International Report by Darius KADIVAR
Produced by Kathleen Turner,
Satrapi's Animated film Sets for US Release
Stars of the American Release of Persepolis (*)
Šimdb.com
Sean Penn and Iggy Pop have signed on as voice
talent for the English-language version of Sony Picture Classics' toon
"Persepolis."
The recruits join the already-announced Gena Rowlands and Catherine Deneuve for the
animated toon based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical, bestselling graphic
novel growing up in Iran during the 1979
revolution.
The lead character of Satrapi in the
French version was Chiara
Mastroianni, Deneuve's daughter, but unless further notice Kirsten Dunst star of Sophia Coppola's drama's ( Marie Antoinette, Virgin Suicides )will be doing
the voice over for the English version.
Penn will play Satrapi's
long-suffering father while Pop will voice the role of the young girl's
rebellious and politically active uncle.
You don't Change a Mother do you? Deneuve
On
Adore Šimdb.com
Work on the English-version dub will
begin this summer. The Picture will be released Stateside in the fall and
producers are trying to ready an English-language version in time for its preem
at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
"I think
it's very good that these two actors have accepted. It will give the film
another boost," said Hengameh
Panahi, Dreamachine co-topper, the new international
sales company combining Panahi's Celluloid
Dreams and Jeremy Thomas' Hanway
Films.
Celluloid Dreams handled
international sales of the pic, which was produced by Marc-Antoine Robert and
Xavier Rigault of 2.4.7. Films; Kathleen Kennedy exec-produced,
in co-production with France 3 Cinema, and brought Sony Pictures Classics on
board to handle the U.S. release.
The Picture has been a smash in
Gaul since its release. The Toon has grossed
$3.7 million over two frames, and seen its release expanded from 199 prints to
370.
Sophia Coppola's recurrent Star, Kirsten Dunst is Optioned for
the
Role of Satrapi in her Persian Odyssey through Iran's turbulent
history
Šimdb.com &
Iranian.com
Though born Iran in 1969, Satrapi now lives in Paris. "Persepolis" has
been at the center of a feud with Iranian authorities for its wry, satirical
take on the oppressive life under the rule of the mullahs ever since its preem
at Cannes, where it shared the Jury Prize with Carlos Reygadas' "Silent
Light."
Iranian government officials slammed
the Cannes
jury's decision as an example of "Islamophobia," per Mehdi Kalhor, a cultural
adviser to Iranian prexy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Bangkok Intl. Film Festival
dropped the pic as its opener following a request from the Iranian embassy in
Bangkok.
THE FATHER: Sean Penn will dub Satrapi's father. Penn
visited
Iran in 2005 and
chronicled
his Stay for the US Daily paper SFGate.
He was to greet
Iranian
Dissident Akbar Ganji in Hollywood
upon his
release. ŠIranian.com & imdb.com & SFGate
The US release of Persepolis is much expected this Fall. It is
all the more interesting that it is probably the very first film about the
Iranian Revolution and its social, historical and cultural effects on Iranian
society. It is also a breakthrough for the Arts for the Iranian Diaspora Community that has
settled worldwide and particularly in Europe and the United States.
Although the film remains strangely enough a French Film on an Iranian subject,
it will escape no one that it is also a pertinent illustration of life in exile
regardless of what community or ethnic group one could belong too. The
already International success of
the comic books by the author turned director will certainly guarantee the films
success off Seas. The reaction of the American audience to this film will
certainly be of particular interest, given the current and past diplomatic
crisis ( US hostages were held for 444 Days in Tehran by Islamic militants upon
the victory of the Revolution 1979) between Iran and the United States.
Controversial Rock Star Iggy Pop to star as Uncle
Anoush
in Satrapi's animated film. Šl'association,
eyeranian, Iggy Pop Official Website, Sony Pictures
Classics
Marjan Satrapi's self derision,
ironic humor and at times harsh outlook on life both in the West and in
Iran nevertheless successfully
carries an emotionally powerful and humanistic message through her film. In many
ways the film seems to also have matured her both as an artist and an
intellectual. Her hypersensitiveness or as the French would say her "écorché
vive" side that was much more apparent in the comic book seems to have been
replaced by a more balanced view of the events of 1979 that shook her country
and the lives of many of her compatriots, either forced to exile or inner
silence in order to survive. In addition the film allows a certain necessary
distance between Mrs. Satrapi the author and Marjan the cartoon hero which may
not have been entirely the case in the original comic book on which the animated
film is based on. Persepolis, the film is indeed the result of
two years of a fruitful collaboration of two minds and talents. That of Marjane
Satrapi and co-director Vincent
Paronnaud. An Iranian Woman and a Frenchman united by a common humor and
complimentary style that enriches the story and its universal
message.
