DVD/Video News from France:  Laure Masseglia has alerted me to some new releases of Vincent's films in France. Both the DVD and video of Le Libertin will be released January 10. The release date of the DVD of Epouse-Moi will be December 6 and the DVD of Je Revais de l'Afrique will be December 5. This is great news for the French-speaking world in Europe, since the DVDs are in Region 2 format (Canada & the US are Region 1). The video will be in SECAM format, which can be converted to NTSC. However, these releases will not have English subtitles. (I Dreamed of Africa is presently available in both DVD and video (US format) at most online video stores).

If anyone is interested in purchasing these films when they become available, you can visit fnac.com. For mail-order conversions for US fans, visit videoconversions.com. I have used them in the past and they're very reliable and inexpensive. It looks like those of us on this side of the Atlantic will have to wait a few more months until Le Libertin and Epouse-moi are perhaps released in Canada or shown at some of our art houses around the country.

News from Down Under: As many of you know, Vincent is presently filming Queen of the Damned in Australia. Simon Tanner of Melbourne wrote me today with production news. After discovering that a scene from the film was to be shot at a secret seaside location in Sorrento, he and his friends visited the coastal town and were able to watch some of the filming. He reports that Vincent was present in full costume and make-up looking very convincing as a vampire. They had the opportunity to speak with him and found him to be very nice. To this day, I have never read one report where Vincent has not been cordial and polite with fans. Such an admirable quality for a star. Thanks, Simon, for sharing this with us!

About a year ago, there was news that Vincent and Spanish actress Victoria Abril would star in the thriller, Semana Santa, based on David Hewson's novel. Directed by Pepe Danquart, the movie was to begin shooting in Seville last March. For many months there was no word as to the status of this production. It has now been confirmed that filming has begun with a new cast headed by Mira Sorvino and French actor Olivier Martinez.

The VCD of The Treat finally arrived yesterday. I was able to play it on both my Sony DVD player and computer, so I've posted some movie images. I tried to capture Vincent's character in the photos I chose. He certainly plays the role of Pierre, the photographer, with great panache, and I was thoroughly entertained by his rather short performance (almost 3 minutes). Sorry the images aren't that sharp or larger, but typically a VCD has inferior quality to a DVD. Though the film is in English, there are Chinese subtitles, which you can't remove.

One of Vincent's earliest interviews has now been added to the Archives. The May 1992 issue of the French magazine, Podium Hit, featured his comments on the filming of Indochine. In this interview he admits that he likes being desired, but warns that desire just begets more desire. Ain't it the truth?

I hope you and yours have a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday!

For those of you who appreciate the clean-shaven Vincent with his hair short, you'll enjoy the surprise photo below. There are similar photos on the Internet that apparently were taken at the same shoot, but this particular one is quite rare.

Up until now the Archives has not included a page for Vincent's work in theatre, though it has been mentioned briefly in some of the articles and interviews. This is one of those projects still underway, but since the IMDB has recently updated Vincent's page with a couple new additions, I thought it time to at least acknowledge his stage career.

Under television productions, the IMDB has now listed a film called Il était une fois dix neuf acteurs (1987). There is little information given except the cast list, and the fact that it was a documentary directed by Francois Manceaux. After looking over the names, I realized that they all appeared in Hotel de France (1987), so this documentary is obviously linked to the film. Hotel de France is a drama loosely taken from a story in the Platonov Chronicles by Anton Chekhov. It is directed by Patrice Chereau, who also staged the play, Platonov, at the Amandiers Theatre in Nanterre the same year with most likely the same cast, Vincent included.

The second addition is the stage production of Hamlet. In July of 1988, an adaptation of Shakespeare' play by Yves Bennefoy opened the Avignon Festival. Vincent had the role of Laertes, Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother. The play was performed again in early December at Nanterre. The French newspaper, Le Monde, gave it an excellent review, and it went on to receive two Moliere Awards (like the Tonys) - Patrice Chereau for best director and Gerard Desarthe for best actor.

At some unknown time, it was again staged with the same cast, but directed by Pierre Caassilas instead of Chereau, and was filmed for a television production, which aired in 1990. I know that at least one copy of the video has been preserved at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France, as part of their research studies. It would be exciting to find a copy available; however, since Vincent's character is sent off to France and doesn't return to Denmark until the end of the play when his father is killed by Hamlet, his screen time would be very brief. Still, it's worth looking into.

