Rebeccannes is back!

And...we're off! King of the Cannes selection Thierry Fremaux and His Royal Cannesness Gilles Jacob announced the official selection for this year's famous French festival at a press conference in Paris yesterday. The lineup is especially American and star-powered this year and features so many anticipated titles I don't even know where to begin. How about here? Voilà some of my stories from today's event. It's the usual suspects, but I don't see this as a bad thing. When else can we see films from Audiard, Haneke, Cronenberg (DEUX Cronenbergs!), Resnais, Salles, Kiarostami, Carax... not to mention anticipated titles from auteurs like Lee Daniels, Jeff Nichols, Andrew Dominik and Im Sang-soo (I LOVED The Housemaid, can't wait to see what The Taste of Money tastes like on screen!) It's the most exciting lineup in years in my opinion. I also send my regards to the Un Certain Regard category -- the trailer for Xavier Dolan's Laurence Anyways has me very excited to see a cross-dressing Melvil Poupaud in this film and I'm also looking forward to Catherine Corsini's Les 3 Mondes, seeing if Cronenberg deux (namely, Brandon) has inherited his father's talents, Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervene's Le Grand Soir and of course Sylvie Verheyde's film with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pete Doherty! http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-film-festival-unveils-competition-lineup-2012-wes-anderson-david-cronenberg-us-presence-313859

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-film-festival-thierry-fremaux-qa-314227 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-2012-thierry-fremaux-cannes-un-certain-regard-cronenberg-314139 Plus, may I add that this year's festival poster is the best ever? Marilyn has the right idea - this year's fest will not only be a birthday celebration (Cannes turns 65!) but also très glamour. Looking forward to the world's most prestigious 10-day birthday party. Especially since the guest ist includes Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McConaughey... not bad! (My birthday is in September, think they'll all come to my party too?)

What do you all think of this year's lineup? Here's what I think! A clip from last night's Le Grand Journal TV show on Canal+.

http://www.canalplus.fr/c-divertissement/pid3349-c-le-grand-journal.html Stay tuned, I'll have more news on Director's Fortnight and Critics Week early next week, as well as more on Cannes Classics, other late announcements and, bien sûr, Nanni Moretti's jury! à bientôt mes amis! xoxo Rebeccannes

Vidyaa oh là là: Yoga on a boat

I did the most in-Seine yoga class this weekend. It was on a boat along the Seine with a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower, and the instructor was American. (well, she still is, as far as I know, though growing more Parisian by the day). How cliché! Americans in Paris doing yoga on the Seine while looking at the Eiffel Tower. We ate peanut butter and sang Auld Lang Syne and waved our American flags. No, we didn’t – I drank a green smoothie, listened to an awesome musical playlist and waved my yoga mat flat on the floor. The class was led by Cassandra Kish who practices Vidyaa yoga, that uses basic movement techniques to overcome physical and emotional limitations. It’s a vigorous physical practice that combines Pilates and Yoga. Cassandra’s yoga classes are not like any others I’ve done, but all I can say is VidYAY!

Cassandra has, so far, scared me into doing a backbend and a headstand tripod after years of failed attempts. Yes, I said “scared me” in a phrase about yoga. The typical yoga philosophy is “do what you can,” but for Cassandra, it’s “do what you can’t” or at least THINK you can’t. She’ll challenge you, and force you to exceed your own expectations, while at the same time, staying realistic and not putting students in –literally – uncomfortable positions. Vidyaa yoga is both a fast-paced workout and a relaxing de-stress exercise.

Cassandra’s musical playlists are fabulous – everything from Lenny Kravitz to hip hop to quotes from Martin Luther King. The boat class was extra special. The combination of being far removed from my neighborhood, and even from the pavements of Paris, with the sun shining down from above and the Eiffel Tower in the background was almost surreal.

Before teaching yoga star extraordinaire Rebecca Leffler (hey, I’m getting there – I can now touch my toes, which, for those of you who have seen my legs, know has not been an easy task), Cassandra has worked with other superstars like Shakira, Elli Medieros and even Sting and Trudie Styler. She’s worked in Thailand, Mexico, the US and France and has now – thank Buddha!- made her home in Paris where she has been kicking our fesses into shape ever since. The Saturday classes are from 11 am – 12:30 on the boat Le Paris near Alma Marceau. The classes are perfect for Saturday morning – either to cure your weekend hangovers or to get you pumped for staying out until Midnight in Paris (sorry, I am liking the cheesy Americans in Paris theme today, forgive me).
Cassandra also gives private classes (when my income reaches that of Sting and Trudie, she’ll be over every day), but the energy in the room for a group class is electric. Who’s with me next weekend, mes amis?

Bisous and Namaste!

Tic Tac Toh-là-là!

The French are known for being brutally honest (see: the common unsolicited “Tu as l’air fatiguée” (“you look tired) greeting), but this ad takes it to a new level. Ogilvy & Mather’s new Tic Tac ad uses a flash mob to show people that they have “the worst breath in the world,” the title of the ad. It’s advertising at its finest. Probably the best movie I’ve seen in awhile! Check it out. Je love!