Chapter 717: Cannes Red Carpet

As the opening film, Fury Road naturally drew massive attention and served as one of the Cannes Film Festival's most heavily promoted features. Duke arrived in Cannes with Charlize Theron, Tom Cruise, James Franco, and Anthony Hopkins two days before the festival began. Fresh from fighting off jet lag, they attended the official pre-screening press conference for Fury Road.

Flanked by Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise, Duke walked into the press hall of the Festival Palace. Compared to his home turf in North America, his blockbuster production style practically guaranteed he wouldn't be very popular among Europe's professional media and journalists.

True to form, the reporters aimed their questions entirely at Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, leaving Duke, James Franco, and Anthony Hopkins largely ignored.

Anthony Hopkins was older and long past his prime; having weathered his fair share of storms in the industry, he looked perfectly at peace. James Franco's most famous works were superhero movies, and his recent trajectory leaned heavily into crude comedies, leaving the European media naturally dismissive.

As for Duke, did he even care?

A handful of reporters did direct questions his way, but Duke gave only perfunctory answers. Faced with European film journalists who considered their artistic sensibilities vastly superior to Hollywood's, he couldn't be bothered to say much.

If stripping actors bare at the drop of a hat and broadcasting humanity's most primal movements on the big screen counted as high art, then Japan and the San Fernando Valley were positively overflowing with cinematic visionaries.

Duke exchanged glances with Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise. Neither actor was a fool; they naturally stepped up as the protagonists of the press conference and poured their energy into promoting the film.

"When the film was completely finished, I watched it, and the effect was absolutely staggering."

Looking at Duke beside her, Charlize Theron continued, "I was completely blown away by the full scope of the movie. After the long post-production period ended, my memories of the shoot had started to fade. When I finally watched it in Duke's screening room, seeing myself on the screen actually felt incredibly foreign. It felt like it wasn't even me acting. I could genuinely just enjoy the pleasure of watching the movie. Of course, after it was over, I felt a deep sense of pride in the hard work everyone poured into this film."

Tom Cruise also knew exactly what to say on this kind of occasion. "That time shooting in the desert made me complain endlessly. I've owed Duke an apology for a while, because I was always frustrated on set when I couldn't quite grasp his vision. Now I finally understand what Duke was getting at. During the months of preparation and filming, the most frustrating and difficult part for me was figuring out exactly what kind of feeling Duke wanted me to deliver."

He turned to look at Duke and laughed. "Duke, I really have to apologize to you, because there were times back then when I felt completely discouraged."

Before Duke could respond, Tom Cruise added, "But the moment I watched this movie, I was completely won over by him. Under those extreme desert conditions, he had to guarantee everyone's safety while simultaneously transforming such a massive, complex project into a fearless, pure story on the silver screen. I always knew Duke was an incredible guy, but it wasn't until I saw the finished film that I truly understood just how brilliant he is. So my immediate reaction was, 'God, I really need to apologize to Duke for letting him down halfway through.'"

As the director, Duke naturally had to say a few words as well.

"During the shoot, the extreme weather conditions, combined with the non-stop action sequences, were undoubtedly a massive challenge for the actors."

Speaking into the media's microphones, Duke expressed his gratitude and appreciation for his leading cast. "Tom and Charlize faced incredibly dangerous situations on set every single day, and I'm thankful everyone made it through safely without any injuries. Looking back on it, one of the crane-like rigs we used was towering and precarious, but thankfully we made sure they were completely secure."

Hearing this, Tom Cruise immediately fired back, "Actually, that thing wasn't safe at all, okay!"

The Cannes Film Festival was both simple and complex. It was simple in that the procedures were largely the same year after year; it was complex because, much like Hollywood and the Oscars, Cannes was fueled behind the scenes by all sorts of under-the-table dynamics.

On the surface, however, the festival remained as glamorous and bustling as ever.

For visiting filmmakers and local residents alike, the defining traits of the Cannes Film Festival were its sheer scale and deafening volume. Even the festival organizers admitted as much. As long as films were screening, massive crowds would gather; as long as people were watching movies, everyone was happy. Whether a film actually suited their tastes was secondary—the real draw was the atmosphere of "watching a movie right in the center of the action."

Perhaps Cannes truly was the ideal place to watch a movie, as everyone who came here knew exactly how to "join in the fun."

During the festival, the streets and waterfronts of Cannes buzzed with the chatter of film buffs. Throngs of fans and tourists laughed and greeted one another as they headed toward theaters and restaurants. Everywhere you went, you could hear people praising or tearing apart the latest films. Nearby tourists would prick up their ears to listen, occasionally stealing glances at the most passionate debaters—an atmosphere that left these self-proclaimed "film critics" exceedingly pleased with themselves.

