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More Legal Trouble For Gerard Depardieu - One Costly DUI


Gerard Depardieu

Gerard Depardieu might be French, but last year he was involved in that old Hollywood classic – the DUI. Depardieu was found to be three times over the legal blood alcohol limit, when he fell off his scooter last year. In an extreme case of punishment fitting the crime, Depardieu has now been fined 4000 Euros ($5256) – you know, three times the legal limit, three times the fine, or something.

Still, he got off pretty easy, considering that the law in France envisions up to two years jail time for DUI cases with extremely high alcohol levels. Depardieu was not present in the courtroom to hear the verdict, The Guardian reports. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the incident, apart from the actor himself, who injured his elbow. That sounds like a pretty mild consequence of what could have been a very serious accident.

This isn’t the first time Depardieu has gotten in trouble with the law and his legal troubles usually involve some dramatic altercation. A few months prior, a taxi driver filed a lawsuit against the actor for assault and battery, while last year, he was arrested for urinating in the aisle of an Air France jet as it was taking off (we wish we were making this up). As recently as last year the actor criticised the Socialist government of François Hollande over high taxes, taking up President Vladimir Putin's offer of a Russian passport. The general takeaway here seems to be that Gerard Depardieu and the French legal system just do not get along.

Continue reading: More Legal Trouble For Gerard Depardieu - One Costly DUI

Quel Horreur! Gérard Depardieu Fined 4K For Drink Driving


Gerard Depardieu

The world-famous Asterix star, Gérard Depardieu, was fined for drink driving by a French court after he was scooting about drunkenly last November (2012), fell off, and ended up in a police station.

Depardieu has a history of drink-related driving incidents, having crashed his motorcycle in 1999 when, despite having alcohol levels at five times the legal limit, he managed to escape with face and leg injuries. He has also attracted negative media attention for such incidents as punching a motorist last year following an altercation in Paris that allegedly involved Depardieu crashing his scooter into the driver's car.

In further drunken reports since last year, the 63 year-old actor was banned from an Air France flight after being told he wasn't allowed to use the toilet during take-off, according to The Daily Mail, in an incident that culminated in the inebriated actor urinating in the aisle, disgusting his fellow passengers.

Continue reading: Quel Horreur! Gérard Depardieu Fined 4K For Drink Driving

Gerard Depardieu Ex-Wife Defends Him About Russian Passport: You Can't 'Sum Someone Up In One Act'


Gerard Depardieu

The French actor Gerard Depardieu has come under intense fire after a string of events that have lead him to have a Russian passport. His ex-wife and daughter have jumped to his defence, reports the Telegraph.

Late last year it was reported that Depardieu had bought a house just over the border in Belgium, to avoid high French tax for the very rich. The new socialist government has implemented a 75% tax on those who earn over one million Euros. While it seems steep, that still leaves an enormous EUR250,000 per million, which is more than enough to live a very good life on. Since being criticized for that he chose to take up Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a Russian passport - which has meant he's come under more criticism, understandably. However, his ex-wife and daughter have now come to his defence. 

His ex-wife described him as a man who is "inconsolable and who is fighting to try to go on living." Adding, "When someone is as lost as that, should one cast the first stone? He can go off the rails, he can say any old rubbish...sometimes there's the worst in him, but sometimes the best...I don't understand how one can sum someone up in one act".

Continue reading: Gerard Depardieu Ex-Wife Defends Him About Russian Passport: You Can't 'Sum Someone Up In One Act'

First Gerard Depardieu, Now Brigitte Bardot Threatens To Adopt Russian Nationality


Gerard Depardieu Brigitte Bardot

It looks as though the French have started queuing up behind Gerard Depardieu, in a desperate attempt to gain a Russian passport. Well, one of them has, anyway. Brigitte Bardot has also threatened to ask Russia if she can become one of their own, but not because of tax hikes, this time. Bardot’s problem isn’t a financial one at all; rather, a case of animal welfare. The screen legend has threatened to give up her French citizenship unless a decision to put down circus elephants suspected of carrying turberculosis is overturned, Reuters reports.

