Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock here with you today. Cannes is nearly here, and we’ve got you covered there, along with the rest of the noise from the international film and TV worlds.
Cannes Looms Large
The build-up: The 81st Cannes Film Festival kicks off in less than a week but all the early talk surrounding the fest is about events away from the big screen. The French industry is currently in a state of paralysis as speculation continues to mount in the local film industry over rumors that a bombshell #MeToo exposé will drop on the festival’s first day. There has been talk in the French film industry for weeks that a raft of accusations is due to break in the lead-up and during the upcoming edition. The rumors come amid a fresh #MeToo wave in France, sparked by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche’s decision to...
Cannes Looms Large
The build-up: The 81st Cannes Film Festival kicks off in less than a week but all the early talk surrounding the fest is about events away from the big screen. The French industry is currently in a state of paralysis as speculation continues to mount in the local film industry over rumors that a bombshell #MeToo exposé will drop on the festival’s first day. There has been talk in the French film industry for weeks that a raft of accusations is due to break in the lead-up and during the upcoming edition. The rumors come amid a fresh #MeToo wave in France, sparked by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche’s decision to...
- 5/10/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes Film Festival President Iris Knobloch has said the event is paying close attention to the evolving #MeToo situation in France in an interview with celebrity magazine Paris Match.
The publication of the Q&a on Thursday came amid rising speculation within the French media and local film industry that a raft of #MeToo allegations is set to break in the lead up and during the upcoming 81st edition of the festival, running from May 14 to 25.
Quizzed on whether a film would be retained in Competition if its director were implicated in a sexual assault case, Knobloch replied the festival would make a decision on a case by case basis
“We’re extremely attentive to what is happening today, and we’re following the situation closely,” she said. “If the case of a person being implicated should arise, we will take care to make the right decision on a case-by-case basis,...
The publication of the Q&a on Thursday came amid rising speculation within the French media and local film industry that a raft of #MeToo allegations is set to break in the lead up and during the upcoming 81st edition of the festival, running from May 14 to 25.
Quizzed on whether a film would be retained in Competition if its director were implicated in a sexual assault case, Knobloch replied the festival would make a decision on a case by case basis
“We’re extremely attentive to what is happening today, and we’re following the situation closely,” she said. “If the case of a person being implicated should arise, we will take care to make the right decision on a case-by-case basis,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
With less than a week to go until the kick-off of the 81st Cannes Film Festival, speculation is mounting in the French media and local film industry over rumors that a bombshell #MeToo exposé will drop on the day of the opening.
There has been talk in the French film industry for weeks that a raft of #MeToo accusations is due to break in the lead up and during the upcoming edition.
The rumors come amid a fresh #MeToo wave in France, sparked by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche’s decision to speak up about sexual abuse she says suffered as a teenager at the hands of director Benoît Jacquot. He has denied the allegations.
The speculation may come to nothing but an article by French newspaper Le Figaro last weekend headlined “#MeToo: before the Cannes Film Festival, the cinema industry is in a cold sweat” has sent the local rumor mill into overdrive.
There has been talk in the French film industry for weeks that a raft of #MeToo accusations is due to break in the lead up and during the upcoming edition.
The rumors come amid a fresh #MeToo wave in France, sparked by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche’s decision to speak up about sexual abuse she says suffered as a teenager at the hands of director Benoît Jacquot. He has denied the allegations.
The speculation may come to nothing but an article by French newspaper Le Figaro last weekend headlined “#MeToo: before the Cannes Film Festival, the cinema industry is in a cold sweat” has sent the local rumor mill into overdrive.
- 5/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The French film industry is bracing itself for further #MeToo-related revelations about multiple male actors, directors and producers following weeks of rumours and unsubstantiated reports.
They have culminated in a report in Le Figaro newspaper this week headlined, ’#MeToo: before the Cannes film festival, the film industry is in a cold sweat’.
Le Figaro claimed top talent “are losing sleep over it” and that “entire artistic teams are trembling” in fear their films will be overshadowed by such allegations. Cannes president Iris Knobloch told Le Figaro she and her team were maintaining “reinforced vigilance” and the festival was being advised...
They have culminated in a report in Le Figaro newspaper this week headlined, ’#MeToo: before the Cannes film festival, the film industry is in a cold sweat’.
Le Figaro claimed top talent “are losing sleep over it” and that “entire artistic teams are trembling” in fear their films will be overshadowed by such allegations. Cannes president Iris Knobloch told Le Figaro she and her team were maintaining “reinforced vigilance” and the festival was being advised...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
French President Emmanuel Macron has clarified comments he made last year about Gérard Depardieu which seemed to suggest his support for the actor in the face of a tide of sexual assault accusations, which the latter has denied.
Speaking in an interview with French women’s magazine Elle, published on Wednesday, Macron suggested his comments had been misinterpreted and that he was not “complacent” about the issues around sexual harassment and abuse.
“I just want a respect for our principles, such as the presumption of innocence. These same principles which will allow justice to rule next October and that is a good thing.” he said.
Depardieu is due to be tried in October on charges of sexual assault on two women on a film set in 2021, while accusations of sexual assault and rape by actress Charlotte Arnould are also making their way through the courts.
In the backdrop a number...
Speaking in an interview with French women’s magazine Elle, published on Wednesday, Macron suggested his comments had been misinterpreted and that he was not “complacent” about the issues around sexual harassment and abuse.
“I just want a respect for our principles, such as the presumption of innocence. These same principles which will allow justice to rule next October and that is a good thing.” he said.
Depardieu is due to be tried in October on charges of sexual assault on two women on a film set in 2021, while accusations of sexual assault and rape by actress Charlotte Arnould are also making their way through the courts.
In the backdrop a number...
- 5/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney is edging closer to streaming profitability as it reported generally positive financials in its Q2 report on Tuesday – although shares plunged nearly 10% due to the ongoing decline in the linear TV business and a flat theme parks forecast for Q3.
Total Disney revenue climbed 1% year-on-year to $22.1bn, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The company said it remained on track to generate approximately $14bn in cash provided by operations and over $8bn of free cash flow this fiscal year.
Diluted earnings per share increased from 93 cents to $1.21 year-on-year and the company revised upwards its earnings per share growth target for the...
Total Disney revenue climbed 1% year-on-year to $22.1bn, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The company said it remained on track to generate approximately $14bn in cash provided by operations and over $8bn of free cash flow this fiscal year.
Diluted earnings per share increased from 93 cents to $1.21 year-on-year and the company revised upwards its earnings per share growth target for the...
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Disney is edging closer to streaming profitability as it reported generally positive financials in its Q2 report on Tuesday – although shares plunged 10% due to the ongoing decline in the linear TV business and a flat theme parks forecast for Q3.
Total Disney revenue climbed 1% year-on-year to $22.1m, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The company said it remained on track to generate approximately $14bn in cash provided by operations and over $8bn of free cash flow this fiscal year.
Diluted earnings per share increased from 93 cents to $1.21 year-on-year and the company’s revised earnings per share growth target for the year is...
Total Disney revenue climbed 1% year-on-year to $22.1m, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The company said it remained on track to generate approximately $14bn in cash provided by operations and over $8bn of free cash flow this fiscal year.
