Latest News - The Vincent Perez Archives

December 1, 2018

Vincent and Karine were present at the opening of the Marrakech Film Festival on November 30th when "At Eternity's Gate" was screened. Vincent has a minor role in the film playing a director. The biographical drama film about the final years of painter Vincent van Gogh's life premiered on September 3, 2018 at the Venice International Film Festival. The film, directed byJulian Schnabel, stars Willem Dafoe in the lead role, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner and Niels Arestrup. The biopic has been featured at several film festivals through the fall.

On November 28th Vincent and Karine joined other guests at the inauguration of the l'hotel de Berri in Paris.

29 November 2018

On November 15th Vincent and wife Karine were among the guests able to taste the art of living Tokyo in the heart of the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The Gajoen Tokyo team made the trip to celebrate this legendary Japanese hotel. During an evening produced by the Saendwich agency and whose public relations had been entrusted to the agency Laurent Guyot & co, employees of Gajoen Tokyo hosted in traditional outfits high-flying personalities, who were received by Mr. Makoto Motonakano, President of Gajoen Tokyo, and His Excellency Mr. Masato Kitera, Ambassador from Japan to France. Mr. Masato Kato, the Chef of the hotel, made the trip from Tokyo to present to the guests dishes worthy of the greatest tables of Japanese cuisine: roast duck breast and walnut miso or consumed crabs, all accompanied by Japanese cocktails especially made with sake. The culinary and aesthetic delights transported guests to the traditional, sophisticated world of the Gajoen Hotel.

Here are more photos from the Renault evening during the 120th edition of the 2018 Paris Motor Show on October 2nd.

In celebration of the occasion, Vincent discussed his favorite car, the Renault. He said, "Because I often ride my bicycle in Paris, I use a car about three days a week, but it's my favorite car that makes me happy every time I drive it. It's a model I fell in love with the moment I tried it at the exhibition three or four years ago. Renault cars are comfortable and smooth. The car is like a friend."

A recent photo shoot. Not very flattering.

27 October 2018

This week I posted news of Vincent's new role in another Roman Polanski film called "J'accuse". The film has an English working title of "The Dreyfus Affair". Described as a thriller, the film will tell the real-life story of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish soldier who was accused of spying for the Germans, his trial becoming the talk of Paris in the 1890s. Jean Dujardin will play the counter-espionage officer who managed to prove – after Dreyfus was convicted – that the soldier was in fact innocent. Polanski’s interest in this story is clearly a personal one, the Oscar-winning director’s career having been overshadowed by his rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Polanski pled guilty to statuary rape, but has ceaselessly fought for his right to keep making films.

On October 24 Vincent attended the Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Retrospective with the screening of "Cyrano de Bergerac" at Cinematheque Francaise in Paris. You can view a short video of his appearance at this youtube link. At least he's not wearing the hat and black glasses! Below he poses with Rappeneu and Anne Brochet.

Here's a comparison - which do you prefer?

I just came across this one-page article on Karine and daughter Roxane from the October 2017 issue of French Elle magazine.

Earlier news that I omitted was the 15th anniversary celebration of the charity Maïsha Africa, hosted by Sonia Rolland. Vincent's wife Karine was one of the guests at the gala dinner at the Pavillon Cambon Capucines in Paris. The party was held on Monday, September 19th. Maïsha Africa raises funds to help Rwandan children. In the first photo Karen poses with Yannick Bolloré and, in the second, Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi

25 October 2018

I've posted a new gallery of photos taken on September 14 at Vincent's book exposition - "Un Voyage en Russie" at the Hotel de Ville. You can also view an interview that took place on Levallois TV before the exposition opened.

Vincent and his wife attended the 10th Film Festival Lumiere on October 19 in Lyon, France. This year Jane Fonda received the Prix Lumiere and on Wednesday, October 17, among the 16 of her films screened at the festival, Vincent was asked to present "The Electric Horseman". Without a doubt, my favorite is "Klute", in which Jane's performance is impeccable.

