Latest news with #Seberg
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In ‘Bonjour Tristesse,' Fashion Is a Main Character
PARIS — Forget about Charli XCX: This year's summer style icon might just be Jean Seberg. The U.S. actress with the pixie haircut is back in the spotlight thanks to two films: Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague,' which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and 'Bonjour Tristesse,' a new adaptation of French author Françoise Sagan's seminal coming-of-age novel. More from WWD Bethann Hardison Launches Foundation to Advance Young Talent Chanel and Tribeca Festival Announce 2025 Artist Awards Program Fondazione Prada Introduces 1.5 Million-euro Film Fund While Zoey Deutch plays Seberg in Linklater's black-and-white ode to the birth of French New Wave cinema, rising actress Lily McInerny reprises one of Seberg's most famous roles in the remake of 'Bonjour Tristesse,' which marks the feature film debut of Canadian writer and director Durga Chew-Bose. Seberg, who died in 1979 at the age of 40, played the lead character Cécile in Otto Preminger's 1958 adaptation of the book — a stylish affair that featured gowns by Givenchy, jewels by Cartier and accessories from Hermès. McInerny said she didn't see the original movie until after shooting was over. 'That was an intentional choice, so as not to even subconsciously try to mimic her incredible origination of Cécile,' she told WWD in an interview. 'Our films differ in many ways. Durga is truly a writer in her own world. She's working with the original text of the novel. She herself is very intentionally not trying to recreate anything that Preminger touched, so we both are big fans of the film and appreciate it very much, but they're very distinct in their styles,' she said. Watching Seberg navigate the plot, which chronicles the destructive behavior of a free-spirited 17-year-old and her playboy father, proved intense for the 26-year-old actress. 'I felt very emotional, and I felt very attached, and I felt very close to Jean Seberg in that moment, and it was almost like watching a distant relative or a friend I knew, or a weird sort of dream of myself,' McInerny mused. 'To have that connection with someone so glowing and untouchable as Jean Seberg, it was so cool.' For costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, the project was an excuse to indulge in her passion for period films and vintage fashion, which influenced the overall look of the film. 'I collect '30s, '40s, '50s clothes just in general. I have an archive of it all,' said Bellizzi, who was working concurrently on 'Marty Supreme,' which has garnered advance buzz for the '50s-era costumes she designed for stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow. 'From the very beginning, Durga and I always spoke about how we miss the beauty of old films and how, in a lot of more classic films, the way that costume design was approached was different to how it is now,' Bellizzi said, citing the work of legendary costume designers like Adrian and Edith Head. 'I mourn films that have good taste in clothing. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in contemporary films,' she added. 'I really wanted to showcase that, you know, bring it back.' The fact that one of the main characters in 'Bonjour Tristesse' is a fashion designer was the icing on the cake. Chloë Sevigny plays Anne, whose arrival at the family's holiday villa on the French Riviera sets in motion a deadly cycle of jealousy and retribution. Known for her work on movies including 'Good Time' and 'Uncut Gems,' Bellizzi relished the change of register. 'Most of my films are very male-heavy, and this is the first time I've had three women and it's so fashion-forward,' she said of working with McInerny, Sevigny and Nailia Harzoune, who plays Elsa, the father's girlfriend. Infused with a strong design sensibility, the film is a fashionista's delight as it revels in obscure references, rather than the splashy resortwear that is often the default wardrobe option for films and series set against a Mediterranean backdrop. 'We could do the 'White Lotus' of the south of France,' said Bellizzi, adding that the idea was discarded in favor of something more timeless. 'I wanted it to just be super classic.' She used Renaissance Renaissance, the Lebanese label founded by Cynthia Merhej that has twice reached the semifinals of the LVMH Prize, as the stand-in for Anne's fashion label. Sevigny wears several looks by the brand, in addition to vintage Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier, and accessories by Sophie Buhai. Merhej also designed a key look for McInerny: a '50s-inspired pouf dress that symbolizes Cécile's transition from tomboy to ingenue. But a lot of her clothes in the film are authentically vintage: Bellizzi and McInerny got an early start on wardrobe prep by scouring secondhand stores in New York City. 'She lives down the street from me, so I'd be, like, 'Hey, let's go shop,'' Bellizzi recounted. 'She's so tiny that all the greatest, coolest vintage pieces fit her like a glove.' That includes a yellow swimsuit that was a nod to the one worn by Seberg in the original film. McInerny spends much of her time on screen in bathing suits and bikinis, but said she didn't feel self-conscious. 'That was never a hesitation for me,' she said. 'Stepping away from the film, I was like, 'Was I too covered up?' Because we're on the beaches of France, it's quite common to be topless.' Part of her confidence came from the fact that she's known Chew-Bose since she was a child. Part of it was knowing that Bellizzi had her back. 