Diluted earnings per share increased from 93 cents to $1.21 year-on-year and the company’s revised earnings per share growth target for the year is...
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Disney is edging closer to streaming profitability as it reported generally positive financials in its Q2 report on Tuesday – however that was not enough to prevent a 10% stock plunge due to several missed targets.
Operating income at the media giant’s streaming segment was $47m, a marked improvement on the $587m loss reported in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 13% to reach $5.6bn and executives confirmed they expect the steaming business to reach profit in Q4.
Core Disney+ subscribers increased by 6.3m in the second quarter to reach 117.6m, while Hulu added 500,000 members on SVoD and Live TV and SVoD to reach 50.2m.
Operating income at the media giant’s streaming segment was $47m, a marked improvement on the $587m loss reported in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 13% to reach $5.6bn and executives confirmed they expect the steaming business to reach profit in Q4.
Core Disney+ subscribers increased by 6.3m in the second quarter to reach 117.6m, while Hulu added 500,000 members on SVoD and Live TV and SVoD to reach 50.2m.
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
The April 25 decision by the New York Court of Appeals to overturn Harvey Weinstein’s felony sex crime conviction looked like a major blow to the #MeToo movement in the U.S. and to the progress made within the U.S. film industry since 2017 (when the first allegations against Weinstein were made public).
In France, they are still waiting for that first wave of progress. The outrage triggered by #MeToo echoed across la grande nation — it even spawned a French counterpart, #Balancetonporc, or “Expose Your Pig” — but, until very recently, efforts to challenge the structure of the French entertainment industry came to very little.
That, it seems, is changing. U.S.-style measures, including the use of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes or chaperones to supervise the treatment of minors, are slowly becoming standard practice on French movie sets. #MeToo is “really at the center of our discussion now, in...
In France, they are still waiting for that first wave of progress. The outrage triggered by #MeToo echoed across la grande nation — it even spawned a French counterpart, #Balancetonporc, or “Expose Your Pig” — but, until very recently, efforts to challenge the structure of the French entertainment industry came to very little.
That, it seems, is changing. U.S.-style measures, including the use of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes or chaperones to supervise the treatment of minors, are slowly becoming standard practice on French movie sets. #MeToo is “really at the center of our discussion now, in...
- 5/7/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Moi Aussi Photo: © Maneki Films A surprise last minute addition has been added to the Cannes Film Festival’s roster with the inclusion of a short film directed by actress Judith Godrèche who recently has called out sexual harassment, claiming that she had been the victim as a minor of grooming by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both have denied the allegations of sexual assault.
The film Moi Aussi (Me Too) will be screened at the Un Certain Regard opening ceremony in the Salle Debussy of the Palais des Festivals and at the Cinéma de la Plage, with free admission, on May 15.
Judith Godrèche Photo: UniFrance Godrèche who has appeared in more than 50 films, aims to highlight the stories of victims of sexual violence. The festival organisers in a statement said: "These individual experiences add to her own, underscoring their sadly universal nature. The Festival de Cannes thus wishes...
The film Moi Aussi (Me Too) will be screened at the Un Certain Regard opening ceremony in the Salle Debussy of the Palais des Festivals and at the Cinéma de la Plage, with free admission, on May 15.
Judith Godrèche Photo: UniFrance Godrèche who has appeared in more than 50 films, aims to highlight the stories of victims of sexual violence. The festival organisers in a statement said: "These individual experiences add to her own, underscoring their sadly universal nature. The Festival de Cannes thus wishes...
- 5/7/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Judith Godrèche’s short film Moi Aussi (Me Too) that pays tribute to victims of sexual violence will world premiere in official selection at Cannes, as part of the Un Certain Regard Opening Ceremony on May 15.
The ensemble film is written and directed by Godrèche and produced by Didar Dommeri of Maneki Films. It is made up of personal accounts told in fragments that unites around 1,000 people after Godrèche posted a call to action for victims of sexual assault on social media
The festival said it will showcase the film that highlights victims of sexual violence because “these individual experiences add to her own,...
The ensemble film is written and directed by Godrèche and produced by Didar Dommeri of Maneki Films. It is made up of personal accounts told in fragments that unites around 1,000 people after Godrèche posted a call to action for victims of sexual assault on social media
The festival said it will showcase the film that highlights victims of sexual violence because “these individual experiences add to her own,...
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
A week before its kick-off, the Cannes Film Festival has made a last-minute addition with “Moi Aussi,” a short film directed by Judith Godreche.
The actor-turned-filmmaker made headlines in recent months for spearheading France’s new MeToo reckoning with her revelations that she had been preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both directors have denied her allegations of sexual assault.
Godreche’s testimony has also led the French parliament to approve the creation of a commission whose task is to investigate abuse and sexual violence within France’s film and TV industry, as well as performing arts, advertising and fashion.
In her short film “Moi Aussi,” Godreche highlights the stories of victims of sexual violence. “These individual experiences add to her own, underscoring their sadly universal nature. The Festival de Cannes thus wishes to give resonance to these personal accounts,” said the festival in a statement.
The actor-turned-filmmaker made headlines in recent months for spearheading France’s new MeToo reckoning with her revelations that she had been preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both directors have denied her allegations of sexual assault.
Godreche’s testimony has also led the French parliament to approve the creation of a commission whose task is to investigate abuse and sexual violence within France’s film and TV industry, as well as performing arts, advertising and fashion.
In her short film “Moi Aussi,” Godreche highlights the stories of victims of sexual violence. “These individual experiences add to her own, underscoring their sadly universal nature. The Festival de Cannes thus wishes to give resonance to these personal accounts,” said the festival in a statement.
- 5/7/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche, who has been at the forefront of a fresh #MeToo wave in France this year, has been invited by the Cannes Film Festival to world premiere short film Moi Aussi in Official Selection.
The film, highlighting the stories of victims of sexual violence, will be screened during the opening ceremony for its Un Certain Regard section in the Palais des Festivals’ Salle Debussy and as part of the free, public Cinéma de la Plage program on May 15.
Moi Aussi follows in the wake of Godrèche’s decision earlier this year to publicly denounce her six-year relationship with director Benoît Jacquot in the 1980s, which began when she was 14 years old, and he was 39.
The actress and filmmaker, who said she was under his influence and that the relationship was wrong, filed a police complaint against the Farewell, My Queen and Diary of a Chambermaid director...
The film, highlighting the stories of victims of sexual violence, will be screened during the opening ceremony for its Un Certain Regard section in the Palais des Festivals’ Salle Debussy and as part of the free, public Cinéma de la Plage program on May 15.
Moi Aussi follows in the wake of Godrèche’s decision earlier this year to publicly denounce her six-year relationship with director Benoît Jacquot in the 1980s, which began when she was 14 years old, and he was 39.
The actress and filmmaker, who said she was under his influence and that the relationship was wrong, filed a police complaint against the Farewell, My Queen and Diary of a Chambermaid director...
