Jean Seberg

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.

 

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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.

Notre Dame Fire Stirs Memories of Jean Seberg, Saint Joan, Love of France

"Jean Seberg at Notre Dame circa 1967. It has been several years since I've been in Paris, but I have never forgotten the kindness of the French people to me, the beauty of the country, and the amazing historical preservation that was on-going in Paris during my visits while researching Seberg's life. It was easy to see why she was, as she said, "Paris-struck". Like many things there, Notre Dame was amazing and I'm so fortunate to have visited and experienced it during my visits. The fire is a huge loss in so many unspeakable ways..."

~Garry McGee, producer/director/writer Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon

State of Joan of Arc in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris France.

Jean Seberg as Joan of Arc in SAINT JOAN (1957).

"So much history. So much sorrow. We stand with the rest of the world in silence and shock over the tragic fire that is raging inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The Cathedral was built from 1163 to 1250 and the statue and monument of Saint Jeanne d'Arc is located inside the Cathedral. Jean Seberg starred as Joan of Arc in Otto Preminger's SAINT JOAN (1957)."

~Kelly Rundle (proder/director/writer: Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon) & Tammy Rundle (producer/writer)

APNews Photo of Notre Dame Catheral in flames. Copyright AP News.

Fire ravages soaring Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris left aghast

PARIS (AP) — A fire swept across the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral while the soaring Paris landmark was under renovations Monday, collapsing its spire and threatening one of the world’s greatest architectural treasures as locals and tourists watched aghast from the streets.

The French president pledged to rebuild a cathedral that he called “a part of us” and appealed for help to do so. The 12th-century church is home to relics, stained glass and other incalculable works of art and is a leading tourist attraction, immortalized by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office said it was treating the fire as an accident, ruling out arson and possible terror-related motives, at least for now. French media quoted the Paris fire brigade as saying the fire was “potentially linked” to a 6 million euro ($6.8 million) renovation project on the spire and its 500 tons of wood and 250 tons of lead.

Despite the dramatic image of the flaming cathedral, no one was killed. One firefighter was injured, among some 400 who battled the flames for hours before finally extinguishing them. Firefighters continued working through the night to cool the building and secure the monument, as residual sparks sprinkled down from the gaping hole where the spire used to be.

Read the rest of the AP Story HERE.

 

Jean Seberg's hometown of Marshalltown struck by massive tornado

Photo from the Jean Seberg Collection, the IVCCD Orpheum Theater Center, Marshalltown, Iowa (All rights reserved.)

This historic image was taken in 1956 in downtown Marshalltown, Iowa during the big parade that welcomed a young Jean Seberg home to celebrate being selected from 18,000 hopefuls and cast in Otto Preminger's SAINT JOAN.

Yesterday, July 19, 2018, a massive tornado devastated the town, residences, buildings, cars, the charming Main Street businesses, and the historic Orpheum Theater Center--where Seberg's SAINT JOAN screened in 1957. It is currently home to the Jean Seberg Festival of the Arts, and the Orpheum's Seberg Collection.

Twenty seven tornadoes ripped through Iowa Thursday leaving destruction in several towns, including Bondurant and Pella. A number of people were injured, but thankfully no deaths have been reported.

Photo Marshalltown Times-Republican, downtown tornado devastation.

We share here a story from the Marshalltown Times Republican:

Four emergency alerts pinged through on cell phones. Sirens rang through downtown twice. At first, it seemed like nothing. Then it hit.

Devastating.

In a word, that is how small businesses and their owners, residents and anyone who witnessed the tornado that struck Marshalltown Thursday afternoon describe it.

As it happened

Local resident David Powers said he witnessed the destructive tornado on Church Street as it turned from black to an unnerving deep purple. At that point, he sought immediate shelter.

Places like the Marshalltown Public Library, the Animal Rescue League, the YMCA-YWCA and other local organizations began harboring passersbys and the patrons already at the facilities.

Sheila Just, of Kingdom Trucking, had no choice but to take cover in the bed of her semi with her dogs in the truck with her. Bricks, glass and other debris fell around her, even cracking the windows of her truck. But somehow, she made it out alive — she credits the work of a higher power.

Josh Gummert, an employee at Sub City, took the four customers in the restaurant down to basement as they heard the sirens going off. They heard loud cracking while they were in shelter. Now, they believe the noise was the glass shattering on the store front windows.

“We were looking toward the (Marshall County) Courthouse and it was dark, and all the sudden it swooped up … when we looked over between the trees, we could see the funnel — it was moving really quick,” said resident Selena Weitzell.

