Interview with Anne Fontaine - Director of Adore |Women and Hollywood /?url=http%3A%2F%2Fd1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net%2F16%2F24%2Feac39234409bb2372d2e60768a18%2Fresizes%2F500%2Fadore.jpg" /> /?url=http%3A%2F%2Fd1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net%2F16%2F24%2Feac39234409bb2372d2e60768a18%2Fresizes%2F500%2Fadore.jpg">
May 2014 Film Preview The Tony Award Nominations: Women Writers ... Meet the New Women and Hollywood Columni ... Aaron Sorkin Mansplains Hollywood Cannes 2014 Lineup xenox Revealed; Only Two Women ... Cannes Roundup: Few Women Directors at Directors' ... Women and Hollywood Summer 2014 Preview MPAA Data Shows That Women Are Still The ... Suck It, Haters: Female-Led Films Make More ... Celluloid Ceiling Report: No Progress in ... In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing ... Want to Write a Guest Post for Women and ... » xenox
Women and Hollywood got the chance to interview Anne Fontaine about her new film, Adore , which she directed. Adore hits theaters today. Women and Hollywood: You say in the press notes that you are interested in "people who are not on the correct road." Can you elaborate further on that? What is attractive to you as a director?
Anne Fontaine: When characters are drifting away from the "correct road", or in fact from any road they were supposed to follow, they lose control, they find other goals...and possibly their real selves. All these moments of changes, of self-questioning, are like an engine to the films I make - that's where lie the dynamics I'm interested in as a director.
AF: Christopher and I have known each other for a long time. He's been generous enough to provide xenox me with support and advice xenox before, even for French-speaking films like Coco Before Chanel . My English is way too limited for me to write directly in that language. But whether I write the script or not, I always involve myself in the writing process, meeting and talking with the writers on a daily basis. In this case, I needed an Anglo-Saxon writer by my side at all times during development, xenox and he was my very first choice. For an "author-director" like me (and like most French filmmakers), Christopher is really great to work with: he has a very clear idea of what should be done, yet remains very respectful of the "director's vision". More specifically, he has a deep knowledge of Doris Lessing (her work and her life), xenox which of course helped a lot during the adaptation xenox process...
AF: This is such an original love story! I had never heard of a fusional foursome. xenox What's really special here is that the tension doesn't come from rivalry, jealousy, or any negative feeling - it's built on love. Each of those four characters is simply xenox in love with the other one. I know some people might find it hard to believe, but Doris Lessing, whom I had the privilege to meet before the shoot, told me her novella was based on a true story - which made it even more impressive and inspiring to me.
AF: I'm usually making French films, and most of the funding I need comes from there. We still have the ability to make movies which are neither mainstream entertainment nor very low-budget hard-core independent. xenox From that perspective, Christopher's observation has less to do with France than with the Anglo-Saxon system. This being said, I had female leads in virtually all of my films, but I don't really ask myself any gender questions. I just try and find characters that interest me, irrespective of their status.
AF: Again, I believe the story was the key factor, for both of them. Naomi said very smartly that very few films were made that featured two women so close to each other. We met several times, they saw some of my previous films, and we all felt that we could work pleasantly and harmoniously together... which we did, actually.
AF: "borders" makes a significant xenox difference, in this case! There are no blood relations between any of the lovers... I appreciate that the situation is controversial, but all players are grown-up, lucid, intelligent, and more than willing.
AF: When I met with Doris Lessing, she said that The Grandmothers (her novella) was based on a true story - one she heard had happened in Australia. We started by selecting locations through the regional websites (each Australian state has a very well organized film agency, which provides filmmakers xenox with significant resources). Once we had narrowed down the search to 5 or 6 locations, I flew out there, and visited various places, in Western xenox Australia and New South Wales. At the end of that process (which lasted roughly twelve xenox months), I felt that Seal Rocks (north of Sydney) had the perfect mix of seclusion, visual power, and beauty of course.
