Day 11

It was Joe's last day in Cannes today... he flies back in the early hours of tomorrow and so he won't be sleeping till he's on the plane, the partying doesn't stop unless it's forced to.


Although it was the last day- and there was some relaxing on the beach- it was another busy one! Joe was at the Comsmopolis photocall and then the premiere in the evening. The film, based on the novella of the same name, stars Robert Pattinson but it's been dubbed by The Guardian as being "stilted, self-important and dismayingly shallow". So maybe give that one a miss then?!


The photo call for this was in the morning so Joe and his colleagues then headed off to the Mayors lunch at Cannes Castle... the one I mentioned briefly in yesterdays post. This went smoothly, and was as fab as ever. To continue with the short spell of rewinding and resting, Joe and friends headed off to the beach after the big feast.


Joe's final premiere at Cannes film festival was a Nicole Kidman one, so it was certainly a nice way to end the annual stay. 


The guy's exhausted but I think it's well worth it as Joe has managed to get his work into an average of one paper a day... pretty good going considering there's a fair amount of competition!


I've really enjoyed writing this blog, it's truly been a pleasure to be at Joe's service and I hope it's given you an insight into the type of life he leads. It may be glamorous and full of parties, but it's bloody hard work too. To do well in this industry you need to have an amazing work ethic as well as making sure your photos stand out from all the other photographers trying to get their work published... it's pretty much dog eat dog. Joe works his socks off and he takes no messing. I really admire him for these qualities as they, along with the fact that he's well established, have helped him succeed. 


I'm looking forward to having him back in Blighty so I can ring him for a right good gossip.

I'll put the photos from the premiers and photo calls on the Ikon Model facebook page. I thought that this one it's own would be a good way to end this years blog.


Over and out x

Day 10

Late last night, or rather, the very early hours of this morning, I got a text off Joe saying he was at the best party he'd been to in a long time, and trust me, the guy goes to a lorra' parties. He went to Sea Shepherd's beach party with Michelle Rodriguez, she starred in Hollywood blockbusters such as 'Fast and Furious' but is probably most well known for her role in Avatar. The Sea Shepherd organisation work, on a non-profit basis, to protect marine wildlife and conserve their habitat... don't be deceived by their 'rock and roll' type logo of a skull. ;)  


Joe and Michelle have met before at the World Music awards and they got on really well there. But the pair got on like a house on fire last night and as well as Michelle being a "star" (as in the sky.. not celeb... although she is a star in that sense too!), Joe also described her as "the coolest lesbo I know". They made each other laugh and Joe even practised his Spanish with her... it must be love! As well as Michelle's kind hospitality for Joe, there was some gorgeous free champagne for all, the food was lovely, the weather stayed warm well into the night, and Michelle was the DJ.... Sounds like one good party!


Today was the 'The Paper Boy' press day & premiere. The film stars the likes of Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman... in which Efron's character, who is half naked for a considerable amount of time, becomes obsessed with Nicole's "hot, over-sexed barbie" in the words of The Telegraph. It all about sex really.


I'm not a massive fan of Zac Efron but I'm quite liking his suit... it's one more fab outfit to add to the growing collection this festival.


After the premiere, Joe went to the the after party of the same film which wasn't as good as last nights beach do. (...It's deffo love). Joe has noticed that Brad Pitt is enjoying his time without fiancee Angelina Jolie as he's been partying non-stop with the the boys from his latest film 'Killing me Softly'. This has caused gossip in magazines and newspapers but Brad is really not doing himself any favours by charging journalists £2000 for a 20minute one-on-one interview... that works out at £100 a minute. With limited access, it just goes to show that there's little wonder why papers fabricate some of their stories!


As Joe is nearly at the end of his time in Cannes, tomorrow is the annual lunch at the castle with the Mayor of Cannes. It's a yearly ritual exclusively for the press to thank them for coming... free trebles all round. Full report on this ASAP!   

