Jérôme Salle © FDC / LOB
PRESS CONFERENCE – Jérôme Salle “It was essential for me to ring true”
Jérôme Salle, Orlando Bloom, Forest Whitaker, Conrad Kemp, Alexandre Desplat, Caryl Ferey and Julien Rappeneau were in Cannes for the press conference about Zulu, the closing film of the 66th Festival de Cannes. Extracts.
Orlando Bloom on his role:
Orlando Bloom on his role:
Men in South Africa say that “a cowboy never cries in front of his horse”. The guy I play has problems with drugs and alcohol, nothing like any other character I’ve already played. When people have a certain perception of you, it’s hard to show them another side. I have the impression that this film is going to signal a new chapter in my life.
About shooting in South Africa:
Conrad Kemp:
Let me begin by saying that there is something authentic about shooting in South Africa: the film managed to lay itself bare. It is neither a thriller nor a story of vengeance, it’s a humanist film. I think that it’s going to go down well in South Africa and that the South Africans are going to identify with it.
Jérôme Salle: It was essential for me to ring true. Authenticity in a film is a matter of detail: the way people greet each other, the way they kiss.
About the French production:
Orlando Bloom: This film was a personal journey for each one of us. The fact that we were a long way from home brought us closer together. I don’t know if it’s typically French but Jérôme was very open to our suggestions. He encouraged us to put forward ideas and asked us to take on responsibility.
Forest Whitaker: This is the fourth film I’ve shot. I noticed there was a real difference with American productions. The French producers encouraged us to make the film the way we wanted, the director has the real power over the vision of the film. In the USA, studios are more intrusive.
Interview directed by LR
