Carole Bouquet (« La Mante »): son histoire d’amour passionnelle avec Gérard Depardieu

Carole Bouquet, qui a prêté ce lundi 4 septembre ses traits à La Mante, thriller en 6 épisodes sur TF1, a partagé sa vie à la fin des années quatre-vingt dix avec Gérard Depardieu. De lui elle a dit un jour : « Le problème avec les ogres, c’est qu’ils finissent un jour par vous dévorer ». Retour sur ces dix ans d’amour.

Carole Bouquet et Gérard Depardieu se rencontrent pour la première fois en 1979, ils tournent ensemble Buffet froid, de Bertrand Blier. Dix ans plus tard, ils se retrouvent sur Trop belle pour toi, de Bertrand Blier, toujours. Mais il faudra encore attendre quelques années, que l’un comme l’autre soit libre de tout amour… La rumeur se répand en mars 1997. Le couple l’officialise peu de temps après. Puis, durant les années qui suivent, ils vont nous habituer à une valse à trois temps.

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Sur le thème « Je t’aime moi non plus » : il s’éparpille, elle fout le camp, il la rattrape… Bref, leur amour, toutes voiles dehors, prend de plein fouet la vie comme elle vient. Il l’aime à l’écran (Un pont entre deux rives, en 1999). Il l’aime en alexandrins (Bérénice, Ruy Blas). Il l’aime en vigneronne (en 2001, ils parrainent ensemble un grand cru de Bordeaux). Quand elle achète son bout de rocaille en Sicile, Pantelleria, pour y faire vivre son propre vin, il est admiratif. « C’est extraordinaire, lance- t-il. C’est un lieu secret avec beaucoup de vent. Pantelleria, en dépit de son austérité, est extrêmement riche. Magnifique. Je me suis vraiment calmé aux côtés de Carole. »

C’est pourtant sur cette terre cramée de soleil que vient la première vraie déchirure. Qu’a fait Gérard pour qu’un beau matin Carole se saccage les cheveux au couteau de cuisine (« C’était ça ou me mutiler les pieds, les mains », nous dira- t-elle) ? Deux mois plus tard, dans les coulisses du Théâtre Dejazet où elle joue Phèdre, il est pourtant là. Amoureux. Et elle se blottit contre ce « Gargantua qui est capable d’embrasser large ». Après ? Après ? Les moments de désaccords vont laisser de plus en plus de traces. Pour se faire pardonner, Gérard fait souvent ce qu’il a toujours fait le mieux, il offre des cadeaux. A la suite d’une grosse fâcherie, on se souvient avoir vu Carole, un gros caillou au doigt. Et notre Gégé, à côté, volubile comme pas deux. Gesticulant fort. Acquiesçant à un projet de série télé, un projet de film, un projet de… Bref, tout heureux d’avoir – semblait-il – réparé. Nous, on se disait qu’après tout, entre une femme si parfaite et un homme trop tout, il ne pouvait en être autrement. : il fallait qu’il y ait des drames, des rires, du monstrueusement vivant, quoi !

« Il adore la Normandie, le brouillard, la pluie. Pour moi, le soleil et la Méditerranée sont une thérapie », lâche un jour l’actrice aux journalistes, alors que leur rupture est officielle. Ajoutant qu’ils se sont séparés aussi pour ça, « parce qu’il n’aimait pas assez l’Italie »… Ou parce qu’il n’aimait pas seulement l’Italie. Car si les femmes demandent souvent l’exclusivité, Gérard a bien du mal avec ce mot. Lui, comme elle l’avait dit, il embrasse toujours large. Avec cette capacité d’être disponible pour tout. « J’ai cette faculté d’aimer la vie à l’excès, c’est vrai, Tout m’intéresse. J’ai des yeux d’enfant dans un corps d’adulte. »

Dans un autre film de Bertrand Blier (encore), Gérard Depardieu glissait à l’oreille de Monica Bellucci : « Je t’aime au point de te laisser partir… Tu te rends compte de l’amour que ça représente ? ». Une véritable preuve, en effet. Surtout pour quelqu’un comme lui qui semble avoir tant de mal à désaimer les femmes qui ont partagé sa vie. Mais cesse- t-il seulement un jour de les aimer ?

