Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg's "Breathless" Co-Star Jean-Paul Belmondo Dies

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Backfire (Échappement libre), directed by Jean Becker (1964).

Jean-Paul Belmondo, the French actor who shot to international fame in Jean-Luc Godard’s revolutionary New Wave classic Breathless with Jean Seberg has died aged 88.

Belmondo became one of the country’s biggest box-office stars in the 60s and 70s with films including Two Women , starring Sophia Loren, and That Man From Rio. His rugged yet boyish looks combined with the series of films he made with Godard--which included A Woman Is a Woman and Pierrot le Fou--made an indelible mark.

Born in 1933, Belmondo embarked on a brief amateur boxing career as a teenager. After contracting tuberculosis, he became interested in performing, and applied to and attended the elite National Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1952.

After graduation, Belmondo began acting in the theatre and in small film roles. One of them, Marc Allegret’s 1958 comedy Un Drôle de Dimanche, brought Belmondo to the attention of Godard who was then still a critic at Cahiers du Cinéma. Godard cast him in his 12-minute short, Charlotte and Her Boyfriend.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave classic "Breathless" (Photo by Raymond Cauchetier).

Before Godard could get a full-length feature off the ground, his fellow critic Claude Chabrol cast Belmondo in his 1959 thriller A Double Tour playing the murder victim’s boyfriend. But it was Godard’s film, shot in the late summer of 1959, that secured Belmondo’s (as well as Seberg’s and Godard’s) ascension into the small circle of members of the French New Wave.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg reteamed in the comedy caper film Echappementlibre (Backfire) four years after Breathless to the enjoyment of many. Although they were friendly to each other and grateful for the success of Breathless, Belmondo and Seberg were never close friends. However, when Seberg passed away in 1979, Belmondo attended her graveside service at Montparnasse Cemetery as a tribute to his former co-star.

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

Jean Seberg's Widower Dennis Berry Dies

By Garry McGee

Jean Seberg’s widower, Dennis Berry, died on June 12 in Paris. He was 76.

Berry was married to Seberg from 1972 until her death in 1979. From 1982 he was married to actress Anna Karina until her death in 2019.

Born in the United States, Dennis Berry had lived in Paris most of his life. His father was the exiled Hollywood film director John Berry. In 1950, John Berry agreed to direct a short documentary on the Hollywood 10, a group of directors and writers who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their pursuit of supposed Communist Party infiltration within the US film industry. John Berry was named as a communist by fellow director and former party member Edward Dmytryk, one of the Hollywood Ten who had been jailed for contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with HUAC. After being released from prison, Dmytryk had gone into exile in England, but he subsequently sought to reenter the Hollywood film industry and voluntarily testified before HUAC in April 1951, clearing himself by "naming names."

The Hollywood 10.

By naming John Berry and 25 other alleged communists, Dmytryk was then able to resume his Hollywood career. Berry was also named by ex-Communist Party member Frank Tuttle, who testified before HUAC in 1951 after returning from Austria, to clear his name and regain employment in Hollywood. Unable to secure work and unwilling to compromise his principles, Berry left the U.S. and resettled with his family in Paris.

Jean Seberg and Dennis Berry at the premiere of Last Tango in Paris in 1972.

Dennis Berry was introduced to Jean Seberg at a party in early 1972. A whirlwind courtship took place and the couple married in Las Vegas several weeks after meeting. Although separated, the couple remained married at the time of Seberg’s death in 1979. The couple had no children.

Dennis Berry appeared as an actor in various works including a brief bit in 1970’s “Promise at Dawn”, a biographical work of Seberg’s second husband novelist Romain Gary. Berry’s film shorts drew attention and acclaim in France, and in 1975 he directed his first full-length film “le grand delire” with Seberg and Isabelle Huppert. He continued to work in American and French film and television productions including “Highlander” with Marion Cotillard in 1992. His last film, “Savages”, was released in 2019.

