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December 8, 2007
A propos de Beck et "Alice Underground" / About Beck and "Alice Underground"

beck crossbeat1-june99 - Photo Hosted at Buzznet

Kate à Fishbowl L.A. rebondit aujourd'hui sur la "controverse" autour du chanteur (formidable) Beck et du double suicide de la belle noiseuse/blogueuse Theresa Duncan et de son compagnon, l'artiste Jeremy Blake.

Avant leur fin tragique, le couple avait accusé Beck d'avoir fait dérailler leur projet de film, "Alice Underground", dans lequel le chanteur devait faire ses débuts au cinéma en 2003 ou 2004. Le film ne s'est jamais fait, et Theresa Duncan était persuadée que la Scientologie avait intimidé Beck (un adepte de la secte) pour lui faire renoncer au film. A noter que vers la fin de leur vie, selon de nombreux amis cités dans les médias, Theresa Duncan et Jeremy Blake montraient des signes de paranoia accrue. Un article dans le Vanity Fair de janvier, cité dans le New York Post d'hier, donne la parole à Beck: il affirme qu'il n'avait jamais été question pour lui de jouer dans ce film et qualifie la version des événements du couple de "totalement fausse."

Before their tragic end, the couple had accused Beck of derailing their film in project "Alice Underground," in which the singer was supposed to make his movie debut in 2003 or 2004. The film was never made and Theresa Duncan was convinced that Scientology had intimidated Beck (an adept of the sect) to renounce participating in the movie. Note that at the end of their lives, Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake were showing acute signs of paranoia, according to many of their friends quoted in the media. A January Vanity Fair article quoted in yesterday's New York Post, asks Beck for reaction: he says that he was never supposed to play in the film and says that the couple's version of the events is "totally false."

Or Kate, a retrouvé trace dans.... les archives de mon blog en 2003 la mention d'une interview de Beck dans le quotidien italien Corriere Della Sera dans lequel il signale son tournage imminent d'un film inspiré par Alice aux Pays des Merveilles. Un long-métrage qui ressemble fort à celui qu'il dit aujourd'hui n'avoir jamais envisagé de tourner. Beck aurait-il la mémoire brouillée? Grâce à la fan de Beck qui m'avait signalé l'article à l'époque, j'ai retrouvé l'article original dans les archives du CdS. Voici l'extrait qui peut intéresser les experts en "Beckology"et "Duncanology" et ma traduction (3 ans d'italien au lycée à mon compte seulement... Toute correction est la bienvenue.)

But Kate dug up ... my 2003 blog archive, which has a mention of a Beck interview for the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, in which he says that he's about to shoot a movie inspired by Alice in Wonderland. It sounds a lot like the Theresa Duncan movie that he doesn't remember today as an advanced project. Is Beck's memory a tad scrambled? Thanks to the very same Beck fan who had mentioned the article to me back then, I just recovered the original piece in the CdS archive. Here is the excerpt about the movie, which may interest experts in "Beckology" and "Duncanology," followed by my rough translation (I only took 3 years of Italian in high school, so any correction is very welcome).

Beck: «Canzoni per Wenders E ora divento un vero attore»)
August 5, 2003 interview with Sandra Cesarale in Corriere della Sera

Adesso il 33enne cantante e compositore californiano si prepara al debutto nel cinema. Ma non prima di terminare il suo tour europeo che partirà da Urbino dopodomani (unica data italiana) ospite di punta del Festival «Frequenze Disturbate», una due giorni dedicata al rock indipendente che vedrà anche, tra gli altri, I Am Kloot, Giardini di Mirò e Notwist.
The 33 year-old Californian singer-songwriter is preparing his debut in cinema – but not until he's wrapped up his European tour [...]

Perché si è messo a recitare?

«Sono sempre stato tentato dal cinema. C' era un periodo, sette anni fa, in cui ho provato a fare qualcosa per il grande schermo. Una volta mi ha cercato perfino John Waters».

Why are you going to act?

“I’ve always been tempted by cinema. There was a time, 7 years ago, when I tried to do something for the big screen. John Waters even tried to cast me once."

Com' è andata?

«Mi sarebbe piaciuto accettare, Waters fa il genere di film che amo: liberi, intelligenti, surreali. Ma avevo un tour in ballo, ho dovuto rinunciare. Gli altri progetti, invece, finivano per diventare troppo hollywoodiani».

How did it go?

"I would have loved to accept, since Waters makes the kind of movies I love: they're free, intelligent, surreal. But I had to decline because of touring. Other offers turned out to be too Hollywoodian."



E Wim Wenders?


«Lo adoro, non so nemmeno quante volte ho rivisto Il cielo sopra Berlino».

And Wim Wenders?

"I adore him. I don't know how many times I've watched Wings of Desire."

Questo film come sarà?

«Energico e pieno di personaggi: una specie di "Alice nel paese delle meraviglie" catapultato negli anni Settanta. Ancora non ha un titolo, lo dirigerà una mia amica che debutta dietro la macchina da presa. Ma io mi fido di lei. Inizieremo le riprese in autunno».

What about [your debut] movie?

“It will be full of energy and full of characters: some kind of Alice in Wonderland set in the 70s. It still doesn’t have a title. The director is a friend of mine and it will be her directorial debut. But I trust her. We will begin shooting in the Fall.”


Sans rentrer dans le débat sur l'influence de Beck ou le rôle de la sciento dans la détérioration mentale du couple (car franchement, je n'en sais rien) l'article de Vanity Fair provoque déjà une polémique en soit. Des oeuvres de Jeremy Blake sont actuellement exposées à Washington et plusieurs de ses créations vidéo (très envoutantes) sont au musée d'art de San Diego jusqu'au 13 janvier.

Without entering the debate on Beck's influence or the role of Scientology in the mental deterioration of the couple (frankly, I have no idea), the Vanity Fair article is already brewing a controversy of its own. Works by Jeremy Blake are currently being shown in Washington, and several of his video creations (beautifully captivating) are showing at the San Diego Museum of Art through January 13.

Posted by Emmanuelle at December 8, 2007 8:12 PM | TrackBack
Comments


Thank you for posting this 2003 information. It sure sounds like Beck was talking about Duncan's movie 'Alice Underground' .

Posted by: Mary McConnell at December 30, 2007 10:38 AM


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