Cannes the beginning

Thursday eve!
Arrived late last night, and promptly ran into friends in the bathroom! Dropped my bags and then off to the Arte Yacht party. Great blagging to get in if I say so myself, they never suspected a thing!
Partying (or Blagging) in Cannes: If you’re invite got lost in the email post or mislaid, even stolen then never fear. You can still get into those parties you were definitely invited to, I understand. Each year there is a coveted list of parties that is released to certain press members, get the list, then start to ask around.
After getting meetings, getting into the parties is the next big thing in Cannes.
Of course you already know that. But I’ve come across people who are too shy, too nervous or just not sure to try.
It never hurts, we are all creatives so find a creative reason to not have your name on the list. Find out who you know is already inside, get them to help you, what was their contacts name, do you have any contacts who might know the company itself, etc etc.
Of course you have to do this with authority, purpose and be surprised when they stop you. Toe the line but don’t go overboard. Some parties are easier to get into and others, well……they are very very strict. But lets face it, in true Studio 54 style, if you have a room full of celebrities no one stands out, but mix in some randoms and suddenly you have an exciting party.
I’ve had some amazing stories in my two years, the best being a friend who blagged his way onto the Paul Allen Yacht party. The Rolling Stones were playing, Kanye West was there too, I think Beyonce was as well – it was last year my alcohol dazed memory can get confused. But that is a pinnacle party blagging, because that is one of the top parties in Cannes!
Here are some of the top parties:
Paul Allen Yacht party
AMFAR after party
Wild Bunch after party and villa parties
Miramax Party
Vanity Fair
Calvin Klein
Playboy Moonlite Party (this year)
Chopard Party
RedDirt Party
There are others but these are the ones that I know happen and are pretty amazing. The size and scope always gets people talking (real tigers at Amfar after party, The Rolling Stones at Paul Allen, Kanye West at Reddirt, Madonna performing at AMFAR after party, celebs at Chopard), not to mention the guest list. You could actually end up talking to Harvey Weinstein (I did), or CEO of Universal, or Eva Longoria, Cate Blanchett perhaps a Jury member like Uma Thurman.
Then further down the list, slightly more accessible:
Big film afterparties (Pirates, Robin Hood etc)
Abu Dhabi Party
Nikki Beach party
VIP Lounge party
Variety
Little White Lies & Magazine parties
Sales/Distribution Yacht parties
Various country parties on their yachts/pavilions

Ok so that’s the parties.
Friday – I ended up getting accredited, running into a producer friend Andrea Farrena and finding out there is a free day spa in the palais!
Is this rumour? Or is this for real? I never got a chance to figure that out!
We met up with our Cannes Crew, consisting of Angela Peters (Actor aka Playa), Elisa Armstrong (Actor), Felicity Jurd (Actor), Andrea Farrena(Producer), Matt Mccombs (Sales) and the Spotlight crew (sales) Doug (Director), Zara Symes (Actor), Matt Carter (Producer) and his director, and finally myself . A rather large Cannes Crew this year but still it’s great and important to establish a group, you can exchange party info, get eachother into parties, and find great places to drink.
Like Heaven. Which I will not disclose the location here, suffice to say that Heaven (that’s our nickname) is where you get free champagne, right on water, it is beautiful, sitting in deck chairs sunning yourself next to the ocean with free flowing champagne (and coffee if you need it).
So were spent the afternoon in Heaven, drinking and wondering why this didn’t happen more often to us….

Later on a trip to the UK Pavilion to check in with the events this year, and I ran into producer friends at the South African pavilion next door (which incidently has better wifi!) who were in meetings for the film I was in late last year.
They’ve sold the film to Aspect and are now holding screenings for distributors! Very exciting for us all, if we get theatrical distribution!

That night was Little White Lies and Abu Dhabi, both at the same time, so we legged it and did both. Abu Dhabi was one of the hot tickets last year after the beach swept away and reduced their capacity by half. It was AMAZING night and VIP’s turned up in force, this year, it wasn’t quite as great, although the food was wonderful, alchol plentiful and music awesome. So we danced and danced, with anyone and everyone!



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