Cannes takes baby eco-steps

"It really drives you crazy sometimes," said Julie Sisk, manager of the American Pavilion and initiator of all its environmental programs. "Just the red carpet alone -- that's just pure plastic underneath. And they rip it up and toss it out. Some 5,000 square feet of carpet, right in the landfill."

Sisk notes that "none, not one" of the dozens of other national pavilions has approached the AmPav for advice on how to green up their operations.

Talk of Cannes developing an environmental conscience draws mainly snorts of disbelief from cynical market execs.

"The only green you can see at Cannes is money," said Mark Urman, head of U.S. theatrical at ThinkFilm.

But Kenny Ausubel, founder of the environmental group Bioneers and an expert who appears in "11th Hour," thinks that Cannes actually is an appropriate metaphor for the current state of the planet.

"Right now, I think that humanity is acting a lot like a movie star trashing a hotel room at Cannes, when it comes to the environment," Ausubel said. "Maybe that's a message we should also get out there."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter