The festival is like a swan -- all elegance and beauty above the water as the Angelinas, Gwyneths and Mischas reward the photographic phalanx with a dazzling dress and a sequined smile -- and beneath the waterline there is a flailing and scurrying of limbs as press and publicists beat each other over the head with whatever weapons they can muster.

CNN: Behind the red carpet at Cannes

When the game becomes about effort over ability, it becomes unrecognizable a shocking mixture of broken plays and flailing limbs and usually competent players panicking and throwing the ball out of bounds.

NEWYORKER: How David Beats Goliath