You will have to be a little patient to discover the film Simone, the trip of the century by Olivier Dahan. The biopic, in which Elsa Zylberstein stars, has been postponed to October 12, 2022. Inevitably, the actress is only in a hurry: it is for the public to discover this incredible adventure for which she has given everything. The role of Simone Veil, she prepared for more than a year. Twelve months during which the actress has experienced terrible things.
I lost my mother during this shoot
Embody Simone Veil in the cinema? A waking dream for Elsa Zylberstein, who had met the magistrate ten years ago, when she presented him with a prize on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. But the picture darkened a bit in the middle of the adventure, when the heroine had to deal with the disappearance of her mother. “I lost my mother during this shoot, she tells the magazine She. The worst moment of my life crashed into the greatest gift of my life. With Olivier Dayan, we also wanted to show the woman broken by death: the death of Milou, her beloved sister, and that of her mother, central to the film. You never get over the death of your mother.“
It is not without health consequences…
Wiping away tears wasn’t the only difficulty Elsa Zylberstein faced, though it was arguably the toughest. To transform into Simone Veil, the former companion of Arnaud Montebourg had to transform at all levels. She underwent long make-up sessions – 4 hours to play Simone at 40, 7 hours for her 70s -, transformed her voice with the help of the Tomatis center, a specialist in language learning… and had to to transform physically. “I wanted to disappear and become Simone, she recalls. I already had a little cheekbones and eyes, but I had to put on eight kilos. I had to see several nutritionists before one accepted, because it is not without health consequences. I was going to weigh myself every other day. I took belly, thighs, everyone thought I was pregnant…“
Find the interview of Elsa Zylberstein in the magazine “Elle” n ° 3970 of January 20, 2021.