movmnt · 2007
Sneaking In
Letter from the editor, movmnt issue 4, Summer 2007 (print)
There is something to the idea that events from your childhood forge your future. Free will may be the sand in the gears that helps you chart your own course, but the past has a powerful undertow that cannot be ignored. This issue of movmnt is dedicated to a lifestyle of travel often overlooked as a mere means to an end. In the process of putting it together, I had a chance to recall personal experiences that still resonate for me today.
I am twelve years old, doing a job beyond my years at the Cannes Film Festival. Heavy revolving doors seem like giant bodyguards to a lobby they were preventing outsiders from entering. Outside the historic palace on the French Riviera, curious locals and paparazzi line up, hoping to catch a glimpse of a star. The sun is constant and burning, and I’m wearing a brand new black suit.
I work for a magazine that has given me complete freedom to write about my Cannes experience. “It’s all in the attitude,” I keep reminding myself. Once I get in, somehow, that world will be mine to explore.
My notepad is tucked into my breast pocket, and I am not distracted by the aura of celebrity around me. I feel like I’m waiting for Cerberus, the gatekeeper of Hades, to let me in... or not. I’m in! But I don’t feel a sense of victory.
On the contrary, I continue on my way as though I own the place. Every May, the Carlton on La Croisette is not just a five-star miracle. Suites become PR of- fices, balconies are transformed into interview studios with a magical view of the Mediterranean, and I am transformed. Into what?
I’m not sure yet, but it feels like the emerging foundation of my future as a journalist. “Be yourself. Do not be intimidated. Enjoy the moment.”
Once inside the elevator, surrounded by strangers, I feel free. Nobody questions whether I belong here or not. We are all from somewhere else. I hear accents from every continent, young professionals, journalists, actors.
Cannes has become a world spectacle, and I’m backstage! I walk through the hallways. I observe the movie industry coming to life. I pick through brochures for upcoming films.
Rocky II is about to come out. I make eye contact with the Godfather himself, Marlon Brando, in town to support his friend Federico Fellini, about to receive a special prize for the Festival’s 40th anniversary. I visited more lobbies, ballrooms, presidential suites, and private terraces than I will ever see as a regular guest. Every day, I picked a different world to investigate.
It helped make me who I am today, reporting on a new generation of rising stars. What we experience as a culture, a lifestyle for entertainers, artists, and performers of all kinds is now yours to celebrate and discover. Sneak into movmnt’s hotel culture issue and please, enjoy your stay.