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Extra.ie
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
French actor Gerard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault
French movie star Gerard Depardieu, 76, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021 and has received an 18-month suspended prison sentence. The conviction follows a four-day trial in March in which a set designer, 54, and an assistant director, 34, testified to having been groped by account of events was deemed coherent and consistent by the judge. Depardieu is one of the most recognisable French actors of his generation, having starred in more than 230 films including Cyrano de Bergerac and Going Places . Over the last three decades, he has been accused of sexual abuse by more than 20 women. Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the set designer's lawyer said the trial was 'a victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women.' 'Today, we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema,' she added. In addition to his sentence, the judge ordered that Depardieu pay 14,040 and 15,000 euros in damages to the two victims. The trial is one of several recent high-profile sexual abuse cases in France. In December 2024, 50 men were convicted of raping French woman Gisle Pelicot over a nine-year period, a case which sent shockwaves around the nation and made Pelicot into an international feminist icon.
Int'l Business Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Gerard Depardieu: A Tarnished French Film Icon
Gerard Depardieu was a titan of French cinema for more than 50 years but a sexual assault conviction, a string of other allegations and several instances of lewd behaviour now cast a long, dark shadow over what was once a glittering career. The 76-year-old has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women. On Tuesday, in the first of these cases to go to trial, Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women during a 2021 film shoot in Paris for French director Jean Becker. One of the two victims said Depardieu grabbed her, groped her breasts and made "obscene remarks" about wanting to penetrate her. His lawyer said he will appeal. In 2020, he was also charged with raping actor Charlotte Arnould when she was in her 20s. He denies the allegations. Depardieu's prolific career spans more than 200 films, making him one of the best-known French faces on the silver screen. French audiences long appreciated his brash, unfiltered and frequently offensive character. But this is now often seen in a strikingly different light in the #MeToo era. A 2023 television investigation entitled "The Fall of the Ogre" revealed images shot five years earlier in North Korea, in which Depardieu can be heard making obscene sexual remarks about an under-age girl. When then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak called the recording of Depardieu in North Korea a "shame for France", President Emmanuel Macron jumped to his defence. He remained a "towering actor" who "makes France proud", Macron said. Around 60 film and art figures signed a petition to support the "cinema giant" in 2023, entitled "Don't Cancel Gerard Depardieu". Ahead of the sexual assault verdict, fellow film icon Brigitte Bardot also leapt to his defence, saying: "Those who have talent and put their hands on a girl's bottom are thrown in the gutter." While he attended the start of the trial, Depardieu was not in court for the verdict. He had in April been working on a new film directed by another of his supporters, actor Fanny Ardant, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Depardieu was born December 27, 1948, in Chateauroux, central France. Although his teenage years were marked by delinquency, he went on to discover the theatre in Paris and appeared in his first film in 1965. One of Depardieu's breakthrough roles came as a violent small-time crook in 1974's "Les Valseuses" ("Going Places") directed by Bertrand Blier -- a film that drew criticism for its on-screen depictions of sex. The controversy did nothing to harm Depardieu's career. He went on to be crowned with France's version of an Oscar, the Cesar award, for "Le Dernier Metro" ("The Last Metro") by New Wave icon Francois Truffaut. US magazine Newsweek called Depardieu a "hero with a thousand faces" in 1987, when he was on a successful run that peaked with 1990's "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. He began dipping into Hollywood in the years after, with movies such as "Green Card" and "1492" which won him new audiences. But his reputation took a blow in 1991 -- just before the Oscars ceremony where Depardieu was nominated for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac -- when Time magazine printed an interview where he admitted to rapes during childhood. There was anger in the French government about an alleged conspiracy to deprive him of the Oscar and Depardieu denied having made the remarks, although Time stood by the interview. While Depardieu's other antics -- such as urinating on board a plane in 2011 -- had once drawn laughs, he now became a liability for film studios. Pleading before the court of public opinion in an open letter in 2023, he swore that he was "neither a rapist nor a predator". "I've been provocative, excessive, sometimes crude throughout my life... If when I thought I was living intensely in the present moment, I have hurt or shocked anyone at all, I never meant to do harm and I apologise," Depardieu wrote. The father-of-three, whose son Guillaume died in 2008, has undergone a quadruple heart bypass and suffers from diabetes that has been aggravated by the stress of the trial, according to his lawyer. In 2013, he received a Russian passport personally from President Vladimir Putin. But he has criticised Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac AFP Depardieu was once full of praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin AFP
1News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
The rise and fall of French movie star Gérard Depardieu
For over half a century, Gérard Depardieu stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensibility and remarkable versatility. A bon vivant who overcame a speech impediment and a turbulent youth, Depardieu rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of France's most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying a vast array of characters, from volatile outsiders to deeply introspective figures. In recent years, however, Depardieu's illustrious career has been overshadowed by multiple allegations of misconduct. He has been accused publicly or in formal complaints by more than 20 women, but so far only a sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some others were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations. In March, the Paris public prosecutor requested an 18-month suspended prison sentence over accusations that he sexually assaulted two women on a film set. A decision is expected on Tuesday. Here is a timeline of key moments in Depardieu's rise and fall: December 27, 1948: Born in Châteauroux, in a modest family of six children. His youth is tumultuous. Depardieu lives close to an American military base and rubs shoulders with small-time hoodlums, smuggling all kinds of goods. 