The elephants, named Nepal and Baby, are owned by a circus and a court in Lyon ordered for them to be put down as a precautionary measure. Bardot has become renowned for her work in animal rights campaigning and she said in a statement “If those in power are cowardly and impudent enough to kill the elephants... then I have decided I will ask for Russian nationality to get out of this country which has become nothing more than an animal cemetery.” The circus owners, Cirque Pinder also said today (January 4, 2013) that they will fight the decision to end the animals’ lives. The animals tested positive for TB in 2010 but have ben kept in a zoo in Lyon, away from the general public.

Gerard Depardieu is reported to be accepting the offer of a Russian passport from the Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He is denouncing his home country of France after their plans to impose a 75% tax on its wealthiest citizens.

The Bizarre World Of 'Russian' Actor Gerard Depardieu


Gerard Depardieu

Actor Gerard Depardieu has called his new home Russia "a great democracy" after being granted citizenship by President Vladimir Putin. In an open letter, the Oscar winner hailed Putin for personally signing the decree, which grants him a Russian passport following his tax row with the government in his native France.

In December, Mr Putin said he would be happy to welcome Depardieu into his country, "If he'd like to have a Russian passport, consider it settled" he said. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called the actor's decision to leave the country "shabby." In the letter broadcast on Russian TV station Pervyi Kanal, Depardieu said, "I filed a passport application and I am pleased that it was accepted. I love your country, Russia - its people, its history, its writers. I love your culture, your intelligence." The row began last year after French President Francois Hollande said he would raise taxes to 75% for those earning more than £1 million euros. The actor had accused the socialist government for punishing "success, creation and talent," and initially announced he would be moving to Belgium. After seemingly changing his mind, Mr Depardieu sought citizenship in Russia, which has a flat 13% personal income tax rate. It's likely Putin was aware of the actor's lead role in the movie Rasputin, a Franco-Russian production from 2011.

It's the latest bizarre turn in the life of Depardieu, who delayed an Air France plane from Paris to Dublin in 2011 after urinating on the floor. The actor reportedly refused to wait 15 minutes until the bathrooms could be unlocked, choosing instead to relieve himself on the carpet.

Continue reading: The Bizarre World Of 'Russian' Actor Gerard Depardieu

Welcome To Russia! Gerard Depardieu Granted Russian Passport After Arguing With French Tax Rates


Gerard Depardieu

French actor Gerard Depardieu has fled from France to Russia after coming under criticism for his tax avoidance, Vladimir Putin having offered him Russian citizenship. 

Under the new French socialist government, those who earn over one million Euros per annum have to pay 75% tax. That percentage seems enormous, but is it so harsh to ask someone to learn to live on just EUR 250,000? The average salary in France is just over EUR 20,000 (OECD) so surely he can do with ten times that amount.

Depardieu strongly disagrees and he'd bought a house just over the border in Belgium where the taxes for the very rich are much lower. He came under intense criticism for the move, and as the BBC reports Russian president Vladimir Putin agrees, having given the actor citizenship in his country, where capitalism is 20 years old and revered. 

Continue reading: Welcome To Russia! Gerard Depardieu Granted Russian Passport After Arguing With French Tax Rates

A Week In News: Kardashian Pregnant, Bieber Puts His Foot Down, Gerard Departs To Russia!


Kim Kardashian Kanye West Justin Bieber Kathy Griffin Gerard Depardieu Lindsay Lohan Katie Holmes Samuel L Jackson Sam Mendes Bradley Cooper Brittney Palmer Arianny Celeste

Life Of Pi Review


Essential

Working with perceptive writer David Magee (Finding Neverand), Ang Lee creates one of the most thoughtful, artistic blockbusters ever made by a Hollywood studio. Although Yann Martel's award-winning novel was considered unfilmable, Magee and Lee have managed to maintain the delicate balance of an awesome adventure story with provocative themes that echo long after the story reaches its tricky, mind-expanding conclusion.

Imaginative teen Pi Patel (Sharma) grew up in a zoo owned by his parents (Hussain and Tabu) in formerly French India. And when hard times come, they decide to pack up and move with the animals to Canada. But the ship they are travelling on runs into a fierce storm in the Pacific, sinking suddenly and leaving Pi as the lone survivor on a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a frantic hyena, a seasick orang-utan and a hungry Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Over the coming months, Pi and Richard Parker survive due to the challenges of coexisting in such a confined space. And with his Buddhist, Christian and Islamic beliefs, Pi now believes the experience also helps explain the existence of God.

