It's time for the Cannes Film Festival 2013

It's time for the Movie Scrum, the Cannes Film Festival, when the 'men' muscle in for the best deals they can find in the market, looking for the one film that will make their get rich quick schemes work. On the side lines women observe cautiously, side stepping the more than visible prostitution networks that sport long legged, high heeled women who look out of place among the creative low heeled, bohemian female film producers. Raw flesh meets the hard cashed intellectual side of the industry that sports the good script idea as the Goddess of Riches. Some will rise to the challenge.  Others will falter, at the point when their 'intellectual' property is picked over and gnawed at by a passing 'Movie Mogul'. But a good idea can 'ignite' and can make it's way to the 'studio floor'. All live in hope that, as they side swipe the competing executives and fawning lines of models, they might just make it to the movie 'touch down' of the year with a 'blockbuster'. They did have to block the busters to get there after all?

So what's on offer this year? You will find all you need to know at the Festival website here   My tip for the movie buff is 'Behind the Candelabra', starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, will give the Palme Dor a run for it's money. If it's official trailer available on You Tube is anything to go by, it puts Michael Douglas's voice back in the running with a convincing and touching portrayal of the love story of Liberace. But as the insiders know, the film that is scheduled for the  evening showing of the last Thursday of Festival is usually the one that gets the Palm D'or. Having not checked the schedule, I remain to be surprised.

For our fans, I'm sure there must be some, somewhere you can find out about Palm Tree Ents films here

In the mean time Distributor Le Pacte has 5 films in Competition this year despite the mag 'Indie Wire' having raised an eyebrow about the monopoly it has on the distribution process of the Award winning films.

As for the prostitution rings, according to an in depth article by Hollywood Reporter,  the trial of one of it's main instigators came to close this year. You can read all about it on their website here It remains to be seen if this will hold back the plethora of girls on the La Croisette or not.

In the meantime a new development for us all to negotiate is that Fashion TV, have taken over the roof suite of the Majestic Hotel for its shows, which allows celebrities to peek over the balcony for press photo calls prior to their Red Carpet dash. Tickets for this new enterprise range from between 300 Euros for one person to 1500 Euros for a table in the exclusive suite to watch the show.

Whatever the case we are all rolling up our sleeves for another 'bash' at the spotlight - Cannes 2013.

What the BBC don't want you to know is.....

I worked for the BBC as a freelance for 5 years between 1990 and 1995, in that time I encountered the worst kind of abuse from a BBC freelance presenter. He, by his own admission was a registered schizophrenic and somehow he managed to work with the likes of Kenny Everett  He arrived in the BBC station of Radio Solway while I was training there as a freelance for Community Radio in 1990 This was during the years when the stations staff were covering the Lockerbie Disaster trials. His name was John Langley and very quickly after a few weeks his schizophrenia become quite apparent. After a few months of working with him in the same office, we embarked on an assignment together which was very ill-advised on my part because he took the opportunity to attack me. Sadly it was quite a complicated form of a sexual attack and due to all it's permutations it was difficult to pursue a conviction at the time. What was achieved, by my doctor, was that Langley was sectioned under the mental health act then secured in a Psychiatric unit for about a year. This allowed me enough time to re-build my life, move home and my job to another training post within the BBC.

Langley made no secret that he was a schizophrenic and he even seemed to boost about it to his BBC colleagues whose liberal attitudes were in hindsight highly inappropriate with someone who was quite clearly a danger to himself and the public. He was a self confessed depressive and openly admitted to feeling suicidal. At the time he attacked me he was loaded up with the prescribed pill diazipan and in the proceeding days before the attack he had been threatening to take an over dose. How did such a person in such a state, end up working in a BBC radio station? Who had recommended him and how had he been chosen for the job? His mental state was certainly not taken into account and it seemed only that his broadcasting demeanor was all that was of concern to the BBC. What a pity the BBC decided to make a film about his new job as a photographer in 2008 considering that some of the women at this link here on his website could be at risk.

On another of his web sites here he clearly boosts about his BBC links, despite the correct decision by the station manager to fire him in 1991, he still seems to have 'connections' with the BBC.

What a pity that Officers at Operation Yewtree have failed to arrest him given the 'evidence' seen on his own website of what looks like pornography and not 'art. What is even of a greater shame is that some people in the BBC can't seem to know the difference, in that pornography could never be considered as an art form, could it?

BBC Presenters are only as good as their mental capacity for the job and their presentation skills alone are not only the prerequisite for their job. As the Saville cases prove, the protection of the public is and should have always be the prime importance. In failing to understand this the BBC, will continue to see, crime after crime unearthed, as it's own walls crumble in the process.

Anyone wishing to contact me for more information please email mairi.sutherland@gmail.com