from The Reel Breakdown / by Thelma Adams

Marion Cotillard bedded Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” charmed Owen Wilson’s Gil in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” and beguiled Leonardo DiCaprio in Nolan’s “Inception.” In each film she spoke in English, but she sang in French in the 2007 Edith Piaf biopic, “La Vie en Rose,” for which won the Academy Award for best actress. It was a first for a best-actress winner in a French-language role. And now she has another chance, for her magnificent anti-heroine in Jacques Audiard’s “Rust and Bone,” opposite Matthias Schoenaerts.

“Rust and Bone” is a movie about transformation. Cotillard plays Stephanie, a lonely trainer at French Marineland. One day, when distracted, she has a horrible accident with a killer whale. As a result, she loses her legs below the knees and hits the bottom she was heading for when she was physically whole but emotionally lost. The remainder of the movie shows her slow progress on a journey that doesn’t require legs: the journey to spiritual wellness.

A scene in which Stephanie finally returns to Marineland, perched on steel prosthetics, and dances with the whale to Katy Perry’s “Firework” is as magical as it is unexpected. The camera loves Cotillard, but her physical beauty does not make her lazy. She acts quietly, subtly, a musician who knows her range. In this role, she defies the audience to like her as she casts off the armature of her looks and dives deep. It doesn’t hurt that this is the type of role — the “My Left Foot” effect — that ensures Oscar nominations, if not outright wins. Cotillard will be among the five final nominees for best actress.

Thelma Adams: This part is so emotional. How did you bring it?

Marion Cotillard: Wow. It’s hard to describe how the emotion goes through me. Everything I need, I have to find in the character. When I read the script, I thought Stephanie was very mysterious. I didn’t know who she was right away, which is unusual, for me. Usually when I read a script, and I love the story, and I fall in love with the character, it’s much clearer to me who the person is. But even though I didn’t know right away who Stephanie was, she moved me deeply. I believe that some people are strong enough, even if they’re not aware, to provoke something in their lives. For Stephanie, her accident is a wake-up call.

TA: That’s a bold statement to say that Stephanie somehow prompted this crippling accident. What do you mean by that?

MC: Before the accident, Stephanie was empty. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She was looking for something that would prove to her that she’s alive. And so she fights. She’s looking for violence, something that shakes her, and so she knows that she’s alive. But she doesn’t really find it. And then there’s this accident, which is violent and powerful. Even if she’s losing a part of herself, in the process, it’s just a physical part, because what she gains is everything, is life.

TA: Can you discuss the prosthetics you used in the movie that make the physical loss look so real?

MC: It’s very glamorous green socks. [Laughs.] It’s like CGI. But what was really amazing was that we totally forgot that I had legs. I remember the first time I was in the wheelchair, and it was the first fitting, and I put trousers on without the legs. The image was really powerful. And so this image stayed with all of us, the crew, and the actors, and Jacques [Audiard]. The CGI never got in our way.

TA: Did the director give you any tips for staying in character?

MC: Jacques told me one day that sometimes we would forget that Stephanie has no legs, and she too would forget. For example, she would be in a room and want to grab something. She stands up and falls because she’s forgotten that she had no legs. So that was something that I really loved because there are different sides to this situation. One would be denial. But the second side would be that she actually feels fuller than before.

TA: I found the reunion scene between Stephanie and the killer whale at Marineland fascinating because there is such a connection between the two of them after the accident.

MC: In the beginning, Stephanie’s not aware of what she does anymore. And that’s why the accident happens. She’s totally out of herself. And the orca, in a way, will bring Stephanie back to herself.

TA: There have been a number of similar accidents around the globe, some of which are detailed in “Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity.” David Kirby’s book describes the 2010 death of trainer Dawn Brancheau. Do you have an opinion about that person, or the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity?

