Cannes Diary

Cannes Diary Friday, May 15 After a relatively quiet start, the festival is getting into its stride. Buzz is building on three monumental parties, the celebrity count is showing signs of seriously shaming last year's underwhelming 50th birthday and there is the usual array of salcious scuttlebutt and drama that proceeds up and down the Croisette at the speed of gossip. First, though, the films so far. As this is the year Hollywood asserted its authority on the Euro film festival, the first few films are typically Studio productions. The opening night featured Mike Nichol's Presidential satire Primary Colors starring John Travolta (in a quasi-Clinton performance) as the president cavorting with scandal and Emma Thompson as his long suffering first lady. Both stars were in town (along with Nichols) and did the standard mugging to the paps before disappearing in the direction of the fabled Hotel Du Cap. Critically it was greeted with murmers of dissent at a lack of bite in the politcal satire department, but good performances. Dark City, a bizarre choice for Cannes competition, is a highly stylised sci-fi thriller with vague Kafka overtones. If that makes any sense. Set in a gothic otherworld city of permanent night, gory murders and baldy aliens swapping people's memories about, it split the critical pack. Some viewed it as a marvellous splicing of classical horror traditions with Blade Runner-Fritz Lang dystopian gloominess. We even heard some bloke in a bar mention German expressionism, but he probably just empties the bins. The other half, though, thought it was a gloomy re-run of all those noir-y cliches and just a bit crap really. Rufus Sewell and William Hurt starred and turned up for free champers. However, the most amount of interest so far has surrounded Terry Gilliam's interpretation of Hunter S Thompson's drug addled neo-classic Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Starring a transformed (and bald of pate) Johnny Depp as Thompson incarnate, it rattled a few cages in the full-to-the-gills screening. Walk outs, disgust and - from a large bloke in front of Empire - near hysterical croaks of what we assume was laughter, revealed the gamut of reactions to the unhinged affair. Overall though the feeling was disappointment; although daring and visually wild, the heightened style and freakish dialogue are interminable. Gilliam's surrealist pudding is actually quite boring. Still, Depp was in town to cause minor riots amongst the teenage hordes scuffling and scratching to get a view outside the Palais. No winner on the cards yet. Away from the competition and poncey arty stuff, the big thing on the Croisette is the majors plugging their summers wares. On every bill hoarding, street corner and particularly over the glorious facade of the Carlton hotel, are posters, models, standees and declarations of hugeness from all concerned. Heavy on the plug are De Niro thriller Ronin, The X-Files, Fear And Loathing, Dr. Dolittle, Armageddon and, of course, Godzilla - loudly boasting its enormity from the Carlton roof. Everywhere you turn the Studios have grabbed space to grab your attention. Given the expense in sticking a 30 foot picture of Bruce Willis in full view, those companies with less francs to spend are forced to find alternative methods of flogging their latest masterpiece. Schlock masters Troma, bless 'em, have become champions of the alternative plug. Flyers are stuck under wipers, small scent bottles containing eau du Troma handed out in lobbeys and some poor fool has to dress up as the Toxic Avenger and schlep along the sea front handing out press releases to baffled French octagenarians with handbag sized poodles. Rumours abound that the ever-resourceful film company are planning a big stunt to upstage the arrival of closing film Godzilla . . . Okay, then, celebrity count to date - Martin Scorsese Sigourney Weaver Winona Ryder Lena Olin Mike Nichols John Travolta Emma Thompson William Hurt Rufus Sewell Johnny Depp Terry Gilliam Kate Moss And that's just in Empire's apartment. Coming soon: Lars Von Trier's Danish art-porn scandal - and the Cannes Drunk Survival Guide. Signing off, Ian Ian Nathan Editor, Empire