- Title: Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda gets his French leading ladies
- Date: 2nd October 2019
- Summary: VENICE, ITALY (RECENT - AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (L-R) LUDIVINE SAGNIER, CLEMENTINE GRENIER, MANON CLAVEL, DENEUVE, KORE-EDA AND BINOCHE VENICE, ITALY (RECENT - AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) DIRECTOR, HIROKAZU KORE-EDA, SAYING: "The inspiration began 15 years ago when I thought of trying to write a story about an older actress whose representative of her country's film history. The idea of making it in France with Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche as mother and daughter started in 2015. Before that Binoche had kept asking me to make a movie together so this was the project I proposed. That's when things actually started to move." VENICE, ITALY (RECENT - AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) KORE-EDA RUNNING OVER TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS / KORE-EDA WITH FANS VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) DIRECTOR HIROKAZU KORE-EDA, SAYING: "It's not like I hadn't thought about the difficulties but I spoke with French fans who had seen my work and directors like Francois Ozon, who told me he thought I'd definitely succeed if I made a film in France. And if I didn't focus on making an international film but rather just on the film that I wanted to make then I could get past the cultural and language differences. That's something I'd been feeling for about 10 years, so although I had concerns those were outweighed by expectations and I made the movie." VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) BINOCHE GETTING OUR OF CAR ARRIVING TO VENICE OPENING RED CARPET, JOINED BY DENEUVE VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS JULIETTE BINOCHE, SAYING: "For me Kore-eda is like Anton Chekhov, you know of nowadays. And he has this quality of being subtle of getting into real themes in families that hurt so bad. And yet you've got to find a way to love all those you know complexities and tragedies and all. And so he's able to really develop those, those relationships and situations. So to be included inside of it I was very thrilled." VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BINOCHE AND DENEUVE ON THE VENICE OPENING RED CARPET VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS JULIETTE BINOCHE, SAYING: "I think the click came when he met with Catherine Deneuve because I think he had a huge admiration for him (her). It (He) was like a little boy when you know seeing her coming on the site and it felt like that anyway. And finding you know, a way to include me in sort of that story. So the mother daughter thing, you felt like there was something truthful he could go into and you know, women's generations as well." VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) "THE TRUTH" CAST AND DIRECTOR POSING FOR PHOTOS PHOTOGRAPHERS, "THE TRUTH" CAST "THE TRUTH" CAST AND DIRECTOR (L-R) LUDIVINE SAGNIER, CLEMENTINE GRENIER, MANON CLAVEL, DENEUVE, KORE-EDA AND BINOCHE VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS JULIETTE BINOCHE, SAYING: "We were very close during the shooting and yet there was a distance because of language. There was a distance also because he was overwhelmed by all the demands. I don't think he was that used to that (those) kinds of relationships being so direct with the French crew, you know because each people from different corps of work, you know, they want to have their own relationship with the director. As in Japan you have layers of assistants before you get into close to the director. So there was a big adaptation."
- Embargoed: 16th October 2019 09:03
- Keywords: Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's "La verite" The Truth Venice Film Festival Catherine Deneuve Juliette Binoche
- Location: VENICE, ITALY / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: VENICE, ITALY / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA003AZEKTHP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda found the pieces magically falling into place for his film, "The Truth" ("La Vérité"), even though he had to revive a long-dormant script, get renowned actress Catherine Deneuve on board and overcome a language barrier to pull it off.
French actress Juliette Binoche had been urging Kore-eda, who won the Palme d'Or for "Shoplifters" at last year's Cannes film festival, to make a film with her for several years but nothing had got off the ground.
Inspiration finally struck for Kore-eda on a flight back from Paris: the film, based on a theatre script he began in 2003, would be set in France with Deneuve and Binoche as mother and daughter.
"The Truth," which hits Japanese cinemas on Oct. 11 after it premiered at the Venice film festival, features Fabienne, who has just published her memoirs and is hosting her screenwriter daughter Lumir (Binoche) and TV actor son-in-law Hank (Ethan Hawke) on a visit from New York.
But painful memories and tensions between mother and daughter resurface when Fabienne's book reveals more lies than the truth mentioned in its title, "La Verite".
Kore-eda had feared Deneuve would turn down the role but sensed her enthusiasm at a meeting where he showed her bits of the still incomplete screenplay.
Binoche said she was thrilled to finally work with Kore-eda.
She told Reuters recently that he was the "Anton Chekhov of nowadays" for being subtle in addressing "real themes in families that hurt so bad."
Still to be resolved after the casting, however, was the matter of filming in another country and in a foreign language for the first time.
Kore-eda wrote the screenplay in Japanese and then worked on the French translation with Lea Le Dimna, his Japanese-French interpreter for the past five years. He had complete faith she would nail the nuances.
Kore-eda said he had other projects in development but after five films in five years, it was time to ease the pace and hold off on any decisions for six months.
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