Movie Star

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.

"Movie Star is a tale of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl 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." That leaves room for doubt," said Kelly Rundle.  "And you will have to see the film to understand why."

Keep up on all of the Jean Seberg news on the award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.) and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) at JeanSebergMovie.com.

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 Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg

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: Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg) & 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.

 

A Visual Tribute to Jean's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa

 

On Thursday, July 19th Jean Seberg's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa was devastated by a F4 tornado which destroyed and damaged its Main Street business district, homes, historic buildings, many old trees and vehicles.  Fortunately, there was no loss of life and few injuries.

Among the damaged historic buildings were the town's courthouse and the Orpheum Theater Center where Jean watched movies as a teen, and a number of her own films, including her first, Saint Joan, played to packed audiences.

We the producers of Movie Star: the Secret Lives of Jean Seberg decided to create a visual tribute to Marshalltown, Iowa using footage gathered downtown in 2012 for the documentary, and accoustic guitar music by Marshalltown native Mark Adams of Amy & Adams.  The song "Going Home" was the perfect fit for the video piece. Amy & Adams' music is featured in Movie Star.

We wish the residents of Marshalltown all the very best as you rebuild your beautiful city.

Producers Kelly & Tammy Rundle and Garry McGee
Fourth Wall Film & McMarr, LTD

#marshalltownstrong

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Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg producers Garry McGee, Tammy Rundle and Kelly Rundle in front of the Orpheum Theater Center in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Keep up on all of the Jean Seberg news and the December release of the award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.) and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) on DVD at JeanSebergMovie.com.

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.

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Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg producers Garry McGee, Tammy Rundle and Kelly Rundle in front of the Orpheum Theater Center in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Keep up on all of the Jean Seberg news and the December release of the award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.) and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) on DVD at JeanSebergMovie.com!

Vince Vaughn joins Kristen Stewart in cast of Jean Seberg movie project

Actor Vince Vaughn (Deadline.com)

It was announced on Deadline.com today that actor Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers, Hacksaw Ridge, Couples Retreat) has joined the cast of the new political thrillerAgainst All Enemies,  directed by director Benedict Andrews (Una) and starring Kristen Stewart (Personal Shopper, On the Road, Twilight) as Jean Seberg.  Vaughn will play Carl Kowalski, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation of Seberg involvement with supporting the Black Power movement.  Seberg was considered the darling of the French New Wave after starring in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless.

Jean Seberg and Kristen Stewart (Ecran Noir).

Deadline.com reports: Fred Berger (La La Land) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik are producing alongside Kate Garwood and Stephen Hopkins. Phreaker Films, led by Alan Ritchson and Marina Acton, has come on board to produce and finance. Bradley Pilz of Bradley Pilz Productions is also producing. Sales kick off in Cannes this week via Memento Films International. UTA is repping U.S. rights.  The film is set to begin filming in Los Angeles in June.

To read more on the update click HERE. 

*The producers of Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg are not affiliated with Against All Enemies, nor is this project based on Garry McGee's book Jean Seberg: Breathless or Neutralized: the FBI vs Jean Seberg by Jean Russell Larson and Garry McGee.  

The award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Emmy-nominated documentary film writer Garry McGee, McMarr LTD (author of Jean Seberg: Breathless) and Emmy-nominated documentary filmmakers Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) will be released internationally on DVD near Christmas 2018.

Join the journey! To add your name to the film credits (before August 1, 2018) and make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more to Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg, contact us at fourthwallfilms@aol.com for details!

Star de Cinéma: les vies secrètes de Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg in the French New Wave film "Breathless".

As the award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg documentary undergoes final adjustments, we turn our attention to early preparations for the DVD bonus features, closed captioning and a French translation of the film.

Though Jean was an American actress, she appeared in 34 films in Hollywood and in Europe, and lived half of her life in France.  She is considered an adopted daughter of France and is honored and remembered there even today.  

Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (Star de Cinéma: les vies secrètes de Jean Seberg) DVD will have the option of being viewed with French subtitles.

We continue our fundraising efforts to cover post-production expenses on Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg.  Ahhhh to have a Hollywood budget for our French/Hollywood story! What would that be like? Funding raised during this final phase will go toward E&O insurance and licensing fees.

The DVD is slated for release in December of this year!

If you or someone you know would like to make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more to the film project before it goes to DVD, contact us at fourthwallfilms@aol.com for details!