'Miyako really prioritizes an actor's comfort and confidence in the clothes that she's dressing you in. It goes a really long way in terms of our performance,' she said, adding that it's important to surrender personal hangups. 'Understanding your character thoroughly, you'll also understand what makes them feel confident and what makes them feel attractive, and that might be different from what you yourself would [wear] in your daily life,' she added. On the red carpet, McInerny has developed a close relationship with Celine since making her big screen debut in 2022 in the indie drama 'Palm Trees and Power Lines.' She collaborated with the French brand on her look for the 'Bonjour Tristesse' premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. 'I came to them with an image from the original Preminger film of Jean Seberg in this classic black party dress. It was one of my favorite costumes from the original film,' she recalled. 'To have anything custom designed for me would be a dream come true, let alone something so intimate and closely attached to this project so dear to me, and they came back to me in a couple of weeks with this gorgeous sketch of the dress that I ultimately wore to our debut,' McInerny said. She noted that Zouzou, former creative director Hedi Slimane's final fragrance for Celine, was billed as an homage to Sagan and Seberg. 'It felt very organic and meaningful to know that everyone behind the scenes and beyond was as passionate about the history we were stepping into,' the actress said. 'That's our greatest hope, that it transports you to an era of style and film that sometimes gets overlooked these days.' Launch Gallery: How 'Bonjour Tristesse' Channels Jean Seberg's Enduring Style Inspiration for Summer 2025 Best of WWD Celebrity Style at Coachella Through the Years: Taylor Swift, Amy Winehouse and More [PHOTOS] From John Galliano to Paul Smith, Designers Who've Created Christmas Trees at Claridge's The Most Over-the-top Hats From the Royal Ascot Races Through the Years
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Zoey Deutch on Cannes, Chanel and Channeling Jean Seberg in ‘Nouvelle Vague'
Zoey Deutch had barely touched down in Cannes when she tried on her Chanel red carpet dress for the first time. 'I got off the plane and went straight to the fitting,' she told WWD, speaking at the Hotel Majestic fresh from her final fitting. 'It felt like I was going to my wedding without seeing the wedding dress first. And then I walked in, saw it, and just went, 'Oh — it's perfect,'' she said. More from WWD Inside Coco Chanel's Renovated Villa La Pausa on the French Riviera Alexander Skarsgard Evokes Thigh-High Drama in Saint Laurent's Fetish Boots at Cannes for 'The Phoenician Scheme' Premiere Julianne Moore Does Dark Glamour with Brilliance in Bottega Veneta Knot Dress and Dangling Boucheron Diamonds for 'The Phoenician Scheme' Cannes Premiere Deutch stars in Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague,' in a competition slot in the festival. She plays 1960s star Jean Seberg, the ideal 'American-in-Paris' who became an icon of French cinema and style — despite being from Iowa — decades before Emily was a twinkle in Darren Starr's eye. The film explores Seberg's early years in film, as well as her relationship with Jean-Luc Godard. The dress in question was a custom Chanel gown, floor-length, subtly floral, and pulled from the pages of history (or Pinterest, as it were), based on a photo Deutch discovered and sent to Chanel's team in the earliest stages of design. It was not a Chanel but was emblematic of the time period, Deutch said, and served as an inspiration. The collaboration was months in the making. It started during production for the film, when the fashion house created a custom look for Deutch in character. Chanel supported the production both financially and fashionably, with costumes by Pascaline Chavanne. 'They took that image and built something entirely new from it,' Deutch said. The atelier adapted the pattern from the original into new embroidery, slimmed the silhouette, lengthened the shape, adapted the neckline and hand-stitched the blooms to match the archival inspiration with a contemporary feeling. The result was a white silk organza gown with a tiered peplum waist. Every inch was a nod to Seberg. The film, which centers on the birth of French New Wave cinema and the early days of French film magazine 'Cahiers du Cinéma,' also transported Deutch into a totally new way of working, both linguistically and stylistically. 'When I first got the script, I only had the English version, and it needed to be translated. So what I wanted to do first was figure out Jean's dialect. She was from Marshalltown, Iowa, but by the time she was shooting 'Breathless,' she had this affected voice [similar to] the way a lot of movie stars at the time spoke.' Deutch researched Seberg's voice extensively, tracing it back to her early training when Seberg worked with a dialect coach to eliminate her Midwest American accent. Once the French and English dialogue was finalized, Deutch began four months of French language work. 'Obviously phonetically, but also to learn it,' she said. 'Because it's not the speaking French that's the problem — it's the understanding and reacting. Everyone knows acting is reacting. How do you react if you have no idea what they're saying?' Her approach was rooted in listening. 'It was more actually studying other people's lines than studying my own,' she said. 'I had a little bit of a leg up in that she wasn't French and she was just learning French. She admitted to feeling insecure while filming 'Breathless' because she was doing basically all improv in a language that she was still learning.' To get into character, 'there was a lot of digging into what I perceived to be a great deal of mystery and sadness behind her eyes, and doing the inner work of where that came from,' said Deutch. 