de Le Parisien / par Alain Grasset

Sacrée meilleure actrice vendredi soir à Paris, l’héroïne de « la Môme » continue sa tournée des cérémonies. Elle sera ce soir à celle des Oscars, à Los Angeles, où ses chances de l’emporter sont loin d’être nulles. Confidences d’une femme heureuse.

ELLE A PRIS L’AVION hier matin, destination Los Angeles, pour assister ce soir à la cérémonie des Oscars. Tout juste sacrée meilleure actrice, lors de la 33 e édition des Césars, voilà que Marion Cotillard, 32 ans, peut maintenant espérer un mythique Academy Award à Hollywood… L’héroïne de « la Môme », film qui lui a déjà valu un Golden Globe aux Etats-Unis et un Bafta en Angleterre, n’en finit plus de récolter les fruits de son extraordinaire performance.

Elle nous a confié ses impressions, très tard dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi, au Crillon, avant d’aller faire la fête avec ses amis acteurs…

Qu’avez-vous ressenti sur la scène du Châtelet en recevant votre César de la meilleure actrice ?

Marion Cotillard. J’étais très, très, très heureuse ! Je ne m’attends jamais à recevoir une récompense, du coup je suis contente quand elles arrivent. J’étais aussi très émue, j’ai repensé à toutes les grandes actrices qui l’ont eu avant moi. Vous n’imaginez pas à quel point ce César compte pour moi. Jusqu’à présent, « la Môme » m’a valu des trophées à l’étranger mais là, c’est mon pays… C’est un bonheur immense auquel je tiens à associer Olivier Dahan (NDLR : le réalisateur) et tous ceux qui ont contribué à faire le film. Même s’il n’a pas tout gagné, c’était une belle soirée.

C’est Alain Delon qui vous a remis votre récompense…

Et il a vraiment été très bien ! Je sentais qu’il était très heureux. Avec la carrière qu’il a eue, il comprenait à quel point ce moment était fort pour moi…

« Jamais je n’aurais imaginé avoir une chance pareille »

A présent, vous voilà en lice pour l’Oscar de la meilleure actrice. Dans quel état d’esprit allez-vous à la cérémonie ?

Ça étonne beaucoup de gens mais moi, je reste cool. Si on m’avait dit que j’irais un jour aux Oscars, je ne l’aurais pas cru… Je le répète : je n’attends rien. Je ne fantasme pas. D’ailleurs, j’ai vu les films des actrices qui sont en compétition et, croyez-moi, elles méritent toutes une récompense !

Daniel Day-Lewis a confié récemment avoir voté pour vous. Surprise ?

C’est sympa ! On s’est rencontrés à Los Angeles, quand il m’a remis un prix dans un festival pour « la Môme ». C’est un acteur que je vénère et qui me fascine. J’espère que lui, il aura l’Oscar pour « There Will be Blood », de Paul Thomas Anderson.

Vous n’avez pas tourné depuis « la Môme », il y a deux ans. Etes-vous impatiente d’attaquer « Public Ennemies », de Michael Mann, avec Johnny Depp, le 10 mars ?

Oui, c’est incroyable, jamais je n’aurais imaginé avoir une chance pareille. Après le report de « Nine », le film que je devais tourner avec Rob Marshall, à cause de la grève des scénaristes, j’ai reçu pas mal de propositions, dont celle de Michael Mann… Un film de gangsters ! Je serai à Chicago dès mardi pour la préparation et on tournera deux semaines après.

Quel rôle allez-vous interpréter ?

Billie Frechette, la femme de John Dillinger, le bandit que joue Johnny Depp. Pour moi, c’est l’idéal, parce que je serai très loin d’Edith Piaf, dans un film qui se déroule pendant la Grande Dépression. J’ai fait des essais avec Michael Mann, on s’est vus quatre fois et le jour où j’ai appris ma nomination à l’Oscar, il m’a appelée pour me dire qu’il m’avait choisie.

Après « Public Ennemies », vous ferez un autre film américain ?

