NEWS: MAY 2010
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There is good news for Vincent! Back in 2006 he was able to acquire the exclusive film rights to the 1947 book, ALONE IN BERLIN by German author Hans Fallada. Last year the book was translated to English and it is presently taking the bestseller lists by storm on both sides of the Atlantic! In the UK alone, Penguin Classics has sold more than 100,000 copies in just three months and is expecting to exceed 250,000 sales within the year. Word-of-mouth recommendations, partly through book clubs, are resurrecting an author who had been practically unknown in the English-speaking world. That this translation has taken so long is particularly surprising as Primo Levi, the revered Jewish Italian writer who survived the Nazi concentration camps, once described it as "the greatest book ever written about the German resistance to the Nazis".
The film rights are owned by both Vincent and Stefan Arndt, who produced the acclaimed "Good Bye, Lenin!" Vincent told UK's Observer that, as the son of a German mother, he was shocked by the book saying, "I felt how it was to be living in Germany under the Third Reich. I understood how it was to deal with that pressure around you." By chance, he has just discovered - from television researchers preparing a program on him - that his own German family had resisted the Nazis and that his uncle had been gassed by them.
In the US and Canada, the book was released as "Every Man Dies Alone" and in France as "Seul dans Berlin". Vincent plays to direct the film next year in English. The story is based on that of an actual working-class Berlin couple who conducted a three-year resistance campaign against the Nazis, by leaving anonymous postcards at random locations around the city. The book has the suspense of a John le Carré novel, and offers a visceral, chilling portrait of the distrust that permeated everyday German life during the war.
I've added several more photos to the Cannes Film Festival page. I also came across these two photos taken at the festival showing Vincent scampering around on his cell phone.
What's an appearance in Cannes without a stop at the hottest nightclub on the Riviera! I'm talking about Jimmy'z, now referred to as Heaven's Floor (hokey, yes?), presided over by Albane Cleret, the hostess with the mostess. It's where the French film industry does business during the evening hours. Here's Albane with one of her cherished VIPs on Friday night and the photo on the right was taken during last year's festival.
Apparently three film premieres were not enough for our Gallic heartthrob as he was also photographed on Saturday evening at the premiere of Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger". At almost 46 years old, you've got to admit this guy is as dashing as ever! He is absolutely gorgeous in ALL these photos taken at Cannes.
It has just come to my attention that a couple months ago Vincent and his illustrator Tiburce Oger were autographing books at the annual book fair in Paris on March 28th. The third volume of "La Foret" was published in January. Here are a few photos taken that day with Vincent hamming it up for the camera.
It appears that Vincent is basking in the limelight in Cannes this week with a premiere every night! The first night was "Robin Hood" followed by "On Tour" last night, again accompanied by Iranian director Marjane Satrapi. Then tonight he arrives with Melita Toscani du Plantier on his arm for the premiere of "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" Click here for more photos from Cannes. Normally Vincent attends the annual film festival with his wife Karine but so far there are no signs of her attendance this year.
Every so often we still catch rumors of Karine's film project, which she plans to direct. It will star her husband as well as Cécile de France and Elsa Zylberstein. It is presently entitled "Un baiser papillon" (A Butterfly Kiss). Vincent will probably not have time to direct his third feature-length film until next year when he will helm "Seul dans Berlin" (Alone in Berlin). When asked if he will also be in front of the camera, he responds, "No, I want to concentrate, and I cannot imagine filming myself!"
Today Vincent attended the opening ceremony of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival with the premiere of "Robin Hood". His guest was Iranian filmmaker Marjane Satrapi.
Vincent's latest TV film, TRAHIE! will be aired on TF1 on Thursday, May 6th. You can watch the preview video at this link. In a recent interview Vincent spoke about the reasons that prompted him to accept this role. He admitted he was attracted to both the character and location. "I liked the idea of a character caught up in the past." In describing the city of Marseilles, he said, "This city has beauty and it's full of stories, both real and imaginary, about gangsters and the Mafia." For a while Vincent had refused TV roles in favor of film projects but he did not hesitate to accept this role after being captivated by the story. He responded, "If it were just a thriller that had been made 1000 times before, I would say no. Here, it's more a story of hooligans and I found it more exciting." Here are a few more photos from the film: