HFPA, Helen Mirren & Robert Pattinson Donate $500,000 to Help Refugees

The Hollywood Reporter

by Chris Gardner

May 19, 2019

A voguing session from the cast of ‘Port Authority,’ along with big names like Eva Longoria, Robert Pattinson and Quentin Tarantino, help fuel HFPA’s hot party at Nikki Beach.

The Nikki Beach pop-up in Cannes has been a beachfront staple of the film festival for something like 17 years, and on nights like Sunday night at 10 p.m., it’s always packed to the brim with champagne-clutching revelers, electric music and a fist-pumping DJ.

But when Dame Helen Mirren took the microphone during the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s charity event to benefit Help Refugees, she also took control of the room and managed to keep hundreds of guests quiet for an important announcement. “This is the biggest honor,” she said in opening her brief remarks.

“OK, ladies and gentlemen, madames, monsieurs — especially you guys talking in the back,” said the three-time Golden Globe winner after being welcomed to the stage by HFPA president Meher Tatna (who delivered a brief introduction in French that she had perfected specifically for the occasion) with a compliment as the “queen of all our hearts.” “Here you are, you’ve got free food, you’ve got free drink, you’re safe, you’re warm, the rain is not raining on your heads. All I ask you is to give a moment’s thought to the people who don’t have that. Just a moment of not speaking. Think about people who are so much worse off than you are and feel very, very, very grateful that you are where you are.” Read more.