Avatar

    Great stuff Guy! Your writing on the site has gone from strength to strength over the last season, and it’s great to see you in Cannes this year.

    Can’t wait to read your coverage! All the best, and good luck.

  9. Speaking English Avatar
    Speaking English

    Oh yeah, what horrible trials you must endure… like getting to go to France and schmoozing it out eating cherries on the beach and watching tons of films. How unfortunate for you.

  10. Guy Lodge Avatar

    I thought there was already a healthy dose of irony in the post, but thanks for keeping me in check.

  11. Speaking English Avatar
    Speaking English

    LOL it’s all good.