MC: An opinion is hard. Nobody deserves to die, especially when they have a passion, because those people who work there, they’re totally passionate. You know, they love the animals. It’s just not my way to love animals. I hate Sea Land [sic]. I hate being there. I hate seeing those huge, magnificent animals in a swimming pool. For me, it doesn’t make any sense. So I guess that it’s not illogical that an accident happens. I don’t want to talk about, like, the animal against the man and that the animal will have revenge or something, because I’m thinking about the person who died and it’s horrible. But sometimes I don’t really understand human beings. I really don’t understand how we can turn magnificent animals into freaks, into circus animals.

TA: It’s dangerous.

MC: Of course it’s dangerous. I mean, the very first time I went to Marineland and I saw the show, it was the first time I saw the orcas like that. I didn’t see the beauty of the animal at all. It made me physically sick. I met the trainers, and I don’t disrespect them. I just don’t understand. What I noticed was that they are totally in love with those animals. So it’s tricky.

TA: The issue of keeping killer whales in captivity isn’t clear-cut.

MC: No. Their point of view is if people see them, they will want to protect them. I don’t see any changes, though. I don’t see how the shows protect the animals. I remember, I was horrified when I read that after “Finding Nemo,” which is about the freedom of this little fish, who cannot be in an aquarium, there was a demand for the clown fish …

TA: People started buying clown fish and dumping them into home aquariums.

MC: It doesn’t make any sense. So that’s what I don’t understand about human beings. I don’t understand parents that will buy this clown fish and not tell their kids, “Listen, this is the message of the movie: Don’t buy a Nemo and put it in an aquarium. He’ll die. He will be so sad.”

On Monday, Marion Cotillard talked to MTV’s Josh Horowitz about ‘Rust and Bone‘ (De rouille et d’os), Katy Perry and that lie she told him a year ago at the ‘Contagion‘ premiere (clip) about her role in ‘The Dark Knight Rises‘. Many thanks Monica for her help with the videos. Watch on website 1 & 2.

Gallery: 060 Online Interviews > MTV – 20112
Video: 002 Interviews > MTV

After a long break, the fifth episode of the new Lady Dior Documentary is online! It shows a little bit of what went on behind the scenes when Marion Cotillard was writing and recording the song for the last episode together with Maxim Nucci (Yodelice). Then it shows her going to the Paris Fashion Week and designing her own Dior bag as well as goofing around at the London Fillm Festival.

She’s been the face of the Lady Dior bag since 2008, the embodiment of a dynamic and refined woman. And so it was only natural that Marion Cotillard would design her perfect bag, her very own Lady Dior, as modern as it is timeless, just like her.

Gallery:
067 Dior > Lady Dior: A Web Documentary > Episode 5 – 360° Bag

Video:
001 Documentaries > Lady Dior Web Docu

from Variety (US) / by Stephen Schaefer

‘Rust and Bone’ lunch took place at Brasserie Ruhlmann

Applause greeted Marion Cotillard’s arrival at Sony Pictures Classics’ “Rust and Bone” lunch at Brasserie Ruhlmann on Tuesday. Meanwhile, her lesser known co-star, Matthias Schoenaerts, proved to be a veritable magnet for the ladies who lunch.

As Schoenaerts tablehopped, a delighted SPC chief Michael Barker observed, “I can’t get the women to leave him alone, and you can see why.”

The actors in Jacques Audiard’s edgy romantic drama of two physically and emotionally damaged people are being called “brave” and “courageous.”

“Actors who do movies in a country who don’t have freedom to express yourself, that’s courage,” Cotillard said. “I’d say I’m lucky. I want to take risks as an actress, but someone who saves lives is courageous, someone who is in a country who’s not free to speak and speaks. For me there’s nothing courageous about going to a set.”

Schoenaerts said, “It was a challenge to take on such an ambiguous character, that’s for sure. Brave? I don’t know.”

The two have reteamed for the New York-made actioner “Blood Ties,” directed by Guillaume Canet, Cotillard’s companion.

Schoenaerts’ bare-knuckle fights are a highlight of “Rust” but for “Blood Ties” he promised, “I’m the sweetest guy on the planet in that film. Absolutely.”