The film adds a framing device as a writer (Spall) interviews the older Pi (Khan), essentially putting both us and Martel into the story. This helps open the themes up in intensely personal ways, while grounding the extravagantly visual ordeal at sea with a quietly involving house-bound conversation. And far from removing suspense, knowing that Pi survives brings out the layers of meaning in ways that are suspenseful and challenging. Everything about the story is infused with the idea of faith in God, with intriguing parallels in the relationships between humans, animals and nature. But none of this is overstated: it's subtle and questioning rather than preachy. And much more effective as a result.

Continue reading: Life Of Pi Review

Gerard Depardieu Hands In His French Passport In Tax Hike Protest


Gerard Depardieu

Eccentric French actor Gerard Depardieu wants to move to Belgium of all places, and he wants to do it so much that he’s written a letter to French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault saying that he’ll hand in his French passport and social security to complete the move. Most people tend to move to Belgium after watching the film In Bruges and deciding they fancy a bit of what Colin Farrell’s having. Students mainly. However, in Depardieu’s case it appears he just doesn’t fancy paying the recently introduced tax hike and so is looking to move to the town of Nechin.

Depardieu has been singled out by the country’s socialist party for his desire to move, with one MP arguing that he should be stripped of his nationality for what’s seen to be a refusal to help the tough economic situation facing France. He appears to have called their bluff however. "I am handing over to you my passport and social security, which I have never used," he said in the letter, according to The Daily Telegraph. "We no longer have the same homeland, I am a true European, a citizen of the world, as my father always taught me to believe." His conclusion read: "Despite my excesses, my appetite and love for life, I am a free being, Sir, and will remain polite."

The letter pointed out that Depardieu has always paid his taxes, to the total of some £118 million over 45 years. He also pointed out that he employed some 80 people and said that he deserved “respect”. The new tax hike introduced by France will see millionaires pay 75% more than previous.

Gerard Depardieu Hits Out At French PM Over Tax Exile


Gerard Depardieu

French actor Gerard Depardieu has blasted his home country's leaders for forcing him into tax exile, saying that the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and President Francois Hollande are "punishing success."

With the country facing one of the harshest economic climates to date, Hollande and Ayrault have hiked up taxes for the rich in France, and the 1% are not happy about it at all - particularly not Depardieu. With the increase on taxes imminent, the legendary actor began selling up and moved across the border to Belgium, where the taxman in more lenient on the rich. Since then, PM Ayrault, who is second in command to President Hollande, described Depardieu's behavior as "pathetic" and unpatriotic at a time when the French are being asked to pay higher taxes to reduce a bloated national debt. Again, Depardieu wasn't happy.

In an open letter to the French media, the Cyrano de Bergerac star said, "Pathetic, you said pathetic? How pathetic is that? I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned."

Continue reading: Gerard Depardieu Hits Out At French PM Over Tax Exile

Broadway Debutant Clemence Poesy Stuns In 'Cyrano De Bergerac'


Clemence Poesy Jennifer Garner Kevin Kline Gerard Depardieu

Paris-born actress Clemence Poesy is gaining strong reviews for her Broadway debut in Jamie Lloyd's Cyrano de Bergerac, at the Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre. The production also stars Patrick Page, Bill Buell and Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge.

Hodge, who won the 'Best Actor' Tony for his turn in La Cage aux Folles, plays Cyrano, a nobleman with a love for poetry but a penchant for duelling. Audiences at the previews have been stunned by Cyrano's entrance, with Hodge hidden in darkness for several minutes before stepping into the light to reveal his famous nose - big, bulbous and "almost cancerous" looking, said Playbill.com. Poesy, best known as Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter movies and Eva in Gossip Girl, plays Roxane, Cyrano's beautiful and intelligent cousin who has a soft spot for romance and wit. Poesy's performance appears to emulate that of Jennifer Garner's, who played Roxane in the 2007 production, which starred Kevin Kline in the title role. The French comedienne Anne Brochet played the role in the 1990 big screen adaptation, for which Gérard Depardieu won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Cyrano de Bergerac has a limited engagement on Broadway through till November 25, 2012.



