CANNES – Last year, Lionsgate held a party to celebrate “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” on the beach here, only to have steady rain put a slight damper on the proceedings. This year, lady luck was on their side with sunny skies and every major cast member on hand as the upcoming “Mockingjay Part 1” was the theme of the night. The studio moved the extravaganza to a decadent private mansion 30 minutes outside of Cannes in Antibes. Needless to say, the Capitol City elite would have been proud.
New franchise member Julianne Moore and Donald Sutherland walked the party red carpet, but by the time a majority of the guests arrived they appeared to be long gone. Instead, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth found themselves having a private dance party in their VIP area. And trust, if you ever want the Oscar-winning actress to shake her booty just, play Missy Elliott's “Work It.”
Sam Clafin was also on hand along with director Francis Lawrence. The entire crew was just shooting in Paris a few days ago so the trip was much more convenient and, perhaps, therefore more fun than previous Cannes photo ops (which occurred earlier in the day). The distance to the event likely stopped an onslaught of familiar B- and C-level stars from trying to crash the event, but Scott Speedman (at the festival with “The Captive”) and “Twilight” veteran Kellan Lutz trekked out to the shindig.
Saturday was a big night for “Hollywood” at Cannes with the “Mockingjay” event and a Vanity Fair party, which reportedly found Justin Bieber (sigh) in attendance, and where Ms. Moore was spotted while her “Mockingjay” co-stars were still celebrating in Antibes (just sayin'). Moore has a busy Monday ahead of her with the premiere for David Cronenberg's “Map to the Stars,” which is in competition, so we don't fault her for wanting to work the VF soiree (“Stars” is still looking for a US distributor).
As for Sunday? Another Lionsgate release, “The Expendables 3,” will have a bash and, oh yes, drive tanks down la Croisette. Yes, tanks.
Look for more coverage from the Cannes spectacle all week long on HitFix.