No, I haven’t found the acceptance speech video. But I added loads of additional pictures. WWD reports:

Cotillard received an honorary award in recognition of her film career and was so eager to collect her award, her chair flew back when she stood. “Oh my god, thank you so much,” she whispered in her charming French elocution to the good Samaritan who lifted it back up.

I also added a transcript of Marion’s interview backstage after the tribute (some really good & new questions in there), courtesy of Examiner.com, and additionally they also report the following interesting tidbit:

Later, Marion was overjoyed discussing family life and her baby. “He’s 18 months old now!” The starlet seemed in high-spirits and as a bystander put it “had the best energy out of all the talent there.” The actress stayed until the very end, and even took photos with star-struck fans outside afterwards.

• Interview with Marion Cotillard backstage at IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards

Also, TV Alert: Marion Cotillard is a guest on the Charlie Rose Show tonight (Wednesday night, 11pm on PBS). Who’s excited?! I certainly am. Be sure to tune in if you live in a place where you get this show on the TV! Use PBS Stationfinder to help find out the exact time for your location (in the US).

Gallery:
030 Events in 2012 > 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards

Yesterday, Marion Cotillard, together with co-star Matthias Schoenaerts, first attended a ‘Rust and Bone‘ lunch at Brasserie Ruhlmann in New York organized by Peggy Siegal. You may want to read this article by Word and Film about the lunch. New York Post quotes her as saying:

The Oscar-winning beauty, who plays an orca trainer who loses her legs in “Rust and Bone,” said she can understand her character’s sense of feeling lost. “She doesn’t feel life, so she is pretty violent and cold and tough because she protects herself from being empty in a way. I know that feeling to be lost . . . Not now, but a few years ago when I was lost and didn’t know the purpose of life. You know, when you start asking questions to yourself and you don’t have any answers and you’re just lost? It happens to many people.”

Marion Cotillard then headed to TheTimesCenter for the TimesTalk, which was also live-streamed, and gave a really interesting interview about her career, mostly since ‘La Vie en Rose‘ and the process of acting, preparing for a role and leaving a character behind. It’s definitely worth watching!

For both events she was wearing an elegant Azzedine Alaia pleated dress with black court shoes. I added some pictures – and again, thank you so much Luciana for helping with many of the pictures!

Gallery:
025 Events in 2012 > ‘Rust And Bone’ Luncheon
017 Events in 2012 > TimesTalk Presents An Evening With Marion Cotillard

from Examiner.com (US) / by Shaina Moskowitz

The flawless French actress Marion Cotillard turned heads as she arrived to the IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony in New York City last night. She stunned in a Dior dress and Chopard jewelry. The talented beauty was there to receive the female “Tribute” award, which she seemed beyond grateful for. Her acceptance speech enlightened audience members, as she credited independent filmmakers as “great storytellers” and as individuals who “have the courage to hold a mirror up to life and create a story based on what they see.” Later, Marion was overjoyed discussing family life and her baby. “He’s 18 months old now!” The starlet seemed in high-spirits and as a bystander put it “had the best energy out of all the talent there.” The actress stayed until the very end, and even took photos with star-struck fans outside afterwards.

Cotillard stars in the French language Belgian directed film “Rust and Bone,” which is now playing in limited release and is already getting Academy buzz. Film Synopsis: Ali finds himself with a five year-old child on his hands. Sam is his son, but he hardly knows him. Homeless, penniless and friendless, Ali takes refuge with his sister in Antibes where things improve immediately. She puts them up in her garage and takes the child under her wings. During a night club brawl Ali runs into Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) who trains killer whales. He drives her home and leaves her his phone number. He is poor, she is beautiful and self-assured. When one of her training sessions ends in tragedy, a call in the night brings them together again. When Ali sees her next, she is confined to a wheel chair because she has lost her legs and with them quite a few illusions. Ali helps her without pitying her and Stephanie gains new strength to continue living her life in a positive way.

After Cotillard accepted her award she participated in a press conference in the Winner’s Room. Check out what she told reporters about the momentous evening:

Q: What does this award mean to you?

