No one was surprised -- and everyone was thrilled -- for la belle Marion Cotillard's Best Actress award at last night's Césars. Is there any award she hasn't won for this role?Fans of La Môme/La Vie en Rose around the planet have their fingers crossed for another win for Cotillard at tomorrow night's Academy Awards. The Oscars will be on when I'm in dreamland, Paris time, so I'll have to check Google News bright and early Monday morning to see the results.
But here's what I found interesting. I just watched a report on "50minutes inside" on TF1 about the creation of La Môme. Behind-the-scenes stories are endlessly fascinating. The report showed Marion getting her eyebrows and forehead shaved, and the four-hour make-up sessions (during which she sometimes slept, falling asleep as Marion Cotillard, waking up both physically and spiritually Edith Piaf).
Then came the technical and financial story of the making of La Môme. Apparently in the early stages of the film, Walt Disney Studios had agreed to finance the production. But they insisted on either an American actress or, at least, a French actress with international fame such as Vanessa Paradis, for maximum box-office draw. Director Olivier Dahan refused to compromise, saying he had known before starting the film that Marion Cotillard was THE actress for the role. So Disney withdrew their offer to invest. Next TF1 stepped in with €20M backing. Kudos to Dahan for artistic integrity.
Wow. Disney execs must be kicking themselves in the derrière on that decision.
I doubt anyone at Disney is singing "Je ne regrette rien" these days.
1 comment:
I loved this film. Last year in France, I had seen another film based on Piaf, but this was so much better. We were enthralled by the settings, the acting, everything. I, also, have mes doigts crossed for the American award. I usually don't care to watch, but I will this year.
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