Crédit photos : Abaca

Candidates announced for China’s top archaeological discoveries in 2019

China made public 36 candidates for the annual selection of top ten archaeological discoveries and launched the first round of voting on Friday.

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The candidates were proposed by units that are qualified for archaeological excavation and a total of 20 nominated candidates will enter the final selection, according to the official website of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

The candidate list, covering a wide range of historical remains scattered across the country, includes a sunken ship of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) discovered in the sea area off the coast of Yangjiang city in South China’s Guangdong province, subordinate tombs of the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) and historic remains from the Neolithic Age in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

The shipwreck from the Song Dynasty, called Nanhai (South China Sea) No. 1, was salvaged in the South China Sea in 2007, and 143,000 relics from the sunken cargo ship were excavated by archaeologists in March 2019. Some of the diverse treasures found within the vessel include porcelain products, gold, silver, copper and iron relics and copper coins.

The subordinate tombs in Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, found by archaeologists of Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, are located to the west of the imperial mausoleum of Qinshihuang. A number of pottery, copper and iron wares and jade objects have been excavated from the tombs. Experts said the discovery of these graves would help fuel research on the planning and systems of mausoleums in ancient China.

Eighty-seven qualified archaeological excavation units and 137 council members of the Society for Chinese Archaeology (SCA) were required to send their ballots, each with no more than 20 selections, before Jan 20.

The selection, which started in 1990, is organized by a professional archaeological newspaper and the SCA, to choose top discoveries that “are of historic, artistic and scientific significance while providing fresh knowledge and understanding” to archaeological studies.

AI drama thinks inside the box

A new multimedia play explores our reliance on artificial intelligence, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

At the 2017 Beijing Fringe Festival, young director Chen Ran entered a theater competition where she was asked to plan a short play within the space of 48 hours.

She had just gone through a phase of sleeping at friends’ places as her own flat was unliveable due to construction work. For a week, she slept on a “really comfortable” sofa at a friend’s studio.

“That week, I barely even left the sofa apart from going to the bathroom. I sat there watching TV and working on my laptop,” Chen says.

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“Then I found that at 3 o’clock every afternoon, a robot vacuum would turn up and clean the floor. So it presented an interesting scene, with a motionless human and a hardworking robot. The scenario is unforgettable.”

When the competition presented her with an image of a girl embracing her own reflection in the mirror, she thought of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, which inspired her to write Dee& D-1, a 25-minute monodrama.

In the 2019 edition of the festival, joined by several theater practitioners, including writer Zhang Hang, actor Ma Zhuojun and scenographer Wang Di, she extended the short play into a full-length theater production, Approximation: Dee & D-1, which premiered at the National Theater of China on Nov 15.

Within the confined living space, the play charts the relationship between the protagonist Dee and her home AI hub, D-1. As the story unfolds, the two seem to almost redefine each other-Dee customizes D-1 to become more domesticated and help her in almost every aspect of her life.

The stage is designed as a simple room with a sloping floor, where the protagonist is depicted writhing on the floor in ennui and unease.

Although the AI hub is intangible, the role of D-1 is ubiquitously present throughout the play, and its lines are continually projected onto the walls behind Dee.

“I knew that when the dialogue spoken by the AI unit was presented as subtitles, the audience wouldn’t be able to absorb all the lines at once. But I really wanted to create the feeling that the two characters were in different dimensions,” Chen says.

The tilted angle of the stage was designed in a way to create an optical illusion, or at least offer a sense of illusion, according to Wang, the set designer.

3 killed in Kenya’s Manda Bay Airfield attack by al-Shabab: AFRICOM

NAIROBI — A US service member and two Department of Defense contractors were killed, following an attack by al-Shabab on Sunday at the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya, according to the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Additionally, two Department of Defense members were injured, who are now in stable condition and being evacuated, the AFRICOM said in a statement.

“As we honor their sacrifice, let’s also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-Shabab who seeks to harm Americans and US interests. We remain committed to preventing al-Shabab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the US homeland, East African, and international partners,” US Army General Stephen Townsend, commander of the AFRICOM, said.

According to the statement, the attack on the compound involved indirect and small arms fire. After an initial penetration of the perimeter, the Kenya Defense Forces and the AFRICOM repelled the al-Shabab attack. Six contractor-operated civilian aircraft were reportedly damaged to some degree.

