2023-11-06 17:24:00
“If I had made nougat, I would have settled in Montélimar. If I had made porcelain, I would have opted for Limoges. I am in show business, so I chose Los Angeles.” Thus spoke, not Zarathustra, but the late Jean Yanne. It was love with a capital A that made Martine Couralet-Laing want to settle down in the City of Angels.
Twenty-five years ago, this bubbly Frenchwoman, who had worked for a time in the world of television, settled with her husband, an American producer, in the heart of this sprawling city, the world capital of the film industry.
As the days go by, she will become familiar with this Promised Land or more precisely this “Dreamland”. This is a good thing, it is the title of his first book published by Lazare & Capucine. A try? No, a masterstroke!
With a good dose of humor sprinkled with kindness, this adopted Los Angelinos evokes through 100% real-life anecdotes her juicy interactions with the stars she meets at parties, at the pediatrician’s, during a trek, at the school or more or less unusual places. All without ever taking itself seriously, without sinking into caricature and taking great care to avoid clichés.
Above all, MCL provides the keys that will allow readers to better understand and better decipher a world apart. A world where pretenses and real talents coexist once morest the backdrop of a postcard stamped “Hollywood”.
In short, this “Dreamland”, his “Dreamland” is as delicious to read as a banana split enjoyed with your feet fanned out at the edge of an XXL turquoise swimming pool!
If I say Los Angeles to you, what are the three adjectives that immediately come to mind?
“Sweet because I never tire of the light that makes this city shine. Creative because the people who live there always want to go further and higher. Finally, excessive and at all levels! In Los Angeles, you still have this pioneering spirit that floats in the city. It’s like a sap full of energy that flows into each of your veins, into your DNA and that pushes you to surpass yourself!”
Your very first memorable memory upon arriving in Los Angeles…
“The size of the cars! The man who would later become my husband came to pick me up in an incredibly long Lexus. I thought it was a unique model. As I drove down the freeway, I realized that it was was the norm. It was clearly a change from the little Ford Escort I was driving in Paris!”
What is more essential for survival in the City of Angels: a Smith & Wesson under your pillow, an Amex Platinum in your wallet or a bodyguard at your back?
“I have never used a bodyguard. An Amex Platinum card, yes, that can be useful. Especially since Los Angeles is a very/too expensive city and that is why many people are moving. As for the weapon, I never felt the need to have one, even if it is preferable to pretend that we have, at home, enough to have …response! Just in case where! (laughs).”
The very first star you met and with whom you wanted to socialize?
“John Travolta! I was eight months pregnant and in four-inch heels when I met him at a party. I wasn’t very comfortable. What disturbed me was that he was visibly trained to respond to the public. He spoke to me, he answered my questions very kindly, but I very quickly realized that he didn’t see me! As if I was invisible! It’s much more It was later that I understood why he had acted in this way. A director friend explained to me that these great actors use this technique to protect themselves. It’s as if they erected a sort of wall, a virtual shell between themselves and the individuals they come into contact with! To their credit, they are so attacked! I understand this instinct for self-preservation!”
The day Tom Hanks got caught in a wind!
Is it true that in Hollywood everyone is called “Darliiiiing” and that the word “fuck” or “fucking” is mentioned at least three times in a sentence?
“Obviously, if you go to brunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel and run into people who work in show biz, there’s a good chance everyone will hug you and call you Darling. fuck, which I almost never use in my sentences, is also a recurring word among celebrities. But don’t see a vulgar or offensive connotation in it. It’s the equivalent of whore that we find in our conversations in France !”
You reveal in “Dreamland” that during a hike, you came face to face with Tom Hanks. The latter congratulated you on the beauty of your baby but you, you who thought he was flirting with you…
“Yes, while hiking near Pacific Palisades, I saw a guy approach. He leaned over my baby and started complimenting me. ‘What a lovely baby!’ I thought then to my conversation with a French friend who explained to me that Americans did not have the concept of seduction or flirting. Men don’t look at women, and that’s true. Except in this case. In short, the guy was making gouzis gouzis to my daughter Lalie and he asked me very quickly: “How old is she?” “Three months”, I answer a little dryly. Then, I turn a little more to the side to show clearly that I have no intention of continuing the conversation. It was only later that it was made clear to me that this hiker with the dirty sneakers and his eyes covered by Ray-Bans was Tom Hanks: The coolest guy in Hollywood!”
