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I was lucky to meet Elton John in London in October 1970 as I was starting my journalistic career. He had just returned from Los Angeles after his explosive American debut with 6 nights at the legendary West Hollywood Troubadour.

You could call The Dead Don’t Die a neo-noir small town zombie comedy. The apocalypse here hits the small upstate hamlet of Centerville, an actually slightly off-center Mayberry style all-American town, inhabited by zany characters: a movie buff convenience store clerk, amiably gruff diner waitresses, a resident mumbling racist (Steve Buscemi), the motel owner and two somewhat hapless sheriff deputies (Chloë Sevigny and Adam Driver) led by nonplussed sheriff Bill Murray.

For over 40 years the HFPA has recorded famous and celebrated actresses, actors and filmmakers. The world's largest collection of its kind - over 10,000  items- is now in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Margaret Herrick Library.

When Olivia Wilde saw The Breakfast Club she knew what she wanted to do. “I want to tell stories that feel funny and true and delight the audience while feeling like there was some authentic reflection of life and humanity.

On the Cannes red carpet, women’s style fell into two categories- soft flowing feminine gowns or super structured tailoring with the bust on display.

Cannes began gently with Elle Fanning dressed as a designer gauzy schoolmarm – while controlled tailoring and feminine details dominated.

It wasn’t so much a clash of the titans, it was more like a tribute to them when Bruce Springsteen sat down with Martin Scorsese for a public conversation at Hollywood's Raleigh Studios, organized by Netflix. The pre-Emmy event was held in support of the campaign for Springsteen’s one-man show “Springsteen on Broadway”.

More than any other film festival -with the possible exception of Berlin, which comes close- Cannes is first and foremost a market festival. Taking place too early in the year to truly influence the awards season - Telluride, Venice and Toronto are the leaders in that department – Cannes is all about deals and money.

Last year, 82 famous women marched on the red carpet of the Palais du Festival to bring attention to the lack of female directors at the French festival. Lead by then-current and previous jury presidents Cate Blanchett, Ava DuVernay and Agnès Varda, their ranks included Salma Hayek, Kristen Stewart, and Marion Cotillard.

Things finally got underway on the Croisette with the customary Jury press conference in the Palais du Cinema. Loudly announced by Thierry Fremeaux channeling his best Sergeant at Arms, the “Grand Jury of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival” filed into the press room to the usual lightstorm of camera flashes.