In her final letter from Cannes, where she’s attending the MIPTV conference, Sandra Piha, WOW’s international sales director, admits that, yes, she’s been in a constant state of party, but she’s not the only one. “It seems everyone here shmoozes, boozes, and makes deals 24/7, all under the influence,” she says. Hmm, boozing under the influence. Like DWI–drinking while intoxicated. The ultimate. But she was compos mentis when she had to be.
All right, yes, I have been enjoying the parties in Cannes and haven’t talked about working my tail off during the daylight hours. Running around from meeting to meeting, I have noticed that reality TV and celebrity exploitation are themes running through the convention, along with the predictable dramatic programming being offered predominately from the States. Bollywood has a pretty big presence here as well (ask Jason Bryan to do his imitation of a Bollywood film soundtrack– you’ll wet your pants). Also, I’ve found some really juicy, yummy new stuff for WOW’s Shock Video 2005!
When I walked into the Palais yesterday, there was a massive video screen showing Carmen Elektra’s body and her voice was beaming through the hall. Funniest thing is she’s created an aerobic striptease workout DVD and was supposed to join me and the producers of it (DNA Studio) for dinner last night. She didn’t show, but I like being the center of attention at these gatherings anyway, tee hee. Today in the convention center, I noticed a gigantic poster of the WOW feature film, Party Monster! I was like hells ya! As our dear Thairin Smothers would say, “Rock on, tampon!” Of course, Thairin was also one of the producers extraordinaire on WOW’s new series, Porno Valley, which has garnered a tremendous amount of interest at MIPTV due to it’s huge success in the UK market. It’s all about Porno Valley, baby–everyone wants a piece of it!
Alas, tomorrow I leave Cannes and I’m sad because I’ve met some amazing, energetic, and bright people that I can’t wait to see again. In talking with buyers, sellers, and new mates, I’ve learned that our wonderful company is widely known and recognized around the globe for being a seriously kick-ass company with kick-ass programming. But we all knew that anyway. Bon nuit from Can Can Cannes. Sandy