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BASEDONATRUESTORY

INTERNATIONALPRODUCTIONNOTES

RunningTime:110mins

Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:

InternationalPublicist: JuliaBenaroya +13102553095 jbenaroya@lionsgate.com

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BASEDONATRUESTORY

SYNOPSIS

Delphineistheauthorofahighlypersonalnoveldevotedtohermotherthathasbecomeabest-seller.

Exhausted by countless requests andmade fragile by her memories, Delphine is then tormented by

anonymouslettersaccusingherofhavingthrownherfamilytothelions.

Thenovelistisinarut,paralyzedattheideaofhavingtostartwritingagain.

Her path then crosses that of Elle. The young woman is charming, intelligent and intuitive. She

understandsDelphinebetterthananyone.DelphinegrowsfondofElle,confidesinher,opensup.

HowfarwillEllegoaftermoving intothewriter'sapartment?Hasshecometo fillavoidor tocreate

one?Togiveherfreshimpetusortostealherlife?

CAST&CREW

Cast: EMMANUELLESEIGNER,EVAGREEN,VINCENTPEREZ

Directedby: ROMANPOLANSKI

Screenplayby: OLIVIERASSAYAS,ROMANPOLANSKI

Basedupon: ThenovelD’aprèsUneHistoireVraiebyDELPHINEDEVIGAN

Producedby: WASSIMBÉJI

Firstassistantdirector: HUBERTENGAMMARE

Music: ALEXANDREDESPLAT

Directorofphotography: PAWELEDELMAN

Sound: LUCIENBALIBAR

Editor: MARGOTMEYNIER

ProductionDesigner: JEANRABASSE

Costumes: KARENMULLER-SERREAU

Makeup: DIDIERLAVERGNE,ANAISLAVERGNE

Hairstylist: LUDOVICPARIS

Continuity: SYLVETTEBAUDROT

Casting: SARAHTEPER

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INTERVIEWWITHROMANPOLANSKI

BASEDON A TRUE STORY ONLY TOOK A YEAR FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE CANNES FILMFESTIVALWORLDPREMIEREPRESENTATION.HOWDIDYOUGETINVOLVEDWITHTHISPROJECT?

ItwasEmmanuellewhohandedmeDelphineDeVigan’snovel,stating“youhavetoreadthis,thiscouldbeafilm.”Shewasright!IreachedouttoWassimBéji,theproducerwhoretainedthebookrights.WemetforthefirsttimedayspriortoCanneslastyearandeverythingunfoldedincrediblyquicklyfromthatpointon.

WHAT APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT DELPHINE DE VIGAN’S NOVEL? ONE COULD ARGUE THAT THISSTORYOFMANIPULATION,DOMINATION,CONFINEMENT,ANDSUSPENSEWASMADEFORYOU.

What appealed to me first and foremost were the characters and these peculiar and unsettlingsituationsthattheyfindthemselves in.TheseareindeedthemesthatIpreviouslyexploredinCUL-DE-SAC,REPULSIONandROSEMARY’SBABY.This isalsoabookthat tellsastoryofabook–which I findveryinteresting.ThatwasalsothecasewithTHENINTHGATEandGHOSTWRITER.It’smyMacGuffin–this ‘thing’ that triggers intrigue, which happens to be an object. Also – and I probably should havestarted with this – the book gave me this great opportunity to explore confrontation between twowomen.Ihaveoftenshowedconflictbetweentwomenalongwithamanandawoman,butnevertwowomen.

WHENREADINGTHEBOOK,ONESEESTHESEDUCTIVEAPPEALOFTHEMIRRORINGNATUREBETWEENREALITYANDFICTION.EVENINVENUSANDFUR,YOUWERENEVERSUREIFEMMANUELLESEIGNER’SCHARACTERWASREAL,PLAYINGAGAMEORFICTIONAL…

That’sexactlyright,Ifindthissubjectfascinating.

WHYSO?

Iamnotsure,that’snotaquestionthatIaskmyself.Iknowthatthisambiguityisinstinctivelyappealingtome.It’sinteresting,VENUSINFURisoneoftherarefilmsthatIhavedirectedwherethewomanisn’tavictim!

OLIVIERASSAYASWROTETHESCREENPLAY.HOWDIDHECOMEONBOARD?

Olivier’slasttwofilmswereaboutwomen.Iwasfamiliarwithhiswork,Iknewthathehadwrittenforotherdirectors,and thathewaseffective. I trusted thathewouldbeable todeliveragreat shootingscriptrightoutofthegate.

HOWWASYOUREXPERIENCEWORKINGWITHHIM?

Olivierhadaveryclearandconcisevisionofhowtoconvertthis500pagenovelintoascreenplay.That’sanincredibleskill.Wemostlycollaboratedoverskype,itwasacontinuousexchangeofideas.