The Manda Bay Airfield is utilized by US forces, whose missions include providing training to African partners, responding to crises and protecting US interests in the area, according to the statement.

Paul Njuguna, spokesman of the Kenya Defense Forces, confirmed that five al-Shabab terrorists were killed in the attack in which the extremist group claimed responsibility.

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Traditional studios take top film honors at Golden Globe awards

BEVERLY HILLS – Movie studios owned by Comcast Corp and Sony Corp won the top film honors at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday, overshadowing a number of nominees from streaming service Netflix Inc.

World War One epic 1917, released by Comcast’s Universal Pictures, was the surprise winner of best motion picture drama at the star-studded ceremony, which kicked off Hollywood’s competitive awards season.

Sunday’s other top movie award – best musical or comedy film – went to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from Sony Pictures. The Quentin Tarantino 1960s drama led the movie field with three awards in total.

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Awards experts say both are likely to be in the running for the movie industry’s most-coveted prize, the best picture trophy that will be given out at the Feb 9 Oscars ceremony. Movie studios use the awards in marketing to try to attract new audiences.

Netflix, which began releasing original movies in 2015, has been courting awards voters and also is expected to compete for best picture. It had three films in the race for best movie drama at the Globes: The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes.

The streaming service scored one movie award, for Laura Dern as a supporting actress in Marriage Story.

At the start of the Globes ceremony, host Ricky Gervais predicted a big night for Netflix.

“Everyone’s watching Netflix,” Gervais said. “This show should just be me coming out going ‘Well done, Netflix. You win.’ But no, we have to go on for three hours.”

But in addition to the film honor, Netflix landed only one other trophy. Olivia Colman was named best actress in a TV drama for playing Queen Elizabeth on Netflix series The Crown.

Premium network HBO, owned by AT&T Inc, led the TV awards with four, including best TV drama for media dynasty saga Succession.

Apple Inc, which was vying for its first major Hollywood awards since launching its Apple TV+ streaming TV service in November, ended the night without a win.

‘Adoring’ still tops Chinese mainland box office

Chinese comedy film Adoring topped the Chinese mainland box office Sunday, the China Movie Data Information Network said Monday.

The film raked in about 36.5 million yuan (about $5.24 million) on its sixth day of screening, accounting for about 30 percent of the daily total. Box office of the first six days totalled 437 million yuan.

The storyline of the film Adoring revolves around six warm stories about pets and their owners during different ages, with their journeys to find and appreciate love.

It was followed by Ip Man 4, the latest installment in the Chinese martial arts film franchise Ip Man based on the life of a legendary Wing Chun master.

The film grossed nearly 24 million yuan on its 17th day of screening, with its total box office reaching 919 million yuan.

Sheep Without a Shepherd ranked third with ticket sales of more than 20 million yuan. The film grossed 945 million yuan after its release.

'Arsenal are not so special' – Leeds star Alioski bullish ahead of FA Cup tie

The Macedonian winger insists that the Whites need to be fearless when they come up against the Gunners at Emirates Stadium

Leeds winger Ezgjan Alioski has expressed his belief that “Arsenal are not so special” ahead of an FA Cup third-round tie in north London.

The Championship leaders are due to arrive at Emirates Stadium on Monday night, with a spot in the fourth round of the competition up for grabs.

Leeds have only been beaten once in their last 15 matches, with a 1-1 draw against West Brom at The Hawthorns last Wednesday marking their latest step towards promotion.

Arsenal, meanwhile, picked up their first three points under Mikel Arteta with a 2-0 victory at home to Manchester United on New Year’s Day, to put themselves back in the race for a top-four Premier League finish.

Arteta has already lifted the mood of gloom surrounding the club, and the Gunners are starting to look like a formidable outfit capable of mixing it with the elite once again.

Alioski isn’t “scared” of a rejuvenated Arsenal side, though, and hopes Leeds can show off their own quality to pull off an upset at the Emirates.

“It’s a nice stadium, it’s a big club, but it’s not so special to go there because it’s Arsenal,” the Macedonia international told a press conference.

“You have some players who think like this, but it’s not enough to think ‘Wow, it’s Arsenal’, because we are also a good team and we want to show it.

“We need to go there with a lot of confidence like we always do and to play like we always do. Not to be scared to go there.

