Thursday, March 19, 2009

Coco Avant Chanel

Finally! A movie about Coco Chanel is under production! Here's a poster shot from Warner Bros.:



It must be the season for French diva movies. First, Marion Cotillard wins an Academy Award for her role as singer Edith Piaf in La Mome (La Vie En Rose, after her most famous song). I must say, she earned it. The role was demanding, larger than life. If you haven't seen it, and you like a bit of history, and need that voyeuristic thrill that all readers of autobiographies thrive on, you must watch it. For best results, keep the original French audio with the English subtitles.

Now we have Audrey Tautou (as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel! Coco Avant Chanel chronicles her life before (avant) her transformation into a revolutionary fashion designer and style icon. Perhaps that latter part in itself deserves a separate movie. And if they do make one, let Audrey star in it too! I would be excited about that as well. Audrey also happens to be the new Face of Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. I rather like the idea of a Frenchwoman representing a French brand.

I mean, it was impossible to do a movie of the whole of Picasso's life, but it becomes more interesting from the point of view of of his companion, artist Francoise Gilot - mother of 80's jewelry designer Paloma Picasso of the famous red lipstick - in Surviving Picasso. It was based on her book, quite a fascinating read. Natascha McElhone got the Francoise character down pat. (OK, so Picasso was a Spanish diva, but he was a French resident.)

Click here (silent movie tribute) and here (official trailer, in French), and I'll see you at the theatres in a year or so. In the meantime, salut.


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