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The scene in Cannes
CANNES, France — Tables at the annual gala Amfar benefit for AIDS are going for $100,000, and the stars are still getting dressed up and walking the red carpet, but the glitz isn’t the same this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
Could it be that the recession is actually having an effect at the most glamorous film event in the world, where excess has been a hallmark?
Apparently, yes.
Although official attendance statistics haven’t been released, a number of prominent journalists are not here this year, partly because of the recession-related media meltdown. The largest newspaper in Canada, the Toronto Globe and Mail, did not send its film critic to this year’s fest, and that’s almost unheard of.
The parties on nearby yachts have been few and far between. And the elaborate lunches for the press are even rarer.
Perhaps the biggest indicator that the high-rollers are missing in action: The Casino Barriere has reduced the number of gown-clad women who once staffed the doors to the gaming rooms for blackjack and roulette from three to one.
A lone woman sits at a counter near the entrance these days, saying merely that the setup has changed. Inside, sports coats are no longer required, and people are dressed in jeans. The days of James Bond are gone.
Then there’s the minimum bet. For the past 10 years, it was unthinkable that you could play a hand of blackjack for less than 20 Euros, which is roughly $30. The minimum this year has been cut to 10 Euros, a relative bargain for pricey Cannes environs.
Some people, however, are here to spend money to make money. A group of young women this morning were trying to recruit critics this morning to attend an event at the American Pavilion. They were from Louisiana. And they were touting film incentives that have lured countless movie productions to the Bayou State over the past few years, much to the detriment of the Texas film scene.
In short, they’re messing with Texas. So I simply smiled at them near the mailboxes for journalists and said no thanks. Haven’t heard anything from the Texas film folks yet — or even seen them around the Croisette.
But I did catch up with Craig Whitney, an Austinite who’s marketing a movie at the Short Film Corner, and Dana Glover and Michelle Carter of Midian Films in Round Rock, who are representing several film projects at the market.
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