The hunt is on for celebrity guests this years at the various Cannes parties.
On Friday night, Charles Finch got a gang together at the Eden Rock for his annual filmmakers dinners. But absent from the proceedings were people like Harvey Weinstein and Mick Jagger, each of whom used to bring a group in their wake.
Finch’s guests included Rita Ora and Andie McDowell, and “Rocketman” director Dexter Fletcher. But famous cinema names are so hard to dig up this year that Finch’s dinner was co-hosted by Edward Enninful, the editor of British Vogue, and designer Michael Kors, two people from the fashion– not movie– world.
Chopard had more luck, but of course they hired Mariah Carey to entertain Julianne Moore, and Richard Madden. And a lot of models. Except for Madden, no one else from “Rocketman” showed up even though the jewelry company has a big product plug in the middle of the Elton John biopic.
Tonight Vanity Fair will try and lure who ever is around back up to the Eden Roc, a 40 minute drive from Cannes. It won’t be easy: I’m told VF’s publicity director, Lizzie Wolf, is gone, decamped to a website called TheSkimm.com. Wolf had succeeded her boss, Beth Kseniak, before the 2018 Oscars. But newish editor Radhika Jones has cleaned house of all Graydon Carter types, and Wolf was among the last to go.
The VF party spot of Saturday night is tricky. It’s too soon before Quentin Tarantino and cast turn up for their Tuesday night premiere. “Rocketman” and “The Dead Don’t Die,” the only other two big America movies, are done. Elton John is back on tour.
There will be some celebs. L’Oreal and Chopard each fly ladies in to promote their goods. So some of them may come. But it’s not like Cannes– forget Cannes, Cap d’Antibes– is around the corner. And the film festival is simply lacking star power this year.
Look for Elle Fanning, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Amber Heard, and Dita von Teese to continue their party marathon. Plus, amFAR is paying for Chris Tucker and Mariah Carey to hang around until next Thursday for their event. (Nice to know where their money is going. Mariah doesn’t stay in a beach cottage, or take Uber.)
And that should be interesting: Mariah has a date on Weds May 22, the night before amFAR, in Dublin, Ireland. Then immediately following she has three nights in a row at Royal Albert Hall in London. That’s a lot of singing and traveling in a short time!
