“When I first heard about the project, I was very intrigued about it because I didn’t know anything about this historical figure,” shares Oliver Garcia about Joseph Bologne, the Black eighteenth-century composer at the center of the film “Chevalier.” Once the costume designer learned about Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., he felt even more “excitement” about the film because it was “going to become the first time this incredibly inspiring character was going to be on a film.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Garcia has worked on period films as an assistant costume designer on “Anna Karenina,” “The Favourite,” and others. Unlike some of those films that center on either fictional characters or are only loosely based on historical figures, the aim of “Chevalier” was to “do a proper biopic” and “pay homage to the character and to the period that he lived in.
Garcia has worked on period films as an assistant costume designer on “Anna Karenina,” “The Favourite,” and others. Unlike some of those films that center on either fictional characters or are only loosely based on historical figures, the aim of “Chevalier” was to “do a proper biopic” and “pay homage to the character and to the period that he lived in.
- 12/1/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Costume Design Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon, Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, and Benny Safdie as Herb Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley
Weekly Commentary: More to come.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Costume Design Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon, Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, and Benny Safdie as Herb Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley
Weekly Commentary: More to come.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the...
- 11/7/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
If you want to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, it’s best to pick a project for which you can create frilly dresses from a bygone era. Since its introduction at the 1948 Academy Awards, this category has favored period pictures, including the 2021 winner “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Voters love to reward the creative forces behind such films, especially those that are about the aristocracy including recent champs “Marie Antoinette” (2007), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2008), “The Duchess” (2009), “The Young Victoria” (2010), and “Anna Karenina” (2013). (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscars Best Costume Design predictions.)
By the way, none of those films even competed for Best Picture. Indeed, only 20 of the most recent 73 Best Picture champs also won this award. Among these was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004). Fantasy films such as this often boast Oscar-winning costumes, including 2022 champ “Cruella,” 2019 winner “Black Panther” and its...
By the way, none of those films even competed for Best Picture. Indeed, only 20 of the most recent 73 Best Picture champs also won this award. Among these was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004). Fantasy films such as this often boast Oscar-winning costumes, including 2022 champ “Cruella,” 2019 winner “Black Panther” and its...
- 9/14/2023
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Samara Weaving has been a scream queen, an action star, and now, the embodiment of multiple real-life feminist icons.
First up, the “Ready or Not” breakout star portrays French aristocrat Marie-Joséphine de Montalembert in this week’s new release “Chevalier” opposite Kelvin Harrison Jr. After that, Weaving will transform into former Playboy bunny Holly Madison for limited series “Down the Rabbit Hole,” and will then travel back in time once more to play Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte in “Liz.”
“Maybe I’m a masochist. You read a really good script or a really good pitch and you can’t say no to it,” Weaving told IndieWire of her period piece nods to real people. “Elizabeth Bonaparte, I’m a huge fan of [director] Adam Leon’s work. ‘Italian Studies’ is one of my favorite movies, so just working with him is going to be awesome. And Elizabeth Bonaparte is so dope. She’s the first American socialite,...
First up, the “Ready or Not” breakout star portrays French aristocrat Marie-Joséphine de Montalembert in this week’s new release “Chevalier” opposite Kelvin Harrison Jr. After that, Weaving will transform into former Playboy bunny Holly Madison for limited series “Down the Rabbit Hole,” and will then travel back in time once more to play Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte in “Liz.”
“Maybe I’m a masochist. You read a really good script or a really good pitch and you can’t say no to it,” Weaving told IndieWire of her period piece nods to real people. “Elizabeth Bonaparte, I’m a huge fan of [director] Adam Leon’s work. ‘Italian Studies’ is one of my favorite movies, so just working with him is going to be awesome. And Elizabeth Bonaparte is so dope. She’s the first American socialite,...
- 4/19/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The revolution will be played on a violin in “Chevalier,” the upcoming period drama based on the life of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. On Friday, Searchlight Pictures released a new recording of one of Bologne’s compositions, which will be heard in the film when it reaches theaters next month.
The single is Bologne’s “Violin Concerto in G Major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro,” arranged by Kris Bowers and performed by Bowers, violinist Randall Goosby, and the London Contemporary Orchestra. The concerto is available to stream on Spotify now.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Elvis”) stars in “Chevalier” as Bologne, who was born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1745. His father was a French plantation owner and his mother was an enslaved African woman. He went to France as a boy, and became a violin virtuoso, conductor of the Paris symphony, and a court favorite of Marie Antoinette...
