AUDREY TAUTOU from Coco Before Chanel Interview

A few weeks back, I got a chance to participate in a roundtable with Audrey Tautou to talk about her latest film, COCO BEFORE CHANEL, in which she plays the iconic Coco Chanel.

She talked about how she prepared for the part, her experience working with Alessandro Nivola and Benoit Poelvoorde, whether she got to keep any of the clothes from the movie, and much more.

Coco Before Chanel comes out to theaters this Friday, September 25, 2009, but until then, enjoy the interview below.

How did you feel playing Coco Chanel as a young woman?

Audrey Tautou: I think I feel very lucky because she's maybe one of the most brilliant French women ever. She had such a unique character and extraordinary temperament that was very enriching to have the opportunity to play her and know her a bit more.

How did you prepare for the part?

Audrey Tautou: Well, I read a lot. I read some books and biographies and looked at photos and videos and of course had an idea about the main aspects of the way she was behaving, I would say, on the exterior. Also, the main aspects of her personality. I tried to find everything I could obtain about when she was very young because there was just a few information about her. I tried to guess what the aspects of her personality that she kept having, and which were the ones she lost with the success and the tragedy she lived and the one who appears with the time. It was trying to find the balance.

How is it different playing a historical character as opposed to a fictional one?

Audrey Tautou: Well, the interesting thing in this movie is that I was at the frontier between the famous Chanel and the unknown one. So I can say that the famous one, it's like the regular way of preparing for a part. You just observe the material. You observe her and you try to recreate her as close as possible from what you see. On the other side, we were showing a very unknown Chanel and so it was not a fictional character but it was a mystery. So that's how I could give my own little touch. That was very interesting for me, mixing those two elements.

Read more

Coco Before Chanel Director ANNE FONTAINE Interview

A few weeks back, I got a chance to participate in a roundtable with COCO BEFORE CHANEL director Anne Fontaine.

She talked about her decision to focus on the early years of Coco Chanel, working with Audrey Tautou, the creation of the costumes, and much more.

Coco Before Chanel comes out to theaters this Friday, September 25, 2009, but until then, enjoy the interview below.

Why are you so interested in Coco Chanel?

Anne Fontaine: I think it was when I was very young I had the luck to meet Chanel's last assistant, Lilou Marquand, who worked with her a long time and who also lived with her. She was very close to Gabrielle Chanel and I heard about this for a long time, since I was very young. I felt very curious about her because she was so original for her time, so new. At this point I didn't think about doing a movie about her but I was impressed, like a personality, like someone who is very complex and it's very incredible, this success story and then this tragedy underneath. At the beginning, also she was so poor. I knew, as everyone, Chanel as this old woman, very tough, cigarettes but when you discover who she was at the beginning, a courtesan; it's amazing what she has built with her own destiny. It was revolutionary for a woman of this time.

When did you decide to focus on the early years of Coco Chanel?

Anne Fontaine: Well, when we had the idea to do the movie I felt immediately that I had to make a choice on a part of her life because she lived a long time. Eighty seven years old. I didn't want to make a film of her whole life. I prefer to read through her and inside of her and not express every part. I thought the use of Chanel even for the French was more unknown, mysterious. Many people, they don't know about who she was and for me to explore that, gave me some more freedom and I very much like the relationship she had with these two men, Etienne Balsan and Arthur Capel.

I thought also that the fashion at this moment was on the life, not on her life, not on the shows, fashion shows. That doesn't interest me. It's better to find out how she creates her style on herself first, how she needs to create because she was so poor. She had two dresses and the way that she transforms the dresses, it was more interesting and creative for me. Also, how her vocation came to her. She never dreamed to be a stylist. She didn't care. She thought to sew was for common women, which was not for someone like her. She dreamed in another destiny. She wanted to be an art performer.

An actress, a singer. I like the idea that somebody who is so famous, like a French icon that never dreamed to be...she had no idea that this fashion would be what made her famous. She only knew how to sew because she was always poor. She learned that. She had a lot of talent with that, but she didn't imagine, she had no idea of her future, that it was on her and she became the new way to be a woman.

Read more

JAY BARUCHEL from The Trotsky Exclusive Interview

I recently got a chance to speak to JAY BARUCHEL about his new movie, The Trotsky, which is is in the Special Presentations lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival. (You can also read my interview with director Jacob Tierney here).

Some of you might know Jay Baruchel from movies such as Tropic Thunder, Knocked Up, and Million Dollar Baby. In The Trotsky, Jay Baruchel plays a character named Leon Bronstein who thinks he is the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army hero, Leon Trotsky.

During the interview Jay Baruchel talked about his preparation for the part, his experience on set, some of his future projects, his willingness to do Tropic Thunder 2, and more. So enjoy the interview below and don't forget to go see The Trotsky at the Festival on September 11.

