notes (eng) - film press plus

27. Venice
International Film
Critics’ Week
27. Venice
International Film
Critics’ Week
INTERNATIONAL PRESS:
Film | Press | Plus
Richard Lormand
FilmPressPlus.com
[email protected]
Currently at the Venice Film Festival:
+39-393-083-2998
PRODUCTION CONTACT:
Deerjen & Verisimiltude
Jen Gatien & Alex Orlovsky
[email protected] / [email protected]
225 West 13th St.,
New York, NY 10011
+1 917.853. 6591
SYNOPSIS
Beautiful vampire Djuna (Josephine de La Baume) tries to resist the advances of the handsome, human screenwriter
Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia), but eventually gives in to their passion. When her troublemaker sister Mimi (Roxane Mesquida) unexpectedly comes to visit, Djuna’s love story is threatened, and the whole vampire community becomes
endangered…
Xan Cassavetes’ KISS OF THE DAMNED:
An Introduction by the International Critics’ Week of the Venice Film Festival
Vampires are a recurrent topic in cinema. KISS OF THE DAMNED, the debut film by Xan Cassavetes, not only draws on an established
cinematic tradition on this theme, but it is also an original attempt to critically, ideologically, and aesthetically renew the fundamental
features of the genre. KISS OF THE DAMNED (the title itself is already very connotative) is therefore a new suggestive reading of the
topic. It blends the genre of reference, that is horror movies, with that dose of eroticism that has always characterised the night adventures of vampires of different ages, epochs, and sexual orientations. This film metaphorically investigates the figure of the vampire and
its existential night condition in a very meaningful way. The vampire is intended here as a ‘physiological outsider’, a sad fanta-biological
lover. The dark atmospheres typical of the genre are effectively revised by adopting various expressive devices: on the one hand, those
borrowed by underground sub-cultures such as video clips, video art, and gothic-pop comics with hints of ‘steamy’ and pruriginous
materials; on the other hand, the high culture of melodrama. Rationality and sensitivity, tradition and renewal have not to be intended
as opposing elements. On the contrary, they support a narrative that allegorically sees the subcategory of vampires as a symbol of society at large. Here the drives to integration, conservation, and bourgeois normality are fiercely fighting against an unrestrained, destructive, and self-destructive transgression. Thanks to this eccentric debut film by Xan Cassavetes – daughter of the great master of American underground cinema, John Cassavetes – the genre meaningfully frees itself from the conservative and gratuitous neo-sentimentalism
recently displayed in the Twilight saga. Instead, this work privileges the gothic atmospheres of the European tradition, in particular the
rotten Italian high-class milieu shown in the films by Mario Bava. Moreover, at the same time, this film aims to carry out a sociological
analysis peppered with hints of challenging intellectualism.
COMMENTS FROM WRITER-DIRECTOR XAN CASSAVETES
THE HOUSE
Several years ago, a friend took me over to a large house in Connecticut because the owner wanted it to be the
setting for a ‘horror’ film. I pictured a story with two vampire sisters right away, living there, sort of wandering the
halls. It was a big white house set atop a steep sloping lawn, and at the bottom a big lake surrounded by trees. My
first thought was this contrast of nature against something un-natural. Maybe that’s why KISS OF THE DAMNED
evolved into a story of vampires who wished to be like humans. It wasn’t until a couple of years later I thought of
the house again and how great it would be for a film that was built on atmosphere. After KISS OF THE DAMNED
was shot, I had dinner with the owner and his wife. Only then did I realize that they had never meant to film something in their beautiful lakeside home, but a more shack-like property they owned in another part of Connecticut!
But being the adventurers they are, they just decided to let us shoot in their own home, which was beyond nice.
And so important as well, as I had then written the whole script for that house.
THE VAMPIRE SISTERS: DJUNA AND MIMI
I just thought I was writing a traditional story about two sisters. I thought it was removed from me entirely. Somewhere late in the process it occurred to me I have a sister who is a very significant person in my life and we did live
together at a pivotal moment in time in a big white house which didn’t belong to us, much like the sisters in KISS
OF THE DAMNED. But upon thinking about it, these sisters really came from the idea of two opposing sides -- one
woman, one human. The civilized one who contextualizes herself in society and is conscious of morality, and the
primal side who wants survival and pleasure. So these sisters for me are really one person in a way…. Josephine
de la Baume (as Djuna) and Roxane Mesquida (as Mimi) were so perfect to me as these sisters. Josephine has such
a devastatingly classic beauty, almost heartbreaking, and Roxane has a sexy, feline confrontational beauty. Both
have a beautiful vulnerability on screen, which makes their characterizations of these two openly flawed characters
really touching to me. They became close like sisters on set, making it comfortable for them to get really ugly with
each other for their scenes in KISS OF THE DAMNED.
