PARIS -- What do Days of Glory star Roschdy Zem, the hapless victim Maiwenn Le Besco in French-made slasher movie High Tension and seasoned character actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin have in common? They are all part of the growing band of Gallic actors who recently made the switch to behind the camera.
Actors turning director is about as old as cinema itself, but in France it's getting hard these days to find an actor who hasn't made the move. The most recent release in this area is the well-received Ne le dis a personne (Tell No One), adapted from a Harlan Coben novel and the second directorial effort by Guillaume Canet. Released by Europa Corp., the film this month netted an impressive 1.5 million admissions in its first two weeks in France.
Nearly every month seems to bring the announcement of a new project. The latest is from comic Jean-Paul Rouve, star of a string of recent hit comedies in France, who starts shooting his first picture, Numero 1, next year with producer Elia Films.
"There are so many bankable stars now in the midst of personal film projects that it's hard to find actors to star in films," quips producer Frederic Niedermayer, who has directed a number of films by actor-director Emmanuel Mouret. "There is a definite trend of more actors taking up directing," echoes Jean-Michel Frodon, film critic for newspaper Le Monde.
Recent converts include Eric Caravaca, whose first film, The Passenger, screened in Critics' Week at the Venice International Film Festival last year.
Actors turning director is about as old as cinema itself, but in France it's getting hard these days to find an actor who hasn't made the move. The most recent release in this area is the well-received Ne le dis a personne (Tell No One), adapted from a Harlan Coben novel and the second directorial effort by Guillaume Canet. Released by Europa Corp., the film this month netted an impressive 1.5 million admissions in its first two weeks in France.
Nearly every month seems to bring the announcement of a new project. The latest is from comic Jean-Paul Rouve, star of a string of recent hit comedies in France, who starts shooting his first picture, Numero 1, next year with producer Elia Films.
"There are so many bankable stars now in the midst of personal film projects that it's hard to find actors to star in films," quips producer Frederic Niedermayer, who has directed a number of films by actor-director Emmanuel Mouret. "There is a definite trend of more actors taking up directing," echoes Jean-Michel Frodon, film critic for newspaper Le Monde.
Recent converts include Eric Caravaca, whose first film, The Passenger, screened in Critics' Week at the Venice International Film Festival last year.
- 11/21/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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