Nicole Kidman

Zac Efron

Cast of The Paper Boy

Michelle taken by surprise at the size of Joe's,  erm... lens!

      
Judging by all these photos of Michelle... I'd say that you've fallen for her Joe! ;)
x 

Day 9

Good news for Joe today as one of his Brad Pitt shots from the 'Killing me Softly' was in today's Mirror!


With the arrival of stars such as Kylie Minogue and Twilight's Kirsten Stewart, today's been another flat out episode. Joe's spent his day on the red carpet and filing pictures to the press. 


Kylie was on the red carpet to promote the film 'Holy Motors' which is one of the 22 nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize. The sci-fantasy film has been described by the Guardian as being "weird and wonderful" and "something we come to Cannes for". Joe took some lovely photos of her.


Kirsten Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, and Britain's Sam Riley are amongst the cast of 'On the Road' who also strode down the red road at their premiere today. The film is a long awaited adaptation of Jack Kerouac's 1951 novel, it was screened for the very first time today at the Cannes film festival. We've got pictures of this event too!


Tonight, Joe's at more parties and, as I write this, he's socialising with the likes of Avatar's Michelle Rodriguez. The world famous Palm Beach has also seen some interesting action with the launch of Kanye West's film, CRUEL SUMMER, which has been inspired by the new G.O.O.D music album of the same name.  Kanye and his creative firm DONDA brought his cinematic work to Cannes and it's been described as being "unlike anything else". It's a fusion of short film and art installation- as well as the typical surround sound, this film offers a 7 screen surround vision! After the premiere, it will remain open to public access for the next 2 days.

Kylie Minogue

Cannes back under the sunshine

Kirsten Stewart and Kirsten Dunst

ROBERT PATTINSON

Sam Riley

  x
 

Day 8

Day 8 and the sunshine has finally arrived back in Cannes!
... Talking of arrivals, Paris Hilton has landed and will no doubt, in the words of Joe, be "hawking her services as she does so well". Brad Pitt has made an appearance today and greeted all the awaiting photographers with his hair style. His hair alone has managed to kick up a bit of a fuss- is it a good look or not?! I think it makes him look a bit like a western Jesus... long blond hair, blue eyes, and a bit of a goaty... Far from the hunk he once was. Joe got some really good close ups so you can be the judge...

Is this REALLY a good look?!

 

Joe thought Brad looked great tonight... at least that makes one of us! Unfortunately though, Brad was alone as Angelina Jolie was a no-show and Joe reckons she was babysitting. The premiere was easy to cover as Brad was the biggest star there which meant that Joe could concentrate on him. Other names such as Kelly Brook, Michelle Rodriguez and blast from the past Victoria Hervey- the 'it' girl who modelled for the likes of Christian Dior- all walked the hallowed Cannes red carpet. Joe says that Ray Liotta looked weird and although he rates his acting, Liotta apparently resembled an "oldish android".   


Today, Joe's team shot Kelly Brook looking very sexy in her bikini... in a phone booth. The photos will be on the front page of the tabloid paper, The Star, tomorrow. After filing pictures to the press Joe headed to the G Star Party...


He likes the brand but they're always erroneously up their own arses as all the garments are made very cheaply in China and are then sold at much higher prices. All this angst was quickly forgotten about though as the money the company are saving through the use of cheap labour, goes towards the top champagne Joe was drinking. Luckily, it was cold and had no ice cubes floating around in it... so there were no tantrums unlike yesterday! The poor girl from yesterday's fiasco was mortified and used Joe's lens cloth to dry her tears... the more I hear, the less I want to know!!


More celebs are en route, the diminutive Kylie Minogue is on her way to Cannes as we speak and she will hopefully be blown here faster by a gust of wind as she is so slight. Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen are all due to arrive tomorrow. Finally, Nicole Kidman is expected to be on the catwalk on Thursday which should be fun.  