BEAUTIFUL AND ICONIC WOMEN
I love certain vampire films but I’m not sure it’s because they are ‘vampire’ films. I love Tony Scott’s THE HUNGER,
and mostly European vampire films – Harry Kumel’s DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, the films of Jean Rollin, etc. I
really love Claire Denis’ TROUBLE EVERY DAY, although I’m not sure if it’s considered to be a vampire film. When
I think about it, the vampire films I love tend to make women look beautiful and iconic. This was definitely something that I wanted to highlight in KISS OF THE DAMNED.
THE GRANDE DAME
Xenia is the grande dame of the vampire community in KISS OF THE DAMNED, yet she is extremely vulnerable as
all divas are. She is also a beloved theater actress and plays human roles so she is very in touch with the power of
human emotions and relies upon them to transcend through her art. Still she is a vampire – a reformed violent addict who hangs on by a thread although she is the biggest advocate of civilization for vampires. She is also a narcissist and although her love and loyalty to the sisters is genuinely maternal, she is too wrapped up in herself to give
them the protection they seek from her. Anna Mouglalis is elegant, hilarious, vulnerable, grand and human, perfect
for Xenia.
VAMPIRES WITH FASHION SENSE
Our costume designer is Audrey Louise Reynolds, and she and I worked very closely and joyously on the characters’ wardrobe in KISS OF THE DAMNED. Audrey is a designer herself and we used a few of her beautiful creations. She is also an artist and has flawless, non-conformist taste.
We wanted Djuna to look to be ‘wicca-tastic,’ with a lot of Victorian touches, long skirts, high necks, luxurious and
tactile fabric. Of all the years Djuna has lived in, this is the era she related to most.
On the other hand for Mimi we wanted a more eighties look, a harder yet mischievious and younger look. Lots of
glossy patent leather that would reflect light, some hard reds, short skirts, plunging necklines, feathers. Taunting
and confrontational and sexy.
For Xenia we wanted an over the top theatricality that reflected her own sense of creativity. Since Anna works with
Chanel and Chanel is so elegant, we were able to use a lot of Chanel pieces but we often mixed them with other
very compatible but unusual choices. For her big scene at the end (in which Maria Callas is singing from “La Gioconda” the whole scene) we recreated the dress Maria Callas wore in “Lucia Di Lammermoor,” the one with all the
satin pleats, only in champagne. And with that outfit she wore some contrasting jewelry which looked really nice
and not like a costume but something Xenia would actually wear.
ONE POWERFUL WOMAN AFTER ANOTHER
The character of Paolo is inescapably an object in KISS OF THE DAMNED. He is extremely attractive with a shockingly impressive physique. He is incredibly masculine, clean but dark – in looks as well as his drive to be with
Djuna and what he will do to transcend with her. Essentially he falls in love with this mysterious woman and gives
himself over to her only to find his new life thrusts him into a world of one powerful woman after another who he
must contend with. But he does so without losing his masculinity, integrity, identity or tenderness. It is a very hard
part to play and Milo Ventimiglia was fantastic, fearless and strong. He made Paolo a truly unique male character.
DECADENCE
Vampires are a long term symbol of the elite. And the vampires in KISS OF THE DAMNED are wealthy and wear
luxurious clothes and dwell in beautiful settings. But being vampires has been something imposed on them and
which for most of them, they struggle with. Still they regard themselves as superior. They are completely confused
as to who they are. Even the protagonist couple are decadent in their role playing of a bourgeois human model relationship even as they thirst for blood.
INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATION
While writing the screenplay of KISS OF THE DAMNED, I remember during the second part of the party scene that
I wanted the feel of something I had seen in Liliana Cavani’s THE BERLIN AFFAIR – beautiful adults in a formal
setting trying to discuss something that was out of their grasp. That had made a big impression on me. Definitely
when we were shooting, our director of photography, Tobias Datum, and I discussed the 360 “BDP” (Brian de Palma) shot at the end with Xenia and Ann, the fan. I always felt like I wanted the film to have a Bertolucci-ish sensuality and romantic beauty. Also wanted to have a Kubrick-ian EYES WIDE SHUT feel in parts. During editing I
thought of Nic Roeg, Andrzej Zulawski, Kubrick, and in color correct, De Palma again for sure.
