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Antonio Banderas plays Pablo Picasso in the National Geographic Channel’s second season of Genius, which will chronicle the life and legacy of the world renowned Spanish painter. The 57-year-old actor recently shared an image of his astonishing physical transformation into the iconic artist on Instagram, looking unrecognizable with white hair, bushy eyebrows and a radical combover. “Et voila Picasso!” he captioned the pic.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Banderas talked about taking on the role. “Definitely he’s a character...
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Antonio Banderas plays Pablo Picasso in the National Geographic Channel’s second season of Genius, which will chronicle the life and legacy of the world renowned Spanish painter. The 57-year-old actor recently shared an image of his astonishing physical transformation into the iconic artist on Instagram, looking unrecognizable with white hair, bushy eyebrows and a radical combover. “Et voila Picasso!” he captioned the pic.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Banderas talked about taking on the role. “Definitely he’s a character...
- 12/12/2017
- by Lena Hansen
- PEOPLE.com
When Legends of Tomorrow‘s Season 3 threat makes himself known in this Tuesday’s episode, expect to a hear a distinctive voice quite familiar to genre-tv fans.
John Noble, whose credits include Fringe and Sleepy Hollow (where he ultimately emerged as a villain), is voicing Mallus, show boss Marc Guggenheim told EW.com.
“You’ll learn more about him in [Episode] 305,” the Ep said, pointing to tonight’s episode.
RelatedWentworth Miller Teases Arrowverse Exit as Leonard Snart
Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…
* HBO has set a Sunday, Jan. 14 premiere date for the second seasons of...
John Noble, whose credits include Fringe and Sleepy Hollow (where he ultimately emerged as a villain), is voicing Mallus, show boss Marc Guggenheim told EW.com.
“You’ll learn more about him in [Episode] 305,” the Ep said, pointing to tonight’s episode.
RelatedWentworth Miller Teases Arrowverse Exit as Leonard Snart
Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…
* HBO has set a Sunday, Jan. 14 premiere date for the second seasons of...
- 11/7/2017
- TVLine.com
Genius has some new company. Recently, National Geographic Channel announced Alex Rich, Clémence Poésy, Robert Sheehan, and several others have joined the TV show's second season.The upcoming season of the anthology drama will explore the life and works of Pablo Picasso (Antonio Banderas). The cast also includes Alex Rich as Young Picasso, Clémence Poésy as Françoise Gilot, Robert Sheehan as Carlos Casagemas, Poppy Delevingne as Marie-Thérèse Walter, Aisling Franciosi as Fernande Olivier, and Sebastian Roche as Emile Gilot.Read More…...
- 11/3/2017
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Antonio Banderas is headed to the small screen. Today, National Geographic Channel announced the star will play Pablo Picasso in season two of the TV show Genius.From Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the anthology drama chronicles the lives of famous visionaries like Albert Einstein and Picasso. Season two of Genius is slated to premiere on National Geographic Channel in 2018.Read More…...
- 9/7/2017
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
National Geographic has found its Pablo Picasso. Antonio Banderas has been cast as the famous artist in the second season of “Genius.” Banderas has portrayed real-life figures before, from Pancho Villa in “And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself” to Che Guevara in “Evita.” He has a closer relationship with Picasso, however, because they both come from the same place. “The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” Banderas said in a statement.
- 9/6/2017
- by Carli Velocci
- The Wrap
Antonio Banderas (“El Mariachi”) has signed on to play Pablo Picasso in Season 2 of National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated “Genius.” The limited-run series will chronicle the life and work of the Spanish painter.
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” said Banderas. “I am thrilled to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”
“Genius” comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Fox21, Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow, and will premiere in 2018.
“Antonio was the natural choice. He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” said Howard. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” said Banderas. “I am thrilled to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”
“Genius” comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Fox21, Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow, and will premiere in 2018.
“Antonio was the natural choice. He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” said Howard. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.
- 9/6/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Now here’s a pretty little picture: Antonio Banderas will star as Pablo Picasso in the upcoming second season of National Geographic’s Genius, TVLine has learned.
RelatedEmmys Poll 2017: What Should Win for Outstanding Limited Series?
Per the network, the anthology series’ 10-episode second season “will chronicle the life and work of the Spanish painter, one of the 20th century’s most influential and celebrated artists.” Its first season, which garnered 10 Emmy nominations, told the story of Albert Einstein (played by Geoffrey Rush).
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man,...
RelatedEmmys Poll 2017: What Should Win for Outstanding Limited Series?
Per the network, the anthology series’ 10-episode second season “will chronicle the life and work of the Spanish painter, one of the 20th century’s most influential and celebrated artists.” Its first season, which garnered 10 Emmy nominations, told the story of Albert Einstein (played by Geoffrey Rush).
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man,...
- 9/6/2017
- TVLine.com
First season starring Geoffrey Rush as Einstein ended on Tuesday night.
National Geographic announced on Wednesday the second season of its scripted anthology series Genius will chronicle the life and work of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.
The new season from Fox 21 Television Studios is expected to commence shooting later this summer in time for a 2018 debut. Casting will get underway shortly.
Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment is once again on board as executive producer alongside Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow.
National Geographic said more than 45 million people worldwide watched the first season,...
National Geographic announced on Wednesday the second season of its scripted anthology series Genius will chronicle the life and work of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.
The new season from Fox 21 Television Studios is expected to commence shooting later this summer in time for a 2018 debut. Casting will get underway shortly.
Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment is once again on board as executive producer alongside Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow.
National Geographic said more than 45 million people worldwide watched the first season,...
- 6/21/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
National Geographic has announced who its next “Genius” might be, and the choice moves the ongoing drama series from the world of science to art.
Following its well-received exploration into the life of Albert Einstein, Season 2 will dig into the complex life of artist Pablo Picasso. The artist, who lived from 1881 to 1973, is famed for his skewed looks at the world, which surrounded him created not just a lifetime’s work of unforgettable art – but an entire movement that made us reassess what art could be.
Read More: ‘Genius’: Hear the Song That Foreshadowed Johnny Flynn’s Breakout Role as Young Einstein
“Genius” is executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the latter of whom directed the first episode of Season 1. Executive producer and showrunner Ken Biller will return for Season 2.
There is no official word yet as to who will play Picasso, but in the first season of “Genius,” Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Flynn played the older and younger versions of Einstein (respectively). Producers said they plan to court a similar level of talent for the next season.
Prior to “Genius,” on screen Picasso has been portrayed on screen about 40 times, with portrayers including Marcial Di Fonzo Bo in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” and Anthony Hopkins in the film “Surviving Picasso.”
Also, Picasso mingled with plenty of other historical figures of his time we might look forward to seeing depicted — from the official release:
His passionate nature and relentless creative drive were inextricably linked to his personal life, which included tumultuous marriages, numerous affairs and constantly shifting political and personal alliances. He lived most of his life in the vibrant Paris of the first half of the 20th Century and crossed paths with writers and artists including Ernest Hemingway, Coco Chanel, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Gertrude Stein, Georges Braque, and Jean Cocteau.
“What we were looking for, as with Albert Einstein, was someone who saw the world in a completely different way,” Biller said during a conference call this morning tied to the announcement. “One in scientific realm and one in art realm. This is a declarative statement, that ‘Genius’ is not only about scientists, [but people] who are iconic figures in history who changed the world. Pablo Picasso came to mind among many figures for Season 2.”
Picasso was the first name the producers considered for the project, Biller said, and after discussing several names, “we circled back to that idea and felt that his story, which is rich and emotional and passionate and controversial, would not only allow us to expand the palette, but his life was so turbulent and interesting. It’s a fascinating story.”
Howard said many men and women were considered for the project, and the producers used the success of depicting Albert Einstein’s life as a guide in finding a story subject with similar breadth.
“We wanted to try to live up to an achievement we were very proud of, with Einstein’s life, and we needed to know the drama was there,” Biller said. “Talking to friends, family, and kicking it around, his name stimulates curiosity in people. He’s famous, a household name, but you don’t really know the story of his life – how through the turbulence, he achieved artistic greatness in many ways and over many years.”
Biller said the producers considered a female subject for Season 2, and are “hoping to do a woman for Season 3.”
“Unfortunately the way history works, when you Google ‘geniuses’ online, history doesn’t remember a lot of [women],” Biller said. “The pool from them to choose is smaller. We explored ideas of people in science, politics, the arts. It’s a fun parlor game. There are probably very few people you could mention that we didn’t discuss on some level.”
Biller pointed out that although Season 1 was about Einstein, it spent time on the women characters surrounding him, including his first wife, physicist Mileva Maric.
“We did feel a responsibility to explore this other brilliant scientist we didn’t know, Mileva,” Biller said. “You’ll see also in Picasso’s story that there are many fascinating women in his life who inspired him and were artists in their own right. We will give them their due and explore what it was like to be a woman not only in that time but also in Picasso’s life.”
Given the subject matter, Howard said he expects to be able to play with visuals in Season 2. Like Season 1 of “Genius,” Season 2 will cover different stages of Picasso’s life and include two actors portraying the artist.
“We have no casting in mind yet but we’re hoping to attract that same level of talent to the project,” Biller said.
Biller defended the idea of portraying Einstein’s sexuality. “The idea of seeing Einstein with his pants down wasn’t designed for titillation,” he said. “One of the truths of Einstein is that most of the world didn’t know about was he had many sexual relationships. He was not faithful to his wife. He had an unorthodox view of sexuality and monogamy. If we were going to spend ten hours exploring character, the audience wouldn’t be interested in watching him at a blackboard for ten hours.”
“We’re in heavy development of the show,” he added. “We have some of the same writers from the first season, and some new ones. Our intention is to be in production before the end of this year in the fall.”
The Season 1 finale of “Genius” aired Tuesday, June 20. The 10-episode second season is expected to air in Spring 2018.
Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.
Related storiesHow Screaming Beatlemania Comes Alive in Ron Howard's 'Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years''Genius': Hear the Song That Foreshadowed Johnny Flynn's Breakout Role as Young Einstein'Genius' Sneak Peek: See Einstein Reveal E=mc2 for the First Time...
Following its well-received exploration into the life of Albert Einstein, Season 2 will dig into the complex life of artist Pablo Picasso. The artist, who lived from 1881 to 1973, is famed for his skewed looks at the world, which surrounded him created not just a lifetime’s work of unforgettable art – but an entire movement that made us reassess what art could be.
Read More: ‘Genius’: Hear the Song That Foreshadowed Johnny Flynn’s Breakout Role as Young Einstein
“Genius” is executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the latter of whom directed the first episode of Season 1. Executive producer and showrunner Ken Biller will return for Season 2.
There is no official word yet as to who will play Picasso, but in the first season of “Genius,” Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Flynn played the older and younger versions of Einstein (respectively). Producers said they plan to court a similar level of talent for the next season.
Prior to “Genius,” on screen Picasso has been portrayed on screen about 40 times, with portrayers including Marcial Di Fonzo Bo in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” and Anthony Hopkins in the film “Surviving Picasso.”
Also, Picasso mingled with plenty of other historical figures of his time we might look forward to seeing depicted — from the official release:
His passionate nature and relentless creative drive were inextricably linked to his personal life, which included tumultuous marriages, numerous affairs and constantly shifting political and personal alliances. He lived most of his life in the vibrant Paris of the first half of the 20th Century and crossed paths with writers and artists including Ernest Hemingway, Coco Chanel, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Gertrude Stein, Georges Braque, and Jean Cocteau.
