Roughly every two years since 2002, Graydon Carter – initially as a magazine editor vanity fair, Then as founder and editor of Air Mail – he hosted a party during the Cannes Film Festival that was sure to be the most sought-after invitation in a week full of star-studded affairs. Hosted at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, the bacchanal has long been a natural outgrowth of the Mediterranean. VFOscars party, where A-listers were less likely to talk business and more likely to jump in the pool fully clothed.
The last time this party made headlines was when then-host Carter – the quintessential cable executive turned Warner Bros. CEO – was in the news. David Zaslav, whose self-management of the studio earned him few friends in Hollywood – mocked the imitation of Carter’s style. This year, on May 19, Carter will co-host his first concert in Cannes since leaving Air Mail last October.. His co-hosts this time around will be Hollywood insider, CAA co-chairman and CEO Brian Lourd, and an industry outsider: rising Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dario Amodei, CEO of artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
Carter and Amudi may seem like an odd pairing: the worldly, print-loving old-media giant and the socially awkward, unflattering, thoughtful scientist who presents himself as the safe and responsible contender in the race to shape the future of artificial intelligence. Unlike his more outgoing rival and former boss Sam Altman at OpenAI, whose ill-fated forays into Hollywood have been well documented, Amodei appears to have no interest in breaking into the entertainment business. But the guys are less strange when you remember that Carter was fired Vanity gallery New Foundation, an annual ranking of the most powerful people in technology and business, which later turned into an annual summit in San Francisco, brings together the biggest names in Silicon Valley. And with Altman’s reputation taking some hits lately, there’s no bigger name than Amodei at the moment.
“Artificial intelligence, in one form or another, has become a driving force in today’s culture,” Carter said. Hollywood Reporter In an email interview. “Dario came to dinner last year, and honestly, after talking to him, I felt like I was working in wood. He’s been among the most thoughtful and outspoken voices in grappling with the questions raised by AI and seems to really want to hear from people outside the technology space.”
After that evening in New York, Carter contacted Amodei and offered to co-host and help pay for the party at the Hotel du Cap. Both stand to benefit: Carter has proven he still has the swagger and clout after his controversial departure from Air Mail (following its takeover by Puck, the media outlet founded by his former aide and protégé John Kelly) to continue his signature party at Cannes and collaborate with one of the world’s most powerful young CEOs. At the same time, Amodei will be given the opportunity to break out of the Silicon Valley bubble and learn about cultural movers and shakers.
There’s little danger of Amodei pulling Zaslav and tearing up Carter’s wardrobe. Although he supposedly owns a tuxedo at this point, he was influenced early on by effective altruism, a charitable movement known for disdaining frivolity (such as black-tie parties, or Hollywood parties) in favor of data-driven ways of helping the afflicted (for example, by creating safe artificial intelligence).
“He reminded me more of a philosopher than a technology leader,” Carter says of his dinner with Amodei. “I found him to be thoughtful, curious about the world, and honest, which is rare for Silicon Valley.”
Aside from Amodei’s presence, the ceremony will likely look familiar to those who have attended in the past. “I’ve hosted this dinner at the Hotel du Cap on and off for the past 25 years,” Carter says. “It’s one of the few big events that I’ve actually enjoyed.” “A lot of old Vanity gallery Hands are involved – so it doubles as a kind of reunion. And the guest list is excellent. Carter won’t share names, but given his track record, he won’t throw out the word “stellar” lightly.
One confirmed attendee is Lorde. “I’ve known Brian for decades and he’s the closest thing to a Hollywood mayor,” Carter says. “Who wouldn’t want to partner with him?” (Carter, a producer of several films, says he’s still involved in the business, currently working on a number of documentary and television projects.)
Carter has made no secret of his penchant for all things analog, from film to paper, which is another reason his partnership with Amodei might raise eyebrows. But he admits to using Anthropic’s main chatbot, Claude, on occasion. “I’ve found Claude to have a pen-and-paper kind of quality. He acts as one of the best assistants I’ve ever had. Vanity gallery Days – except that she does not need water, and she does not dream of becoming an editor one day.”
When asked what he last used it for, Carter said: “Collecting the right answers to really tough questions like this.”
