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21 May 2003 |
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Vincent was luxuriating in the
Cannes limelight again when he and his wife, Karine, attended the tribute to Maurice
Pialat and Daniel Toscan du Plantier on May 17. The photos below show him crossing the
street obliging some photographers with an autograph.
There's a Fanfan la Tulipe interview from Cannes at a Swiss television web site.
It goes back and forth between Penelope Cruz and Vincent with some film clips, but
ends with a few words from Vincent's wife, Karine.

As I listened to some of the commentary the night of the Cannes Opening
Ceremony, I realized that many people, even in the media, are not aware of the familial
connection between Luc Besson and Vincent. Karine Silla's sister, Virginie, lives with Luc
Besson and their two children. Hence, the Besson children are cousins to the Perez
children. They've also all worked together. Virginie was the producer (Europa Corp) for Peau
d'ange, which was co-written by Karine with Vincent writing and directing. Luc was
the producer of two other Perez films - La Felicita non costa niente and
Fanfan la Tulipe, and that's why he and Virginie were walking in the same entourage
as Vincent during the promenade on the red carpet. In fact, if you taped the Opening
Ceremony on TV, you can see Virginie sitting right behind Luc, and Karine, just one seat
over, sitting behind Vincent at the Palais des Festivals. French news has reported that
Virginie just recently gave birth to daughter Satine (fourth daughter for Luc). You'd
never know it because both she and her sister looked absolutely stunning that evening as
seen below. (Silla is sometimes spelled Sylla)
Virginie Silla
Film Producer
Companion to Luc Besson
Children: Talia - 22 mos.
and newborn Satine
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Karine Silla
Model, actress, writer
Married to Vincent Perez
Children: Roxane (Depardieu) - age 11, Iman - age 4, and
4-month old twins, Pablo & Tess |
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18 May 2003 |
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Cinopsis
Figaroscope
Le Voix du Nord
Le Parisien
Premiere
Les Echos
Liberation
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"To step into the shoes of
the legendary Gerard Philipe was no small matter, but Vincent Perez succeeds with much
ease and grace... When Fanfan appears, the film becomes merry, charming, light and
animated. Vincent is the perfect hero of cape and sword, as he was in Le Bossu.
The screenplay by Cosmos and Besson works well with contemporary humor..." ...Figaroscope
"Vincent Perez was the ideal choice to
succeed his mythical elder. His communicative energy and agility are pleasant from
beginning to end." ...Le Parisien
"Vincent Perez offers the character of
Fanfan his ardour and his energy... He does the majority of his stunts himself and seems
to take a real pleasure in the action (as he did in Le Bossu) and in the
comedy." ...Monsieur Cinema
"A credit to the film, Vincent Perez, with his beautiful
work in Le Bossu, is perfect in cape-and-sword roles. He is one of those rare
French actors who can move." ...Le Nouvel Observateur
"The principal assets of this entertainment
are two picturesque characters - Vincent Perez and Didier Bourdon. Vincent, with his
imposing smile, is a proud swashbuckler and impetuous stuntman doing brilliant and very
physical choreographies." ...La Voix du Nord
"For performances, Perez sports a bewitching
smile... the director can be commended for avoiding special effects and cascades in the
vein of The Matrix..." ... Plume Noire
"As Fanfan, Perez has the right idea in his
lighthearted, athletic approach." ...Hollywood Reporter
"The Swiss actor has all the candor, beauty,
good humor and communicative spirit of Fanfan." ...Le Matin |
Reviews of Fanfan la Tulipe are slowly
drifting in. There seems to be more focus on Cannes by the French press at the moment than
on critiquing films. The swashbuckler adventure opened the festival on Wednesday evening,
but received a lukewarm international response. However, it put French cinema and France's
beautiful countryside in the spotlight. And it again put Vincent in the spotlight. Despite
any criticism toward the director or screenwriters, Vincent continues to gather worthy
accolades for not only being a gifted actor, but also for the many physical challenges he
met in the role of Fanfan. In a cinema world of high-tech special effects, such as The
Matrix Reloaded, it's refreshing to see an actor do his own stuntwork! Explaining that the choreographed
parries and punches harked back more to circus entertainment and traditional sword
dueling, Vincent added that the mix of fast fencing and dialogue made him feel "he
was starring in a musical."
He took four months to prepare for Fanfan. He worked hard on
his fencing, and also trained at the Ecole du Cirque, doing juggling, high wire, trapeze
and stunts on horseback. For more comments on fencing, his longtime connection to Cannes
Jury President, Patrice Chereau, as well as an overview of his career, read the International Herald Tribune article. |
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16 May 2003 |
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On Tuesday Vincent was a
guest on Europe 2 radio station in France. There is a gallery of photos
plus several videos you can watch at their online site. This is a really terrific find,
and we have to thank Amandine from France for sending info about this interview. As usual,
I welcome and very much appreciate all contributions to the VPA. Follow
this link and enjoy! |
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14 May 2003 |
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Those living in the USA can watch
the Cannes opening ceremony on IFC (Independent Film Channel) at 1 PM (EST). Repeat
programs will be shown at 9 PM, 2 AM and 5 AM.
Update: Anyone with IFC will thoroughly enjoy watching
the Opening Ceremony. Most of the coverage is focused on Vincent. A must see!!!! There is
so much media coverage.
Commentary from Cannes: PENELOPE CRUZ AND VINCENT PEREZ
OPEN THE BALL - The place to be and to be seen was on Cannes' mythical sun-drenched red
carpet, where a panoply of bronzed beauties and international stars strode up to the
Palace's beckoning gates, acclaimed by an ecstatic crowd. The jury were the first to
regale us, followed swiftly by the cast of Fanfan La Tulipe headed by the
"Spanish enchantress" Penelope Cruz, dressed from head to toe in black. The
original Adeline de la Franchise played by Gina Lollobrigida in 1952, was there by her
side, as glamorous as ever. Inside the Grand Theatre Lumiere the opening-night ceremony
got under way with Italian actress Monica Bellucci. But it was Vincent Perez and Penelope
Cruz who did the honor of officially opening the 56th Cannes Film Festival first in
French, Spanish and then in English.
Screened out of competition late last night and already opened in theatres nationwide was
the Gallic appetizer Fanfan La Tulipe. A remake of Christian-Jacque's 1952
swashbuckler which won the best director prize at Cannes in the same year. This highly
entertaining costume drama full of adventure, comedy and romance certainly brings back to
life this 18th century imaginary hero, so much a part of French heritage.
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12 May 2003 |
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There's a five-minute Real
Player interview with Vincent at the Monsieur Cinema Web
Site regarding his title role in Fanfan la Tulipe. It begins with the
trailer, and then his comments are interspersed throughout the film clips. Here's a chance
to practice your French!

