Nicole Kidman was choosing her every word extremely carefully.
‘Look, Steven’s been very clear about us not commenting on the films that are in competition,’ she told me as we chatted about her jury duty and Steven Spielberg’s rule as president of the Cannes Film Festival jury.
‘He said: “Just say ‘No comment’ when people start asking you.” He was very strict about it and I’m not going to get into trouble with Steven!’ she giggled, as we sat between courses at the Electrolux Diner d’Ouverture.
Scroll down for video...She was happy to talk about her children, husband Keith Urban and how she’d ‘walk over hot coals’ to be in a movie directed by fellow juror Ang Lee, but absolutely nothing about the 20 films in the official Cannes line-up.
‘I think Steven’s right: it’s not fair to the competition film-makers. I have to say I’m looking forward to the debate we will all have when we have to decide on the Palm D’Or,’ she told me.
We had just come from the screening of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby and it reminded Nicole of her own experiences working with Luhrmann as the courtesan Satine in Moulin Rouge (he’s Baz 1 this year, I’m Baz 2).
‘Baz sent me red roses when I was at the Donmar in The Blue Room,’ she said, recalling her performance in the 1998 London production of David Hare’s play. ‘They were exquisite, and the note read: “You’re my Satine.”
‘I was very excited, but I still had to audition for him. I think it had to do with the singing. He wanted to be sure I could sing the part!’ she laughed.
‘The Blue Room was very good for me because I got to work with Baz on Moulin Rouge and Stephen Daldry cast me in The Hours after seeing me in the play and I won the Oscar for that.’
Her singer husband, she told me, should be arriving some time today from Los Angeles to join her for a few days.
‘We’ll be in the dark, watching films. Maybe we’ll sit in the back row!’
Emma's Bling has a ring of truthEmma Watson had Cannes eating out of her hand yesterday.
The 23-year-old expertly answered questions about her part in Sofia Coppola’s sublime new movie The Bling Ring, which opened the Un Certain Regard section of the festival.
I was impressed by how Emma was able to link our obsession with celebrity culture to social media and how that feeds a desire for so many to emulate the stars they see on TV, Facebook, Kardashian-style reality shows and magazines.
Emma Watson had Cannes eating out of her hand yesterdayInspired by a true story, Emma’s character is part of a gang that in real life robbed the homes of people such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.
The film is a great commentary on the sickness that pervades our society with more and more people desperate to emulate the rich and famous.
And Watson’s performance is brilliant at pinpointing desire and stupidity.
It’s awesome to see the Potter alumni — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Watson — move onwards and upwards with film and stage roles of substance.
Watch out for...George MacKAY, who gives an extraordinary performance in Paul Wright’s film For Those In Peril, which is being shown in the Critics’ Week section of the festival. MacKay, just 21, started making films when he was ten.
His pictures include Peter Pan, The Boys Are Back, Private Peaceful and the forthcoming Sunshine On Leith, but nothing prepares you for the sheer level of acting brilliance in the Film 4, Warp Films, BFI and Protagonist production about a young man from a Scottish fishing village who is the only survivor of a fishing boat accident.
This sends him into a schizophrenic spiral that threatens his relationship with his mother (Kate Dickie) and his brother’s girlfriend (Nichola Burley). We’re going to be hearing a lot more about George MacKay.
Mia Wasikowska, who will star as Gustave Flaubert’s heroine Madame Bovary in a new screen version being directed on locations in Normandy in the summer. Paul Giamatti, Rhys Ifans and Ezra Miller also star in the adaptation directed by Sophie Barthes.
Bernardo Bertolucci, who will be the guest of honour at Charles Finch’s annual Finch’s Quarterly Review-Chopard dinner tonight at the Eden Roc restaurant at the Hotel Du Cap.
Finch’s bash has become the must-go-to party during the festival. Liv Tyler, Christoph Waltz, Alicia Vikander, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Olga Kurylenko and Christian Louboutin are just a few of the names who will be rocking at the Roc.
Iain DE CAESTECKER, who stars in new U.S. TV series Agents Of Shield and has been cast to appear with Matt Smith in Ryan Gosling’s new movie drama How To Catch A Monster.
Football legend Pele is embarking on a search to find a youthful version of himself.
He wants a 15-year-old who can replicate his teenage soccer skills for a big-screen movie about his life.
‘It’s not the Pele who scored goals or the Pele who was a champion. This is a young Pele,’ the sporting giant told me.
Let the search begin: Pele is undertaking a search for someone to play a young version of himself in a film of his life‘He has to know good ball control and I have to travel to find him.’
He thinks it will be difficult to track down such a player because young sportsmen are so influenced by what Pele termed ‘communications’.
He explained: ‘The young people in Brazil and South America have TV and the internet,’ and these influence the way they play today. But he and producers Brian Grazer and Guy East are confident there is a player out there who can portray a teenage Pele (real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento), who first played for his country at the 1958 World Cup at the age of 17.
It’s hoped that filming will start this summer with directors Michael and Jeff Zimbalist shooting in Brazilian locations.
Pele was scathing about the current state of the game and said few play simply for the love of football. ‘It’s all business now,’ he told me. He cited Argentinian Lionel Messi as the player he most admires, but asked: ‘Where are the Franz Beckenbauers and players such as George Best?’
As he made his way from the suite at the Carlton Hotel, he beckoned me closer and whispered: ‘Brazil for the final of the World Cup.’
That would be perfect, as he wants the film to have its world premiere during the World Cup next year.
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