Latest news with #CatherineDeneuve
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We were half-drunk': Patrick Watson on Covid hit and Spotify record-breaker Je Te Laisserai Des Mots
I'd been commissioned to do the score for a French film, Mères et Filles [released with the English title The Hidden Diary, 2009], starring Catherine Deneuve. I've done quite a few scores and usually you talk to the director, then it's your job to help the storyline do what it needs to. There's a scene at the end of the film where the main character leaves a letter under the door, which to me suggested the title Je Te Laisserai Des Mots, meaning: 'I will leave you some words.' In my studio in Montreal, I came up with what I thought was a nice little melody. I'm from Quebec, so although I'm an English-speaking person, I've always been surrounded by French. Whenever I have the opportunity to sing or write in French, I do. Although I like singing in French, it's a very difficult language to sing in because of the vowel structure. There aren't many words in Je Te Laisserai Des Mots and the first verse is entirely wordless. I didn't think it needed any more words so I just made vocal sounds. Also I probably imagined the song starting to play at the end of the film while there is still dialogue, so didn't want words to clash. We were kind of half-drunk when we did the strings arrangement. It was a really fun night – but outside the film, I didn't think anyone would ever listen to the song. It initially appeared as a bonus track on my debut album. Then it suddenly took off in the pandemic. Because I couldn't tour, I was doing lots of live Instagrams, which prompted someone to send me a video they'd made of Je Te Lasserai Des Mots. It had a million views and once those algorithms get going, you can't stop them. Sometimes certain emotions hit at a certain time and a song can become the soundtrack of that moment. Before I knew it, people all over the world were making their own lockdown videos featuring Je Te Lasserai Des Mots. When I first came into the music business, execs didn't take me seriously because I didn't have 'radio songs', but the advent of syncs and then streaming have made a new kind of hit possible. The song's now had something like 200,000 TikTok videos featuring it, more than 60bn TikTok plays and it's the first French language song to hit more than a billion streams on Spotify. I find such huge numbers hard to digest but the song is much more famous than I am. I might be renting skis or something and they'll see the name and go: 'Oh, you have the same name as the singer.' I'm like: 'It's me!' And they don't believe me. Our string quartet played with Patrick for 15 years and we're still close. When we started touring with him, our kids were quite young so Patrick named us Mommies on the Run. We were his first experiment with a string quartet but after a while on tour we were wilder than him. We'd shout: 'No kids!' It was such a great adventure and we all spent a lot of time together. We'd go to Patrick's place, there would be things everywhere and you'd put your violin case on the ping-pong table. Patrick would play on the piano and we'd improvise around that. One night Patrick said: 'I have a French song. What do you think of my accent?' He speaks French very well but had never sung in it and there were a lot of mistakes in the pronunciation, but they were part of the charm so he kept them in. It was a fun session and at one point we had some Jameson whiskey. We tried for a long time to find the right notes and got a little drunk. Everything was starting to slide when suddenly it all just fell into place. There's almost no rhythm to Je Te Laisserai Des Mots, which again is part of the charm. It's a beautiful song that makes your heart melt, and during the pandemic, when we were all very lonely, it touched a lot of people's hearts. I first became aware that it was taking off when my kids were on TikTok and I heard the song. I went: 'That's my quartet!' They couldn't believe it. They told me: 'That song's everywhere.' Although Patrick isn't obliged to give us songwriting royalties, every year he gives us a symbolic amount to show his gratitude, which is really nice and shows that he respects the fact that people pulling together in that moment created something special. Patrick Watson's new album, Uh Oh, is released in the UK on 26 September. He plays the Troxy, London, on 7 November
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We were half-drunk': Patrick Watson on Covid hit and Spotify record-breaker Je Te Laisserai Des Mots
I'd been commissioned to do the score for a French film, Mères et Filles [released with the English title The Hidden Diary, 2009], starring Catherine Deneuve. I've done quite a few scores and usually you talk to the director, then it's your job to help the storyline do what it needs to. There's a scene at the end of the film where the main character leaves a letter under the door, which to me suggested the title Je Te Laisserai des Mots, meaning: 'I will leave you some words.' In my studio in Montreal, I came up with what I thought was a nice little melody. I'm from Quebec, so although I'm an English-speaking person, I've always been surrounded by French. Whenever I have the opportunity to sing or write in French, I do. Although I like singing in French, it's a very difficult language to sing in because of the vowel structure. There aren't many words in Je Te Laisserai Des Mots and the first verse is entirely wordless. I didn't think it needed any more