On January 24th, I reported that Vincent became a father again, this time to
twins - a son and daughter. Finally I have news of their names! His son is Pablo
Vicente, which is Spanish for Paul Vincent, and his daughter is Tess. Vincent and Karine
have two other children - Roxane, 11 years old (fathered by Gerard Depardieu), and Iman,
who just turned 4 on May 2nd.

As many of you know, Vincent hails from Switzerland, though he's a mixture of Spanish
and German blood. He grew up in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud, and still has very close
ties to his birth country, since his mother, brother and sister still reside there. Many
of the Swiss newspapers and magazines regularly print stories about his career, and with
all the publicity focused on the Cannes Film Festival, I came across a Swiss magazine
called Cooperation, which did a
recent interview with him. |
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9 May 2003 |
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Back in November, Vincent went to
Taiwan to promote his film, Peau d'ange. He was accompanied by his wife, Karine,
and Morgane More, the star of his film. I've posted the 11/15/02 article from the Taipei Times in which Vincent says, "Maybe
I have a feminine sensibility. I'm always surrounded by women (meaning his wife and
daughters). Women have a vision about the circle of life and death... Karine agrees,
"In reality he is not a very macho man."
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5 May 2003 |
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Vincent with Helen and Gerard |
On April 28, President Jacques Chirac paid homage
to the actors, directors and producers of the French films that were selected for the 2003
Cannes Film Festival. Guests were invited to the palace so he could honor their talent and
contribution to French cinema. Among the guests were several representing Fanfan
la Tulipe including Vincent, producer Luc Besson, director Gerard Krawczyk
and actress Helen de Fougerolles. |

The DVD and video of Peau
d'ange, the first feature-length film directed by Vincent, will be on
sale May 28 in France. Those in the U.S. will probably have to wait until it's
released in Canada in a compatible Region 2 format. There are no English subtitles. The
DVD has quite a few extras - cut scenes, the musical clip - J'ai une pensee, the
trailer, a 12-min. feature on making the film, photo gallery, and two short films
previously directed by Vincent - Rien dire and L'echange. Thanks to
Rafael Cart for this reminder. You can purchase this film at Alapage.com.


Back in 1995, Vincent made a movie called Ligne de vie
with Russian/French director, Pavel Lounguine. The film was shot in Moscow and Samarkand,
Uzbekistan, and has come to be known by several names. In Russia it's Liniya Zhizni.
And in France it's both Ligne de Vie (Line of Life) and La Vie en
Rouge (The Life in Red). It happens to be one of my favorite VP films, only
because it's an excellent vehicle for showcasing Vincent's comedic talents. I've just
posted a new gallery featuring
photos that were taken during the shooting of this film.

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