Last month Vincent was in Montreal promoting Le Libertin, so finally this film has made its way across the Atlantic. Hopefully we'll be seeing some news of it being screened in the states in the weeks ahead. An online chat in French was held on January 15th and the transcript is presently being translated. The following day there was also an interview with journalist Therese Parisien from Tempo. However, I prefer the chat because ordinary people like you and me would ask him questions. One female spoke about Swept from the Sea and he responded with "I'm happy to know that Yanko touched you." I guess that's an experience most of us share. Both the interview and chat will be posted in the next few days. I have several more magazine articles/photos to post, but I'm having a temporary problem with my scanner.

Here's a photo of Vincent from Les Morsures de l'aube, which will premiere in France on March 21.

You can now visit the official web site for this film and watch a video of Vincent talking about his role. Of course, it's in French so most of us won't understand what he's saying. Just click on the photo below from his interview and it'll take you to this film site.

Has it been twelve days without an update?!! Yes, I've returned to work until June, but I'll try to keep you informed of the latest news and continue to add photos and articles in the months ahead. Any information that visitors can pass along would be greatly appreciated. The lovely lady on the left is Vincent's wife, Karine Silla. This picture appeared in the May 28, 1998 issue of Paris Match magazine. During the Cannes Film Festival, Karine wore this 190-carat diamond necklace (from Harry Winston's) estimated at 20 million francs (2.8 million dollars). The diamonds plus her natural regal beauty give her the look of a Senegalese princess.

In regard to Les Morsures de l'aube (read February 1 posting), I found more information on the storyline though Vincent's role as a "young actor" is not mentioned. So far I've discovered three different English translations of the title - Love Bites, Bitten, and Nibblings of Dawn. You can guess what the film is about. Here's the synopsis: "Antoine (Guillaume Canet) is 29. Denied his rightful place in decent society by a run of terrible luck, he is determined not to forgo the many exotic pleasures offered by Paris after dark. He has reached an acceptable compromise: night spent freeloading, days spent asleep. His old friend Etienne (Gerard Lanvin), amused by Antoine's cheek, his ironic insouciance, his Great Gasby airs, grudgingly supports him. Antoine's life is a succession of slammed doors, a tantalising underworld of clubs that would rather see him dead than a member. One night, he pushes his luck. Having faked close acquaintance with the mysterious Jordan (Orazio Massaro), a shadowy legend whose name is enough to open the city's most exclusive doors, he is cornered by a sinister operator, a Mr. Big oozing money and malice, who most definitely isn't joking when he makes him an offer so rotten even Faust on E would turn it down flat."

I'm awaiting the arrival of the converted DVD of Le Libertin and the video of Epouse-moi into US video format. Unfortunately, both lack English subtitles, but it will be exciting to see Vincent in two more films where he has the lead role. A Vincent Perez fan in California happened to go to Paris recently and was able to purchase them for me so I'm very grateful for the kind favor. Here's an excellent review on Le Libertin by Jeremy Macey from The Russian Journal:

Who said philosophers can't party? Gabriel Aghion's hilarious Le Libertin is a refreshing contrast to navel-gazing French films about angsty philosophers who are bored, tired or scared of life. Vincent Perez stars as mischievous and brilliant 18th century enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot and shows us the best of all possible worlds: Someone who preaches fun and practices it too. The feel is Shakespeare in Love – both films show a national cultural icon letting his hair down – but with an added layer of depth.

Perez plays the energetic, fun-loving philosopher, a historical figure who co-published the first ever Encyclopedia. He has his work cut out trying to finish the entry on "Morality" before the royal censors find the concealed press at the chateau of his friends, the Baron and Baronness Holbach (a genial comic duo played by Josiane Balasko and Francois Lalande), at the same time as he leads a free-wheeling love life.

He and his companions are living unfettered by the restrictions of religion and convention when their proto-hippy commune is upset by the arrival of the Baron's stuffy cardinal brother, played with great comic flair by Michel Serrault. He is scandalised and the ensuing intellectual and physical tussles when he tries to set the wayward flock back on the straight and narrow give rise to some of the film's best and funniest moments. Here the script draws on France's wonderful comic traditions running right back to Moliere and Beaumarchais (Diderot's contemporary). The smart, multi-layered dialogue mixes fun and ideas, and the fast comedy uses visual humor: Much of the time the audience laughed out loud well before they read the subtitles.