MUSIC
The music in KISS OF THE DAMNED was composed by Steven Hufsteter and also there were multiple additional
soundscape tracks by recording artists Demdike Stare. Steve and I have known each other for decades, we were
even in a band together for many years, so we have a great musical understanding. Steve has done soundtracks I
love like Repo Man, etc. But as long as I have known Steve his god has been Ennio Morricone. Both of us love that
beautiful romantic, kind of fatalistic European soundtrack sound that I guess derives from classical music. So we
have both of those in the film as score and also as source music. Music supervisor Dina Juntila is a giant record
collector who seeks out so much rare, mainly European music as well. We are all very good friends. For some of
the darker stuff we wanted to get away from the conventional sound and Dina made us listen to Groupo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza, which Ennio was involved with as well – a bunch of geniuses taking apart pianos,
hitting keys, pulling out the strings, things like that, creating this incredible music. Steve got inspiration from that,
assaulting his instruments with coffee mugs, pliers, etc., until some beautiful dark music came out. Demdike Stare
are from Manchester and their recordings are absolutely beautiful and hypnotic, dark and timeless. Dina brought
them in and their music is a huge part of the personality of the film.
Xan Cassavetes is both a writer and director. She directed the
feature documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) with
IFC Films. Kiss of the Damned is her debut feature narrative film. She
was born on September 21, 1965 in Los Angeles CA.
JOSÉPHINE DE LA BAUME as DJUNA
MILO VENTIMIGLIA as PAOLO
French actress Joséphine de La Baume
will soon be seen in Ron Howard’s “Rush.” She
recently appeared in Lone Scherfig’s romantic
comedy “One Day”, as a femme fatale Madeleine in “Johnny English Reborn” starring Rowan
Atkinson, and in Sylive Verheyde’s “Confession of a Child of the Century” alongside Peter
Doherty and Charlotte Gainsbourg. She also
starred in the 2012 TV miniseries “Titanic”.
Josephine began her film career in “Boogie
Woogie” in which she played ‘Frenchie’ alongside Danny Huston, Heather Graham and Gillian Anderson. She went on to star in the French
film “The Princess of Montpensier’ directed by
Bertrand Tavernier, (Cannes 2011). Joséphine
starred opposite Vincent Cassel in the critically
acclaimed Romain Gavras feature “Our Day will
Come” and has starred alongside Claudia Cardinale in Nadia Szold’s first feature “Joy de V”.
Nurturing an impressive body of work that
encompasses film and television, Milo Ventimiglia’s career continues to evolve with exciting and
challenging projects. Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Milo’s passion for
the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio
and independent features. Milo has most recently
been seen in Sony Pictures’ comedy “That’s My
Boy” opposite Adam Sandler, and sci-fi thriller
“The Divide,” a sci-fi thriller about the aftermath of
an attack on New York.
Joséphine studied theatre in Paris at the
Cours Viriot, in London at RADA and in New
York at Black Nexxus.
Alongside her acting career, Joséphine
sings and plays keyboard in the band SingTank.
His other film credits include “Rocky Balboa” (as Sylvester Stallone’s son), the Sony heist
film “Armored” with Matt Dillon and Laurence
Fishburne, “Gamer” alongside Gerard Butler,
“Pathology” alongside Alyssa Milano, the Wes
Craven/Kevin Williamson thriller “Cursed,” “The
Chaos Theory,” “Stay Alive,” “Dirty Deeds,”
“winter Break” and “Massholes.” Milo starred in
the hugely popular NBC TV series “Heroes,” about
a group of seemingly everyday people who discover they have super powers. He also had roles in
the series “Gilmore Girls,” “The Bedford Diaries,”
“American Dreams.” and “Boston Public”.
With his production company, DiVide Pictures, he launched two comic book titles with Top
Cow publishing, REST and BERSERKER.