The noise inside the theaters was considerably more "refined" than on the streets. During a screening, characters frequently spoke in "foreign languages" that much of the audience couldn't understand—such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Arabic. The accompanying soundtracks ranged from classical to contemporary; they could be ethereal melodies or borderline unbearable noise. The "cinematic diversity" the Cannes Film Festival so proudly touted was perfectly encapsulated in these varied sounds.

Of course, one particular blend of sound was utterly indispensable: the voice of Hollywood. In today's globalized world, it was incredibly rare to find a film festival entirely untouched by the juggernaut of Hollywood cinema.

Beyond competition entries like Fury Road and Inglourious Basterds, Hollywood excelled at hosting a myriad of events—premieres, exhibitions, retrospectives, and studio meet-and-greets. It had reached the point where Cannes now treated Hollywood productions as its primary highlights and centerpieces. Diverse accents of American English echoed around the lavish, high-budget billboard installations.

Then there were the sales pitches—an unavoidable presence at even the most arts-and-elegance-obsessed festivals. Filmmakers and studios from all over the world tirelessly hawked their respective projects.

Many films that failed to make the cut for the Cannes Film Festival's competition section were still screened during the event.

Commercial-minded Hollywood was never one to let such an opportunity slip by. Pixar Studio's Up and Paramount Pictures' Star Trek plastered the Carlton Hotel—where the festival guests were staying—so thoroughly with posters that it was practically wrapped airtight.

The most extravagant display, however, belonged to Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin. A massive billboard for the film had been erected at the highest point in Cannes, making it visible from virtually every corner of the small city.

The Cannes Film Festival of today was a far cry from its golden age. The global film industry had long since been bulldozed by Hollywood, and Europe had lost its crown as the center of world cinema ages ago. Even though the French categorically refused to admit it, it was an undeniable fact that the Cannes Film Festival was struggling more and more to attract major A-list stars.

Perhaps that was precisely why they had agreed to let Fury Road serve as the opening film.

By dusk the following day, the festival's red carpet ceremony officially kicked off. Isabelle Huppert, serving as the jury president, led the other eight jury members onto the red carpet. Even a quick glance at the jury's makeup was enough to highlight the sheer impact Hollywood now had on European film festivals.

Out of the nine jurors, three hailed from Hollywood: Robert Rodriguez, Natalie Portman, and Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank.

The red carpet itself wasn't particularly long, serving mostly as a runway for stars to show off their style. After the standard photo op, the jury members made their way up the grand steps of the Festival Palace.

Commercialization had seeped into every single corner of the film industry, and Cannes was no exception. For instance, many festival sponsors were allowed to put their celebrity spokespeople on the red carpet. However, the official festival broadcast and the press cameras rarely lingered on these individuals.

To borrow a phrase Duke often used, these people were just here to crash the red carpet.

Stars were notoriously slow when walking the red carpet, but compared to the official festival guests, these red carpet crashers moved at an absolute snail's pace. It didn't even matter if the official festival cameras ignored them; they simply hired their own photographers to capture their stroll down the Cannes red carpet. They would then send the photos back to their home countries to artificially inflate their prestige.

After all, to the uninformed public, simply setting foot on the Cannes red carpet was a symbol of immense status and class.

What the public would never guess was that from start to finish, these people were merely staging a one-man show with their own privately hired entourage.

Naturally, their dawdling tactics weren't exactly welcomed by Cannes officials, either.

As the cast and crew of the opening film, Duke, Charlize Theron, and the others were slated as the grand finale. While waiting in the tent near the start of the red carpet, Duke spotted an actress who had been quite famous in the circles he used to run in. Because she was essentially inching her way down the carpet to maximize her exposure, the official security personnel had to urge her forward several times, practically threatening to kick her out...

This had always been a bizarre and dazzling industry. The people crashing the red carpet had incredibly thick skin, but the official guests walking the carpet had skin just as thick.

Duke chatted with Charlize Theron for a few moments before a car pulled up to the edge of the carpet. A deafening roar of cheers suddenly erupted as the beloved sweetheart of French men everywhere—Sophie Marceau—stepped onto the red carpet.

Then, a scene unfolded that left everyone absolutely stunned.

The French actress was wearing a deep-V evening gown with delicate shoulder straps. Just as she reached the middle of the red carpet—perhaps intentionally, perhaps by accident—her left strap suddenly slipped down. Going completely braless beneath the dress, Sophie Marceau was instantly exposed. However, the notoriously uninhibited star didn't panic in the slightest. She casually adjusted her dress and, as if absolutely nothing had happened, continued waving to the fans on both sides while walking forward.

But after that little incident, nearly every reporter rushed to swarm around her.

Although they had frequently admired her body in films, witnessing it in person was a nice change of pace. Besides, capturing the moment on camera practically guaranteed a massive spike in tomorrow's newspaper sales.