INADDITIONTOHISEFFICIENCY,WHATDIDOLIVIERSPECIFICALLYBRINGTOTHESCRIPT?

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AssoonasOliviergraspedtheessenceofthebookwestartedourconversationsofhowwewantedtoadaptit,itwasundeniablethatwewereonthesamepage.BillyWildersaiditbestwhenaskedifitwasimportantforadirectortoknowhowtowrite-hisresponse“No,butithelpsifheknowshowtoread!”

THEFILMISINCREDIBLYFAITHTULTOTHEBOOK…

IalwaysstrivetostayfaithfultothesourcematerialwhenIamadapting.Ibelievethisstemsfrommychildhood. Iwas so often disappointed by film adaptations ofmy favorite stories, films that Iwas soeagertosee–butthecharactersthat I loveddisappeared.Thestorieswereneverquitethesame…IpromisedmyselfthenthatifIeverworkedinfilmandadaptedastory,Iwouldremainfaithful.

DIDYOUALWAYSHAVEEMMANUELLESEIGNERINMINDTOPLAYTHENOVELIST?

Initially,we debatedwhich role Emmanuellewould be best for, but as soon aswe startedwriting, itbecameapparentthatshewastheperfectchoicetoportraythenovelist.Wethereforeneededtofindhercounterpart,someoneveryunsettling.

DIDEVAGREENCOMETOMINDIMMEDIATELY?

Yes,andyouonlyneedtoseethefilmtounderstandwhy.Wehadnevermet,butIknewherbodyofwork.IhadbeenblownawaybyherperformanceinRobertRodriguez’SINCITY:ADAMETOKILLFOR.Itwas awonderful experienceworkingwith Eva, but evenmore soworkingwith Eva and Emmanuelletogether. From theonset,EvaandEmmanuellegotalongextremelywell–which isn’talwaysagivenbetweenactors.Theirfriendshipwasagodsend.

DOYOUFINDITHARDTODIRECTTHEWOMANWITHWHOMYOUSHAREYOURLIFE?

It’seasierthan…livingtogether![Laughs]Whatsurprisedme,withonemuchliketheother,washowpreparedboth actresseswere.And yet, theywould receive the script piecemeal,whichwewere stilltweakingwhilstinproduction.EmmanuelleandEvawerebothconsummateprofessionalsandcametothetablewithexcellentideas.Emmanuellewasspecificallyinterestedinconstructingacharacterwhichwasadeparturefromherpastroles.

HOWAREEMMANUELLEANDEVABOTHDIFFERENTANDSIMILARTOTHEIRCHARACTERS?

Inhereveryday,Evaisreservedandguardedandonecouldeasilyhaveexpectedthattotranspireinourworking dynamic. But it was the opposite. She was open, never complained, and very smart – sheunderstoodall thenuisancesof thescriptandwhatwasexpectedofher.Honestly, thankstoEvaandEmmanuellethisproductionwasatruepleasure,despitetheshortproductionschedule.

HOWLONGWASTHESHOOT?

Weshotthefilmin12weeks,butthiswasachallengingfilm.

HOWSO?

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Itwaschallengingaswedidn’thavetimeforrehearsals,andassuchIwouldhavetoexploreeachscenewiththeactorsaswewereshooting.Thesceneswhereit’sjustthetwoactresseswereeasier,astheycouldplayagainsteachother.Thatsaid,all thesceneswhereDelphine isalone, Ihadto findwaysofcraftingcompellingmomentswithnothing:Ihadtocreateaveryspecificmood,beverymeticulouswiththe details - I had a very precise atmosphere inmind. Contrary towhat onemay think, creating thissettingiswhattakesthemosttime.Samegoeswiththebirthdayscenewhereourtwoprotagonistsarealone and no one shows up.We had to convey time passingwithout it becoming lackluster and it’scertainlynoteasytocreatetimelapseswithonlytwocharactersandjustoneroom…especially,whenwedidnotwanttouserepeatedfades.

INSTEADOFRELYINGONAVOICEOVER,ADEVICEUSEDINTHEBOOKASITISWRITTENINTHEFIRSTPERSON, YOU CHOSE TO PORTRAY THIS MIRRORING GAME BETWEEN REALITY AND FICTION (THEHEARTOFTHESTORY)THROUGHSTAGING, IMAGERY,ANDMOST IMPORTANTLYYOURDIRECTIVESFOREVAGREEN’SPERFORMANCE.

Isn’t that the role of the director? That’s precisely the challenges of this film.We had to feed thesecharacterswithacertainambivalence. It’soneofthekey ingredientsforastrongperformance,whichhas toprovokedoubt, incertitudeand suspicionwithin theviewer.This remindsmeofpuppet showsgrowingup,wherethechildrenwerebothparalyzedbyfearandhappinessallatthesametime–theintriguealwaysunfoldedastheyfearedbutalsoastheyexpected.Recreatingthatfeelingforadults,isfunforme.Ihopetheaudiencefindsitequallyrewarding.

