The Associated Press
CANNES, France (AP) — The Associated Press is all over the Cannes Film Festival — from its glitzy premieres to the celeb parties and quirky moments in between. Here’s what reporters have seen and heard:
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LOREN SHOWS OFF CURVES
Svelte 79-year-old siren Sophia Loren has outshined women half her age at the Cannes film festival in head-to-toe red.
She playfully flirted with photographers Wednesday for the screening of “Human Voice,” directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti.
The age-defying Loren, who’s being honored as a special guest at this year’s festival, also wowed crowds with enviable curves at the premiere of “Two Days, One Night.” She wore an embellished champagne couture dress by Armani Prive.
Loren’s iconic 1964 film “Marriage Italian Style” is being shown at the festival.
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‘EXPENDABLES’ STAR GETS DOWN TIME
After a Cannes whirlwind that included a tank ride and walking the red carpet to promote “The Expendables,” Kellan Lutz was eager for a chance to unwind.
He got it as the luxurious Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in the Provence region hosted Lutz and other stars as a getaway from the Cannes madness. The 750-acre resort, which also has a vineyard, offered spa treatments and more, including culinary delights at a private dinner Tuesday night.
“It’s been exhausting in the best of ways,” said Lutz, who planned to go to Monte Carlo, which is hosting the Grand Prix, after Cannes. “I just want to lay out by the pool, get a massage. I never treat myself. … It’s just a great little break.”
Lutz was in Cannes for “The Expendables 3,” which made arguably the biggest splash at the festival. The all-star cast, which includes Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Jason Statham and Harrison Ford, rode down the famous Croisette in tanks, held a raucous press conference and walked the red carpet. It’s out in the United States in August.
The “Twilight” actor called the experience surreal, particularly the Saturday morning tank ride, which drew a massive crowd.
“It was 10 a.m. … We’re like, who’s up at 10 a.m.? We had people running from where we started which was a mile away,” he said.
Lutz said working with the veteran actors was “a dream.”
“When you put them together, you would think that it would be an epic battle of who is bigger, who’s better, who’s stronger. But everyone complements each other significantly,” he said. “I hope we get to do a fourth one and a fifth one.”
— Nekesa Mumbi Moody — http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi
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HAYEK SEES ‘PROPHET’ AS LEGACY
Salma Hayek says she chose to produce her latest film “The Prophet” with her legacy in mind.
The Mexican filmmaker is a co-producer on the animated feature, a screen adaptation of Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran’s book of the same name.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, where a section of the film was screened, Hayek talked about why she decided to take on the project.
“I find something that I want to say and I say it in a way and I do it,” she said. “I’m not thinking of my legacy normally. But this project I am thinking of my legacy for my child. It’s not how I choose what I produce but in this one in particular, yes.”
The poetry book on which the film is based was originally published in 1923 and has “sold more than 100 million copies around the world,” Hayek said.
“It’s very inviting for everyone, different religions, different ages,” she said.
She decided to make the movie animated because “visually you can do extraordinary things. There’s a lot of freedom to it.”
The film is split into different chapters based on poems in the book.
“I thought we could make a little story, a main story that within the story you could take journeys into someone’s imagination, and in this case, a little girl,” she said. “And so the film is very audacious because it has nine animators and they all have a completely different style, but it all feels like one film.”
— Cristina Jaleru — http://www.twitter.com/cristinelle7
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QUICKQUOTE: JULIANNE MOORE
“I think so. I hope so. … You have to have a fairly realistic assessment of who you are, what your abilities are and where you are in your career and your age. Hopefully I’ve never been that extreme.” — Actress Julianne Moore when asked whether she’s more level-headed than the character she plays in David Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars,” a desperate and superficial actress.
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LONGORIA: LATINO PREZ ON WAY
The United States has seen its first black president and Eva Longoria has high hopes the country’s first Latino president won’t be far behind.
“With the demographic changes in the United States, there’s definitely, inevitably going to be a Latino president,” the actress said.
Returning to the French Riviera for her ninth Cannes as L’Oreal ambassador, Longoria spoke about her hopes to promote future Latino leaders through her newly launched Latino Victory Project.
Longoria says the project looks for people “promoting a pro-Latino agenda, pro-immigration, pro-education reform, pro-health care” and candidates who are “fighting the fight right now in our politics.”
And talking further on the hot topic of U.S. immigration reform, the Democrat says she hopes to see some positive action soon: “It’s been blocked by a certain few people in the government and I’m hoping we can continue to push it through before the next election.” Congressional elections are in the fall.
Since the end of “Desperate Housewives,” Longoria has been on been the other side of the camera as the executive producer on the Latina comedy-drama TV series “Devious Maids” and the documentary “Food Chains,” highlighting the plight of exploited farm laborers.
She says it’s important for her to “represent the right things in television or in film.”
“You know I’ve been really lucky to have choices and I don’t really want to work unless the work is important or something I want to do, or something fun and exciting,” she said.
— Louise Dixon
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EDITOR’S NOTE — “Cannes Watch” shows you the Cannes Film Festival and the events surrounding it through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across Cannes and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
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