CANNES, France — "There's a madness to Cannes unlike any other film festival," said the Dior Homme-clad actor Elijah Wood at the opening bash last Thursday for "Paris, je t'aime" held on the wooden deck of Cannes' old port. Nearby, co-star Aïssa Maïga, wearing a red Elie Saab couture gown and a substantial Chopard diamond choker, darted nervous backward glances at her bodyguard.

At the bar, a grizzled Nick Nolte, sporting polkadot suspenders, was engrossed in conversation with Juliette Binoche. "I was telling her about an old gag Woody Harrelson and I once pulled on Sean Penn involving a cop," growled Nolte, pretending to pull out a pistol.

Nearby, Catalina Sandino Moreno, who just wrapped up shooting for "The Hottest State," written and directed by Ethan Hawke, raved about her costumes for her next venture, the period costume drama "The Heart of the Earth." "It's impossible to breathe in the corsets, but it's quite something to feel transported to another era," said the rising Colombian star. Dressed in Armani Privé, she said she doesn't normally give fashion a second thought. Indeed, on Saturday, she opted for a pair of old Ray-Bans and a vintage summer dress to join co-stars Hawke and Ana Claudia Talancón for the "Fast Food Nation" cocktail party at the American Pavilion.

"It sounds like McDonald's may be coming after us, but I'm not losing any sleep," quipped director Richard Linklater about the film, which is certain to turn many viewers off of hamburgers. Fittingly, a vegetarian spread was put out for guests.

That night, despite the snowflakes, glaciers and polar bears hanging from the ceiling at the Carlton Hotel, temperatures soared at Chopard's annual Trophy Awards dinner, where guests crammed in to watch a series of performances opened by the Spanish flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés. By the time the showgirls hit the stage, even De Grisognono president Fawaz Gruosi sprang up to twirl on a dance pole.