“I see the result versus Manchester United, but this United, even we can beat them. This is a cup, it’s different. The difference is that they’re [Arsenal] in the Premier League, we are in the Championship, and it’s nice to go there and show them who is Leeds.”

Leeds have put the heartbreak of last season’s failed promotion bid behind them to move nine points clear of third-placed Brentford in the Championship after 26 fixtures.

Alioski added on Leeds’ latest attempt to return to the top flight: “If we are in the Premier League, Leeds are going to be one of the biggest clubs, like I know they were before.”

Marcelo Bielsa’s side will turn their attention back to their English football’s second-tier competition after their trip to Arsenal, with Sheffield Wednesday set to arrive at Elland Road on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are due to travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on the same day, where nothing less than a win will do as they continue to chase down Chelsea in the final Champions League spot.

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Solskjaer wants Lingard 'back scoring and making assists' for Man Utd after easing off on social media

The Red Devils boss is eager for the out-of-form England international to build on a couple of encouraging displays in December

Jesse Lingard is “working hard” to rediscover his best form in a Manchester United shirt, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Questions were asked over Lingard’s contribution to United’s cause in 2019, with the midfielder failing to either score a goal or provide an assist in the Premier League over the past 12 months.

Lingard’s current contract at Old Trafford is due to run out in the summer of 2021, and although United have the option to extend the England international’s stay by an extra year, it has been suggested that he could be sold in the January transfer window.

It has also been reported that the 27-year-old has linked up with Paul Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, which has only served to fuel speculation over his future.

Lingard missed United’s 0-0 draw at Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup through illness, but he is in line to return for a Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City on Tuesday.

One of Lingard’s best performances of the 2019-20 campaign came in a win against City at the Etihad on December 7, three days after another eye-catching display in a home victory over Tottenham.

And Solskjaer is eager for the midfielder to show “how important he can be” once again, pointing to his reduced presence on social media as proof of his commitment to improving his all-round game.

“Jesse has had his ups and downs as I’ve spoken about before, but against City and Tottenham, two examples of how important he can be for us in difficult games. We want him back scoring and making assists,” Solskjaer told a press conference when quizzed on Lingard’s position at the club. 

“There’s no one who runs as much, great trigger in the pressing, lively bubbly character, I don’t think you see as much social media from Jesse as you used to.

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“He’s got his head down and working hard and getting back to the Jesse I knew.”

Since their stunning win over City last month, United have struggled for consistency, and still find themselves five points adrift of a place in the Premier League’s top four.

Solskjaer wants to see the Red Devils reach those high standards on a regular basis, in order to appease supporters growing frustrated with a stop-start campaign.

“We’ve got to aim for performances like that. Two good days against Tottenham and City in a short spell, so we know we can do it physically,” he said.

“But every game lives its own life and when you get highs like that, I’m sure they will look back on it and say, ‘that’s the Man United we want to see’. But we can still improve on that one.”

Meet Boubakary Soumare, the Lille midfielder who could be Man Utd's answer to the Pogba problem

The 20-year-old is attracting attention from all over Europe, with LOSC expected to put a big price tag on a young man they could sell in January

Paris Saint-Germain have made an unhappy habit of squandering the talent that has passed through their youth academy in recent years.

Led by Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman, the Parisians have seen Dan-Axel Zagadou, Moussa Diaby and Moussa Dembele, to name just a few, all leave to achieve significant levels of success elsewhere, yet the loss of midfielder Boubakary Soumare could be the one that hits them hardest.

Currently playing with Lille, the 20-year-old turned down professional terms at Parc des Princes in favour of a move to northern France in the summer of 2017, seduced by the lure of immediate first-team football, and has not looked back since.

“When we saw him at first, we wondered who this player was,” Patrick Collot, a former Lille reserve-team boss, told France Football. “He really exudes calmness and a very high level of technical quality for a midfielder, as well as speed and power. We saw that he was going to reach a high level very quickly.”

And he has, having already accumulated over 60 appearances for last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up, including six this season in the Champions League. Consequently, he has seen his stock rise to such an extent that he is now being monitored by a raft of Europe’s top clubs.

Indeed, of all the young prospects currently plying their trade in France, this dynamic young central player is perhaps the likeliest to depart in January, with local press suggesting that around 20 scouts have been dispatched on a weekly basis simply to follow his progress.

