The whirlwind that is Cannes featured a top notch elegant dinner on Friday night: Charles Finch’s annual celebration at the Eden Roc at the Hotel du Cap. Oscar winning director Alfonso Cuaron was honored, as was FilmAid, a great organization that brings film to third world countries. Actor Edward Norton got in the quote of the night when talking about FilmAid: “Scratch an actor, and you’ll find an actress. Scratch a director, and you’ll find two actresses!”
The rest of the night the A list crowd kept expanding on those lines. They included rock star Bryan Ferry, Naomi Watts, Julian Schnabel, Harvey Weinstein, Gael Garcia Bernal, Leah Seydoux, Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, and award winning writer Christopher Hampton, author of “Dangerous Liaisons” among others.
Norton, sober as a judge, thanked Dewars for sponsoring the night. Unfortunately the sponsor was Chivas Regal. That may be the best plug of all. After that, Chivas’ name was never forgotten!
I spent a great part of the evening talking to Paul McGuiness, the manager who created U2 with the group. Last year, he transitioned out of management, selling his company to U2 and handing the reins to Guy Oseary. After 35 years, Paul tells me he wants to go back to his first love: producing films and plays. He’s half owner of a theater in Dublin. My guess is we’ll be hearing his name soon attached to big projects.
PS Bryan Ferry told me he’s playing New York’s Beacon Theater this October. Why isn’t Roxy Music in the Rock Hall of Fame already? One of that idiotic group’s hugest scandals!