“What we were looking for, as with Albert Einstein, was someone who saw the world in a completely different way,” Biller said during a conference call this morning tied to the announcement. “One in scientific realm and one in art realm. This is a declarative statement, that ‘Genius’ is not only about scientists, [but people] who are iconic figures in history who changed the world. Pablo Picasso came to mind among many figures for Season 2.”
Picasso was the first name the producers considered for the project, Biller said, and after discussing several names, “we circled back to that idea and felt that his story, which is rich and emotional and passionate and controversial, would not only allow us to expand the palette, but his life was so turbulent and interesting. It’s a fascinating story.”
Howard said many men and women were considered for the project, and the producers used the success of depicting Albert Einstein’s life as a guide in finding a story subject with similar breadth.
“We wanted to try to live up to an achievement we were very proud of, with Einstein’s life, and we needed to know the drama was there,” Biller said. “Talking to friends, family, and kicking it around, his name stimulates curiosity in people. He’s famous, a household name, but you don’t really know the story of his life – how through the turbulence, he achieved artistic greatness in many ways and over many years.”
Biller said the producers considered a female subject for Season 2, and are “hoping to do a woman for Season 3.”
“Unfortunately the way history works, when you Google ‘geniuses’ online, history doesn’t remember a lot of [women],” Biller said. “The pool from them to choose is smaller. We explored ideas of people in science, politics, the arts. It’s a fun parlor game. There are probably very few people you could mention that we didn’t discuss on some level.”
Biller pointed out that although Season 1 was about Einstein, it spent time on the women characters surrounding him, including his first wife, physicist Mileva Maric.
“We did feel a responsibility to explore this other brilliant scientist we didn’t know, Mileva,” Biller said. “You’ll see also in Picasso’s story that there are many fascinating women in his life who inspired him and were artists in their own right. We will give them their due and explore what it was like to be a woman not only in that time but also in Picasso’s life.”
Given the subject matter, Howard said he expects to be able to play with visuals in Season 2. Like Season 1 of “Genius,” Season 2 will cover different stages of Picasso’s life and include two actors portraying the artist.
“We have no casting in mind yet but we’re hoping to attract that same level of talent to the project,” Biller said.
Biller defended the idea of portraying Einstein’s sexuality. “The idea of seeing Einstein with his pants down wasn’t designed for titillation,” he said. “One of the truths of Einstein is that most of the world didn’t know about was he had many sexual relationships. He was not faithful to his wife. He had an unorthodox view of sexuality and monogamy. If we were going to spend ten hours exploring character, the audience wouldn’t be interested in watching him at a blackboard for ten hours.”
“We’re in heavy development of the show,” he added. “We have some of the same writers from the first season, and some new ones. Our intention is to be in production before the end of this year in the fall.”
The Season 1 finale of “Genius” aired Tuesday, June 20. The 10-episode second season is expected to air in Spring 2018.
Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.
Related storiesHow Screaming Beatlemania Comes Alive in Ron Howard's 'Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years''Genius': Hear the Song That Foreshadowed Johnny Flynn's Breakout Role as Young Einstein'Genius' Sneak Peek: See Einstein Reveal E=mc2 for the First Time...
- 6/21/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller and Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Since strokes of Genius sometimes come from a paintbrush, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso will be the subject of Season 2 of the NatGeo series.
The announcement was made by executive producer Ron Howard the morning after Season 1 — which followed Albert Einstein (played by TVLine Dream Emmy Nominee Geoffrey Rush) — came to a close.
RelatedSarah Wayne Callies, Kate Bosworth, Jason Ritter to Star in NatGeo Military Miniseries
Howard told reporters on Wednesday that choosing the co-founder the Cubist movement (and so much more) followed “hours and hours and hours of discussion and debate,” which he said points to the potential longevity of the biographical series.
The announcement was made by executive producer Ron Howard the morning after Season 1 — which followed Albert Einstein (played by TVLine Dream Emmy Nominee Geoffrey Rush) — came to a close.
RelatedSarah Wayne Callies, Kate Bosworth, Jason Ritter to Star in NatGeo Military Miniseries
Howard told reporters on Wednesday that choosing the co-founder the Cubist movement (and so much more) followed “hours and hours and hours of discussion and debate,” which he said points to the potential longevity of the biographical series.
- 6/21/2017
- TVLine.com
Painter Pablo Picasso will be the subject of National Geographic’s second season of Genius, a subject described by exec producer Ron Howard as enigmatic, “tremendously fascinating and inspiring.” Howard said in a conference call to reporters this morning that Picasso stimulates “curiosity” among people, and that although the great Spanish artist is a “household name,” most people “don’t really know what drove him, troubled him,” and how “through turbulence” he achieved…...
- 6/21/2017
- Deadline TV
Yet another puzzle picture, that came out on DVD back with the first wave of Wac films in 2010. An expensive romance with Albert Finney and Yvette Mimieux, it was filmed in Europe, co-written by Ray Bradbury and bears the music of Michel Legrand, including an exceedingly well known pop song. Yet it sat on a shelf for three years, only to make a humiliating world debut on TV — on CBS’s Late Nite Movie. It was clearly one of those Productions From Hell, where nothing went right.
The Picasso Summer
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1969 originally / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date May 28, 2010 (not a mistake) / available through the WBshop / 17.99
Starring: Albert Finney, Yvette Mimieux, Luis Miguel Dominguín, Theodore Marcuse, Jim Connell,
Peter Madden, Tutte Lemkow, Graham Stark, Marty Ingels, Georgina Cookson, Miki Iveria, Bee Duffell, Lucia Bosé, Jean Marie Ingels.
Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Original Music: Michel Legrand
Animator:...
The Picasso Summer
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1969 originally / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date May 28, 2010 (not a mistake) / available through the WBshop / 17.99
Starring: Albert Finney, Yvette Mimieux, Luis Miguel Dominguín, Theodore Marcuse, Jim Connell,
Peter Madden, Tutte Lemkow, Graham Stark, Marty Ingels, Georgina Cookson, Miki Iveria, Bee Duffell, Lucia Bosé, Jean Marie Ingels.
Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Original Music: Michel Legrand
Animator:...
- 6/3/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mark Harrison Feb 27, 2017
Alfonso Cuaron's Children Of Men is a film from a decade ago that very much stands the test of time...
“Last one to die, please turn out the light.”
The tenth anniversary of Children Of Men came at the end of a tumultuous year in politics. You don't have to look far on the web for thinkpieces about how the results of the Brexit referendum or the election of Donald Trump as Us President have brought us closer to the grim forecast of Alfonso Cuarón's superb dystopian thriller, but rewatching it now, the film feels a triumph of preparation rather than prescience.
Based on Pd James' novel, the film takes place in the year 2027, in the midst of a global epidemic of infertility. Britain has closed its doors to immigrants and refuses to acknowledge the status of 'fugees' as human beings. The day after the...
Alfonso Cuaron's Children Of Men is a film from a decade ago that very much stands the test of time...
“Last one to die, please turn out the light.”
The tenth anniversary of Children Of Men came at the end of a tumultuous year in politics. You don't have to look far on the web for thinkpieces about how the results of the Brexit referendum or the election of Donald Trump as Us President have brought us closer to the grim forecast of Alfonso Cuarón's superb dystopian thriller, but rewatching it now, the film feels a triumph of preparation rather than prescience.
Based on Pd James' novel, the film takes place in the year 2027, in the midst of a global epidemic of infertility. Britain has closed its doors to immigrants and refuses to acknowledge the status of 'fugees' as human beings. The day after the...
- 2/25/2017
- Den of Geek
Audio of Kanye West's alleged tantrum at Saturday Night Live has leaked. In a clip obtained by the New York Post's Page 6 (see video player below), West, 38, reportedly yells, "Don't f--- with me" after finding out that producers removed part of his set for his musical performance on Saturday's episode of the NBC variety show. (A source told People earlier this week West was "upset as they dismantled half his staging 30 minutes prior to showtime.") Now, a source close to West tells People that he did not yell at SNL staff, explaining: "This audio was secretly recorded while he...
- 2/18/2016
- by Nick Maslow, @nickmaslow
- PEOPLE.com
Audio of Kanye West's alleged tantrum at Saturday Night Live has leaked.
In a clip obtained by the New York Post's Page Six (see video player below), West, 38, reportedly yells, "Don't f--- with me" after finding out that producers removed part of his set for his musical performance on Saturday's episode of the NBC variety show. (A source told People earlier this week West was "upset as they dismantled half his staging 30 minutes prior to showtime.")
However, a source close to West tells People he was not yelling at SNL staff, explaining: "This audio was secretly recorded while he...
In a clip obtained by the New York Post's Page Six (see video player below), West, 38, reportedly yells, "Don't f--- with me" after finding out that producers removed part of his set for his musical performance on Saturday's episode of the NBC variety show. (A source told People earlier this week West was "upset as they dismantled half his staging 30 minutes prior to showtime.")
However, a source close to West tells People he was not yelling at SNL staff, explaining: "This audio was secretly recorded while he...
- 2/17/2016
- by Nick Maslow, @nickmaslow
- People.com - TV Watch
[[tmz:video id="0_qrijcoil"]] The great grandson of Pablo Picasso is stoked Kanye West named his new album primary after the famous painter. Florian Picasso, the adopted relative who is a DJ, producer and is active in the Picasso empire, tells us his family members are huge fans of Kanye, and would like to do something jointly with him ... similar to what they've done with Jay Z. Florian's big in the music scene and Kanye's one of his heroes.
- 2/13/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Totally and tragically unconventional, Peggy Guggenheim moved through the cultural upheaval of the 20th century collecting not only not only art, but artists. Her sexual life was -- and still today is -- more discussed than the art itself which she collected, not for her own consumption but for the world to enjoy.
Her colorful personal history included such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp and countless others. Guggenheim helped introduce the world to Pollock, Motherwell, Rothko and scores of others now recognized as key masters of modernism.
In 1921 she moved to Paris and mingled with Picasso, Dali, Joyce, Pound, Stein, Leger, Kandinsky. In 1938 she opened a gallery in London and began showing Cocteau, Tanguy, Magritte, Miro, Brancusi, etc., and then back to Paris and New York after the Nazi invasion, followed by the opening of her NYC gallery Art of This Century, which became one of the premiere avant-garde spaces in the U.S. While fighting through personal tragedy, she maintained her vision to build one of the most important collections of modern art, now enshrined in her Venetian palazzo where she moved in 1947. Since 1951, her collection has become one of the world’s most visited art spaces.
Featuring: Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky, Vasil Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Fernand Leger, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Jean Miro, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Robert Motherwell, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Kurt Schwitters, Gino Severini, Clyfford Still and Yves Tanguy.
Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Director and Producer)
Lisa Immordino Vreeland has been immersed in the world of fashion and art for the past 25 years. She started her career in fashion as the Director of Public Relations for Polo Ralph Lauren in Italy and quickly moved on to launch two fashion companies, Pratico, a sportswear line for women, and Mago, a cashmere knitwear collection of her own design. Her first book was accompanied by her directorial debut of the documentary of the same name, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012). The film about the editor of Harper's Bazaar had its European premiere at the Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, going on to win the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival and the fashion category for the Design of the Year awards, otherwise known as “The Oscars” of design—at the Design Museum in London.
"Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict" is Lisa Immordino Vreeland's followup to her acclaimed debut, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel". She is now working on her third doc on Cecil Beaton who Lisa says, "has been circling around all these stories. What's great about him is the creativity: fashion photography, war photography, "My Fair Lady" winning an Oscar."
Sydney Levine: I have read numerous accounts and interviews with you about this film and rather than repeat all that has been said, I refer my readers to Indiewire's Women and Hollywood interview at Tribeca this year, and your Indiewire interview with Aubrey Page, November 6, 2015 .
Let's try to cover new territory here.
First of all, what about you? What is your relationship to Diana Vreeland?
Liv: I am married to her grandson, Alexander Vreeland. (I'm also proud of my name Immordino) I never met Diana but hearing so many family stories about her made me start to wonder about all the talk about her. I worked in fashion and lived in New York like she did.
Sl: In one of your interviews you said that Peggy was not only ahead of her time but she helped to define it. Can you tell me how?
Liv: Peggy grew up in a very traditional family of German Bavarian Jews who had moved to New York City in the 19th century. Already at a young age Peggy felt like there were too many rules around her and she wanted to break out. That alone was something attractive to me — the notion that she knew that she didn't fit in to her family or her times. She lived on her own terms, a very modern approach to life. She decided to abandon her family in New York. Though she always stayed connected to them, she rarely visited New York. Instead she lived in a world without borders. She did not live by "the rules". She believed in creating art and created herself, living on her own terms and not on those of her family.
Sl: Is there a link between her and your previous doc on Diana Vreeland?
Liv: The link between Vreeland and Guggenheim is their mutual sense of reinvention and transformation. That made something click inside of me as I too reinvented myself when I began writing the book on Diana Vreeland .
Can you talk about the process of putting this one together and how it differed from its predecessor?
Liv: The most challenging thing about this one was the vast amount of material we had at our disposal. We had a lot of media to go through — instead of fashion spreads, which informed The Eye Has To Travel, we had art, which was fantastic. I was spoiled by the access we had to these incredible archives and footage. I'm still new to this, but it's the storytelling aspect that I loved in both projects. One thing about Peggy that Mrs. Vreeland didn't have was a very tragic personal life. There was so much that happened in Peggy's life before you even got to what she actually accomplished. And so we had to tell a very dense story about her childhood, her father dying on the Titanic, her beloved sister dying — the tragic events that fundamentally shaped her in a way. It was about making sure we had enough of the personal story to go along with her later accomplishments.
World War II alone was such a huge part of her story, opening an important art gallery in London, where she showed Kandinsky and other important artists for the first time. The amount of material to distill was a tremendous challenge and I hope we made the right choices.
Sl: How did you learn make a documentary?
Liv: I learned how to make a documentary by having a good team around me. My editors (and co-writers)Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng were very helpful.
Research is fundamental; finding as much as you can and never giving up. I love the research. It is my "precise time". Not just for interviews but of footage, photographs never seen before. It is a painstaking process that satisfies me. The research never ends. I was still researching while I was promoting the Diana Vreeland book. I love reading books and going to original sources.
The archives in film museums in the last ten years has changed and given museums a new role. I found unique footage at Moma with the Elizabeth Chapman Films. Chapman went to Paris in the 30s and 40s with a handheld camera and took moving pictures of Brancusi and Duchamps joking around in a studio, Gertrude Stein, Leger walking down the street. This footage is owned by Robert Storr, Dean of Yale School of Art. In fact he is taking a sabbatical this year to go through the boxes and boxes of Chapman's films. We also used " Entre'acte" by René Clair cowritten with Dadaist Francis Picabia, "Le Sang du poet" of Cocteau, Hans Richter "8x8","Gagascope" and " Dreams That Money Can Buy" produced by Peggy Guggenheim, written by Man Ray in 1947.
Sl: How long did it take to research and make the film?
Liv: It took three years for both the Vreeland and the Guggenheim documentary.
It was more difficult with the Guggenheim story because there was so much material and so much to tell of her life. And she was not so giving of her own self. Diana could inspire you about a bandaid; she was so giving. But Peggy didn't talk much about why she loved an artist or a painting. She acted more. And using historical material could become "over-teaching" though it was fascinating.
So much had to be eliminated. It was hard to eliminate the Degenerate Art Show, a subject which is newly discussed. Stephanie Barron of Lacma is an expert on Degenerate Art and was so generous.
Once we decided upon which aspects to focus on, then we could give focus to the interviews.
There were so many of her important shows we could not include. For instance there was a show on collages featuring William Baziotes , Jackson Pollack and Robert Motherwell which started a more modern collage trend in art. The 31 Women Art Show which we did include pushed forward another message which I think is important.
And so many different things have been written about Peggy — there were hundreds of articles written about her during her lifetime. She also kept beautiful scrapbooks of articles written about her, which are now in the archives of the Guggenheim Museum.
The Guggenheim foundation did not commission this documentary but they were very supportive and the film premiered there in New York in a wonderful celebration. They wanted to represent Peggy and her paintings properly. The paintings were secondary characters and all were carefully placed historically in a correct fashion.
Sl: You said in one interview Guggenheim became a central figure in the modern art movement?
Liv: Yes and she did it without ego. Sharing was always her purpose in collecting art. She was not out for herself. Before Peggy, the art world was very different. And today it is part of wealth management.
Other collectors had a different way with art. Isabelle Stewart Gardner bought art for her own personal consumption. The Gardner Museum came later. Gertrude Stein was sharing the vision of her brother when she began collecting art. The Coen sisters were not sharing.
Her benevolence ranged from giving Berenice Abbott the money to buy her first camera to keeping Pollock afloat during lean times.
Djuana Barnes, who had a 'Love Love Love Hate Hate Hate' relationship with Peggy wrote Nightwood in Peggy's country house in England.
She was in Paris to the last minute. She planned how to safeguard artwork from the Nazis during World War II. She was storing gasoline so she could escape. She lived on the Ile St. Louis with her art and moved the paintings out first to a children's boarding school and then to Marseilles where it was shipped out to New York City.
Her role in art was not taken seriously because of her very public love life which was described in very derogatory terms. There was more talk about her love life than about her collection of art.
Her autobiography, Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict (1960) , was scandalous when it came out — and she didn't even use real names, she used pseudonyms for her numerous partners. Only after publication did she reveal the names of the men she slept with.
The fact that she spoke about her sexual life at all was the most outrageous aspect. She was opening herself up to ridicule, but she didn't care. Peggy was her own person and she felt good in her own skin. But it was definitely unconventional behavior. I think her sexual appetites revealed a lot about finding her own identity.
A lot of it was tied to the loss of her father, I think, in addition to her wanting to feel accepted. She was also very adventurous — look at the men she slept with. I mean, come on, they are amazing! Samuel Beckett, Yves Tanguy, Marcel Duchamp, and she married Max Ernst. I think it was really ballsy of her to have been so open about her sexuality; this was not something people did back then. So many people are bound by conventional rules but Peggy said no. She grabbed hold of life and she lived it on her own terms.
Sl: You also give Peggy credit for changing the way art was exhibited. Can you explain that?
Liv: One of her greatest achievements was her gallery space in New York City, Art of This Century, which was unlike anything the art world has seen before or since in the way that it shattered the boundaries of the gallery space that we've come to know today — the sterile white cube. She came to be a genius at displaying her collections...
She was smart with Art of the Century because she hired Frederick Kiesler as a designer of the gallery and once again surrounded herself with the right people, including Howard Putzler, who was already involved with her at Guggenheim Jeune in London. And she was hanging out with all the exiled Surrealists who were living in New York at the time, including her future husband, Max Ernst, who was the real star of that group of artists. With the help of these people, she started showing art in a completely different way that was both informal and approachable. In conventional museums and galleries, art was untouchable on the wall and inside frames. In Peggy's gallery, art stuck out from the walls; works weren't confined to frames. Kiesler designed special chairs you could sit in and browse canvases as you would texts in a library. Nothing like this had ever existed in New York before — even today there is nothing like it.
She made the gallery into an exciting place where the whole concept of space was transformed. In Venice, the gallery space was also her home. Today, for a variety of reasons, the home aspect of the collection is less emphasized, though you still get a strong sense of Peggy's home life there. She was bringing art to the public in a bold new way, which I think is a great idea. It's art for everybody, which is very much a part of today's dialogue except that fewer people can afford the outlandish museum entry fees.
Sl: What do you think made her so prescient and attuned ?
Liv: She was smart enough to ask Marcel Duchamp to be her advisor — so she was in tune, and very well connected. She was on the cutting edge of what was going on and I think a lot of this had to do with Peggy being open to the idea of what was new and outrageous. You have to have a certain personality for this; what her childhood had dictated was totally opposite from what she became in life, and being in the right place at the right time helped her maintain a cutting edge throughout her life.
Sl: The movie is framed around a lost interview with Peggy conducted late in her life. How did you acquire these tapes?
Liv: We optioned Jacqueline Bogard Weld’s book, Peggy : The Wayward Guggenheim, the only authorized biography of Peggy, which was published after she died. Jackie had spent two summers interviewing Peggy but at a certain point lost the tapes somewhere in her Park Avenue apartment. Jackie had so much access to Peggy, which was incredible, but it was also the access that she had to other people who had known Peggy — she interviewed over 200 people for her book. Jackie was incredibly generous, letting me go through all her original research except for the lost tapes.
We'd walk into different rooms in her apartment and I'd suggestively open a closet door and ask “Where do you think those tapes might be?" Then one day I asked if she had a basement, and she did. So I went through all these boxes down there, organizing her affairs. Then bingo, the tapes showed up in this shoebox.
It was the longest interview Peggy had ever done and it became the framework for our movie. There's nothing more powerful than when you have someone's real voice telling the story, and Jackie was especially good at asking provoking questions. You can tell it was hard for Peggy to answer a lot of them, because she wasn't someone who was especially expressive; she didn't have a lot of emotion. And this comes across in the movie, in the tone of her voice.
Sl: Larry Gagosian has one of the best descriptions of Peggy in the movie — "she was her own creation." Would you agree, and if so why?
Liv: She was very much her own creation. When he said that in the interview I had a huge smile on my face. In Peggy's case it stemmed from a real need to identify and understand herself. I'm not sure she achieved it but she completely recreated herself — she knew that she did not want to be what she was brought up to be. She tried being a mother, but that was not one of her strengths, so art became that place where she could find herself, and then transform herself.
Nobody believed in the artists she cultivated and supported — they were outsiders and she was an outsider in the world she was brought up in. So it's in this way that she became her own great invention. I hope that her humor comes across in the film because she was extremely amusing — this aspect really comes across in her autobiography.
Sl: Finally, what do you think is Peggy Guggenheim's most lasting legacy, beyond her incredible art collection?
Liv: Her courage, and the way she used it to find herself. She had this ballsiness that not many people had, especially women. In her own way she was a feminist and it's good for women and young girls today to see women who stepped outside the confines of a very traditional family and made something of her life. Peggy's life did not seem that dreamy until she attached herself to these artists. It was her ability to redefine herself in the end that truly summed her up.
