coco chanel Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Looks like it's time for me to brush up on my French. The first trailer for the Coco Chanel biopic, Coco, Avant Chanel (or Coco, Before Chanel) has just hit the web, but the bad news is: the trailer is in French. But even if you don't speak French, you aren't missing too much; between my high school French and the helpful folks at Popwatch, I can tell you that there is talk of destiny, love, and a little pouting, but, c'mon, this is a movie about Chanel; isn't it all about the clothes anyway?

Audrey Tautou stars as the fashion icon (and say what you want, the lady certainly has that Coco 'ennui' down pat in the poster), and the film was loosely based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book, L'Irrégulière: Ou, Mon Itinéraire Chanel. The book was adapted for the screen by Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and Anne Fontaine (who also directs). Joining in on all that fabulousness are Alessandro Nivola as Arthur "Boy" Capel and Benoît Poelvoorde as one of Chanel's lovers, Balsan. Nivola is an American born actor who had to learn French to play the dashing polo player who was said to have inspired Chanel's 'menswear look'.

Watch the trailer after the jump...

In the midst of battling Coco Chanel biopics, the first image of Audrey Tautou (Amelie) as the legendary fashion figure has just emerged over at Vanity Fair. I'll admit that after getting my first look at Tautou in that famous 'Coco recline', it is starting to make perfect sense that an entire biopic was shaped around the French actress. If nothing else, you have to admit the the lady is a dead ringer for the style icon.

Coco Avant Chanel was partly based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book, L'Irrégulière: Ou, Mon Itinéraire Chanel, and was adapted for the screen by Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and Anne Fontaine, who is also directing. The film will not attempt to tell the entire life story of Chanel, probably because it would be impossible to contain that much fabulousness in one film. Instead, Fontaine will be focusing on some of the highlights of Chanel's youth, and what would any biopic be without a little dirt? Some of the juicier bits in the story will include Chanel's time as a cabaret singer, and her love affairs with the influential and powerful men that helped her break into the fashion world.

After a long delay, the project finally kicked into high gear last summer, and shooting began back in September. Now that Tautou is officially the first Chanel we have seen, you can't help but wonder if the rest are going to suffer by comparison -- I mean, I still haven't gotten my head around the casting of Demi Moore. So much like the label that shares the lady's name, it looks like Fontaine and company are also going to have to put up with their fair share of 'knock-offs'.

Coco Avant Chanel should arrive in theaters later this year.

We've had superheroes who actually hold some sort of power, and we've had normal folks pretending their super, but how about possible delusion, or secret superhero traits that lead you to spell poorly? As The Hollywood Reporter posts, Woody Harrelson and Sandra Oh are starring in a new film called Defendor, and Playlist-loving Kat Dennings is looking to join in on the fun. Woody will play a man who thinks he has a secret superhero identity, while Oh plays his shrink and Dennings would play a teen he becomes friends with. As a superhero, what sort of powers would suit Woody best? Leaping over buildings in a single bound? Tingling Spider sense? Stay tuned!

In the rumor realm, we've got buzz bubbling about a third Coco Chanel project (like two aren't enough). Beyond the TV movie with Shirley MacLaine and the feature with Audrey Tatou, The Guardian posts that there might be a third starring, believe it or not, Demi Moore. I guess the look is right, but could Mrs. Kutcher pull off a period piece -- one focused on an icon no less? (And just in case Coco isn't enough for you, the report also states that there are rumors about Vivienne Westwood and Kate Moss heading to the big screen.) *UPDATE: Westwood is on her way, with Kate Winslet signed to play the icon.

Now this next bit isn't exactly casting news, but it could become that -- Variety reports that Kevin Bacon is executive producing a new series for Showtime that dips into the life of Honest Abe's infamous assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Considering how well John Adams did, I wouldn't be surprised if Bacon grabs Booth's role for himself. There's a fair likeness.

Plus: Ex-Boston Legal star Rhona Mitra is heading to Separation City, and the ever lovely Beth Grant is dabbing in Extract.

To me Coco Chanel is the woman responsible for my grandmother's smell -- the regal Chanel No. 5. To others she's the woman who created the suit unfortunately immortalized by the assassination of John F. Kennedy. And to the younger crowd, she'll soon be that movie character performed by Audrey Tautou in Coco Avant Chanel.

The Amelie actress signed on to the film last year, but then all news stopped and it looked like Coco was going to be stuck in development hell, or at least have to wait a while longer. Now Variety reports that Warner Brothers has signed on to finance the feature and have got a plan all set. Production will start on September 15 in Paris, and should hit screens next year.

The film will still be directed by Anne Fontaine, from the script by Anne, Camille Fontaine, and script consultant Christopher Hampton. Instead of spanning the woman's long and successful life, Tautou will get to delight in Coco's early years. And for you fashion fans out there -- Karl Lagerfeld, the art director of the House of Chanel, is supervising the wardrobe.

To me, Audrey Tautou will always be Amélie. To others, soon, she will be Coco. The French actress, who is actually best known now for playing opposite Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code, has been cast as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in a film about the legendary fashion designer's life prior to her becoming famous. And because it only focuses on the first half of Chanel's life, producer Caroline Benjo describes it as not really a biopic. Although it will begin with Chanel's childhood, the plot will mainly follow her as a young woman, during the time she worked as a cabaret singer and became involved with the wealthy horse breeder Étienne Balsan and then the English polo player Arthur "Boy" Capel, both of whom were instrumental in leading her to a career in fashion.

Partly based on the book L'Irrégulière: Ou, Mon Itinéraire Chanel by Edmonde Charles-Roux, the film will be scripted by Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liasons) and Anne Fontaine (Nathalie ...), who will also direct. Apparently the project was conceived with Tautou in mind, and Fontaine had said she'd only be involved if the actress was interested. Tautou does seem to be perfect for the part, at least if you only know of Coco Chanel, the woman, from photographs like the one above (If only I could also find photos of the two lovers, so I could imagine which actors would be best to play them).

Fortunately for everyone else associated with the project, Tautou liked the idea of playing Chanel. Although, if the film didn't work out, audiences and fashion fans would still have two other movies based on the designer to look forward to. One, about Chanel's relationship with Igor Stravinsky, will reportedly be directed by William Friedkin and will star Marina Hands (The Barbarian Invasions); the other is being written by Oscar nominee Danièle Thompson (Cousin, Cousine). All three films follow the 1969 stage production Coco, starring Katherine Hepburn in the title role, as well as the new play from writer William Luce and Broadway director Philip William McKinley (The Boy From Oz), titled Creme de Coco: A Portrait of Coco Chanel. So, I'm wondering, which of the films will end up being "Chanel, No. 5"?