Oui, « Nine » devrait finalement se tourner en août ou septembre prochains. Ensuite, j’ai un projet en France que je veux absolument faire avec Karim Dridi. Pour une actrice, aujourd’hui, c’est formidable de travailler aussi bien dans son pays qu’aux Etats-Unis ou ailleurs.

Vous gardez le contact avec la France ?

Il ne se passe pas un jour sans que j’aie des nouvelles, par téléphone ou par Internet. Et je vais voter par procuration aux élections municipales. Je suis inscrite à Paris…

This is an alert for all the French Marion Cotillard fans! Can’t wait to hear news of tonight’s Oscar ceremony? Don’t know how to pass the time till the wee hours? Here’s something you can do. Watch La Guerre dans le Haut Pays tonight on Cinecinema Emotion at 10.55pm. To my knowledge the film, originally released in 1998, is only available on DVD in Switzerland as part of a very expensive and rare Ferdinand Ramuz DVD collection and is therefore really hard to catch. Marion’s portrayal of the passionate and young Juliette is sure to break your heart – and I bet you’ll be even more in awe of her talent after seeing this.

Air dates for ‘La Guerre dans le Haut Pays’ on Cinecinema Emotion:

Many thanks to joliechose for sending in HQ files of Marion Cotillard’s acceptance speech during the 33rd César Awards as well as her interview with Laurent Weil before the ceremony. I’ve thus been able to add really good quality caps of those to the gallery and as usual mq video clips to the Video Vault. Thanks to Paolo I’ve also added tiny bits of Marion’s interviews after her win as shown on France 2 and TF1 in their news reports. Additionally, there’s a small clip of Marion attending the César Nominees dinner a week ago as well as 2 French news reports: Journal d’Hollywood and JT13h.

108 Journal d’Hollywood, on Canal+, February 9, 2008
014 33rd César Awards – Nominees Dinner, February 13, 2008
015 JT13H, on France 2, February 22, 2008
085 33rd César Awards – Interview with Laurent Weil, February 22, 2008
142 33rd César Awards – Ceremony, February 22, 2008
031 ‘Après Césars’, France 2 & TF1, February 23, 2008

Video Links:
03 News segments etc > 2008 (Journal d’Hollywood, JT13h, Après Césars)
03 Public Appearances > 2008 (César Nominees Dinner, Interview Laurent Weil, César Awards)

from Monsters & Critics

Paris – Marion Cotillard knows she was not the first choice of the producers to incarnate the legendary French chanson singer Edith Piaf in the critically acclaimed biopic La Vie en Rose.

‘(The producer) drew up a list of possible actresses on which my name did not appear because I am not bankable enough,’ the 32-year- old, Paris-born actress said.

In fact, according to media reports, after director Olivier Dahan chose the Paris-born Cotillard over the internationally known star of The Da Vinci Code and the French smash hit Amelie, Audrey Tautou, one production company substantially cut its funding for the movie.

But Dahan said he had wanted Cotillard from the beginning.

‘There is some resemblance between (Cotillard and Piaf),’ he said. ‘But, beyond the resemblance, I wanted an actress without limits, and it seemed to me that Marion had that in her, even if it had never been exploited before.’

In fact, Cotillard’s performance as Piaf, and the subsequent nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress, has overnight turned her from a second-rank actress with an excellent reputation into a star who, it is assumed, will never again be considered not bankable.

The nomination itself has thrust her into such stellar company as Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani and Simone Signoret, those rare French female performers nominated for Best Actress Oscars. And if she wins, she will become only the second, after Signoret, to win the award.

While Julie Christie is widely considered the favourite for the prize, Cotillard has already amassed an impressive collection of trophies for her performance as Piaf, including the Golden Globe, the British BAFTA, and the film critics awards of London, Boston, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

The acclaim that has come her way is as much recognition of her talent as of the hard work she put into incarnating Piaf, who died in 1963 at the age of 47 after a life of excess, triumph and tragedy – in other words, a perfect life for the cinema.

But Cotillard knew little about the tiny, charismatic powerhouse lovingly known as La Mome (which means The Kid and is the original, French title of the movie; in some English-language markets the film bears the title The Passionate Life of Edith Piaf).