words so I just made vocal sounds. Also I probably imagined the song starting to play at the end of the film while there is still dialogue, so didn't want words to clash. We were kind of half-drunk when we did the strings arrangement. It was a really fun night – but outside the film, I didn't think anyone would ever listen to the song. It initially appeared as a bonus track on my debut album. Then it suddenly took off in the pandemic. Because I couldn't tour, I was doing lots of live Instagrams, which prompted someone to send me a video they'd made of Je Te Lasserai Des Mots. It had a million views and once those algorithms get going, you can't stop them. Sometimes certain emotions hit at a certain time and a song can become the soundtrack of that moment. Before I knew it, people all over the world were making their own lockdown videos featuring Je Te Lasserai Des Mots. When I first came into the music business, execs didn't take me seriously because I didn't have 'radio songs', but the advent of synchs and then streaming have made a new kind of hit possible. The song's now had something like 200,000 TikTok videos featuring it, more than 60 billion TikTok plays and it's the first French language song to hit more than a billion streams on Spotify. I find such huge numbers hard to digest but the song is much more famous than I am. I might be renting skis or something and they'll see the name and go: 'Oh, you have the same name as the singer.' I'm like: 'It's me!' And they don't believe me. Our string quartet played with Patrick for 15 years and we're still close. When we started touring with him, our kids were quite young so Patrick named us Mommies on the Run. We were his first experiment with a string quartet but after a while on tour we were wilder than him. We'd shout: 'No kids!' It was such a great adventure and we all spent a lot of time together. We'd go to Patrick's place, there would be things everywhere and you'd put your violin case on the ping-pong table. Patrick would play on the piano and we'd improvise around that. One night Patrick said: 'I have a French song. What do you think of my accent?' He speaks French very well but had never sung in it and there were a lot of mistakes in the pronunciation, but they were part of the charm so he kept them in. It was a fun session and at one point we had some Jameson whiskey. We tried for a long time to find the right notes and got a little drunk. Everything was starting to slide when suddenly it all just fell into place. There's almost no rhythm to Je Te Laisserai Des Mots, which again is part of the charm. It's a beautiful song that makes your heart melt, and during the pandemic, when we were all very lonely, it touched a lot of people's hearts. I first became aware that it was taking off when my kids were on TikTok and I heard the song. I went: 'That's my quartet!' They couldn't believe it. They told me: 'That song's everywhere.' Although Patrick isn't obliged to give us songwriting royalties, every year he gives us a symbolic amount to show his gratitude, which is really nice and shows that he respects the fact that people pulling together in that moment created something special. Patrick Watson's new album, Uh Oh, is released in the UK on 26 September. He plays the Troxy, London, on 7 November
Local France
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
French films with English subtitles to watch in July 2025
The cinema club Lost in Frenchlation holds regular screenings of French films with English subtitles, with the aim of allowing French language beginners to appreciate the richness and diversity of French cinema. Here's what is coming up in July in Paris. Les Desmoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort) – Tuesday, July 1st What? Real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac star in Jacques Demy's utterly charming 1967 musical follow-up to the equally delightful Umbrellas of Cherbourg . They play twins who realise their dream of working on the stage when they are discovered by a couple associated with a carnival – and find love in the process. Gene Kelly is among a high-class supporting cast. Dorléac died in a road traffic accident just a few months after the film was released. Advertisement Where and when? Epée de Bois, 100 Rue Mouffetard, Paris 5. The screening starts at 8.30pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €5 and €9.90 – can be ordered here . Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) – Thursday, July 3rd What? This luscious adaptation was the big hit of French cinema last year. Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, the film follows the story of Edmond Dantès, a 19-year-old first mate of the merchant ship Pharaon, who is is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned at an island fortress off the coast of Marseille for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years he escapes, taking on the identity of the 'Count of Monte Cristo' and attempting to take revenge on those who betrayed him. Where and when? L'Arlequin, 76 Rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris. The screening starts at 8pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €7.50 and €9 – can be ordered here . L'amour Ouf (Beating Hearts) – Sunday, July 6th What? Years after a blossoming romance between a rebellious teenage bad boy and a fearless and sharp schoolmate was ripped apart by rampant gang violence, fate finds a way to bring them back together again. But the former's dark past threatens to destroy their burgeoning