Silence is Golden: Here's "The Artist" Trailer, Hit of Weinstein Co. Cocktail Party

Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist."

Distributors' Cannes cocktail parties tend to be a little branding and a lot of rose'. The Weinstein Co. took the opposite tack Friday evening at the Martinez Hotel.

On entry, guests were confronted with a chorus line of easel-mounted one-sheets for titles still in production (including the just-purchased "The Iron Lady" and the untitled Paul Thomas Anderson project); by the end of the evening, Harvey had presented footage from about a half-dozen upcoming releases and trotted out both Sarah Jessica Parker ("I Don't Know How She Does It") and the cast of "Wu Xia."

However, his greatest enthusiasm -- and the audience's -- may have been reserved for "The Artist." Black-and-white silent movies have been a hard sell for about 80 years -- and Harvey made his now-familiar joke about how it's one of the titles his partners may think he's crazy for buying -- but it was the favorite of the night.

Here's the trailer produced by its French distributor, Warner Bros.; it's the same clip presented at the party. "The Artist" premieres in competition Monday.