20-05-2025
Jodie Foster Embraces ‘Vie Privée' Director as French Murder Mystery Gets 8-Minute Cannes Standing Ovation
Jodie Foster, flashing a broad smile, embraced director Rebecca Zlotowski at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night as 'Vie Privée' scored an impressive eight-minute standing ovation. The crowd cheered wildly for Foster even as the actress kept gesturing towards Zlotowski, as if reminding the audience that this was the filmmaker's moment to bask in the applause. 'Vie Privée' is an off-beat mystery about a psychotherapist who becomes convinced that her patient's suicide was actually a murder — think of it as 'Only Murders in the Building' with a dose of ennui.
The crowd for the film was certainly star-studded, a sign of the esteem in which Foster is held. Gael García Bernal and Alejandro González Iñárritu posed for pictures before the screening, while Scarlett Johansson strode the red carpet with her husband, Colin Jost. Johansson was accompanied by June Squibb, the 95-year-old star of her feature directorial debut, 'Eleanor the Great.' Adrien Brody, who just won an Oscar for 'The Brutalist,' was also in attendance. James Franco, whose career was derailed by sexual harassment allegations, was seen entering the Palais, with an announcer hailing him as the star of 'Spring Breakers.'
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'Vie Privée' features Foster in a French-speaking role and marks her first film shot in France since 2004's 'A Very Long Engagement.'
'I've been wanting to go back and do a French movie, because I haven't done one in a long time,' Foster told Variety shortly before the premiere. 'For me, it's always about trying to find the right piece of material. I didn't want to do some overblown American and French co-production. As an actor, I need a story. And a lot of French movies, which I love, are behavior films where you just sort of follow people around for three days or something. That's not what I do. I'm interested in narrative. I'm all about developing a character who propels the story. This ticked all the boxes.'
Foster has been a frequent presence in Cannes throughout her decades-long career, recently hitting the Croisette in 2021 to receive an Honorary Palme d'or. Several of her films have also premiered at the festival, including 'Taxi Driver,' which won the Palme d'or in 1976, as well as 2016's 'Money Monster,' a thriller with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and 2011's Mel Gibson drama 'The Beaver,' both of which she directed. Foster speaks French fluently, having attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles while growing up.
'Vie Privée' combines a number of genres — it's part thriller, part character study and part relationship comedy. Zlotowski, whose credits include 'Grand Central' and 'Planetarium,' also wrote the film's screenplay. Foster's co-stars include Daniel Auteuil, who plays her ex-husband, and Virginie Edina, who portrays a mysterious patient whose death triggers her unorthodox investigation. Sony Pictures Classics will distribute 'Vie Privée' in North America.
After stepping back from acting for many years, Foster has recently been busy in front of the camera. She was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for 2023's 'Nyad' and won an Emmy for her role as troubled investigator in 2024's 'True Detective: Night Country.'
'I'm picky,' Foster said. 'I'm not really interested in acting just for the sake of acting. It has to really speak to me.'
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