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About Town
RAMBLING REPORTER
By Gary Baum & Chris Gardner
Paul Allen’s
yacht,
Octopus
The pro snappers along the red carpet.
‘Ladder Gang’ Photogs Gear Up
The Palais’ red carpet features not one but two
photographer pits on either side of the red carpet.
That’s where the international coterie of
professional shutterbugs armed with credentials
yell stars’ names. Meanwhile, a few paces away, a
third, far more motley scrum of mostly for-the-loveof-it
local snappers — 200 of them — are continuing
a decades-long tradition of lining up along a narrow
patch of the Croisette’s median for an arguably
equally-prime view of not just the carpet but the
Palais’ famous steps beyond it. This year, the
mayor’s office began allowing them to mark their
territory with rickety ladders beginning the
morning of May 11 (two days before opening night).
Most take pictures for pleasure, not profit — some
staying in their cars, explains Cannes local Martine
Santoro, a 26-year-participant of the group referred
to as the Ladder Gang. (Santoro is known in France
for decorating her own each year in honor of the
jury president — a small shark for Steven Spielberg, a
tiny piano for Jane Campion.) Some pros looking for
fresh angles, like Belgian freelancer Frederic Andrieu,
even occasionally join them: “At the beginning they
were denigrated. They’ve become an institution.”
The Ladder Gang, right, sets
up their rickety shop in the
center of the Croisette —
prime real estate for amateur
photographers hoping to snap
some Cannes star power.
Bouelvard de
la Croisette
The Palais
This Week’s
Black Market
Ticket Index
How much it’ll cost
you to get into that party you
weren’t invited to
Money can buy most things at
Cannes, including your way
onto Paul Allen’s yacht for his
bacchanal and the annual amfAR
charitable hullabaloo at the
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Here’s
the current hookup rate for the
following fetes, according to one
in-the-know scalper.
€1,500
HOLLYWOOD DOMINO LUNCH EVENT
MAY 17
€3,000
CHOPARD ANNUAL GALA
MAY 18
€7,500
DE GRISOGONO ANNUAL GALA
MAY 19
€10,000
PAUL ALLEN YACHT PARTY
MAY 18
Deneuve
SCENE+HEARD Following the Standing Tall opening gala, VIP guests were treated to a L’Oreal-hosted dinner at
Gotha Club in nearby Palm Beach. Inside: L’Oreal ladies Julianne Moore and Naomi Watts shared a table and looked chummy. … Jury
member Jake Gyllenhaal kept L’Oreal model Liya Kebede’s attention for a 15-minute-long chat. … Natalie Portman was overheard
telling tablemates around midnight that she had another bash to get to. … Jury co-president Ethan Coen stopped at Sienna Miller’s
table (where Sophie Marceau and Frances McDormand also sat) at 12:47 a.m. to say goodnight and remind her the jury was meeting at
7:30 a.m. the next day … Jury member Guillermo del Toro loved the dinner’s raspberry-lemon dessert so much, he had two.
€15,000
AMFAR
MAY 21
◄ amfAR host Sharon Stone
• FESTIVAL FOOD FACE-OFF •
The Burgers
France is experiencing hamburger
amour fou: One out of every two sandwiches now
sold in the country are the quintessentially Yankee
invention (up from just one out of seven in 2007).
So THR visited a pair of Cannes burger haunts —
one an iconic U.S. import, another a new-wave
Gallic homage to America — mere steps from each
and around the corner from the Palais.
€8.45 €20
STEAK ’N SHAKE 2 PLACE DU GENERAL DE GAULLE
The late Roger Ebert was a lifelong fan of this Midwestern
chain, which debuted its local location — the first in Europe
— last year during the festival. “If I were on death row, my
last meal would be from Steak ’n Shake,” he wrote in 2009.
Alas, its Steakburger is a rather wan domestic competitor to
the signature offerings from counter-service coastal rivals
In-N-Out and Shake Shack. Spongy, shiny buns encase a pair
of thin gray patties, a slice of cheddar cheese, limp lettuce
and forgettable sliced pickles. It’s uninspired nostalgia.
ZE BEST!
NEW YORK NEW YORK 1 ALLEE DE LA LIBERTE
The earnest French expression of Americanophilism on
display at this grand sit-down, U.S.-style bistro can at times
veer toward the questionable in the burger department.
(The “Mexicain” features an unidentifiable “spicy sauce,” and
the “Jewish” is a tuna steak.) Yet the namesake iteration
is a decidedly on-point presentation. The double-height patty
is enticingly charred, the Bibb lettuce and tomato each boast
a smart snap, and the pungent Thousand Island dressing is
Carl’s Jr.-commercial messy.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 18