Baz Bamigboye
This Harrison Ford definitely has some staying power for someone in his 81st year.
What’s the secret, I ask him?
“You know what the secret is,” he replied.
“Rock ‘n’ Roll and the other two things.”
What other two things?
“Sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. That’s the secret, but it’s no longer a secret now,” an evil glint in his eyes as he spoke.
Ford and Calista Flockhart were guests at Charles Finch’s annual Filmmakers Dinner “A Rabbit’s Foot” in Cannes on Friday night.
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For as long as I can remember, the event has been held at the Eden Roc, but this year Finch and his partners moved to Fred L’écailler Seafood Restaurant on the East Peninsula, behind Palm Beach. It always makes me laugh when chef Fred Garbellini describes himself as “a simply humble fisherman”.
In fact, I suspect he is.
Fred Garbellini (right) and colleagues Baz Bamigboye/Deadline
Humble fisherman for the rich and famous.
Guests met for cocktails before being seated at about a dozen long white tables on a huge terrace.
Wim Wenders and Ford were deep in conversation before Finch very kindly invited them to sit down. Without success, because everyone wanted to talk to the legendary star; a few people even went so far as to follow him to the bathroom. I know this because I was there before him. Ford somehow told viewers that he needed space for a minute and was allowed into a booth unescorted.
Interesting how famous people are equally impressed by other famous people.
However, Ford is so laid back that he draws all the attention with ease.
He wanted to be at the dinner because Mads Mikkelsen, who co-stars with Ford in the blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, received a Rabbit’s Foot pin with director Audrey Diwan for their contribution to the cinema.
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Charles Finch (standing) with guests like Mads Mikkelsen and Audrey Diwan. Baz Bamigboye / Deadline
Alicia Vikander was with friends ahead of Sunday’s competitive screening of Karim Ainouz’s Firebrand in Cannes with Vikander as Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife, portrayed by an unrecognizable Jude Law.
The film is about how Parr survived this marriage. “Looking at it from today’s perspective, she suffered domestic violence and that’s what we wanted to convey,” Vikander said.
I sat with film manager Sam Pressman, CEO of Pressman Film; Ron Halpern, executive vice president of global production at StudioCanal; and Christophe Riandee, Deputy CEO of Gaumont. We certainly put the world in order and one thing we did address was Ford’s longevity as a movie star and why there are so few these days – especially stars under 30.
There are some, but they are as rare as chicken teeth.
However, we all agreed that by this time next year Paul Mescal would have made his breakthrough as a real movie star.
I really hope this works.
We all moved to other tables, some of us daring to dance along with the Gipsy Kings.
At 1am it was time to leave.
I met at the party on the Croisette to celebrate Molly Manning Walker’s great first feature film How to Have Sex, hosted by Mubi and Film4, among others.
The first thing I had to do was quickly take off my tuxedo. You can’t hop around freely in a bow tie and tuxedo.
Dressed appropriately, I made my way to Nomade @ 3.14 Plage. The store closed at 2:00 a.m. sharp.
I duly bounced away as I watched the talented young performers bounce up and down. I love this movie; one of the unexpected joys of the year.
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A giant pink inflatable plastic creature was thrown onto the dance floor and literally swam overhead.
Pink inflatable boat storms ‘How to Have Sex’ party Baz Bamigboye/Deadline
Smiling, I thought this was the right place.
At 2.10am the DJ put down his instruments and started cleaning up his deck.
The crowd shouted for him to play another song, but he didn’t move. Neither would we, but he wouldn’t budge.
Film4 boss Daniel Battsek remarked that “it must be one hell of a party” when people call in the DJ for more music.
Some of us sat on some steps and sang songs. At 4 a.m. we were really like pumpkins.