‘I knew some of her songs,’ Cotillard said. ‘I didn’t know much about her life. But her image made me remember my grandmother, who was the same height – one metre 47 centimetres (4 feet 8 inches) – and that gave me something to go on in the film.’

The most difficult aspect of playing the role, she said, was ‘not going over the top into caricature and not doing so little that it would dilute her personality, and therefore her truth. Every day (of the shooting), I walked a tightrope. But, at the same time, it gave me such pleasure!’

According to one of her coaches for the role, Pascal Luneau, Cotillard was the perfect choice to incarnate a personality as volcanic and charismatic as Piaf.

‘She is a physical actress, of the skin, not cerebral,’ he said. ‘She’s an animal that spits, burns itself. And she has so much cheek that she can sing in the streets.’

About the performance, Luneau said, ‘We decided not to imitate Piaf, not to construct the character. But to let Piaf come to her, to accept her, to be inspired by her.’

For this, he said, it was vital that Cotillard ‘not be afraid, that she not be crushed, that she have a real megalomania.’

At the end, Piaf became such a part of Cotillard that the actress found it difficult to shake her off.

‘At the end of the shooting … I noticed that it would not be that easy to – how can I put it? – to leave Edith Piaf and find myself in my own life,’ she said. ‘I returned home, I took up my normal life again, and then I realized that Piaf was not going away, that I was constantly running into signs that sent me back to her.’

Worse, Cotillard said, in talking to people she found herself reacting the way Piaf would have, even using the same intonations.

‘But little by little I returned to my brain, my body, and I no longer had these uncontrollable outbursts of ‘piaferie,’ she said.

Which is just as well, for she has already been cast in two high- profile international films: Rob Marshall’s Nine, a musical based on Fellini’s 8 1/2, where she will sing alongside Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Sophia Loren, and the 1930s gangster film Public Enemies, directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

The first pictures of Marion Cotillard at the César Awards in Paris tonight. Keep checking back for more and for news of the actual awards ceremony!

Update 11.25 pm Marion Cotillard won!!!!! Congratulations!

Update February 23 Added many more pictures – bringing the total count of the César Awards album up to 174. Check out the pictures at the end of the album where Mélanie Laurent is congratulating Marion and where Best Supporting Actress winner and Toi et moi co-star Julie Depardieu is greeting Marion and posing with her for photographers.

Mariana finished her translation of the many quotes of former coleagues of Marion Cotillard, as well as from friends, currently featured in French Première. Many thanks again! Read the full batch here

“Marion surprised me: she could have played in silent films. She has the simplicity and the openness that I expect from an actress. We shot Big Fish in Alabama – a special place, very crazy. In that kind of environment, it’s very important to work as a clan. The entire crew adored Marion.”
Tim Burton, director of Big Fish

Then, many thanks for US Premiere staff member Jenni Miller for the heads up on their Oscar coverage. They have a Marion interview up on their site, Up close with the Oscar Nominees.

And K found a quote by George Clooney, as featured in a recent interview with TIME Magazine:

The actor was also impressed by La Vie En Rose’s Marion Cotillard. “[She] does an old person trying to be young, instead of what everyone does – a young person trying to be old,” he says. “It’s a stunning performance.”
(source)

Remember to watch Canal+ if you live in France or else visit their website tonight at around 8.50pm European time for news of the César Awards. I can’t wait to see what happens!

from Premiere.com / by Sophie Grassin and Ghislain Loustalot (Paris), Translation by Courtney Carlsson

Actress in a Leading Role
MARION COTILLARD
LA VIE EN ROSE
Age: 33
Birthplace: Paris, France
Essential Filmography: Taxi (1998); Les Jolies Choses (2001); Jeux d’enfants (Love Me If You Dare) (2003), Big Fish (2003); A Very Long Engagement (2004); A Good Year (2006)

It is all that is being talked about at the moment: her breathtaking performance and her lived rendition. In reincarnating Piaf, not only did Marion Cotillard slip into her little black dress and recapture her cheeky humor, she found the most defining role of her life. Here Cotillard reminisces about this out of the ordinary experience.

What was it like to live with Piaf?
Marion Cotillard: Complicated… but I can describe the experience, or at least, try. Imagine an area that I would have set up to fit me, in which I wouldn’t be able to control anything.

