NEWS: APRIL-MAY 2007

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Here are some photos from Cannes taken on May 22. One set is from the premiere of "Le Scaphandre et le Papillon" and the second set is from the photo call at the Majestic Hotel for "Arn - The Knight Templar". Vincent has the role of Brother Guilbert in this Swedish film. He stars alongside Stellan Skarsgård and coincidentally, I also manage stellanonline.com.  How exciting to see both these talented actors in the same film! There's also a great interview at this link in which Vincent discusses his new TV series and his latest book, La Fôret.

Vincent's name has surfaced continuously in the news over the past couple weeks, not only in the cinema world, but also in the world of literature, fashion, television and politics. He has also appeared on various radio and television programs in France such as Café Picouly on May 4 and Le Fou du Roi yesterday. On April 24 he was at Maxim's restaurant in Paris presiding over the inaugural Jacques Prevert Script Prize ceremony presented by the Gallic screenwriters guild (UGS). Last week he gave this interview regarding France's presidential elections. Vincent was a strong supporter of Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal, who lost the election to Nicolas Sarkozy.

France's version of the TV drama series, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent", premiered as "Paris Enquêtes Criminelles" on TV last week. This prompted several interviews with the Swiss actor. When asked if he had anything in common with the Revel character he plays, he responded that he was a curious person like him, enjoyed the challenge of trying to understand people and felt he also had good instincts. He was asked about Revel's lack of humor and he explained that his mission was to stop dangerous people who threatened to kill others so he must concentrate on that endeavor. Moreoever, since the episodes are only given 52 minutes to develop, it is necessary to focus on the investigation so there isn't much time to devote to the private life of Revel. He believes "it is very close to what the scriptwriters had done with 'Columbo.' The TV viewers knew that he had a woman and a dog but that's all. It's the same idea. Viewers don't see him at home but they imagine what his life is like." He admits that when he was a child, he adored "Columbo".
 

Though he doesn't have enough leisure time to watch that much television, Vincent and his wife enjoy "Desperate Housewives", "Prison Break" and "24". He says his Revel character is inspired more by Keifer Sutherland's Jack Bauer than Columbo. Since many of his previous roles have been in period films, such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Le Bossu, Indochine and Queen Margot, he's happy for the opportunity to modernize his screen image. He described shooting the series as a true marathon on his part having to memories many lines of dialogue for each episode, and being a perfectionist in his work, his days were often challenging.

La Fôret, the new children's comic book, has received a lot of publicity since being released by Casterman publishers. The Daniel  Maghen Gallery in Paris is featuring an exposition of Vincent's book by illustrator Tiburce Oger as well as author Patrick Prugne's book. A cocktail in their presence will take place Friday, May 11, at 7 pm and then the following day there will be a dedication from 2:30 to 6 pm. The exhibit will run through May 24. I've put up a special page for several of the book's illustrations. Wouldn't it be lovely if it were also published in English for American children as well! I would certainly buy it for my grandchildren. The enchanting legend begins, "It was once, not far from the Breton coasts, that a druid had mysteriously deposited a little baby in front of the door of a presbytery. Before setting out again, an instruction was given to the Mother Superior. The child was to never know the darkness because the enemy lived in the shade of the night...."

In a recent interview Vincent mentioned that he has bought the rights to two books. The first one is called "A Touch of Death" by Charles Williams. The second is a novel by Hans Fallada called "Seul dans Berlin" ("Alone in Berlin"). He will be involved in transferring these books to the screen, but I'm unsure if his capacity will be as director, actor or both. He has also indicated that the premiere date of "The Secret" has been changed from August to October 3, 2007. In addition, he expects to attend the Cannes Film Festival this month in order to assemble a historical co-production between Russian and American filmmakers.

Vincent continues to follow fashion and befriend fashion designers. Here he is with Francesco Smalto on May 3 at the opening of the Italian designer's new boutique in Paris. I just came across another photo of Vincent with Gerard Depardieu at a Smalto fashion show back in January. As some of you know, Vincent's wife, Karine, has a 15-year-old daughter by Depardieu so there are close family ties.
 

There is still no official web site for The Secret but the trailer can be presently seen at youtube.com. Screenwriter Ann Cherkis recently emailed me sharing how pleased she was that the film would be released in France this summer. Not surprisingly, she had praise for the director - "Vincent was wonderful to work with and did a beautiful job translating my vision from the page to the screen."

French fans can look forward to seeing Vincent in Paris Enquêtes Criminelles beginning Thursday, May 3 at 8:30 pm. Previews for the upcoming TV series can be found at this French link. American fans might be interested in the Wall Street Journal preview at this link. Here are a few scenes from the series.

In interviews regarding his new TV role, Vincent told reporters that he had signed on to do 24 episodes. He adored playing Vincent Revel, an attractive character and he especially loved how the man operates. He felt it was an advantage to work with several directors plus all the guests for each episode was a bonus. He added, "I find it exciting to work with these talented actors who often come from the theatre and are less known to televiewers." He found the series enabled him to change his image and play a completely new character, plus some of the scenes represented a true challenge for any actor. For certain sequences, he said he prepared like a boxer preparing to go into the boxing ring. When asked to describe his character, he responded, "He is a man fascinated by human nature. He wonders about small details like a tic or an attitude and he studies the personality of the witnesses so he can make his own opinion. He likes to slip into their skin. That enables him to understand the person better. In addition, Revel is not afraid to use a lie in order to destabilize a witness and make them talk. And he does not hesitate to transcend the rules of conduct to stop a criminal." When questioned about the fact that Revel's private life is not developed and might be frustrating, he answers, "Quite the contrary! This bias enables me to play with my character, to sow doubts about his past life. With some of his attitudes, one can even wonder whether Revel was not a hooligan himself in his youth." He said certain stories really spoke to him. "For example, I personally went to a mortuary with a woman whose two children had been killed by her husband. This was an experience that has been forever engraved in my memory. In addition, I admire these people who inquire like Revel, who try to stop criminals and discover the truth. This series speaks about it in a different and intelligent way."

Pursuing more dreams beyond the world of film as actor and director, Vincent now makes his debut into the world of literature. On May 4, 2007, Castleman, the Franco-Belgium publisher, will release La Fôret, an 88-page comic book that features an enchanting children's story by Vincent with drawings by Tiburce Oger. Vincent has often mentioned his interest in writing a medieval tale based on Breton legends. The story centers on a girl named Titiana and her journey involves magic spells, illusions, witches, dark forests, a valiant knight, the King of Brittany, and the powers of Merlin. Vincent describes it as a sort of Alice in Wonderland in a Tim Burton style. He says, "I am very proud. My collaboration with Tiburce Oger went so well that we are already thinking about another project."

Europa Corps is now showing an August 22 release date in France for The Secret. As you know, the premiere of this film has been anticipated for quite a while since being filmed in the spring of 2005 in the Montreal area. We were previously told the film would debut in the US since it was filmed in English. It stars David Duchovny, Lili Taylor and Olivia Thirlby. Let's hope they stick with this new release date and that eventually those of us on this side of the Atlantic will see it on the big screen someday as well.