The press conference for Martin Scorsese's HUGO took place on a recent Saturday morning at the Ritz Carlton in Manhattan’s Central Park South, a light and happy affair centered around a film that obviously delighted both cast and crew. And not just because they got to work with one of the greatest living filmmakers, but to shine a light on the life and work of Georges Méliès, the pioneering director of hundreds of early twentieth century films. Méliès shot three of his little silent masterpieces each week in a glass-enclosed studio by day while also performing magic shows at night. The storyline is an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s award-winning 2007 bestselling illustrated novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (A Novel in Words and Pictures).
On the panel were Asa Butterfield (THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS), Chloë Grace Moretz (LET ME IN), Sacha Baron Cohen (BORAT), Sir Ben Kingsley (SHUTTER ISLAND), Emily Mortimer (SHUTTER ISLAND), Hugo Cabret author Brian Selznick and co-producers John Logan and Graham King. And while Martin (or "Marty," as everyone referred to him) Scorsese's absence was noted, there was no lack of enthusiastic discussion about working with the fabled director.
Méliès's whimsical filmmaking style lost favor with moviegoers as World War I began to take its toll on Paris and the rest of the world. Losing his fortune, burning his costumes and sets and selling his films to be melted down for chemical use, he ultimately wound up behind the counter of a toy store in the Montparnasse train station, where he languished for years in depression. But his contributions to film were rediscovered in the '30's, and he was properly celebrated in Parisian society before his death in 1938. It's this rediscovery and rehabilitation of the man and his work that HUGO partly covers...
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