Marion Cotillard: When you want to be an actor and you want to share stores and you do a film in your country and you’re able to share it outside of your country, and I know I am being awarded for my work in general. But I’m thinking of all the people I’ve worked with who gave me the opportunity to go deep inside of the character so that belongs to them

Q: How important is it for you to be working on independent film?

Marion Cotillard: I never choose a movie because of whether it’s independent or a big movie, it’s just a story that kind of takes me…But independent movies, they have the freedom of no rules, you know. They have the freedom of telling stories that nobody except a special director will tell. And also, in countries where cinema is independent, because there is no industry, it’s very important to support those films.

Q: How do you feel about “Rust and Bone” being seen by a wider audience beyond France?

Marion Cotillard: I mean I’ve loved it with “La Vie En Rose” to be able to share this outside of my country. And with “Rust and Bone” I had one of the greatest journeys ever and to share this very unconventional love story outside of my country is something that I enjoy more than anything. But I really cherish the fact that I am able to share my French movies because we have an amazing creativity in France.

Q: What was the number one thing that you took away from “Rust and Bone”?

Marion Cotillard: Love. Oh my God. So much love! Love for this story, love for those characters, my character, and Matthias Schoenaerts’ character and the little boy Armand Verdure and all of the characters in this movie. And the love that Jacques Audiard gave to those characters and the love that we have during this movie.

Q: Where would you like to travel?

Marion Cotillard: I always love to travel. Any forest around the world because the energy that comes from those forests is priceless…I went to the Congo, it was not on vacation. The people I met there in the forest, it was inspiring, it was a very positive trip because I felt that those people in the forest really want to fight for it. Yeah. That was one of my most beautiful destinations.

Q: How do you feel tonight being recognized for your career when you obviously are not that old? You have a lot of a career ahead of you.

Marion Cotillard: Yeah. Thank you for mentioning it. I’m always very shy about talking about myself when I’m being honored because I don’t know how to do it. But I try to do my best. I love my work so much and when I dive in a character I want to go to the deepest. And I’m happy when people like it.

Q: How did you prepare for your character in “Rust and Bone”?

Marion Cotillard: That was very special because usually I love to prepare a lot and because I didn’t really have time to prepare for this movie because it happened I had this offer, which was one of my dreams because I’ve always wanted to work with Jacques Audiard and I thought “Oh my god there’s room to shoot, but there is no room to have what I usually need and what Jacques Audiard usually needs,” but I thought, okay, well we’re going to do it with what we have and what we don’t have and so, we had a little time. I had to prepare technically for working with whales and swimming better (I was kind of a bad swimmer)…But it was a very different process from what I usually do. It was a new experience, so it was good, too.

Q: You’ve shot so many beautiful magazine covers. Is there any one in particular that’s your favorite and why?

Marion Cotillard: Well, the first that comes in my mind was the cover of Another Magazine. It was a few years ago. It was creative, so artistic. But when I shot it, I hated photo shoots. I was so uncomfortable. Then I started to work with people who are real artists…and then I started to have fun with it.

The A-list crowd enjoyed FIJI Water while sipping on cocktails by Russian Standard Vodka and Mionetto sparkling wines. Celebrities were gifted euphoria Calvin Klein perfume and cologne, which continued its partnership with the IFP as presenting sponsor at The 22nd Gotham Independent Film Awards for the third consecutive year. The after-party was held at Andaz Wall Street.

Marion Cotillard received an honorary tribute during the Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York on Monday evening. Her co-star from Big Fish, Public Enemies and the upcoming Blood Ties smilingly and with a lot of praise introduced the tribute. In her speech Marion Cotillard heralded challenges and new experiences that smaller films provide. She also said that filmmakers need champions and thanked IFP for being those champions. She thanked director Jacques Audiard and Matthias Schoeaerts and dedicated the award to 2 people who have always trusted in her at every stage of her career: her 2 agents Laurent Grégoire and Hylda Queally – all of which were also present.

PLEASE if you can find a video of this lovely speech, can you send it in? I unfortunately didn’t manage to record it from the livestream.

