Congratulations to Vincent and Karine on the arrival of their twins, a son and daughter, born Friday morning, January 24, at l'Hopital Americain de Paris. Previous reports had indicated that they were expecting twin boys, so I don't know if this was a surprise to the proud parents. The following article was published yesterday by the Swiss newspaper, Le Matin.

Le Matin, 1/25/03 by Julien Rock: Vincent Perez knew that he was going to be the father of twins. The birth of these two children yesterday morning at l'Hopital Americain de Paris put the native Swiss actor in a state of great euphoria. Having been informed of the imminent birth by his wife, actress Karine Silla, Vincent left the film location of Je Reste, the new film directed by Diane Kurys starring Sophie Marceau. He attended the birth of his son and daughter, whose names are presently unknown. His family includes Iman (3 1/2 years old) and Roxane (11 years old), the daughter of Karine and Gerard Depardieu. The young parents, who still live in the center of Paris close to the Fields-Elysées, will soon be raising their family in a large house west of the capital.

Besides this personal happiness, a year of professional happiness awaits Perez. Le Pharmacien de garde is currently playing in French theaters. Then, at the beginning of April, Fanfan la Tulipe with Penelope Cruz will premiere with Vincent taking on the role of Gerard Philipe. The film is produced by Luc Besson, who is none other than the brother-in-law of Perez! Indeed their wives are sisters. In addition, they were pregnant at the same time. Virginia will soon be expecting a second child. Obviously the champagne will flow these next months!

(Note: The marriage of Luc and Virginia has not been verified by other sources)

French TV Station TF1 is featuring a spot with scenes from the Le Pharmacien de garde trailer as well as Vincent stopping by to plug his film. Check it out.   For fans who have been inquiring about Vincent's next DVD/video, you'll be pleased to know that this film will be on rental shelves in France this July and available for purchase in September. Those living in the U.S. can purchase the DVD/video at that time and have it converted to Region 1 format or wait until Canada picks it up.

There's an interview from Woxx.com magazine in which Vincent discusses the influence of Asian directors upon his work in Peau d'ange, as well as his renewed energy and desire to pursue a wealth of ideas. He speaks fondly of taking on the title role in Fanfan la tulipe and looking forward to entertaining audiences, though some may still love the classic Christian Jacques version with Gerard Philippe. He says the role came naturally to him, not a surprise from a man who so easily slips in and out of costume with the mighty sword in his hand.

Here's a three-star review on Le Pharmacien de garde: "Vincent Perez delivers an impressive interpretation and plunges us into a somber thriller... This film proves to us that the French can make an even better thriller than Americans when one trusts them and gives them the means of expressing their talents... One shouldn't forget Guillaume Depardieu, full of force and emotion. The film indeed draws its quality from the perfect cohesion of these two actors." ...Gouvenel Studios

Director Jean Veber: "In choosing Vincent Perez for the role of Yan Lazarrec, I had the image of Anthony Perkins in Psycho. I wanted to find this duality, this crack, with Vincent, who has this charming side, but who can suddenly become very unsettling." 

Yes, the major news this month is the release of Jean Veber's first feature-length film starring Vincent Perez as Yan Lazarrec and Guillaume Depardieu as Francois Barrier. Yan Lazarrec seems to be a normal man. Lazarrec is a pharmacist who cares about the environment, soothes mankind with his potions and fights to protect the earth against the polluters who abuse it. Lazarrec is full of good intentions but, as one knows, the road to hell is paved with gold and it is precisely there, in hell, that the pharmacist spends most of his time because he has gone insane. (Vincent as a mad scientist??? I love it!)

In the shadow of his laboratory, he creates poisons to kill the polluters. The eco-warrior, the devoted pharmacist has secretly become a serial killer. And the irony of it all is that François Barrier, the cop in charge of the case, is also an environmentalist. The difference is that he goes about it in a more casual way. Protests and demonstrations, that sort of things.

It's during a conference on the safekeeping of the planet that the two men meet and hit it off immediately. Lazarrec and François find themselves fraternising because they fight the same crusade.What they don't know yet is that they are bound to become brotherly enemies. Their strange friendship will get stronger during an investigation that is going to bring them dangerously closer and closer together. François, completely under the spell, has absolutely no idea that Lazarrec is the monster he is tracking down and he will have to go and fetch the killer in his farm in Brittany, a farm that the pharmacist intended to turn into a sanctuary dedicated to the preservation of nature. It is in this idyllic setting that the brotherly enemies will meet for the final confrontation.

You can check out the trailer here, or visit the official web site where you can also view videos on the making of the film. Look for a September DVD release date in France.

The filming of Je Reste began this week in Paris and will continue for the next 11 weeks. Directed by Diane Kurys with a screenplay by Florence Quentin, it stars Vincent, Sophie Marceau and Charles Berling. Sophie plays Marie-Domenica, the model wife of Bertrand (Vincent), whose life is governed by overwhelming practices. He is in charge of international building sites, spends much of his time traveling via planes and devotes himself to his favorite sport - cycling. A true maniac, he does not tolerate any change in routine. Marie-Domenica meets all the demands of her husband, dealing with the education of their son and tries to tend to her own desires and aspirations. However, she is dissatisfied. The day comes when she meets Antoine, an impassioned writer of cinema and art, and a worldwind of passion begins. She decides to leave Bertrand, but he will not let her leave so easily.

Peau d'ange has recently appeared in several film festivals around the world. In November  it was featured at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan. Both Vincent and Karine attended, and on November 15, Vincent presented one of the festival's prizes during the awards ceremony. The film is expected to open in Taiwan theaters this month. Peau d'ange also made an appearance at the Third French Cinema Festival in Moscow (November 21-24) and at the December French Film Festival in Prague (December 6-9), where Vincent spoke about his film on Radio Prague.

To introduce the new Golden Diamonds Collection by Chopard, the Scheufele family hosted a lavish dinner party at Versailles with 600 guests. On September 26 they met at Versailles to celebrate in style. Among the prestigious guests were Vincent and his wife Karine (photo on the right). With acrobats, jugglers, dancers and ballerinas, not to mention heavenly food, the evening must have been pure delight. Pictured on the left is Vincent with French actress Emmanuelle Beart.

On October 21, 2002, Vincent and Karine attended the Paris premiere of The Transporter, no doubt because it was co-written and produced by Luc Besson. And in December he treated his family to a day at the circus. (Sorry I don't have larger images) Daughter Iman will be four years old in May, and is awaiting her twin brothers due this month.

The Vincent Perez Archives