The new film Annette is without a doubt, one of the year’s strangest and simultaneously transfixing films that you can see this year. This slightly more-than demented rock opera–starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard–shows the perils of fame with such bewildering vision that you might want to know a few things about it before going in. Here’s a few things to know before seeing the film (now playing in select theaters and available to stream on Amazon Prime this Friday).
Related: ‘Annette’ Review: The Most Absurdly Odd Rock Opera You’ll See All Year
Annette was not originally conceived as a film.
The band Sparks, who wrote the story and music, originally conceived it to be performed live (with Russell Mael performing Adam Drivers’ role and Ron Mael playing Simon Helberg’s part). The piece was being readied to release and tour when the Maels met director Leos Carax at Cannes Film Festival (after he put a Sparks song on the soundtrack of his film Holy Motors) and decided to turn the idea into a film.
The main influence was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
Sparks has shared that they were inspired to write a musical in the same way that Jacques Demy’s musical is “sung-through” in a sort of spoken/sung manner. Sparks has specifically noted that the opening scene in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, at the mechanic shop, perfectly sets the tone for the style of the film to follow.
Annette took over 8 years to make.
Annette was in development for so long that at different points, both Rooney Mara and Michelle Williams were attached to play the lead female role (which eventually went to Marion Cotillard). Adam Driver was attached to star from the beginning (when Leos Carax first saw the actor in HBO’s Girls) and remained with the film over the entirety of development.
Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard sang live on set (including during simulated oral sex).
Cotillard revealed how Leos Carax requested that she and Driver sing live, and what challenges that brought: “It added to the complexity of the set: we found ourselves singing in very complicated positions, doing back-crawling or mimicking cunnilingus; acrobatic positions that technically modify your song [the way you sing].”
Simon Helberg became a French citizen to get the role.
Simon Helberg was so eager to get the part that he became a French citizen and learned French, as the production needed more EU citizens in the cast to get EU funding. It turned out to be unnecessary as Marion Cotillard was cast in the role previously given to Rooney Mara and Michelle Williams.
‘Annette’ is now playing in select theaters and available to stream on Amazon Prime this Friday.