Seberg’s first husband, film director and producer Francois Moreuil, died in 2017. Her second husband, Romain Gary, passed in 1980.

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

Jean Seberg Friend & American Indian Rights Activist Donald Wanatee Walks On

Garry McGee, Tammy Rundle and Kelly Rundle (outside photo) interviewing Meskwaki tribal council member Don Wanatee for Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon.

Meskwaki Elder Donald Wanatee, 88, has walked on.

As a child growing up in Marshalltown, Iowa, Jean Seberg was well aware of the Meskwaki Nation (Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi--Red Earth People) settlement in nearby Tama. 

In September 1970, while visiting her parents following the burial of her daughter, Nina Hart Gary, actress Jean Seberg visited the Meskwaki Settlement and met Donald Wanatee for the first time. She saw the challenges the Tribe was facing, and asked what she could do to help.

"There were no jobs. No housing. No running water. It was extreme poverty," said Wanatee, who befriended Jean.

In 1972, a donation was made by Seberg for athletic equipment for the Meskwaki boys' basketball team.

Actress Jean Seberg.

Don talked about his friendship with Jean and her interest in the civil rights movement during an interview for the documentary Jean Seberg: Actress Activist Icon. 

"I think she was a real educated person. She was worried about what was happening in the state and in the world, especially concerning minorities. She was welcome to come here anytime."

Wanatee died in his home on the Meskwaki Settlement on April 21.

Dr. David Gradwohl, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Iowa State University, posted a tribute on Facebook: "...Don was a student of mine at Iowa State University in the early 1970s. Along with his wife, Priscilla Lasley Wanatee, they co-founded the United Native American Student Association (UNASA) with two other students; I was privileged to serve as UNASA's first faculty advisor. He was seminal in the establishment of the American Indian Studies Program at ISU. Donald went on to obtain his Masters of Social Work degree at the University of Iowa. Donald helped establish the national Coalition of Indian Controlled School Boards which eventually led to the Meskwaki creating their own schools at the Settlement without the interference of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Donald served several terms on the Meskwaki Tribal Council and mentored many young Native American men and women. His legacy will live on."

Des Moines Register, March 1968.

Jean Seberg did not live to witness the transformative conditions on the Settlement over the decades that followed her first meeting with friend and activist Donald Wanatee--the Meskwaki Nation's several successful enterprises, and work to provide health services, senior services, family services, youth services, higher education and housing to its people; its efforts for historic preservation, language preservation, and cultural celebration; the establishment of Meskwaki, Inc., a family of companies dedicated to the Meskwaki mission of developing and operating successful tribally-owned business enterprises; providing meaningful jobs and opportunities for its Tribal members; and providing its Tribe with an adequate income stream from its business operations so the Tribe may reach total economic self-sufficiency.

In 2013, nearly 70 years after eight Meskwaki men were trained to use their native language to provide secure battlefield communication, Donald Wanatee was among representatives of the Meskwaki Settlement to accept the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of their ancestors who served as World War II “code talkers.”

"It was an honor to see the Meskwaki veterans recognized for their “historic role in World War II, using their native language as the basis for creating unbreakable codes for communicating messages in combat,” Sen. Tom Harkin said. In their efforts, they “exemplified the traditional Meskwaki values of bravery, honor and justice.”"

Donald Wanatee, a member of the Meskwaki tribal council at the time simply said, “At last.”

It was truly an honor for us to meet and talk with Don. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, his friends, and all who knew and loved him.

Documentary filmmakers Garry McGee and Kelly Rundle with Donald Wanatee (center).

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

How Accurately Are the Black Panthers Depicted in Movies? Former BPP Leader Elaine Brown Rates 6 Films

Elaine Brown during her interview for Jean Seberg: Actress. Activist. Icon.

Former Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown was recently asked to rate six films involving the Black Panther Party for realism. Brown, a BBP contact and close friend of Jean Seberg's, provided a riveting interview for the new documentary Jean Seberg: Actress. Activist. Icon. (currently in distribution review). Among the films she rated is SEBERG starring Kristen Stewart released in 2019.