About the Filmmakers
Stanley Buchtal is a producer and entrepreneur. His movies credits include "Hairspray", "Spanking the Monkey", "Up at the Villa", "Lou Reed Berlin", "Love Marilyn", "LennoNYC", "Bobby Fischer Against the World", "Herb & Dorothy", "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child", "Sketches of Frank Gehry", "Black White + Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe", among numerous others.
David Koh is an independent producer, distributor, sales agent, programmer and curator. He has been involved in the distribution, sale, production, and financing of over 200 films. He is currently a partner in the boutique label Submarine Entertainment with Josh and Dan Braun and is also partners with Stanley Buchthal and his Dakota Group Ltd where he co-manages a portfolio of over 50 projects a year (75% docs and 25% fiction). Previously he was a partner and founder of Arthouse Films a boutique distribution imprint and ran Chris Blackwell's (founder of Island Records & Island Pictures) film label, Palm Pictures. He has worked as a Producer for artist Nam June Paik and worked in the curatorial departments of Anthology Film Archives, MoMA, Mfa Boston, and the Guggenheim Museum. David has recently served as a Curator for Microsoft and has curated an ongoing film series and salon with Andre Balazs Properties and serves as a Curator for the exclusive Core Club in NYC.
David recently launched with his partners Submarine Deluxe, a distribution imprint; Torpedo Pictures, a low budget high concept label; and Nfp Submarine Doks, a German distribution imprint with Nfp Films. Recently and upcoming projects include "Yayoi Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots", "Burden: a Portrait of Artist Chris Burden", "Dior and I", "20 Feet From Stardom", "Muscle Shoals", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Rats NYC", "Nas: Time Is Illmatic", "Blackfish", "Love Marilyn", "Chasing Ice", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Cutie and the Boxer"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: the Radiant Child", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Wolfpack, "Meru", and "Station to Station".
Dan Braun is a producer, writer, art director and musician/composer based in NYC. He is the Co-President of and Co-Founder of Submarine, a NYC film sales and production company specializing in independent feature and documentary films. Titles include "Blackfish", "Finding Vivian Maier", "Muscle Shoals", "The Case Against 8", "Keep On Keepin’ On", "Winter’s Bone", "Nas: Time is Illmatic", "Dior and I" and Oscar winning docs "Man on Wire", "Searching for Sugarman", "20 Ft From Stardom" and "Citizenfour". He was Executive Producer on documentaries "Kill Your Idols", (which won Best NY Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival 2004), "Blank City", "Sunshine Superman", the upcoming feature adaptations of "Batkid Begins" and "The Battered Bastards of Baseball" and the upcoming horror TV anthology "Creepy" to be directed by Chris Columbus.
He is a producer of the free jazz documentary "Fire Music", and the upcoming documentaries, "Burden" on artist Chris Burden and "Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots" on artist Yayoi Kusama. He is also a writer and consulting editor on Dark Horse Comic’s "Creepy" and "Eerie 9" comic book and archival series for which he won an Eisner Award for best archival comic book series in 2009.
He is a musician/composer whose compositions were featured in the films "I Melt With You" and "Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Radiant Child and is an award winning art director/creative director when he worked at Tbwa/Chiat/Day on the famous Absolut Vodka campaign.
John Northrup (Co-Producer) began his career in documentaries as a French translator for National Geographic: Explorer. He quickly moved into editing and producing, serving as the Associate Producer on "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012), and editing and co-producing "Wilson In Situ" (2014), which tells the story of theatre legend Robert Wilson and his Watermill Center. Most recently, he oversaw the post-production of Jim Chambers’ "Onward Christian Soldier", a documentary about Olympic Bomber Eric Rudolph, and is shooting on Susanne Rostock’s "Another Night in the Free World", the follow-up to her award-winning "Sing Your Song" (2011).
Submarine Entertainment (Production Company) Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production, and distribution company based in N.Y. Recent and upcoming titles include "Citizenfour", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Dog", "Visitors", "20 Feet from Stardom", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Muscle Shoals", "Blackfish", "Cutie and the Boxer", "The Summit", "The Unknown Known", "Love Marilyn", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Chasing Ice", "Downtown 81 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Wild Style 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Good Ol Freda", "Some Velvet Morning", among numerous others. Submarine principals also represent Creepy and Eerie comic book library and are developing properties across film & TV platforms.
Submarine has also recently launched a domestic distribution imprint and label called Submarine Deluxe; a genre label called Torpedo Pictures; and a German imprint and label called Nfp Submarine Doks.
Bernadine Colish has edited a number of award-winning documentaries. "Herb and Dorothy" (2008), won Audience Awards at Silverdocs, Philadelphia and Hamptons Film Festivals, and "Body of War" (2007), was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. "A Touch of Greatness" (2004) aired on PBS Independent Lens and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Her career began at Maysles Films, where she worked with Charlotte Zwerin on such projects as "Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser", "Toru Takemitsu: Music for the Movies" and the PBS American Masters documentary, "Ella Fitzgerald: Something To Live For". Additional credits include "Bringing Tibet Home", "Band of Sisters", "Rise and Dream", "The Tiger Next Door", "The Buffalo War" and "Absolute Wilson".
Jed Parker (Editor) Jed Parker began his career in feature films before moving into documentaries through his work with the award-winning American Masters series. Credits include "Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart", "Annie Liebovitz: Life Through a Lens", and most recently "Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides".
Other work includes two episodes of the PBS series "Make ‘Em Laugh", hosted by Billy Crystal, as well as a documentary on Met Curator Henry Geldzahler entitled "Who Gets to Call it Art"?
Credits
Director, Writer, Producer: Lisa Immordino Vreeland
Produced by Stanley Buchthal, David Koh and Dan Braun Stanley Buchthal (producer)
Maja Hoffmann (executive producer)
Josh Braun (executive producer)
Bob Benton (executive producer)
John Northrup (co-producer)
Bernadine Colish (editor)
Jed Parker (editor)
Peter Trilling (director of photography)
Bonnie Greenberg (executive music producer)
Music by J. Ralph
Original Song "Once Again" Written and Performed By J. Ralph
Interviews Featuring Artist Marina Abramović Jean Arp Dore Ashton Samuel Beckett Stephanie Barron Constantin Brâncuși Diego Cortez Alexander Calder Susan Davidson Joseph Cornell Robert De Niro Salvador Dalí Simon de Pury Willem de Kooning Jeffrey Deitch Marcel Duchamp Polly Devlin Max Ernst Larry Gagosian Alberto Giacometti Arne Glimcher Vasily Kandinsky Michael Govan Fernand Léger Nicky Haslam Joan Miró Pepe Karmel Piet Mondrian Donald Kuspit Robert Motherwell Dominique Lévy Jackson Pollock Carlo McCormick Mark Rothko Hans Ulrich Obrist Yves Tanguy Lisa Phillips Lindsay Pollock Francine Prose John Richardson Sandy Rower Mercedes Ruehl Jane Rylands Philip Rylands Calvin Tomkins Karole Vail Jacqueline Bograd Weld Edmund White
Running time: 97 minutes
U.S. distribution by Submarine Deluxe
International sales by Hanway...
Her colorful personal history included such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp and countless others. Guggenheim helped introduce the world to Pollock, Motherwell, Rothko and scores of others now recognized as key masters of modernism.
In 1921 she moved to Paris and mingled with Picasso, Dali, Joyce, Pound, Stein, Leger, Kandinsky. In 1938 she opened a gallery in London and began showing Cocteau, Tanguy, Magritte, Miro, Brancusi, etc., and then back to Paris and New York after the Nazi invasion, followed by the opening of her NYC gallery Art of This Century, which became one of the premiere avant-garde spaces in the U.S. While fighting through personal tragedy, she maintained her vision to build one of the most important collections of modern art, now enshrined in her Venetian palazzo where she moved in 1947. Since 1951, her collection has become one of the world’s most visited art spaces.
Featuring: Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky, Vasil Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Fernand Leger, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Jean Miro, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Robert Motherwell, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Kurt Schwitters, Gino Severini, Clyfford Still and Yves Tanguy.
Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Director and Producer)
Lisa Immordino Vreeland has been immersed in the world of fashion and art for the past 25 years. She started her career in fashion as the Director of Public Relations for Polo Ralph Lauren in Italy and quickly moved on to launch two fashion companies, Pratico, a sportswear line for women, and Mago, a cashmere knitwear collection of her own design. Her first book was accompanied by her directorial debut of the documentary of the same name, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012). The film about the editor of Harper's Bazaar had its European premiere at the Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, going on to win the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival and the fashion category for the Design of the Year awards, otherwise known as “The Oscars” of design—at the Design Museum in London.
"Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict" is Lisa Immordino Vreeland's followup to her acclaimed debut, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel". She is now working on her third doc on Cecil Beaton who Lisa says, "has been circling around all these stories. What's great about him is the creativity: fashion photography, war photography, "My Fair Lady" winning an Oscar."
Sydney Levine: I have read numerous accounts and interviews with you about this film and rather than repeat all that has been said, I refer my readers to Indiewire's Women and Hollywood interview at Tribeca this year, and your Indiewire interview with Aubrey Page, November 6, 2015 .
Let's try to cover new territory here.
First of all, what about you? What is your relationship to Diana Vreeland?
Liv: I am married to her grandson, Alexander Vreeland. (I'm also proud of my name Immordino) I never met Diana but hearing so many family stories about her made me start to wonder about all the talk about her. I worked in fashion and lived in New York like she did.
Sl: In one of your interviews you said that Peggy was not only ahead of her time but she helped to define it. Can you tell me how?
Liv: Peggy grew up in a very traditional family of German Bavarian Jews who had moved to New York City in the 19th century. Already at a young age Peggy felt like there were too many rules around her and she wanted to break out. That alone was something attractive to me — the notion that she knew that she didn't fit in to her family or her times. She lived on her own terms, a very modern approach to life. She decided to abandon her family in New York. Though she always stayed connected to them, she rarely visited New York. Instead she lived in a world without borders. She did not live by "the rules". She believed in creating art and created herself, living on her own terms and not on those of her family.
Sl: Is there a link between her and your previous doc on Diana Vreeland?
Liv: The link between Vreeland and Guggenheim is their mutual sense of reinvention and transformation. That made something click inside of me as I too reinvented myself when I began writing the book on Diana Vreeland .
Can you talk about the process of putting this one together and how it differed from its predecessor?
Liv: The most challenging thing about this one was the vast amount of material we had at our disposal. We had a lot of media to go through — instead of fashion spreads, which informed The Eye Has To Travel, we had art, which was fantastic. I was spoiled by the access we had to these incredible archives and footage. I'm still new to this, but it's the storytelling aspect that I loved in both projects. One thing about Peggy that Mrs. Vreeland didn't have was a very tragic personal life. There was so much that happened in Peggy's life before you even got to what she actually accomplished. And so we had to tell a very dense story about her childhood, her father dying on the Titanic, her beloved sister dying — the tragic events that fundamentally shaped her in a way. It was about making sure we had enough of the personal story to go along with her later accomplishments.
World War II alone was such a huge part of her story, opening an important art gallery in London, where she showed Kandinsky and other important artists for the first time. The amount of material to distill was a tremendous challenge and I hope we made the right choices.
