Cannes Parties: What's Hot on the Croisette (Cannes)

A woman spreads flowers at the Canal Plus party.

CANAL PLUS

Canal Plus took Cannes partying to new heights at their annual bash atop the cobblestone hill at Le Suquet in an old castle with a magnificent view of the city. ?Guests piled into the Cannes tourist trains for a ride up the winding streets of Cannes? ?old quarter? to the party held in a clock tower overlooking the town below. DJ Jeremie Khlat kept the massive central dance floor moving all night long as girls dressed in Black Swan-like garb circled the room. Canal Plus? own, including president of the Canal Plus group Bertrand Meheut and executive vp content and COO Rodolphe Belmer enjoyed a night off from their monopoly of the Cannes media market ? the company sent 500 employees to the festival this year and scheduled 350 hours of fest-related programming. The entire Gallic film biz joined the party including stars Jean-Paul Rouve and Frederique Bel, Competition director Radu Mihaileanu, MK2 topper Nathanael Karmitz plus international star Djimon Hounsou in town to promote his upcoming film Special Forces opposite Diane Kruger. Canal Plus? Head of Cinema Manuel Alduy summed up the evening: ?52 handshakes, two reunions, several cool producers, and two black swan dancers.?

Attendees: Canal Plus? President and COO Bertrand Meheut and Rodolphe Belmer joined the company?s Head of Cinema Manuel Alduy, EVP of International Production and Acquisitions Ron Halpern, the network?s star TV show ?Le Grand Journal? presenters Michel Denisot, Ali Baddou, Ariane Massenet, Charlotte Le Bon and Jean-Michel Aphatie, Special Forces stars Raphael Personnaz and Djimon Hounsou, MK2?s Nathanael Karmitz and Charles Gillibert, producer Michael Gentile, talents Frederique Bel, Jean-Paul Rouve, Thierry Fremont, director Radu Mihaileanu plus novelist-turned-director Frederic Beigbeder for a who?s who of Gallic film biz talent and execs.

Cuisine: Chefs lined the perimeter of the vast outdoor space and cooked up piping hot mushroom risotto, Thai shrimp and grilled meats before guests finished off the night on a sweet note with exotic fruits like dragonfruit, mango and pineapple. Guests sipped champagne and fruity cocktails.

Highlights/Lowlights: The outdoor gala was decorated with chandeliers hanging from the trees and, around midnight, a girl in a white dress dropped from a tree on a swing and tossed flowers on guests. / The only drawback was the wait for the trains to return to take tired guests back to the bottom of the hill to the Croisette.

Rating: 4 Martini glasses

WU XIA

The party for Peter Ho-sun Chan?s martial arts film noir Wu Xia got a few things right: a gorgeous location on the Baoli Beach, a laidback music selection of Sergio-Leone inflected Asian pop and no VIP section to divide the worthy from the plebs. But a door policy apparently cribbed from China?s film import law ?meant the spacious spot remained half empty. And the fete, which kicked off at 10:30, had barely begun before it was winding down, as guests streamed out to catch the film?s midnight screening at the Palais.

Attendees: Wu Xia helmer Peter Ho-Sun Chan and stars Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei, Li Xiao Ran and Kara Hui brought the glam while Weinstein Co. topper Harvey Weinstein and COO David Glassner provided the business angle.

Cuisine: Tiny canap?s that barely kept hunger at bay ? maybe this how Tang Wei keeps her figure ? were sweetened by ?plates of scrumptious chocolates and dipped orange slices.

Highlights/Lowlights: The Wu Xia bash had a particularly high totty level ? did Harvey have a hand in picking the guest list? ? but Chinese super star Fan Bing Bing knocked em all dead in a pink-to-white ombre dress that caused whiplash in attendees of both genders. / The lounge area, while open to all, became so packed that most were left standing outside peering through the plastic windows for a glimpse of the film?s stars. It was like a peep show without the sex ? and with Harvey Weinstein.

Rating: 2.5 Martinis

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/film/~3/cwLYxkSdG0M/cannes-parties-whats-hot-croisette-188462

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