- 5/7/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
This February, French actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche helped ignite a new spark in her country’s #MeToo reckoning. Early in the month, the lauded star filed two different rape complaints against a pair of French directors: first, against Benoît Jacquot, for “predation” and “violent rape of a minor under 15 years old committed by a person in authority” (via Variety), the second, against Jacques Doillon, alleging he raped her twice when she was 15 and starring in his “La fille de 15 ans” (via Variety).
By February 22, Variety reported on the rising reckoning, partially due to Godrèche’s new allegations, noting that “France’s major producers guilds have also issued a statement demanding the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Minister of Culture to put specific guidelines in place.” And, one day later, Godrèche appeared at France’s Césars ceremony to deliver a speech to encourage people, particularly those inside the entertainment industry,...
By February 22, Variety reported on the rising reckoning, partially due to Godrèche’s new allegations, noting that “France’s major producers guilds have also issued a statement demanding the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Minister of Culture to put specific guidelines in place.” And, one day later, Godrèche appeared at France’s Césars ceremony to deliver a speech to encourage people, particularly those inside the entertainment industry,...
- 5/7/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Last year, the Cannes Film Festival shrugged off protests by women’s rights groups to open with Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, a period movie starring alleged abuser Johnny Depp as the king of France.
A year and a mini-#MeToo revolution later, Cannes has picked Moi Aussi (Me Too), a short film by French actress turned activist and filmmaker Judith Godrèche to open its Un Certain Regard sidebar.
Best known in the U.S. for the Oscar-nominated Ridicule (1996) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Godrèche became a key figure in France’s #MeToo movement after she accused acclaimed directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Both men have denied the claims.
The allegations, and Godrèche’s standing as one of France’s best-known actresses and a beloved former child star, helped bring #MeToo back into the spotlight in France. Her...
A year and a mini-#MeToo revolution later, Cannes has picked Moi Aussi (Me Too), a short film by French actress turned activist and filmmaker Judith Godrèche to open its Un Certain Regard sidebar.
Best known in the U.S. for the Oscar-nominated Ridicule (1996) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Godrèche became a key figure in France’s #MeToo movement after she accused acclaimed directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Both men have denied the claims.
The allegations, and Godrèche’s standing as one of France’s best-known actresses and a beloved former child star, helped bring #MeToo back into the spotlight in France. Her...
- 5/7/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
France’s National Assembly (L’Assemblée Nationale) has voted to approve the launch of a commission tasked with investigating incidences of “sexual and sexist violence” in the country’s ilm industry and across other cultural fields.
The request to launch such a division was spearheaded by actress-writer-director Judith Godrèche who has been leading the charge in what has been a fresh wave of #MeToo in the country.
The launch is significant since it marks the first time #MeToo changes have reached the government level, though France’s film body the Cnc has been active in initiatives to prevent sexual assault on set in recent months.
The request to launch such a division was spearheaded by actress-writer-director Judith Godrèche who has been leading the charge in what has been a fresh wave of #MeToo in the country.
The launch is significant since it marks the first time #MeToo changes have reached the government level, though France’s film body the Cnc has been active in initiatives to prevent sexual assault on set in recent months.
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
The French parliament has approved the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate abuse and sexual violence in the country’s cinema and audiovisual industries as well as the worlds of the performing arts, advertizing and fashion.
The initiative follows a request by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche, who has spearheaded a fresh #MeToo wave in France in recent months, following her decision to go public with allegations of sexual assault against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, which they have denied.
Godrèche pushed for the creation of a commission of inquiry in February and then again in March in separate addresses to the French Senate and parliament, at the invitation of their delegations for women’s rights and children’s rights.
Francesca Pasquini, who is a member of parliament for The Ecologists party, acted on Godrèche’s request to set in motion a proposal to create the commission.
The initiative follows a request by actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche, who has spearheaded a fresh #MeToo wave in France in recent months, following her decision to go public with allegations of sexual assault against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, which they have denied.
Godrèche pushed for the creation of a commission of inquiry in February and then again in March in separate addresses to the French Senate and parliament, at the invitation of their delegations for women’s rights and children’s rights.
Francesca Pasquini, who is a member of parliament for The Ecologists party, acted on Godrèche’s request to set in motion a proposal to create the commission.
- 5/2/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
A fresh #MeToo case has broken in France with 10 actresses accusing director Philippe Loiret of inappropriate behavior in an investigative report carried out by radio and news network France Info.
According to the report released on Tuesday, the accusations are related to the casting process for Loiret’s 2011 feature All Our Desires, when the director was at the peak of his fame in the wake of award-winning box office hit Welcome starring Mélanie Laurent.
The accusations comes amid France’s recent embrace of the #MeToo movement sparked in large part by actress Judith Godrèche’s decision to speak up about her under-age relationship with director Benoît Jacquot, and filing of an official police complaint him for “rape with constraint”. He has denied the charges.
Loosely adapted from a novel by Emmanuel Carrère, All Our Desires revolved around a young female magistrate suffering from cancer who teams up with an older...
According to the report released on Tuesday, the accusations are related to the casting process for Loiret’s 2011 feature All Our Desires, when the director was at the peak of his fame in the wake of award-winning box office hit Welcome starring Mélanie Laurent.
The accusations comes amid France’s recent embrace of the #MeToo movement sparked in large part by actress Judith Godrèche’s decision to speak up about her under-age relationship with director Benoît Jacquot, and filing of an official police complaint him for “rape with constraint”. He has denied the charges.
Loosely adapted from a novel by Emmanuel Carrère, All Our Desires revolved around a young female magistrate suffering from cancer who teams up with an older...
- 4/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Six months after world-premiering to poor reviews at the Venice Film Festival, Roman Polanski’s latest film “The Palace” has been acquired by a French distribution company, Swashbuckler Films.
The Paris-based banner, which specializes in classic movies, is hoping to release “The Palace” on May 15. The company’s owner, Sebastien Tiveyrat, told Variety he hasn’t yet obtained the exhibition visa from the National Film Board and hasn’t started contacting exhibitors in France to book theaters.
Although Polanski’s inclusion at the Venice festival sparked a controversy due to the fact that he’s still currently facing sexual assault allegations, “The Palace” sold across many territories, including Germany, Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Bulgaria and French-speaking Switzerland where it came out between September and January. The black comedy will next open in Portugal on April 4. Goodfellas handles international sales on the movie.
“The Palace” takes place during New Year’s Eve...
The Paris-based banner, which specializes in classic movies, is hoping to release “The Palace” on May 15. The company’s owner, Sebastien Tiveyrat, told Variety he hasn’t yet obtained the exhibition visa from the National Film Board and hasn’t started contacting exhibitors in France to book theaters.
Although Polanski’s inclusion at the Venice festival sparked a controversy due to the fact that he’s still currently facing sexual assault allegations, “The Palace” sold across many territories, including Germany, Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Bulgaria and French-speaking Switzerland where it came out between September and January. The black comedy will next open in Portugal on April 4. Goodfellas handles international sales on the movie.
“The Palace” takes place during New Year’s Eve...
- 3/26/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Dominique Boutonnat, president of France’s Cnc, will stand trial for alleged sexual assault on June 14, the French court of Nanterre has confirmed.
