Schneider’s Last Tango: Jessica Palud Moves into Production with “Maria”

Bernardo Bertolucci’s disturbing treatment of Maria Schneider in Last Tango in Paris will likely one facet in the upcoming biopic Maria. French filmmaker Jessica Palud has gotten the greenlight for an upcoming spring shoot on her sophomore feature. Next up: casting the pivotal role of the actress who was plucked from obscurity for Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger. Palud showcased Revenir at the 2019 edition of the Venice Film Festival will reteam with her producer Marielle Duigou. Palud saw her short film Marlon travel the film festival circuit (TIFF, Clermont) and was nominated for a César. Before that, she was privy to a behind the scenes Bertolucci, as she worked with him.

Gist: Adapted from (her cousin) Vanessa Schneider’s book Tu t’appelais Maria Schneider, this is set during the 70s and is about a young actress named Maria Schneider is cast in a film by an Italian filmmaker and an American star.

Worth noting: In less than decade span (2004 to 2011) Palud worked as an assistant director on features such as Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers and Sofia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette.

Do We Care?: We’re expecting a film that shakes parameters of the biopic and digs deeper than surface level daddy issues. This has the potential to tackle the different levels of toxicity in the film business, the true price of fame and isolation.