Sl: How did you learn make a documentary?
Liv: I learned how to make a documentary by having a good team around me. My editors (and co-writers)Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng were very helpful.
Research is fundamental; finding as much as you can and never giving up. I love the research. It is my "precise time". Not just for interviews but of footage, photographs never seen before. It is a painstaking process that satisfies me. The research never ends. I was still researching while I was promoting the Diana Vreeland book. I love reading books and going to original sources.
The archives in film museums in the last ten years has changed and given museums a new role. I found unique footage at Moma with the Elizabeth Chapman Films. Chapman went to Paris in the 30s and 40s with a handheld camera and took moving pictures of Brancusi and Duchamps joking around in a studio, Gertrude Stein, Leger walking down the street. This footage is owned by Robert Storr, Dean of Yale School of Art. In fact he is taking a sabbatical this year to go through the boxes and boxes of Chapman's films. We also used " Entre'acte" by René Clair cowritten with Dadaist Francis Picabia, "Le Sang du poet" of Cocteau, Hans Richter "8x8","Gagascope" and " Dreams That Money Can Buy" produced by Peggy Guggenheim, written by Man Ray in 1947.
Sl: How long did it take to research and make the film?
Liv: It took three years for both the Vreeland and the Guggenheim documentary.
It was more difficult with the Guggenheim story because there was so much material and so much to tell of her life. And she was not so giving of her own self. Diana could inspire you about a bandaid; she was so giving. But Peggy didn't talk much about why she loved an artist or a painting. She acted more. And using historical material could become "over-teaching" though it was fascinating.
So much had to be eliminated. It was hard to eliminate the Degenerate Art Show, a subject which is newly discussed. Stephanie Barron of Lacma is an expert on Degenerate Art and was so generous.
Once we decided upon which aspects to focus on, then we could give focus to the interviews.
There were so many of her important shows we could not include. For instance there was a show on collages featuring William Baziotes , Jackson Pollack and Robert Motherwell which started a more modern collage trend in art. The 31 Women Art Show which we did include pushed forward another message which I think is important.
And so many different things have been written about Peggy — there were hundreds of articles written about her during her lifetime. She also kept beautiful scrapbooks of articles written about her, which are now in the archives of the Guggenheim Museum.
The Guggenheim foundation did not commission this documentary but they were very supportive and the film premiered there in New York in a wonderful celebration. They wanted to represent Peggy and her paintings properly. The paintings were secondary characters and all were carefully placed historically in a correct fashion.
Sl: You said in one interview Guggenheim became a central figure in the modern art movement?
Liv: Yes and she did it without ego. Sharing was always her purpose in collecting art. She was not out for herself. Before Peggy, the art world was very different. And today it is part of wealth management.
Other collectors had a different way with art. Isabelle Stewart Gardner bought art for her own personal consumption. The Gardner Museum came later. Gertrude Stein was sharing the vision of her brother when she began collecting art. The Coen sisters were not sharing.
Her benevolence ranged from giving Berenice Abbott the money to buy her first camera to keeping Pollock afloat during lean times.
Djuana Barnes, who had a 'Love Love Love Hate Hate Hate' relationship with Peggy wrote Nightwood in Peggy's country house in England.
She was in Paris to the last minute. She planned how to safeguard artwork from the Nazis during World War II. She was storing gasoline so she could escape. She lived on the Ile St. Louis with her art and moved the paintings out first to a children's boarding school and then to Marseilles where it was shipped out to New York City.
Her role in art was not taken seriously because of her very public love life which was described in very derogatory terms. There was more talk about her love life than about her collection of art.
Her autobiography, Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict (1960) , was scandalous when it came out — and she didn't even use real names, she used pseudonyms for her numerous partners. Only after publication did she reveal the names of the men she slept with.
The fact that she spoke about her sexual life at all was the most outrageous aspect. She was opening herself up to ridicule, but she didn't care. Peggy was her own person and she felt good in her own skin. But it was definitely unconventional behavior. I think her sexual appetites revealed a lot about finding her own identity.
A lot of it was tied to the loss of her father, I think, in addition to her wanting to feel accepted. She was also very adventurous — look at the men she slept with. I mean, come on, they are amazing! Samuel Beckett, Yves Tanguy, Marcel Duchamp, and she married Max Ernst. I think it was really ballsy of her to have been so open about her sexuality; this was not something people did back then. So many people are bound by conventional rules but Peggy said no. She grabbed hold of life and she lived it on her own terms.
Sl: You also give Peggy credit for changing the way art was exhibited. Can you explain that?
Liv: One of her greatest achievements was her gallery space in New York City, Art of This Century, which was unlike anything the art world has seen before or since in the way that it shattered the boundaries of the gallery space that we've come to know today — the sterile white cube. She came to be a genius at displaying her collections...
She was smart with Art of the Century because she hired Frederick Kiesler as a designer of the gallery and once again surrounded herself with the right people, including Howard Putzler, who was already involved with her at Guggenheim Jeune in London. And she was hanging out with all the exiled Surrealists who were living in New York at the time, including her future husband, Max Ernst, who was the real star of that group of artists. With the help of these people, she started showing art in a completely different way that was both informal and approachable. In conventional museums and galleries, art was untouchable on the wall and inside frames. In Peggy's gallery, art stuck out from the walls; works weren't confined to frames. Kiesler designed special chairs you could sit in and browse canvases as you would texts in a library. Nothing like this had ever existed in New York before — even today there is nothing like it.
She made the gallery into an exciting place where the whole concept of space was transformed. In Venice, the gallery space was also her home. Today, for a variety of reasons, the home aspect of the collection is less emphasized, though you still get a strong sense of Peggy's home life there. She was bringing art to the public in a bold new way, which I think is a great idea. It's art for everybody, which is very much a part of today's dialogue except that fewer people can afford the outlandish museum entry fees.
Sl: What do you think made her so prescient and attuned ?
Liv: She was smart enough to ask Marcel Duchamp to be her advisor — so she was in tune, and very well connected. She was on the cutting edge of what was going on and I think a lot of this had to do with Peggy being open to the idea of what was new and outrageous. You have to have a certain personality for this; what her childhood had dictated was totally opposite from what she became in life, and being in the right place at the right time helped her maintain a cutting edge throughout her life.
Sl: The movie is framed around a lost interview with Peggy conducted late in her life. How did you acquire these tapes?
Liv: We optioned Jacqueline Bogard Weld’s book, Peggy : The Wayward Guggenheim, the only authorized biography of Peggy, which was published after she died. Jackie had spent two summers interviewing Peggy but at a certain point lost the tapes somewhere in her Park Avenue apartment. Jackie had so much access to Peggy, which was incredible, but it was also the access that she had to other people who had known Peggy — she interviewed over 200 people for her book. Jackie was incredibly generous, letting me go through all her original research except for the lost tapes.
We'd walk into different rooms in her apartment and I'd suggestively open a closet door and ask “Where do you think those tapes might be?" Then one day I asked if she had a basement, and she did. So I went through all these boxes down there, organizing her affairs. Then bingo, the tapes showed up in this shoebox.
It was the longest interview Peggy had ever done and it became the framework for our movie. There's nothing more powerful than when you have someone's real voice telling the story, and Jackie was especially good at asking provoking questions. You can tell it was hard for Peggy to answer a lot of them, because she wasn't someone who was especially expressive; she didn't have a lot of emotion. And this comes across in the movie, in the tone of her voice.
Sl: Larry Gagosian has one of the best descriptions of Peggy in the movie — "she was her own creation." Would you agree, and if so why?
Liv: She was very much her own creation. When he said that in the interview I had a huge smile on my face. In Peggy's case it stemmed from a real need to identify and understand herself. I'm not sure she achieved it but she completely recreated herself — she knew that she did not want to be what she was brought up to be. She tried being a mother, but that was not one of her strengths, so art became that place where she could find herself, and then transform herself.
Nobody believed in the artists she cultivated and supported — they were outsiders and she was an outsider in the world she was brought up in. So it's in this way that she became her own great invention. I hope that her humor comes across in the film because she was extremely amusing — this aspect really comes across in her autobiography.
Sl: Finally, what do you think is Peggy Guggenheim's most lasting legacy, beyond her incredible art collection?
Liv: Her courage, and the way she used it to find herself. She had this ballsiness that not many people had, especially women. In her own way she was a feminist and it's good for women and young girls today to see women who stepped outside the confines of a very traditional family and made something of her life. Peggy's life did not seem that dreamy until she attached herself to these artists. It was her ability to redefine herself in the end that truly summed her up.
About the Filmmakers
Stanley Buchtal is a producer and entrepreneur. His movies credits include "Hairspray", "Spanking the Monkey", "Up at the Villa", "Lou Reed Berlin", "Love Marilyn", "LennoNYC", "Bobby Fischer Against the World", "Herb & Dorothy", "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child", "Sketches of Frank Gehry", "Black White + Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe", among numerous others.
David Koh is an independent producer, distributor, sales agent, programmer and curator. He has been involved in the distribution, sale, production, and financing of over 200 films. He is currently a partner in the boutique label Submarine Entertainment with Josh and Dan Braun and is also partners with Stanley Buchthal and his Dakota Group Ltd where he co-manages a portfolio of over 50 projects a year (75% docs and 25% fiction). Previously he was a partner and founder of Arthouse Films a boutique distribution imprint and ran Chris Blackwell's (founder of Island Records & Island Pictures) film label, Palm Pictures. He has worked as a Producer for artist Nam June Paik and worked in the curatorial departments of Anthology Film Archives, MoMA, Mfa Boston, and the Guggenheim Museum. David has recently served as a Curator for Microsoft and has curated an ongoing film series and salon with Andre Balazs Properties and serves as a Curator for the exclusive Core Club in NYC.
David recently launched with his partners Submarine Deluxe, a distribution imprint; Torpedo Pictures, a low budget high concept label; and Nfp Submarine Doks, a German distribution imprint with Nfp Films. Recently and upcoming projects include "Yayoi Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots", "Burden: a Portrait of Artist Chris Burden", "Dior and I", "20 Feet From Stardom", "Muscle Shoals", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Rats NYC", "Nas: Time Is Illmatic", "Blackfish", "Love Marilyn", "Chasing Ice", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Cutie and the Boxer"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: the Radiant Child", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Wolfpack, "Meru", and "Station to Station".
Dan Braun is a producer, writer, art director and musician/composer based in NYC. He is the Co-President of and Co-Founder of Submarine, a NYC film sales and production company specializing in independent feature and documentary films. Titles include "Blackfish", "Finding Vivian Maier", "Muscle Shoals", "The Case Against 8", "Keep On Keepin’ On", "Winter’s Bone", "Nas: Time is Illmatic", "Dior and I" and Oscar winning docs "Man on Wire", "Searching for Sugarman", "20 Ft From Stardom" and "Citizenfour". He was Executive Producer on documentaries "Kill Your Idols", (which won Best NY Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival 2004), "Blank City", "Sunshine Superman", the upcoming feature adaptations of "Batkid Begins" and "The Battered Bastards of Baseball" and the upcoming horror TV anthology "Creepy" to be directed by Chris Columbus.