love for a second time. Set in the formerly industrial area of north-east France, this film is part of what has been dubbed 'ch'tillywood' - a film revival in the Ch'ti area of Pas-de-Calais. Advertisement Where and when? Luminor, 20 Rue du Temple, 75004 Paris. The screening starts at 7pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €7.50 and €11.50 – can be ordered here . Intouchables (Untouchable) — Tuesday, July 8th What? Omar Sy's breakout role – he became the first black recipient of a César for Best Actor for his performance – was this perennially popular feelgood drama about a grumpy tetraplegic aristocrat who rediscovers life when he hires a young black man from the Parisian banlieues to be his carer. Where and when? L'Epée de Bois, 76 Rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris. The screening starts at 8.30pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €5 and €9.90 – can be ordered here . En Fanfare (The Marching Band) – Thursday, July 10th What? There's more than a whiff of Brassed Off or Billy Elliott in the sentiment of Emmanuel Courcol's heartwarmer of a drama. Benjamin Lavernhe stars as an acclaimed conductor who discovers he has a long-lost brother soon after he is diagnosed with leukaemia. It turns out his sibling plays trombone in a brass band that just happens to need a … conductor. Another one partially set in Ch'ti country, it also explores the devastation caused by de-industrialisation and the local bands that keep alive the spirit of the factories and the coal mines. Advertisement Where and when? L'Arlequin, 76 Rue de Rennes, Paris 6. The screening starts at 8pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €7.50 and €9 – can be ordered here . Vingt Dieux (Holy Cow) – Sunday, July 13th What? First-time feature director Louise Courvoisier scoured agricultural shows in her native Jura for first-time actors for this drama about wild-at-heart rural teenager (a brilliant Clément Faveau), whose life of drinking and dancing takes a radically different path when he suddenly has to provide for his seven-year-old sister. Cheese, it turns out, may be the answer to his sudden problems. This drama secured a UK and US cinema release (with subtitles, obviously), but if you missed it then take the opportunity to check it out here - not only is the film brilliant but director Courvoisier seems to be one-to-watch. Where and when? Luminor, 20 Rue du Temple, 75004 Paris. The screening starts at 7pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €7.50 and €11.50 – can be ordered here . Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Monsieur Hulot's Holiday) – Tuesday, July 15th What? The 1953 film that introduced the world to comic actor Jacques Tati's much-loved character Monsieur Hulot, a whirl of clumsy, lurching good intentions – whose gently benign efforts to navigate everyday life are routinely thwarted by the universe and everything. If you're reminded of Mr Bean at this point, you'd be right: Rowan Atkinson has said that Hulot inspired Bean. Where and when? Epée de Bois, 100 Rue Mouffetard, Paris 5. The screening starts at 8.30pm Tickets? Tickets – costing between €5.50 and €9 – can be ordered here .
Fox News
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Helen Hunt stuns in bikini after rejecting pressures of Hollywood beauty standards
Helen Hunt recently shared a candid take on how Hollywood's unattainable beauty standards negatively impacted her mental health. Hunt, 62, looked effortlessly cool as she slipped into the sea wearing a retro-inspired bikini after earning a coveted award at the Taormina Film Festival. The "Hacks" actress sported a vibrant yellow bikini top paired with green floral bottoms while relaxing by the ocean. Hunt was honored this week in Italy with a lifetime achievement award at the Taormina Film Festival. "It is an honor for us to welcome Helen Hunt to Taormina. Her presence represents a bridge between great international cinema and the eternal beauty of our land. With her elegance, multifaceted talent and artistic consistency, Helen embodies the values that our Festival wants to celebrate: passion, commitment and love of cinematic storytelling," Tiziana Rocca, Artistic Director of Taormina Film Festival, told Variety. "The Lifetime Achievement Award is a heartfelt and well-deserved tribute to an artist capable of inspiring generations of viewers and colleagues." Additional honorees included Martin Scorsese, Michael Douglas and Catherine Deneuve. The "Mad About You" star revealed earlier this month that she felt "misery and shame" in the early stages of her career due to her physical appearance. "It felt impossible not to internalize the way you're supposed to look," Hunt said. "And [there was] a certain amount of misery and shame around not looking exactly that way." Hunt added, "I realized, 'This could quietly ruin your whole life.' I made a decision: I'm not playing. Not gonna [let it] take up a lot of space in my mind." The "As Good As It Gets" actress said her approach was influenced by "The Only Diet There Is," a book written by the spiritual leader Sondra Ray. "What I took from it is, eat what you want and love every bite, period," she said.
Straits Times
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Book review: Yoko Tawada's surrealist The Naked Eye tells of emigre experience via Catherine Deneuve
In Yoko Tawada's The Naked Eye, the narrator's life unfolds like a perverse parody of French screen legend Catherine Deneuve's oeuvre. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