The case dates back to February of 2021 when Boutonnat was indicted for “tentative of rape” of his godson during a family holiday in Greece stemming from a complaint filed in 2020. The court has since decreased the charge to attempted sexual assault. He continues to strongly deny the accusations. When contacted by Screen, the Cnc would not comment on the situation.
Boutonnat, one of the most powerful figures in French cinema, remains in his position and the pending...
The case dates back to February of 2021 when Boutonnat was indicted for “tentative of rape” of his godson during a family holiday in Greece stemming from a complaint filed in 2020. The court has since decreased the charge to attempted sexual assault. He continues to strongly deny the accusations. When contacted by Screen, the Cnc would not comment on the situation.
Boutonnat, one of the most powerful figures in French cinema, remains in his position and the pending...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Dominique Boutonnat, the President of France’s cinema board, will stand trial for sexual assault in June.
The producer and Cnc chief has been under investigation for two years after being indicted in February 2021 for an alleged sexual assault. In September 2022, the case was taken to trial. According to French media reports, a court in Nanterre has now set a court date for June. Boutonnat denies all charges.
Boutonnat was first placed under investigation in October 2020 after his godson filed a police complaint accusing him of an assault during a family holiday in Greece in August 2020.
When contacted about whether he would remain at the head of the Cnc following the news, the cinema body declined to comment and referred us to Boutonnat’s lawyer. We have reached out to Boutonnat’s legal team for comment.
Boutonnat was first appointed Cnc President in 2019. France’s government then gave him a...
The producer and Cnc chief has been under investigation for two years after being indicted in February 2021 for an alleged sexual assault. In September 2022, the case was taken to trial. According to French media reports, a court in Nanterre has now set a court date for June. Boutonnat denies all charges.
Boutonnat was first placed under investigation in October 2020 after his godson filed a police complaint accusing him of an assault during a family holiday in Greece in August 2020.
When contacted about whether he would remain at the head of the Cnc following the news, the cinema body declined to comment and referred us to Boutonnat’s lawyer. We have reached out to Boutonnat’s legal team for comment.
Boutonnat was first appointed Cnc President in 2019. France’s government then gave him a...
- 3/6/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board (Cnc), the country’s most powerful film institution, will stand trial for alleged sexual assault starting on June 14, Variety has confirmed.
Boutonnat was indicted in February 2021 for the alleged sexual assault of his 22-year-old godson in 2020. It took over two years for the Nanterre Court to set a start date for the trial, which will kick off after the upcoming edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The information was first reported by the online publication “L’Informé.”
When contacted by Variety, the Cnc declined to comment. It’s unknown whether Boutonnat, whose term ends in 2025, will remain in post during the trial.
The National Film Board plays a crucial role in allocating subsidies to French TV and film producers, establishing selection committees and boards, as well as setting guidelines for the whole industry.
In spite of the indictment, Boutonnat was appointed...
Boutonnat was indicted in February 2021 for the alleged sexual assault of his 22-year-old godson in 2020. It took over two years for the Nanterre Court to set a start date for the trial, which will kick off after the upcoming edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The information was first reported by the online publication “L’Informé.”
When contacted by Variety, the Cnc declined to comment. It’s unknown whether Boutonnat, whose term ends in 2025, will remain in post during the trial.
The National Film Board plays a crucial role in allocating subsidies to French TV and film producers, establishing selection committees and boards, as well as setting guidelines for the whole industry.
In spite of the indictment, Boutonnat was appointed...
- 3/6/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French director Claire Denis is set to return to West Africa for her next feature film, an adaptation of late French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès’s 1980 work Black Battles With Dogs (Combat de nègre et de chiens).
“It’s a play written by a friend of mine a long time ago and directed by Patrice Chéreau on stage in the 80s. He was dying from AIDS and he wanted me to make a film out of it,” Denis told Deadline on the fringes of the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra meeting in Qatar.
She is planning to film in either Senegal or Cameroon.
Denis grew up in West Africa and set a number of her early films in the region, such as Chocolat (1988) and Beau Travail (1989). This will be her first major fiction feature shot on the African continent since the 2009 drama White Material, starring Isabelle Huppert as a coffee plantation...
“It’s a play written by a friend of mine a long time ago and directed by Patrice Chéreau on stage in the 80s. He was dying from AIDS and he wanted me to make a film out of it,” Denis told Deadline on the fringes of the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra meeting in Qatar.
She is planning to film in either Senegal or Cameroon.
Denis grew up in West Africa and set a number of her early films in the region, such as Chocolat (1988) and Beau Travail (1989). This will be her first major fiction feature shot on the African continent since the 2009 drama White Material, starring Isabelle Huppert as a coffee plantation...
- 3/5/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Franco-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski is on trial in Paris today (March 5) to face allegations that he defamed British actress Charlotte Lewis, who accused him of sexual abuse.
The 90-year-old director currently resides in Paris, but is not due to appear in court according to his lawyers. Lewis, who starred in the director’s 1986 film Pirates, claimed in May 2010 that Polanski had sexually assaulted her during an audition at his Paris home in 1983 when she was just 16 years old.
In December of 2019, Polanski refuted her accusations as an “odious lie” in an interview with Paris Match magazine and cited inconsistencies in Lewis’ account of the events.
The 90-year-old director currently resides in Paris, but is not due to appear in court according to his lawyers. Lewis, who starred in the director’s 1986 film Pirates, claimed in May 2010 that Polanski had sexually assaulted her during an audition at his Paris home in 1983 when she was just 16 years old.
In December of 2019, Polanski refuted her accusations as an “odious lie” in an interview with Paris Match magazine and cited inconsistencies in Lewis’ account of the events.
- 3/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Judith Godrèche is burning down the house. Her hope is that something better will emerge from the ashes.
In recent weeks, the French actress and director, a three-time César nominee known for starring in English and French-language hits including The Man In The Iron Mask, The Spanish Apartment and Potiche, has taken a match to a culture of silence and denial within France’s cinema world when it comes to sexual abuse. In her first trade interview, she talks to Deadline about her experiences, the motivation behind her campaign and what she hopes to achieve.
At the heart of Godrèche’s mission is the relationship she had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which began when she was only 14 years old, and he was 39. The minimum age of consent in France is 15.
Godrèche, now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted,...
In recent weeks, the French actress and director, a three-time César nominee known for starring in English and French-language hits including The Man In The Iron Mask, The Spanish Apartment and Potiche, has taken a match to a culture of silence and denial within France’s cinema world when it comes to sexual abuse. In her first trade interview, she talks to Deadline about her experiences, the motivation behind her campaign and what she hopes to achieve.
At the heart of Godrèche’s mission is the relationship she had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which began when she was only 14 years old, and he was 39. The minimum age of consent in France is 15.
Godrèche, now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The rain stayed away from Santa Monica Beach on Sunday (February 25) as Past Lives was named best film and Celine Song best director at the 39th annual Spirit Awards.
While the legacy studio and streamer contenders have dominated much of the big-ticket awards shows this season like Saturday night’s SAG Awards, last weekend’s Baftas, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this was a good opportunity for the Oscar-nominated A24 romance and Song to earn gongs for a film which has done well among critics groups since its world premiere at Sundance just over one year ago.
Jeffrey Wright...
