How Jodie Foster Just Honored “First Director” Alice Guy-Blaché in Monaco
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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
When Jodie Foster shows up for an event, this cinema icon does more than draw a crowd, she makes her own history. Such was the case in Monaco last week for Director Pamela B. Green’s documentary BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ about the life and historic career of pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché.
Jodie Foster narrates this exploration, the subject of which many would say is the appearance of cinema’s first director in that she told actual human stories on film, synched sound, and colorized her footage as of 1896. Held on Oct. 3, for Pink Ribbon Monaco, under the patronage of Prince Albert, this event featured co-writer Joan Simon, filmmaker Anne Fontaine, along with Foster and Green to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Monaco.
The evening included rare high-quality restorations of Guy-Blaché silents and sound experiments at the Princess Grace Theatre, mirroring the US critical acclaim dating back to April. BE NATURAL actually premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics category.
The NY and LA events for this film were attended by Kathy Bates, Kiernan Shipka, Catherine Hardwicke, Julie Corman, Teri Shropshire, Cari Beauchamp, Patricia Riggen, with Q & A’s.
However, this Monaco event had special resonance for the venue, a theater built for Hollywood’s own Princess Grace under the auspices of her son’s philanthropic participation, with Hollywood royalty Jodie Foster, a self-made woman in the business since age 3, to address the legacy of “forgotten” helmer Alice Guy-Blaché, who was literally on the vanguard of motion picture innovation.
Last week, to pay homage to this wonder in the land of sensational male-driven silents, Foster focused on the narrative quality of this early adopter, and the poignant depiction of story rather than the seminal special effects of the turn of the century made popular by “The Great Train Robbery” and similar exploitative action films of the period.
Meanwhile, here is a glimpse into the resurrected historic place in film history of one seminal innovator.
First? A quick synopsis…
When Alice Guy-Blaché completed her first film in 1896 Paris, she was not only the first female filmmaker, but one of the first directors ever to make a narrative film. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché follows her rise from Gaumont secretary to her appointment as head of production a year later, and her subsequent illustrious 20-year career in France and in the United States, as the founder of her own studio and as writer, director, and/or producer of 1,000 films—after which she was veritably erased from history. Until now…. Directed by Pamela B. Green, the film is narrated by Jodie Foster.
Screenmancer International Producer Sonia Machado-Hines, her husband actor Terence Bernie Hines, and Screenmancer Photojournalist Emily Russell were on hand to capture this historic event. Russell’s images are included here, as well as a living link library of BE NATURAL’S recent press to help resurrect the Guy-Blaché legacy.
NEW YORK TIMES: September 6, 2019: Alice Guy-Blaché featured as part of Manohla Dargis’ Overlooked series
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/obituaries/alice-guy-blache-overlooked.html
LE MONDE: August 12, 2019: Emmanuelle Lequeux’s article on Alice Guy-Blaché mentions Be Natural: https://www.lemonde.fr/festival/article/2019/08/12/la-cineaste-alice-guy-pres-de-mille-films-et-cent-ans-d-oubli_5498658_4415198.html
LIBÉRATION: June 5, 2019: Laure Murat’s review: https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2019/06/05/la-pellicule-invisible-d-alice-guy_1731901
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: August 1, 2019: Paul Byrne’s review: https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/gold-dust-retelling-of-first-female-movie-maker-s-story-20190731-p52chs.html
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: June 18, 2019: Mick LaSalle’s review: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-be-natural-illuminates-a-forgotten-female-screen-pioneer
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: May 23, 2019: Michael Phillips’s review: https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-mov-women-directors-siskel-chi-film-society-0524-story.html
THE NEW YORK TIMES: April 25, 2019: AO Scott’s review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/movies/be-natural-untold-story-alice-guy-blache-review.html?login=email&auth=login-email
THE NEW YORK TIMES: April 26, 2019: Elizabeth Weitzman’s feature ran with artwork: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/movies/alice-guy-blache-be-natural.html
LEONARD MALTIN: April 19, 2019: Leonard Maltin’s review: https://leonardmaltin.com/be-natural-a-woman-rewrites-film-history/
LOS ANGELES TIMES: April 18, 2019: Katie Walsh’s review: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-be-natural-alice-guy-blache-review-20181120-story.html
DEADLINE: May 15, 2018: Pete Hammond’s review from Cannes: http://deadline.com/2018/05/be-natural-director-pamela-b-green-alice-guy-blache-cannes-studio-1202390265/
A.V. CLUB: August 24, 2019: Katie Rife chooses Alice Guy-Blaché for AVQ&A “What’s your favorite piece of pre-20th-century pop culture?” https://www.avclub.com/what-s-your-favorite-piece-of-pre-20th-century-pop-cult-1837489613
MOVIE CITY NEWS: August 23, 2019: Gary Dretzka’s review:
http://moviecitynews.com/2019/08/the-dvd-wrapup-all-is-true-patrick-swayze-harder-they-come-aniara-alice-guy-blache-akio-jissoji-orcas-ronja-walking-dead-more/
TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL: August 24, 2019: Phil Anderson’s article mentions Be Natural:
https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190824/ottawa-boasts-worlds-oldest-continuously-operating-movie-theater
SMITHSONIAN MAG: August 22, 2019: Jason Daley’s article about Be Natural:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/documentary-explores-pioneering-woman-director-written-out-film-history-180972956/
COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID: August 20, 2019: Jeffrey M. Anderson’s review:
http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/2019/be_natural_alice_guy_blache.shtml
ARTNET NEWS: August 20, 2019: Sarah Cascone’s review:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/alice-guy-blache-pioneering-female-filmmaker-1629004
SCREENHUB: August 1, 2019: Sarah Ward’s review: https://www.screenhub.com.au/news-article/reviews/film/sarah-ward/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-258511
DETROIT NEWS: July 26, 2019: Tom Long’s review: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.detroitnews.com/amp/1821142001
INSIDE EDITION: May 16, 2019: Johanna Li’s segment featuring interview with Pamela Green: https://www98.insideedition.com/who-was-alice-guy-blache-20th-century-female-filmmaker-gets-spotlight-new-documentary-529
BUSTLE: April 24, 2019 https://www.bustle.com/p/how-be-natural-executive-producer-jodie-foster-is-helping-to-honor-the-legacy-of-this-forgotten-film-pioneer-16900759
HYPERALLERGIC: April 26, 2019: Beandrea July’s interview with Pamela Green: https://hyperallergic.com/497079/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-pamela-g-green/
REFINERY 29: May 3, 2019: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/05/231644/alice-guy-blache-first-woman-director-documentary-true-story
HELLO GIGGLES: April 19, 2019: Mara Reinstein’s story on Alice and the documentary, features commentary by Pamela Green, Jodie Foster and Geena Davis. https://hellogiggles.com/reviews-coverage/movies/alice-guy-blache-documentary-interview/
CBS NEWS THE SIT DOWN: April 23, 2019: DJ Sixsmith’s interview with Pamela Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyauQ9OZLnE
THE LOS ANGELES BEAT: April 24, 2019: Simone Snaith’s review: https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2019/04/movie-review-be-natural-honors-highly-influential-first-female-filmmaker/
NORTH JERSEY RECORD: April 24, 2019: Jim Beckerman’s interview with Pamela Green: https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2019/04/24/alice-guy-blache-pioneering-woman-filmmaker-honored-documentary/3410031002/
NEW YORK POST PAGE SIX: April 24, 2019: Cindy Adams highlights the film in Page Six coverage online and in print. https://pagesix.com/2019/04/22/neil-patrick-harris-reveals-his-biggest-hosting-disaster/
THE NEW YORK TIMES: April 20, 2019: Kathryn Shattuck highlights the film in The Week In Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/arts/the-week-in-arts.html
Additional Coverage Archive for BE NATURAL
MOVIE NATION: April 17, 2019: Roger Moore’s 4 out of 4 star review: https://rogersmovienation.com/2019/04/17/documentary-review-jodie-foster-narrates-be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-the-first-female-filmmaker/
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: April 11, 2019: Alex Cramer’s coverage of the LA Premiere ran with quotes from Jodie Foster. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jodie-foster-plans-keep-acting-well-her-80s-1201131
MOVIE-BLOGGER.COM: David Ferguson’s coverage of the film. https://www.movie-blogger.com/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-2019/
NEXT TRIBE: May 3, 2019: Marcia Yerman’s feature on the film. https://nexttribe.com/alice-guy-blache/
PRI: April 22, 2019: Allison Herrera’s interview with Pamela Green: https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-04-22/ready-her-close-guy-blach-was-film-pioneer-lost-history
FILM DINGHY: May 2, 2019: Doris Toumarkino’s review: https://www.filmdinghy.com/post/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blach%C3%A9
WOLF ENTERAINMENT GUIDE: April 26, 2019: William Wolf’s review: http://www.wolfentertainmentguide.com/viewpage.aspx?cat=film&record=10696
NJ.COM: April 27, 2019: Amy Kuperinsky’s interview with Pamela Green: https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2019/04/alice-guy-blache-was-the-first-female-movie-mogul-and-ran-a-nj-studio-why-was-she-forgotten.html
FILM SCHOOL RADIO: April 19, 2019: Mike Kaspar’s interview with Pamela Green: http://filmschoolradio.com/april-19-be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-director-pamela-b-green/
VULTURE: April 18, 2019: The film is highlighted in 18 Great Things to Do in NY. https://www.vulture.com/article/things-to-do-nyc-today-this-weekend.html
THE POP BREAK: April 17, 2019: Marisa Carpico’s review: https://thepopbreak.com/2019/04/17/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache-review-an-overwhelming-but-necessary-piece-of-film-history/
TALKHOUSE: April 19, 2019: Pamela Green’s Op-Ed “How I set Out in Search of Cinematic Mystery – and Found Myself.” https://www.talkhouse.com/how-i-set-out-in-search-of-a-cinematic-mystery-and-found-myself/
NEW YORK MAGAZINE: April 15-28 issue: David Edelstein highlights the film in 25 Things To Do in print 92 Y REEL PIECES: April 12, 2019: The film was included in their April newsletter.
HARTFORD COURANT: April 22, 2019: Susan Dunne highlights the film in ‘Focus on French Cinema.’ https://www.courant.com/ctnow/movies/hc-ctnow-movie-french-cinema-greenwich-stamford-0425-20190422-el7ckozks5cabinq2veie3qxry-story.html
INTERNATIONAL POLICY DIGEST: April 22, 2019: David Ferguson’s review: https://intpolicydigest.org/2019/04/20/review-be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache/
THE KNOCKTURNAL: April 20, 2019: Shura Adams’ review: https://theknockturnal.com/film-review-be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache/
LOUIS PROYECT: April 19, 2019: Louis Proyect’s review: https://louisproyect.org/2019/04/19/instant-dreams-be-natural/
EXTRATV.COM: April 10, 2019: Coverage of the premiere ran with quotes from Jodie Foster.
http://extratv.com/2019/04/10/why-jodie-foster-says-acting-isnt-whats-in-my-dna
For more exciting details about this documentary, and where to watch it, visit https://benaturalthemovie.com/ for further information.
Screenmancer thanks Jodie Foster & Pamela Green for the invitation.
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