Another visitor to the chateau, Madame Therbouche, provides a complex counterpoint to the helter-skelter buffoonery and provides a change of pace and mood. Fanny Ardant's sensitive and understated performance starts out as purely comic but develops and gives pause to Diderot as she disrupts his perfect world. Here the director gives the audience a chance to catch their breath from laughing and even think a little — Diderot was a philosopher after all — about what happens if theory is put into practice unquestioningly.Shot on location at various French chateaux, the film has a bright, colourful feel of joy and opulence.

The outdoor scenes and spacious location interiors give a sense of openness and freedom, without the cloistered feel of many studio-based costume dramas in which the characters suffocate in opulent sets and dress. Bruno Coulais's smart, jivey music furthers the sense of joie de vivre. This funny, sunny film shows that, when the French don't take themselves too seriously, their latin spirit comes out bright and lively.

Thanks to Sandy Creelman for the news on the upcoming release of Time Regained (Le Temps Retrouve) in both DVD and video format for the US and Canada. Both formats come with English subtitles and will be available for purchase on March 27. You can place your order now at Amazon.com. The DVD is only $20.99, but the video goes for $79.99. Check the schedule below for the cinema screenings in your area. I think the following excerpt from one of the reviews best highlights the art form used in this acclaimed film - "Director Ruiz weaves a fragmented, experimental narrative in the form of a tapestry. There's an uncanny beauty achieved by telling his story in this manner, which reveals thoughts and inactions by using the very limitations of the film medium. He presents us with a series of photographs, or images shot into mirrors or through doorways which open up to the past and present."

Sorry I can't give you any details on upcoming projects. I have no confirmation on Fanfan la Tulipe. And nothing has turned up about the Ayn Rand film, The Husband I Bought, that never got off the ground once Charlize Theron backed out to do a Woody Allen film.

Going through the statistic reports for this web site, it's plain to see that the Archives is definitely an international site with half the visitors from outside the US. Fans from Portugal, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Mexico, Ukraine, Australia, Switzerland, Macau, France, Italy, Canada... Hopefully most non-Americans can read English and can take advantage of the information as well as the photos. Well, I can't end this update without a new (but dated) photo of Vincent for you, so here it is - enjoy!

Though Queen of the Damned wrapped up filming in Australia just before Christmas, some filming took place in LA in January. Rumor has it that a local mansion was used for Lestat's Hollywood mansion. An Anne Rice fan from California reports that both Townsend and Perez were on location shooting the scene where Marius (Perez) comes to see Lestat after having risen from his sleep. She reports that the set, the props and wardrobe were great. So, if this is true, Vincent could have recently been spotted in LA.

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As reported last May, Vincent has a minor role in the French film, Les Morsures de l'Aube - another vampire film! At the moment two English titles have been given - Bitten and The Nibblings of Dawn. This will be the directorial debut of actor Antoine de Caunes, long-time friend of Vincent's (and one of his wedding guests). The film's leading stars are Guillaume Canet (The Beach, Those Who Love Me...), Asia Argento (Queen Margot) and Gerard Lanvin. Vincent's role is that of a "young actor". On January 27 Antoine (accompanied by Canet and Lanvin) presented his film at the Fantastic Arts Film Festival of Gerardmer. Based on the novel by Tonino Benacquista with an adapation by Laurent Chalumeau, the story deals with modern vampires living in Paris, spending their time in night clubs. The film will open in France on March 21. Though I've found some photos from the film, none of them show Vincent. You can watch the short trailer, but, again, no scenes with our man. The film's official web site is still under construction, but when it's up and running, there should be more photos.

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A French fan has reported reading in a magazine that Vincent has been cast in the remake of the classic Fanfan la Tulipe. Described as an adventure/comedy, this would be the fourth time this film has been made with the last one in 1958 starring Gerard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida. It's possible it was in this week's Voici magazine, so if anyone can verify this with more details, please let me know.

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The photo below comes from a web site with celebrity sightings. It was taken at the time Vincent made The Crow: City of Angels. The girl has a resemblance to Beverley Mitchell who starred in the film, but I'm not sure if it's her or perhaps a fan. He seems to be such a natural with children in the way he loves to clown around.

