W+K Head of Account Handling, Andy Kay, is camped out in Cannes this week, immersing himself in a punishing schedule of industry talks, workshops and panel sessions at the Palais, and defending himself from the equally punishing side effects of rosé immersion (in the name of mingling with great creative minds, etc). He's already found time to rub shoulders with Monica Lewinsky and to stalk a few celebs. He writes:

I was advised to not just go to the big talks whilst here, and I have tried to follow that advice. But I have also done a fair bit of starfucking too. Warning, this post includes some shameful name dropping…

[yes, that's Monica Lewinsky]

Pharrell Williams – Creating constellations: Unleashing creativity through collaboration

Long, long queues to get in, 3000 people in the hall at 10am, and billed by the host as "an unstoppable one man pop culture machine," he had a lot to live up to. I thought he seemed like a genuinely humble, nice bloke who spoke lucidly around his creative process and attitude to collaboration. Amazingly, he's also 42 and looks about 24. He says;

• He only does collaborations with people he thinks are better than him, so he can learn.

• If he's stumped it's because he's not inspired.

• You need to consider the 'energy in the room.' So whilst FaceTime and conference calls are great, there's really like nothing like getting together in one room. As someone who works on a lot of international business, I know what he means.

• Bad responses from 'call outs' (record label speak for focus groups) don't mean anything to him as it's likely to be because people are being asked to comment on something they've never heard before. 'It's like going up to a man who's only ever eaten hamburgers and asking him to try some sushi. What's he likely to say?' I'm dropping Pharrell on my next MWB results call.

• If the label won't pay for the artwork, guess what? The thing's probably gonna fail.

His main point though, which he kept coming back to, was around what he called 'intention.' For something to stand out, be it music, ads, painting, cooking whatever, he says it needs to have 'been created with intention.' I kind of agree. If you don't give a shit about what you're doing how can you expect anyone else to? He also said that anything created needs to have a 'tactile kinaesthetic quality to it' which reminded me of a certain Dan Wieden quote… 'just move me dude'.

Jamie Oliver – Innovation: When new just isn't enough

Me and Jamie go right back to the ‘Naked Chef’ days. He has a pretty slick digital presence from Instagram to his FoodTube channels and I thought he may give some insight into all of this. Actually, he spent most of his time talking about education and healthy eating. But, I suppose that's fair enough. He's not a marketer so what did I expect? And he makes some very valid and very important points. He also ended on a fact about how most Greek old men can still have sex 'successfully.' I think it was going to be an anecdote around diet but he was dragged off stage before he could finish. No pun intended.

Kim Kardashian West – Hollywood and trends in Digital Storytelling

I actually stumbled into this one as it was after another talk I went to. She was really nice and her iOS game, which they were there to talk about, seems to be something a lot of young girls (and from the ooh and ahhs in the audience, some older ones too) like to play and it was genuinely interesting to hear about how it mirrors her life in real time and provides genuine interaction chances with her. But it was also all a little weird and tense. At the start, we were all warned to make the host proud, to not try and make a name for ourselves and to keep the questions professional. Um, ok…??? Oh, and her mum was there too. That seemed to excite a lot of people as well.

Stay tuned for more dispatches from A-List Andy as the week rolls on. 

A couple of recent documentaries are worth a look for anyone interested in getting an insight into the creative process in industries different from advertising and marketing. 

Jodorowsky's Dune tells the story of Chilean artist and director Alejandro Jodorowsky's unmade movie of Dune. He assembled an amazing group of collaborators, including French comics creator Moebius, Swiss artist of the gothic and bizarre HR Giger, Pink Floyd and special effects man Dan O'Bannon. He apparently signed up an amazing cast including David Carradine, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier and Salvador Dali. And he developed a complete script and storyboard, scene by scene, for the entire movie. But the project was too ambitious and Jodorowsky apparently too crazed and uncompromising for any Hollywood studio to back him and his film. The fact that David Lynch was picked as the 'safe' option to direct Dune, in preference to Jodorowsky, gives some indication of just how far out there the Jodorowsky Dune would have been. The documentary is an entertaining watch, not just for the glimpses of the unmade epic, but also for the intensity that Jodorowsky brings to telling the story. You can see that this intensity (combined with his reputation for having previously made bonkers but visionary films like El Topo and the Magic Mountain) is what must have persuaded his collaborators to follow his call to, "Sell everything you own and move to Paris to work on something that will change the world." But you can also see why that same creative passion could have scared off the Hollywood money men. (There's a frankly alarming sequence where he likens adapting Frank Herbert's book to 'raping a bride'.) There are some parallels here with our business – the tension between the creative vision and the conservative client. But Jodorowsky makes it clear that he sees himself as an artist, not a commercial entertainer. He doesn't want a box office hit, he wants to blow our minds. In our work, we can't start believing that we are purely artists – our creativity is always in service of commercial objectives.

There's a part near the end where AJ says something like, "The movie didn't die. It lives on in people's minds as a dream. And a dream can still change the world." The power of dreams, no?

You can't watch the unmade Dune, but you can see its influence in other movies, from Alien to Bladerunner. And, if you're a fan of visionary cinema but haven't seen any of Jodorowsky's work, then you should try to track down the extraordinary and unforgettable Santa Sangre or The Dance of Reality.

Another recent documentary about a creative working in a particular field is Dior and I, which follows designer Raf Simons as he takes over as creative director of the Dior fashion house.

To the outsider the world of haute couture can seem like the Emperor's New Clothes brought to life: the unspeakable in pursuit of the unwearable. But even if you're not into fashion, this is an interesting story. Simons seems a reluctant guru, shy and somewhat intimidated by the legacy of Dior's founder, but quietly determined to reinvent the brand without losing touch with its essence.

The house of Dior is presented as an intriguing contrast: seeking to be at the cutting edge of fashion, but enabled by an atelier of middle-aged seamstresses, the craftspeople who turn the CD's concepts into real physical garments. Simons doesn't even sketch out his ideas – he uses clippings and moodboards and reference stimulus to suggest what he wants. Much of this reminded me of the way that some advertising creatives work: like magpies, picking up shiny things from the gutter of culture and assembling them in (hopefully) new and relevant ways.

Like an agency working towards a big pitch, the tension at Dior mounts as the day of the big runway show approaches. The pressure is on and time and money are running out. Simons persuades his boss to go wildly over-budget for a dramatic presentation that involves covering a mansion in fresh flowers, and after late nights, tears and tantrums, it all comes good with a triumphant launch of the new collection.

The striking thing, comparing the two films, are the similarities and differences between Jodorowsky and Simons. Neither can execute their vision themselves. Each has a team of highly talented collaborators from whom they need to elicit excellent work, in order to realise that personal vision. But while Jodorowsky assumes the role of the crazed visionary, the manic street preacher, Simons is thoughtful, subdued and even withdrawn. Both approaches seem to work pretty well. 

If you're interested, you can find both these films in the iTunes store. Jodorowsky's movies are available on DVD.