An area, what sort of terrain?
MC: I’m going to give an image. I acted as if I had to throw myself from the top of a slope without controlling the way in which I would roll [down]. Except for the fact that I set everything up with a nice green lawn, that I took away all the trees from my paths and that I used the cliffs or the rocks in order bounce well off them with my little trampoline.

One might say like a video game, right? Super Mario III? [Cotillard laughs] Seriously, how did you determine this scenery?
MC: I free up the necessary space so that someone can come in and slide themselves within me. I do not take anything out. Never, under any circumstances. I co-habit. I make space. My job consists of rummaging about in emotions. Other roles have pushed me to construct characters. Piaf, she, was already there. I just needed to create a space to welcome her. So that she could want to come. But I could not let her submerge me because Olivier Dahan wanted to see me, myself. In the beginning, I wanted to disappear. And then, I became conscious of the fact that I was not hindering, on the contrary: without me, the character could not take life. I refused to become an actress that copied. I never tried to plagiarize her gestures or movements.

What does the work to welcome Piaf consist of?
MC: It’s a progression, a meditation. One session made an impression on me. My coach and I went out into the road, I had sunglasses and I closed my eyes and had to guide him. I instinctively led him to places where the cries of children resonated. Upon reflection, this seemed logical to me. I led him to places where clear and free voices were erupting: it was all Piaf.

Were you afraid before you accepted this role?
MC: Afraid, no. But I had moments of vertigo. I read certain scenes from the script and I wanted to get rid of Piaf. I pulled myself together. I said to myself: “No, look at her well, it will be necessary to.”

In certain singing scenes, it’s your voice that we hear. Was it a challenge?
MC: I sing reasonably, my voice tone is not exceptional. At [Paris] Olympia, where we shot an important scene, I had the feeling that I could sing like Piaf. It was planned that the music would start and that Olivier [Dahan, the director] would cut quickly enough. But I do not take myself too seriously. So, I learnt all of the lyrics to Non, Je ne Regrette Rien. I messed up right in the middle of the take. I persuaded myself that it wasn’t serious, that the scene would be edited. At the same time, someone, let’s call her Edith, took me by the hand and pushed me to go all the way to the end. I regained my concentration and finished well.

Does living without Piaf frighten you?
MC: I am still living with Piaf. I thought that I would collapse after the filming, but no… I told myself that it was cool, that everything would happen gradually. Only, Piaf is still here. I’m having trouble letting go of her. I recognized that I did not want to let her leave, that I feared abandoning her. And then, I reasoned with myself.

What ties you personally with her?
MC: She was my maternal grandmother’s favorite singer. They were the same size. They shared the same character traits. My grandmother always said she would have liked to become a singer, but there was already “la môme” Piaf. This link already existed, before the film, without my being conscious of it. My grandmother, she too, lived an extreme life, marked by great joy and great pain.

How do you see yourself after Piaf?
MC: I spent several unforgettable months with Piaf. She became an old friend. When I hear her on the radio, I feel as if I am being reunited with an old friend. I am not the only actress to experience this. Juliette Binoche, for example, must preserve an intimate rapport with George Sand. All of my life, I will be linked with her. And this gives me great pleasure. It’s not a burden. That being said, I have not filmed anything since. I do not even see myself working. I would really like to throw myself into a different experience. I will therefore definitely do some theatre. I will definitely act one of Racine’s tragedies because I love Phèdre. I finally turned down the first movie that I had committed myself to. I did not want to offer directors a comedian that didn’t have the desire. I believed in their project but I did not believe in myself.

Many thanks to Lucie for this information! Marion Cotillard is up for a Cesky Lev (which translates to Czech Lion) in the category ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ for her performance in La Vie en Rose. Congratulations!

Remember, the movie was made as a Czech co-production (it was partly shot in the Czech Republic and some Czech actors play small roles in it), which made it possible for Marion to be nominated for a Czech award. The event will take place in Prague on March 1st. More information can be found at the awards’ official site. No word on whether Marion will be attending this event or not.

from The Daily Californian / by Louis Peitzman

After appearing in several under-the-radar roles, Marion Cotillard dazzled audiences as Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose.” Cotillard plays a variety of ages throughout the French singer’s life, earning critical praise and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Daily Californian: When you were making “La Vie En Rose,” did you have any idea it was going to be the success that it’s become?