Here's Vincent with Franck Dubosc for a Renault evening on the occasion of the opening of the 120th edition of the 2018 Paris Motor Show at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris on October 2, 2018.

On October 9, the grand opening of the V Festival of French Cinema "Le Cinema Francais" took place at the Formula Kino at the Kutuzovsky cinema in Moscow. The opening film of the festival was Roman Polanski's "D'après une histoire vraie" personally presented by Vincent. After the screening, Vincent took questions from the audience. You can view photos from his Moscow visit in this gallery.

While in Russia, Vincent participated in several interviews. He discussed working with the exiled director: "At first it was very exciting. And how can you not be nervous when there is a chance to work with those you admire so much? He is a great director, one of my favorites. I think I've seen all of his movies. I knew that it might not be easy working with him. Polanski is one of those who very clearly knows what he wants. So I just wanted to be useful to him. But everything went great. We worked with pleasure, and no problems arose. What I like about Polanski is that he is extremely accurate as a director: how he sees scenes, how he organizes filming, how he directs actors. When you work with such a careful director, your work as an actor becomes much easier. You feel much more confident."

When asked which directors influenced his approach to acting most of all, Vincent responded, "This is not the most interesting answer, but perhaps all of them. One by one, each director contributed something different to my development, taught me something new. But if I had to choose, then probably Patrice Chereau. We made three films together - "Queen Margot", "Hotel France" and "Those Who Love Me Will Take the Train,". I have not worked with anyone else so often. Patrice was a real mentor to me. We talked a lot on and outside the set. He was a part of my life, in general. I miss him very much. But, by the way, Polanski also influenced me decently. My next film as a director will be a thriller unfolding on a yacht - and, I will not hide the fact that it's a direct reference to "The Knife in the Water", Polanski’s debut feature film. Antonioni, perhaps, is also in my blood. We had a very close relationship while working on "Beyond the Clouds".

In another interview, Vincent talked about his next film with Polanski. "It will begin shooting in November and end in March. It's called "J'Accuse" about the scandal with the name of Dreyfus, a famous statesman. This is a very unpleasant, dark history of anti-Semitism. The project has amassed many famous actors. One of the main roles will be performed by Jean Dujardin. I said, 'Roman, please, let me play the villain!' and he said, 'No, you are so cool in life that you can never be a villain.' I have the role of Dujardin's lawyer. He and I are the only good guys in the whole film."

When the conversation came around to Gerard Depardieu's Russian citizenship, Vincent told the press, "He is the only actor in the world who could afford it. He is a man outside of any norms. He loves to go out of the comfort zone, to commit such acts that defy explanation. Gerard always causes strong emotions. He's always been this way since I've known him. He is very clever. He has an amazing instinct. I saw him on stage when he sang Barbara, who is very famous in Russia. He did not just sing. He made it so that the spirit of Barbara returned. Sometimes I can't stand Gerard, but at the same time, I admire everything he does. He is a true genius."

30 September 2018

Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black opened impressively in Australian cinemas ten days ago. Benefiting from glowing reviews and copious publicity, the 1959-set comedy-drama looks set for a long run. Louise Keller of Urban Cinefile wrote, "One of the best lines (about men) goes something like this: 'We don't understand them and they don't understand themselves... they can't manage on their own...' Then there's the lure of glamour and exotic influences of 'continental types', like Magda's Hungarian husband (Vincent Perez, charismatic)... Casting is faultless. Cinematographer Peter James captures the imagery with style, while Christopher Gordon's buoyant score keeps the mood alive." Angus Tonkin of Film Blerg also gave praise with "Angourie Rice already has a formidable list of credits, and here she proves her credentials as a lead. Bright and appealing, she also receives some beautiful guidance from Ormond, who steals most of the best lines along with her screen husband played by Vincent Perez." Whether or not it receives US distribution is up in the air. Variety writes, "'Ladies' should register as pleasant enough entertainment for general domestic audiences, predominantly older females, although offshore prospects look iffy."