PREMIERE (France)

May/June 1996

Extracts of the interview between Isabelle ADJANI and Cecilia PECK

Photos : Diabolique

Translated by Marcel Durieux

 (version française)

Cecilia PECK : How has Diabolique happened?

Isabelle ADJANI : In a very conventional manner: through CAA, our common agent. Jeremiah knew I was expecting a baby; he has nonetheless insisted that I look through his script. After having read it, I told myself that there was material here to make a very Hitchcock-like movie. Hitchcock as seen by Truffaut, something like that...

You have made no movies in the United States since Ishtar. Why this script rather than another?

I was attached to other things, I lived in Paris... I was afraid to cut myself off from the life I was trying to organize there. Therefore I paid less attention to whatever interesting one could propose me here.

Has the flop of Ishtar weakened your interest to work in the United States?

No. For me, Ishtar was not an important stage in my career, but a film like any other. It was not a strategy for me to be able to work here. The funny thing about that film is that it has become a cult movie since Quentin Tarentino tells everywhere that it's one of his favorite films and that everybody must see it!

How was it working with Chechnick? It seems he has asked you to "do nothing"...

Yes, that is, he has told me: "Do nothing, be nothing." I thought that was an approach at least different from my previous experiences! I liked it that he had enough confidence in himself to say that. That he was more interested in what he would make of me, than in what I could bring him in addition to what I am. Two months after the birth of Gabriel-Kane, I know I would be more concentrated on my life than on a film. It's for that reason that I thought it was a little premature to work again... But Jeremiah has answered me that I did not need preparation. I have let myself be convinced to try the experience. It was quite agreeable, that minimalist approach - it was the first time. Just being there... Sincere and available.

Would that approach have been imaginable for previous roles?

I believe that it takes much innocence, even unconsciousness, to permit oneself that freedom. Possibly the experience leads to an inner rest, a new availability and a recreated innocence. Life allows you, occasionally, to resign yourself. And it does happen that you have pleasant surprises.

Has your personal relationship with Sharon influenced your acting?

Sharon is very much a "method actress". She did all she could to stay in her character. Mine was apparently passive, hers very strong-willed... Therefore, she was like that with me also, but it didn't bother me. She took the decisions, I let her.

Did it help you that Sharon's character in the film was hateful?

Probably. That has certainly contributed to the correctness of my impersonation. On the set, Sharon likes to be involved in everything. The costume supervisor, for example, chosen by the production staff, left just before the first day of filming, because Sharon wanted to supervise the costumes. I've let her... in the end I found it rather amusing and effective. On the set, Sharon needs everything under her control.

Now that you live in Los Angeles, do you think you'll do more American movies?

Yes, I would love to. Even though filmed at Paris, my next film is an American production, made by an American team (NB: This was to be The Double, initially to be made by Roman Polanski, a project from which Isabelle has now withdrawn).

What are the differences between a French and an American production?

For me, there is no difference, for in both cases I remain myself. But as American budgets are more important, everything is in proportion and much more hierarchical, with a star system that, basically, exists only here, and that brings along constraints and a discipline unknown on European sets. In Europe, there are, even for a star, limits that can't be exceeded, or one risks being rejected by the crew. Here, the crew is really a proletariat in service of the star system, a system that functions like a true dictatorship and that no one, by the way, seems to challenge. No one says no, no one says stop. It's very strange.

Do you still feel yourself a stranger in Hollywood?

Actually, no. It's something I felt deeply at first, but no more now. Maybe I also have a different perception of myself. I feel more relaxed, in every sense of the word, more at ease in an industry of which I now am a part and of which I now know the language better. Integration does not only come from others. I do not consider myself a Frenchwoman, or a European, but an actress.

In France you are a star. Here you are known, but people have not seen most of your films...

That anonymity is very liberating. I love it, for I can do what I want. Here, for an actress, the recognition of the profession hinges on one or two films. That are successful, preferably...

You have played many psychologically complex roles. Are you still attracted by that type of character?

It happens that I like the fate of women, and there's always a tragedy in the life of a woman. There's always a dramatic road to make her femininity bloom. As much as I do this work, that much I can express what touches me. It's true that I have mostly a recalcitrant temperament. It's a natural attraction, but not an exclusive one.

Would you abandon it all for personal reasons?

There are priorities that are not even open to discussion. There is not even any doubt. That is what makes the pride of my engagement. I am totally in a film, or in a relationship, or on vacation with my child. Never a mix. That is how it has to be. It's not always the best decision for a career but that's not serious. We spoke about it yesterday with Travolta: we thought it so strange that in France there are rarely sequels to films, whereas here it's virtually impossible to do otherwise when one has the wind in the back, so much does the industry devour you.

 
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©Anne-Claire Schlesinger 1996 - 2005     -   Tous droits réservés. Toute reproduction strictement interdite.