Updates:

Queen of the Damned: Post-production. US release date - 10/5/01

Bride of the Wind: Post-production. US release date - 6/29/01

Le Libertin: Available on DVD (Region 2) and Video Secam in France at fnac.com. No English subtitles.

Epouse-Moi: Video Secam in France at fnac.com. No English subtitles.   

The Cesar nominations were announced this week. Unfortunately, there were no nominations of any kind regarding Le Libertin or Epouse-moi. Vincent has been nominated twice for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Le Bossu and Those Who Love Me...

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It's come to my attention that certain images/links were either missing or not downloading properly over the past weeks, maybe months. I really appreciate it when someone writes me about these problems, so please don't hesitate to do the same in the future. One error was in regard to the above image of the Il Postino CD. Several artists were invited to share their passion for the poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Among the readers was Vincent, who chose to pay special tribute to his friend, Massimo Troisi, who succumbed to a fatal heart attack after completion of the film, Il Postino. They had both starred together in Le Voyage du Capitaine Fracasse in 1991.

This link had been previously broken, but by clicking on the CD image, you can now hear Vincent read the poem "Integrations" against the  background of Louis Bacalov's melodic score. (You'll need RealPlayer) Savor the mood... This happens to be one of my favorite CDs, one that I always take with me when I travel because it's so soothing to fall asleep to in strange places. The other readers include Ralph Fiennes (huge sigh...), Andy Garcia (another sigh...), Julia Roberts, Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe, etc... It's available at most online CD music sites.

Another error reported was that most of the images from Swept from the Sea were missing. This has now been corrected. The photo above of "Yanko & Amy" captures the sweet flavor of this film.

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The following excerpt is from an interview last year with Australian director Bruce Beresford before he began filming Bride of the Wind:

Beresford: "I really want to make films about things that obsess me personally, and characters and stories that obsess me personally. Now, I didn't feel that sense of personal commitment with Double Jeopardy . . . but I do with the next one, and it's now easier to do the next one. True, it's a small budget film about Alma Mahler, the wife of the composer (Gustav), called Bride of the Wind, and we're shooting it in Vienna in March. It's not for a studio, but as low as the budget is, if I hadn't had the success with Double Jeopardy, I wouldn't have been able to get even that much [laughs]."

Does this tie in to your love of and interest in music? And why her?

Beresford: "Yes, it does. She was a composer, too, and she was an extraordinary person. When Mahler died, she had an affair with the expressionist painter, Oskar Kokoschka, she married Walter Gropius, one of the greatest architects of the century, and then married Franz Worfel, the novelist - and she had innumerable other lovers. She wrote two autobiographies which are actually masterpieces of dissembling but interesting all the same. Virtually all her husbands and lovers wrote about her, so there's a wealth of material about her. She was a famous beauty, highly intelligent, a very gifted concert pianist. . . and had an extraordinary social life at a time of great political turbulence at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was a fascinating, strong-willed, strong-minded person, at a time when women were not as outspoken as they are today."

So it's a character study?

"Yes."

With someone unknown?

Beresford: "Phrrrr…I don't know. I'm doing some screen tests in Los Angeles with three or four actresses. Again, it's been hard to find people even to read the script. It seems to be hard to get actors for historical films. A casting director in London told me they don't want to do them (historical films) at the moment."

What do you think is the audience market for this?

Beresford: "Look, obviously the market is important, but in a sense it's got to come behind my own commitment to the project. I've had passions for other projects that everybody said were completely worthless, and I was right. Like Driving Miss Daisy. Everybody said, 'There's no point in making this film. You've got an old man and an old lady talking in a kitchen. Who's going to watch that?' Well, they were all wrong. It made a fortune - but I was passionately committed to it. In the case of the Alma Mahler film, apart from what I've told you about it, it's very sexy . . . and it's a good story about a very, very interesting, unusual and brilliant group of people."

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I'm awaiting the arrival of a French film book called Cyrano de Bergerac, which was published in conjunction with the1990 film. It's full of beautiful photos, so you can look forward to them in the weeks ahead, as well as more information on the making of the film. The photo below is a mini-image from the book.

New Addition...
Thanks to the French translation by Janette Sylvian, we now have a new interview posted to the Archives. It's from the February 1997 issue of Tetu magazine, in which Vincent talks frankly about his appeal to both men and women.

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