The steeple on the Marshall County Courthouse was gone. Bricks, glass, branches, flanks of wood and random debris scattered the streets. Residents took in the damage throughout town in the post-storm heat and humidity, moving branches and pieces of houses off their lawn and out of the street.

Parked cars were slightly damaged or totaled with entire trees on top of them. Some were in entirely different spots than they were originally parked. As people descended on the devastation, one woman shouted across the parking lot, “at least I still got a driver’s window.”

 
Video footage of the tornado captured by Mark Varnum (posted on Youtube 7/19/2018).  He noted where he was located when he filmed: "Northwest from 18th st. and HWY 30. Funnel touched down just west of the Soldier's home and went down Main St., Marshalltown, Iowa.

Downtown hit hard

In the aftermath it appeared that Main Street was hit especially hard, as if the tornado had a designated plan to head that route. Typical to other storms that have hit Marshalltown in recent years, the tornado seemed to pick up strength as it traveled west to east, but prominent evidence of the event can be seen largely throughout the northeast and northwest quadrants of Marshalltown.

Read the FULL STORY HERE!

Photo by Nancy Adams (curator of the Jean Seberg Colllection) - Orpheum Theater Center tornado damage.

CNN reported that ten people suffered injuries after a tornado struck the town of 27,000 people (located about an hour northeast of Des Moines). None of the patients are in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Laura Rainey said.

Read the CNN coverage and view tornado video HERE.

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.

50th Anniversary "Breathless" DVD includes featurette by "Jean Seberg" doc producers

Breathless, the groundbreaking film that was an instant classic when first released in 1960 ushered in the French New Wave style of filmmaking and made stars of Jean-Paul Belmondo and director Jean-Luc Godard. Jean Seberg, who was living in France with her then-husband Francois Moreuil (also featured in Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon) was convinced by him to be in Breathless.

The financial backers also wanted a name to be in the film to help generate ticket sales and Seberg filled the ticket. It's also the first film in which audiences saw a natural Seberg--Godard allowed her much freedom in the interpretation of the character she played. And her instincts come through for the first time on film.

"We did a lot of improvising," Jean later recalled. "And I believe Belmondo and I often thought we were creating more than we really were. [But] Godard was very much in control of it all." 

"Jean really enjoyed making Breathless, and much of it was ad-libbed. It showed what Jean could do when left to her own devices," said Carol Hollingsworth, Jean's high school theater drama coach and friend. 

The 50th Anniversary of Breathless on DVD includes a featurette "Jean Seberg: Movie Star" produced by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Garry McGee, Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle.

"The company was aware that Jean Seberg was in production and asked if we could create a featurette about Jean for inclusion on the DVD," said producer Kelly Rundle. "It was great fun to do and we are pleased to have it included on this special DVD marking the 50th anniversary of Breathless' release.

The 50th Anniversary Breathless DVD can be purchased via Amazon.com.

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.

Houston Chronicle revisits Romain Gary's Final Novel and His Final Word

Jean Seberg and husband Romain Gary.

By Conrad Bibens, Houston Chronicle
February 2, 2018

A famous writer publishes one of his best novels, a life-affirming work about love and courage, then a short time later commits suicide.

Is it macabre to read it, and enjoy it?

No. "The Kites" is still a tribute to the joy and necessity of living, regardless of what its writing took out of Romain Gary. It's a 37-year-old book that's just now appearing in the United States, translated from the French by Miranda Richmond Mouillot.

If Dos Equis had been a French beer, Gary would have been a natural to play "the Most Interesting Man in the World." Born Jewish in Lithuania, he converted to Catholicism when he emigrated to France as a teenager in the 1930s. He twice won his adopted country's highest honor for literature (once under a nom de plume since the Prix Goncourt is supposed to be awarded only once to an author).

Gary was good friends with fellow writer Albert Camus and was highly respected by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and President Charles de Gaulle. Fluent in six languages, Gary served as a diplomat in several countries and was France's consul general in Los Angeles in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Along the way, he wrote much of the screenplay for the World War II movie epic "The Longest Day." His second wife was American actress Jean Seberg. When she had an affair with Clint Eastwood, Gary reportedly challenged him to a duel. Eastwood declined the challenge, a sensible reaction since Gary likely would have taken him. A real-life hero, Gary was a bombardier for a Free French squadron in the Royal Air Force during the second world war, winning many medals for bravery.

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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.