'Not just her voice or the way she dressed, but her spirit.' Acting in French changed her approach, stripped away her habits and served as a masterclass. 'You learn all the things that you fall back on, the safety nets you have, the -isms and things that make you feel safe in the context of a scene,' she said. 'I couldn't do any of that.' She worked on her French, but her transformation went beyond language. Deutch famously chopped off her long, thick curls and dyed them platinum to play Seberg — an act that initially surprised director Linklater. He questioned her commitment (or offered a reprieve) and suggested a wig instead. But Deutch thought it was an opportunity to transform and went for the big chop. 'To me, the greatest part of my job is that I get to live all these different lives. I was so excited to chop all my hair off and dye it blonde for this role. But if you were to ask me to do that in my life, I would be like, absolutely not,' she said. 'I can live a really boring life in my personal life, because I live these insane lives, and there's this sort of power in doing something when it's not attached to me.' As it turns out, going full pixie wasn't exactly low maintenance. 'Everyone was like, 'Oh, it must be so much easier.' No. It's significantly more work,' she said. Deutch adapted that symbol of French style — the head scarf. The star relayed that friends teased her for trying to cosplay as a stereotypical Parisienne, but in reality, it served the very practical function of covering the hair. Protection from poof was her priority. Living in Paris during filming with her new Seberg look gave Deutch a sense of place she hadn't felt before as a tourist in the city. Three months in Paris changed her perspective. Her central Saint-Germain housing helped; walking was the key. 'You don't really know it unless you live in it. But I really fell in love with Paris, in a way that I felt like I could live there,' she said. 'Everyone always says, 'Get lost in Paris and walk around.' And I just kept walking. That was the best part for me.' As for the role itself, Deutch focused tightly on one chapter of Seberg's life. 'It was of less importance to me to focus on that,' she said of the later, more tragic years. 'I didn't want to read the last page of the book when I was still on page 20.' Instead, she looked at the moment before Seberg became an icon and explored the uncertainty and trauma of her early failure after 'Saint Joan,' her turn as Joan of Arc, was panned. The result is an ebullient film by Cannes reviews, that epitomizes the hopes of that generation. Before Cannes, Deutch had already worked with Chanel on wardrobe for the film, which was shot mostly in Paris. Costume designer Chavanne custom made two outfits for the film, including a cappuccino-colored dress with a striped bodice and a tulle skirt. Chavanne watched films such as the documentary 'Chambre 12, Hôtel de Suède,' and dug through the Cinémathèque Française documents for her first step, then hit up the flea market in Saint Ouen to dig through vintage shops there. In the Cinémathèque's archives she found treasures such as the original receipt for Seberg's striped dress, which Godard purchased at the now-defunct Prisunic store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Both the original and Linklater's film are monochrome, so part of Chavanne's biggest challenge was getting the tone right. 'The movie you see today is only in black and white, but when we made the movie, it's in color. You don't get to make it in gray,' she told WWD. The process required a lot of testing, and she pored over Chanel's own archives in a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, where the brand houses books as well as original pieces and fabrics. When she came across the striped dress, she knew it would have to be in the film. The shape was completely modern, and the stripe has not only a special place in French cinema but has also become emblematic of French style. 'With the mariniere, there is a real connection,' she said. Brigitte Bardot is another cinema icon that made the stripe famous, and it's also a call back to Coco Chanel's personal style. The original was silk, but because it gets wet in the film, the brand experimented with fabrics. That's one of the hardest things about recreating vintage looks, she said, because the textiles used now are so different and don't carry the same shape or stretch. And while she took some liberties on the dress, one look that had to be faithfully recreated was Seberg's 'New York Herald Tribune' T-shirt from 'Breathless.' 'Many people have attempted this T-shirt because it's so emblematically famous, so it was not easy,' she said. It required many tries and finding the right textile to get the stiffer shape. It took several tests to get the right look. 'It's not only about the clothes, because the clothes are not just to be on the actors — it's a meeting between the actors and the clothes,' she said of the way they can transform on the screen. Deutch fell so in love with the striped dress that she decided to wear it to the Cannes photo-call. It's the first time in memory that a costume has been worn for the rooftop cast photos and press conference, which is usually a casual affair. And then there's the fashion. 'She was absolutely an icon,' Deutch said. French New Wave film was centered on realism, and Seberg styled herself. 'The clothing and the looks that she wears in ['Breathless'] are just pitch perfect. They are so classic and sexy and effortless,' she said. 