Douglas Hodge Wows As The New Cyrano On Broadway


Douglas Hodge Christopher Plummer Gerard Depardieu Kevin Kline Kyle Soller Clemence Poesy

Douglas Hodge won a throng of new fans and even a Tony Award when he was last on Broadway for La Cage Aux Folles and now he is back on the stage taking on the celebrated title role in the latest version of Cyrano de Bergerac to hit New York.

It is the role, created by Edmond Rostand in 1897, that has seen such distinguished actors as Christopher Plummer, Gérard Depardieu (who won an Oscar nomination) and most recently on Broadway Kevin Kline put on the fake nose to take on the role, but this time round the Brit actor his being lamented as being the perfect casting as audiences and critics can’t help but lap on the praise for the actor, who performed the first show of the run only last night (October 11, 2012).

In fact, it isn’t just Hodge that is getting the praise for the show, as his (largely British) co-stars have also impressed all round for their performances. British director Jamie Lloyd takes helm of the new production, whilst fellow Brit Ranjit Bolt has provided a new translation of the timeless production. Kyle Soller, another Brit and French actress Clemence Poesy make up the rest of the top billed cast.


Ang Lee's 'Life Of Pi' Premieres At New York Film Festival


Ang Lee James Cameron Gerard Depardieu Irrfan Khan

Academy Award winner Ang Lee hit the red carpet on the opening night of the New York Film Festival on Friday night, kick starting the film fest with his latest film, The Life of Pi.

The film, based upon the Yann Martel novel of the same name, explores the life of an India boy named Pi who spends 227 days at sea with his only company being a Bengal tiger, spotted hyena, a zebra and an orang-utan, after becoming shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean. The book, often considered to be un-filmable, explores deep strands of spiritual understanding and reason; something that Ang has tried to recreate on the screen. The film has been a massive undertaking and was shot entirely in 3D as director Lee believed that this method was the only way in which the vibrancy of the novel could be fully expressed on screen. It is thought to have cost up to $100million and took close to four years to make.

Speaking to reporters at the premier, Lee said that he had envisaged the project as soon as he read it back in 2001 and allegedly already agreed to make the film in 3D before James Cameron's Avatar was released in 2009.

Continue reading: Ang Lee's 'Life Of Pi' Premieres At New York Film Festival

Life of Pi Trailer


Pi Patel is the son of an Indian zookeeper who gets caught up in a destructive storm at sea on board a freighter. He is the only human survivor as the vessel sinks easily into the Pacific Ocean managing to escape on a lifeboat with a spotted hyena, an injured zebra, an orang-utan and a Bengal tiger. The animals begin eating each other and Pi soon finds himself in the company of only the tiger which soon becomes his friend and companion as he takes a firm approach into taming the creature.

Continue: Life of Pi Trailer

The Count Of Monte Cristo (1998) Review


Very Good
The often filmed Count of Monte Cristo is a filmmaker's dream come true. The plot is elegant, the characters beautiful. It would take a lot to screw up a film version of the story.

While Kevin Reynolds' (Waterworld) recent adaptation was warmly received by both audiences and critics (myself included), his was a truncated version. It made up for graceless transitions with gorgeously shot action sequences and American melodrama. Reynolds focused on the story's conflict but lost all the subtlety of the inner narrative, the character growth, and the true turning of the worm. While not as breathtakingly visual, Josée Dayan's earlier television production is superior to Reynolds' film because it assumes that the audience is familiar not just with the story but the novel.

Continue reading: The Count Of Monte Cristo (1998) Review

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs Review


Very Good
Gérard Depardieu's wife is miserable to the point where she no longer smiles; he figures his best shot at reviving her is to get her laid by another man -- in fact, the man sitting at the table behind him should do just fine. This is just the opening scene of Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, a French 1970s absurdity that looks at relationships and happiness in a farcical (and fully French) way. You may not recognize a young (and slim) Depardieu, but his performance here is the highlight of the film. It lags a bit toward the middle and gets plain old bizarre near the end, but it's a quite good and totally unique movie experience.

Continue reading: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs Review

Between Strangers Review


Very Good
Between Strangers? Hmmm, sounds like a softcore porn movie. Turns out it's a weepy melodrama starring a generation-bounding collection of movie stars.