2021 Oscar nominated "Judas and the Black Messiah".

INSIDER noted: "Brown joined the Black Panther Party in 1968 and was the acting chair of the party from 1974 to 1977 while Black Panther cofounder Huey Newton was in self-imposed exile in Cuba. The Black Panther Party was an organization focused on creating a revolution for Black freedom, housing rights, the end of police violence against Black people, and other social causes. It was founded by Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 in Oakland, California. Its ideology incorporated socialism, Marxism-Leninism, and Black nationalism. The party was active between 1966 and 1982 and had chapters across the United States. Brown discusses the accuracy of the portrayal of the Black Panther Party in films such as "Judas and the Black Messiah" (2021), "Forrest Gump" (1994), and "The Butler" (2013). Brown has personal connections to Seale, Fred Hampton, and Jean Seberg, and she comments on their depictions in "Panther" (1995), "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (2020), and "Seberg" (2019)."

"Seberg" (2019).

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the interview subtitles are inaccurate with numerous errors and misspellings. View Elaine Brown's INSIDER interview HERE!

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

Film Biography of Romain Gary in the Works

 

 

Note: The following news story was published today on a new film in pre-production by Living Time Motion Pictures on diplomat, writer and filmmaker Romain Gary. Nicolas Cage is on the wish list as the actor to portray Gary. While Jean is identified in the photo below as the "tragic suicide actress Jean Seberg" (the cause of death was inconclusive and officially recorded as "probable suicide"). Romain Gary committed suicide on December 2, 1980.

 

NEWS PROVIDED BY

FILM TIME Entertainment News

 

Living Time Motion Pictures is producing the Film Biography of War Hero Aviator, Literary Great, Top-Ranking Diplomat, Filmmaker and Man of Mystery Romain Gary.

 

Romain Gary was husband to tragic suicide actress Jean Seberg.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, April 2, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- At their virtual Easter press conference on April 1st, Living Time Motion Pictures announced a slate of new productions for 2021-2022, headed by the biographical film 'Man of Promise' about the life and work of multi-award-winning novelist Romain Gary. Four other features were also announced - including documentary 'In the Absence of the Author' as well as the forthcoming television series 'Crimes Past'. Attending the event, it was clear from the core focus being given to 'Man of Promise' that it is one of LTMP's major productions - they were fully at the ready with two poster designs for the movie whose full title was presented as 'Man of Promise: The Many Lives of Romain Gary'.

Nicholas Cage (sic) is the #1 choice of screenwriter Edouard d'Araille

Jack D. Goldstein, Vice-President of Production for Living Time Motion Pictures, announced that 'Man of Promise' would be going ahead on a $43 Million budget and will be shooting from 2021-2022 - partially dependent on Coronavirus restrictions. Some further details were provided about the financials into the film, including that England, France, Poland and Germany have staked investments into it, making it an international co-production. The involvement of Lithuania in the film was also explained, as it turns out Romain Gary was originally from Vilnius, having been born there in 1914. Other shooting locations were also named, including Paris, New York, Warsaw, Hollywood, Nice and Casablanca.

But who was Romain Gary? And why is a motion picture being made about his life now? 

Read the rest of the EIN news story HERE.

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

New York Time's reports Raymond Cauchetier, New Wave photographer, Dead at 101

Photo by Raymond Cauchetier. "Breathless" directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. (1960)

From the NEW YORK TIMES

By Robert D. McFadden

Feb. 26, 2021

Raymond Cauchetier, the renowned French photographer who documented the revolutionary early films of Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and other New Wave directors a half-century ago with now-classic portraits, only to go uncredited for decades, died on Monday in Paris. He was 101.

The cause was Covid-19, said Julia Gragnon, who runs La Galerie de l’Instant, the French gallery that represents Mr. Cauchetier.

