¡¡
Kristin Scott Thomas : "J'adore être enceinte"
Michèle Fitoussi
(translated by Malcolm Coupland)
She¡¯s English and she films in the USA where she¡¯s a star, but her home is in France where she¡¯s hugely adored for her deceptively cold beauty and her British humour. Kristin Scott Thomas -- married to a French doctor and mother to Hannah, 12, and Joseph, eight -- wants it all, and claims it all: couple, family, international career. But not at any price. She decided to stop filming for one year to take stock and have a third child. Her name has guaranteed world-wide distribution for "Up at the Villa", a delightful film by Philip Haas based on the novel by W Somerset Maugham in which she is, as always, perfection. At Cannes too she will be one of the most charming of judges.
ELLE -- In the last year many things have happened in your life: a baby on the way, the opening of "Up at the Villa" with Sean Penn as co-star, serving on the jury at the Cannes Festival, and your first ever sabbatical year¡¦
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS -- When I¡¯d finished filming "Random Hearts" with Harrison Ford I decided to treat myself to a year off in order to see more of my children and also to get some distance from my professional life. But I haven¡¯t be resting that much. I¡¯ve been doing the advertising campaign for Tag Heuer watches and I¡¯ve set up a production company so that I can launch the films that interest me. Me and my partner, an American woman who also lives in Paris, are looking for subjects to turn into screenplays. It¡¯s also up to us to choose the producer and the director. We already have four projects on the go, two of which are well advanced. For quite some time now I¡¯ve been frustrated by having to count on others for roles that I didn¡¯t find that interesting. Now I¡¯ll be able to be much more involved. This year off has been killing. I sometimes think that work is wonderful because I¡¯m always looked after by someone. At the moment everything is so messy, bitty, what with promoting the film, travelling, adverts, the children, the house¡¦ I¡¯m much more tired than when I¡¯m filming. I end up asking myself, "who am I?" At work, I know. Even in a caravan lost in the wilds of Montana, waiting for hours for the rain to stop, even though I might grumble about it, I do know who I am.
ELLE -- Or in Tuscany in forty degrees in the shade, in corsets, hats, gloves, makeup, as in "Up at the Villa"? At that time you complained about the heat.
KST -- When we arrived in Florence the Italians immediately warned us that they hadn¡¯t had a summer as hot as that in sixty years. It had to happen to us¡¦ For the women it was bearable, but for the poor men with their hats, ties, three-piece suits, it was dreadful.
ELLE -- One gets the feeling that you loved playing the part of this young widow who hovers between an offer of conventional bourgeois marriage on one hand and the scent of adventure promised by Sean Penn¡¯s character.
KST -- Enormously. I believed in Mary Panton completely. It gave me a great kick to see myself as her on screen. This will sound pretentious, but I didn¡¯t feel it was me who was acting the part, and she seemed very genuine to me. She¡¯s feminine, a realist, and she doesn¡¯t quite know who she is. When she¡¯s with her intended, the future viceroy of India played by James Fox, she¡¯s a prim little girl, but with Rowley Flint, Sean Penn¡¯s character, she shows her true colours because at heart she¡¯s a woman of the world who knows how to play around.. She¡¯s utterly egotistical and unprincipled, as the poor refugee who she seduces also observes.
ELLE -- You have stirred the dreams of countless women by being partnered consecutively by Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, and now Sean Penn¡¦
KST -- It¡¯s incredible the effect that guy has on women! While I was promoting the film in England the women journalists who interviewed me were wide-eyed, talking of nothing but him¡¦ It made them crazy thinking that I¡¯d been his partner.
ELLE -- He¡¯s very sexy.
KST -- Essentially, he¡¯s a very nice bloke. I was delighted that he agreed to play Rowley Flint because he¡¯s perfect for the part. It¡¯s a huge pleasure for me to work with these superstars. With Robert Redford it was a matter of mentor and pupil. He taught me a lot, especially because he¡¯s both an actor and a director. With Harrison Ford there was an abiding complicity; we laughed a lot together. Sean Penn is first and foremost someone who you can have a great time with. But he¡¯s also an impressive actor: mercurial; magical. With him you can only follow and admire. He¡¯s a true chameleon. You only have to look at his filmography: he can go from Cassavetes to Woody Allen, from "The Game" to "The Thin Red Line", with extraordinary ease. As in his life, he sails through these roles without pause for breath. He makes movies, meets with actors, drives on like a bulldozer, giving it all he¡¯s got, and then five minutes later it¡¯s all forgotten. That¡¯s a quality that I greatly admire in an actor, and one I¡¯d like to acquire one day.
ELLE -- It¡¯s a very masculine thing, no?
