Buzzing the festival

Producer Dean Devlin wanted to have a squadron of World War I biplanes buzz the Boulevard de la Croisette in honor of “Flyboys,” his film in progress, but he was told by Cannes festival officials that this would be illegal. So when several French fighter jets made a brief but sonically impressive appearance in the blue blue sky last Saturday evening, Devlin did what people do when they’re in Cannes -- he spun it. “Those were ‘Flyboys’ planes,’ ” he said to the group of ambient filmmakers and press standing around in the lobby of the Martinez hotel. “They just forgot the banner.”

At this year’s festival, Devlin was a bit of a flyboy himself -- he arrived by private jet on Friday night and flew out Sunday evening. But still he hit all the festival pulse points: The spontaneous deal-making in the crimson fug of the bar at the hotel Majestic, the official news conference followed by the screening for international acquisitions reps, the meet-and-greets in the office of his new foreign sales company, the breakfast with buyers for several television projects, the dinner with Lions Gate, the party on a fabulous yacht, the endless chance encounters at the bar in the Hotel du Cap and, of course, just walking along the Croisette.

As the producer of such event films as “Independence Day,” “The Patriot” and “Stargate,” Devlin isn’t a usual suspect here, where the presence of big films is limited to one or two and the rest fall somewhere between fine art and cheesy exploitation. But “Flyboys” is a special project for Devlin, who raised the $60 million needed for production completely on his own. And so after only four weeks shooting in England, he put together a trailer and hopped the flight across the Channel in the hopes of creating a little buzz.

“This is a new model for me, for us,” he says, referring to his production company, Electric. “We want to create a big movie that’s also independent and sold after it’s made. Part of the reason I’m doing it is because so many people told me it couldn’t be done.”

“Flyboys” is the tale of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American aviators who joined the French Army during World War I long before the U.S. entered the war. The story follows the group as it enters the strange and lovely French landscape, complete with strange and lovely French girls, and then, of course, combat. It is directed by Tony Bill, an actor and television director (“Monk,” “Felicity”), a longtime friend of Devlin and his father, famed producer Don Devlin. Although most of Bill’s directorial work has been in television, he is a licensed pilot and World War I aficionado, so when Devlin came across the script, in 1999, Bill was the first person he thought of.

“I said, ‘It’s about these Americans in France,’ and Tony immediately knew all about it; he knows more about these pilots than anyone I know.” Devlin was taken with the story because it had all the elements of an epic -- love, death, friendship -- as well as the opportunity for outstanding special effects. “We have never had the technology to do these air battles justice,” he says. Although many flight sequences will be shot in the air with actors -- leading man James Franco got his pilot license for the film and first-time actor David Ellison is a champion acrobatic aviator -- there will be extensive use of computer-generated special effects. “We’ll be able to show the tracer bullets,” Devlin says of the smoke trailing shots the pilots used to check their accuracy. “We’ll be able to show, safely, the bullets striking and how close the planes actually came to each other.

“This was the last gentlemen’s war,” he says, and not for the last time. “It was like hand-to-hand combat up there; they knew the men they were fighting, they had a moral code, while meanwhile, in the trenches, there was mud and mustard gas and horror.” He came to Cannes, he says, to sell the film emotionally rather than financially. “Of course if someone makes us an offer at the right price, we won’t exactly refuse.”

Sitting in the humid, roiling bar at the Majestic, Devlin is clear-eyed, fast-talking and hyper-alert, the sort of man whose leg perpetually jiggles when he sits. Like those of most everyone else here, his gaze is constantly flickering from the face of his partner in conversation to scan the rest of the room just in case someone he needs to talk to walks by. And someone inevitably does -- here is the guy to whom he sold his special effects company a few years ago who mentions the names of some people Devlin simply must meet; here’s a producer who works with director Jim Sheridan whom Devlin met when he was thinking about filming “Flyboys” in Ireland. “But we got a better deal in England.” Devlin apologizes for the classic Hollywood over-the-shoulder gaze, but this is the reason he’s here -- to meet, in a short time, many people from all over the world who can help him make “Flyboys” a success.

“This room is where it happens,” he says, gesturing to the bar. “It’s strange, but if you just walk around here, people will come to you like flies to honey. In Hollywood, many of these people would be really competitive, they would guard their contacts and their projects, but here, we depend on the kindness of strangers.”

“Flyboys” will screen for the press in three hours, but Devlin wants to personally see to the sound and light check. He meets with Kearie Peak, one of his partners in Electric (Marc Roskin is another), and the two head down the Croisette. On the sidewalk, cleared a bit by a sudden shower of rain, he bumps into three people he knows, all of whom he invites to the screening (all of them amazingly will show up) before stopping in at the offices of Voltage Pictures, the foreign sales company he founded last year with Bryan Singer. There, a staff headed by Nicolas Chartier has created a small sales office, complete with kitchen, sofa, comfortable chairs and a large flat screen television on which they are screening clips from the half-dozen or so films they are hoping to sell here. They have been here since the day before the festival opened and are staying through the end showing their wares and fielding offers. “We took this office because of the balcony,” says Chartier. “This way we can just yell to the people we know.” Peak’s cellphone rings and news comes that they have sold the Japanese distribution rights to “The Librarian 2: Revenge of Solomon’s Mine.” It’s Peak’s seventh time at Cannes, her second with Devlin. “The trick is comfortable shoes and lots of water,” she says.

