‘The Artist’ Made Possible Through Emotional Bond Tracing Back to WWII
This week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center partnered with The Weinstein Company to host two screenings of The Artist at its Museum of Tolerance outposts in Los Angeles and New York. Both were to be followed by Q&As with the Oscar-nominated film’s producer, Thomas Langmann, who was ultimately unable to participate due to the death of a close family friend.
What does a movie about the movies have to do with Judaism, Nazi-hunting, or tolerance, you ask?
Nothing — at least directly. But, it turns out, Langmann and the film’s Oscar-nominated writer/director/editor Michel Hazanavicius are both children of Jewish parents who grew up in hiding during the Nazi occupation of France, which led them to share an “emotional connection,” Langmann has said. Their shared bond was instrumental in his decision to take a tremendous gamble by financing a black-and-white silent in the 21st century.
Tags: Alexander Payne, David Fincher, Hugo, Le Poulet, Martin Scorsese, Michel Hazanavicius, Midnight in Paris, Simon Wiesenthal, The Artist, The Descendants, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Two of Us, Thomas Langmann, Woody Allen