Latest News - The Vincent Perez Archives

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 "I 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."

On September 14th Vincent and Karine attended The Kering Heritage Days Opening Night in Paris.

The following photos were taken of Karine when she participated in the Cabourg Film Festival as a jury member in June.

11 September 2018

Vincent is now in the US visiting New England today, most likely because his son Pablo is now attending Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. Apparently, they have an excellent basketball program. Twin sister Tess will certainly miss him. I love this sweet photo of her, most likely taken by her photographer father.

Last night LADIES IN BLACK premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney. September 20th is the actual date of its theatrical release when more reviews will be available. Travis Johnson of Filmink writes, "It’s not so much a journey to be taken as an experience to luxuriate in, taking in the detailed period setting, vibrant camera work, gorgeous fashions, and winning, charismatic performances... The men are sidelined a little but that’s to be expected and besides, performers the calibre of Corr and French actor Vincent Perez, who plays Magda’s husband Stefan, are smart enough to know their job here is to accentuate the women at the centre of the film, bringing colour and character but never overshadowing the real stars." Producer Sue Milliken agrees pointing out that it is often difficult for Australian films to connect with audiences internationally but she hopes the film's inherent charm and the internationally-known cast including Julia Ormond, Vincent Perez, Ryan Corr and rising star Angourie Rice will resonate.

01 September 2018

Sony Pictures has announced that director Bruce Beresford will return to Sydney to celebrate the Australian Premiere of LADIES IN BLACK at the historic State Theatre on September 10th. Set in the summer of 1959, when the impact of European migration and the rise of women’s liberation is about to change Australia forever, a shy schoolgirl takes a summer job at the prestigious Sydney department store, Goode’s. There she meets the "ladies in black", who will change her life forever.

Though Vincent is in the cast playing Julia Ormond's husband Stefan, neither Vincent nor Julia will be present at the premiere. September 20th has been set as the film's theatrical release in Australia. There are no other release dates at this time. Speaking about the film, producer and co-writer Sue Milliken said: "Bruce and I have always believed this film will delight audiences; it is a life affirming story which is also a lot of fun and is so true to Madeleine St. John’s beautiful novel."

Vincent's filmography now includes three more films in which he takes on very minor roles. Last summer, production began on LES ESTIVANTS (The Summer House), written and directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Once again playing the lead role in her film, the actress-director is joined by Pierre Arditi, Valeria Golino, Noémie Lvovsky, Laurent Stocker, Bruno Raffaelli and Marisa Borini (Valeria's mother who has appeared in all her daughter's movies). It will be screened at the upcoming Venice Film Festival next week with a theatrical release in France on December 26.

The second film was also shot last year. It's called 15 MINUTES OF GUERRE, a true war story, directed by Fred Grivois. In February 1976, Somalian terrorists hijacked a bus carrying French children in Djibouti City and drove it to the small town of Loyada, the official border crossing from Djibouti into Somalia. France sent a special operations unit of the French National Gendarmerie. The hostages were rescued under covering fire from Somali border troops and the unit became one of France’s premier counter-terror special forces, the GIGN. The cast includes Olga Kurylenko, Alban Lenoir, Kevin Layne Sébastien Lalanne, Michael Abitboul, Guillaume Labbé, David Murgia, Ben Cura and Josiane Balasko. Its release date is to be announced.

Presently filming in London is THE AERONAUTS, an Amazon Studios production, directed by Tom Harper. Set in 1862, the film tells the story of a wealthy young widow and an ambitious scientist who mount a perilous hot-air balloon expedition to fly higher than anyone in history. As their ascent reveals their true selves, the unlikely pair discover things about each other and themselves that help them find their place in the world they’ve left below. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones take the lead roles joined by co-stars Tom Courtenay, Anne Reid, Rebecca Front, Tim McInnerny, Phoebe Fox and Himesh Patel.

30 August 2018

Today's NY Times:

PARIS — Gerard Depardieu, a versatile international actor whose career has spanned more than 40 years and 200 movies, has been accused by a young actress of sexually assaulting her on two occasions earlier this month at his home in the fashionable Sixth Arrondissement, the French news media reported... A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said a preliminary investigation into the allegations of rape and sexual assault was underway. If the investigation warrants a formal inquiry, the case will proceed to the next step. The prosecutor’s office would not comment further and did not name the woman who had made the accusations. Mr. Depardieu is the second prominent French film figure to be accused of rape this year, after the director Luc Besson. The reaction to the well-documented accusations against Mr. Besson has been relatively muted when compared with similar charges against American celebrities.

Strangely, Vincent's wife Karine Silla has a child by Depardieu and his sister-in-law Virginie Silla has three children by Besson.

07 August 2018

The biggest horse show in the world, the CHIO in Aachen, not only offers equestrian sport par excellence, but also a number of social highlights. The top event was the CHIO Media Night on July 17th. Prof. Hermann Bühlbecker, sole owner of the Lambertz Group and a main sponsor of this glamorous gala and co-host, welcomed many national and international celebrities from sports, show business and politics. Among the guests were Vincent and Natassja Kinski.

I've posted a new photo gallery of a book event that took place on May 31 at the La Librairie du Globe in Paris. "Un voyage en Russie", published by Delpire Editor, was presented with both Vincent and writer Olivier Rolin in attendance. Vincent's favorite quote about Russia is "The hearts of Russians are as vast as Russia" and to represent this vastness, the authors decided to cross the country of Arkhangelsk in the North, Astrakhan in the South, Saint Petersburg, in the West, and Ulan-Oude in the East. To make the portraits, Vincent was inspired by the approach of the great German photographer of the twentieth century August Sander, whom he admires. Like the latter, to get into the heart of what is called cultural identity, Vincent met representatives of different trades: carpenters, peasants, sailors, mechanics, fishermen, artists, waiters, but also characters more exotic like the Cossacks, the shamans, the Buddhist monks or a "tree-man", pleading for the plant cause in the streets of Arkhangelsk. The book is not meant to be a tourist guide. It cannot satisfy travelers looking for curiosities or beautiful postcards. But it can serve as a guide helping to break through the wall of mistrust and ignorance of this country that represents a wide range of peoples, cultures and religions.