KST -- That¡¯s true. We actresses don¡¯t have that same freedom. I¡¯ll probably make your readers scream, but I believe that all women have a corner of their mind that always stays at home. It¡¯s happened to me that I¡¯ve been deeply concentrated for an especially tense or moving scene when someone on the set will call out, "Lunch break," and immediately I¡¯ll say to myself, "In France it¡¯s six in the morning; the kids will be getting up¡¦" It¡¯s really a mother thing, that alarm clock that constantly rings in your head. Men have that much less.
ELLE -- You¡¯ve told me that you¡¯d very much like to work with Tom Hanks. Are there other actors who you¡¯d like to film with?
KST -- At the moment I would rather work with women. I adore what Nicol Kidman and Julia Roberts do and I find it frustrating not to be able to work with them. That would be lovely. I¡¯m at a turning point in my career. Of course I want to be in the Hollywood system, but I don¡¯t want to deprive myself of the chance to do films like "Up at the Villa". It¡¯s difficult wanting everything: the family, the couple, the balanced and varied career¡¦
ELLE -- In 1999 you were at Cannes as master of ceremonies. This year you¡¯re back again on the jury¡¦
KST -- I¡¯m delighted because I adore Cannes. I had a terrific time last year. I never thought I could be so happy. And moreover it took enormous courage to face that auditorium, that crowd -- a courage I didn¡¯t think I had. I was telling this to Virginie Ledoyen who is taking it on this year and who is also pretty scared. Quite honestly, it¡¯s terrifying!
ELLE -- To be that gorgeous, dressed by Chanel as you were, doesn¡¯t that give you confidence?
KST -- Yes, exactly so. That¡¯s what gave me the strength. And the people were charming, and I was intoxicated by that room. When you¡¯re up on that stage and you sense those glittering eyes, all those people who are so happy to be there for cinema, you get an incredible rush. It¡¯s good-natured and glamorous at the same time. I must say that when it came to the prize-giving, the more controversial it was, the more it floundered, then the more of a jumble it was and the more I loved it.
ELLE -- And then there was that business with Sophie Marceau¡¦
KST -- I was in touch with the producers through an ear phone. I felt secure because I knew I was being guided. When Sophie came on stage at first I didn¡¯t catch on, and then I sensed the audience murmuring and realised that something odd was going on. In my ear all I heard was, "I¡¯m dreaming, I¡¯m dreaming¡¦," and that was no help at all! I was terribly distressed by what seemed to me to be simply clumsiness. Finally I pulled myself together and cut her off. A bit curtly no doubt, but I was just as embarrassed as she was.
ELLE -- Which films attract you this year at Cannes?
KST -- I¡¯m thrilled by the idea of going to the cinema twice every day. I¡¯m looking forward to the film by Joel Coen, to the one by Amos Gitai and those by Lars Von Trier and by James Gray. In the French section I¡¯m curious to see the film by Arnaud Desplechin who I like very much. However I know nothing at all about the cinema of Korea, Japan or Iran. This will be a chance to discover them. As to the members of the jury, I know Nicole Garcia slightly, but not Patrick Modiano, nor Arundhati Roy who I¡¯m pleased to have met. What a great idea to have asked her to be on the jury! I adored her novel "The God of Small Things". And to cap it all, Luc Besson makes it perfect.
ELLE -- Who is providing your dresses?
KST -- Chanel and Lacroix.
ELLE -- Is your big six months pregnant tummy going to be in evidence?
KST -- Of course. I¡¯m not going to be leaving it at home. For the less formal occasions I¡¯ve found lots of adorable things in the 1+1=3 shops that I¡¯ll be taking with me. I adore being pregnant, even though I don¡¯t much like talking about it. I feel on top form, even though I sometimes tell myself it¡¯s a bit mad. But I think it will be easier with the third one. In Hollywood you can easily work on a film with a baby. Everybody does all they can to help.
ELLE -- Are you following a special diet?
KST -- In September before I was even pregnant I met Shari Lewis, an amazing American masseuse. She put me on this diet: no more dairy products, no more wheat, no more potatoes. For me, who suffers from sinusitis and head aches, it was a miracle -- I¡¯m saved. And my body has altered as a result of her massages. I¡¯ve only put on one kilo per month. During the first three months of my pregnancy I had cravings but I¡¯ve held out, thanks to her. Unfortunately I¡¯ve had to absolutely give up the fresh buttered baguettes for breakfast, and I¡¯m such a gourmand. But I feel so much lighter! For the face I¡¯m a devotee of Dr Hauschka¡¯s products which you can find in health food shops. I cover myself with the after sun cream from the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy in Florence and I never go in the sun without a full sun-screen. To hide the rings under my eyes I find there¡¯s nothing better than wearing sun glasses.
ELLE -- Will you be meeting up with your family in Cannes?
KST -- Only for one weekend: the children are at school. In any case, I¡¯m going to be very occupied with these films. But I¡¯ll pretty soon be stealing away from the affairs of the world: Baby insists.
