atkinreport.com

Talk about bad PR.  As the festival got underway, the LAT ran a story of brazen crimes that have victimized film people doing business in the South of France. Yes, they dug up ten years worth of stuff, but there was a similarity and a cautionary tale. Thieves rifling through hotel rooms while the occupants were there, and the hotel staff didn’t seem to really care. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-cannescrime14-2008may14,0,5664995,full.story

When I was there, I was warned about all the crime, particularly people being pulled over and then robbed–the Franch version of carjacking–they left the car and took the goods in the trunk. Seemingly incongruous in such a beautiful setting, I held on to my handbag and escaped unscathed.

So, Indiana Jones still has the magic after all these years, with people going crazy at the Cannes opener for Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and crew. Never an especially big fan of the franchise, I found it a rollicking good time and loved the beginning homage to “American Graffiti,” as well as some of the other winks and nods along the way.  Ford was pitch perfect and it was fun to see his–spoiler here–happy on-screen ending with Karen Allen. As for Shia LeBeouf, I kept thinking: Walgreens. He was fine but a lot of other actors could have stepped into that role

You couldn’t get more high wattage star power than this: dinner with Brad, Angelina, Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott and Clint Eastwood. Go ahead, make my day.

So, we’ve come a long way with a woman and a black man battling it out to be the Democratic candidate for presidency. An historic campaign, everyone agrees. Score a couple points for diversity. In the entertainment industry, not so much. Every year, a San Diego State professor does a thorough report on women in below the line positions in TV and film, and although the numbers fluctuate (and this was a banner year for women screenwriters recognized by that gold guy Oscar), they’re never anything to brag about.

So let’s hear it for some folks taking action, as in lights, camera, action. You can see their work on Monday May 12 at Harmony Gold in Hollywood at 7:30p, when AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) will be hosting its 21st Showcase , spotlighting the work of eight femme directors, including a journalist, a producer, a theatre director and a university prof.  One is also part of NBC Uni’s first director-in-training program, another a Sci-Fi Channel exec. Their short films span the genre gamut from horror to drama to romcom.