Can you talk a little bit about your character in the film?

Jay Baruchel: How can I describe him? He's convinced that he's destined for great things. He's a love letter to the period in everyone's life when they're incredibly impassioned about any one specific thing. I can remember stuff that used to upset me and piss me off and keep me up at nights when I was sixteen. It's so life or death during that era. He's pure teenage activism, if that makes any sense. He's also got a great deal of self-awareness given his background and that he is affluent and grew up around his father's factories. If everyone rebels against their surroundings it stands to reason that Leon rebelled against his and that whole thing just ends up being on steroids and eventually produced him thinking that he's a possible reincarnation of Leon Trotsky.

How do you prepare for a part like that?

Jay Baruchel: That's a good question. Well, the key, because he's so dire and speaks so hyperbolically, the key is to make him sympathetic because there's a version of him where no one likes having him around. You want to love the weirdo, and so I just tried to keep him –without sound cliché – as human as I could. Then I watched old film reels of Leon Trotsky to try and get the physicality and the cadence and the gestures down. The cadence would change because he was speaking in fucking Russian, but basically I took people that I knew from school. I took some of my own heartfelt beliefs from high school and I coupled it with images of Trotsky that I had seen in newsreels. Then I just sort of kept my eyes and ears open for jokes any time that there might be some.

Read more

The Trotsky's Director JACOB TIERNEY Exclusive Interview

I recently got a chance to speak with director JACOB TIERNEY about his new movie, The Trotksy, which is in the Special Presentations lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Jacob Tierney has a pretty big acting background, but The Trotsky marks his second directorial work. And while his first film, "Twist," was pretty serious drama, this new one is a comedy.

During the interview, Jacob Tierney talked about his inspiration for the film, the process of getting the film done, some of his directorial influences, and more. So enjoy the interview below and check out The Trotsky at the Festival when it premieres on September 11.

Congratulations on getting a movie into the festival. That's exciting.

Jacob Tierney: Thank you very much, it is exciting. I'm pretty pumped.

The premiere is in a couple of weeks?

Jacob Tierney: Well, I guess it's the first of September. So ten days. It's kind of weird to have a screening time on September 11th. You don't forget it. I'm like, 'I'm screening on September 11th. Okay.' It's also not going to be like, 'I can't remember. It's some day, the 10th or 12th.' It's pretty clear.

Can you talk about the story of 'The Trotsky' and what the tone of the film is like?

Jacob Tierney: The story is basically about a kid who thinks he's the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, the Red Army founder and Bolshevik. He's kind of determined to live out Trotsky's life beat by beat, as he sees it. So when we find him in the story he's trying to get arrested for the first time and trying to unionize the students at his high school. He's also trying to find his first wife. That kind of picks up the crux of the story, and the tone, it's a comedy obviously. Before I made it, I used to describe it as 'Reds' in high school, only funny. That was kind of the movie that I wanted to make. This kid thinks his life is an epic and so the comedy kind of comes from there. The movie is on his side and we're trying to make it in epic form and the irony results in other people just not viewing his life as being that epic.

Read more

GLENN MCQUAID Interview for "I Sell the Dead"

During the Los Angeles Film Fest, I got a chance to interview director Glenn McQuaid about his film, I Sell the Dead, which was screened during the festival (you can read my review here).

I Sell the Dead will be released to limited theaters on August 14, 2009. Until then, I hope you enjoy the interview with Glenn McQuaid below.

(You can watch the video in HD over at Vimeo)

LARRY FESSENDEN Interview - "I Sell the Dead" Screening (LA Film Fest)

When I went to the screening of I SELL THE DEAD at the 2009 LA Film Festival, I got a chance to talk to Larry Fessenden who plays Willie Grimes in the movie. I do apologize for the sound, it's a little hard to hear him, but there were a lot of people around. Hopefully, you enjoy his interview anyway. (You can also watch our interview with Dominic Monaghan here.)

I Sell the Dead is directed by Glenn McQuaid and is sort of a comedy/horror film, about two grave robbers.

Check out what Larry Fessenden had to say about the movie below.

DOMINIC MONAGHAN Interview - "I Sell the Dead" Screening (LA Film Fest)

Last night, I went to the screening of I SELL THE DEAD at the 2009 LA Film Festival. One of the star of the movie, Dominic Monaghan took a few minutes of his time on the Red Carpet to talk to us about the movie and his character, Arthur Blake.

I Sell the Dead is directed by Glenn McQuaid and is sort of a comedy/horror film, about two grave robbers. Turns out, I really enjoyed it. Make sure to check it out if you get the chance.

Check out what Dominic Monaghan had to say about the movie below. (You can find a version of the video to embed over at Vimeo)