Cannes film festival ~ walking bare foot and premiere of 100 years Movie

The biggest pastime for regular TV watchers are the : filmfare award types and cultural events (kalai nigazhcigal) organised at various parts of globe – simply show of film stars augmenting their revenue and collecting revenue for all their development. The super-hit  movie happening  in the (fictional) ancient Kingdom of Mahishmati-   whence Shiva   finds newer World –  retrieves  Queen Devasena [Anushka] from King Bhallala Deva (Rana Daggubati) is all set to be screened at Cannes.  So also is a new movie of John Malkovich – which is totally different from any movie that you can imagine ! – what ??

Money Monster is a 2016 American thriller film  starring  George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West and Caitriona Balfe. It follows a TV personality, Lee Gates (Clooney), and a viewer, Kyle Budwell (O'Connell), who takes Gates as a hostage after losing his family's money on a bad tip by Gates. The annual film festival held at Cannes, France, since 1946 famously  ‘Cannes International Film Festival’ previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world.  The invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.  It makes news and has its own share of controversies as well.

Actress Julia Roberts made a startling style statement !  by appearing barefoot on the red carpet at the 69th Cannes Film Festival to screen her upcoming film “Money Monster”. The lack of footwear violated the strict (but unwritten) dress code, but after last year’s ‘Flatgate’ controversy, it’s not a surprise celebrities are rebelling against the rules, reports eonline.com. She recently made headlines when she attended a film premiere without footwear.  Julia  went shoeless to climb the steps that conclude Cannes' iconic carpet. She slipped out of her heels, bundled up her flowing black gown and bounded barefoot up the stairs.

Protocol on Cannes' red carpet is extremely rigid. Last year, several attendees were denied entry for wearing flat shoes and a media storm erupted.  Last year there were reports that "multiple guests, some older with medical conditions, were denied access to the anticipated world premiere screening for wearing rhinestone flats."  Cannes Film Festival was  under fire after reports women were turned away from a red carpet screening for wearing flat shoes instead of heels.  The women - some of whom were said to be older with medical conditions - were attending the world premiere of Cate Blanchett's new film Carol. Screen Daily said the festival had confirmed heels were obligatory for women at red carpet screenings. However the director of the festival said the "rumours" were "unfounded". Screen Daily first reported the story, after a "Cannes regular" told them how a woman wearing Rhinestone-encrusted flat shoes was denied entry. A spokesperson for the festival confirmed to the BBC  that rules have not changed throughout the years – there is mention of formal dress but nothing on the height of the women's heels as well as for men's.      The story provoked widespread outrage on Twitter, where the head of film at the SXSW festival, Janet Pierson, tweeted a link to the story with the words: "Why I don't go to Cannes".  The festival said it had made efforts to address the gender imbalance between male and female directors this year, despite only two female directors being in competition.

Opinions differ.  Etiquette expert William Hanson was quoted as saying – no one is bigger than the dress code and that  all hosts have a right to enforce a dress code. He contended  that by accepting an invite you agree to comply to certain rules.   She further added that - there needn't be any argument or lost sleep over the issue. The dress code for Cannes is evening dress (aka Black Tie). For men this requires a dinner jacket and a black bow tie; for women an evening dress and heels. A flat shoe is a more casual, daytime piece and just not appropriate for a formal affair.  A heel does make the wearer's legs look a lot better than a flat shoe ever could.

Whether Cannes stick to their rules and whether Julia Roberts intentionally walked barefoot may not be news but the following makes some interesting read !

The film of John Malkovich referred to earlier is ‘100 Years’ directed by Robert Rodriguez that is due to be released on 18 November 2115. No typo error that . The actor and director announced in Nov 2015 that they had teamed up with Louis XIII Cognac to create a film inspired by the hundred years it takes to make a bottle of Louis XIII. They released  three teaser trailers showing no footage from the film. Instead, they imagine three different possible futures from a dystopia to a technological paradise. Until its release, the film will be kept in a high-tech safe in bulletproof glass that will open automatically on 18 November 2115, the date of the film's premiere to which one thousand guests from around the world.  The film's plot remains a complete secret. The safe which the film is kept in will be showcased at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and various other cities in the world before heading back to Cognac, France and the Louis XIII cellars.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th May 2016.