PACK UP ALL MY CARES AND WOE, HERE I GO, SINGING LOW, BYE BYE BLACKBIRD

Hmmm...Had this song playing all day in my head and then Styx goes and talks about Marion Cotillard...Ahhh, Marion Cotillard. Thank you Dior for taking this beauty to the major fashion houses, we have had a need to see much more of her! Cotillard was chosen this year to be “Lady Dior,” a fictional character created by John Galliano to be featured in his print advertising campaign and immortalized in an online mini-movie. But truly, Cotillard hardly needs help with her characters! A brief look at her filmography shows the great breadth of a seasoned performer. Any film that this Frenchwoman graces is definitely worth watching because there are just so many reasons to love her on- and off-screen.

First let’s begin with the stack of awards she has earned, many of which stemming from her dynamic rendering of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. This young phoenix is the first and only winner of an Academy Award for a performance in the French language, in addition to being the 1st Best Actress winner in a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren in ’61. She won a BAFTA. She snatched a Golden Globe. Then there was the Czech Lion…! Cotillard was awarded the Cesar Award for best actress – and was the 1st woman (and 2nd person, the other being Adrien Brody) to win both a Cesar and an Oscar for the same performance. PHEW! So, she has the chops and there’s no argument here!

Another reason to love Ms. Cotillard: I recently gazed at her on the silver screen in Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and found Cotillard to be the captivating presence onscreen! How improbable, with Johnny Depp as her main man... but Cotillard’s convincing portrayal of the loyal leading lady in this film proves that even with the all-encompassing talents of a beloved male lead such as Depp’s, it’s the fascinating woman that weaves the spell. Ultimately we want to know more about her, now don’t we friends? Hecate is in full-on-fact-you-in-the-face-mode with this brilliant lady.

Ready for another reason to love? Did you know that Marion is also an activist? Ahem, ever the environmentalist, Cotillard (a fan of Greenpeace) lends her voice to a song for the Global Humanitarian Forum “Beds are Burning” which can be found on Myspace TckTckTck Myspace Website. Each click, download, and listening does count as a sort of ‘virtual musical petition’ to be presented to politicos in Copenhagen at the esteemed December climate conference. Click here http://unfccc.int/2860.php for more detailed information about that essential event.

The last thing to love about Ms. Cotillard is the opportunity to feast your greedy eyes on her and umpteen other fabulous starlets (Daniel Day-Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Sophia Loren) and yet more (Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman) in Rob Marshall’s next musical offering, ‘Nine.’ Release date: 25 November 2009. Readers can bet on a full review coming at you right here in the Underworld! Hecate signing off at darkest night. Bon nuit!