LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France)
CANNES – Alongside all the beauty on display, the 2012 Cannes film festival is also revealing an ugly side: first, reports of sea dumping off the scenic French coastline, then the notable lack of women directors, and now anger growing about celebrities demanding payment for press interviews.
Canadian motion picture production company Alliance Films was asking for money in exchange of its actors interviews, French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur reports. Among the paid stars are Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt, who ask for 3000 euros for a 20-minutes interview. For “second-class actors like Kristen Stewart,” you’ll only have to pay 1250 euros.
Alliance Films defends the policy, explaining that top actors must bring their own makeup artist, hairdresser, agent, etc, before striding onto the red carpet. Since when is information exchanged for money? asks Nouvel Observateur. Why should journalists be paying for Brad Pitt’s hair mousse!?
Keeping with the trend, the Cannes Film Festival is considering a new system in which journalists could have to pay to be accredited to attend.
Still, others note that paying for interviews offers an opportunity for small newspapers and magazines to interview movie stars who ordinarily wouldn’t have been given the time of day.
Read the original article in French
Watch Brad say “Bonjour”…. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/J80AvCnkU1o expand=1]