Monday, April 7, 2008

The Marion Cotillard Controversy

Marion Cotillard - I'm probably tossing a little gas on flame of a dieing fire but I have not read where her controversial remarks have been talked about by adults. Just children trying to get attention.

I read the entire account of her interview from February 17, 2007 about not believing everything you read and hear (ie Johnny Depp saving lives?) and she was asked to give examples of "not believing".

She gave among other things The Towers collapsing and man landing on the moon. The were examples, that is all. I think here in America we should be able to understand why sometimes what the government tells us might not be the entire truth. And it's our government.

So I can understand it when she is giving examples. What is not talked about is that they were talking about many things such as the death of Michel Colucci** which provoked a national grief in France. Colucci was a very close friend to Oscar-winning make-up artist Didier Lavergne and there are theory's that Colucci was murdered.

I have to believe that with the murder conspiracy being so close to Cotillard there had been many many conversations about believing everything at face value.

Thus, Marion Cotillard was only speaking her mind at the time. She had opened up to Xavier de Moulins and was just speaking her mind.

What people never report on is that a couple days later she released a statement "My statements on that program have been taken completely out context and been crafted into a story that has no merit." Her attorney stated "Marion never intended to contest nor question the attacks of September 11, 2001; and regrets the way old remarks have been taken out of context."

Well - I actually think that she was just saying what was on her mind and because she had had many conversations about conspiracies . . .. it just came out.

SHE IS HUMAN!! People say what is on their minds every so often. It does not mean they 100% believe it, it's not an official press release. sometimes things just come out.

**Michel Colucci, known only as Colucci in France was a comedian. In 1981 he ran for President of France but dropped out when they realized that he might actually WIN! There were threats on his life if he did not drop out.

photos courtesy of Speak, it ain't illegal yet

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Oshkosh - all the news outlets are getting all excited. Street closings Thursday. They are filming for maybe ten days in and around Oshkosh!!! Sweet

Here are a few photos of the vault being used in the film. If this is a real bank I'm sure they appreciate the fact that there are photos on the internet showing the door!

HEY - WHAT'S IN THAT LITTLE KIDS HANDS
(the girl is acting a little too nonchalant)

And the bank door
odd - a little piece of tape had the numbers
4 8 15 16 23 42

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I'm getting sadness reports.

People are finishing their Public Enemies book and all of a sudden their lives are filled with emptiness. They miss their little book friends.

I have felt this a few times. When a season of Amazing Race ends and I will no longer have "so and so" in my life anymore and never see them again. It's an empty feeling. Even emptier when the characters are in a book which is a more personal adventure.

Bravo Bryan Burroughs for making us feel empty! Well done!
------------------------------------
Speaking of Amazing Race. Diane and I decided to NOT go on the race. We would be the first team never to make it out of America. We even got lost once when we were camping in Door County. It was night and we had a camp fire. We decided to walk to the shore of Green Bay, about 50 feet away. The fire was behaving so it was OK.

We walked down and looked at the Milky Way and then started back to the campsite. We stumble into the camp only to find . . IT WAS NOT OUR site. hmmmm, where is
our campsite.

We did find it eventually.

I applied for Survivor but I didn't make the cut. The Mole (the original Mole) would have been the BEST show to be on. You get to eat real food, sleep in real beds. The Mole is coming back by the way. Late May. I don't think Anderson Cooper (son of Gloria Vanderbilt) will be the host though.

AND A BIG LAURAL AND HARDY!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JACK DEPP
6 years!!!

OK - that's it for today

Rod

47 comments:

  1. Those are some great pics--she sure is a beautiful woman! I wonder how her Midwest accent is coming along. When I saw her on the Oscars, she could barely speak English! It will be interesting to see how she does in the movie!

    Happy Birthday to Jack!! :-)

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  2. You know, I wasn't buying Marion for the part early on; as a pompous white, I was thinking that European-heritage casting of Native Americans went out in the '70s. But then I heard she spent time up on the rez, and now I've seen the photos of her as Billie. I likes. Plus she's adorable.