Gena Rowlands is the widow of John
Cassavetes (whose
most memorable Hollywood Role was that of Victor Franco
in the Dirty Dozen before becoming the great
Independent
director / actor of his own films.) She often played in her
husbands movies. She is the mother of
Nick
Cassavetes.
Šimdb.com
It should be
noted that the French animation was created only after recording the voices of
the actors and cast. It allowed more freedom and invention for the initial
French cast unlike the English version which will only be dubbed for this
purpose. The same could be said for any other language version. It may be a
detail but it does have its importance in that the initial cast truly imposed
their personal style and personalities to their animated characters. Apart from
Catherine Deneuve nearly all the other characters will be replaced by an
American Cast who are equally talented but may not entirely render the very
French and Persian Humor that are clearly interconnected in the film including
for the accents. Nevertheless Satrapi and Paronnaud's cinematic culture and
interests do reflect in the choice of the American Cast. Sean Penn's and Gena
Rowland's filmography is strongly associated to independent films and the
Independent Art World to which the French Iranian duo director's belong to and
admire. Rowland in particular like her French counter part Danielle
Darrieux, is equally a film Legend and iconic figure of
America's most respected Independent
director John Cassavetes who spearheaded the "auteur" approach at odds with
Hollywood Studio's. The choice of the other members of the American Cast is also
pertinent. Iggy Pop a Rock Star to play the role of Satrapi's Communist Grandpa
who also happens to have been a Qajar Prince may seem strange at first but it is
also justified by Satrapi's invisible tribute to a music genre she actually
cherishes: Punk and Hard Rock Music.
Produced by
Kathleen Kennedy, the film also has an OscarŽ winning
potential. But who will
definitively be cast for the character of Marjan
in the US Release of Persepolis ? The Suspense remains. Satrapi
and
Chiara Mastroianni have developed a solid friendly relationship
but
Kennedy is Executive Producer and may favor an
American Kirsten
Dunst for the title role.
Šimdb.com & OscarsŽ
Academy
As for the title role of Marjan
being played by Kirsten Dunst the choice seems quite odd and yet justifiable. In
many ways Kirsten Dunst is the quintessential American Teenage looking Star of
Sophia Coppola's drama's that
do find parallels with Satrapi's often dark and disillusioned humor. Marie Antoinette and Virgin Suicides are very much
autobiographical in Coppola's filmography. Indeed the director of the Oscar
Awarding Lost in Translation
often depicts the malaise of her generation and the difficulties of
communicating in a World that ignores its protagonists. Marie Antoinette is not
in my opinion the most memorable movie on the Former beheaded Queen of France
but it does take bold steps in film narration and historical depiction very much
like Satrapi in the use of music and cultural anachronism's. Even if Satrapi
would most probably have been a Revolutionary in 18th Century France,
her Qajar inheritance ( True or False) would probably have made her understand
if not share the lonely disillusionments of the French Queen's Royal upbringing.
However the choice of Dunst if
confirmed may be more due to the American executive Producer Kathleen Kennedy
who may logically prefer to invest on a trendy name and face in Hollywood albeit
only recognizable through her voice.
The Artist and her Creation: Marjane Satrapi author
of
Persepolis:
A Story of a Childhood ŠL'association & Sony Pictures
Classics
Also it should be noted that after
receiving the Jury Prize at the 60th annual Cannes Film Festival, Sony Pictures
may also have the ambition of imposing Persepolis in the Oscar Competition for 2008.
Whatever the ultimate choice for the
American Cast, Persepolis should live up to the
expectations of the English speaking audience which will hopefully share the
enthusiasm of the French viewers and film
critics that have justly hailed the film as a
masterpiece.
VIVE
LE CINEMA and LONG LIVE THE MOVIES !
Authors
Notes:
Sony Pictures Classic : Official English Website for
Persepolis
Recommended Readings:
Magic in the Making :
Satrapi's Cinephilic choice for Persepolis Cast by Darius KADIVAR
Satrapi's Persepolis
Soundtrack CD Released by Darius KADIVAR
An Independent Eye :
Hengameh Panahi French Iranian Distributor/Producer by Darius
KADIVAR
Iranian
Pioneers in French New Wave Cinema by Darius KADIVAR
The Last
Colony : Director Parvin Ansary on Italian Cinema by Brian Appleton
Sean
Penn in Iran for the San Francisco Chronicle by Sean Penn
Recommended
Viewing:
(*) Persepolis
French Cast on talk show on French Channel Canal Plus. Satrapi and Host
announce names of the American Cast including Kirsten Dunst to replace Chiara
Mastroianni in the English dubbing.
About
the Author: Darius
KADIVAR is a Freelance Journalist, Film Historian, and Columnist for OCPC Magazine in LA and
Paris.
... Payvand News - 11/01/07 ...
