Thank you so much to Mia of Magnifique Marion Cotillard for the heads up about this! Mélanie has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Inglourious Basterds” by the Detroit Film Critics Society, alongside good friend Marion for “Nine.” The winners will be announced on December 18. “Inglourious Basterds” is also nominated for Best Film and Best Ensemble, Tarantino for Best Director, and Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting Actor and Best Breakthrough Performance. Read more here.

While Mélanie’s full-length studio album that she recorded with AaRON and Damien Rice isn’t due out until summer 2010, we’ll get another chance to hear her sing sooner! She has been brought on board to record a song for the soundtrack of the upcoming film “Thelma, Louise, et Chantal,” where she will be joining the soundtrack’s composer Keren Ann as well as Vanessa Paradis. Mélanie’s track is a cover of Marie Laforêt’s “Ivan, Boris, et moi.” The film isn’t due out until March 2010, but the soundtrack is being released in January! Click the photo above to see a couple pictures of Mélanie in the studio recording her song.

Now for some of that exciting news! While Mélanie had no plans of intentionally pursuing Hollywood after “Inglourious Basterds,”opportunity struck fast and she has been cast in her second American production — this time fully English-language. The film is “Beginners” by director Mike Mills and has a mid-November to mid-December shooting schedule. No word on Mélanie’s part yet, or even a full synopsis, and unfortunately we’re going to have to wait until 2011 to see it on the big screen. Her co-stars in the production include none other than Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor!

Mike Mills’ previous work includes his debut feature “Thumbsucker” (Lou Taylor Pucci, Kelli Garner) and music videos for acts such as Air.

Think of her as this year’s Marion Cotillard. Showcased in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, French thesp Melanie Laurent might have made further strides in the English language film sector – landing a part in Mike Mills’ Beginners (currently shooting in Los Angeles).

… Read more

The week of October 24th, Mélanie was not in France, nor America: she joined Greenpeace for an Indonesian rainforest tour to witness first-hand the destruction. Much like her participation in “Beds Are Burning”, her tour was meant to bring public attention to the critical issues of climate change and deforestation that will be addressed at the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen later this month. I’ve added pictures of the tour to the gallery — the ones with the orangutan are not to be missed!

Gallery Links:
Miscellaneous > Indonesian Rainforest Tour with Greenpeace

Thanks a lot to Magnifique Marion Cotillard for the heads up. Apparently, Melanie among others are recording a new version of the song “Beds are Burning” during the Cannes Film Festival to support the “Global Humanitarian Forum”.

Marion Cotillard, Guillaume Canet, Mélanie Laurent et Vincent Pérez among other stars will be recording a song during the Cannes Film Festival for the “Global Humanitarian Forum” – a foundation presided over by Kofi Annan. The song should help sensitize the public as well as politicians for the protection of our planet. Other celebrities who’ll be lending their voice to the song include Bill Clinton, Clint Eastwood and tennis champion Yannick Noah.

The song will be available as of June 25th to download for free. A representative of the band’s music label “The Hours”, Alexandre Sap, want this to become the most downloaded song in the world.

Also, here is an new Inglorious Basterds film still. Enjoy!

Gallery Links:
Film Productions > Inglourious Basterds (2009) > Production Stills

Well, though no official word has been released from Mélanie’s agent, but in light of recent news and pictures, we can officially call this rumors – official! Mélanie, along with co-stars Brad Pitt and Diange Krueger, and director Quentin Tarantino arrived in Berlin just a few days ago, where filming will begin quite shortly. Quentin and cast dined at Vino e Cucina, and fortunately, we have a few candids from that event. Though I don’t really condone candids, I really wanted to put these up because it’s really exciting to see Mélanie alongside such big names! Purepeople.com also confirmed fellow French actress, Isabelle Huppert, has joined the already amazing cast list. Filming will begin October 9th, and later move to France in January of 2009. Inglorious Bastards should make it’s premiere at the next Cannes Festival In May 2009.

I’m sure I’m not the only one to just squee with glee over this news. Mélanie is definitely making her break into American cinema, and hopefully, she can receive as much praise and positive reviews as fellow, and past co-star, Marion Cotillard did with her outstanding performance in La Vie en Rose. Until I can update with more news, enjoy the two pictures of Mélanie dining at Vino e Cucina, as well as a new and updated photoshoot!

Gallery Links:
• Candids > 2008 > Dinning with “Inglorious Bastards” co-stars at Vino e Cucina
• Studio Photoshoots > Session 42
• Studio Photoshoots > Session 43

Upon searching today, I found a bit more information on Mélanie’s possible “Inglorious Bastards” role. According to a Quentin Tarantino blog, Mélanie’s character name is Shosanna, the female lead of the upcoming film. As the news spreads, I’m still keeping myself a bit reluctant. No definite release has been made, or update on any of Mélanie’s online resumés. Tarantino.info has this to say of the possible role.

Word around the campfire for some time has been that Quentin Tarantino wanted somebody less famous and “fresh” for the role of Shosanna, the female lead in Inglorious Bastards. The character description calls for a French girl approximately 20 years old or even younger, feisty enough to talk face to face with Nazi head honchos and smart enough to royally outsmart them. Is French actress and Cesar Award winner Melanie Laurent the one? According to Yahoo France, she is. While the article does not explicitly mention Shosanna, it does say the main lead part. The 25 year old actress – one of her recent credits includes Days of Glory, a french film about WW2 – would be joining a multi-facetted cast ranging from Brad Pitt to Paul Rust, so far. What many don’t know is that the french press is abuzz recently over who would end up being Quentin’s mademoiselle, the article sais one Louise Bourgeoin, will not. We will keep you posted.

We’re back, everyone! I’ve really been missing updating this site, but fortunately, updates from here on out are officially resumed. I still have a few things to fix up here and there, but I figured the site no longer needs to be closed off to the public. I really hope everyone enjoys the new look as much as I do! Thank the wonderful Angelic for this lovely design.

Also, whilst away, an exciting rumors surfaced about a possible new role for Mélanie. It’s not just any role, but one that could really allow Mélanie to break out internationally, like she deserves. Mélanie is rumor to have been cast in Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglorious Bastards, along with Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger. Filming is said to begin quite soon. Purepeople.com posted this French article about the rumor. If you’re able to translate this article for us, it would be much appreciated!

La comédienne Mélanie Laurent, 25 ans, vient d’être choisie par le réalisateur américain Quentin Tarantino, pour interpréter le rôle principal féminin de son film Inglorious Bastards, aux côtés de Brad Pitt et Diane Kruger !

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