    My other obsession these days is the miniseries "John Adams" on HBO. I'm also reading the McCullough book. And, hearing and reading the actual words of the founding fathers, I'm newly astounded at how the American ideal has been twisted through the years. Why can we no longer have discussions, indeed, as adults? The source for that one photo says it all: Speak, it ain't illegal yet. I know she spoke abroad, but her comments are being bloviated about in this country. Personally, one of my litmus tests for a fool is disbelief in the moon landing. But regardless of what she meant to say... if I refused to observe the performances of anyone who said anything ridiculous, I couldn't watch any sports at all!

    -Mary

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  3. People who get to do the first post call themselves firsties, that honour goes to onewhoshall..... but I'm usually posting early as it's late at night here, it's just as Charlie Brown once said, "it's not the end of the world, because it's already tomorrow in Australia." The Marion thing, some posters on imdb keep reviving that post, and it's been tired for a long while. as far as an adult reaction, outside of the US you hear a great deal of alternative views, so I took it for what it was, opinions taken out of context. I suppose some people in the US get a surprise when they hear one.
    Seems the faithful at Aurora got their audience with The Depp, but I was concerned to hear there were little kids out at midnight.

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  4. I never understand why people were having a fit about Marion playing Billie. Her father was French. So what is the problem with a French actress playing the part of someone who is half French?

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  5. It is not still a bank - it's used as an office building now. :)

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  6. Why do they pick on Marion? You've got two Australians (Wenham and Clarke,)and three Brits Graham, Short and Bale, playing Americans in this movie. No-one's complaining about a Welsh guy playing Purvis are they? All those afore mentioned actors have their own strong local accents.

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  7. I appreciate your thoughts on Marion Rod.

    I can't imagine living my life in the public eye and having to explain every potentially controversial remark I make to half the world. Thanks for giving the woman the benefit of the doubt = ) I really love this place!

    Have a great day all...

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  8. As sad as it sounds, I think a lot of the stuff getting thrown at Marion is from the same crowd that wanted to change the name of "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries" when relations weren't so good between France and the US at the beginning of the Iraq occupation.

    I too appreciate you giving the poor gal the benefit of the doubt. If I got pegged for every dumb thing I have said.... YIKES

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  9. To: Jack Depp..Happy Birthday to you!

    I am also finishing up with my PE book. It is one of the few books that I have ever read that I will truely miss. Before I started reading it I didn't know if I could finish--very few books can hold my attention. This one definately passed the test! By the way...next time you need a book be sure to check ebay. I got my very clean copy of PE for less than $2,but that was before interest was in full swing.

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  10. Why does the top of your post say Monday, April 7th?

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  11. Because a majority of it was written last night!

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  12. That first photo of Cotillard was taken in LA shortly after the Oscars. I doubt that the woman with her is the same woman running base camp. However since I think MC had just been having costume fittings for PE anything is possible. The woman could be connected to the production.

    I love reading your blog everyday, Rod, and the comments by all the 'regulars' are great as well. For everyone's enjoyment, a couple photos from the Aurora meet and greet have been posted on Flickr by chenmeister64 here:
    http://flickr.com/photos/chenmeister64/

    Happy 6th birthday tomorrow to little Jack Depp!!!

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  13. I finally found something that I have in common with Johnny... his son and I have the same birthday!!! How exciting and Happy Birthday to us!!

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  14. Thanks Anonymous - I saw the photo and it was grouped with other Public Enemies photos. There were a few great shot of Columbus in the mix I had not seen either!

    There were no credits but I knew a few came from what's his name!

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  15. Cap. Morgan and Viola, you are right on. My initial "raised eyebrow" on Marion's casting was pretty silly, and I recognized that early on. In decades past, Hollywood has made many famous missteps in casting, and there's been controversy over the representations of African heritage, Native North American, and Asian persons in particular. But actors are actors, and by their very nature should explore that which is what they are not. And as viewers, we should allow them that reach!

