Though many actors are appearing at the Cannes Film Festival this week, the best role in town might be a little further down the Croisette.
Season 4 of The White Lotus will be set around the Cannes Film Festival, bringing one the most acclaimed TV series into the heart of cinema’s French Riviera playground. The Hôtel Martinez, one of the iconic luxury hotels that line the beach in Cannes, will be a central location in Mike White’s HBO series, fictionally renamed the White Lotus Cannes.
Shooting has begun along the Riviera, but The White Lotus production has not materialised in town yet, making the chances of the festival being a live backdrop for the season increasingly unlikely. However, the festival runs until 23 May, so there's still time.
Despite excitement around the series' cast members making appearances on the red carpet, Cannes has been strict about focusing attention mainly on its film selections.
Representatives for HBO and festival organisers declined to comment.
When cameras turn on Cannes
The Cannes Film Festival has often been an irresistible setting for movies and series. However, most have used exterior footage from the event with staged interior scenes apart from the festival.
Some of this season’s cast members, such as Vincent Cassel and Laura Dern, are appearing in Cannes on their own for other projects they’re a part of.
Producers settled on the Martinez and another hotel south of Cannes in Saint-Tropez: the Airelles Château de la Messardière for locations. It will be renamed the White Lotus du Cap.
Last month, The White Lotus producer David Bernad said the setting for Season 4 came out of a trip he and White took to the Cannes film festival in 2021.
“We went to dinner and we had a really specific experience with a waiter and a maître d’, and it was the stereotype. It was a very funny moment,” Bernad said at the Canneseries Festival. “And I think that it suddenly unlocked what the show is and the dynamics of the show.”
Their festival experience convinced them to bring The White Lotus to Cannes.
“The energy around it was so intoxicating and this season will have elements of that,” said Bernad. “It’s really about the people’s stories, them navigating Cannes, and the ups and downs of the festival. It’s the beating heart of everything in this season.”
A plum role for the Martinez
Meanwhile, the Martinez awaits its close-up, despite the Hyatt-owned hotel, which first opened in 1929, already being at the heart of the festival.
Like several of the other hotels on the Croisette, the Martinez hosts waves of stars for the festival.
“We are the biggest player in town in terms of the number of rooms,” says Michel Cottray, general manager of the Martinez. “The film festival started in 1946, but we have ever since been fully engaged and in complete partnership with the festival.”
On nights during the festival, the Martinez’s lobby swells with attendees in formal wear heading to the evening premieres. Often, that includes casts and filmmakerswho pile into the official festival motorcade that ferries them down the Croisette to the Palais des Festivals.
“We are gearing up to the shooting,” Cottray says. “I think it will be in a couple months’ time and then it will be a big experience for all of us. But we are ready for that.”
The Martinez also hosts a private dinner at the beginning of the festival for the jury that will decide the Palme d'Or. This year, that includes Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and jury president Park Chan-wook.
