Casanova

When will writers, producers and directors learn that no men in the 18'th century had facial hair?! No matter how long you search, you will never find a painting from that century, depicting a man with a beard. It was considered filthy.

This pilot, directed by the brilliant Jean-Pierre Jeunet, gives us a Casanova engaged as a spy ordered to take down Madame Pompadour. It's an interesting premise, well performed and lushly designed.

The pilot really tries to capture the Paris of the time. There are alchemical hucksters, torturous capital punishment, intrigue, and opera. There are also lots and lots of naked ladies.

I don't actually know where this pilot was broadcast - I just found it online - but I hope it's still being shopped, because I would really like to see how it plays out.

I don't know what is worse, Harvey Weinstein trolling for young female victims in the casts; or companies like Amazon kowtowing and killing of productions of directors like Jean-Pierre Jeunet who blocked Weinstein's predations in prior work.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the genius behind the"Casanova," was also the genius who created Amelie, A Very Long Engagement , Alien: Resurrection , The City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. Amelie was a Weisenstein production. After Weinstein was shut out of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" it look like Weinstein was able to successfully "blacklist" Jeunet, with it seems, the cooperation of majors like Amazon -- and this critically acclaimed Casanova was the victim. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Casanova is visually stunning, sexy as heck, great dialogue and plotting. It would have made a perfect series.

For me , it was a very nice surprise. First for discover Diego Luna as a real good Casanova, after many performances and explorations of this role by other actors. Second for inspired Madame Pompadour by Bojana Novakovich. Not the last, for charming atmosphere and wise embroidery of pieces of XVIII century. And for precise analysis of cruelty / barbary of the last part. Short, a lovely surprise. Maybe more interesting as episode pilot than a serie.

This pilot had extremely good audience reaction. A good deal of positive critics reaction too. Some bad reactions from insider Hollywood critics. Now we find out from interviews with Actress Helena Bonham Carter that Weinstein had a vendetta against the director of Casanova, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and was using his influence to attempt to damage Jeunet's work. It looks like some of the critics who panned Casanova are the very same who were protective of Weinstein right up until the allegations became too widespread to deny. It also looks like Amazon may have possibly caved to pressure from Wienstein who was producing projects for Amazon. So if you are wondering why this stunningly good production never made it beyond the pilot, keep in mind the most powerful and abusive power broker in Hollywood had a specific vendetta against its director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perhaps Jeunet blocked Harvey's casting couch. Even worse, perhaps Amazon enabled Weinstein's vendetta

For more info, which just came out, just hit google news for: Weinstein and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Vanity Fair has an October 2018 piece on this as does The Guardian

What a shame that the corrupt Hollyuwood