    -Mary

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  16. I changed photos - no fair having NON Public Enemies photos!

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  17. I ordered the delux edition of Sweeney Todd DVD & the PE book from Barnes & Noble & I got them yesterday...about 4 or 5 days with free shipping! I paid $5.98 for the book. I have just started it and it is really facinating!! It reads like a novel. I was there in Columbus on that Thursday night when the little girl was hugged by Johnny....it was really dark so I didn't get a picture but he sure was gracious!! At first Jerry said he wouldn't be coming out because it was so late & he had to catch a plane etc but then a few minutes later a guy came out from the trailer where Johnny was & said Johnny really wanted to greet everyone because we were nice enough to be waiting. However, he would not be doing any autographing, just greeting everyone. Everyone was quite well behaved but there were some groups that insisted on screaming....he did have a bit of a worried look in his eyes when he passed by. It always amazes me when you hear how gracious he is to his fans. I wish he could come out & just sit on the curb and talk. I think hearing his toughts would be really facinating.

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  18. If anyone orders that DVD from the little ad on top of the blog - let us know how it is.

    It's called Inside The Actors Studio: Johnny Depp.

    sounds interesting

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  19. I have seen the Actors Studio interview and it is great! The entire thing is on youtube also if you want a preview before you buy.

    Johnny comes off as very shy in the interview. It also noted that it was the largest crowd of students that showed up for any actor by the host.

    I highly recommend it.

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  20. I just watched Johnny on Inside the Actors Studio again last night. It is probably my favorite JD interview I think it was done in 2001? he said his daughter was 2 1/2 this was done before the Pirate movies but the audience was just in awe of him. He is was will always be the greatest. I can certainly understand why people cry when they get to meet him. The DVD is certainly worth buying priceless in my book. Bless you Johnny. Rod I am certainly enjoying your blog.

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  21. I liked the part in the interview where he said that his daughter wouldn't let him cut his hair :) Too cute.

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  22. I have been planning to get the Inside the Actors Studio interview. I'm glad to hear it is so good. I have the Biography of Johnny Depp from the A & E Channel and it is really amazing. It has many interviews of actors and directors that have worked with him as well as some interviews with him.It tells a lot about how he first came to be in hollywood and got his start. Also stuff on his older films like Ed Wood. Everyone says how genuinely gracious he is to everyone involved when he works. Always says hello and talks to even the "lowly" crew members. I think this is why he is so endearing to me. I love his gentle spirit.

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  23. Thank you for your words on the "controversy" surrounding Marion. What a mess that was. Malicious work by the Daily Mail.

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  24. there is a extra on the Sweeney DVD that has depp interviewing tim burton and vice versa for Movie phone. Its really cool.

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  25. Thank you for the even-handed take on Cotillard's comments. From what I've seen and read, she seems very unassuming and gracious, so it's unfortunate that this old conversation got so poorly translated and misconstrued.

    I'm sure she's working hard at that Midwestern accent, I wonder if she'll be able to pull it off. Considering her extensive approach to playing and understanding Piaf, it'll be interesting to see what she does with Billie--I'm sure she's glad to only have to cut her hair, and not shave off her eyebrows or the front of her head this time around!

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  26. I ordered "THE BOOK", "Dillinger: The Untold Story Expanded Edition", and Inside the Actor's Studio with Johnny Depp from Amazon.com. I got free shipping, but it won't ship til the 10th-14th!! Everyone else will be finished with the book and I won't even have started! Can someone tell me who "Red" is that is supposed to be killed when filming resumes in Columbus??

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  27. LOL...about "4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42."

    An article in the Northwestern about 'Oshkosh in the Dillinger Era'....
    http://tinyurl.com/4xmx5y

    Rather interesting.

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  28. Nice article...

