Men's Journal

by Sarah Rose

For the first time in years, it is possible to sleep with the stars at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival (May 13 to 24, festival-cannes.com). As recession-plagued Hollywood studios tighten their belts — and marketing budgets — they are canceling many of the rooms reserved over a year ago.

Matinee idols stay at the remote fortress of the Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc, in nearby Antibes. But the festival is a director’s show and this year’s luminaries, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar and Ang Lee, will bunk at the art deco Hotel Martinez on the beach.

Tickets to the festival are notoriously hard to come by and typically for industry insiders only, but in a soft economy, a good concierge has more power than ever. “We can find tickets,” boasts Richard Schilling, the General Manager of the Martinez. So ask your concierge nicely, tip generously, and he may be able to shake a few seats loose from the festival’s corporate sponsors.