Did Cannes Film Festival parties fizzle out?

There have been reports of a diminished premiere party scene at the Cannes Film Festival.

Sacre bleu!

Was it only the last minute party sponsors that kept soirees alive for films such as the fest's opening night offering, "Blindness," which had a post dinner at the Carlton for stars and a packed beach bash for the less luminary?

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" kept its post party private, turning away press. "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," the documentary about the filmmaker, had a respectable gaggle of movie insiders like Harvey Weinstein and his wife, Georgina Chapman.

Chopard's soiree drew the fashion gals, incuding Gywneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek (in Gucci),  Christina Ricci (in Bottega Veneta) and a few aging models. Vanity Fair's annual black-tie bash was VIP heavy.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's yacht party boasted Sean Penn, Petra Nemcova, George Lucas, Barry Diller and Brad Grey. Even Brad Pitt stopped by, which is only polite since he and Angelina Jolie are bunking at the kabillionaire's Cap Ferrat estate for a few weeks.

This weekend's closing-night film, "What Just Happened," may draw stars Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and wife Robin Wright Penn.

But I have a feeling most journalists will bail early, possibly after tonight's AmFAR fundraiser with Madonna and Sharon Stone. Versace did the interior decor (see above photo) and 750 high-rollers and celebs (Rose McGowan is winning the gown competition so far) are already arriving.

Stone is wearing a predictable leopard print Cavalli gown and Madonna is wearing a bright red silk bow-necked secretary schmatta. Ick. Not exactly the glam gown we were hoping for, to put it mildly.

And then there was the unseasonable Riviera rain, which put a damper on several parties, including Mick Jagger's jewelry designing daughter Jade Jagger's celebration. She wore a jeweled exotic hoodie during her Belvedere Vodka sponsored bash on May 19.

The fete was for her Jagger Dagger, a lovely little ice knife she designed. No word on how one gets that past airport security.

Strangely, her rock star pop was having dinner with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood that night. He didn't even do a drive by his daughter's late-night dagger launch.

Goldie Hawn stumbled into the party after 2:30 a.m., wearing the same big black sunglasses she's worn all week. She'd planted a kiss on some guy's mouth on the dance floor at VIP the night before, which created quite a stir. What will Kurt Russell say when he finds out?

Sean Combs arrived about 3.30 a.m. and left at 7 a.m. He went up on the stage and danced and was given magnums of bubbly for himself and his posse all night, or rather, all morning. Ed Norton was there; Mike Tyson got there late too. Billy Zane (remember the villain in "Titanic"?) was there with his girlfriend, Kelly Brook, looking bored, until they bailed at 4 a.m.

My source says DJ Mark Ronson was the talk of the night. He was hired to to spin at the party until 3 a.m. But the organizers tossed him around 1 a.m. because his music was dubbed "too indie" and not "South of France" jazzy enough.

He was playing Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse! How is that too edgy? Maybe he should have added some Gipsy Kings for good measure.

Photos: WireImage