Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Cannes do spirit
70 YEARS OF THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL...
She was the world’s biggest movie star, attending an extravagant shindig at the most famous film festival on the planet. But when tipsy Rita Hayworth realised the Cannes villa she was in was surrounded by crowds, she panicked. Leaving the party so worse for wear would have left her face as red as her famous locks. So Rita resorted to desperate measures. Having spotted a rug on the floor, she asked her pals to roll her up in it and smuggle her out. It’s a caper that could have come straight from a movie. But this was the Cannes Film Festival. And when it comes to parties at Cannes, it’s always been a case of anything goes. From Hugh Hefner throwing a Playboy bunny bash for Cary Grant, to Noel Gallagher enjoying an all-nighter with Mick Jagger and the cast of Trainspotting, anything can happen. And, as the 70th festival starts this week, the fun and games will soon be under way... “Cannes is the Oscars on steroids,” says Jean-bernard Fernandez Versini, who has been coming to the festival for nearly 20 years. The town is where he now has a restaurant, Versini, and where romance blossomed between him and his ex-wife, singer Cheryl. “One year I was on a yacht with my friend, who is a well-known rapper,” he recalls. “His manager called and said he had to perform at a private party. So we jumped off the boat and into our tuxes. Cannes is crazy.” Nowadays, few can throw a bash like Leonardo Dicaprio. Just like his Great Gatsby character, his parties are legendary. Last year, he hosted one in a mansion in the Cannes hills, where Orlando Bloom showed some impressive moves on the dance floor. In 2015, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton and Rita Ora were guests at his bash in a villa, where home-made punch was among 50 types of booze on offer. But outrageous behaviour is the order of the day (and night) at Cannes. The director of Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn, says: “There’s probably no other festival that can combine art, commerce and scandal in one place and make it so classy and elegant.” Jack Penrod, founder and owner of entertainment brand Nikki Beach Worldwide, has thrown some of the most extravagant parties over the past 15 years. Last year saw Robert De Niro and Woody Allen walk through his doors. He says: “Woody was a lot of fun. And we don’t brother the stars, we just let them do what they want.” This time round, all eyes are on Nicole Kidman, who is showcasing four films, including How To Talk To Girls At Parties. She still remembers a raucous afterparty for her 2001 film Moulin Rouge. “I was Djing at about 2 am,” she says. “Not my forte but I was up for anything – I’d had a few drinks.” Ukrainian-born billionaire and Warner Music owner Len Blavatnik will again dock his 164ft yacht Odessa at Cannes for another uber-lavish party. In 2014, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino threw a bash for the 20th anniversary of Pulp Fiction. Tarantino eagerly encouraged people to smoke pot, saying: “If anyone wants a joint, rip it out and light up. Tell them I said it.” But never let it be said that Old Hollywood didn’t know how to nab the headlines. In 1953, Brigitte Bardot scandalously posed on the beach in a bikini. The following year, during a photocall with Robert Mitchum, French actress Simone Silva spontaneously took her top off. The ensuing scramble saw one snapper break his arm, and another his leg. Silva was asked to leave the festival, with her career in tatters. The same year was more fruitful for US actress Grace Kelly, who met her future husband Prince Rainier of Monaco there. In 1959, Playboy founder Hefner, hosted that now-legendary bash with actress Kim Novak for movie
icon Grant. As the hippy culture spread in the 60s, drugs became more commonplace.
British actor Malcolm Mcdowell, who went on to star in A Clockwork Orange, recalled of a festival bash in 1969: “I was sitting with a British delegation out on the terrace of the Carlton [hotel]. It was so boring. “I look across and I see all these guys having a real good time. So I went over and said, ‘Hi, I’m Malcolm Mcdowell, I’d like to meet you’. This guy goes, ‘Hi, I’m Dennis Hopper… this is Jack.’” The Jack was Jack Nicholson, who Hopper had just starred with in Easy Rider. “They gave me a spliff,” says Mcdowell. “And I don’t remember anything about 1969 after that.” Now, as studios throw evermore lavish bashes, the verdict on the party is almost as important who wins the awards. Critic John B Mcgrath, author of Cannes Confidential, explains: “A film company is often judged on how successful or outrageous its party is. The studio might screen an amazing film only to have it be let down in the media because the accompanying event only ranked as average.” In 1996, Oasis star Gallagher entered festival folklore when he was seen chatting to author Irvine Welsh by a hotel pool at 6am, after a midnight screening of Trainspotting... and countless cocktails. But there is a sleazier side to Cannes. Mcgrath recalls being at a party in 1999, with the “who’s who of the British film industry”. He says: “A young hipster – who seems to know everyone – introduces himself. He tells me that cocaine is abundant at the festival – drug-taking is open, frequent and scarcely raises an eyebrow.” And, in 2014, an investigation found that prostitutes flock to the town during the festival, targeting wealthy businessmen who host lavish parties on their yachts. “At Cannes, they carry money around in wads,” said a source. “They don’t even count it. They’ll just hand it to the girls without thinking. They can make up to £30,000 a night. “Every boat has about 10 girls on it. They are usually models and they are usually nude or half-nude. It’s drugs, drink and beautiful women.”