While the legacy studio and streamer contenders have dominated much of the big-ticket awards shows this season like Saturday night’s SAG Awards, last weekend’s Baftas, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this was a good opportunity for the Oscar-nominated A24 romance and Song to earn gongs for a film which has done well among critics groups since its world premiere at Sundance just over one year ago.
Jeffrey Wright...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Anatomy Of A Fall was named best French film of the year at the 49th annual César awards, among six prizes for Justine Triet’s film during an evening dominated by female solidarity that saw actress Judith Godrèche set the tone with a #MeToo-motivated speech.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Anatomy Of A Fall also earned prizes for best director for Triet, best actress for Sandra Hüller, best original screenplay for Triet and Arthur Harari, best supporting actor for Swann Arlaud and best editing for Laurent Senechal.
Triet’s best director prize made her the first female filmmaker...
Scroll down for full list of winners
Anatomy Of A Fall also earned prizes for best director for Triet, best actress for Sandra Hüller, best original screenplay for Triet and Arthur Harari, best supporting actor for Swann Arlaud and best editing for Laurent Senechal.
Triet’s best director prize made her the first female filmmaker...
- 2/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 49th Cesar Awards, France’s top film honors, have been handed out in Paris, with Justine Triet‘s Oscar contender Anatomy of a Fall emerging as the big winner.
The French courtroom drama — which is competing at the Oscars in five categories — earned the best film prize, best actress for Sandra Hüller, best director for Triet, best original screenplay shared between Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari, and Swann Arlaud took home the best supporting actor trophy.
Hüller won in the best actress category over Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, nominated for Little Girl Blue; Lea Drucker, up for Last Summer; Hafsia Herzi, nominated for The Rapture; and Belgian actress Virginie Efira, nominated for her work in Just the Two of Us.
The other big winner on the night was The Animal Kingdom, French director Thomas Cailley’s follow-up to 2014’s Love at First Fight. Cailley picked up the best cinematography...
The French courtroom drama — which is competing at the Oscars in five categories — earned the best film prize, best actress for Sandra Hüller, best director for Triet, best original screenplay shared between Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari, and Swann Arlaud took home the best supporting actor trophy.
Hüller won in the best actress category over Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, nominated for Little Girl Blue; Lea Drucker, up for Last Summer; Hafsia Herzi, nominated for The Rapture; and Belgian actress Virginie Efira, nominated for her work in Just the Two of Us.
The other big winner on the night was The Animal Kingdom, French director Thomas Cailley’s follow-up to 2014’s Love at First Fight. Cailley picked up the best cinematography...
- 2/23/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall won Best Film and Best Director at the 49th edition of the French César awards Friday.
Triet is only the second women to clinch the Best Director prize in the near 50-year history of the César Awards, after Tonie Marshall for Venus Beauty in 1976.
The director took to the stage with her producers Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelléas.
Luciani suggested the Best Film honor, which is voted on by the some 4,600 members of the César Academy, was a sign of solidarity for the film and Triet in the light of her controversial Cannes d’Or acceptance speech which provoked a political backlash after she criticized the attitude of Emmanuel Macron’s government towards culture and cinema.
“After Justine’s speech in Cannes and the lively debate she provoked we’d like to say this...
Triet is only the second women to clinch the Best Director prize in the near 50-year history of the César Awards, after Tonie Marshall for Venus Beauty in 1976.
The director took to the stage with her producers Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelléas.
Luciani suggested the Best Film honor, which is voted on by the some 4,600 members of the César Academy, was a sign of solidarity for the film and Triet in the light of her controversial Cannes d’Or acceptance speech which provoked a political backlash after she criticized the attitude of Emmanuel Macron’s government towards culture and cinema.
“After Justine’s speech in Cannes and the lively debate she provoked we’d like to say this...
- 2/23/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Actress and director Judith Godrèche made an appeal at the French César Awards on Friday for a new era of truth around the issue of sexual abuse and harassment in France’s cinema world after decades of silence and denial.
“For some time now, voices have been unleashed, the idealized image of our fathers has been shattered, power almost seems to be in a state of turmoil, could it be possible for us to look at the truth in the eye?,” she said in scheduled address.
“To take on our responsibilities? To be actors, actresses of a world that is questioning itself?, “ she asked. “For some time now, I’ve been talking and talking, but I can’t hear you, or only a little. Where are you? What are you saying? A whisper. Half a word.”
Her appearance at the César ceremony comes three weeks after the actress filed an...
“For some time now, voices have been unleashed, the idealized image of our fathers has been shattered, power almost seems to be in a state of turmoil, could it be possible for us to look at the truth in the eye?,” she said in scheduled address.
“To take on our responsibilities? To be actors, actresses of a world that is questioning itself?, “ she asked. “For some time now, I’ve been talking and talking, but I can’t hear you, or only a little. Where are you? What are you saying? A whisper. Half a word.”
Her appearance at the César ceremony comes three weeks after the actress filed an...
- 2/23/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Justine Triet became the second female filmmaker in the Cesar Award’s 49-year history to win the best director trophy for “Anatomy of a Fall,” which also won best film, original screenplay, actress for Sandra Huller, supporting actor for Swann Arlaud and editing at the French film industry’s big night. Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal Kingdom” also dominated the race, picking up a raft of prizes, including cinematography, costumes, visual effects and music. The ceremony unfolded at the Olympia Theater in Paris on Friday evening and aired lived on Canal+.
Triet’s movie, which is vying for five Oscars, stars Hüller as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie is produced by Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.
Triet dedicated her best film award to all women,...
Triet’s movie, which is vying for five Oscars, stars Hüller as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie is produced by Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.
Triet dedicated her best film award to all women,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
New Wave of Accusations Ignites MeToo Reckoning in France: ‘Women Are Fed Up. The Anger Is Enormous’
France’s film industry is undergoing a new MeToo reckoning, dominating news cycles, policy debates and even the goodie bag of the Cesar Awards’ nominees dinner, which included a flyer headlined, “The cultural sector together against sexist and sexual violence.”
The French #MeToo movement also made its way into the Berlinale, where actor Nora Hamzawi said that director Jacques Doillon’s upcoming film “Third Grade” — in which Hamzawi stars — shouldn’t be released due to the sexual misconduct allegations recently filed against the filmmkaker.
France’s major producers guilds have also issued a statement demanding the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Minister of Culture to put specific guidelines in place. Those demands include the appointment of “experts specialized in the prevention and management of sexual violence to set up a safe environment at the start of every shoot;” additional resources for organizations fighting sexual misconduct; and setting up an...
The French #MeToo movement also made its way into the Berlinale, where actor Nora Hamzawi said that director Jacques Doillon’s upcoming film “Third Grade” — in which Hamzawi stars — shouldn’t be released due to the sexual misconduct allegations recently filed against the filmmkaker.
France’s major producers guilds have also issued a statement demanding the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Minister of Culture to put specific guidelines in place. Those demands include the appointment of “experts specialized in the prevention and management of sexual violence to set up a safe environment at the start of every shoot;” additional resources for organizations fighting sexual misconduct; and setting up an...
- 2/22/2024
- by Ben Croll and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French actresss Judith Godrèche has filed an official police complaint against Jacques Doillon, accusing him of two counts of sexual assault in the 1980s when she was a minor.
