NEWS:  NOVEMBER 2012

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This week Roxane Depardieu also spoke out in defense of her father. Annoyed by the attacks targeting the famous French cinema star who recently announced his departure for Belgium to avoid unreasonable taxation, the twenty-year-old stepdaughter of Vincent's published a letter saying, "My father is a man to whom we owe respect, not insults." In an interview, Roxane expressed her anger saying she finds the criticisms "too unfair" and that her father is very "disappointed" and did not deserve this.

UN PRINCE PRESQUE CHARMANT, which opens in France on January 9th, will also be screened at the upcoming 15th Rendez-vous with French Cinema Paris, organized by UniFrance to promote French cinema worldwide.

I'm trying to wrap up this year's news with more updates. In September I was on holiday and didn't have time to complete the film page for IL PREFETTO DI FERRO, which aired on September 16 & 17. You'll find some good quality photos from the RAI TV mini-series. Below is a short interview by the Italian media with Vincent on September 13.

Have you seen the original 1977 film starring Giuliano Gemma and Claudia Cardinale?
VP:  No, I haven't seen the film by Pasquale Squitieri.

Not curious?
VP: I didn't want to be influenced. I chose to put myself in the role by studying Italian cinema. It seemed to me the best way.  I had already worked with Ettore Scola and Mimmo Calopresti.

You studied Italian between takes?
VP: In part. I also spent two years with Carla Bruni. The two of us spoke French, but we chose Italian with her family.

What is your relationship with Carla?
VP: Fine. We are very good friends. She came to my wedding and is my wife's friend. We often see her and Nicolas Sarkozy.

What are your politics?
VP:  I do not feel right, nor left. It is a difficult time, everything changes. As Gandhi said: "We must become the change we want to see." I am confident.

You are an ode to multiculturalism.
VP: I was born in Switzerland to a Spanish father and a German mother. I worked in England and Italy. I live in France. I speak the languages of these countries. I am a European citizen.

You have three children, Iman, 13 years old, and 9-year-old twins Pablo and Tess. You have also have a stepdaughter, Roxane Depardieu. It's a challenge?
VP: I'm almost 50 years old and have come forward to take responsibility, don't you think? I remain optimistic. I can already tell Roxane will be a great artist. In general, I think if my children feel strong, they will be able to cope with difficulties.

The premiere of UN PRINCE PRESQUE CHARMANT was held yesterday at the Cinema Gaumont Marignan in Paris. The film will have a theatrical release in France on January 9th.

Last week a Russian fan posted an entertaining clip at youtube.com showing a scene from FANFAN with Vincent and Sophie Marceau. If you've never seen this film, it's a must!

With the recent surge of photos popping up from the opening of Vincent's "Bolshoi" exhibition at the RuArts Gallery in Moscow, I have posted a NEW GALLERY. The exhibition is part of a large-scale international project called "Paris-Moscow" and will continue through January 19th. The show is divided into several parts, such as footage from rehearsals and staging shots behind the scenes of the theatre. Some of the photos are categorized as very rare. Often times the dancers seem fashioned like sculptures. The 50 works, mostly in black and white, feature the stars of the Bolshoi Theatre - Catherine Shipulina, Maria Alexandrova, Svetlana Zakharova and, in center stage, Nikolai Tsiskaridze. When Vincent first met Nikolai, they discussed the possibility of doing some photos together and this exhibition is the culmination of that idea. Nikolai is one of the most decorated Russian dancers.

From the Russian media (translated and edited):  Every appearance of Vincent Perez on the cinema screen causes women's hearts to stop beating. He has created a whole gallery of romantic characters from brave soldier Christian de Neuvillette in "Cyrano de Bergerac" to handsome officer Jean-Baptiste in "Indochine". Until recently, few people knew that he has been interested in photography since early childhood. For a while that passion was pushed to the back burner, but a few years ago it was rekindled. And now he is finally able to seize this opportunity to display his work to the public at the RuArts Gallery in Moscow.

Vincent sees the ballet dancers as perfect creatures, who connect ordinary people to the world of the divine. That is why he wants to understand, with the help of his camera, how it happens: to catch the moment when this miracle happens.

While looking at the pictures exhibited at the show, one finds that ballet is a dance, a movement, an expression. But in these photographs, the performers turn into something like sculptures.

Vincent says that while working on this project he tried to focus on three themes. The first of which were the reflections on masculinity and femininity: in some pictures some famous dancers are portrayed in somewhat unusual images, for example, capturing Nikolai Tsiskaridze wearing a tou-tou. The second theme is an attempt to catch the ideal leap. And the third theme is "Swan Lake" behind the curtains. He portrays in his photos ballet life in its entirety: from the preparation of the dancer to the moment just before he enters the stage.

Vincent has great plans that extend beyond Moscow. He plans to show this exhibition in other Russian cities as well.

According to The Moscow News, Vincent's upcoming Moscow Exhibition is called "Bolshoi".  The exhibition is part of an international project that started at the Paris Grand Opera, where the Swiss actor photographed ballet stars including Nicolas Le Riche and prima ballerina Elisabeth Platel. He then worked with the dancers of the Opera Garnier and Sylvie Guillem in London. In Moscow, he snapped stars of the Bolshoi Theater, including Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Yekaterina Shipulina and Maria Alexandrova.

"I have always been an admirer of the Bolshoi," Vincent told The Moscow News. "And when I met Nikolai Tsiskaridze, we talked about the possibility of doing some photos together."  The exhibition’s highlight is a series of photos of Tsiskaridze wearing dresses. "The idea of Masculine-Feminine came along. For me the dancers at that level are heroes. They are like warriors. They work so hard with their bodies,"  said Vincent, adding, "Moscow is one of the capitals of the photographic world."

"I started taking photos when my art teacher gave me a camera. I was 13 years old," he said. He then studied at the Ecole des Art Appliques at Centre Doret in Vevey, Switzerland. Though he went on to become an actor and director, his passion for photography never left him. He explained that when he is a photographer, the actor disappears, but when he is acting, the photographer is still around. He calls this effect “a coin of two faces.” He said, "When I take photos, I am totally responsible for that. When you are acting in a movie, the director and the producer are responsible."

Here are three new movie stills from UN PRINCE PRESQUE CHARMANT.
 

For more photos from the Gucci Paris Masters 2012, follow this link.

Better late than never! Here's a 24-minute video interview with Vincent from January 2011. (Click on photo)  It was broadcast by Swiss television and the program was called "Pardonnez-moi" with host Darius Rochebin. It's an exceptionally high-quality video and even if you don't understand French, Perez fans can take pleasure in the man's wonderfully animated gestures, his charm and utterly handsome face. After all these years as his webmistress, he still takes my breath away.