Driver and Cotillard SING!
Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 12:38PM 
by Eric Blume
In other surprising/weird/interesting film projects ahead for us in 2020, filming just wrapped on Annette, a musical featuring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and directed by French auteur Leos Carax. Apparently Driver plays a stand-up comedian and Cotillard an opera singer, whose lives take a twist with the birth of their daughter Annette, who is born with a "special gift".
The movie sounds gloriously bananas. Is it in French or English, or both? Leos Carax is, without hyperbole, one of the most idiosyncratic directors alive. It's almost thirty years ago that he had Juliette Binoche waterskiing down the Seine in Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, and eight years ago that he mystified everyone with the accordions and role play of Holy Motors. The man does not have a commercial bone in his body.
We know from Marriage Story that Driver can carry a tune. It's thrilling that at essentially the most pivotal time in his career, he's chosen to take a left turn with a movie like this. And it's been far too long since Cotillard has had a great role. She's utterly magnificent in Nine (not sorry, haters), and her two numbers in that film demonstrate her ability to both keep it simple / honest AND to fly into full-blown performance mode. But...she's playing an opera singer? Sounds iffy. Still, Driver and Cotillard are two of the greatest actors working today, and matching them sounds wonderfully inspired.
This movie on paper truly earns the letters WTF. Even if it doesn't land, it should at least be interesting!
Reader Comments (8)
Love them both.. can"t wait.
I'm not a Cotillard fan but Carax and Driver sound like a match made in heaven! The accordion scene in Holy Motors was so mesmerizing that I wonder what Carax will do with an entire musical. Very excited about this!
A Leos Carax musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.... SHUT THE MOTHER FUCKING FUCK UP AND TAKE NOT JUST MONEY BUT ALSO MY BODY AND SOUL!!!!!!!!
"She's utterly magnificent in Nine (not sorry, haters)..."
Wait, is that something that's in dispute? I know most people (rightfully) hated the movie itself, but I have never heard a bad word about her performance in it.
"My husband makes movies" by Cotillard just kills me every time.
She runs circles around everyone in that movie AND should have been nominated for the Oscar that year. She's brilliant.
I hope this is a hit. I LOVE everyone involved.
The movie will be in English, because all the songs are writen by SPARKS - an American band with a 40-plus year-old career. They're much bigger in Europe than in the US.
The project for "Annette" has been around for some years now, always with Adam Driver as the lead. But several other actresses were considered for the Cotillard role, and had to turn it down because of conflicting schedules - the shooting has been delayed many times since 2016.
"She's utterly magnificent in Nine (not sorry, haters)..."
If anything, being one of the sole great things in the mess of Nine amplifies her praise.
I am sooooooo in for this. Holy Motors was amazing, and made me want more Kylie Minogue acting magic realness in my life.
@Robert & Henny - You are so right. Cotillard is the best thing about Nine. The movie is a bit of a mess. But she's wonderful in it.