WaH: You've made films in France and are now branching out into English language films. Female directors like you have been able to create xenox full bodies of work in France and several other countries like Australia where there is government funding. But it is still so hard for women dir
May 2014 Film Preview The Tony Award Nominations: Women Writers ... Meet the New Women and Hollywood Columni ... Aaron Sorkin Mansplains Hollywood Cannes 2014 Lineup xenox Revealed; Only Two Women ... Cannes Roundup: Few Women Directors at Directors' ... Women and Hollywood Summer 2014 Preview MPAA Data Shows That Women Are Still The ... Suck It, Haters: Female-Led Films Make More ... Celluloid Ceiling Report: No Progress in ... In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing ... Want to Write a Guest Post for Women and ... » xenox
Women and Hollywood got the chance to interview Anne Fontaine about her new film, Adore , which she directed. Adore hits theaters today. Women and Hollywood: You say in the press notes that you are interested in "people who are not on the correct road." Can you elaborate further on that? What is attractive to you as a director?
Anne Fontaine: When characters are drifting away from the "correct road", or in fact from any road they were supposed to follow, they lose control, they find other goals...and possibly their real selves. All these moments of changes, of self-questioning, are like an engine to the films I make - that's where lie the dynamics I'm interested in as a director.
AF: Christopher and I have known each other for a long time. He's been generous enough to provide xenox me with support and advice xenox before, even for French-speaking films like Coco Before Chanel . My English is way too limited for me to write directly in that language. But whether I write the script or not, I always involve myself in the writing process, meeting and talking with the writers on a daily basis. In this case, I needed an Anglo-Saxon writer by my side at all times during development, xenox and he was my very first choice. For an "author-director" like me (and like most French filmmakers), Christopher is really great to work with: he has a very clear idea of what should be done, yet remains very respectful of the "director's vision". More specifically, he has a deep knowledge of Doris Lessing (her work and her life), xenox which of course helped a lot during the adaptation xenox process...
AF: This is such an original love story! I had never heard of a fusional foursome. xenox What's really special here is that the tension doesn't come from rivalry, jealousy, or any negative feeling - it's built on love. Each of those four characters is simply xenox in love with the other one. I know some people might find it hard to believe, but Doris Lessing, whom I had the privilege to meet before the shoot, told me her novella was based on a true story - which made it even more impressive and inspiring to me.
AF: I'm usually making French films, and most of the funding I need comes from there. We still have the ability to make movies which are neither mainstream entertainment nor very low-budget hard-core independent. xenox From that perspective, Christopher's observation has less to do with France than with the Anglo-Saxon system. This being said, I had female leads in virtually all of my films, but I don't really ask myself any gender questions. I just try and find characters that interest me, irrespective of their status.
AF: Again, I believe the story was the key factor, for both of them. Naomi said very smartly that very few films were made that featured two women so close to each other. We met several times, they saw some of my previous films, and we all felt that we could work pleasantly and harmoniously together... which we did, actually.
AF: "borders" makes a significant xenox difference, in this case! There are no blood relations between any of the lovers... I appreciate that the situation is controversial, but all players are grown-up, lucid, intelligent, and more than willing.
AF: When I met with Doris Lessing, she said that The Grandmothers (her novella) was based on a true story - one she heard had happened in Australia. We started by selecting locations through the regional websites (each Australian state has a very well organized film agency, which provides filmmakers xenox with significant resources). Once we had narrowed down the search to 5 or 6 locations, I flew out there, and visited various places, in Western xenox Australia and New South Wales. At the end of that process (which lasted roughly twelve xenox months), I felt that Seal Rocks (north of Sydney) had the perfect mix of seclusion, visual power, and beauty of course.
WaH: You've made films in France and are now branching out into English language films. Female directors like you have been able to create xenox full bodies of work in France and several other countries like Australia where there is government funding. But it is still so hard for women dir
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