He is a producer of the free jazz documentary "Fire Music", and the upcoming documentaries, "Burden" on artist Chris Burden and "Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots" on artist Yayoi Kusama. He is also a writer and consulting editor on Dark Horse Comic’s "Creepy" and "Eerie 9" comic book and archival series for which he won an Eisner Award for best archival comic book series in 2009.
He is a musician/composer whose compositions were featured in the films "I Melt With You" and "Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Radiant Child and is an award winning art director/creative director when he worked at Tbwa/Chiat/Day on the famous Absolut Vodka campaign.
John Northrup (Co-Producer) began his career in documentaries as a French translator for National Geographic: Explorer. He quickly moved into editing and producing, serving as the Associate Producer on "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012), and editing and co-producing "Wilson In Situ" (2014), which tells the story of theatre legend Robert Wilson and his Watermill Center. Most recently, he oversaw the post-production of Jim Chambers’ "Onward Christian Soldier", a documentary about Olympic Bomber Eric Rudolph, and is shooting on Susanne Rostock’s "Another Night in the Free World", the follow-up to her award-winning "Sing Your Song" (2011).
Submarine Entertainment (Production Company) Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production, and distribution company based in N.Y. Recent and upcoming titles include "Citizenfour", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Dog", "Visitors", "20 Feet from Stardom", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Muscle Shoals", "Blackfish", "Cutie and the Boxer", "The Summit", "The Unknown Known", "Love Marilyn", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Chasing Ice", "Downtown 81 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Wild Style 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Good Ol Freda", "Some Velvet Morning", among numerous others. Submarine principals also represent Creepy and Eerie comic book library and are developing properties across film & TV platforms.
Submarine has also recently launched a domestic distribution imprint and label called Submarine Deluxe; a genre label called Torpedo Pictures; and a German imprint and label called Nfp Submarine Doks.
Bernadine Colish has edited a number of award-winning documentaries. "Herb and Dorothy" (2008), won Audience Awards at Silverdocs, Philadelphia and Hamptons Film Festivals, and "Body of War" (2007), was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. "A Touch of Greatness" (2004) aired on PBS Independent Lens and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Her career began at Maysles Films, where she worked with Charlotte Zwerin on such projects as "Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser", "Toru Takemitsu: Music for the Movies" and the PBS American Masters documentary, "Ella Fitzgerald: Something To Live For". Additional credits include "Bringing Tibet Home", "Band of Sisters", "Rise and Dream", "The Tiger Next Door", "The Buffalo War" and "Absolute Wilson".
Jed Parker (Editor) Jed Parker began his career in feature films before moving into documentaries through his work with the award-winning American Masters series. Credits include "Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart", "Annie Liebovitz: Life Through a Lens", and most recently "Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides".
Other work includes two episodes of the PBS series "Make ‘Em Laugh", hosted by Billy Crystal, as well as a documentary on Met Curator Henry Geldzahler entitled "Who Gets to Call it Art"?
Credits
Director, Writer, Producer: Lisa Immordino Vreeland
Produced by Stanley Buchthal, David Koh and Dan Braun Stanley Buchthal (producer)
Maja Hoffmann (executive producer)
Josh Braun (executive producer)
Bob Benton (executive producer)
John Northrup (co-producer)
Bernadine Colish (editor)
Jed Parker (editor)
Peter Trilling (director of photography)
Bonnie Greenberg (executive music producer)
Music by J. Ralph
Original Song "Once Again" Written and Performed By J. Ralph
Interviews Featuring Artist Marina Abramović Jean Arp Dore Ashton Samuel Beckett Stephanie Barron Constantin Brâncuși Diego Cortez Alexander Calder Susan Davidson Joseph Cornell Robert De Niro Salvador Dalí Simon de Pury Willem de Kooning Jeffrey Deitch Marcel Duchamp Polly Devlin Max Ernst Larry Gagosian Alberto Giacometti Arne Glimcher Vasily Kandinsky Michael Govan Fernand Léger Nicky Haslam Joan Miró Pepe Karmel Piet Mondrian Donald Kuspit Robert Motherwell Dominique Lévy Jackson Pollock Carlo McCormick Mark Rothko Hans Ulrich Obrist Yves Tanguy Lisa Phillips Lindsay Pollock Francine Prose John Richardson Sandy Rower Mercedes Ruehl Jane Rylands Philip Rylands Calvin Tomkins Karole Vail Jacqueline Bograd Weld Edmund White
Running time: 97 minutes
U.S. distribution by Submarine Deluxe
International sales by Hanway...
- 11/18/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
On October 9, 1912, Pablo Picasso wrote a letter to Georges Braque, his confrere in Cubism, whom he later derided as “my wife” and who, for his part, described himself and Picasso as “two mountaineers roped together.” “I am in the process of imagining a guitar,” Picasso wrote — a line that still sends shivers. He went on to declare that, after their summer working together in the South of France, he was hijacking two of the biggest artistic ideas of the century: collage and three-dimensional assemblage. Both would change the landscape of art: Via collage, painting took on a more physical body, changing its spatial presence forever; assemblage did all this, too, but in even more varied materials and space, a technique so radical that it essentially remapped the boundaries of painting, bas-relief, molding, and sculpture. Both ideas were Braques’s! As Picasso himself said, “Great artists steal.” Or as...
- 9/9/2015
- by Jerry Saltz
- Vulture
The modern day Pablo, Picasso baby? Madonna made a bold statement in a new interview with the Associated Press, comparing herself to none other than Pablo Picasso. "I like to compare myself to other kinds of artists like Picasso," the Grammy winner, 56, said simply. "He kept painting and painting until the day he died. Why? Because I guess he felt inspired to do so." "Life inspired him, so he had to keep expressing himself," Madge added of the iconic artist, who passed away in 1973 at the [...]...
- 7/23/2015
- Us Weekly
In May, Pablo Picasso’s 1955 painting Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”) was snapped up at Christie’s for $179 million, setting a record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Naturally, the headlines focused on the sheer magnitude of the sale, which broke the old auction record of $142 million — the cost of Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud. The painting itself, though, has a story to tell beyond its price. The Inspiration Delacroix’s Les Femmes d’Alger. Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”) was born out of a rivalry between Picasso and Henri Matisse. But competition can evolve into adoration, and when Matisse died on November 3, 1954, Picasso embarked upon an ambitious form of mourning: He would make a series of 15 works in homage to Eugène Delacroix’s 1834 painting Les Femmes d’Alger, a work held in near-religious regard by the late artist. The Model Qui...
- 7/14/2015
- by Nate Freeman
- Vulture
"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." -Pablo Picasso Today's Korea, whether looking at its entertainment, fashion or culinary scenes, is a society awash with fusion. Nowhere is this more true than in its cinema, as since the late 90s Korean filmmakers have never shied away from playing with genre. Many artists and artisans would do well to take note of the above quote by Picasso (though I imagine he wasn't the first to say it) before dishing out cookie crust shrimp and potato pizzas or dumping a motley crew of genre fare into a blender and calling it a script. However, while these hybrid experiments have frequently backfired, a surprising amount have been successful, including modern classics...
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- 5/15/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Pablo Picasso apparently reused a canvas that had featured the portrait of an unknown man to paint his masterpiece “The Blue Room.”
Hidden Portrait Under Picasso Painting
Curators and conservators discovered the hidden portrait via the use of infrared imagery back in 2008, but just recently revealed the discovery, reported CNN. The image below "The Blue Room," which is housed at The Phillips Collection in Washington, features a bearded man who is wearing a jacket and bow tie, resting his face on his hand, which is bejeweled with three rings.
"This painting 'The Blue Room' is very important in [Picasso's] early work. It's considered an early Blue Period painting," Patricia Favero, associate conservator at the Phillips, said. "To find this painting underneath — which we think was painted in the same year, just earlier in the year and it's completely different in style — it gives us some insight into Picasso's development over the course of that year.
Hidden Portrait Under Picasso Painting
Curators and conservators discovered the hidden portrait via the use of infrared imagery back in 2008, but just recently revealed the discovery, reported CNN. The image below "The Blue Room," which is housed at The Phillips Collection in Washington, features a bearded man who is wearing a jacket and bow tie, resting his face on his hand, which is bejeweled with three rings.
"This painting 'The Blue Room' is very important in [Picasso's] early work. It's considered an early Blue Period painting," Patricia Favero, associate conservator at the Phillips, said. "To find this painting underneath — which we think was painted in the same year, just earlier in the year and it's completely different in style — it gives us some insight into Picasso's development over the course of that year.
- 6/18/2014
- Uinterview
The Classic French Film Festival celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1920s through the 1980s (with a particular focus on filmmakers from the New Wave), offering a comprehensive overview of French cinema. The Mystery Of Picasso will screen as part of the festival at 7pm Friday, June 20th at the St. Louis Art Museum.
In 1955, Henri-Georges Clouzot, the acclaimed director of “The Wages of Fear” and “Diabolique,” joined forces with artist Pablo Picasso to make an entirely new kind of documentary, a film that could capture the moment and the mystery of creativity. Together, they devised an innovative technique: The filmmaker placed his camera behind a semi-transparent surface on which the artist drew with special inks that bled through. Clouzot thus captured a perfect reverse image of Picasso’s brushstrokes, and the movie screen itself became the artist’s canvas.
In 1955, Henri-Georges Clouzot, the acclaimed director of “The Wages of Fear” and “Diabolique,” joined forces with artist Pablo Picasso to make an entirely new kind of documentary, a film that could capture the moment and the mystery of creativity. Together, they devised an innovative technique: The filmmaker placed his camera behind a semi-transparent surface on which the artist drew with special inks that bled through. Clouzot thus captured a perfect reverse image of Picasso’s brushstrokes, and the movie screen itself became the artist’s canvas.
- 6/17/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This story first appeared in the The Hollywood Reporter's Cannes Daily on May 16. Picasso muse and painter Lydia Corbett, who was a virtual Brigitte Bardot lookalike back in the 1950s, tells THR that Cannes’ beloved blonde, often done up in a trademark ponytail, stole her ’do. Corbett, who grew up down the Riviera from Cannes, had caught the eye of Pablo Picasso, whose studio was 10 minutes from Cannes in Vallauris, and become his muse. Photographs of her with the painter subsequently appeared in Paris Match, where they attracted the attention of Bardot’s husband, director Roger Vadim. “I only
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- 5/16/2014
- by Tim Appelo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It may be a case of art to ashes - and scientists are trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. A Romanian museum official said Wednesday that ash from the oven of a woman whose son is charged with stealing seven multimillion-dollar paintings - including a Matisse, a Picasso and a Monet - contains paint, canvas and nails. The finding is evidence that Olga Dogaru may have been telling the truth when she claimed to have burned the paintings, which were taken from a Dutch museum last year in a daring daylight heist. Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu, director of Romania's National History Museum,...
- 7/19/2013
- by The Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Wake your ass up, Tilda Swinton, and get out of that glass box. This is performance art we can get behind: Jay-z is currently "rapping" a song off his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, at a museum and will do so nonstop for six hours. Hova is currently at the Pace Gallery in New York where he's lip-syncing the track "Picasso Baby" on repeat while cameras film (presumably to later be turned into a music video). On the track, Jay-z dubs himself the modern day Pablo Picasso and laments, "I just want a Picasso, in my casa / No, my castle." (For the record, he revealed in his Twitter Q&A that he's still waiting for that Picasso, but "my birthday is Dec 4 though."...
