‘Final Cut’ Star Berenice Bejo on How She ‘Wore Down’ Partner Michel Hazanavicius for Role in Zombie Romp

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International EditorBérénice Bejo was thrilled to be asked how she came to be involved in Michel Hazanavicius’ “Final Cut.”The French-Argentine actor — who plays a mad make-up artist in the zombie romp that opened Cannes on Tuesday — revealed that it wasn’t easy convincing director Hazanavicius, who is also her husband, to let her have a role.“He said, ‘I’m really sorry but this time I don’t think we’ll be working together.’ He said I was ‘too pretty’ and I said, ‘What is that?’ I got a bit upset,” said Bejo.“Final Cut,” Hazanavicius’ eighth feature, is a remake of Japanese zombie comedy “One Cut of the Dead” (2017), which became a cult sensation.

The film begins as a French zombie comedy, but soon lifts the lid on how the film was made and becomes more a commentary on — in Variety critic Owen Gleiberman’s words — the “creative innocence of terrible filmmaking.” Bejo seemingly took great pleasure in explaining how it was only when Hazanavicius caught COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and she took care of him morning, noon and night that he finally relented.“After a week of agony, he said, ‘Can you please read my screenplay?’ and I said, ‘Well, I’m too busy and I’m not even going to be in the film,'” said Bejo. “But I started to read the screenplay with my son and started laughing.

He said, ‘What’s up?’ and I said it’s a great screenplay with good actors and it’s going to be a wonderful film. [I went to Michael and said], ‘Your film is going to be fantastic,’ and he said [I could be in it if I really wanted a role].

I sort of wore him down.”Hazanavicius came to Cannes with silent film “The Artist” in 2011, setting the movie on a path that would eventually see it win the best picture Oscar.On.