Saturday, December 14, 2024

(UPDATE) Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani Among AmFAR in Cannes Hosts

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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.”

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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