In the process of selecting films, many of the big decisions get made in Cannes. Not in the Cannes that you read about in the papers with the red carpets, the stars, the premieres, etc., but rather in the "Marche" or Market. Underneath the glitz and glamour in Cannes is a frenzy of film screenings for buyers and sellers of cinema, where films get shown for the first time and the bidding for various internationals rights begins. This is where I reside. Don't ask me about the new Jane Campion or Ken Loach or Pedro Almodovar unspooling in the main Festival in Cannes, cause I'm not interested at the moment. I'm on the hunt for the wild and grisly goods for Midnight Madness. I scan through the day's list of roughly 190 films and look for films that might be of interest by title alone: DREAD, ZONE OF THE DEAD, THE CURSED, etc. Those are obvious, but others are a little more deceptive. Could MY NEIGHBOR MY KILLER be a cool thriller about a young boy's friendly next door neighbor who is a serial killer or rather a stark examination of the Rwandan genocide. Most likely the later.

For the next ten days I will be going in and out of screening rooms looking for the next ONG BAK, CABIN FEVER or DETROIT METAL CITY. Since many of these films are for buyers only, extensively blogging and writing about them is not good form, so I'll have to be hush hush about most of what I see, but I hope to provide glimpses into the hustle and bustle of the market. I will be able to write about some of the films in the main Festival as this year has a bumper crop of new notable films from some of my fave directors like  MOTHER by Bong Joon-ho (THE HOST), the vampire flic THIRTS by Park Chan Wook (OLD BOY), Gaspar Noe's ENTER THE VOID, VENGEANCE by Johnnie To (EXILED), Sam Raimi's DRAG ME TO HELL and of course, Quentin Taratino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. Some bloody good reasons to dress in a tuxedo and hit the red carpet!