Zoey Deutch, amazing in Nouvelle Vague: “I needed to reinvent myself” (interview)

Zoey Deutch finds a role that suits her in Nouvelle Vague by Richard Linklater, playing the legendary Jean Seberg. Encounter.

Revealed in Everybody Wants Some!! and then noticed in comedies like The Politician Or Return to ZombielandZoey Deutch, daughter of actress Lea Thompson and filmmaker Howard Deutch, continues to alternate between popular projects and more daring roles. With New wave by Richard Linklater, which retraces the filming ofOut of breath by Godard, she reached a decisive milestone in her career, playing Jean Seberg and filming for the first time in French. We met her last month during her visit to the Deauville American Film Festival.

First: What was the biggest difference between filming with Richard Linklater on Everybody Wants Some!! almost ten years ago and New wave ?
Zoey Deutch: Strangely, there really aren’t any. The way it works is always strictly the same: a lot of rehearsals beforehand and a lot of communication, in order to refine the characters. But once on set, while the scenes are being filmed, he’s not the type to give a lot of directions. Besides, it really scared me Everybody Wants Some!! I thought he found me so worthless that he didn’t dare say anything to me and that I was going to be cut in the editing (Laughter.) On New waveI had a lot more experience and I knew who I was dealing with.

We can still imagine that he had to adapt to filming almost exclusively with French actors, even though he doesn’t speak the language…
It’s true. He has always worked with the same people for more than 20 years, but this was the first time that he worked with an entirely new team, because everyone was French. Except me (Laughter.) And I was the only one he knew. It’s a bit miraculous that he managed to apply the same methods so smoothly. But it says a lot about the clarity of his vision.

What was your work process like to step into the shoes of Jean Seberg?
What really helped me overcome my anxiety about playing this person that I love and respect so much was that Richard reminded me that we were doing an interpretation and not an imitation. Which meant giving myself a little freedom to fill in certain holes and create new things that seemed authentic to me – at least in relation to the mass of information I collected on Jean. And first of all, I had to learn French and speak like her. Her accent is very specific since she came from Marshalltown, Iowa. So I had two tutors: one for “normal” French and another, Michèle Halberstadt, our producer, to sound like Jean Seberg. She gave me lessons because she heard the difference: “ No, Zoey, Jean said it like that. » And what drove me completely crazy afterwards was that we didn’t re-record any of our dialogue in post-production, as is normally the case with any film.

None ?
None. Michèle said to me one day: “ We finished editing. » I was terrified but I told myself that if I had messed up at some point, we could correct it. Well no! (Laughter.) But during filming, there was another question: when was Jean going to speak in English rather than in French? Richard was super nice and entrusted me with this task: “ Take the script and decide when it feels best for you. » It quickly became obvious to me that she must speak in English when she talks to her husband and when she is angry. The naturalness that is coming back. So I studied her voice and her phrasing with an interview, available on YouTube, where she showed her Parisian apartment. I memorized everything, as if it were a monologue. And I also had to immerse myself in his movements, his way of walking… I rewatched many of his films and also Out of breath, of course, to have exactly in mind each scene that we were going to recreate in New wave. I took it as a sort of choreography to learn: “ How many steps does she take? How long does she keep her hand over her mouth? » It became a dance. Very meta, the dance (Laughter.)

You see New wave like a turning point in your career, a sort of conscious decision to explore other cinema territories, other types of roles?
In any case, I feel like I have entered a new chapter in my life. And if that is reflected in my career, so much the better. I imagine that’s no coincidence. I feel very different from a few years ago, more connected to myself, more in control of what happens to me. Juror #2, New wave and the play I did afterwards changed me profoundly. And before that, I took a step back, a sort of sabbatical year. Well… The first six months were intentional. Afterwards, the phone stopped ringing, before Clint Eastwood called me. But that’s fine, I needed to reinvent myself. I know better who I am, what I like and what I don’t like.

So the hilarious Zoey Deutch of Return to Zombieland won’t come back again?
Oh no, I’m not saying that at all! I loved making this film, we had a lot of fun. Moreover, when I arrived at the hotel in Deauville, people were waiting to ask me for autographs: most of them had very glamorous photos for me to sign but at one point, a guy took out a photo of me in Zombielandall disgusting and vomiting (Laughter.) It was hilarious. But deep down, I think it looks more like me than a photo taken on a red carpet!

Nouvelle Vague by Richard Linklater, currently in cinemas.