- 7/10/2013
- E! Online
Flipping through the catalog for Christie's upcoming Andy Warhol sale is like examining the personal scrapbook of a Studio 54 regular. The Pop Art king was indeed a frequent visitor at the ultra-hip 1970s nightclub, and with Polaroid camera always in tow, he managed to document an array of celebrity-packed parties.
Amid the snapshots of Bill Murray, Grace Jones and Deborah Harry, one photograph from the bunch struck our fancy, though. Who is that Marina Abramovic doppelgänger sitting next to Andy Warhol at Studio 54, you ask?
Why, that's none other than Pablo Picasso's daughter, Paloma. You might recognize her face from a series of paintings ol' dad made back in the 1950s. Or perhaps you know her as the acclaimed fashion designer who created jewelry for Tiffany & Co.
We were stunned to see the offspring of Francois Gilot and Picasso smoking a stogie with Warhol, but times were different. Scroll...
Amid the snapshots of Bill Murray, Grace Jones and Deborah Harry, one photograph from the bunch struck our fancy, though. Who is that Marina Abramovic doppelgänger sitting next to Andy Warhol at Studio 54, you ask?
Why, that's none other than Pablo Picasso's daughter, Paloma. You might recognize her face from a series of paintings ol' dad made back in the 1950s. Or perhaps you know her as the acclaimed fashion designer who created jewelry for Tiffany & Co.
We were stunned to see the offspring of Francois Gilot and Picasso smoking a stogie with Warhol, but times were different. Scroll...
- 4/23/2013
- by Katherine Brooks
- Huffington Post
New Delhi, March 17: The magic of Pablo Picasso's paintbrush and colours was revisited when designer Pratima Pandey showcased her collection, inspired by the painting of the famous artist, at the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (Wifw).
"The collection titled 'Mood swings' is inspired by the works of Picasso's paintings for the three art movements - Rose period, Blue period and Cubistic war period," said the designer.
A mix of salwar-kameez, embroidered jackets and dresses in bright and deeper tones, the collection was impressive.
"I have used a lot of silk and chanderi. Also, the use of intricate embroidery.
"The collection titled 'Mood swings' is inspired by the works of Picasso's paintings for the three art movements - Rose period, Blue period and Cubistic war period," said the designer.
A mix of salwar-kameez, embroidered jackets and dresses in bright and deeper tones, the collection was impressive.
"I have used a lot of silk and chanderi. Also, the use of intricate embroidery.
- 3/17/2013
- by Arun Pandit
- RealBollywood.com
Why did I write my new book, "Picasso's Ghost"? Norman Mailer taught me that good writing is bold writing. Norman also said to write about what I know -- and I know the Picasso family. And I finally felt it was time someone defended Pablo Picasso from his reputation of being a tyrant and abusing his family. My connection with the Picassos began one night in 1971 when Pablo's illegitimate son Claude – with Francoise Gilot -- and I danced to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in a Manhattan disco, at a party given by...
- 2/20/2013
- by Carole Mallory
- The Wrap
One of Pablo Picasso's most famous works is 'Guernica,' a painting about a town of the same name that was bombed by the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. Now the story of that tragedy is being brought to the screen by director Koldo Serra (The Backwoods).According to an article in Spanish newspaper El País, the story will centre on two American journalists covering the war. While not the worst of bombings by outsiders, it is the most famous, largely because of Picasso's painting. No doubt there is a great potential audience, not only amongst Serra's fans, but also among art fans who know little about the story behind the painting. It's been a while since Serra's work has been seen on the big screen. His...
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- 2/15/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Looking for some sordid details about the minutiae of celebrities' sexual habits? Carole Mallory has the scoop.
The actress and model, who starred in 1975's "The Stepford Wives" and was the common-law wife of writer Norman Mailer, has followed up her 2010 memoir "Loving Mailer" with another juicy book about her many glamorous love affairs.
In the book, titled "Picasso's Ghost," Mallory gushes about her engagement to Pablo Picasso's son, Claude, as well as her affairs with Richard Gere, Peter Sellers and Robert De Niro -- the latter of whom Mallory said wears socks while having sex.
Mallory and De Niro met at the Chateau Marmont in 1975 and engaged in a 14-day affair. “During lovemaking, he never stopped looking in my eyes,” she writes in "Picasso's Ghost." “He had a butterfly tattoo that I later realized matched his flighty spirit. So did the fact that he left his socks on.
The actress and model, who starred in 1975's "The Stepford Wives" and was the common-law wife of writer Norman Mailer, has followed up her 2010 memoir "Loving Mailer" with another juicy book about her many glamorous love affairs.
In the book, titled "Picasso's Ghost," Mallory gushes about her engagement to Pablo Picasso's son, Claude, as well as her affairs with Richard Gere, Peter Sellers and Robert De Niro -- the latter of whom Mallory said wears socks while having sex.
Mallory and De Niro met at the Chateau Marmont in 1975 and engaged in a 14-day affair. “During lovemaking, he never stopped looking in my eyes,” she writes in "Picasso's Ghost." “He had a butterfly tattoo that I later realized matched his flighty spirit. So did the fact that he left his socks on.
- 1/29/2013
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Huffington Post
Bjarne Melgaard: A New Novel by Bjarne Melgaard Luxembourg & Dayan Through December 22, 2012 I open one eye. Sunlight pours in through my Zaha Hadid-designed venetian blinds, casting horizontal shadows on the walls, turning the room into a recumbent prison cell. I was supposed to meet James Franco (who is still a little sore at me for beating him out for the part of Cocktimus Prime in Sue de Beer's hardcore version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) in Central Park an hour ago, but my Philippe Starck alarm clock (which I fully believe is haunted) failed to wake me. I open both eyes, decide that it is probably safe, and dress quickly: black crinolined Brioni smoking jacket, Hello Kitty T-shirt, baby seal-skin pants, and boots hand-carved in Brazilian rosewood (by some guy in Tokyo, whose name is comprised entirely of consonants and who has a nine-year waiting list) which resemble small cats,...
- 11/25/2012
- by bradleyrubenstein
- www.culturecatch.com
"Brave" brought back my feelings of being engaged to Pablo Picasso's son Claude, whom I wanted to marry. My father, my mother and my sister had wanted me to marry him as well. Of course money, property and prestige and their desire for my well-being were their motivations, just as Queen and King Magus's in "Brave" were for their daughter Merida. When Picasso died in 1973, under the moonlight in the graveyard of the Chateau des Vauvenauges, Claude asked me to be his wife. At this time, Claude's mother began a...
- 6/27/2012
- by Carole Mallory
- The Wrap
Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith just celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary and Antonio is opening up on how they've become one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples.
"People want to know the secret of staying together when you're in the public eye, because it's not always easy," Banderas tells the summer issue of Aspen Peak magazine.
"The truth is boring," he explains. "You go to the market, you have coffee together, you have dinner together, you tell a joke, you go to bed. Are you ready for this? You live like normal people. Believe it or not, that's what it takes."
Video: Antonio Wields Sword as Puss in Boots
The actor also talks about raising his teenage daughter Stella and says he definitely sees a bit of himself in her. "You see in your kids a little reflection of yourself, even though they think you don't understand them," he tells the magazine. "They are very...
"People want to know the secret of staying together when you're in the public eye, because it's not always easy," Banderas tells the summer issue of Aspen Peak magazine.
"The truth is boring," he explains. "You go to the market, you have coffee together, you have dinner together, you tell a joke, you go to bed. Are you ready for this? You live like normal people. Believe it or not, that's what it takes."
Video: Antonio Wields Sword as Puss in Boots
The actor also talks about raising his teenage daughter Stella and says he definitely sees a bit of himself in her. "You see in your kids a little reflection of yourself, even though they think you don't understand them," he tells the magazine. "They are very...
- 5/21/2012
- Entertainment Tonight
All the latest news, reviews, comment and buzz from the Croisette
10.04am: Day three of Cannes 2012 rolls round. If you want to catch up with what happened yesterday (whenever that was), here's yesterday's blow-by-blow live blog.
But as is the way with Cannes, it's history already; all that's left is to pick over the bones. And that will assuredly be happening in the video we'll post later this morning, when Peter, Xan and Catherine run the rule over Rust and Bone, last night's biggie. We'll also have a gallery of red carpet pictures, featuring star Marion Cotillard and ice-cold director Jacques Audiard. (I've said it before, I'll say it again: he's the person I want to be when I grow up.)
So what to look forward to today? The line-up is perhaps a tad less starry that on days one and two: the competition films are Reality, from Italian director...
10.04am: Day three of Cannes 2012 rolls round. If you want to catch up with what happened yesterday (whenever that was), here's yesterday's blow-by-blow live blog.
But as is the way with Cannes, it's history already; all that's left is to pick over the bones. And that will assuredly be happening in the video we'll post later this morning, when Peter, Xan and Catherine run the rule over Rust and Bone, last night's biggie. We'll also have a gallery of red carpet pictures, featuring star Marion Cotillard and ice-cold director Jacques Audiard. (I've said it before, I'll say it again: he's the person I want to be when I grow up.)
So what to look forward to today? The line-up is perhaps a tad less starry that on days one and two: the competition films are Reality, from Italian director...
- 5/18/2012
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Alex Pettyfer, star of failed franchise starter “I Am Number Four,” and Steven Soderbergh's upcoming "Magic Mike," has found a new starring role in the new film from “Heartbreaker” helmer Pascal Chaumeil. “Diamond Dogs” is based on an Alan Watt novel that is described as a crime thriller. Pettyfer will play the son of a Nevada sheriff who makes a life-changing mistake, and his father is forced to cover it up. Casting is currently underway for the father and no start date has been set. [Variety]
Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow is in talks to co-star in the Carlos Saura (“Raise Ravens,” “The Hunt”) directed “Guernica 33 Days.” The film, co-written by Suara with Elias Querejeta, and Louis-Charles Sirjacq, will follow Pablo Picasso’s emotional turmoil as he painted the famous artwork referenced in the title.
Antonio Banderas stars as Picasso, and Paltrow would play his lover, a Spanish-speaking French photographer named Dora Maar.
Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow is in talks to co-star in the Carlos Saura (“Raise Ravens,” “The Hunt”) directed “Guernica 33 Days.” The film, co-written by Suara with Elias Querejeta, and Louis-Charles Sirjacq, will follow Pablo Picasso’s emotional turmoil as he painted the famous artwork referenced in the title.
Antonio Banderas stars as Picasso, and Paltrow would play his lover, a Spanish-speaking French photographer named Dora Maar.
- 5/18/2012
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
Pablo Picasso would have loved "Dark Shadows." The fantasy make-up of Depp and Co. is straight out of Picasso's Harlequin Period. Cubism and its mates would have cheered the art direction. Braque and Matisse would have enjoyed this film, simply just to look at it. How do I know? I was engaged to Pablo Picasso's son, Claude, and lived in Paris with his family -- including Paloma, who dressed as though she had just stepped out of "Dark Shadows." Her body was an art form that she delighted in camping up with...
