Thursday, date 2 of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The stars spent the day fanning out all over town. At night, the hottest crowd descended on the famed Hotel Martinez for a gathering sponsored by Chopard jewelry. (So far no robberies but the festival is young!)
Two double Oscar winners arrived in stunning gowns and chatted each other up: Cate Blanchett and Jane Fonda are in a very small club. A glowing Blanchett had presented young actor’s breakthrough awards to Logan Lerman and to Adèle Exarchopoulos. She joined Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz afterward for a private dinner. Blanchett is a mensch, you know: she delayed leaving for the dinner so she could be introduced to some of my colleagues and friends from Variety, which sponsored the event.
Also dropping by the Chopard party were newly minted Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and director Sofia Coppola, the latter is on the main jury this year.
Oscar winner Penelope, by the way, can’t stick around Cannes long. She starts shooting “MaMa” in Madrid on Monday, her first new movie in some time after having two children with Oscar winner husband Javier Bardem. Doesn’t she want to get back to work? “Not really,” the great beauty sighed. “The boys are just 9 months and 3 years old.” Apparently she doesn’t know they’re old enough to take care of themselves!
Meanwhile, lunch time at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes is already bubbling. On Thursday, “Hercules” director and new film financier Brett Ratner dined with Revlon chief Ronald Perelman. (The latter had to cut the size of his yacht party Thursday night, I’m told, per the captain, or risk sinking. Not the case ever with Paul Allen’s yacht!)
Vanity Fair supremo editor Graydon Carter commanded his own table, while producer-multi hyphenate Charles Finch sized up the terrace for his annual all star soiree-hot ticket celebrating Cannes tonight (Friday).
What’s anticipated: Harvey Weinstein’s annual presentation of clips from forthcoming movies. And Prince putting on a show, maybe, possibly. There’s also a lot of buzz about Abel Ferrara’s “Welcome to New York,” which will screen at 9pm (changed from Midnight) on Saturday. That’s the thinly veiled “DSK” movie with Gerard Depardieu and Jacqueline Bisset.
