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LEGEND OF "LA CORRIVEAU" TO FILM IN QUEBEC Producer Richard Goudreau is planning to bring the legend of La Corriveau to the big screen. Marie-Josephte Corriveau, a woman of the village of Saint-Valier, Quebec, was notorious for murdering her husbands. Her rampages took place at the time of the Seven Years War. Caught, condemned, and executed, her body was suspended in a cage for passers-by. Filming is scheduled to commence late this summer or early in the fall at several historical settings in Canada. Yves Simoneau directs. A large-scale teleseries project with over 170 speaking roles, production has been in progress since 2000. Various titles have been put on the table, including "La Corriveau," "Nouvelle France," and "La Louve" ("The She-Wolf"). (Sources: cyberpresse.ca 17 Dec 2001 and 28 Feb 2002, Telefilm Canada)
"DINA" DOES MONTREAL I AM DINA, Ole Bornedal's new film set in 1860s Norway, is in competition at the Festival des Films du Monde in Montreal during the final week of August 2002. Actress Maria Bonnevie portrays the title character, who as a young girl accidentally caused the death of her mother and is forsaken by her father. She is rescued from isolation by a tutor and family friend Jacob (played by GD) who marries her when she matures, despite the difference in their ages. Apparently, feisty Dina is a handful in more ways than one for her older husband. The film is based on the 1988 novel DINA'S BOOK by Norwegian author Herbjørg Wassmo. Producer Axel Helgeland reveals that Gérard was considered for the role of Jacob from the early stages of the project: "...he knew the book - he's got a Norwegian make-up artist who recommended the novel to him a few years ago and he liked it very much. She was on holiday in Norway last summer and saw in the newspapers that we were going to make a film of the book and so went back to Gérard and said, you should play Jacob'. And he did.'" Official film website: http://www.iamdina.com
BON VOYAGE Jean-Paul Rappeneau's BON VOYAGE, which chronicles 48 hours during the formation of the Vichy Government of Marshal Pétain in June 1940, will be filming between June 17 and October 28, 2002 in Bordeaux and other locations. Locations include Bordeaux and Paris. Gérard portrays a politician on the verge of entering the Pétain administration. Playing opposite are Isabelle Adjani (replacing new mother Sophie Marceau) as a femme fatal and Virginie Ledoyen (replacing Audrey Tatou) as an agent of the Resistance. (Sources: Le Monde 13 August 2002; Everything GD News Winter 2002.)
STRANGERS PREMIERES IN TORONTO According to Greg's Previews on movies.yahoo.com, BETWEEN STRANGERS, written and directed by Sophia Loren's son Edoardo Ponti, will premier at the Toronto Film Festival (September 2002) and open for a limited run in Canada in October. STRANGERS is a set of three stories about women at different stages of their lives as they confront their pasts. Gerard portrays an eccentric gardener who befriends Loren's character Olivia. Toronto Film Festival website: http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2002/default.asp
ENCORE AT THE OPERA GD made his second appearance in two years at the Festival de Radio-France et Montpelier on July 15 and 16, as one of the narrators of "Hary Janos," an opera by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. According to a Le Monde article of July 12, Gérard's enthusiasm for opera was nurtured by daughter Julie and friend Carole.
CITIZEN GÉRARD This Spring, Gérard joined a cast of rockers, rappers, sports figures, and other artists to participate in a video (created by singer Phillipe Fragione) that alerted French voters to the unsavory policies of the right-wing National Front political party. The National Front's candidate, Jean-Marie La Pen, was defeated by Jacques Chirac in France's recent presidential elections.
ASTERIX CONQUERS THE US According to Greg Dean Schmitz of yahoo.movies.com, ASTERIX AND OBELIX: MISSION CLEOPATRA (see Winter 02 News) is set to open in the US in June 2003. Canadian friends of Stacy's who were fans of ASTERIX ET OBELIX CONTRE CESAR report that they thought the sequel was even funnier than its predecessor. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the US release is not dubbed!
VOLPONE UPDATE Filming for Frédéric Aubertin's tf1 television adaptation of Ben Johnson's VOLPONE, the satire of a wealthy, debauched, and corrupt Venitian who feigns illness to entrap greedy neighbors wrapped up in Portugal in April, then went immediately into post-production. The project is produced by Jean-Pierre Guérin; script by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. Daniel Prévost also stars. The final production will be 90 minutes in length. (Sources: tournages-lesite.com and le film français.com 19 Apr 2002)
RUY BLAS Upon completion of VOLPONE, GD remained in front of the cameras in Portugal for another Guérin-produced telefilm for France 3, the Victor Hugo play of 17th century romance and intrigue, RUY BLAS. Directed by Jacques Weber and co-starring Carole Bouquet, the project reunites the three, who performed the key roles in BÉRÉNICE. Filming was due for completion in April 2002, and it, too, went immediately into post-production. (Sources: fr.news.yahoo.com 18 Apr 2002, tournages-lesite.com)
GD and CB EXPAND THEIR WINE EMPIRE Last year, Gerard and companion Carole Bouquet purchased a small estate and vinyard on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, in the Contrada Serraglia region. They have been busy renovating the vinyards with the goal of producing Passito de Pantelleria, a sweet wine made from fresh and dried grapes. GD and CB are also embarking on a venture with Regaleali wines of Sicily to produce a premium-class red "vin de garage." That's a designer wine -- not a fraternity house project. The harvest grown on 1.5 hectares, will likely produce an average of 3,000 bottles. Thanks to "bohemian artist," for forwarding the piece in decanter.com: http://www.decanter.com/news/newsdefault.asp?newsstoryid=798
Updated 20 August 2002
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