Courtney Hoskins

The day started with me attempting to get some work done in the American Pavilion, or AmPav as the folks in the know call it. It’s difficult to write when people sit down next to you and start chatting, but it can be worth the frustration. One person offered me a job… here. He wanted me to do some animation for him on the film he is screening in the market next week. The thought of stopping all festival activities to do AfterEffects work does not sound appealing to me. I’ve politely declined. A couple of times…

I sat in on an AmPav panel discussion about 3D. I don’t mean 3D animation, but actual 3D where you wear the glasses.

I must admit, I am a convert. After realizing how doable 3D is these days, I began seeing my whole film in 3D and it was pretty exciting. I’m seriously considering going down that road. The guest celebrity speaker here was James (Jim) Cameron- participating via Skype. I read part of a recent article he had written in a video magazine, so I knew that he was intimately familiar with the technology he is using, but I was still impressed. He spoke briefly about “Avatar,” which I really can’t wait to see, but spoke more about industry trends and technological possibilities. He’s passionate about what he does. It was inspiring and contagious. He was “there” with his DP and basic… genius guy, Vince Pace.

Then, it was the red carpet premiere of Kung Fu Panda! I have to admit, it wasn’t number one on my list, but it stars Jack Black and Angelina Jolie, who were kind enough to pose for me the last time they were in an animated film together and in Cannes (my pictures from 2004- Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Will Smith on an inflatable shark). Plus, it was an animated film about Kung Fu. How could I not see it? Now that I have chilled in the same “room” as them and watched a movie, I think that officially makes us “friends.” George Lucas and Dustin Hoffman and Lucy Liu and countless others were also in the audience. I didn’t get many pictures of the stars (yes, Sue, Brad Pitt was there), but if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like on the other side of the paparazzi cam, here’s a bit of a photo rundown:

Approaching the tapis rouge:

J’y arrive!

on the other side of the lens:

and up the steps I go:

my outfit (I got this for the screening of LOOP because of the cranes printed on it, but I thought it was appropriate for Kung Fu Panda because… well… Kung Fu! Crane style is one of my favorite styles:

Inside the theatre (balcony):

You know, I’ve made jokes about the two types of stars that I like, but I thought it was funny to see just how brightly they glow:

My phone doesn’t zoom, so I had to take a picture of the screen:

fireworks on the croisette (the main street of Cannes):

the same fireworks from the rooftop poolside party that I found myself at later:

I decided to do a crane-style pose in my crane-style dress in honor of Kung Fu Panda:

You can see from the photo that I’m carrying my trusty fish purse- my festival favorite. I was photographed twice by some fashion magazines because of it.

The film was okay, by the way. Nothing new for anyone familiar with Kung Fu movies/stories. I thought the idea of having animal characters for each animal style was pretty cute. For the most part, the animals seemed to behave true to their style. I liked it a lot, but it was definitely not a “phenomenal” film. Part of me wondered why Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan were even cast- they spoke all of three lines.