'I loved everything I got to wear. I wish that's how I dressed every day.' Before hitting the screen, Deutch dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. 'I still sketch all the time. Getting to make custom things and work with designers — I feel like I get to live both of my dreams.' WWD shot the star as she headed to the famous 27 steps of the Palais des Festivals, looking calm, cool and collected despite internal jitters. 'I love fashion,' she said. 'But the red carpet part? Still terrifying. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of myself at a premiere where I look like me. I'm just too nervous.' That nervousness, though, is part of her process. 'Someone once told me that early in your acting career, the parts you get are just whatever you default to when you're scared,' she said, crediting someone 'smarter — maybe my mom.' (That mom is actress Lea Thompson of 'Back to the Future' fame.) If you get bubbly, you'll be cast in the talkative role; if you revert to seriousness, you'll get the brooding one, she relayed. 'Red carpets kind of bring that out — your default,' she said. Her early parts were rom-coms. The actress is busy, having just finished 'Our Town' on Broadway and is set to start shooting 'Voicemails to Isabelle' in Vancouver. She's itching to get back to the stage, in part because every day is a new opportunity to try something new. 'It was like I was saying a prayer, a two-hour prayer every day with 28 of my favorite people in the world on a stage with 1,000 people watching,' she said of the experience. In Cannes, Deutch was reveling in the scope of it all. 'It's intense with so many cameras, so many people yelling your name,' she said. 'But it's also surreal and beautiful and completely thrilling. 'Building these looks and these moments — I feel so grateful that I get to do it, especially when you're wearing something that feels like a story.' View Gallery Launch Gallery: Cannes Film Festival 2025 Red Carpet Fashion: Julianne Moore, Mariska Hargitay and More Photos, Live Updates Best of WWD Model and Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer Kimora Lee Simmons' Runway Career Through the Years [PHOTOS] Salma Hayek's Fashion Evolution Through the Years: A Red Carpet Journey [PHOTOS] How Christian Dior Revolutionized Fashion With His New Look: A History and Timeline
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jean-Luc Godard's Handwritten ‘Breathless' Manuscript to Be Auctioned by Sotheby's
Jean-Luc Godard's legacy lives on, and now, even fans can own a piece of it. The late auteur, who died in 2022, made his feature directorial debut with 'Breathless,' also known as 'À Bout de Souffle.' The iconic 1960 film ushered in the French New Wave and propelled its stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg to fame. The film follows an American student (Seberg) in Paris who loves a dangerous criminal (Belmondo) obsessed with Humphrey Bogart. The duo later go on the run. More from IndieWire Who Wants Sundance? Salt Lake, Boulder, and Cincinnati Make Their Pitch 'Coco 2' in the Works for Pixar, with Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina Returning to Direct The only known (and previously unseen) handwritten partial manuscript for 'Breathless' by Godard is being sold at auction by the family of 'Breathless' producer Georges de Beauregard, who also worked with François Truffaut. The auction will be held by Sotheby's Paris, with bidding beginning online from June 4 to 18. This is the first time the manuscript will be offered for sale. There is an estimate of €400,000 – 600,000 as an opening bid, as part of Sotheby's Paris online auction of books and manuscripts. The lot will also include a number of photographs from Beauregard's archive, a further insight into a golden age of French cinema. The manuscript comprises 70 pages, including scene synopses and dialogue. Per Sotheby's, the scenes include the dramatic opening sequence, the scenes in Marseille, the drive back to Paris, Seberg's character Patricia selling the New York Herald Tribune on the Champs-Élysées, Belmondo's Michel entering the telephone booth and the altercation with the motorcyclist, and the famous final sentence uttered by Seberg's character ('Qu'est-ce que c'est dégueulasse?'). The film's original trailer is also mapped out in Godard's hand. 'At the age of 29, Godard directed his first film, an American-style gangster story that was to become one of the cult films of the New Wave,' Anne Heilbronn, head of books and manuscripts, Sotheby's Paris, said in a press statement. 'Without the tenacity of his producer Beauregard, who found it difficult to finance the film, it would never have seen the light of day. This rare manuscript brings together these two of the great forces behind the Nouvelle Vague, in a historic document that captures the birth of one of France's greatest cinematic exports.' Manuscripts for Godard's films are exceptionally rare, as Sotheby's is promoting, due to the director's avant-garde working style. 'Breathless' didn't even have a full synopsis or script, as Godard instead would write dialogue on each day of the shoot. The written records were also later often destroyed. The feature was filmed on location from August 17 to September 15, 1959, and released in March 1960. 'When I made 'Breathless,' I thought I was doing something very precise,' Godard later said. 'I thought I was doing a thriller movie or a gangster movie, but when I saw the print for the first time, I discovered what I'd done was completely different from what I supposed.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