News of the complaint came just one day after Godrèche revealed in an interview with Le Monde newspaper she had filed a complaint against director Benoît Jacquot for “rapes with violence of a minor less than 15-years-old”.
The Paris Prosecutor’s office has since confirmed to Deadline that a case has been opened.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s.
The actress says she was 14-years-old when the relationship began while the director was 40 and that she was “under his influence”. Jacquot has denied the accusations saying they were in a “loving” relationship.
The actress publicly made the accusations against Doillon...
News of the complaint came just one day after Godrèche revealed in an interview with Le Monde newspaper she had filed a complaint against director Benoît Jacquot for “rapes with violence of a minor less than 15-years-old”.
The Paris Prosecutor’s office has since confirmed to Deadline that a case has been opened.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s.
The actress says she was 14-years-old when the relationship began while the director was 40 and that she was “under his influence”. Jacquot has denied the accusations saying they were in a “loving” relationship.
The actress publicly made the accusations against Doillon...
- 2/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Judith Godrèche, the French actor-turned-filmmaker who recently delivered the semi-autobiographical series “Icon of French Cinema,” has filed a complaint against director Jacques Doillon alleging rape, Variety has confirmed.
Godrèche filed the complaint on Feb. 6, the same day that she filed one against director Benoit Jacquot.
Interviewed by the local radio station France Inter, Godrèche alleged that she was raped twice by Doillon when she was 15 in the late 1980s. She claimed the sexual assault happened at the home that Doillon shared with his then partner Jane Birkin, during the shoot of “La fille de 15 ans.” Godrèche, who was at the time in a relationship with Jacquot, had the lead role in Doillon’s film and starred alongside Melvil Poupaud and Doillon himself. The movie came out in 1989.
“It was hallucinating. He got rid of the actor and took his place and all of the sudden he decided that there...
Godrèche filed the complaint on Feb. 6, the same day that she filed one against director Benoit Jacquot.
Interviewed by the local radio station France Inter, Godrèche alleged that she was raped twice by Doillon when she was 15 in the late 1980s. She claimed the sexual assault happened at the home that Doillon shared with his then partner Jane Birkin, during the shoot of “La fille de 15 ans.” Godrèche, who was at the time in a relationship with Jacquot, had the lead role in Doillon’s film and starred alongside Melvil Poupaud and Doillon himself. The movie came out in 1989.
“It was hallucinating. He got rid of the actor and took his place and all of the sudden he decided that there...
- 2/8/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French actor Judith Godrèche has lodge a rape complaint against filmmaker Benoît Jacquot, newspaper Le Monde reports.
Godrèche, who met Jacquot when she was 14 years old and the director was 39, accuses him of “predation” and “violent rape of a minor under 15 years old committed by a person in authority.” She has filed her complaint with France’s Juvenile Protection Brigade.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, Jacquot denies the claims, telling the outlet theirs was a “loving” relationship.
Godrèche and Jacquot met in 1986 on the set of his movie “Les Mendiants,” which was released two years later. Despite the 25 year age gap, they began a relationship which went on for six years, during which time the actor says she was “in [Jacquot’s] grip.” She also starred in his 1990 film “La Desenchantee.”
“It’s a story like the stories of children who are kidnapped and who grow up without seeing the world...
Godrèche, who met Jacquot when she was 14 years old and the director was 39, accuses him of “predation” and “violent rape of a minor under 15 years old committed by a person in authority.” She has filed her complaint with France’s Juvenile Protection Brigade.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, Jacquot denies the claims, telling the outlet theirs was a “loving” relationship.
Godrèche and Jacquot met in 1986 on the set of his movie “Les Mendiants,” which was released two years later. Despite the 25 year age gap, they began a relationship which went on for six years, during which time the actor says she was “in [Jacquot’s] grip.” She also starred in his 1990 film “La Desenchantee.”
“It’s a story like the stories of children who are kidnapped and who grow up without seeing the world...
- 2/7/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
French actresss Judith Godrèche has filed an official police complaint against director Benoît Jacquot for “rapes with violence of a minor less than 15-years-old”, according to an investigative report by Le Monde on Wednesday.
The complaint comes just weeks after Godrèche publicly condemned the relationship she had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which she says began when she was only 14 years old and he was 40.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s. Deadline has contacted Jacquot’s representative for comment on the complaint.
According to Le Monde, Godrèche attended an interview with the Brigade for the Protection of Minors, a police service dealing with juvenile justice matters, in Paris on February 6, where she gave an account of her relationship with Jacquot, having previously consulted her lawyer Laure Heinich on the matter.
The complaint comes just weeks after Godrèche publicly condemned the relationship she had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which she says began when she was only 14 years old and he was 40.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s. Deadline has contacted Jacquot’s representative for comment on the complaint.
According to Le Monde, Godrèche attended an interview with the Brigade for the Protection of Minors, a police service dealing with juvenile justice matters, in Paris on February 6, where she gave an account of her relationship with Jacquot, having previously consulted her lawyer Laure Heinich on the matter.
- 2/7/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Thomas Cailley’s sci-fi thriller The Animal Kingdom and Justin Triet’s Oscar-nominated courtroom drama Anatomy Of A Fall rose to the top of the nominations at France’s Cesar awards.
The Animal Kingdom, a supernatural twist on a father-son drama that first premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has been nominated for 12 awards including best film and will vie in that category against the five-time Academy-award nominated, Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy Of A Fall with 11 nominations, alongside Cédric Kahn’s The Goldman Case, Jeanne Herry’s All Your Faces and Jean-Baptiste Durand’s Junkyard Dogs.
Cailley, Triet, Kahn and...
The Animal Kingdom, a supernatural twist on a father-son drama that first premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has been nominated for 12 awards including best film and will vie in that category against the five-time Academy-award nominated, Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy Of A Fall with 11 nominations, alongside Cédric Kahn’s The Goldman Case, Jeanne Herry’s All Your Faces and Jean-Baptiste Durand’s Junkyard Dogs.
Cailley, Triet, Kahn and...
- 1/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
Godrèche speaks about her autobiographical hit TV show Icon of French Cinema, which has sparked national debate in France with its scenes of a 14-year-old female actor being groomed by a well-respected director
Icon of French Cinema is a surreal comedy about a French film star who returns to Paris after a decade in LA expecting a glorious comeback, but ends up playing a singing hamster. The series has become France’s biggest streaming hit this year, sparking outraged debate about the French cinema establishment failing to face up to #MeToo. And through flashbacks, it tells a darker, autobiographical story about how Judith Godrèche, the show’s writer, director and lead actor, was groomed as a 14-year-old in the 1980s by one of France’s top film directors.
“I had to tell this story for the next generation,” says Godrèche, now living back in Paris. “My own daughter had turned...
Icon of French Cinema is a surreal comedy about a French film star who returns to Paris after a decade in LA expecting a glorious comeback, but ends up playing a singing hamster. The series has become France’s biggest streaming hit this year, sparking outraged debate about the French cinema establishment failing to face up to #MeToo. And through flashbacks, it tells a darker, autobiographical story about how Judith Godrèche, the show’s writer, director and lead actor, was groomed as a 14-year-old in the 1980s by one of France’s top film directors.
