La Vie En Cannes!
Cruise Control
Let’s do the Cannes-Cannes-Cannes! Mon dieu I love this festival - there’s nothing quite like this cinematic circus on La Croisette and I feast on the coverage from afar like a starving woman!
Opening weekend always brings the razzle dazzle and this year it wasn’t exactly a Mission Impossible to deliver on that - Tom Cruise knows how to work a crowd ;) The World Premiere of the “final” instalment of the billion-dollar Mission: Impossible franchise: The Final Reckoning brought that crowd and with his long-time support crew in town direct from the London premiere they dominated the hallowed red steps of Le Palais des Festivals.
The film got a 7 Minute standing ovation - the Cannes crowd does love counting the minutes! I wish I could add my review into the fray but us kiwi-based critics don’t get a gander until the media screening tonight which I’m gonna miss (I’m heading north to officiate a wedding (oh yes I kid you not - I moonlight as a wedding celebrant when the occasion arises :)) The film opens across the motu tomorrow so I wanna hear all YOUR (spoiler-free) takes on the film so jump into the comments to share pretty please :)
If you’re desperate for a snapshot of what the first reactions and reviews are out of Cannes are - Deadline has this wrap.
It’s been a looooooooong time - 15 years! - since I had boots on the ground covering Cannes and both times were the best ten days I’ve had in this gig. Sooooo many films soooo many interviews fuelled by my bodyweight in croissants and crepes and espressos on the run all day long and a goodly portion of the night! I got to sit down on the seaside with Ryan Gosling, Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayek, Dustin Hoffman and Russell Crowe. I got to wander along Rue d'Antibes with kiwi filmmaking legend Roger Donaldson as he chatted about the challenges of film financing and why Cannes was the best festival in the world.
Fast forward to this year and I heard exactly the same thing from another prolific NZ producer: Matthew Metcalfe on the eve of his own annual pilgrimage to Cannes. For nigh on three decades Matt has been producing and telling stories - The Dead Lands, Dean Spanley, McLaren, Whina - and we talked all those films and more as we chewed the cinematic fat for the latest episode of the New Zealand Film Commission podcast Lights, Camera, Kōrero. I’m really proud of this podcast and the way Matt so generously opened up about his process and what it takes to make movies - it’s genuine, tool-based inspiration for any aspiring filmmakers. But it was his raw, honest reflection on his own childhood — and how it continues to shape his storytelling and choices — that really found its frequency with me.
Pop your headphones on and click below to listen (you can also find this chat on the NZFC YouTube channel :))
Meantime, covering the previous Mission’s Impossible as Tom threw World Premiere parties in Paris & Sydney have been absolute career highlights for me - the first under the la tour Eiffel, the second celebrating Tom’s 61st Birthday at Sydney’s Darling Harbour with the sparkling light’s of the city behind us. Famously generous with his fans, he’s just as generous with us dodgy media types. He’s called the hardest working man in Hollywood and you see that in action whenever he hits the red carpet. It’s hard not to be impressed!
Here’s the time I was live on air for The Project NZ trying to get Tom on camera before the end of the show. EPIC FAIL (FTD - you remember what that means ;)).
And winding back the clock even further to the Fallout World Prem in Paris..
And here’s my natter with cast favourite and all round TOP BLOKE Simon Pegg (LOVE him so much!)..
So… I better click “Publish” on this puppy, I don’t want it to self-destruct in five seconds! Get amongst The Final Reckoning for me this weekend please - coz - your mission, should you choose to accept it… is to GO TO THE MOVIES!!
KRxx