Vincent's other stage productions, most of which were presented at Nanterre, include Penthesilee in 1987, and then Il faut passer par les nuages, Chroniques e'une apres-midi and Catherine De Heilbronn in 1988.

Another Avignon appearance...

It is always interesting to hear from fans who have actually met Vincent. Last week I received news from an Italian fan named Lorenza, who happens to be a French teacher. On August 31, 1999, she was in Avignon, France with her pupils visiting the Palais de Papes, when she recognized Vincent with his wife Karine, though they looked like ordinary tourists. Appearing to be around six feet tall, he was dressed in green and Lorenza vividly remembers that his eyes were also green. She mustered up enough courage and approached him for an autograph. He was very outgoing and accommodating, giving his autograph to not only her, but to some of her pupils as well. She says his Italian was quite good, and that he asked where she was from. He responded by saying that he knew some of his films had been successful in Italy. Thank you, Lorenza, for sharing your story with us!

It actually confirms what Vincent says in a newly posted interview from the February 1997 issue of Max magazine, in which he admits that he likes talking to his fans. He also describes himself as very romantic and says he's still looking for a life companion. Ah, we were all just a bit too late...

Mingling among Royalty... Every August the principality of Monaco hosts the annual Red Cross Ball, the main social event of the year. The photo below comes from the August 24, 1994 issue of Britain's Hello magazine, which shows fashion models Karen Mulder and Carla Bruni with their respective boyfriends, Jean-Yves Lefur and guess who?

I've posted a special page devoted to some DVD images from Beyond the Clouds. Just click on the collage below. Enjoy!

The release date for Queen of the Damned, based on the Anne Rice novel, has been set for October 5, 2001. Distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, the film's premiere will be held in Los Angeles. Though all primary shooting is presently taking place in Melbourne, Australia, the movie is actually set in LA. This $30 million budgeted film has a shooting schedule that runs through mid-December. The rock band Korn will be providing several tracks of music, which will be gothic and atmospheric rather than heavy metal. As previously announced, Stuart Townsend has the lead role as Lestat and Vincent is cast in a supporting role as the ancient vampire Marius.

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I recently bought the DVD of Beyond the Clouds, which includes the documentary "To Make a Film is to be Alive". Previously I had owned just the video, but as in most conversions from PAL format to NTSC, much of the clarity in color was lost, so now I can really appreciate the beauty of the Italian locations. I will shortly be adding DVD images from the film, but in the meantime, here's a photo, not from the film, but from the documentary. While the credits roll by, they show Vincent in the church scene where he falls asleep.

I'm also reading Wim Wenders' book My Time with Antonioni, which is actually a diary that the co-director kept. There are some interesting comments he makes about the segment with Vincent and Irene Jacobs that I'll add to the film page later this month.

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There are two new interviews translated by Belgium fan, Cinzia Masina - many thanks! Both are in regard to the premiere of I Dreamed of Africa in May. The first one is from Estrella, a Madrid newspaper. Naturally, I paid particular attention to the first question asked - Have you surfed on 'your' Internet pages? Answer:  "Not much, but I know there are some. I have the Internet, but I don't surf much." Ummm.... Has he or has he not discovered The Vincent Perez Archives yet? The second interview dated May 15 is from the magazine, Tele Cable Satellite.

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I've been able to purchase a VCD of the film The Treat from Hong Kong and upon its arrival this month, I'll post more information on the movie and possibly some photos. This little-known film has not been available in the US. It's described as a black comedy adapted from a stage play. It premiered on Russian television two years ago. Vincent has a very minor role as Pierre, the photographer - doesn't he fit the name in that photo! The Treat has quite an international cast, which includes Julie Delpy, Michael York, Daniel Baldwin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Dempsey.

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Epouse-Moi (Marry Me) continues to show up at film festivals, so I'm not sure how soon we'll see it on video or DVD. At the end of this month it will be featured at the Glasgow Film Festival, and in September it was screened at the World Film Festival in Montreal. On October 2, Variety published a review by critic Eddie Cockrell. He refers to the film as "an airy French confection a la Sliding Doors or a sunnier Run Lola Run" and says, "Perez exhibits more tics than a clock."  He concludes with "Tech credits are crisp, with convincing high-altitude work, whimsical "X-File"-ish score and even a post-credit cha-cha at the base of the landmark (Eiffel Tower).

Preparing for a scene in Epouse-moi
Vincent, Audrey Tautou & Michele Laroque