Laetitia Casta the New ‘Face’ for Tsai

Former Victoria’s Secret model turned actress Laetitia Casta has been cast in Ming-liang Tsai’s next picture Visages (Face). Also starring are Kang-sheng Lee (who has starred in all of the famed director’s films), Fanny Ardant (8 Femmes), and Jean-Pierre Leaud (The Pornographer). The French/Taiwanese co-production is set to start in October and run through January with a planned May release (just in time for Cannes…what a coincidence).

Inspired by an offer from French officials to allow filming inside of the famed Louvre in Paris, the film is a play on the Christian myth of Salome; framed within the setup of a Chinese director (Lee) who travels to the museum to shoot a film. “The film in the film becomes a total disaster. ‘Face’ is part comedy and a film in a film in a film, reflecting on creative cinema and a tribute to the New Wave,” producer James Bidou tells Variety. Bidou’s JBA Production is prodcing the picture along with Tsai’s own Homegreen Films. Euro institutuion Fortissimo Films will be handling international sales. 

The role is a major coup for the beauty’s acting cred as Tsai is among the most highly regarded Taiwanese “Second New Wave” filmmakers alongside the likes of Hou Hsiao-hsien and the late Edward Yang. Having won major awards at practically every major film festival in the world over the last 15 years, the filmmaker’s works are the epitome of arthouse cinema. This news is also a big win for Casta’s many drooling fans as the director is known for his proclivity to display unbridled eroticism on the big screen – it should be an interesting pairing to say the least!