Video: Ron Howard on 'Da Vinci'
Dish Diva: The 'Da Vinci' train

By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies

May 16, 2006

I've covered film festivals for 16 years now. I've been to Telluride, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Sundance (too many times to admit). My dream, of course, was to cover Cannes... and I thought I was prepared to do so. I had read history books, pored over the "Festival Virgin's Guide," followed blow-by-blow coverage every May and spoken to colleagues who had attended. However, I really had no idea what it was like here.

Since arriving, I've already gotten lost in the labyrinthine Palais des Festivals — the multi-level epicenter of the Cannes Film Festival that houses dozens of screening rooms, cafés, Wi-Fi areas, press offices and quite angry-looking, blue-blazered security guards who have no tolerance for ugly, non-French-speaking Americans such as myself. I've "misplaced" my passport (I don't want to talk about it). I've picked up my press badge and learned all about the insane caste system that accompanies it. There are five badge colors, and whether or not you get into a screening depends on the shade you possess. Think of it as a real-life example of Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches"... some of us have Star-Bellies, others are Plain-Bellies. I'm somewhere in-between. I've seen hundreds of journalists bum rush a gate and nearly crush each other to get into a 1,000-seat auditorium. And finally, I nearly got trampled when I accidentally stumbled into a group of photographers waiting for "The Da Vinci Code" press conference to end. As I took a peek, Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and director Ron Howard walked out, and suddenly, it felt like Altamont (OK, minus the stabbing... and the Hell's Angels, but you get the idea).

Oh, and sex is everywhere. Yes, I knew about that too, but until you've walked down the bronze, half-nude beaches, witnessed the disarming (un)fashion donned by males and females, or seen the nude billboards, you can't prepare yourself for the over stimulation. While eating dinner tonight, I casually glanced up at a plasma-screen TV and watched as a naked couple copulated over what can only be described as the worst Euro-trash dance music ever burned to disc. Even the music videos are hot here.

Oh, by the way, all this has happened and the festival hasn't even started yet.

There is nothing like the atmosphere here at Cannes. There is literally a buzz in the air. You can hear it when you walk down the Croisette, or when you sit and drink a beer in an outdoor café. Sometimes it's about which celebrity is coming to town, but most often in the past 24 hours, it's about which film to see. So, far I've heard Richard Linklater's dramatization of "Fast Food Nation" and European favorite Pedro Almodóvar's "Volver" (starring Penélope Cruz) pop out of the air most often. And posters for Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" are everywhere. All three are in competition for the Palme d'Or, and all will have their own day for glory or doom in the next two weeks.

And then there is "The Da Vinci Code." Later tonight, the controversial Ron Howard picture (ever think you'd read that connection in your lifetime?) opens the 59th annual festival. The film rolled into town in high fashion. The cast and press boarded a Eurostar train in London and headed for Cannes. They broke the Guinness Book world record for the longest nonstop international train trip ever (and most likely the longest press junket). When they arrived, a mob of paparazzi greeted them and at that moment, the festival truly began.

The film has screened twice for the press already, and except for one nun holding a cross at the second screening, the controversy has been minimal.

But what of the film, you ask? Is it any good? I saw it ... and will share my thoughts tomorrow.

A demain...

What Cannes selection interests you most? Would you be excited to attend the festival if you had the chance? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com

Dave McCoy is lead editor for MSN Movies.