Tomorrow night there's yet another party for Joe to attend, this time for 'Operation Libertad'. Joe's taking it lightly and will most likely judge it's success on what's served. God help the waiters.


Oh and finally, in other news, Joe and and his colleagues have today figured out how to work the washing machine in their apartment- we're definitely dealing with a domestic goddess!
x 

Day 7

Sounds like it's all been very glamorous again today... despite a small champagne fiasco that I'll let you all in on in a just a mo.

In each post so far I've been banging on about how full on and busy the work is for Joe. It may all seem glam, which it is, but there's certainly an element of blood, sweat and tears too.

Just to put it all into perspective, Joe will attend a premiere in the evening and his photos could well be in the press the day after or on online news sites, such as MSN, within a matter of hours. In this time, Joe has to take the photos, fight his way into the press room, go through and edit around 800+ pictures per red carpet event, and then file them to the press. This process has to be repeated for each premiere so it's pretty much non stop and the key is to be organised as well as fast. This way, Joe can attend the premieres he wishes to and take as many quality photos as possible, thereby increasing the likelihoods of press use. But as I said, he works well under pressure and the experience of writing this blog has made me realise the speed at which he works- he can have photos sent to me within just a couple of hours, if that, of being at an event. This is definitely a quality to aspire to- the guy works his socks off!

So far Joe has supplied The Daily Mail with Jane Fonda pictures and The Mail Online with Lily Cole, and finally, The Mirror with Kelly Brook. Magazines are yet to come!

Anyway... back to today. Joe's been at two premieres, the first was a bit dull- a French film- although it was lifted by the appearance of the lovely Kelly Brook. Following this, Joe was at the Indian Pavilion for the launch of 'Gangs of Wasseypur' film launch- an Indian film. The most memorable part for Joe- a champagne fanatic- was that a waitress gave him champagne with an ice cube in the glass... a crime in his book! Joe's inner diva came out in response as although he stopped himself from slapping the girl, he poured the contents of the glass on the floor in front of her. Just for the record, I did accuse Joe of being "norty"!

  

Berenice Marhole, Bond girl

Kelly Brook and Hofit Golan

Later, Joe will be back at the cinema on the beach for Berenice Marlohe's unveiling of the first public screening of the Skyfall teaser. It will be the first ever public theatrical screening of the films teaser trailer. She will be alongside Martine Beswick, the original bond girl who starred as Zora in 'From Russia With Love' and as Paula in 'Thunderball'. This will be part of the outdoor screening that is celebrating 50 years of Bond this year.    

Your best behaviour from now on please Joe!

x

Day 6

Day 6 and the rain is poooouuurrringggg in Cannes, it's been hammering it down all day. Muahahahahahahaaaaaaa.

Hopefully the sunshine is on its way though as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will be arriving in Cannes on Tuesday and Joe will be shooting the pair of them. Paris Hilton also arrived today.

Today had no mishaps similar to those of yesterday and although Joe is still mesmerised by the woman who wanted a snog for a photograph, everything went smoothly.


I mentioned on yesterday's blog that Cheryl Cole was due to be making an appearance and tonight, she well and truly stole the show. She looked amazing at the premiere of 'Amour' in her Stephane Rolland couture white dress with a red feathered train. Stood along side her was Bond girl Berenice Marlohe so the red carpet was certainly full of pretty faces tonight.


Earlier in the day, was the photo call for the film "Confession of a Child of The Century" which stars Lily Cole and Pete Doherty.... his teeth look urm, unclean.


Tomorrow evening Joe has a shoot with the Bond girl I mentioned above at the cinema on the beach. This will hopefully be followed by the screening, dependent on there being no rain so fingers crossed! .... We look forward to hearing about it.
x

Pete Doherty

Lily Cole

Berenice Marlohe

Cheryl Cole

BEST dress of Cannes so far?!

   

Day 5

Another manic day in Cannes!


