The outrageously gorgeous Villa de Mai was all a twinkle last night for the joint “Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus“/”Drag Me To Hell” party up in the hills above Cannes.

Although, as predicted, none of the major males from Heath Ledger’s last film were in attendance, director Terry Glliam and star Lily Cole ventured to the soiree while “Hell” director Sam Raimi and his stars Justin Long and Alison Lohman also popped by to sip on Pommery champagne and take in the spectacular vistas.

“Imaginarium” was warmly received by many critics while “Hell” continued to wow. Both films were official selections here in Cannes but are not competition films. (On that front, no one it seems, can stop talking about Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet” but we have to wait until Sunday night to know the final outcome.)

The Villa de Mai, where the party was held, is a favorite for Cannes-goers. Although it has a treacherous staircase that inspires fear in even the most seasoned four-inch heel wearer, the trek down to the various terraces is worth it.

Each year the villa is the site of at least one bash - a memorable “Swimming Pool” party for Francois Ozon’s film in 2003 remains a favorite - and never disappoints. And last night was no exception. An actual swimming pool on one of the many levels was misted over by fog machines to lend a particularly funky hue to the neon lights around.

Meanwhile, a party for Gaspar Noe’s “Enter The Void” - alternately called a hypnotic “mindf***” and “not clever enough to be truly pretentious” - took place down on the Cha Cha Cha beach before moving to another Villa. This one is in town and is actually a nightclub that for two years running has been taken over by French film sales and finance company extraordinaire Wild Bunch.

Forever living up to their name, the Wild Bunch threw a bash that ran into the very wee hours. Noe held court in the VIP section while folks sloshed down Red Basil cocktails (probably 9 parts Absolut vodka and 1 part puréed strawberries) before heading home to lay down their extremely weary heads after 10 days of festival fatigue.

Posted by Nancy