the secret history of the dalai lama

« THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE DALAI LAMA »
Press introduction
http://www.sindhtoday.net/entertainment/97513.htm
Cannes, May 18 (IANS) French director Jan Kounen, whose latest
film will be screened on the closing night of the 62nd Cannes
Film Festival, is headed to India for his next project that may star
Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan in the main leads.
Paris-based Manuel de la Roche, the producer of the proposed
film, “The Secret History of the Dalai Lamas”, has Amitabh and
Abhishek on his wish list and hopes to pull off a casting coup.
The father-son duo were earlier seen together in the Bollywood movies “Kabhi Alvida Naa
Kehna” and the “Sarkar” series. Their next is R. Balakrishnan’s “Pa”.
“The film will trace the history of the Dalai Lamas all the way from the 14th century. It will
blend dramatised re-enactments involving the earlier incarnations with excerpts from an
interview with the current Dalai Lama,” de la Roche told IANS.
He also indicated that the producers would soon be approaching both Amitabh and Abhishek
with acting offers for the upcoming production.
“We are very keen to cast the father and son duo in key roles in the film. Sharon Stone (who is
a practising Tibetan Buddhist) will step in as the narrator, while Hollywood star Richard
Gere will also be involved with the project,” added Roche.
Manuel de la Roche had also produced Kounen’s film on the life and work of Mata
Amritanandamayi, “Darshan - L’Entreinte” (”Darshan - The Embrace”). It was screened
Out of Competition in Cannes in 2005.
De la Roche’s company Movie Sphere has joined hands with Berlin-based Integral Films for
“The Secret History of the Dalai Lamas”.
Both the Dalai Lama film and the feature-length documentary on Mata Amritanandamayi,
who is popularly known simply as Amma, are offshoots of “Another Reality” - the television
series on the diversity of world culture that Kounen and de la Roche had earlier collaborated
on.
According to de la Roche, “The Secret History of the Dalai Lamas” will be shot later this
year in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the Indian subcontinent.
It will be ready for release in the second half of 2010.
Dutch-born Kounen’s “Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky” is being screened as the closing
night film at the Cannes.
Saibal Chatterjee.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/3595/french-producer-wants-bachchans-lamas.html
French producer wants Bachchans as Lamas
Cannes, DHNS:
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 12:00 [IST]
If a French producer’s wishlist becomes true, you might soon see superstar Amitabh
Bachchan and his actor-son Abhishek Bachchan play two Dalai Lamas in a fictional
account on the Dalai Lama lineage
The current Dalai Lama will also make an appearance in the film, producer Manuel Collas de La
Roche told Deccan Herald.
The film will be directed by Belgium-born French director Jan Kounen, whose latest film Coco Chanel
& Igor Stravinsky, focusing on the intense love affair between the fashion diva and the maverick
theatre genius, is the closing film of the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.
“I am looking at both Bachchans playing two Dalai Lamas. And I am soon going to talk to them
regarding this,” says Roche.
Incidentally, Roche is the man behind the human rights film festival Cinema Verite to be held in
Geneva and Paris later this year, where Abhishek-Aishwarya Rai-starrer Sarkar Raj will be screened.
“The Dalai Lama film will look at the lives of all the Dalai Lamas, and the philosophy espoused by
them. Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan’s presence will make the film exciting,” says Roche.
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/french-director-wants-amitabh-abhishek-forsecret-history-of-the-dalai-lamas/
French director wants Amitabh-Abhishek for ‘Secret History of the
Dalai Lamas’
French director Jan Kounen, whose latest film will be screened on the closing night of the
62nd Cannes Film Festival, is headed to India for his next project that may star Amitabh and
Abhishek Bachchan in the main leads.
Paris-based Manuel de la Roche, the producer of the proposed film, “The Secret History of
the Dalai Lamas”, has Amitabh and Abhishek on his wish list and hopes to pull off a casting
coup.
The father-son duo were earlier seen together in
the Bollywood movies ” Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna “,
“Bunty Aur Babli” and the ” Sarkar ” series.
Their next is R. Balakrishnan’s ” Pa “.
“The film will trace the history of the Dalai Lamas
all the way from the 14th century. It will blend
dramatized re-enactments involving the earlier
incarnations with excerpts from an interview with
the current Dalai Lama,” said de la Roche.
He also indicated that the producers would soon be
approaching both Amitabh and Abhishek with
acting offers for the upcoming production.
“We are very keen to cast the father and son duo in key roles in the film. Sharon Stone (who
is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist) will step in as the narrator, while Hollywood star Richard
Gere will also be involved with the project,” added Roche.
Manuel de la Roche had also produced Kounen’s film on the life and work of Mata
Amritanandamayi, “Darshan – L’Entreinte” (”Darshan – The Embrace”). It was screened Out
of Competition in Cannes in 2005.
De la Roche’s company Movie Sphere has joined hands with Berlin-based Integral Films for
” The Secret History of the Dalai Lamas “.
Both the Dalai Lama film and the feature-length documentary on Mata Amritanandamayi,
who is popularly known simply as Amma, are offshoots of “Another Reality” – the television
series on the diversity of world culture that Kounen and de la Roche had earlier collaborated
on.
According to de la Roche, ” The Secret History of the Dalai Lamas ” will be shot later this
year in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the Indian subcontinent.
It will be ready for release in the second half of 2010.
Dutch-born Kounen’s ” Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky ” is being screened as the closing
night film at the Cannes.
http://www.toutlecine.com/cinema/l-actu-cinema/0000/tournages-00008538-jan-kounen-et-lelama.html
Jan Kounen et le Lama
Jan Kounen, qui présentera son film Coco Chanel et Igor Stravinsky
pour la clôture du Festival de Cannes, a déjà un autre projet en route.
Après son documentaire Darshan, l'étreinte, sur la chef spirituelle hindou Mata
Amritanandamayi, c'est au tour du Dalaï-lama d'apparaître dans son nouveau film.
L'Histoire secrète des dalaï-lamas est un documentaire qui s'intéressera à la culture tibétaine
ainsi qu'à l'histoire et à la tradition des dalaï-lamas depuis le 14ème siècle à aujourd'hui. Le
réalisateur, qui aura l'occasion d'interviewer le chef spirituel actuel, veut que son film soit
« une expérience sensorielle pour les spectateurs ».
Jan Kounen retrouvera Anne Paris, la coscénariste de Capitaine X, ainsi que Manuel de la
Roche, ancien moine tibétain qui avait déjà travaillé à l'écriture et produit Darshan,
l'étreinte, et qui sera à nouveau son producteur pour ce film mais surtout son partenaire.
C'est d'ailleurs à partir de « Une autre réalité », le projet de série documentaire qu'il a pour la
télévision sur les différentes cultures à travers le monde, que Kounen a eu l'idée de ce
documentaire, comme pour Darshan.
Une autre adepte du bouddhisme tibétain fera partie de l'aventure, à savoir Sharon Stone, qui
y participera en tant que narratrice.
Le film, écrit par Jean-Claude Carrière, est une coproduction franco-allemande d'un budget de
3 millions d'euros, qui sera tourné de septembre à octobre pour une sortie prévue au printemps
2010.
Par Aurélie Buchard (15/05/2009 à 11h24)