The screening is being held in a room at the Martinez hotel where Mark Franco, the visual effects producer, has been setting things up. Devlin is not in the room two minutes before he is worrying about the state of the screen -- “it’s dirty, so dirty,” he says, shaking it in hopes of dislodging some dust -- and the lights. They roll the three-minute clip, which is pretty impressive considering it was culled from just three days of shooting, and futz with the sound synchronization. “Look at that,” Devlin says as the clip rolls again; there are shadows in some of the airborne scenes thrown by two lights in the ceiling. “Can we shut off those lights?” he asks a representative of the hotel who answers in swift French. “No,” says Franco, “I asked already. They’re safety lights or something.”

“This is the way he is,” Peak says, watching Devlin straightening microphones and twitching the fabric that hangs from the long table where cast members, Devlin and Bill will sit to address reporters. “And those lights will be off, I promise you.”

Franco asks if lunch can be delivered; he’s starving. “Me too,” says Peak. “Did you eat yet today?” she asks cast member Ellison, who has just joined the crowd; he shakes his head. “I didn’t. Neither did Dean. And it’s what? One-thirty? Welcome to Cannes.”

By news-conference time, the safety lights are off and the screen is a little cleaner. About 60 journalists and 20 international television crews gather in the small room. French actor Jean Reno, who plays the captain of the Escadrille, causes a small riot with his entrance while Bill makes sure he walks in with Devlin. “I don’t think I’m on the list,” he says. “Tell them you’re the director,” Devlin answers. “They’ll say I’m too old to be a director,” Bill says with a laugh, a reference to the many scruffy young first-timers who flood the festival.

During the question and answer period, Devlin gives his “last gentlemen’s war” speech and Bill explains how “Flyboys” is only one of two films (the next “Superman” is the other) shot with the Genesis camera, which requires no film. “This takes an enormous pressure off everyone,” he says. “We can do as many takes as we like.” Reporters nod and then ask Franco about “Spider-Man 3.” But the mood when it’s over is good; everyone applauded the clip (which, in Cannes, is not at all required) and, more important, stayed for the whole thing.

Within an hour and a half, Lions Gate, handling the film’s international sales, reports a bid from the Russian distributor that’s at the asking price. (International Creative Management is handling domestic.)Whether Electric takes the offer depends on what happens in the next few days -- if they think interest in the film is ballooning, they might hold out for more money. Or Lions Gate might say yes to the Russians in the hopes that it will spark interest among other territories. Before the film, Devlin promises the “biggest low-budget film ever made. We’re making a $160-million movie for $60 million,” he says. Again, they all stay and afterward most join the filmmakers in the salon next door for cocktails. Financiers and marketing reps congratulate Devlin and Bill on the clip, sip champagne and talk about jet lag. Ambien is the preferred solution, though Tylenol PM will work too.

Jet lag is not the only force of exhaustion during Devlin’s campaign. After a dinner hosted by Lion’s Gate, many of the crew, including Franco, Ellison, the film’s French leading lady Jennifer Decker, Peak and Devlin head to the Hotel du Cap, a half-hour away. There, Devlin runs into more people he knows, including his former partner, producer-director Roland Emmerich. After sipping mojitos and schmoozing for an hour, the group heads back, debating the possibility of attending the party Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is throwing aboard his yacht for “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.” Piling into the two cars provided by Lions Gate, Peak and Decker must sit on laps. “I need sleep,” Peak says, her face to the open window. “We have a 9 o’clock meeting tomorrow.” And their own party to attend.

After a day of one-on-one meetings, Devlin and Peak have about 10 minutes to get ready for the “Flyboys” bash, held on the Rising Sun, the world’s largest yacht, owned by the founder of software giant Oracle Corp. “Apparently Paul Allen is trying to add on to his yacht,” Devlin says as the launch that is shuttling the 300 or so guests to the Rising Sun pulls alongside what looks like a small ocean liner. “So he’ll be the biggest.” Among the guests are representatives from the Bank of Ireland and Ingenious Entertainment, which provided much of the initial financing, as well as other investors and staff and friends of ICM. To protect the wooden decks, guests deposit their shoes at a shoe check and wander three of the decks, eating lobster, sushi and French cheeses and sipping, of course, champagne. The white peaks of the festival tents are strung along the beach like a pearl necklace and the palm trees sway around the Palais des Festivals, a vision of Mediterranean splendor.

“My vocabulary has been reduced to ‘wow,’ ” says Devlin, greeting ICM Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Berg, who organized the party. But he, Bill and the cast of “Flyboys” don’t get to dwell in ‘wow’ for long. They leave the party early; their luggage is waiting for them and they are off to the airport because tomorrow is Monday, festival or no.

“We have to get back to work,” says Devlin. “You see, we’re making a movie.”