Ever since Short Cuts won accolades, we get a yearly version of this movie, a sometimes thoughtful collection of stories, none large enough to stand alone as a feature film, some to slight to merit any attention at all. Between Strangers mitigates this problem by focusing on the stories of three women, all wrestling with past mistakes or old regrets.

Continue reading: Between Strangers Review

Maîtresse Review


OK
Yes, that's a young Gérard Depardieu (27 at the time) in Maîtresse, and that's probably the reason that Barbet Schroeder's scarcely seen but notoriously scandalous film is being released on DVD by masters of fine cinema, The Criterion Collection.

For the uninitiated, and I expect that's most of you, Maîtresse tells us the story of a thief named Olivier who robs the apartment of a mild-mannered woman (Bulle Ogier) he's encountered earlier in the day. Much to his surprise, he discovers a dungeon on her bottom story. Ogier's Ariane is secretly a dominatrix, stomping genitals, stretching guys on the rack, and otherwise abusing her clients into oblivion. This discovery leads to all manner of unexpected hijinks, as Olivier and Ariane begin a torrid affair while he tags along on her jobs, Olivier becomes obsessed with one of Ariane's clients, and a horse is slaughtered on camera; a horsemeat filet is consumed in the following scene. The lattermost among those is only one reason why this film is X-rated.

Continue reading: Maîtresse Review

The Closet (Le Placard) Review


Very Good

Although Francis Veber's "The Closet" is billed as a comedy, it's not clear at first what sense of humor it might have. The prolific French director has been known to make screwball comedies ("Le jouet"), social commentary comedies ("La cage aux folles") and even cruel, dark comedies ("Le diner des cons," aka "The Dinner Game").

Since "The Closet" is about a miserably-divorced, middle-aged, middle-management sad sack (Daniel Auteuil), all the early indicators pointed to it being one of those melancholy, sad-clown French comedies that have a tendency to become quickly tiresome.

Auteuil wakes up the morning after learning he's about to be fired and stares dejectedly out his large kitchen window like nothing more could go wrong in his life.

Continue reading: The Closet (Le Placard) Review

The Bridge Review


Good

Carole Bouquet is a cinematic treasure. A gold mine of authentic humanity and emotion, capable of playing a vast range of personalities, and more astonishingly -- yet accessibly -- beautiful at 42 than ever before, she is arguably the best film actress in France today.

So when she plays an adulteress in 1962 Normandy who has an affair with her husband's boss in "The Bridge," there is so very much more to the character than just her cheating heart.

Mina is a woman who is frustrated by the slow evaporation of magic in her marriage. She still loves George, her blue-collar lug of a husband (played by Bouquet's real-life mate Gerard Depardieu). But their relationship has gone from dizzy and passionate to comfortable and polite. In fact, she'd much prefer to lose herself in a record or a good book, or go to the movies -- where emotions are powerful and love is always ardent -- than spend a night with George.

Continue reading: The Bridge Review

Gerard Depardieu

Gerard Depardieu Quick Links

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Gerard Depardieu

Date of birth

27th December, 1948

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.80


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Gerard Depardieu Movies

Welcome to New York Movie Review

Welcome to New York Movie Review

Both this film and its central character are so unapologetic that it's difficult to get...

Welcome To New York Trailer

Welcome To New York Trailer

Devereaux is well known by the people closest to him as an uninhibited playboy, using...

Life of Pi Movie Review

Life of Pi Movie Review

Working with perceptive writer David Magee (Finding Neverand), Ang Lee creates one of the most...

Life of Pi Trailer

Life of Pi Trailer

Pi Patel is the son of an Indian zookeeper who gets caught up in a...

Potiche Trailer

Potiche Trailer

The Pujol family make umbrellas, in the town of Sainte-Gudule. Robert is the head of...

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The Closet (Le Placard) Movie Review

The Closet (Le Placard) Movie Review

Although Francis Veber's "The Closet" is billed as a comedy, it's not clear at first...

The Bridge Movie Review

The Bridge Movie Review

Carole Bouquet is a cinematic treasure. A gold mine of authentic humanity and emotion, capable...

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