Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod On Working With ‘Wonderfully Committed’ Robert Pattinson

Yet more praise for Robert Pattinson from Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (I love it)

(Click on the pic to the watch the vid)




Co-directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod talked to STV about why despite being written in 1885 Bel Ami is “very much about how we are now”, and how in Robert Pattinson they found a “terrifically serious actor”.

Written in 1885, Bel Ami is the story of a poor former military officer’s rise in fortune in Paris through the seduction of a seduction of a number of powerful women.

The casting of Robert Pattinson in the lead role of Georges Duroy has meant the film has been widely anticipated, especially among fans of Twilight.

However, the hugely enjoyable, bracing period drama will appeal to a wider audience beyond that, its examination of the sexual politics of a past society – at times almost a gleeful romp – reminiscent of Dangerous Liasons.

Though working closely together, Nick and Declan said there was no fall-out, and indeed – given that the movie was produced on a relatively low-budget – the cast and crew pulled together as they’d believed in the story.

On the cast, Nick said: “Rob came very early on. He read the script and absolutely loved it, and really related to the character.

“We met him, and that was like a marriage immediately. He has always been wonderfully committed, and is a terrifically serious actor.”

Declan added: “Very interestingly, he insisted on rehearsing for a whole month in London before we shot one single piece of film, which is very, very unusual for somebody who has as busy a schedule as he has.

“He was incredibly committed, and couldn’t have been a nicer guy or a more talented guy to work with.”

Nick also said of the Twilight star’s involvement: “I think the reason that Rob was attracted to this role is that it’s the complete opposite of everything that he’s played so far.

“The character of Bel Ami is talentless, vacuous and really totally selfish. Rob is very talented, but he completely understood the part, completely understood the character.”

“At the risk of sounding po-faced or pretentious, all artists will grapple – I do – with insecurity about your own talent,” Declan explained. “It’s a very dodgy artist indeed who says ‘I know exactly what I’m doing; I’m a genius, I’m talented’. Nobody I know who does good work thinks like that at all.

“I think that’s one of the reasons why this character is so fascinating to us, really, because he gets to the top with nothing, and it’s very much a parable for our time.”

“It’s interesting to see these very powerful actresses – Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas – play these women who are very powerful in their society, albeit they have to work through men.

“It’s interesting seeing each of them really undo themselves for sex in a way that we’re used to seeing men doing in our public life. These women risk a lot and in different ways ruin themselves because of their attraction to this guy.” (Kate: And who can blame them, I mean look at the guy in question!)

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