Joe's been flat out pretty much since he got there, today has probably been a prime example of the work the film festival involves... for Joe anyway!


The mountains of editing, premieres, and the expectations of fast turnarounds for supplying the press can be stressful, but Joe is good with pressure and this enables him to have extremely busy days. 


Today, it's all been centred around the stars again and Joe was back at the Martinez Hotel to attend a photo call with Keith Lemon and Kelly Brook for the new film 'Keith Lemon the Movie'. As the photos illustrate, it wasn't the typical photo call but it was certainly a lot of fun! 


Following this was the'Lawless' premiere which was disappointing in comparison to others during the festival. Although this didn't take Joe by much surprise as he suspected this was going to be the case. Jessica Chastian was yet again on the red carpet but her appearances are becoming slightly monotonous and he is already getting bored of her! Shia LaBeouf was moody but Joe fought around this and got some good pictures out of him. And finally, on the 'celeb news' side of life, Cheryl Cole arrived in Cannes today.


Celebrities are known for being poor time keepers and after P. Diddy's extremely late arrival at the Valentino party last night- he intentionally arrived as it was all finishing- Joe didn't think that this record could be beaten. He thought wrong. Joe had an arrangement for a well known model to be flown in today for a location shoot all over Cannes for several hours. The model was only due to be in Cannes for the day so the video team were all set up in preparation for her arrival... she missed the flight. She apologised and insisted that this terrible mistake had never happened before. Understandably, Joe was aggravated, but the show must go on.


With having no other option but to abandon the photo shoot with the model, Joe had a change of plan and headed to the Cannes Palais- where the press centre and cinemas are. Here, Joe was again placed in the midst of a baffling experience as the security guards insisted on checking his pockets with scanners but ignored his camera bag which had inside 14kg of metal!


And to add to the oddities of today, I've just received a text message from the man himself, explaining Saturday night mayhem in Cannes.... a woman approached him offering a snog for a picture. Joe simply replied "What's in it for me?!". Classic!


There's certainly been a surreal chain of events... makes a good blog post though! 
Keep it up Joe.


x

The best photo call picture ever....?!

Keith Lemon and Kelly Brook

P. Diddy

Jessica Chastain and Shia LaBeouf

      

Day 4

Joe's fourth day at Cannes and it finally marks a break in the gorgeous weather- today, it's been chucking it down. This news made me feel slightly better as I was beginning to get increasingly jealous of Joe's time in Cannes and the beautiful sunshine was not helping!


Last nights cinema on the beach appears to have been popular. The Cannes coastline was packed with deckchairs where people sat beneath the stars watching the film in a deluxe environment. There was also an amazing firework display in the night sky for the onlookers to enjoy.


Despite the rain, and being a bit tired from all the action, all is well. Another busy day, by 5pm Joe still hadn't had his breakfast and was rushing back to his accommodation to change into his tuxedo and back on the red carpet!


Joe has attended a press conference where Jackie Chan was being interviewed. He has today announced that he will be retiring from action movies after decades of pushing his body to the limit. His latest Hollywood outing, Chinese Zodiac, will be the 58 year olds last leading action role. Chan announced that the increasing amount of violence in action films was partly down to his decision.


As I write this, Joe is on the red carpet which is rocking to music by The Clash AND The Cure... he's a happy chap! He's just been shooting stars Robert de Niro, Jennifer Connelly and James Woods... Ben Stiller is on the way. So it's certainly another night of A-listers. Following this, Joe is off to the Valentino party for some more mingling, champagne, and canapes!


Some more photos....

Fireworks over Cannes

Cinema on the beach...

Eva Longoria at premiere yesterday.

Jackie Chan at press conference today.

Ben Stiller

Jessica Chastain

Chris Rock

Jada Pinkett Smith, Ben Stiller, Jessica Chastain 

Robert de Niro. Photos hot off the press...

Naomi Watts

Joe Alvarez

Looking very handsome tonight Joe!
x