IN ALL YOUR SECONDARY CHARACTERS – THE DOWNSTAIRS NEIGHBOR; THE BOOK EDITOR; EVENFRANÇOIS, DELPHINE’S PARTNER –WE ARE REMINDED OF YOUR CHARACTERS IN THE TENNANT –WHICHAREALSODARKANDSARCASTIC.

A little, I guess, but to be honest I hadn’t thought of it. It’smost likely because the Cannes FestivalpresentationforTHETENNANTisatoughmemory.WeweredestroyedbythepressandGerard[Brach,thescreenwriter]neverrecovered.Ittooktimebeforethefilmbecamea‘cultclassic’astheysay.

BASEDONATRUESTORYSTARTSOFFASADARKCOMEDYANDTURNSINTOATHRILLERWHENTHEHEROESFINDTHEMSELVESINTHECOUNTRYHOUSE…ALLOFASUDDENWEAREINMISERY!

Isn’tthatcountryhousegreat?Whenwewereshootingtheinteriorsequences,IwouldforgetthatwewerenotonlocationbutonasetintheBry-sur-MarnestagesdesignedbyJeanRabasse!Theexteriorsofthehousearereal,ofcourse,buttheinteriors-aswiththeapartment-aremoviesets.

INTHISFILM,YOUWERETRULYABLETOASSEMBLETHE‘DREAMTEAM’:PAWELEDELMANASTHEDP,WITHWHOMYOUHAVEWORKEDWITHSINCETHEPIANIST;ANDCOMPOSERALEXANDREDESPLAT,WHOYOUHAVECOLLABORATEDWITHSINCETHEGHOSTWRITER…

Weallsharethesameloveforfilm.Wegetalongsowell!Whenyouworkwithpeopleforasmanyyearsaswehave,youdevelopashorthand,youspeakthesamelanguageandeveryoneknowsexactlywhatto expect. Our conversations are purely technical, as some things are now just evident to us. WithPawel,forexample,weonlyeverdiscussedtheformatofthefilm.WechosetoshootinScopetoescape

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a closed door feeling. The film is less so the story of intimacy than it is confrontation, a struggle fordominance andmanipulation. Shooting in Scope allowed us to expand theworld and further exploitcertainsituations.

ANDWITHALEXANDREDESPLAT,DIDYOUGIVEHIMSPECIFICINSTRUCTIONS?

Notatall,Igavehimthescreenplayanddescribedmyvisionforthefilm.Iwantedsuspensealongwiththeunexpected.It’shardtorelaywhatwediscussed,asIoftenspeakinonomatopoeias:“inthisscene,itcouldgo…wouuuh!”

WHATMADEYOUTHINKOFCASTINGVINCENTPEREZASFRANÇOIS,DELPHINE'SPARTNER?

I have long been looking for an opportunity toworkwith Vincent Perez, he’s a friend. In the role ofFrançois, Iwanted someonewho resembledDelphineDeVigan’s realpartner in life [FrançoisBusnel]whoremindsmeofVincent.Ithoughtofhimimmediately.Wemetandhequicklyacceptedtherole.Heinstinctivelyknewhowtobalancethekindnessandthedistancethatthecharacterrequired.

YOUALSOCASTJOSEEDAYAN,BRIGITTEROUANANDNOEMIELVOVSKY–WHOAREALLDIRECTORS.WASTHATACOINCIDENCE?

Ienjoyworkingwithdirectors,astheyareoftenverygoodactorsandalsogenerallyveryeasytoworkwith.Whenwritingascreenplay, Ihaveaveryclear ideaofwhatmycharacters look like.Sooncewestartcasting,Iseekactorsthatmostcloselyresembletheimageinmymind.JoséeDayanremindedmeofa‘tough’bookeditorthatIhadoncemet.WithBrigitteRoüan,ittooklonger.Theactressesthatwemetwithforthisroledidn’tfitmyexactvision.Oneday,IfelluponaphotoofBrigittewhichperfectlycorrespondedwithwhatIhadinmind.

HAVEYOUMETDELPHINEDEVIGAN?

Yes, of course. Imether as soonasOlivier and I startedworkingon theadaptation.And thenagain,towardstheendoftheshoot.Wewantedtoshootduringtheactual‘ParisBookFair’,andinordertodosowehadtowaituntilMarchofthisyeartocapturethesescenes inquestion.Whilstwewerethere,theorganizers invitedDelphine,Olivierandmyself tomeetwiththereaders.Weexperiencedawarmwelcome.Thepanelwasverywellattended–therewerealotofpeople–andwhenweaskedwhohadreadthebook,twothirdsoftheroomraisedtheirhands,mostlyallwomen.DelphinedeViganwroteastorythatspoketowomenanditwasnotonlyimportantbutalsosatisfyingformetocreateafilmforthem.