“I had to tell this story for the next generation,” says Godrèche, now living back in Paris. “My own daughter had turned...
- 1/20/2024
- by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
- The Guardian - Film News
Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here in a week that has had a distinctly ‘back to school’ feel to it. We’ve certainly been busy. Read on for the biggest stories of the week and sign up here.
Has #MeToo Finally Arrived in France?
Watershed: The past week has felt like a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement in France. The country’s film industry has been at the forefront of efforts to foster gender parity thanks to pioneering activist group Le Collectif 50/50 and initiatives such as the festival charter, along with extra state funding for movies hiring women for key crew positions. However, a culture of silence around allegations of sexual abuse by big figures such as Roman Polanski and Gérard Depardieu has long been a source of debate and consternation in and outside of the country. There are signs that a major shift is underway following a bombshell...
Has #MeToo Finally Arrived in France?
Watershed: The past week has felt like a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement in France. The country’s film industry has been at the forefront of efforts to foster gender parity thanks to pioneering activist group Le Collectif 50/50 and initiatives such as the festival charter, along with extra state funding for movies hiring women for key crew positions. However, a culture of silence around allegations of sexual abuse by big figures such as Roman Polanski and Gérard Depardieu has long been a source of debate and consternation in and outside of the country. There are signs that a major shift is underway following a bombshell...
- 1/12/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
A decade ago, Gerard Depardieu played a character inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn — the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund who was accused of assaulting a hotel maid — in Abel Ferrara’s “Welcome to New York.” In an ironic twist, the iconic French actor has now become the poster boy for the country’s #MeToo movement, having been charged with rape and faced with over a dozen sexual assault allegations.
But the French remain divided over him due to his profile as a mascot of the country’s cinematic history. He’s starred in over 150 films, including classics such as Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” François Truffaut’s “Le Dernier Metro” and Bertrand Blier’s “Going Places.” However, the tide is starting to shift — while French President Emmanuel Macron refused to revoke his Legion of Honor, the Paris wax museum went ahead and removed his statue on Dec.
But the French remain divided over him due to his profile as a mascot of the country’s cinematic history. He’s starred in over 150 films, including classics such as Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” François Truffaut’s “Le Dernier Metro” and Bertrand Blier’s “Going Places.” However, the tide is starting to shift — while French President Emmanuel Macron refused to revoke his Legion of Honor, the Paris wax museum went ahead and removed his statue on Dec.
- 1/11/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Fresh controversy is brewing in the French film industry just weeks after a bombshell documentary detailing sexual assault accusations against Gérard Depardieu divided its ranks.
In what promises to be another divisive affair, actress Judith Godrèche has publicly condemned the relationship she openly had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which she says began when she was only 14 years old and he was 40.
Godrèche said this week that she was “under his influence” and that the relationship was wrong.
Jacquot – whose films as director include 2015 drama Diary Of A Chambermaid, Farewell, My Queen and Casanova, Last Love – has always held that Godrèche was 15, the minimum age of consent in France.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s.
She went on to build a successful career as an actress...
In what promises to be another divisive affair, actress Judith Godrèche has publicly condemned the relationship she openly had with director Benoît Jacquot in the late 1980s, which she says began when she was only 14 years old and he was 40.
Godrèche said this week that she was “under his influence” and that the relationship was wrong.
Jacquot – whose films as director include 2015 drama Diary Of A Chambermaid, Farewell, My Queen and Casanova, Last Love – has always held that Godrèche was 15, the minimum age of consent in France.
Godrèche, who is now 51, lived with Jacquot for six years and appeared in his films The Beggars and The Disenchanted, before leaving him in her early 20s.
She went on to build a successful career as an actress...
- 1/11/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Alongside the ongoing push for greater, industry-wide parity, French activist and feminist organization Collective 50/50 will next tackle workplace harassment with a new plan to bolster and expand existing workplace safety workshops, while promoting the widespread use of intimacy coordinators.
Launched in partnership with France’s National Film Board (Cnc) and the professional training organization Afdas, the new initiative will expand the reach of existing programs, which mostly targeted producers. Under the newly announced plan, full casts and crews will receive in-person harassment prevention workshop ahead of production and have access to an ongoing, remote module throughout the shoot. The workshops would be required for all productions receiving Cnc support.
The plan was announced at a 50/50 conference in Paris, which brought together activists, festival heads, producers, Netflix executives, social workers, political attachés and actresses like Suzy Bemba (“Poor Things”) and Ariane Labed, among others.
The Monday conference also arrived just days...
Launched in partnership with France’s National Film Board (Cnc) and the professional training organization Afdas, the new initiative will expand the reach of existing programs, which mostly targeted producers. Under the newly announced plan, full casts and crews will receive in-person harassment prevention workshop ahead of production and have access to an ongoing, remote module throughout the shoot. The workshops would be required for all productions receiving Cnc support.
The plan was announced at a 50/50 conference in Paris, which brought together activists, festival heads, producers, Netflix executives, social workers, political attachés and actresses like Suzy Bemba (“Poor Things”) and Ariane Labed, among others.
The Monday conference also arrived just days...
- 12/12/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Legendary Entertainment and AfterShock Media have closed a deal for a feature adaptation of the latter’s graphic novel Party & Prey from creators Steve Orlando & Steve Foxe, in a competitive situation. Patrick Brice (Creep) has been tapped to direct from a script by Rob Forman (iZombie).
Published in 2021, the graphic novel penned by Orlando and Foxe is billed as a social horror-thriller with a bold genre twist. It tells the story of Alan, a wealthy, older gay man, who meets a confident and attractive young man named Scott at a nightclub. Their chemistry leads them to end up at Alan’s house, where the men’s dark secrets are laid bare and they have a night together neither of them expected.
AfterShock Media and Legendary will produce the film adaptation alongside Lee Kramer, David Sigurani and Jon Kramer, with Orlando and Foxe exec producing, and Max Zupanovic serving as co-producer.
Published in 2021, the graphic novel penned by Orlando and Foxe is billed as a social horror-thriller with a bold genre twist. It tells the story of Alan, a wealthy, older gay man, who meets a confident and attractive young man named Scott at a nightclub. Their chemistry leads them to end up at Alan’s house, where the men’s dark secrets are laid bare and they have a night together neither of them expected.
AfterShock Media and Legendary will produce the film adaptation alongside Lee Kramer, David Sigurani and Jon Kramer, with Orlando and Foxe exec producing, and Max Zupanovic serving as co-producer.
- 12/15/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: French film actress Judith Godrèche is making her debut as a TV director debut with an A24-backed comedy series inspired by her life.
A24 is co-producing Icon of French Cinema with Franco-German channel Arte and Cpb Films on the English- and French-language project, which stars and is inspired by arthouse icon Godrèche’s life and career. Production is set to begin later this year.
Godrèche will play her fictional alter ego, and will be joined by Liz Kingsman (Borderline, Parlement), Angela Molina (Etreintes Brisées), her daughter Tess Barthélémy (Under the Eiffel Tower), Laurent Stocker (Jeux d’influence, Caprice), Thomas Scimeca (Azuro, Notre Dame), Loïc Corbery (Dom Juan, Pas son genre) and Jean-Christophe Folly (Triangle of Sadness), with the special participation of Carole Bouquet.