Marion Cotillard: No, when you’re making a movie, you’re just making it, and you don’t think about what could happen. … The passion of all those people created a very special atmosphere. But we wouldn’t talk about this, for fear (of breaking) the spell. But no, you can’t imagine that two years later you will be still talking about the movie, and about to attend the Oscars ceremony.

DC: What was your opinion of Edith Piaf before doing the movie, and how did that change?

MC: Well, I knew a few songs, three or four, that I used to use ? to help me get into a certain emotional state, in other movies. But I didn’t know anything about her life, so I really discovered everything.

DC: When you hear her music now, then, do you have a different appreciation of it?

MC: Not exactly, because I had a very special relationship with three or four of her songs. Because she’s so powerful, emotionally. I discovered more of her work, but I don’t think it changed (the way I felt) about those three or four songs, because I used the songs for other movies. It creates a special relationship with the songs. You have to abandon that special relationship to rediscover the song, but the emotion is still there. It’s so strong.

DC: You play a variety of different ages and periods in Edith Piaf’s life. Which was the most challenging?

MC: There was not a most challenging period. There were two things which were hard. It was the lip synch. And one of the last scenes, when she is about to die-she’s in bed-which was something very special to do. Especially when you know the whole life, it was very special. But nothing was harder than that. (One) period was not harder than another.

DC: What about the lip synching was difficult?

MC: You have to be so accurate. It is so difficult to get, really. And you have to work a lot, and it’s kind of boring at a certain point, because you do the same thing again and again and again. It was not the (most fun)-maybe that’s why it was the hardest part.

DC: Where were you when you found out you’d been nominated for the Academy Award?

MC: I was in Los Angeles, watching the press conference, with my publicist here. My French publicist was traveling with me. I was shocked. I was shocked. I was totally shocked.

DC: With all the recognition that you’ve received for the role, how has your life changed since doing “La Vie En Rose”?

MC: I’ve been traveling for a year and a half. It’s a great and long adventure. I have very little time to see my friends and my family, but they understand that it won’t last forever, and someday I will be able to settle down a little bit, and what’s happening now is bigger than my dreams.

2 days to go till the Césars are handed out – and only 4 days till the Oscars are here. What will the weekend bring for Marion Cotillard? 99.9% she’ll win a César. How many French awards are out there? She won at the Cabourg Romantic Film Festival, was awarded 2 NRJ awards by the French public and won the Prix Lumière. However, fellow César-nominee Cécile de France won Best Actress at the Globes de Cristal and Marion had to share the Etoile d’Or – handed out by French critics – with another fellow César-nominee: Isabelle Carré. La Môme – or as it’s known internationally La Vie en Rose – came to French cinemas more than a year ago. Could it be that the French have already forgotten Marion’s excellent performance? I dare say they haven’t. And how could Marion not win the biggest award in her home country when she’s winning major awards abroad?

As for the Oscar I am still hopeful. All the votes are in and being counted right now. Who will be named Best Actress? All the ‘insider’ publications and ‘movie buff’ blogs say it’s going to be either Julie Christie or Marion Cotillard. Whenever the general public has a say in it Ellen Page comes up as well. I seriously think Marion has a chance of winning Best Actress and it would be very well deserved. Out of the many articles about Oscar predictions you can read online you might want to check out this Reuters article (thanks Asia) that puts Marion in the spotlight.

Whatever happens this weekend I’m sure Marion will savour every minute of it! Surely no win or loss can improve or lessen her magnifique performance. She’s always been a talented actress and regardless of what Film Academies and the like have to say now she will always continue to shine!

See a scan from British Evening Standard magazine about Marion’s fashion style this season here . Remember that all the scans and many other pictures in the gallery are HQ – but only registered and logged-in visitors are able to see the full versions.

Thanks to Mariana from Eva Green Web you can read the first batch of those quotes from the current French Première magazine in English here. Many thanks!