Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

How strange. I don't think I've ever had to intro a piece for Harry before. Right now, though, he's going through all the typical aches and pains that come with travelling and trying to report on a film fest in progress (excuse me while I have a quick shuddering flashback to my first few days at Sundance this year), and he just sent in a quick report to give you an idea what it's like as Cannes gets underway for our very own HeadGeek...

Hey folks, Harry here...

I finally arrived in Cannes... whew... what an adventure... I'm going to have to keep the updates uber-short, as My computer doesn't want to dial up here.... JOY!

I'm using the hotel's computer tv monstrosity...

After 28 hours of MECHANICAL DIFFICULTY, OVERBOOKED FLIGHTS, NO FLIGHTS, and grabbing a cabbie from Luc Besson's TAXI and rushing through the streets of paris from Charles De Gaulle airport to ORLY airport in 30 minutes to make the last available flight in Paris for NICE... I made it.

Never mind that my credit card seems to not be working, even though my bank said it would... never mind that I walk in a sitting position... I'M IN CANNES and the emulsion is in the air.

Tonight I had dinner in LE CAVE, a small Cannes restaurant with a couple of critics, Joram from the ol Ringbearer page and Gordon "LOTR Online Guru" Paddison...

It was nice to finally be eating real French food... at long last, the french fries I had in DALLAS just were not cutting it.

Early in the morning we see the LOTR footage... I talked to one chap that was a reporter that had seen it though tonight... From what I understand is we see the opening 5 minutes of the film in Hobbiton... followed by around 22 minutes of Moria... including what sounds like the Cave Troll ("It sort of looks like SHREK mixed with that thing in GALAXY QUEST... But all realistic and cooler like" )

Sigh....

From seeing the roughs of the CAVE TROLL I assume that the 'thing in Galaxy Quest" is the rock creature.

THEN there were an additional 5 minutes of stuff from the 3 films in general.

Once I see it I CAN describe it for myself.

As I was leaving Le Cave, I bumped into a lady... name escapes me... that says she is producing GUILLERMO DEL TORO's post-BLADE 2 film... MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE!

THIS project was also once known as SPANKY, but... well MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE sounds cooler, I suppose.

The film would be set in London, if memory serves, and be modern day... The script I read a long time ago was a sort of DEVIL & DAN WEBSTER meets H.P. LOVECRAFT sort of thing. Not a big over-budget type film, but the little horror film type of thing.

I was kinda rooting for HELLBOY next, but hey... MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE is that small sort of horror film that we don't see near enough made... A non-franchise, literate horror flick. I hope _________ wasn't joshing me.

As I drove through through the heart of CANNES, I was wishing I had a press badge... This week, I Wish I WAS Grozilla or CHAMPAGNE 2000 (who left a not for me in my room saying something about Quentin Tarantino and 40 Lashes, but it is in french and I can't read french and it is driving me insane) or Dr Sotha (who joins me in crime this week).

Hopefully in addition to LORD OF THE RINGS stuff, I'll be seeing APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX tomorrow and be writing it up with LORD OF THE RINGS stuff.

Now.... Now I'm exhausted and must sleep hard, I have to wake up in a few hours... have all my equipment and interview 22 some odd folks behind LORD OF THE RINGS... Sigh....

If you have any passes to any movies in the next 4 days in Cannes and want to share the wealth... send them to the AMBASSADEUR HOTEL I'm dying to see some movies....

So long from a really too hard bed.

Harry

P.S.: ROBOGEEK here with a couple follow-up tidbits. FYI, MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE is Guillermo's adaptation of Christopher Fowler's novel SPANKY (though I hear HELLBOY may yet give it a run for its money as Guillermo's next film). ALSO... be sure to check out TheOneRing.Net's CANNES LOTR coverage, as well!