By: Dominic La-Viola
“I didn’t know how real that was,” she recalls. “But the point is, this movie has lived in Rick’s heart, his mind, and his soul for a long time. So it’s beautiful to see it come to fruition.”
Zoey Duetch talked with Variety about her upcoming film “Nouvelle Vogue,” the film that tells the story of the making of Jean-Luc Goddard’s “Breatheless.” The 1960s film that started the French New Wave.
During her interview with Variety, she talks not only about her role in the film and the prep in which she had to go through. Starting with taking French lessons for two years. In order to be able to speak French for the film, during the scenes in which Seaburg’s character spoke in the film.
She went on to say that this film started off as a conversation the two of them had (her and Linklater) while on the set of “Everybody Wants Some,” eleven years ago. When the actress was just 19.
The thought that this whole film sprouted from a conversation on the set of his spiritual sequel to “Dazed and Confused” is simply mind-boggling .
I’ve been a huge fan of Richard Linklater and his work, since first discovering him and honestly, the more he does, the more I grow to appreciate his dedication and passion.
This isn’t the first film of his that he spent over a decade developing and/ or filming. All while creating and making other projects. “Boyhood” was a film that he shot over 10 years. Allowing us to watch as these actors grew up and others grew older on screen in real time.
Creating a story that has yet to be matched on that level. It’s his dedication to his work and the world of cinema that really separates him from other filmmakers.
Duetch had this to say when comparing Linklater to Goddard: “Godard is this spontaneous, no-script, lightning-in-a-bottle director, and Rick is just as much rehearsal time as shooting time.” “But I do think that is the tether between them. Is their artistic integrity, their authenticity, their drive to make what they need to make inside of them.”
Which I think is one of the highest compliments one can give a director. To compare them to someone who is their idol, or in the very least someone whom they have drawn inspiration from.
From what I’ve seen of Goddard and know of his work, they do share a very similar career path. As both started out in indie film, they went on to do some big-budget projects, but stayed focused on stories that matter to them.
Not to mention, they were both cinephiles long before being filmmakers and continue to be so, long after they started.
It’s one of the things I admire most about Linklater: his what seems to be endless knowledge on and about films. Watching him speak in commentaries and interviews about movies is a pure delight.
The fact that he’s making a movie about, arguably one of the most influential movies of all time, is something special within itself. Zoey Duetch starring in the film is an added bonus, for me anyway. For I’ve been a huge fan of hers since first seeing her in “Good Kids” back in 2016 and seen pretty much every film she’s been in since.
I, for one, can’t wait to see this film, and I am hoping that I have the opportunity to see it on the big screen in a theater. Hopefully, earlier than Netflix’s release, which is coming soon.
Source – Variety