Eric gets up from the blackjack table in frustration. Ryan approaches. “How’d you do?” he enquires. Eric replies, “Stupid idiots…the French don’t know play… they don’t know how to beat the dealer… they’re only thinking about themselves… why is he hitting when the dealer has a 4?” “So what do we do now?” Ryan asks.

Ryan is strapped for cash. Eric is good at gambling, so they figured they’d get dressed up in their best suits, head down to the Aix-en-Provence casino and play blackjack in an effort to win enough money to travel to the Cannes Film Festival.

Eric was up and down and in the end, only had a 10 Francs chip left. They started with 300 Francs, the entrance fee was 50 Francs each, and so Eric only had 200 Francs to play with. Nobody at the table was helping each other and once again, in the end, the odds stayed with the dealer.

“So now what?” Ryan asks again. Eric walks up to the cage and asks to change the blackjack chip to a roulette chip. The cashier scoffs at the quantity, handing him a 10 Franc roulette chip. Eric and Ryan walk up to a roulette table. “So whadda ya think?” Eric enquires. “Faites vos jeux” the roulette dealer says. Eric slaps down the chip on 13 black. The dealer spins and shoots the ball around the wheel. “Click clack” the ball bounces off the metal rungs. “Clickity clack” the ball bounces and lands near the bottom of the wheel. It flips back and forth, between 6 black and 36 red before finally settling on “click clack” 13 black. Eric and Ryan raise their arms in celebration. Eric gathers the winnings and goes back to the cashier. He proudly presents the chips, smiling to the cashier. The cashier hands Eric 350 Francs worth in notes and coins. “Let’s go get a beer.” Ryan cheers. They decide with this kind of luck, they’ll go to Cannes and take a chance at what happens.

The next day it’s raining as a car pulls over in front of the Carlton Hotel and Eric and Ryan jump out. Ryan thanks the driver, “Merci… et salut.” He shuts the door and the car drives off. They walk through the lobby of the hotel and go into the bathroom. A few minutes later, they exit the hotel better dressed for the weather.

Eric is secretly hoping they can get tickets to see “Barfly” or at least get a glimpse of Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. “Barfly” was written for the screen by Charles Bukowski. It’s an adaptation of his novel “Hollywood”.

Walking along the boardwalk, Eric sees Mickey Rourke. Mickey is at the Cannes Film Festival, to support his role in Barfly, which is nominated for the Palme d’Or. He portrays Charles Bukowski and it is one of Eric’s favorite movies. Eric is a huge fan of Mickey Rourke, especially in “9-1/2 Weeks” and “Angel Heart”. Ryan walks ahead, turns and takes their photo.

Ryan and Eric are shivering as they enter the lobby of the Carlton Hotel bar. Elliott Gould is telling a story to a group of people gathered around. Ryan begins to snap some pictures. Melanie Griffith is signing autographs for fans. “Give me a minute,” she says to Dolph Lundgren. Dolph reaches for her arm again and is rushing her towards the elevator to come up to his hotel suite. “Let’s go,” he pleads. Ryan is seen talking to a group of girls, waiting to get Melanie’s autograph. He comes over to Eric. “It’s all set,” he smiles. “What’s all set?” Eric enquires. “We’ve got a place to crash tonight,” Ryan affirms. “Great,” Eric says as Dolph begins to get really angry. “They are my fans,” Melanie snaps. “I’ll meet you upstairs,” she says as she continues signing autographs. Dolph storms off.

The best books by Charles Bukowski you should read.

Eric rolls up his sleeping bag and stuffs it into his backpack. Ryan thanks one of the girls and they leave the apartment. They cut through a few side streets and end up back on the boardwalk. It’s a much sunnier day as they head back to the Carlton Hotel. Again changing in the bathroom, they emerge beach ready, shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops. They see a group of paparazzi and check out what’s going on. It’s Phil Collins and his wife, posing for photographers. Eric takes a shot.

Later in the afternoon, Ryan and Eric go to the Palais de festival. On the main floor, they go to the casino, where Ryan finds an elevator to go up to the higher floors. When they get out, a security guard asks what they’re doing there. “All the press has been asked to leave,” he says in French. Ryan, with 2 cameras around his neck asks “Why?” The security guard replies that Lady Diana and other celebrities are just about to exit one of the movie theatres. As he’s saying this, the door open across the hall and people begin coming out. The guard rushes to the entrance. Ryan and Eric begin to mingle with the crowd as it heads down the hall and out to the grand staircase.

Walking down the red carpet, Ryan stops, turns and begins taking pictures. Sally Kellerman walks by with Peter Ustinov and Ryan snaps away. Eric and Ryan walk back up the red carpet stairs to take a break when Roger Moore is seen near the top of the staircase. Eric says “Bond…. James Bond.” Ryan smiles and asks Roger Moore if it’s ok to take his picture.

Suddenly Lady Diana is seen gracing the red carpet with her entourage. Ryan and Eric begin following the princess as the stairs continue outside. Hoards of paparazzi are outside yelling for Lady Diana to look their way. She waves and smiles delightfully. At the bottom of the red carpet, she is escorted to a Jaguar limousine. Eric yells, “Have a wonderful day.” Lady Diana turns and laughs as she gets in the car.