We cannot thank each of you enough for your generous and kind support of Movie Star.  We are very excited to see the project finally coming to a close.  We could not do it without you!

50th Anniversary "Breathless" DVD includes featurette by "Movie Star" 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 Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg) 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 produced by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Garry McGee, Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle, whose award-winning documentary feature Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg will be released on DVD December 2018.

"The company was aware that Movie Star was in post-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.

Keep up on all the news regarding the December release of the award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) on DVD at JeanSebergMovie.com!

(Quotes used in post are from Garry McGee's book "Jean Seberg: Breathless")

Jean Seberg continues to make news as post-production work continues on "Movie Star"

Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg and Lee Marvin in Joshua Logan's Paint Your Wagon.

As producers Kelly and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films), and Garry McGee (McMarr, LTD) continue fundraising efforts for post-production editing on Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg, and work on the legal review of the documentary is underway, Jean Seberg continues to make news in 2018--the year that marks what would have been her 8oth birthday.

A new exhibit opens at the Baker Heritage Museum celebrating the 50th anniversary of Paint Your Wagon, the big-budget Western musical directed by Joshua Logan.

The Baker Heritage Museum located at 2480 Grove St, Baker City, OR.
 
The 1968 film starring Jean Seberg, Lee Marvin, and Clint Eastwood, was filmed in Eastern Oregon, near Anthony Lakes and along East Eagle Creek in the Wallowa Mountains.

Paint Your Wagon won an Oscar for Best Musical Score in 1970 and received two Golden Globe nominations for 'Best Picture - Comedy or Musical', and 'Best Actor - Comedy or Musical'.  Lee Marvin won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical.

The display will be featured in the museum's main gallery through the 2019 season.

You may have seen news items pop up announcing that Kristen Stewart has been cast as Jean Seberg in a movie that is in pre-production entitled Against All Enemies.  It is described as a thriller and is produced by Automatik Entertainment.

Please note that the producers of Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg are not affiliated with Against All Enemies, nor is that project based on Garry McGee's book Jean Seberg: Breathless or Neutralized: the FBI vs Jean Seberg by Jean Russell Larson and Garry McGee.

Fundraising for final post-production editing expenses on Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg continues.  If you or someone you know would like to make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more to the film project before it goes to DVD (target release date is December 2018), contact us at fourthwallfilms@aol.com for details!

Kristen Stewart signs to star as Jean Seberg in new fictional movie

Actress Kristen Stewart. (Image By Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 Details HERE.)

Kristen Stewart is set to star in Against All Enemies, a thriller formerly titled Seberg, to be directed by Benedict Andrews (Una), The Hollywood Reporter printed.

Automatik Entertainment is producing, with Fred Berger (La La Land), Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Kate Garwood and Stephen Hopkins sharing the producer credits.  Read MORE.

Jean Seberg in Birds in Peru (1968).

Deadline reported "Seberg, an American actress who spent half her life in France, was a darling of the French New Wave. Because of her political and romantic involvement with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie), she was also a target of the FBI’s attempts to disrupt, discredit and expose the Black Power movement. Jack O’Connell plays the ambitious young FBI agent assigned to surveil her, only to find their fates dangerously interwoven." Read MORE.

Indiewire reports that Against All Enemies is coming together quickly and will be shopped around to potential distributors. Read MORE.

IMDB reports that the film project will go into production Spring 2018.

The award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Emmy-nominated documentary film writer Garry McGee (author of Jean Seberg: Breathless) and Emmy-nominated documentary filmmakers Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) will be released internationally on DVD near Christmas 2018.

Join the journey! To add your name to the credits and make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more to Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg before it goes to DVD, contact us at fourthwallfilms@aol.com for details!

The producers of Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg are not affiliated with Against All Enemies, nor is this project based on Garry McGee's book Jean Seberg: Breathless or Neutralized: the FBI vs Jean Seberg by Jean Russell Larson and Garry McGee.

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.

Read More...

Watch for the new award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg on DVD late 2018!  Movie Star was co-produced by Fourth Wall Films and McMarr LTD.  Garry McGee (McMarr LTD), is the author of “Jean Seberg: Breathless” and co-author of “Neutralized: The FBI vs Jean Seberg” and “The Films of Jean Seberg”. He received a Regional Emmy® nomination for writing the documentary The Last Wright.  Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films received a Regional Emmy® nomination for their documentaries River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT) and Country School: One Room – One Nation.