Moviedom Gathers for Its Cannes Ritual : Behind All the Glitter, Deals Are Actually Made

At the Majestic Hotel, a beachfront resort that becomes a film flea market during the Cannes Film Festival, Caleco Pictures’ Jon Brewer is doing killer business with the low-budget sex thriller, “Port of Crime.”

A towering billboard in the hotel lobby shows the movie’s stars in various stages of undress and duress, including a topless woman sporting a grapefruit-sized gunshot wound. One buyer passes a video screen showing a movie preview just as someone is being ripped apart by machine-gun fire. “Is that all the action there is?” he asks in a dismissive tone. “No,” says Brewer, Caleco’s president. “There’s 96 minutes of that.”

This is the side of the film festival that few outsiders see. It has little to do with glamour, culture or premieres, and everything to do with commerce.

Executives from all facets of the movie industry migrate here each year to buy and sell films, discuss deals and explore new business alliances. Apart from the crushing presence of the paparazzi, the publicity stunts and the celebrity swirl along the oceanfront walkway called the Croisette, they peddle everything from B-movies, such as “Port of Crime,” to new technologies, such as bar coding for soundtracks.

Rene Bonnel of Canal Plus, the French movie and TV giant, can be found doing business on the Majestic’s sunny terrace. His counterparts from Italy’s Berlusconi Group are holed up at the posh Hotel du Cap. Ron Meyer of Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills makes the rounds at a black-tie event, while independent producer Arnon Milchan of “JFK” fame touches down briefly to announce a partnership between his Regency Communications and Italy’s RAI TV.

Motion Picture Assn. of America head Jack Valenti, a Cannes regular for 26 years, likens the Mediterranean town to a traditional tribal gathering spot.

“In ancient times in the Middle East, caravans would trek across the desert and gather at an oasis, where the leaders would catch up on business,” Valenti said. “Cannes is the oasis where the movie caravans gather.”

What sets Cannes apart from other film markets--and the real world in general--is the opportunity to conduct business amid topless beaches, world-class cuisine and breathtaking countryside. The relaxed attitude even extends to churches here. An invitation to a Christian service at 5 p.m. one night includes the notice: “Cocktails at 5:45 p.m.”

More than 20,000 participants from around the globe--including 3,500 journalists--have found their way to this year’s festival.

Among them is former Cannon Pictures chief Menahem Golan, who now heads 21st Century Film Corp. Golan has an entire suite of offices on the ground floor of the famed Carlton Hotel. The entryway and lobby are festooned with banners promoting such Golan projects as “Death Wish V” and “Emmanuelle 7,” and 12 of his employees stand ready to make deals with distributors.

The tab for all this: $500,000. But Golan maintains that it’s a bargain.

“This is the easiest way to market my films to the international community,” he said. “It’s like Christmas. The entire film business family is at one table. Plus, my films are exposed to the international press.”

It should be noted that half the films Golan is promoting don’t exist. His company, like Cannon before it, creates mock movie posters, complete with prearranged star billing, in hopes of gaining the financing needed to make them.

Actor Jon Voight, who is supposed to star in Golan’s version of “Crime and Punishment,” even attended a real news conference to promote the nonexistent film.

American Film Marketing Assn. President Michael Goldman said many producers use Cannes for fund raising, even if they don’t print their posters in advance. It’s especially common to find producers seeking foreign support.

The major Hollywood studios are less visible at Cannes, since most handle their own international distribution. But they occasionally use the festival to draw attention to important releases. Walt Disney Studios is unveiling “Beauty and the Beast” to the foreign press here. And Universal Pictures is having a gala screening and party for “Far and Away,” a big-budget Tom Cruise movie that is set to open in the United States during the Memorial Day weekend.

Other, higher level, business dealings at Cannes are less visible.

Stephen A. Unger, an executive recruiter, finds Cannes a useful place for winning clients and locating fresh executive talent. Unger heads the worldwide entertainment division for SpencerStuart, which does half its work for foreign firms. Because executives are more accessible at Cannes than in their offices, Unger can be found doing business at everything from premieres to cocktail parties.

“I’ve always gotten new business going to Cannes,” he said. “There’s a lot of deal making that goes on between sips of blanc de blancs. “

There are also dozens of leading bankers and lawyers at Cannes, though they are often unrecognizable as such in their ascots and loud Hawaiian shirts. Frans Afman, the former Credit Lyonnais lender who now advises talent agency International Creative Management on global financing, said the festival’s relaxed atmosphere is conducive to building relationships.

“Making personal contacts is the biggest thing that happens at Cannes,” Afman said. “People schmooze . . . they talk about doing deals.”

Though not as often as they did 10 years ago, Afman was quick to add. Cannes now faces competition from film markets in Los Angeles and Milan. And faxes and computers have diminished the need for face-to-face business contact.

Some U.S. distributors have also soured on Cannes’ promotional value. American firms have won the coveted Palm D’Or for the last three years, but only “Sex, Lies and Videotape” derived any real benefit at the domestic box office. The other two, “Wild at Heart” and “Barton Fink,” were disappointments.

Another common complaint about Cannes is the cost. One businessman, who asked that his name not be used, said companies can spend as much as $250,000 just to maintain a minimal presence at the 10-day festival. Others are known to spend as much as $1 million, when parties are counted. And parties certainly count--companies compete for top-notch guests to attend the innumerable black-tie events held to promote themselves and their movies.

For all the money spent flacking pictures, however, buyers say it’s difficult finding quality films at Cannes. Festival officials do not track sales, but many maintain that business is slower than usual. Top-drawer movies such as “Howard’s End” and “The Player” are far outnumbered by low-budget pictures. This year’s harvest includes “The Three Muscatels,” “Comfort Women: They Lay Down to Keep The Soldiers Standing” and “Sgt. Kabukiman, N.Y.P.D.”--in addition to the aforementioned “Port of Crime.”

Peter Hoffman, the former Carolco Pictures president who has started a company called Cine Vision, said that is partly because so many of the top independent producers--such as Regency Communications’ Milchan and Morgan Creek’s James Robinson--already have worldwide distribution deals in place.

One major producer who still has high regard for Cannes is Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films. Miramax made a big splash last year with “Truth or Dare,” the documentary that starred singer-actress Madonna. This year Miramax has three films in the competition: “Map of Human Heart,” “Sarafina” and “Reservoir Dogs.”

For Weinstein, the international press attention is one of Cannes’ biggest benefits. “It’s a great place to showcase our pictures,” he said.

Another view comes from Tom Smith, whose Communications & Entertainment Corp. in Los Angeles provides financing to independent producers.

“I personally believe that business could be conducted without it,” he said. “But it’s become such a tradition and habit for people that they are caught up in it. If Cannes didn’t exist, someone would probably invent it.”