Cannes and the Hôtel Martinez await a 'White Lotus' close-up

CANNES, France (AP) — Though many actors are appearing at the Cannes Film Festival this week, the best role in town might be a little further down the Croisette.

Season 4 of “The White Lotus” will be set around the Cannes Film Festival, bringing one the most acclaimed TV series into the heart of cinema’s French Riviera playground. The Hôtel Martinez, one of the iconic luxury hotels that line the beach in Cannes, will be a central location in Mike White’s HBO series, fictionally renamed the White Lotus Cannes.

Shooting has begun along the Riviera. But four days into the Cannes Film Festival, “The White Lotus” production has yet to materialize in town. The festival runs to May 23, so there’s still plenty of time. But the prospect of it turning into a live backdrop for “The White Lotus” may be unlikely.

As tantalizing as the prospect of cast members — including Steve Coogan, Heather Graham, Kumail Nanjiani and Rosie Perez — mixing into red carpet premieres during the festival may be, Cannes is vigilant about keeping attention focused on its film selections.

Representatives for HBO and festival organizers declined to comment.

The Cannes Film Festival has often been an irresistible setting for movies and series. A trip to Cannes made for some of the best moments in the French series “Call My Agent!” Some movies have been shot guerrilla-style around the festival, like the 1996 cameo-rich mockumentary “Cannes Man.”

But most have relied on a mix of exterior footage shot from the event with staged interior scenes apart from the festival. “Mr. Bean's Holiday,” the 2007 comedy that culminates with Mr. Bean bumbling into Cannes, is, surprisingly, among the most seamless recreations.

Some of this season's “White Lotus” cast members are appearing in Cannes on their own, for other projects they're a part of. Vincent Cassel walked the red carpet Thursday night for the premiere of Asghar Farhadi's “Parallel Tales.” Laura Dern, who joined the cast after the departure of Helena Bonham Carter, is attending later in the festival for the documentary “Dernsie,” about her father, Bruce Dern.

After location scouting, producers settled on the Martinez and another hotel south of Cannes in Saint-Tropez: the Airelles Château de la Messardière. It will be renamed the White Lotus du Cap. In real life, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Antibes, can function like a swanky satellite to Cannes during the festival, and hosts the annual amfAR gala.

Last month, “The White Lotus” producer David Bernad said the setting for Season 4 came out of a trip he and White took to the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.

“We went to dinner and we had a really specific experience with a waiter and a maître d’, and it was the stereotype. It was a very funny moment,” Bernad said at the Canneseries Festival. “And I think that it suddenly unlocked what the show is and the dynamics of the show.”

Their festival experience convinced them to bring “The White Lotus” to Cannes.

“The energy around it was so intoxicating and this season will have elements of that,” said Bernad. “It’s really about the people’s stories, them navigating Cannes, and the ups and downs of the festival. It’s the beating heart of everything in this season.”

Meanwhile, the Martinez awaits its close-up. But the Hyatt-owned hotel, which first opened in 1929, is already at the heart of the festival. Like several of the other hotels on the Croisette, the Martinez hosts waves of stars for the festival. Glamour shots on its spiral staircase are an indelible feature of Cannes. Hordes of onlookers camp outside its doors hoping for a glimpse of a celebrity or an autograph.

“We are the biggest player in town in terms of the number of rooms,” says Michel Cottray, general manager of the Martinez. “The film festival started in 1946, but we have ever since been fully engaged and in complete partnership with the festival.”

On nights during the festival, the Martinez's lobby swells with attendees in formal wear heading to the evening premieres. Often, that includes casts and filmmakers who pile into the official festival motorcade that ferries them down the Croisette to the Palais des Festivals.

Right now, keeping that nightly ritual humming, and catering to its A-list guests, is the main concern of the Martinez. “The White Lotus” will come later.

“We are gearing up to the shooting,” Cottray says. “I think it will be in a couple months’ time and then it will be a big experience for all of us. But we are ready for that.”

Some floors of the hotel will be completely sold out and inaccessible to the public during the shooting. Filming will take place throughout the Hyatt-owned hotel. “It will be things happening a bit everywhere,” said Cottray.

Cottray spoke in the hotel’s Michelin-starred La Palme d’Or restaurant, where movie memorabilia adorns the vintage yacht-styled interiors: the boxing shorts from “Raging Bull,” a plate from “Titanic,” the ice pick from “Basic Instinct.”

In the same room, the Martinez every year hosts a private dinner at the beginning of the festival for the jury that will decide the Palme d’Or. This year, that includes Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and jury president Park Chan-wook. A meal is always tailored to the president of the jury. For the South Korean filmmaker of 2003 thriller “Oldboy,” octopus was naturally on the menu.

Hosting such a crowd — and with such a classic murder weapon near at hand, too — sounds straight out of “The White Lotus.”

“There are always unexpected issues happening,” says Cottray. “We have to react quickly. I will not drop names, but, clearly, we are ready for the unexpected.”

People sit on the beach ahead of the 79th Cannes international film festival Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Cannes, southern France. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening ceremony of the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Hotel Martinez during preparations for the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Vincent Cassel, left, and Narah Baptista pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Parallel Tales' at the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Hôtel Martinez is pictured during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is falling from its records Friday and joining a worldwide drop for stocks, as higher oil prices send a shiver through the bond market. Stocks that had been caught up in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology led the way lower.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 408 points, or 0.8%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.6% from its own record.

Technology stocks tumbled in a sharp turnaround from their meteoric rises for much of the year, which had carried markets worldwide to records but also raised criticism that they had gone too far.

Nvidia, the stock that quickly became the face of the AI revolution, dropped 3.6% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. It had come into the day with a gain of more than 26% for the year so far.

“To us, it looks like markets have pushed into overbought territory,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. He said the strong corporate profits and durable U.S. economy that launched U.S. stocks to records remain intact, but “the path is unlikely to be smooth. Periods like this call for discipline more than hope.”

In the meantime, rising oil prices are raising the pressure after already sending inflation higher than economists had feared. The war with Iran is continuing, and the Strait of Hormuz remains shut to oil tankers, which is preventing them from delivering crude to customers worldwide and driving up oil’s price.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.1% to $107.97 and is well above its level of roughly $70 from before the war.

Many big U.S. companies have been saying their customers have been able to keep spending on their products and services despite having to pay higher prices for gasoline. But U.S. households have also been telling surveys they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and the pressures building not only because of the war but also because of tariffs.

The worries were most clear Friday in the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.56% from 4.47% late Thursday. That’s a notable move for the bond market, and it’s well above its 3.97% level from before the war. The yield on the 30-year Treasury is close to its highest level since 2023 after breaking above 5%.

Higher yields can make mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses more expensive, which slows the economy. They also tend to push downward on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

Yields have been climbing since the war on worries about higher inflation and how it may tie the Federal Reserve’s hands when it comes to short-term interest rates. Not only have traders abandoned virtually all expectations that the Fed will resume its cuts to interest rates this year, they’ve been building some bets that it may even hike rates in 2026, according to data from CME Group.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell sharply across Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 6.1% for one of the sharpest moves. It had been reaching records this year because of the influence of AI beneficiaries like SK Hynix. But it quickly reversed momentum Friday after briefly topping the 8.000 level for the first time.

Some on Wall Street have been warning about a possible break in momentum for tech stocks in general and AI winners in particular.

“If nothing else this should be a ‘shot across the bow’ for how volatility works both ways,” according to Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG.

AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him contributed.

Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

President Donald Trump, left, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Temple of Heaven on Thursday May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Employees of Hana Bank celebrate in a photo-op to mark the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) of over 8,000 points at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)