"I loved the glamor side of this Sigourney Weaver"

Sigourney Weaver in the "Ten Percent" series.

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The American star should have illuminated the pink carpet of the Palais des Festivals with her presence, the pandemic decided otherwise… Sigourney Weaver, guest of honor at the Canneseries festival, nevertheless wanted to defend her first appearance in a French series.

She tells

her experience in the fifth episode of the fourth (and ultimate?) Season of 

, a series which will close the festival on Wednesday and which will be broadcast from October 21 on France 2, during a interview via Zoom.

Your French is impeccable in "Ten percent", are we doing the interview in French or in English?

Oh thank you !

I worked with a teacher to make my French suitable.

It's probably safer to do it in English because I'm not sure I understand all of your questions.

Did you know the "Ten Percent" series before receiving the script?

Yes.

A French friend told me about it, maybe around the middle of the second season, so my husband and I watched it with great interest.

It's a wonderful idea to go behind the scenes and tell the stories of these famous movie stars who all knew how to put themselves in their true light, or at least a version that we got to enjoy.

It's a wonderful idea and the cast is sublime.

It seems that you very quickly accepted the proposal ...

Yes and I haven't even read the scenario!

This is the only time I have done it.

I was making a movie with Kevin Kline and I appeared in every scene.

So I didn't have time to sit down to read the French script carefully.

So I just said, "Yes".

And I knew that I will have the opportunity to find out later with Marc Fitoussi [the writer and director of the episode].

And I am very glad I did.

It was a great joy to be invited to join this wonderful ensemble.

How do you prepare to play your own role?

It's a good question !

I found it interesting to see who Sigourney Weaver was in this story.

They portray me as a big, arrogant American star.

And, I would say most actors will tell you that we are very simple working people.

I loved the glamor side of this Sigourney Weaver, who appears at the airport with all of her luggage.

It's kind of a fabulous cliché to laugh at.

I love the way she uses her fame to pressure her agent and then the producer and the director to change the script, so that the story she's about to shoot makes more sense for. she.

What do you share with your fictional double?

I share with her my appreciation of agents.

I liked the fact that my character and those of Camille [Cottin], Fanny [Sidney] and Liliane [Rovère], were all in cahoots to convince the director.

This is my favorite thing and it evolved as we shot.

I wish I could be as glamorous as her, who wears beautiful clothes all the time.

But it's not really my experience as an actress, I hardly ever get the chance to play these very glamorous roles.

So I jumped at the opportunity to play in the very inspired costumes of Catherine Leterrier.

I know her very well, she is a very dear friend.

And we had a lot of fun working together on this project and creating this image of Sigourney Weaver, the star.

This episode talks about the difficulty of aging when you are an actress in the cinema ...

What's great is that the show also shows aging male actors and a lot of fantastic older French actors.

I don't think Hollywood and the studios are still the center of cinema.

This idea of ​​the older male lead and young actress was very common in the past, but those stories are no longer relevant today.

My age has helped me get more interesting roles in recent years.

Interesting stories have people of all ages.

And I have noticed that the characters of older women are often the central characters and no longer caricatures that just come and go.

I say this hoping that there is a consideration of the elderly, their importance and their experience, maybe not in every movie but there are a lot of smart, funny movies that involve characters my age.

I'm thrilled with that because like my character in

, I love filming more than ever.

I am having so much fun.

And I had a magical moment on the

plateau

.

It was one of the best experiences I have ever had and I am very grateful for it.

Jane Fonda in "Grace & Frankie", Holly Hunter in "Succession" or Sharon Stone in "Ratched", don't series leave more room for actresses over 60 than cinema?

It is probably true.

Television gave more space to female roles, and especially female lead roles, and this inspired cinema which understood how much audiences love these stories.

In the old days, Hollywood would tell people that men choose the movie and the script and only want to see men like them.

Today, no one believes it anymore.

Most of the TV shows have really strong female characters and the TV artwork is really strong, current, and very, very interesting.

And I think that inspired cinema to understand how good actresses women are at any age and bring commitment and life to these characters.

From the actress' point of view, do you find that "Ten percent" represents the relationship between an actor and his agent?

The relationship between agents and actors is very different in this story.

Agents drop whatever they do to take care of the actor's needs.

They are very involved.

Guess my agents would do this for me, but I'm in New York, they're in LA.

We have a great relationship but they don't help me find boyfriends.

I would never ask them that.

At the same time, I'm married, maybe that happens (

).

Agents in the United States are very curious to see how involved and passionate French agents are about their clients.

It's a good thing to remind them that it's not just about money and business but a relationship where you help an actor to do his best, to surpass himself, to grow old ... complex things that no American history has yet covered.

You are the guest of honor at the Canneseries festival, do you consider yourself a fan of series?

I am a huge fan of Gale Anne Hurd, who chairs the jury.

She is an incredible producer who has created such interesting stories.

is an incredible series, but too scary for me.

You know, I'm really a coward and I'm scared of zombies.

But, I'm really a big admirer of this kind of storytelling where you get more involved with each episode.

And the actors are so good and the stories are so compelling.

The series have enriched our industry with all these succulent roles for actors of all ages.

And when I watch one, I get really wrapped up.

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"Ten percent": Two episodes of season 4 (the last) will be revealed at the end of the Canneséries festival

• France 2

• Cannes

• Series

• Festival

• Sigourney weaver