Some 600 French art and entertainment world figures have signed a “counter-petition” decrying moves to defend iconic actor Gérard Depardieu in the face of multiple accusations of sexual assault and one of rape.
The petition described a recent open letter in support of Depardieu, signed by 56 cinema world celebrities, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s public defense of the actor on a talkshow before Christmas as a slap in the face for all victims of sexual violence.
“It is the sinister and perfect illustration of the world which refuses to let things change,” read the letter posted on the site of investigative news website Mediapart on Friday.
“It is the reversal of roles where the executioner places himself as a victim, with the help of his friends. As always in cases of gender-based and sexual violence against women, the ‘presumption...
The petition described a recent open letter in support of Depardieu, signed by 56 cinema world celebrities, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s public defense of the actor on a talkshow before Christmas as a slap in the face for all victims of sexual violence.
“It is the sinister and perfect illustration of the world which refuses to let things change,” read the letter posted on the site of investigative news website Mediapart on Friday.
“It is the reversal of roles where the executioner places himself as a victim, with the help of his friends. As always in cases of gender-based and sexual violence against women, the ‘presumption...
- 12/30/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with Vivendi response. French lawmakers are proposing new legislation aimed at protecting media independence amid growing concerns over big business interference and politicization in the sector in France.
The cross-party initiative has been prompted by an ongoing strike at Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, or Jdd, in protest at a move to install far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune as editor, by parent the Lagardère Group, which is currently in the process of being acquired by Vivendi.
The Jdd journalists have rejected Lejeune’s appointment saying his values are out of whack with those of the newspaper. They are also calling for a guarantee of editorial independence.
The industrial action meant the newspaper did not publish for a fifth consecutive week on Sunday (July 24), the longest period it has been absent from newspaper racks in its 75-history.
Lejeune was previously editor of the far-right magazine Valeurs Actuelles and supporter of...
The cross-party initiative has been prompted by an ongoing strike at Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, or Jdd, in protest at a move to install far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune as editor, by parent the Lagardère Group, which is currently in the process of being acquired by Vivendi.
The Jdd journalists have rejected Lejeune’s appointment saying his values are out of whack with those of the newspaper. They are also calling for a guarantee of editorial independence.
The industrial action meant the newspaper did not publish for a fifth consecutive week on Sunday (July 24), the longest period it has been absent from newspaper racks in its 75-history.
Lejeune was previously editor of the far-right magazine Valeurs Actuelles and supporter of...
- 7/24/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival is best-known for its lavish parties and stunning red carpets, but the celebration of cinema has also often been colored by political concerns. This year, promises to be an unusually turbulent one.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
- 5/18/2022
- by Brent Lang and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In a repeat of 2017, France’s 2022 presidential election is now down to the same two candidates: the incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen. In first round voting which took place on Sunday, centrist Macron emerged with 27.6 of the votes while Le Pen managed 23.4. This is a bigger showing for Le Pen and her National Rally party (formerly National Front) than five years ago. The determining second round vote will be held on April 24.
While the war in Ukraine continues to dominate most headlines, the French media has naturally been focused on the election throughout yesterday and today. Newspapers in far-flung corners of the globe are not giving as many column inches as in 2017 — which saw a historic first round in which France’s major political parties did not advance. However, the UK and our European neighbors are following closely as the National Rally’s brand of...
While the war in Ukraine continues to dominate most headlines, the French media has naturally been focused on the election throughout yesterday and today. Newspapers in far-flung corners of the globe are not giving as many column inches as in 2017 — which saw a historic first round in which France’s major political parties did not advance. However, the UK and our European neighbors are following closely as the National Rally’s brand of...
- 4/11/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Eric Zemmour, the French far-right pundit and TV journalist who has been called “France’s Trump,” sparked a scandal in French media earlier this week when he announced his presidential bid with a video that incited nationalist fervor and included unauthorized footage from classic movies, TV shows, newscasts and soccer games.
The controversy echoes musicians such as Neil Young and the Rolling Stones threatening lawsuits over Donald Trump’s campaign using their songs..
French production powerhouse Gaumont and the producers of the popular primetime show “Quotidien” are among those who have threatened to sue Zemmour over the use of their materials in the video.
The 10-minute clip — the first of its kind posted by a French presidential candidate to social media — is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and shows Zemmour sitting at a desk with imagery reminiscent of French General Charles de Gaulle’s 1940 filmed appeal to resist the Nazi occupation.
The controversy echoes musicians such as Neil Young and the Rolling Stones threatening lawsuits over Donald Trump’s campaign using their songs..
French production powerhouse Gaumont and the producers of the popular primetime show “Quotidien” are among those who have threatened to sue Zemmour over the use of their materials in the video.
The 10-minute clip — the first of its kind posted by a French presidential candidate to social media — is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and shows Zemmour sitting at a desk with imagery reminiscent of French General Charles de Gaulle’s 1940 filmed appeal to resist the Nazi occupation.
- 12/3/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Populist candidate Eric Zemmour’s campaign is under fire over the use of extracts from French film classics.
French film and TV company Gaumont is threatening legal action after extracts of films in its library were used in a video launching far-right politician Eric Zemmour as a candidate in France’s 2022 presidential elections without authorisation.
The 10-minute video, posted on YouTube on Tuesday (November 30), intercuts Zemmour’s candidacy speech with a montage of news footage and extracts from French film and TV shows. These included Gaumont titles Luc Besson’s Joan Of Arc and Henri Verneuil’s A Monkey In Winter...
French film and TV company Gaumont is threatening legal action after extracts of films in its library were used in a video launching far-right politician Eric Zemmour as a candidate in France’s 2022 presidential elections without authorisation.
The 10-minute video, posted on YouTube on Tuesday (November 30), intercuts Zemmour’s candidacy speech with a montage of news footage and extracts from French film and TV shows. These included Gaumont titles Luc Besson’s Joan Of Arc and Henri Verneuil’s A Monkey In Winter...
- 12/1/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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