A self-taught photographer who did not own a camera until he was in his 30s, Mr. Cauchetier for most of his life was known for pictures of Romanesque sculptures and architectural treasures of Europe and Southeast Asia, including thousands of images of the ancient temples at Angkor Wat, a portfolio mindlessly burned by the Khmer Rouge when it toppled the Cambodian government in 1975.

Read the rest of the article at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/movies/raymond-cauchetier-dead.html

Garry McGee is the co-producer-director-writer of Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon (now in the distribution phase). He is the Emmy® nominated filmmaker behind the documentary The Last Wright (co-produced with Lucille Carra) and the author of Jean Seberg--Breathless, Neutralized: the FBI vs. Jean Seberg (with Jean Russell Larson) and The Films of Jean Seberg (with Michael Coates-Smith). 

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

Michel Piccoli, Jean Seberg's Co-Star in "L'attentat" ("French Conspiracy") Dies

French actor Michel Piccoli renowned for performances for directors  Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Bunuel, Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle, has died at age 94. 

Piccoli began acting in the 1940s, and starred in films until as late as 2014, among them Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1955), as Brigitte Bardot's husband in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963), Luis Buñuel's  Belle de Jour (1967), Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz (1969) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972).

 

Piccoli starred in director Yves Boisset's political thriller L'attentat (also known as Assassination, French Conspiracy-1972) with Jean Seberg and Roy Scheider.

 

Piccoli won the Best Actor Award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival for A Leap in the Dark. In 1982, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Strange Affair. In 2001 he was the recipient of the Europe Theatre Prize.

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, and all things Jean Seberg.

Jean Seberg's "Moment to Moment" co-star Honor Blackman dies

Honor Blackman and Jean Seberg in Mervyn LeRoy's Moment to Moment (1966).

Honor Blackman, Jean Seberg's co-star in the movie Moment to Moment, has died at age 94 of natural causes. 

Blackman, who became a household name in the 1960s as Cathy Gale in The Avengers and had a career spanning eight decades, is best known for playing the Bond girl Pussy Galore in the James Bond film Goldfinger.

Honor Blackman & Jean Seberg on the Moment to Moment set.

In a statement to the Guardian, Blackman's family said: “It’s with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman, aged 94. She died peacefully of natural causes at her home in Lewes, Sussex, surrounded by her family. She was much loved and will be greatly missed by her two children Barnaby and Lottie, and grandchildren Daisy, Oscar, Olive and Toby... she was an adored mother and grandmother who possessed an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess..."

Blackman starred in Mervyn LeRoy's 75th and final film Moment to Moment. The 1966 American Technicolor psychological thriller starred Jean Seberg as a married woman who has an affair with Naval ensign (Sean Garrison). The affair leads to murder, and a neighbor (Honor Blackman) helping to get rid of the body.

Blackman was married twice, the first time to Bill Sankey from 1948 to 1956. Five years after their divorce, Blackman married British actor Maurice Kaufmann, with whom she adopted two children, Lottie and Barnaby.

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, and all things Jean Seberg.

Jean Seberg's "Mousey" Co-Star Kirk Douglas Dies at 103

Actor Kirk Douglas died on Wednesday, February 5th according to his son, actor Michael Douglas. He was 103.

“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” son Michael Douglas said in a statement obtained by People magazine. “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the Golden Age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.”

It took several months, many years ago, of letter writing and faxing back and forth, but Jean Seberg's biographer Garry McGee was able to have a telephone conversation with Mousey director Dan Petrie, Sr. for the book biography he was working on, Jean Seberg -- Breathless. In the meantime, the movie Petrie made with Kirk Douglas and Jean Seberg (Mousey) had played on cable and McGee sent him a copy as an early thank you for his time. "I wondered who sent that," he said when we finally spoke. "I haven't seen it in years, and didn't have a copy in my collection. Thank you for doing that." 