Many thanks to Luciana for her great help with many of the pictures from the event. I also added snippets from news reports as a video.

After the awards Marion Cotillard and others from the Gotham Awards headed over to N. 8 for the ‘Killing Them Softly‘ Premiere After Party. She was pictured with her agent Hylda Queally.

Gallery:
061 Events in 2012 > 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards
058 Award Shows & Premieres etc > 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards – 2012
001 Events in 2012 > ‘Killing Them Softly’ Premiere – After Party

Video:
001 Award Ceremonies > Gotham Awards

Marion Cotillard’s taped segment on the Chelsea Lately Show aired last night & she looked gorgeous. The interview was really short – just over 6 minutes only – and while there were hints of serious answers it is definitely a comedy show and was mostly geared towards generating laughter. Marion was a good sport though and seemed to enjoy herself. Enjoy!

Gallery: 172 Talk Shows > Chelsea Lately Show – 2012
Video: 001 Talk Shows > Chelsea Lately

from USA Today (US) / by Donna Freydkin

The Oscar-winning actress is again earning buzz for her role as a trainer who loses her legs in a marine accident in ‘Rust and Bone.’

Talk to directors about Marion Cotillard, and they all gush about her remarkable immersion into every character she plays. There’s no vanity. No need to look hot or sexy or slim. Just a willingness to go the distance, wherever it may lead.

The actress agrees, but points out that not being a glamazon in her current film, Rust and Bone, also has its benefits.

“I love going on set with no makeup and no hair. You just show up. I want to find the authenticity in every character,” says Cotillard. “I have to feel that I’m 100% that person. And when it doesn’t require any makeup or hair of course I don’t care, because that’s not the point.”

In Rust and Bone (now in select theaters), Cotillard is Stephanie, a killer whale trainer at a marine park in the south of France who loses her legs when an orca crushes them. She subsequently bonds with a single-father brawler (played by Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts) who awakens something dormant in her.

Cotillard has been the subject of Oscar buzz since the film screened this year at the Cannes Film Festival, and she’ll likely score a nomination for playing a woman who, on the surface, seems to have collapsed into a crippling black hole.

“The thing is, I think she doesn’t lose anything. Of course she loses her legs. But from the inside, before the accident, she doesn’t know who she is,” counters Cotillard, 37. “She’s not happy. She’s very tough and she was looking for something, proof that she’s alive. And then there’s this accident and there’s this guy — everything becomes real.”

Oscar talk isn’t new to Cotillard. She won the best-actress Academy Award for playing tortured chanteuse Edith Piaf in 2007′s La Vie En Rose, and Scott Feinberg, an awards analyst at the Hollywood Reporter, says “she gives what is arguably an even more impressive performance” in Rust and Bone. He thinks it is “more likely than not” that Cotillard will be nominated again, making her only the fifth woman history to have earned multiple acting nominations for performances given in a foreign language.

Unlike Stephanie, a loner desperate for a deeper human connection, Cotillard has been happily cohabiting with her longtime professional and personal other half, actor/director Guillaume Canet. In France, they’re as famous, if not more so, than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. . They first partnered in 2003′s Love Me if You Dare, and this summer, he directed her in the drama Blood Ties (co-starring Mila Kunis and Clive Owen). Together, they are raising son Marcel, almost 2.

“Most of the time, you work with actresses who are protecting themselves. They’re scared of how they’re going to look. Marion doesn’t care how she looks or sounds,” says Canet. “You can ask her to do anything and she’ll follow you. I’m not saying this because I have a special relationship with her. I’m saying it because I mean it. She’s really special.”

Director James Gray concurs. Cotillard plays a Polish immigrant in his next film, 2013′s Nightingale, and he reports that she learned to speak the language fluently for the part.

“She’s off the hook, the girl. She’s able to convey tremendous meaning without saying anything. That’s the best you can hope for from an actor,” says Gray. “That’s what makes her one of the great screen actors working today. She can relay emotional commitment without having to speak.”