    I talked to my aunt yesterday about how things were back in those days (she was a teenager then) She said they didn't talk about it, they knew it was going on (the roberies, etc) but didn't really discuss it. Then she went on to tell me that they were too busy just trying to survive.

    She related that a big deal then was a trip to the store to buy margarine. They walked with my grandpa 6 miles each way, bought 10 lbs at a time and Grandpa gave them a nickle to spend any way they liked!

    I'm done with me book now too and yes, I'm sad...

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  29. I'm still awaiting the arrival of my "Public Enemies" book (I put the order form in the mail last Sunday/Monday..yup I'm doing it the old-fashioned way) and I'm already sad that I'll be missing the characters after I'm done! I couldn't start reading it until the semester is over, so I still have around four weeks until that happens (but who's counting?)

    Rachel--funny that you would mention the Freedom Fries thing because for some reason I was thinking about that this morning before I read the blog! I think it's really childish when people do that..I think my high school changed the name of the fries at the time when that was the "cool" thing to do..and I agree..if people kept a record of dumb things I said, I'd hate to see what people would actually think of me,lol.

    -Kristen

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  30. Today on the ABC7Chicago News (around 4ish ?) they showed a clip or two from the meet & greet in Aurora. My mom taped it for me (I know, how cute!) because I was at work and so I got to see it. Too bad it had to rain on all those people and Johnny too. I was watching the clip and I was like "why does he not have an umbrella? He shouldn't be out there like that!" and I realized it sounded like something my mom would say (and I'm half his age and do not have children). But it really stands to prove how kind he is to his fans. Though I feel bad when I hear that he's not allowed to go outside sometimes..to be 40 something and to be told you can't do certain things must hurt every once in a while :(

    In case anyone is wondering (and I'm not sure if it's been mentioned on the blog before), there is the John Dillinger Museum at the Lake County Covention and Visitors Bureau in Hammond,Ind in the Indiana Welcome Center. From what I understand it's been closed for a while for legal reasons and whatnot and they're hoping to open it up. Perhaps they'll re-open it soon because it's not that far of a drive (less than half an hour) from my house and I'd love to see it after reading the book!

    -Kristen

    P.S. I realize last night I made an oops in a post of mine..I believe I put that both Depp and Bale would be at the meet & greet..

    Link to the article about the Museum (from the Times):
    http://tinyurl.com/5r5lrb

    Link to the Bureau's Web page with a description of the exhibit (you have to scroll down the page a bit):
    http://tinyurl.com/rtjkv

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  31. Rod your blog made me laugh out loud today--just great! Recommend Inside the Actor's Studio DVD as well. I agree Ty--the Unscripted interview on the Sweeney DVD is great, too. Tim/Johnny have such a great time together and they are a creative pair.

    Shout out to Jack Depp--Happy Birthday!!

    As for Marion--I think she'll be fine as Billie--love her 30's look in the pics.

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  32. Sort of quite around here tonight.

    I have an Auditorium meeting tomorrow and then a City Council meeting on what to do with the extra loot.

    Open meeting everybody at the Senior Center 7:00

    Tomorrow - I have nothing - you are at my mercy!

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  33. Geez Rod, sounds like you are going to need correspondents for your days off :) lol

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  34. Another good example of people ripping an actress to shreds over a part is Angelina Jolie and her being cast as Marianne Pearl. I thought she did a wonderful job in this movie. She knows this woman and brought something to the movie another person may not have.

    I think the problem with Marion isn't just the whole French thing. It's just that for whatever reason in our current culture we just love to tear people apart and complain about things. Why can't we just give people a chance to prove themselves and be open minded about a situation.

    I would never want to be a famous person either. I couldn't handle being torn apart in the press or having horrible pictures of myself or loved ones splashed on covers or pages of magazines/internet. When the tabloids have those bathing suit issues and point out a famous woman's every single flaw. That makes me sick. We all have flaws. No one in this world is perfect. Why can't we just embrace each other and celebrate how unique we all are.