Napoli are one of the sides most interested in his services, which could be attained for an estimated €60 million (£51m/$67m), while Real Madrid and Valencia have also been keeping close tabs on him.

But it is the Premier League that holds the greatest appeal to the great hope. Wolves tried and failed to sign him in the summer but could move once again, while Manchester United and Tottenham are also credited with an interest in the player, who has two-and-a-half years to run on a deal that has already been extended once since his arrival.

Selling Soumare could offer Lille a rapid route to balance their precarious budget, although president Gerard Lopez has made no secret of his belief in the Paris-born player.

“He’s one of the very best at his job,” he told Voix du Nord in October. “He’s technical, with incredible physical power and wins a great deal of possession. He’s a modern No.6 or 8. We’ll see him in the France team very soon.

“He’s a clear vision of where he wants to go and he’s working very hard to get there.”

While this could readily be dismissed as pre-transfer window bluster for a player who has still only made four appearances for the national team at Under-21 level, those who have witnessed his performances at close quarters would attest to his qualities.

“I’ve been with him for two years and he’s already a very complete player,” U21 boss Sylvain Ripoll explained. “He’s also got this capacity to adapt because ‘Bouba’ can play in a two or three-man midfield. And he’s increasing in confidence and maturity all the time.”

And, with compatriots Paul Pogba and Tanguy Ndombele’s futures uncertain at Old Trafford and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium respectively, it is easy to see Soumare, a player of a similar type, stepping into a void should one develop.

“He dominated Ndombele last season,” Lopez pointed out, remembering a 2-2 draw in which he excelled, scoring his first – and so far only – professional goal. “And Ndombele is not just anyone, since he signed for Spurs. Bouba will also go to a big club.”

While his performances have earned him comparisons to Pogba, something he no doubt enjoys after watching videos of the World Cup winner for inspiration, his lifestyle is more reminiscent of the famously reserved Chelsea star N’Golo Kante.

“He comes from a family in his image, you respect everyone and you don’t get noticed,” Luca Spurio, a former team-mate from his youth days at Paris FC, where he played for five years before moving to PSG in 2011, told France Football. “He’s very family orientated and is still very attached to his neighbourhood. It was and still is his little cocoon. As soon as he has time, he comes back.

“Bouba is simple: it’s either family, friends or football.”

So, if there are no questions over his technique, industry or mentality, where can Soumare improve?

“He’s expressing only 40% of his potential,” head coach Christophe Galtier believes. “He still needs to improve his defensive reading, particularly about what’s going on behind him. But that will come with matches.”

If this really is Soumare at less than half capacity, he will be a worthy addition to any club and a household name before the year is out.

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Arteta wants Arsenal to become winning ‘addicts’ ahead of FA Cup clash with Leeds

The former Gunner won the competition twice as a player and wants to bring silverware back to the Emirates this year

Mikel Arteta says he believes Arsenal winning the FA Cup this season could kickstart a winning mentality again at the club, saying he wants his players to become winning “addicts.”

The Spaniard won the competition in 2014 with the Gunners as a player, ending the club’s nine-year spell without silverware.

That success was followed by the Gunners winning the cup again the following year and then again in 2017, while the club also ended the 2015-16 season in second – their highest Premier League finish in the past 14 years.

With the situation at the Emirates once again looking bleak, Arteta is hoping an FA Cup triumph this season could usher in a new period of success for Arsenal.

“When I arrived here, obviously we were trying to fight for the Premier League but we did not really have the level of compete and sustain it every year,” he said.

“So the cups become very important and obviously this club has a massive history. But we’d had [nine] years without winning absolutely anything.

“For us, to lift that first FA Cup for this football club was like a massive relief that they tried to get this club again fighting to win some trophies and be there for everybody to see.

“It generated a really good belief and unity around our team and that helped that group of players to achieve what they achieved later when they won other cups.

“I think winning brings togetherness and, when you have beautiful experiences together and you win trophies, then those experiences stay within that group.

“You like more the people that you work with, you believe more in them, you share some fantastic moments and that habit of winning, winning, winning … after you win, you don’t want to stop winning. 

“You become addicts to that and that’s what we have to try to implement at this football club.

Arsenal begin their 2019-20 FA Cup campaign against Leeds United on Monday night when the Championship club travel to the Emirates, before they play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in Premier League action next weekend.

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