So here is the first part of the interview. Sorry for my bad english... hope it's not going to be a disaster...
What made you decide to do this Café de Flore ?I already knew Jean-Marc Vallée's films and I really liked them.
He began to meet other French actresses for this role when he send the script to me. It took my breath away when I was reading it during two hours. It caught me.
I told it to Jean-Marc by telephone, and I got the chance he had faith in me, even if I wasn't...(she is hesitating). At the beginning I wasn't the obvious choice for him, I find what he did is bold.
When we evoke the name of Vanessa Paradis, we imagine you as an inaccessible person, living on a private island with Johnny Depp, and not in a role of a mother ready to sacrifice everything to bring up her Down syndrom son alone...I must admit that is not obvious.
And we accept that, after two minutes of the film.I'm pleased to hear that. For Jean-Marc, everything is important, especially the mother's appearance. We had to erase all traces of seduction, every things which are associated with my own image in magazines. We've also worked a lot on the voice, the phrasing, the posture... We had to dispel my nature. I had to go against a certain softness that's much more natural for me. My character isn't reassuring with her child, she never is gentle, but, on the contrary, she "rushes" him.
The challenge was to understand her, this woman has to be loved, understood. The spectator needn't to judge her, or needn't to say : " But what is this monster ? ".
How did you prepare for the role ? Is it the hardest role you had ?I don't know... We can say it's the most unexpected, and the farest from my personality. I've already try to do a character study, but I think I was not enough convincing, 'cause I was said : " Come back to things that you're used to do. Be natural." (Laughs). The transformation was progressive. When I was reading the script, I said to myself : " Ah, a Parisian woman, the sixties...".
At the beginning, we were drawn to miniskirt, little boots. We said, even if she's got no money, she probably wants to be well dressed, I thought that I could have a bun... But not at all ! And Jean-Marc is very clever for that : all is in this woman's silhouette, it explains who she is.
I imagine that with the dark wig, you don't recognize yourself.It helps to harden my face, the appearance. At the same time, I didn't look myself a lot in the mirror. I didn't like me like that... Anyway, I was thinking about one single thing : speaking differently, my posture had to be different, I had to erase all my girly things. I didn't wear any make-up, not even foundation, nothing.
I'm not sure that all actresses could accept to be "ugly"... It's obviously nice to act in glamorous things where you're sublime, where you wear make-up and where you're well lighted up.
But I don't see why actresses could be afraid of transformation.
I saw some actresses asking for a close-up to the editor in order make sure that they were well filmed... But it must be the case for a lot of actors.Some actors are more tiresome than us, I can confirm you. (Laughs). At the final, it depends of the role. If you're told to use of your charm, it's better to bring out someone beautiful.
In there, it was absolutely pointless. The funniest thing, it was when we were near from the shooting, Jean-Marc said things to me progressively : "So, you won't wear make-up."; And he didn't say it like that. It was more like : " And if you don't wear make-up ? You're wearing something today, for example ? No ? You see, its' perfect."
When I look at your filmographie, something is striking : if we don't include the dubbings for animated films, Café de Flore is just your tenth role at cinema.There it is, I've finally have two numbers.
Can we see it as a stage ?I've always admired actors who do characters study and I'm happy 'cause I've managed to do it for the first time, at my level.
Does it mean something ? I don't know, but, maybe this film will inspire other film-makers. Even if, for the moment, I really want to shoot another film with Jean-Marc Vallée !
Precisely, do you think directors or producers were not imaginative for you ? I'm not the only one in this case. I'm going to tell you what I think about that, without wanting to be unpleasant with my colleagues...
When Béatrice Dalle turns up in the Dominique Besnehard's office for the cast of "37°2 le matin", we can say it's marvellous, and Beineix certainly wants to see his character as he imagined it. She is so Betty, it's sublime. But the basic principle for an actor is acting, not being himself. So, directors often like when the work is already half done... They dream to see their character passing the door of their office, and they could say : "Voilà !" But it's so interesting to seek the character, to work on it, to spend a lot of time on it together, to build it together.
The actor doesn't do all the work alone, and the director is not there in order to make his doll
The " wild casting " has its limits, we cannot find, every time, an actress as strong, as beautiful and as unique as Béatrice Dalle.
What's interesting with a film like The Heartbreaker, it's you were hired in order to be Vanessa Paradis, but at the same time, there were some new things to act, especially for the comic register.Be careful, I'm not like the character of The Heartbreaker. She is extremely annoying.
The continuation of the interview is coming soon...
Sorry but I don't have the time to read what I have written... sorry for the mistakes.
Just one word : gorgeous !!! 
Thanks so much for these scans ! 
), for the shoot Vanessa was wearing a dress by Rochas, and the make-up is by Chanel with the Rouge Coco Shine in Canotier.