Exactly, we would like to know more regarding how Americans flirt?
“Supermarkets are the favorite places for local flirts! And their modus operandi is very interesting. I was flirted with one day by a guy. The latter had a tray of fish in his hands. He asked me if this fish was good and how to cook it? It was explained to me later that this kind of approach was common. These supermarket seducers start the dialogue by asking women for advice! Of course, they “scan” your shopping cart with their eyes. If Unfortunately, you have baby diapers or children’s milk, they don’t even count on you!
You write: “The stars, they really are everywhere”. Are you including the Kardashians?
“The Kardashians are not stars! Nor Paris Hilton for that matter. We have to go back down! In my eyes a star is Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Jacqueline Bisset, Meryl Streep, etc. The stars, they have talent. They have class. They are discreet when they are not filming. They don’t bring it back! The concept of celebrity has evolved a lot since I lived in Los Angeles and not necessarily in a good way!”
One day Sophie Marceau, who lived in Pacific Palissades, told me that she had left California because she mightn’t find yogurt without colorings or preservatives for her children. And you, Martine, might you pack up because of some food frustration?
“Food has evolved since then! If you had interviewed me in 1998, I would have been a little more reserved! At the time, hygiene was such that we only used bleached and tasteless flours! But today you find on the shelves of Californian supermarkets hyper-healthy products that are so innovative, revolutionary, avant-garde that they don’t even exist in Europe. Now, if you come to Los Angeles in order to find the same Camembert as in France, it’s a mistake. Expatriation means adaptation. Personally, I have always been keen to discover local specialties!”
A helicopter ride with Harrison Ford, the crasher of old cuckoos, what do you think?
Tell us regarding this fair in a school supposed to raise funds. Fair which ended with the auction of a giant photo of Harrison Ford and which promised its buyer a private helicopter ride with Harrison Ford at the helm!
“We all dreamed of winning this jackpot! Especially me, an absolute Indiana Jones fan! So I had no choice but to bid. Until I got my hair on the pole by a parent of a student who was going to offer a larger sum than me. I am of course angry. I am frustrated. Two or three years later, on the Penmar golf course near the Santa Monica airport, my friend Sylvie persists in teaching me to play at the golf course. In the distance, the sound of an airplane, there are a lot of them above the golf course. The noise of the airplane gets closer. Then once more. I turn around, and I see a little post-war cuckoo clock at the height of the trees heading straight for the green. I let go of my club just as the plane crashed right on the fairway of the next hole. Then I remembered that fair and what Harrison said to Sean Connery in a Indiana Jones. The hardest part is not so much flying but being able to land! When I think regarding it, this actor doesn’t play Indy, he is Indy. He takes real risks and despite his crashes, He always manages to get through it!”
You also witnessed this evening where Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna were unable to get a table in a popular restaurant because they had not made a reservation!
“Yes! It was in an Italian restaurant! At the reception counter, the attendant didn’t seem to recognize them. Not a smile. Not even a good evening. These two stars had to completely turn back! I see the paparazzi once more, always sitting on their motorbikes, surprised to see the stars come out so quickly. Then collapsed in laughter listening to Gwyneth and Madonna telling them what had just happened.”
What was one of the most uncomfortable and laughable moments of your life as a Los Angelino?
“This day when friends gave me an unexpected gift! On the package, I recognize the logo of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s online store. I think it will be nice, a perfume for the home, a little cream or something like that. In front of everyone, I open my little package? Wrapped in glossy paper with large pink and green flowers. Inside, a box. A candle. And I see the label on which it is written. “This smells like my vagina”! And there, I feel the slightly surprised look of the principal of my daughter’s school staring at me! I only want one thing: to disappear! “
Los Angeles, a city you have to seek out!
Woody Allen said in an interview: “In Los Angeles, they don’t throw away their trash! They’re making them into variety shows for television! “. A comment ?
I agree 1000%! But since you quote Woody Allen, I remember the day he said: “In LA, the only cultural advantage that I recognize in this city is the fact that you can turn right at a red light without having to stop! »
Let’s conclude with another quote. Russell Crowe said: “I will move to Los Angeles the day Australia and New Zealand are submerged by a tsunami, Europe is hit by bubonic plague, and the African continent is gone by an alien attack.” ! In short, what advice would you give to people who completely reject this city?
I advise – especially the French – not to keep to themselves! Have you come to see America? Go get her!
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