It's not about you: Cannes Film Festival juror Kate Beckinsale walked the red carpet for a third night in a row, dressed in an off-the-shoulder flowing gown, upstaging fellow British star Carey Mulligan, who wore a high-necked midnight blue number at the première of her film Wall Street 2: Money Never SleepsIt was supposed to be Carey Mulligan's big night as she attended the première of her new movie at Cannes yesterday.
But the 24-year-old star was well and truly upstaged by fellow British actress, and one of the festival's jurors, Kate Beckinsale at the opening night of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
Carey looked prim and proper in an elegant midnight blue floor-length dress while Beckinsale - who at 12 years Mulligan's senior clearly has a little more experience in getting attention on the red carpet - wore a stunning, off-the-shoulder flowing gown.
While both actresses kept their legs covered up, Kate managed to add a splash of sex appeal with her off-the-shoulder number, while Carey's outfit was a high-necked design.
A nervous Carey stuck close to her co-stars as she arrived at the event, including boyfriend and cast member Shia LaBouef.
But Kate, who has walked the red carpet three nights in a row now, confidently waved at the hordes of photographers and meandered around by herself, ensuring all eyes were firmly on her.
Mulligan stars as Gordon Gekko’s estranged daughter Winnie in the movie, which sees Douglas play Gekko.
English rose: A waving Beckinsale cut a confident images as she meandered around the red carpetSpeaking at the event, she admitted: 'This is really nerve racking. I'm nervous and excited.'
The actors were greeted with a standing ovation as they entered the theatre. Crowds lined the streets to cheer the stars, with some chasing after cars to get a glimpse.
Miss Mulligan’s boyfriend, American rising star Shia LaBeouf, plays her love interest and ambitious young trader Jacob Moore in the film.
Wall Street 2 is set in 2008 before the economic crisis hit many of the world’s economies.
Douglas, 64, who scored an Academy Award for the original film, once again plays the ruthless Gekko.
Suited and booted: A nervous Mulligan poses on the red carpet with co-star Josh Brolin, left, and, right, boyfriend Shia LaBeouf, who also stars in the movie
Media frenzy: The cast assemble for their group photograph, from left Labeouf, Frank Langella, Michael Douglas, Brolin, Mulligan and director Oliver Stone The character came to symbolise Eighties excess and his declaration that 'lunch is for wimps' became a catch cry for City boys.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival première, Douglas said: 'In the first film Gekko was this guy who destroyed corporations and people, a villain.
'We just never anticipated that all these people would be raving that this was the man they wanted to be. Twenty two years later the greed has not stopped. It is just legal now.'
But in a twist, the sequel will see Gekko attempt to atone for his sins after serving time in prison for insider trading.
He joins forces with Moore on a mission to alert the financial community to the impending credit crisis, but audiences are left guessing whether he has really changes.
The night is still young: Carey and Shia are driven off following the event, perhaps to an after party
Thigh's the limit: Mexican actress Salma Hayek wore a sexy red dress, split to the thighDirector Oliver Stone explained: ‘When Gekko comes out of prison in the beginning of this movie, he essentially has to redefine himself, redefine his character. He is looking for a second chance.’
He added that he has become disillusioned with capitalism.
'I'm confused if capitalism in its currrent form can work. It seems not. I don't know where it is going to go.'
Sheen also resurrects his character, Bud Fox, who ultimately brought down Gekko for a cameo in the film.
Miss Mulligan has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame over the past year, after her starring role in An Education.
Hand in hand: Naomi Campbell, dressed in a textured sheer black dress, with her fiancé, Russian real estate entrepreneur Vladislav Doronin Based on journalist Lynn Barber's memoirs of her seduction as a schoolgirl by an older man and set in 1960s suburbia, Miss Mulligan’s performance secured her a Bafta and an Oscar nomination.
Just a few years earlier she had been a jobbing actress and a barmaid in her local pub but she is now tipped for stardom.
She is set to become one of Britain’s highest paid actresses with a £10 million deal to play the punk heroine in best-selling thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Miss Mulligan has been approached to play Lisbeth Salander, the heroine of Stieg Larsson’s hugely popular Millennium trilogy, in the planned film adaptation.
It is understood director David Fincher, and the family of the late Swedish author, think she is right for the role but a final decision has yet to be made.
Turning heads: Indian model Aishwarya Rai, left, and Israeli socialite Hofit GolanProducers are reported to have looked at almost 5,000 possible candidates to play computer hacker Miss Salander.
Miss Mulligan has made it clear she would like to take on the role.
She said in a recent interview: ‘I am obsessed with those books,” she said last month. “I would love to do them. I am not going to lie about that. I would love to play Lisbeth Salander.’
If she is selected it is expected the deal will be in the region of £10 million for the three films covering the Larsson’s trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.
The franchise is hugely popular and has sold more the one million copies in the UK and in excess of 25 million worldwide.
The story follows Miss Salander a bisexual private investigator and her curious relationship with a struggling journalist. She suffered years of abuse as a child, which has led to an intolerance of misogyny.
Red carpet glamour: American actress Diane Lane , Brazilian/ American star Camilla Belle and Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh His career is in tatters after losing a libel case. The pair join forces to try and get to the bottom of a sinister family secret.
Leading producer Scott Rudin, whose credits include No Country for Old Men, The Truman Show and The Queen is making the Hollywood films.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has already been made into a film in Sweden but as they are subtitled, they are unlikely to be a mainstream success.
Larsson, who was a journalist and author, died aged 50 in 2004 from a heart attack.
He left manuscripts of the Millenium Trilogy, which were then published as novels.
Smile for the cameras: Mulligan and the cast seen from behind as they face army of photographerssource: dailymail