It is an ongoing mystery why so many artists’ biopics, though undoubtedly coming from a place of deep admiration, choose to ignore the very thing that makes their subjects extraordinary — their art — in favor of outlining the less extraordinary (however torrid) circumstances of their private lives and loves. The latest example: the attractive but slight directorial debut of French actress Céline Sallette. Her feature “Niki” is a portrait of pioneering French-American painter, sculptor and illustrator Niki de Saint Phalle, in which the closest we ever get to any of her actual pieces is seeing the back of a canvas or two, as Niki (Charlotte Le Bon), bespeckled with paint splatter that highlights her delicate elf-princess beauty, frowns at her efforts in dissatisfaction. What exactly is she looking at? Unless you’re already intimately acquainted with every phase of her multivalent career and can navigate the film’s rather haphazard chronology,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Pulsar Content has acquired “Niki,” a film about the famous French-American artist Niki de Saint-Phalle, for international sales. The Paris-based banner will introduce the period project to buyers at the Cannes market with exclusive first stills.
“Niki” marks the feature debut of popular French actor Céline Sallette and stars Charlotte Le Bon (“The Walk” “Saint-Laurent”) as de Saint-Phalle.
Le Bon recently made her feature debut with “Falcon Lake” — which bowed at Cannes last year — and previously starred in Robert Zemeckis’s “The Walk,” as well as Terry George’s “The Promise” and Jalil Lespert’s “Saint-Laurent.” Le Bon stars in “Niki” opposite Damien Bonnard (“Les Misérables“).
The movie will portray Saint-Phalle from the age of 23, when she’s still a model and an aspiring actor who is married and has a two-year-old daughter, Laura. Together, they flee the U.S. during the oppressive McCarthy era and come to France, where they experience a short-lived euphoria.
“Niki” marks the feature debut of popular French actor Céline Sallette and stars Charlotte Le Bon (“The Walk” “Saint-Laurent”) as de Saint-Phalle.
Le Bon recently made her feature debut with “Falcon Lake” — which bowed at Cannes last year — and previously starred in Robert Zemeckis’s “The Walk,” as well as Terry George’s “The Promise” and Jalil Lespert’s “Saint-Laurent.” Le Bon stars in “Niki” opposite Damien Bonnard (“Les Misérables“).
The movie will portray Saint-Phalle from the age of 23, when she’s still a model and an aspiring actor who is married and has a two-year-old daughter, Laura. Together, they flee the U.S. during the oppressive McCarthy era and come to France, where they experience a short-lived euphoria.
- 4/27/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sotheby's to auction off trove of art treasures and memorabilia owned by the renowned playboy. Mark Brown, meets his son Rolf
Picture the scene. A ruggedly handsome, impeccably dressed man is enjoying a snack with his superstar wife, Brigitte Bardot, in St Tropez's Gorilla bar in the late spring of 1967. A pale, odd-looking white-haired man with a large entourage notices him and marches straight over, complaining that the Cannes film festival, of all places, has refused to screen his film because of its nudity. The man agrees to see the film, Chelsea Girls, and everyone bundles into speedboats and heads for the Carlton Hotel on La Croisette.
That chance meeting between the millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs and artist Andy Warhol had a profound effect on both men. For Sachs, a serious collector, it led to a sea change in his art buying; for Warhol it marked a vital first foothold in Europe.
Picture the scene. A ruggedly handsome, impeccably dressed man is enjoying a snack with his superstar wife, Brigitte Bardot, in St Tropez's Gorilla bar in the late spring of 1967. A pale, odd-looking white-haired man with a large entourage notices him and marches straight over, complaining that the Cannes film festival, of all places, has refused to screen his film because of its nudity. The man agrees to see the film, Chelsea Girls, and everyone bundles into speedboats and heads for the Carlton Hotel on La Croisette.
That chance meeting between the millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs and artist Andy Warhol had a profound effect on both men. For Sachs, a serious collector, it led to a sea change in his art buying; for Warhol it marked a vital first foothold in Europe.
- 5/7/2012
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
Image of Mao dented with two bullet holes from Hopper's shotgun among memorabilia to be sold by Christie's in New York
We've all been there. It's late, you're at home and you're spooked by one of your works of art – an Andy Warhol screen print of a smiling, smug Chairman Mao – so you pick up a gun and shoot it. One as a warning, the next through his eye.
In truth, only the late actor Dennis Hopper was there and it was the 1970s, a time when he was taking drugs in order to sober up quicker so he could start drinking again. Certainly his friend Warhol didn't mind, cheerfully annotating the two bullet holes.
As a result the work became a Warhol-Hopper collaboration, and it will be sold by Christie's in New York for an estimated £20,000-£30,000 next week, part of a sale of some 300 items of memorabilia and...