- 5/11/2012
- by Carole Mallory
- The Wrap
Today marks the centennial of the great French photography Robert Doisneau and though he wasn't a celebrity photographer -- the kind we obviously have the greatest use for as film obsessives -- he did them on occassion. I love this shot of one of the great auteur/muse pairings (both onscreen and off) actor Jean Marais (left) and Jean Cocteau (right).
Here's another of Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot.
Remember when Anthony Hopkins and Natasha McElhone pretended to be them? I know I know. No one saw Surviving Picasso (1996)... but I did because Julianne Moore was Dora Maar (another Picasso victim... excuse me, lover!) and with Julianne I martyr myself to completism.
If you could photograph one auteur/muse pairing, who would it be?...
Here's another of Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot.
Remember when Anthony Hopkins and Natasha McElhone pretended to be them? I know I know. No one saw Surviving Picasso (1996)... but I did because Julianne Moore was Dora Maar (another Picasso victim... excuse me, lover!) and with Julianne I martyr myself to completism.
If you could photograph one auteur/muse pairing, who would it be?...
- 4/14/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Both the Directors' Fortnight (May 17 through 27) and Critics' Week (May 17 through 25) have presented the posters for their 2012 editions — here and here, respectively. Neither is quite as classy as the poster for the Cannes Film Festival itself (May 16 through 27), but each captures the spirit of its strand pretty well.
In the works. Ingmar Bergman left behind a VHS collection of more than 1500 titles, including works by the likes of Tarkovsky, Buñuel and Truffaut but also more popular fare such as The Blues Brothers, Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters. As Jorn Rossing Jensen reports at Cineuropa, film critics Hynek Pallas and Jane Magnusson and journalist Fatima Varhos "are currently finishing Bergman's Video, a 90-minute documentary (for theatrical) and a 6x60-minute television series which will offer 'a new insight into the genius of Bergman and portraits of great filmmakers of today.' With focus on six themes: fear, silence, comedy, death, adventure and...
In the works. Ingmar Bergman left behind a VHS collection of more than 1500 titles, including works by the likes of Tarkovsky, Buñuel and Truffaut but also more popular fare such as The Blues Brothers, Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters. As Jorn Rossing Jensen reports at Cineuropa, film critics Hynek Pallas and Jane Magnusson and journalist Fatima Varhos "are currently finishing Bergman's Video, a 90-minute documentary (for theatrical) and a 6x60-minute television series which will offer 'a new insight into the genius of Bergman and portraits of great filmmakers of today.' With focus on six themes: fear, silence, comedy, death, adventure and...
- 4/6/2012
- MUBI
Thanks to surviving photographs and preliminary sketches, this film has the chance to really capture how the artist made Guernica
Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso? Cool. The casting of the star of Desperado, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and, er, Puss in Boots as the greatest artist of the 20th century is very promising. I mean, he's not simply Spanish but Andalusian. What's more, Banderas was born in Picasso's own birthplace, Malaga. That has to be better than the Welsh Picasso of a previous biopic.
Plausible casting is not the only promising thing about 33 Dias, to be directed by Carlos Saura. It sounds as if it will be a potentially insightful view of an artist at work. For it is all about the making of Guernica – not simply the most powerful political work of art of modern times, but also the outcome of an unusually well-documented creative process.
Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso? Cool. The casting of the star of Desperado, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and, er, Puss in Boots as the greatest artist of the 20th century is very promising. I mean, he's not simply Spanish but Andalusian. What's more, Banderas was born in Picasso's own birthplace, Malaga. That has to be better than the Welsh Picasso of a previous biopic.
Plausible casting is not the only promising thing about 33 Dias, to be directed by Carlos Saura. It sounds as if it will be a potentially insightful view of an artist at work. For it is all about the making of Guernica – not simply the most powerful political work of art of modern times, but also the outcome of an unusually well-documented creative process.
- 2/23/2012
- by Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
Antonio Banderas will play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura's upcoming "33 Dias (33 Days)," about the painter's emotional turmoil as he worked on masterpiece "Guernica." "33 Dias" refers to the time Picasso spent on the mural, which captured his reaction to the destruction of Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. "[Picasso] is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected," said Banderas. "He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born." The French and Spanish language film will begin shooting next summer in Paris and Guernica. The budget is set around $8 million.
- 2/22/2012
- WorstPreviews.com
2011 was a year of variety for Antonio Banderas, from the creepy, The Skin I Live In to the Shrek spin-off, Puss In Boots, and it doesn't look like work is going to slow down for the prolific Spanish actor. Alongside the persistent rumour that he'll play Fidel Castro comes confirmation of his casting as the much celebrated artist Pablo Picasso in 33 Dias [33 Days]. The biopic will focus on Picasso as he paints his masterpiece, 'Guernica', a mural that he spent 33 days working on (as referenced in the title). 33 Dias will seek to...
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- 2/21/2012
- by Total Film
- TotalFilm
Antonio Banderas will play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura's upcoming $8 million biopic "33 dias" (33 Days) at Idem 4 and Cinevedas says Variety.
The story refers to the emotionally turbulent time Picasso spent on "Guernica", his famed mural showing the destruction of Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War.
Saura and Elias Querejeta penned the script alongside French writer Louis-Charles Sirjacq. The French and Spanish language-production will shoot next summer in Paris and Guernica.
The story refers to the emotionally turbulent time Picasso spent on "Guernica", his famed mural showing the destruction of Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War.
Saura and Elias Querejeta penned the script alongside French writer Louis-Charles Sirjacq. The French and Spanish language-production will shoot next summer in Paris and Guernica.
- 2/21/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
What, was Marcial Di Fonzo Bo unavailable? ("Midnight in Paris" joke for you guys, right there.) According to Variety, Antonio Banderas is set to play Pablo Picasso in the upcoming docudrama, "33 Dias" ("33 Days").
The film follows Picasso during the 33 days it took him to paint the masterpiece "Guernica," which captured the destruction of the town during the Spanish Civil War.
"[Picasso] is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born," Banderas told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
"33 Dias" will be directed by Carlos Saura. It will start shooting next summer in Paris and Guernica.
[via Variety and El Pais]...
The film follows Picasso during the 33 days it took him to paint the masterpiece "Guernica," which captured the destruction of the town during the Spanish Civil War.
"[Picasso] is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born," Banderas told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
"33 Dias" will be directed by Carlos Saura. It will start shooting next summer in Paris and Guernica.
[via Variety and El Pais]...
- 2/21/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Huffington Post
What, was Marcial Di Fonzo Bo unavailable? ("Midnight in Paris" joke for you guys, right there.) According to Variety, Antonio Banderas is set to play Pablo Picasso in the upcoming docudrama, "33 Dias" ("33 Days"). The film follows Picasso during the 33 days it took him to paint the masterpiece "Guernica," which captured the destruction of the town during the Spanish Civil War. "[Picasso] is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born," Banderas told Spanish newspaper El Pais. "33 Dias" will be directed by Carlos Saura. It will start shooting next summer in Paris and Guernica. [via Variety and El Pais]...
- 2/21/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Moviefone
Málaga, Spain's native son Antonio Banderas has just signed on to play one of the city's most heralded figures, Pablo Picasso in 33 Days--or 33 dias in its native tongue. Variety reveals the film will capture the 33-day span in 1937 that Picasso spent on his awe-inspiring mural "Guernica." The monochrome painting was Picasso's response to the brutal decimation of the Spanish town for which it's named, and was created during the height of the Spanish Civil War. Though the piece has Picasso's distinctly surrealist style, it clearly offers a portrait of the agony and horror of war."Guernica" is counted amongst Picasso's most famous works, but in the context of the film will serve as the impetus that helps him overcome a personal crisis, which will tie into his romantic relationship with French Artist Dora Maar. At present there's no word on who could be cast as Maar. Speaking...
- 2/21/2012
- cinemablend.com
Antonio Banderas has signed on to play Pablo Picasso in Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura's 33 Dias (33 Days), about the famed artist’s emotional turmoil as he worked on the painting "Guernica," which was his reaction to the destruction of the Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. 'Guernica' is one of Picasso's most renowned works and stands as a symbol for the casualties of war, particularly innocent civilians. It has...
- 2/21/2012
- by Paul Shirey
- JoBlo.com
Actor born four blocks from Spanish painter's birthplace will appear in Carlos Saura's drama about creation of Guernica
Antonio Banderas has signed up to play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura's 33 Dias, a drama about the creation of the painter's great anti-war masterpiece Guernica, according to Variety.
Guernica, a black and white mural that Picasso completed in 1937, was painted in response to the bombing of the Basque town by German and Italian forces supporting the nationalists during the Spanish civil war. It's unveiling at the World's Fair in Paris in the same year helped to bring attention to the conflict. The tally of civilian deaths as a result of the bombings is still disputed. The Basque government reported 1,654 dead after the attack, but modern estimates put the number between 300-400.
"Picasso's a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected," Banderas told El País.
Antonio Banderas has signed up to play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura's 33 Dias, a drama about the creation of the painter's great anti-war masterpiece Guernica, according to Variety.
Guernica, a black and white mural that Picasso completed in 1937, was painted in response to the bombing of the Basque town by German and Italian forces supporting the nationalists during the Spanish civil war. It's unveiling at the World's Fair in Paris in the same year helped to bring attention to the conflict. The tally of civilian deaths as a result of the bombings is still disputed. The Basque government reported 1,654 dead after the attack, but modern estimates put the number between 300-400.
"Picasso's a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected," Banderas told El País.
- 2/21/2012
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
Jesus is has signed on to play alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in their new action-prison flick The Tomb. Okay, not Jesus, but the man who played has him. Ain’t It Cool News has word that Person of Interest star Jim Caviezel will play has a Warden in the movie, directed by Mikael Håfström, which follows Ray Breslin (Stallone) who is the world’s foremost authority on structural security. He’s analyzed every high security prison and has gained a vast array of survival skills. But all Ray’s ingenuity and knowledge are about to be put to work in the most challenging test he’s ever faced: escaping from the master prison of his own design.
Schwarzenegger, in the role of Church, plays a complex inmate with multiple shades of grey. He’s the guy who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their...
Schwarzenegger, in the role of Church, plays a complex inmate with multiple shades of grey. He’s the guy who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their...
- 2/21/2012
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
Spanish actor Antonio Banderas is set to play famed artist Pablo Picasso in a new biopic.
The Desperado star, who was born in the same city of Malaga as Picasso, will portray the celebrated painter and sculptor in 33 Days, about the emotional struggle he endured while working on his 1937 masterpiece, Guernica.
In an interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper, Banderas says, "He is a character that followed me for a long time, but (I) had always rejected it. He deserves a lot of respect because I am Malagan. I was born four blocks from where he was born. It has always fascinated me."
Carlos Saura will direct the movie, which will also detail Picasso's romance with French artist Dora Maar, according to trade paper Daily Variety.
The Desperado star, who was born in the same city of Malaga as Picasso, will portray the celebrated painter and sculptor in 33 Days, about the emotional struggle he endured while working on his 1937 masterpiece, Guernica.
In an interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper, Banderas says, "He is a character that followed me for a long time, but (I) had always rejected it. He deserves a lot of respect because I am Malagan. I was born four blocks from where he was born. It has always fascinated me."
Carlos Saura will direct the movie, which will also detail Picasso's romance with French artist Dora Maar, according to trade paper Daily Variety.
- 2/21/2012
- WENN
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