 

Mousey is the nickname of a timid and introverted biology teacher whose wife divorces him and remarries, taking their son with her. The son of whom he is so proud, however, is not his child: Mousey had married his wife after she became pregnant by another man. The loss of his wife and beloved stepson turns the humiliated man into psychotic stalker bent on revenge.

 

In the United States, Mousey aired on ABC-TV as part of a weekly series of thrillers in 1974. Outside the U.S. it received a theatrical release under the title Cat and Mouse. "It wasn't very good," Petrie said to McGee. "We did our very best and made it as scary as it could possibly be, but I don't think the script was too solid."

 

Petrie enjoyed working with the cast. Douglas delivered as always, and Seberg acceptable. "It really wasn't a demanding role (for her). She had to show 'fear' and she could handle that quite easily. She came ready with her lines memorized and didn't put any demands on me at all," he said. Douglas, however, wished to explore the role more, and Petrie allowed him to expand upon what was written resulting in a memorable performance that they both felt was right for the work. Seberg and Douglas got along during the filming as both were professionals and understood what was expected of them.

 

Petrie directed such theatrical and television films as A Raisin in the Sun, Sybil, Eleanor and Franklin, and Resurrection. He died in 2004. Douglas made more than 90 movies from the 1940s through 2000s including Spartacus, Paths of Glory, The Bad and the Beautiful, Lonely are the Brave, Champion, and Lust for Life among other classics spreading throughout several genres and extraordinary performances.

The Hollywood Reporter noted: "Nominated three times for best actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — for Champion (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Lust for Life (1956) — Douglas was the recipient of an honorary Oscar in 1996. Arguably the top male star of the post-World War II era, he acted in more than 80 movies before retiring from films in 2004."

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.

 

Jean Seberg's "Lilith" Co-star Peter Fonda Dies

Peter Fonda and Jean Seberg in Lilith.

By Garry McGee
Emmy-nominated filmmaker & author

Peter Fonda, who became a counterculture icon when he co-wrote, produced and starred in the seminal 1969 road movie Easy Rider, then three decades later received an Oscar-nomination in Ulee’s Gold, died on August 16 from lung cancer. He was 79.

Peter was considered part of Hollywood "royalty", with his father being the legendary Academy Award-winning actor Henry Fonda, his sister the Oscar-winning actor Jane Fonda, and his daughter Bridget Fonda, the 'it girl' of 80s and 90s movies and television.

In one of his early films, Fonda played a supporting role in Robert Rossen's last work, Lilith, co-starring Warren Beatty, and Jean Seberg in the title role. The film also starred Kim Hunter and Gene Hackman.

During a break in filming in the summer of 1963, Fonda met with his father and sister in New York. The topic of Jean Seberg came up, including her successful film career abroad (by this time Jean was one of France's top actresses). Jane Fonda became fascinated, and shortly after, she moved to France in search of success.

Peter Fonda was quite fond of Jean, but not so much Warren Beatty. In a physical scene involving Seberg and Beatty, Jean was to slap her co-star, but Beatty kept resisting by grabbing Jean's arm, causing bruising.

"It was really hurting her," Fonda said. He allegedly threatened Beatty that if he continued, he'd "beat the shit out of him." Shortly after, Columbia Pictures sent a representative to the east coast set and informed Fonda if he even touched Beatty, "they'd sue my ass", Fonda noted.

To get his point across to Beatty, Fonda showed up shortly afterwards with several friends who had their black belts in karate and positioned themselves on the sidelines on the set. When Lilith wrapped production, a party was held. Beatty left the production and did not attend the party, as he felt Fonda and his group were going to retaliate. They ended up trashing Beatty's dressing room trailer instead.

Although Jean never worked with Peter Fonda or Warren Beatty again, she remained friendly with them, and encouraged Beatty to make his own films.

While Lilith was not a commercial success, critics unanimously praised Jean's performance, and several noted Fonda's sensitive, complicated portrayal of a resident who falls in love with and becomes tangled in the web of deceit orchestrated by Lilith.

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, all things Jean Seberg, and upcoming news on the film's release.