Latest News - The Vincent Perez Archives

25 October 2022

The annual Lumière Festival in Lyon was held this month with Vincent participating in events over this past weekend. Since its creation in 2009, the festival has become a must event for film lovers. This year’s 14th edition celebrated the work of Tim Burton, who was the recipient of the prestigious Lumière Prize. The photo gallery can be viewed here.

06 October 2022

On Monday the premiere for SHANTARAM was held at the Regency Bruin Theatre in Los Angeles. Vincent was in attendance with the rest of the cast seen below.

It appears that Vincent has done away with his man bun and, as usual, he looks dressed to kill. Yes, always beautiful suits! In the last photo, he's posing with co-producer/director Iain McDonald.

03 October 2022

Though production began three years ago on the Apple TV+ series SHANTARAM, the pandemic wrecked havoc on filming schedules but finally airing dates have arrived. It will premiere on October 14th with the first three episodes with new episodes released every Friday through December 16th. The trailer is now available at this youtube link. You would be hard pressed to find Vincent in this trailer. He may be the character lurking behind a newspaper. "Shantaram" follows a fugitive named Lin Ford (played by British actor Charlie Hunnam) looking to get lost in vibrant and chaotic 1980s Bombay. Alone in an unfamiliar city, Lin struggles to avoid the trouble he’s running from in this new place. After falling for an enigmatic and intriguing woman named Karla, Lin must choose between freedom or love and the complications that come with it.

Vincent was accompanied by his 19-year-old daughter Tess at the premiere of Romain Gervras' film, "Athena", at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on September 13th. The French media wrote, "Both stylish and casual, the father-daughter tandem caused a stir. Jeans associated with a jacket and matching cap for the dad, black crop top and XXL jeans for the young lady." But, what's with those fat-girl pants!! Though the tight jean still lives on as a classic offering as a seasonless wardrobe staple, Vogue says, "In the land of celebrities, there’s another hot jean in town that’s threatening to steal the skinny jean’s spotlight entirely: Big, baggy denim."

10 September 2022

The photo below was taken on August 24th when Vincent attended the 15th Angouleme French-Speaking Film Festival in Angouleme, France.

Here are some newly found photos from the 1988 film LA MAISON DE JADE. Vincent and co-star British actress Jacqueline Bissett (who just turned 78) sure made a beautiful couple way back when.

20 August 2022

The 39-day shoot of Vincent's latest directorial effort, MAÎTRE D'ARMES, has ended. The film was produced by Sidonie Dumas on behalf of Gaumont, in co-production with France 2 Cinéma. It has been pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ and France Télévisions. Filming took place at Epinay Film Studios, in the Château de Maintenon and the Château de Balincourt, in Saint-Cloud Park, in the Fort de Cormeilles-en-Paris and in the Gobelins Manufactory. Distribution in France and international sales are both set to be managed by Gaumont. Below are a couple location shots.

Besides the British, French filmmakers are also known for creating historical costume dramas. Vincent built his early career on the success of such films as "Cyrano de Bergerac", "La Reine Margot", and "Le Bossu". It's not surprising that he chose to write a dueling story based on his experiences in these sword-wielding films.

20 July 2022

An unusual heat wave has descended upon France and I can't help but wonder how this is affecting film production on Vincent's latest directorial effort. Filming for MAÎTRE D'ARMES (Master of Arms) began recently in Paris and will continue through August for 39 days. The screenplay, written by Vincent and wife Karine, is a historical drama. The story takes place in Paris in 1887. The synopsis reads - "In a rapidly changing society, where dueling is the last way out to uphold one's honour, Clément Lacaze, charismatic fencing master, and Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre, a feminist ahead of her time, will fight side by side, ignoring the threats and dangers that await them."

Coincidentally, I just finished watching an interesting historical Korean series, which takes place in the late 20th century as well, where actress Kim Min-Jung gets to wield her sword against her enemies. Yes, another feminist ahead of her time. In another recent Asian production, Vincent was photographed with his sword in his last film, THE CURSE OF TURANDOT, a Chinese romantic fantasy film based on the Italian opera Turandot. The film debuted in China last fall to disappointed audiences and is now available on Blu-ray. Monsieur Perez appears to fare more successfully with his roles in French films. His pursuits into English and Russian-speaking cinema have not served him well. His last attempt at directing was six years ago with ALONE IN BERLIN.

The IMDB has not acknowledged "Maître d'Armes" yet so I don't have all the production details. I have obtained a few images, which includes cast members. Vincent appears to have a minor role and perhaps daughter Iman has been given a nonspeaking cameo. Lucie Baudinaud has been hired as the film's cinematographer.

25 May 2022

Vincent and wife Karine with daughter Iman attended some of the 2022 Cannes events this week. You can view more photos at this link.

23 April 2022

I didn't realize until recently that Vincent is actually sporting a man bun these days, capturing a classic samuri warrior look. The following photos were taken last month in Switzerland at Scabal's, which sells luxury clothing for men.

Vincent was also photographed with wife Karine and Sarah Lavoine at an Off Vendôme event on March 22nd.

24 March 2022

Six months have passed since the last update because there simply hasn't been any news. The pandemic can be blamed for the lack of social events but the fact that Vincent has not appeared in a film's leading role in over four years gives way to concern for the future of his acting career. This month he presided over the 5th edition of the Rencontres du 7e Art. It was held from March 12-20 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

As the festival's president, Vincent explained that he decides on the theme each year - "It comes from an idea, then it becomes an obsession. I then discuss it with others and test it with my team." This year the chosen theme was "Mirror, Mirror, cinema facing itself", which thus provided a wonderful opportunity to (re)discover masterpieces and cult films mirroring the multiple facets of movie-making. Vincent explained, "We chose this striking and powerful image of Marilyn Monroe because it perfectly symbolizes the theme in all its complexities. Doesn’t this image, frozen in time of one of cinema’s greatest stars, express the multiple reflections that cinema casts upon us - beauty, celebrity, seduction, fantasy, mystification, but also illusion, fragility and… tragedy?"

This year, American actor Willem Dafoe was the guest of honor. His filmography includes well over one hundred films, many of which I have seen. Since first being introduced to him in the Vietnam film, "Platoon", I have enjoyed many of his performances through the years. A more recent favorite is "The Lighthouse" - absolutely spellbinding! At the festival, Dafoe gave a master class and was also honored on Saturday evening, March 19th, with the Think Cinema prize during a ceremony in Vevey to celebrate his entire career.

Master Class on March 14