Icon of French Cinema will follow Judith as she returns to Paris after exile from Hollywood, intent of making a comeback with a new movie.
A24 is co-producing Icon of French Cinema with Franco-German channel Arte and Cpb Films on the English- and French-language project, which stars and is inspired by arthouse icon Godrèche’s life and career. Production is set to begin later this year.
Godrèche will play her fictional alter ego, and will be joined by Liz Kingsman (Borderline, Parlement), Angela Molina (Etreintes Brisées), her daughter Tess Barthélémy (Under the Eiffel Tower), Laurent Stocker (Jeux d’influence, Caprice), Thomas Scimeca (Azuro, Notre Dame), Loïc Corbery (Dom Juan, Pas son genre) and Jean-Christophe Folly (Triangle of Sadness), with the special participation of Carole Bouquet.
Icon of French Cinema will follow Judith as she returns to Paris after exile from Hollywood, intent of making a comeback with a new movie.
- 11/7/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
“I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes,” Italian actress Asia Argento told a shocked crowd at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. “I was 21 years old. The festival was his hunting ground. I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes.”
When it comes to Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape, Argento was certainly right. Five years after the #MeToo movement kicked off an avalanche of revelations of abuse and assault, the global film community has washed its hands of the once all-powerful producer. A Weinstein comeback is not in the cards.
But what of the climate, the “hunting grounds” of the international film festivals? As Argento and others have pointed out, for years...
“I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes,” Italian actress Asia Argento told a shocked crowd at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. “I was 21 years old. The festival was his hunting ground. I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes.”
When it comes to Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape, Argento was certainly right. Five years after the #MeToo movement kicked off an avalanche of revelations of abuse and assault, the global film community has washed its hands of the once all-powerful producer. A Weinstein comeback is not in the cards.
But what of the climate, the “hunting grounds” of the international film festivals? As Argento and others have pointed out, for years...
- 10/1/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Sony is making moves on its adaptation of the 2020 novel Home Before Dark, adding filmmaker Patrick Brice to direct from a script by Blair Butler. 21 Laps, the Shawn Levy-led production banner behind Stranger Things and The Adam Project, is producing.
The plot of the film, which is in early development, is being kept under wraps, though Riley Sager’s book is centered on a young woman, Maggie, whose family fled their Victorian home 25 years earlier in an event that inspired her father to pen a best-selling nonfiction book claiming they experienced a haunting. Maggie, now an adult, doesn’t remember those events and doesn’t believe her father’s book. But when she inherits the old family home after her father’s death, she starts to question if there’s more to the house than she believed.
SVP Emily Morris and creative...
Sony is making moves on its adaptation of the 2020 novel Home Before Dark, adding filmmaker Patrick Brice to direct from a script by Blair Butler. 21 Laps, the Shawn Levy-led production banner behind Stranger Things and The Adam Project, is producing.
The plot of the film, which is in early development, is being kept under wraps, though Riley Sager’s book is centered on a young woman, Maggie, whose family fled their Victorian home 25 years earlier in an event that inspired her father to pen a best-selling nonfiction book claiming they experienced a haunting. Maggie, now an adult, doesn’t remember those events and doesn’t believe her father’s book. But when she inherits the old family home after her father’s death, she starts to question if there’s more to the house than she believed.
SVP Emily Morris and creative...
- 8/29/2022
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sony Pictures has released a new trailer for buddy comedy ‘The Climb’
Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently uproarious film about the boundaries (or lack thereof) in all close friendships.
Directed by Michael Angelo Covino, the film stars Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Also in trailers – Allison Williams and Alexander Dreymon star in trailer for ‘Horizon Line’
The film is out on UK cinemas October 23rd.
The post New trailer drops for comedy ‘The Climb’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently uproarious film about the boundaries (or lack thereof) in all close friendships.
Directed by Michael Angelo Covino, the film stars Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Also in trailers – Allison Williams and Alexander Dreymon star in trailer for ‘Horizon Line’
The film is out on UK cinemas October 23rd.
The post New trailer drops for comedy ‘The Climb’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 10/12/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Creep franchise filmmaker and HBO Room 104 director Patrick Brice has boarded The Wild at HBO Max and Warner Max, a project he’ll direct and adapt from the Owen Laukkanen young female suspense novel.
The Wild, from Underlined Paperbacks, centers around Dawn. She’s not a bad person – she’s just made some bad choices: wrong guy, wrong friends, wrong everything. But she wasn’t expecting her parents to pay a boatload of money to ship her off to ‘Out of the Wild’, a wilderness boot camp with a bunch of other messed up kids to learn important “life lessons.” Dawn and the other cubs wind up learning a lot, but not what they expect, for what happens in the woods isn’t what their parents planned. Sometimes plans go very wrong. And this is one of those times. Suddenly Dawn is more scared than she’s ever been in her life.
The Wild, from Underlined Paperbacks, centers around Dawn. She’s not a bad person – she’s just made some bad choices: wrong guy, wrong friends, wrong everything. But she wasn’t expecting her parents to pay a boatload of money to ship her off to ‘Out of the Wild’, a wilderness boot camp with a bunch of other messed up kids to learn important “life lessons.” Dawn and the other cubs wind up learning a lot, but not what they expect, for what happens in the woods isn’t what their parents planned. Sometimes plans go very wrong. And this is one of those times. Suddenly Dawn is more scared than she’s ever been in her life.
- 7/23/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics is set to release Michael Covino’s The Climb, which bowed in Cannes, starting in in New York and Los Angeles theaters on Oct. 9.
Written by Covino and Kyle Marvin, the buddy comedy was initially slated for a March 20 release that had to be pushed due to the early coronavirus spread. The Climb stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Sony Pictures Classics bought the film in Cannes, ahead of additional festival plays in Toronto, Telluride and Sundance. The Climb portrays best friends who share a close bond, until Mike ...
Written by Covino and Kyle Marvin, the buddy comedy was initially slated for a March 20 release that had to be pushed due to the early coronavirus spread. The Climb stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Sony Pictures Classics bought the film in Cannes, ahead of additional festival plays in Toronto, Telluride and Sundance. The Climb portrays best friends who share a close bond, until Mike ...
- 7/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics is set to release Michael Covino’s The Climb, which bowed in Cannes, starting in in New York and Los Angeles theaters on Oct. 9.
Written by Covino and Kyle Marvin, the buddy comedy was initially slated for a March 20 release that had to be pushed due to the early coronavirus spread. The Climb stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Sony Pictures Classics bought the film in Cannes, ahead of additional festival plays in Toronto, Telluride and Sundance. The Climb portrays best friends who share a close bond, until Mike ...
Written by Covino and Kyle Marvin, the buddy comedy was initially slated for a March 20 release that had to be pushed due to the early coronavirus spread. The Climb stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.
Sony Pictures Classics bought the film in Cannes, ahead of additional festival plays in Toronto, Telluride and Sundance. The Climb portrays best friends who share a close bond, until Mike ...
- 7/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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