Matt Dentler's Blog: Cannes 2007.9: The wild bunch

Matt Dentler's Blog

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Cannes 2007.9: The wild bunch

The second, and final, weekend of the Cannes Film Festival is upon us. But that doesn't mean things are screeching to a halt. In fact, Friday has turned out to be a very busy day. But let me back up and tell you what happened on Thursday afternoon. I was asked to fill in as the moderator for a Conversation with Robert Duvall. As in, a one-on-one interview with Robert "best living American actor" Duvall. Now, I'm not easily scared by celeb interviews (we actually had Duvall participate in one at SXSW a few years ago), but seldom do I have the task of moderating by myself with a screen legend. Would he chew me up?

I'm happy to say that Duvall was as kind and gracious as I would have hoped. Before the panel, the guy just wanted to talk about beef and BBQ (he has a soft spot in his tastebuds for Lockhart, TX). So, for an audience at the American Pavilion, we conducted the interview, presented by SAG Indie. Duvall shared stories on Marlon Brando, his friends Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, and his streak of revolutionary hits in the 1970s, as well as his directorial projects like The Apostle. We even touched on soccer, another passion of his. And, of course, we chatted about his Cannes 2007 film, James Gray's We Own the Night. It was a quick and easy experience, and totally worth it. Anyway, more about some of the movies I'm seeing later, here are some recent photos:

(Up in a remote villa, foreign sales company Wild Bunch hosted their annual party. It was a festive scene of dancing and socializing. Among the Wild Bunch titles in Cannes was Abel Ferrera's 'Go Go Tales,' which received dramatically mixed reviews.)

(IFC Films' Ryan Werner and Lizzie Nastro come down off the giant, inflatable slide at the Wild Bunch soiree. IFC has picked up a few Cannes films, including Gus Van Sant's 'Paranoid Park.')

(No, Robert Duvall is not singing lounge tunes... he's answering one of my many brilliant questions during our panel. I'm seated to his left, and this photo was taken by one of the AmPav audience members.)

(On Thursday night, we stopped by the party for Colombia's film community. Here's Lumina Films sales agent Samantha Horley getting in the salsa spirit with Sony Pictures buyer Scott Shooman. Shooman was part of the biggest film deal so far this fest, the reported $11 million sale of 'We Own the Night.')

(They may be in Cannes for the fictional premiere of their project, 'Medellin,' but the HBO 'Entourage' boys were not at the Colombia party. Instead, they've been filming scenes for an upcoming Cannes episode, including this one, in the middle of the Croisette on Friday afternoon. Co-stars Kevin Connolly and Jeremy Piven take the lead.)

(On Friday morning, I participated on a panel discussion about film and new media crossover. We got a decent crowd at the Baron Club, on the beach...)

(Peter Goldwyn just can't stop awarding the Palme D'Or! Here is he, presenting it to The Weinstein Company's Genna Terranova. Congrats to all.)

Posted to The Festival Circuit on May 25, 2007 at 4:40PM

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