The single is Bologne’s “Violin Concerto in G Major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro,” arranged by Kris Bowers and performed by Bowers, violinist Randall Goosby, and the London Contemporary Orchestra. The concerto is available to stream on Spotify now.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Elvis”) stars in “Chevalier” as Bologne, who was born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1745. His father was a French plantation owner and his mother was an enslaved African woman. He went to France as a boy, and became a violin virtuoso, conductor of the Paris symphony, and a court favorite of Marie Antoinette...
- 3/24/2023
- by Liam Mathews
- Gold Derby
A biopic on 18th century virtuoso violinist and composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, featuring Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role, “Chevalier” is a delicately assembled cinematic Fabergé egg.
If you watch the film (premiering at the Toronto Film Festival) with the sound off, it can easily be mistaken for a French studio production made in adherence to the Tradition of Quality. But while it purports to celebrate a forgotten historical figure, much of the plot is decidedly ahistorical.
It opens in pre-revolution France, with Joseph crashing a Mozart concert and challenging the prodigy to a violin dual, something like the 18th century Parisian equivalent of Verzuz. While Mozart aims to school the brash unknown and deliver a lesson in humility, Joseph has the goods to upstage him and thoroughly enrapture the audience.
Also Read:
‘Watchmen’ Producer Stephen Williams and ‘Atlanta’ Writer Stefani Robinson Team on ‘Black Mozart...
If you watch the film (premiering at the Toronto Film Festival) with the sound off, it can easily be mistaken for a French studio production made in adherence to the Tradition of Quality. But while it purports to celebrate a forgotten historical figure, much of the plot is decidedly ahistorical.
It opens in pre-revolution France, with Joseph crashing a Mozart concert and challenging the prodigy to a violin dual, something like the 18th century Parisian equivalent of Verzuz. While Mozart aims to school the brash unknown and deliver a lesson in humility, Joseph has the goods to upstage him and thoroughly enrapture the audience.
Also Read:
‘Watchmen’ Producer Stephen Williams and ‘Atlanta’ Writer Stefani Robinson Team on ‘Black Mozart...
- 9/13/2022
- by Martin Tsai
- The Wrap
For a man who was very nearly lost from history — forcefully erased both during his time and long after he’d passed away — Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges still managed to leave quite a footprint. Good luck choosing which of his many accomplishments to recognize first: his prodigious fencing talent, his exploits as the colonel of the first all-Black regiment in Europe, his incredible skill as a virtuoso violinist, the list goes on and on. In Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier,” it’s Bologne’s awe-inspiring work as a composer — so talented that he was often referred to as the “Black Mozart, an even funnier moniker considering the pair were contemporaries — that forms the center of
Born in the French “overseas department” of Guadeloupe in 1745, Bologne’s life was complicated from the start: he was born the son of a wealthy planter and an enslaved teenager who served as his own maid,...
Born in the French “overseas department” of Guadeloupe in 1745, Bologne’s life was complicated from the start: he was born the son of a wealthy planter and an enslaved teenager who served as his own maid,...
- 9/12/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Chevalier is a biopic about violin virtuoso Joseph Bolonge Chevalier de Saint George directed by Stephen Williams and written by Stefani Robinson.
“Play violin concerto #5!” Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) shouts as he steps on stage, confident in his abilities, ready to compete against the revered Mozart. Bologne shreds that violin to a standing ovation from the French elite. His origin begins when he is bought from the French colony of Guadeloupe and dumped at a high-class boarding school for boys by his White, slave-owning father. The school is supposed to nurture his talent as a violinist and sword fighter. He’s treated like crap during his time at the school but given a chance to prove himself in front of King Louis and Marie Antionette (Lucy Boynton), who bestows him the title of Chevalier de Saint George, which thrust him to the height of high society.
Bologne’s music...
“Play violin concerto #5!” Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) shouts as he steps on stage, confident in his abilities, ready to compete against the revered Mozart. Bologne shreds that violin to a standing ovation from the French elite. His origin begins when he is bought from the French colony of Guadeloupe and dumped at a high-class boarding school for boys by his White, slave-owning father. The school is supposed to nurture his talent as a violinist and sword fighter. He’s treated like crap during his time at the school but given a chance to prove himself in front of King Louis and Marie Antionette (Lucy Boynton), who bestows him the title of Chevalier de Saint George, which thrust him to the height of high society.
Bologne’s music...
- 9/11/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
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