Peter Bogdanovich

Friday, JULY 26, 2018

Lumière 2018 heralds the great return of Peter Bogdanovich: a book publication and the re-release of Saint Jack by Carlotta in October, a presentation of The Great Buster, a remarkable documentary on Buster Keaton produced by Charles Cohen, and the resurrection of Orson Welles’ lost film, The Other Side of the Wind, starring Bogdanovich himself in a command performance.

For all these reasons and others we detail below, and because his love for the cinema is extraordinary, Peter Bogdanovich will be a guest of honor at the 2018 Lumière festival.

Born in New York in 1939, Peter Bogdanovich starts out as a programmer and critic. Inspired by the momentum of the sixties in France and elsewhere, he soon embarks on a film career. Meeting Roger Corman proves decisive: "I went from the guy who hauls his laundry to the laundromat to someone who directs a film in the space of three weeks,” he declared after making Targets in 1968.

A brief return to journalism gives him the opportunity to interview Orson Welles, who becomes a friend and for whom he writes This is Orson Welles, earning him international renown. In 1971, his feature film The Last Picture Show is a monumental success, garnering 8 Oscar nominations and enthusiastic reviews.

Cybill Shephred in The Last Picture Show (1971)

With Orson Welles, on the set of The Other Side of The Wind

After filming Directed by John Ford, another one of his heroes, he creates The Directors Company with Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin and directs Paper Moon in 1973, for which Tatum O'Neal wins an Oscar. After one of his usual eclipses, Bogdanovich again gains critical acclaim with Saint Jack in 1979 and continues to produce several remarkable films and books until 2014, when She’s Funny That Way signals his big comeback behind the camera.

Saint Jack (1979) - Original Poster

A major figure of New Hollywood, Peter Bogdanovich is also an inexhaustible film buff, an ideal guest for the Lumière festival on its 10th edition.

And what a tribute it will be!

• French theatrical release of one of his greatest masterpieces on October 17th: Saint Jack (1979) with Ben Gazzara, re-released by Carlotta in a restored version, to premiere at the Lumière festival.

• Presentation of the highly anticipated The Great Buster, Peter Bogdanovich's new documentary on Buster Keaton produced by Charles S. Cohen, selected at Venice Classics.

• Publication of a book of conversations between Peter Bogdanovich and Jean-Baptiste Thoret, featuring many previously unpublished archives.

• Release of his fascinating novel, The Killing of the Unicorn, never published in France, a focus on the Hollywood of the 1970s and 1980s, where Peter Bogdanovich re-examines the tragic story of Dorothy Stratten.

• Release by Carlotta of a special limited edition DVD and blu-ray of Saint Jack and The Last Picture Show.

• Release of a documentary by Bill Teck screened in France for the first time: One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & the Lost American Film (2014).

• A masterclass at the Comédie Odéon.

• The homage will be crowned with the screening of several of Peter Bogdanovich’s films, including The Last Picture Show (1971), Directed by John Ford (1971-2006), What’s Up, Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973).

Finally, we remind you that Capprici published two volumes of Maîtres d’Hollywood at the beginning of the year, a collection of Bogdanovich's major interviews with the great filmmakers of Hollywood, which will be available at the Lumière festival village bookstore, located on Rue du Premier-Film.

Tribute prepared in collaboration with Carlotta  

With Barbra Streisand on the set of What’s Up, Doc (1972)

Meet Peter Bogdanovich on Wednesday, October 17 at the Comédie Odéon at 3:30pm

Peter Bogdanovich will also introduce
The Other Side of the Wind  on Wednesday, October 17 at the Institut Lumière at 11:15am
The Great Buster: A Celebration on Wednesday, October 17 at the Institut Lumière at 2:30pm
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead on Thursday, October 18 at the Pathé Bellecour at 5pm
The Last Picture Show on Thursday, October 18 at the UGC Ciné Cité Confluence at 8:30pm
One Day Since Yesterday (Peter Bogdanovich et le film perdu) on Friday, October 19 at the Institut Lumière at 2:45pm
Saint Jack on Friday, October 19 at the Cinéma Comœdia at 4:30pm