Rob Marshall, who directed her in the musical Nine, calls Cotillard “a character actress in a leading woman’s body. When I was shooting Nine, Daniel Day-Lewis turned to me and said that working with her is almost overwhelming because she’s so truthful.”

Perhaps that’s why Cotillard remains one of the very few foreign actresses — Penelope Cruz is another — who is in demand on both sides of the pond. Cotillard starred in 2011′s Midnight in Paris for Woody Allen, 2010′s Inception and 2012′s The Dark Knight Rises for Christopher Nolan, and 2010′s Little White Lies for Canet. But ask Cotillard about her winning streak, and she attributes her success to something very basic.

“I read a story and if I get obsessed right away with it, if I feel a deep need to tell the story, that’s how I go for a project. It’s really basic and simple,” she says.”I’m lucky that amazing people want to work with me.”

It’s what happened with Rust and Bone. As soon as she read the screenplay, she “fell in love with the character right away. I didn’t have a lot of time in my schedule but I really wanted to do it. I made it work.”

Stephanie, says Cotillard, was something of a flashback to how she was years ago, before she met Canet and became a mother.

“Today I don’t really see something I can relate to her,” says Cotillard. “When I was younger, I was just struggling with my life and with myself. I really wanted to understand what the purpose of my life was. So I can understand the emptiness, because it’s not filled by the answer of why am I here? I can connect to that. But it’s not me anymore. That was me a long time ago.”

Spend time with Cotillard, and she comes across as sweetly polite and a bit shy. Gray swears that when you get to know her, Cotillard is silly and lighthearted. She says that when she’s home in France, she tries as much as possible to live a regular existence.

“I’m a very private person. People are very nice to me. When I’m in France I am not hidden. I’m in my house. I don’t go out that much. It’s kind of normal,” she says. “I’m a normal person with a life that is not that normal compared to people in general. I work a lot but I was able to take some time during the summer, which never happens usually. It’s not a normal life. I work a lot but I really never know what my next week will be.”

She’s also open about the flip side of her career: financial security that affords her a good deal of freedom. She doesn’t spend more than a day or two away from her son.

“I’m lucky to be able to have a nanny with me when I work. It’s really a privilege,” she says.

Motherhood is a subject that makes Cotillard sound adorably giddy. She has become, she says a bit bashfully, one of those women who show off photos of their child at the slightest provocation. And she does just that on her iPhone.

“When I became a mum, I felt connected to the whole world. It can be hard, because the lack of sleep and everything goes upside down, it’s like a revolution. But you have someone who needs you, who needs everything you can give him, and suddenly everything makes sense,” says Cotillard.

Marshall jokes that something must have been in the water during the Nine shoot. Afterwards, Cotillard and Cruz both had children. “Marion was so ready for it and so excited. She’s such a good person. She really comes from a working-class upbringing and she’s never forgotten that,” he says.

In person, Cotillard is luminous, with delicate features and a reserved air about her. But her daintiness is deceptive, says Canet.

“She’s very tough. What I mean by that is, she’s a strong woman. She has a lot of character. She can fight for everything she wants. When she has something in mind, she’s going to fight for it,” he says. ” She’s so open-minded in everything. She’s not stuck in the life of an actress. She has a lot of other activities and things that she likes. That feeds her as a person. She’s interested in music and literature.”

And cooking. Gray reports that Cotillard is a foodie, as is he, and regularly has him to her home for dinner.

“When I asked her if she would do this movie with me, she e-mailed me and her response was: “I would adore to be an eggplant in your next meal,’” says Gray, laughing while reading her response out loud. “She’s really funny. She’s very goofy. She throws bread at you in the middle of dinner. She’s a great cook. She’s brimming with life. She’s very alive. It’s weird, I wonder how much of that you get to see? She’s a tremendous mother and totally attentive to that kid. He’s a very lucky kid.”

As for Cotillard, she’s a pro at playing haunted, tormented women. So isn’t it time for a light, frothy comedy?

“I would love to, but you know, you have to find the right story and a good story. It has to be special. I haven’t found it yet,” she says.