We've all been there. It's late, you're at home and you're spooked by one of your works of art – an Andy Warhol screen print of a smiling, smug Chairman Mao – so you pick up a gun and shoot it. One as a warning, the next through his eye.
In truth, only the late actor Dennis Hopper was there and it was the 1970s, a time when he was taking drugs in order to sober up quicker so he could start drinking again. Certainly his friend Warhol didn't mind, cheerfully annotating the two bullet holes.
As a result the work became a Warhol-Hopper collaboration, and it will be sold by Christie's in New York for an estimated £20,000-£30,000 next week, part of a sale of some 300 items of memorabilia and...
- 1/6/2011
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
Film review: 'Meta-Mecano'
A disappointing short feature documentary about the building of a fantastical museum to house the extraordinary sculpture of Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, who died in 1991, "Meta-Mecano" is all but lifeless and not even close to mirroring the anarchistic spirit of its subject.
Too mechanical and static -- while Tinguely's bizarre and often huge kinetic wonders are anything but -- the Swiss production bowed recently at the 1998 Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival. More festival engagements are sure to follow, but overall, "Meta-Mecano" is more suitable for architecture and engineering students than fans of the artist.
With such works as "Communication at Your Work Place" on his resume, Swiss documentarian Rudolf Gerber, a New York University alumnus, knows his way around a construction site. But he's not much of a storyteller, and he uses interviews and archival material only sparingly.
What become almost unbearably frustrating are the endless shots of Tinguely's elaborate creations being dismantled, transported, reassembled and tested. Only in the final moments, for a far too brief payoff, does the film actually show the artist's surreal and delicate "festival of errors" come to life.
Instead of illuminating the themes and variations of Tinguely's works, which were donated by his widow, the film plays like a long advertisement for the state-of-the-art museum.
Overlooking the Rhine in Tinguely's hometown of Basel, the impressive structure is the work of architect Mario Botta, and it boasts 11-meter-high ceilings and retractable walls. The film exhaustively chronicles its building with dry precision, including a relatively riveting visit to a river where the blocks of stone for the outer walls are harvested.
Tinguely himself is seen only a few times in old footage that forms intriguing sound bites. The filmmaker thankfully breaks up the monotony with short but helpful visits with Tinguely's widow, the artist Niki de Saint Phalle -- herself a popular nouveau realist whose works are displayed in many European cities -- and with Tinguely's longtime assistant and welder Seppi Imhof, as well as with Pontus Hulten, director and curator the museum.
META-MECANO
ZAS Film
Director-writer-producer: Rudolf Gerber
Associate producer: Ted Scapa
Director of photography: Patrick Lindenmaier
Editor: Mirjam Krakenberger
Sound: Dieter Lengacher
Music: Vinz Vonlanthen
Color/stereo
With: Mario Botta, Niki de Saint Phalle, Seppi Imhof, Pontus Hulten, Jean Tinguely
Running time -- 64 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Too mechanical and static -- while Tinguely's bizarre and often huge kinetic wonders are anything but -- the Swiss production bowed recently at the 1998 Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival. More festival engagements are sure to follow, but overall, "Meta-Mecano" is more suitable for architecture and engineering students than fans of the artist.
With such works as "Communication at Your Work Place" on his resume, Swiss documentarian Rudolf Gerber, a New York University alumnus, knows his way around a construction site. But he's not much of a storyteller, and he uses interviews and archival material only sparingly.
What become almost unbearably frustrating are the endless shots of Tinguely's elaborate creations being dismantled, transported, reassembled and tested. Only in the final moments, for a far too brief payoff, does the film actually show the artist's surreal and delicate "festival of errors" come to life.
Instead of illuminating the themes and variations of Tinguely's works, which were donated by his widow, the film plays like a long advertisement for the state-of-the-art museum.
Overlooking the Rhine in Tinguely's hometown of Basel, the impressive structure is the work of architect Mario Botta, and it boasts 11-meter-high ceilings and retractable walls. The film exhaustively chronicles its building with dry precision, including a relatively riveting visit to a river where the blocks of stone for the outer walls are harvested.
Tinguely himself is seen only a few times in old footage that forms intriguing sound bites. The filmmaker thankfully breaks up the monotony with short but helpful visits with Tinguely's widow, the artist Niki de Saint Phalle -- herself a popular nouveau realist whose works are displayed in many European cities -- and with Tinguely's longtime assistant and welder Seppi Imhof, as well as with Pontus Hulten, director and curator the museum.
META-MECANO
ZAS Film
Director-writer-producer: Rudolf Gerber
Associate producer: Ted Scapa
Director of photography: Patrick Lindenmaier
Editor: Mirjam Krakenberger
Sound: Dieter Lengacher
Music: Vinz Vonlanthen
Color/stereo
With: Mario Botta, Niki de Saint Phalle, Seppi Imhof, Pontus Hulten, Jean Tinguely
Running time -- 64 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/4/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.