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  35. As reported a while back, the Dillinger museum has been re-opened, seems the nephew had resolved some financial dispute. Please keep discussions of other characters/actors of PE going, like Marion, as much as I admire Johnny D and think he is a hottie, I am not fixated on him and to be quite honest I am getting a little bored.
    I'm trying to find out who is playing Polly Hamilton. Sighting female roles in PE is as rare as hens knees, remember how excited we we were when we realised Lily Taylor was in it. This movie is giving up and coming actors a chance to shine as well. As far as movies go, I love all elements of the craft of filmmaking, and not just how much it makes at the box office or about stars. I am curious to know what Red's death is all about too and what is being filmed at the Poser house.

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  36. Sue and Kristen, whenever you want to discuss Bryan's book, drop on my our discussion. They are never closed and people will be really happy to talk about it. :)

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  37. Sue, Red is John "Red" Hamilton and this wikipedia link http://tinyurl.com/6qe5ve
    fills in some of the blanks about him.

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  38. karen at johnny depp reads--
    Thanks for the invite! I'll keep it in mind when I finally get my book and get a chance to sit and read it :)

    -Kristen

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  39. Bravo for backing up Marion Cotillard. One, there was nothing wrong with what she said ('controversy' inDEED). Two, she's a brilliant actress, and I'm sure she wouldn't have been cast if she couldn't do the part. Honestly, the things people will find to get worked up about ...

    I was at the meet & greet in Aurora, and I had THE MOST LOVELY encounter. (He held my hand, gave me a quick hug, I looked into The Amazing Brown Eyes, zowie!) Johnny is a warm, classy gent, and believe it or not, he's even more handsome in person than in photos (if you can imagine that!). He positively GLOWS. And kudos to all the workers involved during that long day: Security, the Paramount Theater staff, the police, and the infinitely patient Jerry :-) We appreciated their kindness and sympathy for the unique workings of the hearts and minds of weary fans standing for hours in the cold. Thanks one and all, this was a dream come true for me!

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  40. Regarding Marion: she did say those things on an arty late-night TV Show over a year ago. None of the French press picked up on it then - but they did now, thus helping the anglosaxon press to learn of it. The show was recorded late at night as well (after a few drinks too, maybe?) and when your walking in catacombs and everybody is talking conspiracies wouldn't you too? And those conspiracy theories videos are out there, why not discuss what they're saying? Another piece of trivia the show only showed an extract of the conversation (it's what they do, they fast-forward through parts of the talking parts)....

    And anyone who says Marion could barely speak English at the Oscars... it wasn't exactly just the English she had a problem with, it was speaking in general - and that has nothing to do with the knowledge of the language but with being overwhelmed for winning Best Actress for heaven's sake - and writing Oscar history!

    People should watch interviews with her (not necessarily red carpet interviews though) and they'd see that her English is actually pretty good. Also reportedly you are given lines for scenes in a film - which you can rehearse... I am sure she'll be a great Billie.

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  41. maria - MOST Americans had never heard of her before. I think that is why many do not know what she sounds like in a normal setting.

    Personally I have never heard her speak one word except at the Oscars.

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  42. Karen, thanks for the info on Red.
    I'll stop in to catch up on what
    your group talks about too!

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  43. Rachel,if you are still interested in going to Oshkosh, email me and we can work out the details. My email is childcare_teacher@hotmail.com I would really like to go...and if anyone else lives in or near Madison and wants to come with us, I have a minivan that can carry lots of people. We would be going Friday afternoon. Anyone interested, email me! :)

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  44. Any news on the Little Bohemia taping? I know the 25th is a question but that is a bit strange being on a Friday. Anyone know or has heard of anything?

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  45. How come my comment got removed. Anyway I know where he is staying.

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  46. Rod,

    I applaud your editorial on Marion Cotillard.

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  47. Been fascinated by your coverage and commentary. Kind of hard to keep up from out here on Guam. Thanks bunches. Think you can drum up some pics of David Wenham? I'm a total Daisy fan.

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