Marion Cotillard has said in recent interviews that she needs a break and that she had to say no to some very good projects. It seems Iranian director’s Ashgar Farhadi upcoming first French movie is one of them. The Playlist reports via Allocine that Bérénice Bejo replaces Marion Cotillard in the social thriller which starts filming in October and is scheduled for release next spring.

Last Tuesday the Toronto International Film Festival released the full schedule and a guest list. ‘Rust & Bone‘ will screen on the first & second days of the festival:

Thursday, September 6, Visa Screening Room (Elgin), 9:30 PM
Friday, September 7, Ryerson Theatre, 12:00 PM

And Marion Cotillard together with director Jacques Audiard and costar Matthias Schoenaerts are expected to attend as they’re on the released guest list.

If you enjoyed NY Mag’s short summary of Marion’s latest interview you’ll no doubt enjoy Vulture‘s more extensive notes from the full transcript, which I added a while ago:

• Marion Cotillard on Rust and Bone, Playing a Double Amputee, and Hating the Zoo, Vulture, August 21

[edit:] They released some more quotes from the same interview today:

• Plastic Surgery Makes Marion Cotillard Sad, The Cut, August 23

Added a few more stills from ‘De rouille et d’os‘ (Rust & Bone).

New York Magazine features a brand new interview with Marion Cotillard to promote ‘Rust & Bone‘ in their Fall Preview:

• Free Marion, New York Magazine, August 19

Gallery:
006 Movies > De rouille et d’os (Rust and Bone) – 2012 > Stills

I added 3 more HQ stills of Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate in ‘The Dark Knight Rises‘ – currently in cinemas the world over. And there are a few brief glimpses in the movie’s featurette too:

Gallery:
003 The Dark Knight Rises – 2012 > Stills
005 The Dark Knight Rises – 2012 > Screencaptures > Featurette

‘Rust and Bone‘ – which premiered during the Cannes Film Festival under its original title ‘De rouille et d’os‘ – will have its North American premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival which takes place September 6-16. The schedule will be announced on August 21.

On the Variety Weblog The Vote Jon Weisman published an interesting review of ‘Rust and Bone‘ comparing it to its Cannes competitor (and winner) Amour.

I also added another outtake from the ‘Rust and Bone‘-themed shoot for Obsession magazine as well as many more movie stills and replaced some existing ones with HQ versions. (Since I changed some of the filenames to change the order you may need to refresh the gallery to see it properly).

Gallery
010 Movies > De rouille et d’os (Rust and Bone) – 2012 > Stills
001 Portraits > Sessions from 2012 > Obsession

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was released this week in most territories with France following next week. Marion attended the premieres  in New York and also London. Photos will be added to the gallery shortly.

There was a premiere planned for Paris this weekend but due to the shooting in Denver, Warner Bros has cancelled the premiere and all media interviews as a result.

Our thoughts go out to the victims’ families and friends.

Source: Premiere.fr

During the Cannes Film Festival back in May, it was rumoured that The Weinstein Company was circling James Gray’s Untitled Project (aka ‘Low Life‘).

News comes today that The Weinstein Company is close to acquiring the U.S. rights of the film and plan to release it in the U.S. in 2013.

• Source: Deadline.com

‘Rust & Bone‘ (De rouille et d’os) now has a US release date: November 16, 2012.

• Source: Variety

I added 4 new stills from ‘De rouille et d’os‘ (Rust & Bone) and a wonderful article from Dior Mag. In my opinion they found the right words to describe Marion & the movie.

• Dior on the town: Marion Cotillard, Dior Mag, May 28

Here, there is no artifice, no makeup. Bare face, bare soul. No pathos, no screaming, no tears – or few. But there’s such a jostle of complex and contradictory feelings and emotions that come across subtly, profoundly, in a vacant stare, an inflection, a half-smile, in the faintest of gestures. Like a hurricane that might sweep away everything in its path without making the slightest sound. … Here, at age 36, is an actress at the height of her art. And such is her curiosity about the cinema, about human beings and the feelings that drive them, we can be certain that she still has surprises in store, that she hasn’t yet revealed all her secrets.

Once again, he [Jacques Audiard] lays emotions bare and exposes raw sentiment with the cool efficiency of a surgeon and the mysterious profundity of a poet. This film is all the more captivating because it touches, almost without seeming to, the very essence of life.

Gallery:
004 De rouille et d’os (Rust and Bone) – 2012 > Stills

Rumour on twitter has it that Marion Cotillard has arrived back in Cannes today, as has ‘De rouille et d’os‘ (Rust & Bone) director Jacques Audiard. Tonight is the closing ceremony where the awards will be handed out. Can we see this as a sign that Marion Cotillard will be awarded the Best Actress award?

In the past weeks critics have praised her performance as Stéphanie, the French calling it her best performance yet and the English speaking press saying it’s up there with La Vie en Rose. Many have also praised the movie itself. Go here for a summary for English reviews and here for French reviews. On numerous occasions, the press has given the movie good chances for tonight’s ceremony or even for Awards Season early next year (Huffington Pot, Indiwire, Hollywood.com, Toronto.com).

In these scenes, Cotillard shows she doesn’t need the validation of Cannes or the Academy. Her strong, subtle performance is gloriously winning on its own.
• Source: Time Entertainment

Its candour and force are matched by the commitment and intelligence of its two leading players. These factors, linked with the glowing sunlit images captured by cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine and emotion-grabbing music from Alexandre Desplat make for a powerful spectacle. It is a passionate and moving love story which surges out of the screen like a flood tide.
• Source: The Guardian

The movie, out in theatres throughout France and French-speaking Switzerland since its premiere at Cannes, is also doing well financially. In its first week it was #1 a the box office with 652,000 entries at 394 cinemas (Ozap.com) – putting ‘Dark Shadows‘ and ‘Avengers‘ on second and third places. UGC has thus increased the number of screens (Le Parisien). In French-speaking Switzerland it made the #5 spot with 5,901 visitors on 9 screens (Hitparade.ch).

I myself went to see ‘De rouille et d’os‘ on May 18 and was deeply impressed. On paper it seems like a traditional love story with some Lifetime-movie-elements thrown in. However, it is so much more. In fact, the reason for it being so good lay in the wonderful combination of performance, cinematography and soundtrack. Things beyond words, which is why I can’t really find the right words to explain why I loved it and why I was so moved. Let me just say that Jacques Audiard is really a genius for never letting any scene become cheesy. And Marion Cotillard’s performance is indeed very strong. While its powerful, daring and out there it is a the same time also quiet and subtle. Really magnifique. If she wins something tonight it will be well-deserved!