Roxane Mesquida as MIMI
ANNA MOUGLALIS as Xenia
Roxane Mesquida was born in Marseille, France,
although she spent her childhood in the nearby village of
Pradet. She made her debut in Manuel Pradal’s acclaimed
1997 film “Marie Baie des Anges.” She had breakthrough
roles in controversial director Catherine Breillat’s “À ma
soeur!” (aka “Fat Girl”) and “Sex Is Comedy” a fictionalized
making-of. She also acted in Breillat’s 2007 costume drama
“La Vieille Maîtresse”.
Anna Mouglalis was recently seen as French singer Juliette
Greco in Joann Sfar’s “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life”. Anna also starred
as Coco Chanel in Jan Kounen’s “Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky”,
which closed the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Along with her career
as an actress, Mouglalis was chosen by Karl Lagerfeld for the 2002
campaign for the Amateur Allure de Chanel perfume, and she is
now one of his “muses” still promoting Chanel today.
Other credits include Benoît Jacquot’s “L’École de la
Chair”, “La Dérive” co-starring American actor Brady Corbet, and Kim Chapiron’s horror film “Sheitan”, which also
starred the film’s co-producer, Vincent Cassel, Gregg Araki’s
“Kaboom”, Quentin Dupieux’s “Rubber”, Frederic Da’s “The
hole in the wall”, and Kirstin Marcon’s “The Most Fun You
Can Have Dying”.
Anna’s other French film credits include “Mammuth” (dirs.
Gustave de Kervern & Benoit Delepine), Francis Girod’s
“Terminal,” Claude Chabrol’s “Merci Pour le Chocolat” and JeanPierre Limosin’s “Novo”. Anna has also acted in Italian movies:
Roberta Torre’s “Mare Nero,” Michele Placido’s “Romanzo Criminale” and Luigi Lo Cascio’s “Mare Buio”. She received rave reviews for
her portrayal of existentialist Simone de Beauvoir in the French TV
film “Les Amants du Flore”, directed by Ilan Duran Cohen.
Roxane also had recent recurring roles in the popular TV series “Gossip Girl“ and “XIII: The Series.“
Anna studied at the Conservatoire National Superieure d’Art
Dramatique de Paris (CNSAD).
MAIN CAST
Joséphine de la Baume DJUNA
Milo Ventimiglia PAOLO
Roxane Mesquida MIMI
Anna Mouglalis XENIA
Michael Rapaport BEN
Riley Keough ANNE
Ching Valdes-Aran Irene
MAIN CREW
Director: Xan Cassavetes
Screenplay: Xan Cassavetes
Produced by: DEERJEN, VerisimilitudE
Producers: Jen Gatien, Alex Orlovsky
Executive Producers: Adam S. Bersin, Jacob Pechenik, Riaz Tyab,
Jonathan Vinnik, JESSE ITZLER
Co-producers: Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan Montepare, JOHN F. LYONS
Co-Executive Producer: Dawn Cullen Jonas
Cinematographer: Tobias Datum
Production Design: Chris Trujillo
Editors: Taylor Gianotas, John F. Lyons
Costume Design: Audrey Louise Reynolds
Composer: SteVen Hufsteter
Additional Original Music By: Demdike Stare
JEN GATIEN, DEERJEN
ALEX ORLOVSKY, VERISIMILITUDE
Selected Filmography
Kiss of the Damned (2012) dir. Xan Cassavetes
Jack and Diane (2012), dir. Bradley Rust Grey
For Ellen (2012), dir. So Yong Kim
Limelight (2012), dir. Billy Corben
Chelsea on the Rocks (2008), dir. Abel Ferrara
Hounddog (2007), dir. Deborah Kampmeier
1 Giant Leap (2002), dir. Duncan Bridgeman
and Jamie Catto
Selected Filmography
Kiss of the Damned (2012) dir. Xan Cassavetes
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), dir. Derek Cianfrance
Terri (2011), dir. Azazel Jacobs
Blue Valentine (2010), dir. Derek Cianfrance
Eve (short) (2008), dir. Natalie Portman
Voy A Explotar (2008), dir. Gerardo Naranjo
Half Nelson (2006), dir. Ryan Fleck
INTERNATIONAL PRESS:
Film | Press | Plus
Richard Lormand
www.FilmPressPlus.com
[email protected]
Currently at the VENICE FILM FESTIVAL:
+39-393-083-2998
PRODUCTION CONTACT:
Deerjen & Verisimiltude
Jen Gatien & Alex Orlovsky
[email protected] / [email protected]
225 West 13th St.,
New York, NY 10011
+1 917.853. 6591