Francois Ozon - in London
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Casting, Berlin, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
According to Screen Daily, French director François
Ozon finally has a British project in the works. Ozon, whose recent work includes the much-discussed Swimming Pool (which, though it centered around British
characters, was set in France), is already shooting the film in London. Entitled Angel, it is centered on a
social climbing woman in early 20th century London "who climbs the social ladder by becoming a famous
novelist." Rather disturbingly, the film stars Romola Garai, who
shot to international fame with her starring role in Dirty Dancing:
Havana Nights, as Angel Deverell. Yikes. Around to prop her up will be Ozon regular and Berlin jury chair Charlotte Rampling (who happens to have played a novelist in
Swimming Pool) and Sam
Neill, as well as a couple of young
Brits
for whom Angel could be a big break.Though the rights to the film are currently being shopped in Berlin, there's no word on when Ozon hopes to have it ready for release.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-15-2006 @ 5:16PM
drew said...
Hey, don't be bashin' on Romola too hard; she was perfectly fine in I Capture The Castle. Meryl Streep coulda had the lead in Dirty Dancing 2 and it still would've been light pap.
Reply
2-15-2006 @ 5:17PM
Jeffrey Overstreet said...
"Rather disturbingly, the films stars Romola Garai..."
Rather disturbingly?
Really?
(Sigh.)
It makes me sad that people only remember Romola Garai for "Dirty Dancing 2."
I never saw that film, and I winced when I realized she had been cast in it. She had already proven herself as a talented actress, and didn't need to do a cheap, commercial throwaway like that.
I fell for Garai when she starred in "I Capture the Castle." I wrote at the time that while the film was flawed, her radiance and intelligence and subtlety immediately announced the arrival of a formidable talent.
My faith in her was backed up when "Vanity Fair" opened, and while Reese Witherspoon was impressive, I thought Garai stole every single scene that she was in, playing that part of the broken-hearted best friend. She was more believable than Witherspoon, more beautiful, and seemed to belong in that world, whereas Witherspoon looked like an American actress pursuing an Oscar nomination.
I am THRILLED that Ozon has recognized an underrated talent, and I look forward to the day that she finally gets the attention she deserves. Ozon may be just the director to do that for her.
Jeffrey Overstreet
lookingcloser.org
Reply
2-15-2006 @ 5:23PM
Martha Fischer said...
Thanks for the info, you two - based on your recs, I'll try to reserve judgment on the non-Baby.
Reply
5-02-2006 @ 4:56AM
soneil said...
One of my favourite actresses working with one of my favourite directors? What could be disturbing about that? You've obviously never seen Romola Garai in I Capture The Castle or on stage in Calico (w/ Imelda Staunton). She's a terrific actress. It's nice to hear she has a decent job for once.
Remember what Ozon did for Ludivine Sagnier in Swimming Pool? (Basically starved her to death, by his own account but she looked great.) A slightly more mature Garai working with Ozon could be stunning. Cheers.
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