As the Cannes droves prepare their trips, AmFAR is planning its annual “Cinema Against AIDS” dinner on the second Thursday of the festival. Janet Jackson has been signed up as a host with a group including Gwen Stefani, which should make the event hotter than ever. Now the big question is whether or not Sharon Stone will be back after a year off from conducting the famed live auction. There are those who love Sharon’s style and some who don’t. But AmFAR suffers a little without Stone’s presence.(Last year, the AmFAR people were very upset when I reported that Sharon wasn’t coming. She had a film to shoot in Eastern Europe.)
UPDATE: Unclear if Janet or Gwen will sing. And I’m told it’s “unlikely” Sharon Stone will attend. More to come…
As usual, Kenneth Cole is back at the helm, with Harvey Weinstein co-hosting and hoping to bring whatever talent is still in town to the big night at the Hotel du Cap. And L’Oreal has signed on to sponsor the after party.
AmFAR may have a little bit of a scheduling conflict on Thursday as it’s also the premiere night for Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In,” starring Antonio Banderas. But “Drive,” with Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, opens on the last Friday, so those young stars may turn up. And if Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” is any good, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt may be hanging around for the Saturday night awards presentation. Cannes is going to be celeb-heavy this year anyway, with Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Penn, and even “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm, who will be in town promoting girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt’s “Friends with Benefits.”