1960s: Depardieu arrives in Paris. He takes acting classes and discovers all the great classics of literature while undergoing therapy to correct his speech difficulties. 1967: Depardieu makes his screen debut in the short film Le Beatnik et le Minet and appears in his first stage play. 1972: Features in Nathalie Granger, directed by Marguerite Duras. 1974: First big hit in France with Les Valseuses, (Going Places), Bertrand Blier's classic farce about two wandering thugs. 1980s: Depardieu becomes the most sought-after French actor. Maurice Pialat casts him in Loulou, the highly acclaimed Police, for which he won an acting prize at the 1985 Venice Film Festival, and Under Satan's Sun, a provocative tale about a monk's encounter with the devil which won Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1987. Depardieu stars in many hits: The Woman Next Door, Jean de Florette, The Last Metro, Danton, The Return of Martin Guerre. 1991: Depardieu receives a nomination for the best actor Oscar for his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac. But controversy ensues after Time magazine carries an affirmation by Depardieu that he took part in a rape as a 9-year-old. The movie suffers a bloody nose at the Oscars. Depardieu categorically denies saying he took part in rape. 'It's outrageous at 9 years old or at any age,' he told the French newspaper Le Monde. 'Yes, one can say I had sexual experiences when I was very young, but a rape, never. I respect women too much.' 1990s: Depardieu's career is unaffected in France. He stars in Jean-Luc Godard's 'Hélas pour moi.' Meanwhile, Depardieu reinforces his popularity with mass audiences with the Astérix & Obélix film series. 1998: Depardieu crashes his motorcycle. His blood-alcohol limit is five times the legal level. He escapes with leg and face injuries. The incident was one of several encounters with the law for Depardieu, who also grabbed headlines when he urinated in the aisle of a plane before takeoff on a Paris to Dublin flight, and when he was detained for allegedly driving drunk on his scooter. 1999: Depardieu returns to the French stage for the first time in 13 years as a guilt-ravaged emperor in a murder-mystery. 2000: Depardieu undergoes successful coronary bypass surgery. October 13, 2008: Death of his son Guillaume Depardieu. 2013: After sparring with his native country over taxes, Depardieu is granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. 2014: Depardieu plays the leading role in 'Welcome to New York,' the film inspired by the life of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former director of the International Monetary Fund who was accused in 2011 of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. 2018: Prosecutors in Paris open a preliminary investigation after actor Charlotte Arnould accused Depardieu of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial. 2023: His wax figure is removed from Paris' most famous wax museum following negative reactions from visitors over allegations about his conduct with women. The decision to remove the figure from the Grevin Museum followed a TV documentary showing him repeatedly making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea. 2025: Depardieu goes on trial in Paris on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set. He is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts.
Los Angeles Times
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Hilbert Museum celebrates anniversary with art talks, lectures
Pete the Panther, Chapman University's official mascot, prowled the halls of the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University in Orange, making a special appearance for the museum's anniversary. Art lovers posed for pictures with the big cat who sported a jersey in Chapman red and Panther black. Pete's visit was among the activities that took place at Hilbert Museum's anniversary event on Feb. 22, marking nine years since the museum officially opened and its first year in an expanded 22,000-square-foot, two-building exhibition and educational complex. Guests enjoyed talks and cupcakes with other art lovers and artists at Saturday's all-day event. Founded by art collectors and philanthropists Mark and Janet Hilbert, the Hilbert Museum opened in 2016 and is home to one of the world's largest collections of California narrative art. The museum was made possible by a major gift the Hilbert's gave to Chapman University in 2014. In February 2024, the museum reopened after undergoing a three-year expansion that tripled its size. 'We hope to continue to foster art and artists in this community, and we would like to see this area become an arts district,' Mark Hilbert told TimesOC in October 2023, when the museum was still under construction for the expansion. Since opening nine years ago, the Hilbert Museum has hosted 250,000 visitors and shown 70 separate shows. 'We are beyond grateful to our old and new fans in Orange County and beyond who have made us one of the fastest-growing art museums in Southern California,' Hilbert Museum director Mary Platt said in a statement. 'But, as impressive as our first nine years have been, 2024's expansion accelerated visits by locals and visitors wanting to experience works by California artists or that capture the essence of the Golden State.' The museum complex houses the Hilbert's collection of more than 5,000 pieces that chronicle California history from the 1900s to today through the work of California scene artists, Hollywood studio artists and animators. Besides the Hilbert collection, the space has dedicated galleries to rotating exhibitions that feature local artists, like 'Going Places,' a solo exhibition of modern master painter Timothy J. Clark. Additionally, the building's facade displays the restored Millard Sheets mosaic, 'Pleasures Along the Beach,' relocated from a flagship Home Savings & Loan building in Santa Monica. During the afternoon, the Citrus Labels Society, a California-based club that connects collectors of vintage citrus labels, gathered in the Burra Community Room to discuss 'Picturing Paradise: California Orange Box Labels,' a current exhibition at the museum curated by orange crate-label expert Gordon McClelland. The group shared its passion for orange-crate label collecting. The labels were used to illustrated Southern California's bounty and sell oranges, but they also created an image of California orange groves that persists today. In the evening, renowned Southern California portrait artist Bradford Salamon led a talk on the nuances of portrait painting. Mark Hilbert, who often refers to the complex as a storytelling museum, was on hand on throughout the day to walk visitors through the museum. Hilbert leading tours is a common sight, and the museum estimates that Hilbert, along with Platt, have led nearly 350 personal tours, some scheduled but many impromptu, since the museum opened. On Feb. 27, Hilbert will host a talk titled: 'My Collecting Life' in the Burra Community Room at 6 p.m. The informal talk will include personal stories on how he began collecting California scene paintings, original movie art and antique radios. While the museum is proud of what it has accomplished over the past nine years, Platt assures local art lovers the museum has even more surprises in store, as it looks ahead to its 10-year anniversary. 'We expect an even brighter future as we get ready to celebrate our first decade,' said Platt.
